El Cantarito Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Oak Ridge

I rarely bother to write reviews but in this case I felt compelled to explain why I left only a $2 tip. I've been a waitress/server many times over the years and I understand what a grueling job it can be. I am sensitive to the struggle. I went to eat with my son at the Oak Ridge location on his recommendation, as he had eaten there with friends once. I was looking forward to a good meal. We were both severely disappointed for multiple reasons... The food: I'll start with the positive. The portions were very generous. The sweet tea was delicious. But, there was little flavor or spices so it was all very bland. The guacamole seemed like just smashed avocado. The refried beans were flavorless. The queso "dip" was practically milk. The chicken inside of the burrito and enchiladas were not really shredded but in very large chunks I had to cut to eat. The Sopapilla had 1/2 spoon of whipped cream, barely enough for a bite or two. The service: He was pleasant, neat in appearance and took and delivered our order quickly. However, once he dropped the food, he disappeared for the duration of our meal. We sat with empty drink cups once our first glass was gone. It was unpleasant to eat a meal with nothing to drink. He didn't check back to see if we needed anything or if the food was ok. He didn't clear our plates, even when we ordered dessert. (Still no drink refill). We shuffled dirty plates around the table as needed. He didn't even interact when he brought the check; he just dropped it and walked away. I'll add that the bill was reasonable for the amount of food we received, albeit bland. I am normally an 18-20% tipper, but with the entire experience, I didn't feel it was even close to being earned. I also don't believe in "stiffing" servers bc you never know what someone is going through. I didn't write this review to trash anyone or the business. I write it so that the issues can be addressed and hopefully prevent this from happening again because at this point, I'm not interested in returning to this restaurant. I honestly hope this helps, but I'm not optimistic considering the other negative reviews with the SAME complaints going back multiple years. The owner doesn't seem to...

Never had any issues here and the food was ALWAYS amazing, along with good prices. My daughter's and me always made it our place to eat when visiting in Oakridge. Then we had a visit, that left us feeling like we was in the twilight zone. From start to finish, two ladies treated us like we took their man, legit off and on looked at us with distain, and the couple men treated us as though we kicked their dog. The food was so bad, I ordered another just to keep from complaining, and bc I was also like no way this isnt happening. It was like legit slopped in a mess on the plate and not even correct, no meat either lol at that point we was like okay this is really happening and cannot be an accident, let's get out.

We always left a good tip, cleaned our table prior to leaving, and NEVER had or caused any issues. Afterwards any time we pass it, we look at each other like, "wtf" followed by laughing bc we still are in shock the visit went the way it did. On top of it all, WE STILL LEFT A TIP and the two ladies demeanor at the register was so offsetting. The entire visit was offsetting! Needless to say we will never return to that place of business. You guys won lol If you go in there and start to have a similar visit please record it because we both was in too much of...

I am pretty easy to please, but our waiter was not very "friendly" from the start. We had a large table and only three of us were there yet. He came up and asked us if we were ready to order. I told him we weren't ready yet and needed to wait for the rest of our party. Finally everyone got there and it took awhile to get him to come back so we could order. I have a two year old who was getting more restless by the minute. We finally ordered and got our food. My friend had to get up and chase down items three different times because the waiter would walk by but would never look at us or ask what we wanted. Then, when I needed to pay and go, it took forever for him to acknowledge us to get our check. I was so disappointed by the service, but the food was good. I left the waiter one dollar. I never do that unless I feel I received a lack of quality service for simple things. He was not busy because he was laughing and cutting up with his coworkers. As I was leaving, I saw him standing outside watching me. I guess he was wondering why I left him one dollar. Clueless. If I can share some advice. Waiters and waitresses are necessary for a great experience. Do not rely only on the food to make people happy. The taste can turn sour when your...