El patrón Grill & Bar — Restaurant in Ocala

I really hate leaving negative reviews. But honesty is key when doing them. My wife and I went to eat here and were thoroughly disappointed. We got the queso with meat and it was the only good thing we had. The food took WAY longer than it should. One dish came out barely warm, so the answer was to stick it back in the microwave. The texture of what we had were both the same, which led us to believe that they had just been microwaved after they died in the expo window.

Service was horribly slow. In close to an hour and a half there, we had two refill offers, with one being at the time the check was dropped. After the food was dropped it was fifteen to twenty minutes before the first check back on how we were doing. That's when the microwave came into play. That even seemed like it was a chore.

The interior is as cookie cutter as every other Mexican restaurant in Ocala other than Hacienda and Azul Tequila. The booths look the same. The decor is the same. The colors are all the same. It's not an original addition in a city where everything is like everything else in many cases.

The other thing is the lack of margaritas or any bar service. There was no indication when we arrived or were seated. Now there is a sign outside, but we were sadly disappointed when my wife and I were looking forward to it, only to be told they do not have a liquor license.

In all honestly, this is a place we will likely not visit again. If my wife wants a meaty queso, we will go back. But short of that, the restaurant just fell short in everything. The most attentive service came at the time the check was dropped and it was time to leave a tip.

Our experience was not...

My mom and I came here by accident. We were planning to go to our usual favorite Mexican Restaurant, but we just happened to be shopping in this plaza and we were getting tired and "Hangry," and we noticed the restaurant at the end of the plaza and decided to try it. I love trying new restaurants, but I am EXTREMELY PICKY about Mexican restaurants, and this place definitely made me happy. 1. The chips and salsa were on point!! I loved the salsa! 👍 2. The menu had a lot of the same (which i like) but also a lot of different choices. I love the huge variety on the menu! 👍 👍 The service was EXCELLENT! The waitress was absolutely amazing and I was very impressed. I wish i could remember her name for this review. 👍 👍 👍 Most importantly, the main dish we picked was the best part. My mother and I chose the same dish...Enchiladas Especiales. Fyi... I've never seen my mother eat everything off her plate before... EVER! She ALWAYS takes food home for leftovers or for my dad to snack on. She ate EVERYTHING and I was afraid she'd start eating off MY plate lol.

Ps...I saw a sign saying they will be able to serve drinks soon... which will be nice bc I do love a good margarita...

I will start with the positive. The service was excellent. The restaurant was very clean with the employees constantly tidying up when they were not busy.

Regarding the atmosphere, I only rated this as 4 stars because I noticed the little things that sort of junked up the decor. The walls were painted, but not enough paint to cover what was underneath and the trim wasn't done. It just looked a little tacky to me.

Now for the negative. The food was horrible. I ordered a beef burrito and an enchilada with red mole sauce. The sauce was brown and had a very nasty after taste. The rice was very good as were the beans and cheese (pintos). The black beans looked like diarrhea. Very unappetizing. I wish I had taken pictures.

The waitress noticed that I didn't eat my food and asked what was wrong. I told her I wasn't a fan of the mole sauce. She graciously brought me another dish and this time they covered my items in a white cheese sauce. Again, it had a very nasty after taste.

So, unfortunately, we will not be going back. It was a one and...