Mi Puebla Restaurant — Restaurant in Ogden

BEWARE OF OVERCHARGE and AWFUL SERVICE! DINE SOMEWHERE ELSE! For an explanation of these things and alternative dining options, read on! NOTE: THEY WILL INCREASE THEIR TIP AMOUNTS, REGARDLESS OF WHAT YOU WRITE DOWN! (It's the manager/owner, Jose, who is doing it!)

I went here with a friend on 3/25/16 at 9:10pm. It was by the far the worst service and dining experience that I've ever had at any restaurant. Up until now I was a frequent customer here for years and often sung its praises to my friends and family, but I no longer see that happening. My friend and I entered the restaurant, and because of its self-seating nature, we found ourselves at our usual booth. I waved at the servers to indicate that we were here and within a couple minutes, she took our order. It wasn't a particularly difficult order, 12 tacos and waters for a drink which rounds out to about a $15 total with tip included. In about 10 minutes, we received our chips and salsa (it's a complimentary service that they provide), no problem thus far. Also, note that the restaurant was NOT particularly busy with clientele seated occupying less than 30% of the available tables. There were three servers and the manager as well on staff. A family and a couple sat near us and ordered similar orders about 15-20 min after we took our orders. At this point, we've been there for about 30 min and we still did not receive any WATER. I stood up and walked over to the open server area and even asked for some as well. After about 40 min of waiting, another server came by and asked if we were ready to order. When we told him, politely, that we have already ordered with another server. He immediately lost interest and walked away without a word, even after we asked if we could have some water. At the 45 min. mark, the tables around us already had their orders of tacos (note: that they were Latinos, so it could have possibly been a racial thing, but that's not the main focus here). Our SERVER was the one who served them! Meanwhile, I looked back trying to draw her attention but it appeared she was too busy looking at her phone. At the 55 min. mark, we received some water but not our food and the family and the people around us that WALKED in AFTER US had already finished eating their tacos! My friend decided to stand up and leave but I decided that I would at least try to be nice and pay for the one set of chips and salsa that we consumed. I walked up to pay and it cost $1.61 and I even added a $.39 tip to even out the cost to $2.00 even. I explained the situation to the manager calmly and he looked like he did not give a damn. Then I left. Today is Sunday, two days later and I noticed I was charged for $3.61! I have both copies of the receipt saying that I was correct in my calculations and that they overcharged me! After that kind of piss poor service they believed that they earned a $2.00 tip for $1.61 worth of chips and salsa and no water or tacos! PLEASE NOTE: BEWARE THAT THESE GUYS WILL OVERCHARGE YOU AND IT'S THE MANAGER/OWNER THAT'S DOING IT! CHECK YOUR RECEIPTS CAREFULLY AND COMPARE IT TO YOUR STATEMENT LATER ON! I've always been polite to my servers and have always tipped here and everywhere else, but this is simply ridiculous! It's not the amount that bothers me at all but rather the concept. I WILL NEVER COME BACK HERE OR RECOMMEND IT TO ANYONE EVER! I used to, for the past few years but these are the kind of scams, that people pull when they're not willing to work honestly for their money. I have been to all of the taco/Mexican restaurants in the area and I would recommend that you go to Uruapan on 29th and Grant, Paraiso's on 28th and Wall st. (It's a little blue shack), or Taco Taco which is only a couple blocks south on Washington Blvd. I am simply amazed at the lack of honesty after I was even willing to pay for the complimentary chips and salsa out of kindness! If I could give them 0 stars or even a negative...

If I could, I would give this place 10 stars! It's just THAT good!

As someone who has lived in Puebla, México for a couple of years, I can say without a doubt in my mind, that this place is as authentic as you can get!

When I first walked into this masterpiece of a restaurant, I inhaled through my nose and almost cried because it smelled EXACTLY like Puebla and I felt like I was back there. (Not like trash, but good, amazing, REAL Mexican food!) The atmosphere is exactly how it is in México, there's mariachi and cumbia music playing on the TV, the decor is unlike anyplace that serves Mexican food west of the rocky mountains, they have Poblano art all over the walls, and Mexican decor hanging by the ceiling.

Now, the best part, the FOOD! From the Cemitas, to the Mole Poblano, everything that I have had is exactly how it is in México and they are all DIVINE! It also doesn't hurt that the owners are from Puebla! Serena, one the owners, sticks to the absolute originality of the food and gets the best ingredients for it! They have plenty of drinks but also have half liter mexican cokes that I have not been able to find anywhere near me! The Jamaica is delicious and ice cold!

Everytime that my wife and I have gone there, their service is unbeaten! Roxana who took care of us was very attentive, polite, and helped us out quickly. Our food was prepared fast and it was fantastic!

I would recommend this restaurant to anyone and everyone, this is a...

Afuera llovía a cántaros y allí estaba yo, desafiando la tormenta con mi confiable mochila mojada. Cuando finalmente llegué al local de tacos, me miraron como si fuera una especie de superhéroe cazador de comida, listo para conquistar el mundo por comida para llevar. Tuve que aclararlos y hacerles saber que quería sentarme porque, ya sabes, ¡no quería que mis tacos para llevar se convirtieran en paletas heladas cuando llegara a casa!

Ahora, hablemos de los tacos en sí. Estaban deliciosos, mis papilas gustativas bailaban alegremente. Las salsas eran como pequeñas explosiones de fuegos artificiales de sabor y los ingredientes sabían frescos como una margarita. Pero, por desgracia, el servicio estaba tan confuso como la persona que me gusta de la secundaria tratando de resolver un problema de cálculo complejo. Y para empeorar las cosas, mi español está tan roto como un espejo roto.

¿Puedes creerlo? Me entregaron un menú en papel, solo para decirme que me conectara y lo leyera. Quiero decir, en serio, ¡decídete! Así que allí estaba yo, luchando por conseguir una barra de señal telefónica, tratando desesperadamente de descubrir qué pedir. Y justo cuando pensaba que estaba progresando, el servidor apareció mágicamente y ni siquiera había llegado al cuarto del menú todavía. ¡Habla de mal momento!

Para saciar mi sed, no me ofrecieron de beber en ningún momento. Pero bueno, me dieron papas fritas y salsa, así que tomé el asunto en mis propias manos y me embarqué en un viaje heroico hasta el refrigerador para tomar un refresco. Imagínese mi sorpresa cuando descubrí que no tenía un abridor de botellas y que solo el refresco me costó la friolera de $4, ¡lo que equivalía a dos tacos! Quiero decir, vamos, ¡no es como si el refresco viniera con una pajita bañada en oro y una serenata personal de una banda de mariachis!

Después de devorar mis tacos y luchar por abrir el caro refresco, llegó el momento de mirar la caja registradora y pagar. ¡Y vaya que me esperaba otro shock! ¿Diez dólares por un almuerzo de viernes antes de las cinco de la tarde? He estado en este lugar antes y déjame decirte que no necesitaba pedir una segunda hipoteca para comprar dos tacos por $1,50. Me sentí como si hubiera tropezado con un universo paralelo donde los tacos estaban hechos con lágrimas de unicornio y espolvoreados con polvo de hadas.

Para colmo de males, el servidor ni siquiera me agradeció por honrarlos con mi presencia. Entonces, siendo el alma educada que soy, me encargué de agradecerle y despedirme. ¿Pero sabes que? Este local de tacos no volverá a verme la cara. Hay muchos otros pequeños locales de tacos en Ogden que no me harán sentir como un pingüino socialmente incómodo.

Entonces, querido local de tacos, aquí tienes un consejo amistoso: capacita a tus camareros, porque ellos son los verdaderos héroes del mundo de los restaurantes. Sentirse bienvenido no debería ser tan raro como encontrar un trébol de cuatro hojas, y ciertamente no quiero volver a esa sensación incómoda de andar de puntillas. Y hablando de propinas, odio dar propinas del 20%, pero esta vez no tuve otra opción. Se lo debes a tus servidores, quienes diariamente libran una valiente batalla contra la confusión y la incomodidad.

Y esa, amigos míos, es la historia de mi aventura con los tacos que salió mal. Esperemos que el próximo local de tacos que visite sea más tranquilo y no me deje sintiéndome como una planta rodadora amante de los tacos...