Bueno Y Sano — Restaurant in Northampton

(scroll down for my reply to the owner's comment)

Food took a noticable dip in quality after COVID (based on taste I think the rice recipe changed and everything else is just not as fresh as before) and if you show up after 2pm I'd skip the guac, used to be my main comfort food in noho but I rarely go anymore- there are good options on the menu still and if you don't have existing attachments to their food from 5+ years ago then you'll probably enjoy it- I just can't satisfy my bueno cravings anymore unfortunately.

I'm pretty sure they lowered the spice level of the "wicked hot" sauce semi-recently as well, it was quite respectable for a while but really not that spicy last fewest times I went. If you're going to add a level above hot and even go as far as calling it "wicked hot" it should be challenging to eat even with a spice tolerance.

Edit: Personally it kinda wiggs me out when owners respond to reviews like this but since they implied this was simply a one time issue with my last visit I feel the need to respond as well, this is not a one time issue and has been a constant frustration over the past year or more as I've made at least a dozen attempts at having a decent experience- I'm willing to believe the owner that the recipes are still the same but I am very confident that the flavor is not, I don't know if one of their supply chains changed or if there are different staff cooking with slightly different techniques or what but I can promise the flavor has changed and the change is recent (within the last 2 years at most)

For some context I'm on the spectrum and bean burritos from bueno specifically have been my #1 top safe food for about a decade now, I've eaten literally hundreds all ordered the exact same way through the years and it has always been an extremely consistent experience until the past year or two- I've spent the last year repeatedly trying to get my safe food again but had to accept after the last few visits that the burrito I'm used to simply doesn't exist anymore and while I can recognize that 3 stars may seem a bit harsh but it really isn't even close to reflecting how genuinely heartbreaking the experience of losing my favorite food has been for me. I don't really expect the owner or most readers to understand where I'm coming from here but my review is going to be based on my experience (as it should be) and honestly I find the dismissive "no it's the same, just spend more money here!" response to be pretty insulting when I've basically spent $100 on burritos here over the past year chasing that comfort.

I don't blame them for the food tasting different, it's even possible that one of their suppliers started purchasing from a different source and they genuinely have no clue/can't tell the food is any different, I get it the pandemic was rough on all of us and inflation is killing food quality almost everywhere l- but that doesn't change the fact that the burrito I used to practically live on simply doesn't exist anymore.

I do kinda blame them for how much more often I was getting served brown guac before I gave up tho... (More than half my visits this past year, hence the 2pm cutoff as it is almost always still fresh then)

I'm going to keep retrying a couple times a year in the hopes that I can have my favorite food at least one more time but my review will stay as it is unless that...

I used to love eating here. Quality has gone down and customer service sucks. I called because DoorDash was trying to force me to add a sauce to my quesadilla. I asked if there was a way I could order without being forced to add a sauce (normally I go in person but I have COVID so I had to use DoorDash). The woman who answered did not care. She seemed very annoyed I was even calling. I told her I didn’t even mind if I get an extra charge for the sauce since DD is forcing people to add it AND pay extra for (I think I was being very understanding and accommodating!!) I just wanted to make sure they wouldn’t actually physically put it on my quesadilla. She just gave a very long pause and said “uh okay??” to me asking what to do. It wasn’t a yes or no question though... I tried asking again in multiple different ways and she just seemed to get more annoyed. So I said “Okay…so I guess I’ll order from somewhere else?” since I guess (to her) it’s a very difficult task to just say “hey don’t put sauce on this DoorDash order” to the chef. And she just said “okay” and hung up on me. Knowing full well she just lost the restaurant an order. I didn’t raise my voice. I wasn’t rude or angry. I was so confused why I was treated like this.

Funny enough I ended up ordering food from elsewhere where there was also another glitch with DoorDash. I called that restaurant and not only did they want to make sure my order was correct (they were super understanding about DoorDash being finicky) they even had me hold on the line while the owner went into the system and fixed the DoorDash error so it wouldn’t happen to future customers! I didn’t even know they could do that!

My family and I have ordered from here almost every Friday night for as long as I can remember. Literally years. Not anymore. I’d rather spend my hard earned money at a local restaurant where it’s appreciated.

*Edited...

Let me preface this review by saying, I do love the food here. It’s good quality and tastes great. My issues stem from their consistently spotty service. I usually order online and everytime I’d get home the bag would be missing something. So right off the bat, I’m not receiving what I paid (and tipped!) for. So I began checking my bags before leaving and to no surprise at all, well over 50% of the time, something is missing. Here’s where it gets even better… now, after checking bags and letting staff know something is missing, they nicely get me my missing item and on my way I go. As soon as I bite into my food, I can tell immediately they got my order wrong. Either by adding something I specifically asked and marked to not add (e.g. no lettuce) and it’s loaded with lettuce, or light cabbage on my Thai burrito and the entire burrito is cabbage, etc. it goes on and on. So I stopped tipping because, well, I’m not receiving good service, but I enjoy the food, so I come back once in a while and play burrito roulette and hope they got my order right or didn’t forget something. This is unacceptable service and today I reached a point after having my order messed up so bad, even after ordering it in person and having the cashier read back my order, that I’m not longer supporting this business nor eating here again. Loved your food, but your staff is not adequately trained and I’m not paying $15-20 for lunch in Northampton to receive a Frankenstein order when there’s a plethora of options here that will...