Rancho Mateo — Restaurant in North Bergen

BEWARE** (IMAGES INCLUDED) ESPAÑOL EN LA PARTE DE ABAJO!

Steer clear of this place and their thursday mariachi nights. It is a total rip off (I always find it phony how such a big and busy restaurant would not accept credit/debit card payments under $10).

On Thursday nights, they have an event called ''mariachi nights'', they advertise margaritas at $3.99 but at no point the waiter/waitress tending to your table tells you that the price goes up $2 if you want your margarita frozen or if you want salt on the rim or if you want them flavored.

They have a small flyer that sits on the table that reads: ''$3.99 house margaritas! all flavors available!'' (image attached) there are no asterisks or x's as it is a common occurrence indicating that there will be a price change if you want your margarita to be customized .

The food was good, the margaritas were really good and had a decent amount of alcohol added but when I asked for my check I was really confused when I noted that the price per margarita had gone up $2, I called the waiter and he proceeded to explain to me that it is only ''house margaritas the ones that are $3.99'' to which I replied that on the flyer saying on the table it says all flavors available.

$2 is not an amount that would bankrupt anyone but it is very frustrating and dissapointing to be the victim of false advertisement, specially in a business where I have spent hundreds if not thousands of dollars since they opened since it is in my neighborhood and their food is good.

ESPAÑOL

Ojo, cuidado, atención con los jueves de mariachis, ellos ofrecen las margaritas a $3.99, pero en ningún momento el/la meser@ le explica al cliente que el precio por margarita va a aumentar $2 si quiere que la margarita sea granizada (frozen) o si la quiere michelada (salt on the rim) o si la quiere con sabor. Incluso tienen un flyer en la mesa que indica que: ''Jueves de mariachis, margaritas de la casa a $3.99, todos los sabores disponibles'' y como es común en otros negocios no hay ni un asterisco, ni una estrella o una cruz indicando que puede haber un incremento en el precio si la bebida es modificada.

Cuando le pedí la cuenta la mesero que nos atendió (muy amable y educado) quede confundido al ver que el precio por margarita había aumentado $2, cuando le pregunte el porque de el aumento, me dijo que solamente las margaritas de la casa eran las de $3.99 a lo que yo le mostré el flyer y le dije que ahí decía margaritas de la casas y que tenían todos los sabores disponibles, empezó a darme excusas vacías, como que la habían hecho granizada y que tenia sal alrededor de la copa (cosas que nunca cobran en otros lugares y me he tomado MUCHÍSIMAS margaritas granizadas y con sal en la copa en toda el area tri-estatal) a la final pague el recibo por no echar a perder la noche, pero me quede con un sabor amargo. $2 no quiebran a nadie, pero es molesto ser victima de publicidad engañosa y mas en un establecimiento de mi vecindario que he apoyado desde que lo inauguraron y donde he gastado cientos, si no miles de dolares. RANCHO MATEO, PERDISTE UN...

The space itself is really nice—spacious and well-decorated—but the acoustics are a major issue. The music was way too loud for a restaurant. It felt more like a club, which made it nearly impossible to have a conversation, even with someone sitting right next to you. The volume was so high that even the staff had trouble hearing us, and we struggled to hear them as well. It really took away from the overall dining experience. On top of that, the food was disappointing. I ordered my steak medium rare and clearly said it three times—the server even repeated it back to me—but it still came out medium well. It was dry, tough, and lacked flavor. I also explained that I cannot eat onions before ordering and the waiter confirmed the salad with my meal has onions but offered to substitute my salad with rice since I cannot eat onions. That was very nice of him, but he gave me yellow rice that had onions in it so I couldn't eat that. On top of that, the maduros, which I grew up on and eat all the time, looked and tasted old. I couldn't even eat them and others at my table agreed with the steak and maduros. We had a big table and overall, we were not happy with this place. The pandebono wasn't great either, the bottom was a bit burned which i was able to peel off... but overall not a very good pandebono... I lived in Englewood for like 15 years and would get them all the time... way better. I wasn't drinking alcohol that night so ordered a Shirley Temple with extra cherries, something I order when I don't feel like drinking, and it was awful. First off, not 1 cherry lol but it was mostly Grenadine syrup! So hard to drink. I had my gf, her sister, and her aunt try it. No one liked it. That all really took away from the experience. Also, one of my friends ordered a dirty martini and it tasted really strange more like pickle juice and liquor. She tried to drink it, but she couldn't and I don't blame her. A few of us tasted it... not good. She asked the waiter if she could trade it for a margarita because someone else got one and said it was okay. The waiter comes back with another dirty martini that was even worse! The piña colada was pretty good, weak, but not bad. Maybe stick with that. A few people at the table got it so I got to taste it. I will not be coming back here ever. Colombia Kaliente in Englewood is where its at- 10,000...

What I experienced Saturday (June 15, 2019) evening watching the Colombian soccer game at this place was completely rude and AWFUL customer service. Never in my life had i felt so harassed by waiters and waitresses at a restaurant. We had previously called to make sure they would be showing the game and were told we needed to arrive early because the restaurant gets very crowded. We arrived 2 hours before. From the moment, we arrived we were told to continuously order food to watch the game which was completely understandable. We ordered our first round of food and beer and from that moment on we were harassed every 5 minutes to continue ordering food.

We were asked to be given time to consume our food (because it doesn't take 5 minutes to eat your food...?). So, then the waiter said his shift was ending implying we had to leave the establishment. We asked our bill to be transferred to another waiter, we shouldn't have to leave the establishment just because his shift is over. WHICH BY THE WAY, the waiter never ended up leaving and lied to us. We saw him serving other tables. We realized this was used to deceive us into leaving the establishment.

This same waiter came back later forcing us to spend at least $100 to watch the game which we thought was reasonable. Then a few minutes later, a very rude waitress came by telling us the manager wanted us to either leave (because other people were waiting outside) or consume at least one full bottle of expensive alcohol or order another bucket of 12 beers. We had just been told to spend $100 and now we're being told we need to drink/consume SPECIFIC things?

Firstly, it is not our fault that other people chose to come late to the restaurant and have nowhere to sit. And secondly, they were clearly harassing us for the sole reason of maximizing their profit because we were a small party. NO OTHER table was being harassed the way we were because their parties were larger (at least 10 people). We told the waitress we felt we were being singled out and being discriminated at which point she told us there's no such thing as discrimination that does not involve race or sex (she clearly doesn't know the definition).

Needless to say I will never give them my business again and neither should you. They do not care about their customer satisfaction and go to great lengths for their...