Berta's Mexican Buffet — Restaurant in Oklahoma City

First visit in. We chose the 29th Street location as it was recommended to me but they have a second location not far away on Penn. which we will try next time. Anyway, the 29th Street location is in a fairly nondescript building on a street lined with mostly used car lots and tire sales, but don't let the exterior fool you because it's inside that hides the good stuff. We were there early at just a few minutes before 5:00 on a Friday and were the only patrons at first. The buffet was full and ready to go. Not leftovers from the earlier service. We tried almost everything on there except for stuff like salad and a salsa and ceviche. The food is authentic Mexican. Not Tex-Mex. Apparently the buffet is different each day but this visit we had cheese enchiladas (the red sauce was nice. Not canned tasting like some places.) Then there were several guisos of different meats. Pork, beef, and chicken. Delicious all. There was also a ground beef and potato dish that I couldn't get enough of! The Chicken soup was very tasty and even the rice and beans were good enough to mention. Just all really good, Mexican home cooking basically. Comfort food for sure and with a drink (the horchata is actually pretty good. Not homemade, I don't think but if they are using a package mix, they don't skimp on it at least!) it came to about $17 bucks. For all you can eat, delicious, authentic Mexican food in a nice, clean atmosphere? You can't beat that! The server doesn't speak much English but we managed to muddle through with our limited Spanish and she was very nice and attentive and once she brought our drinks, she left us alone to eat and talk and only came back when she saw we were done and cleared the table. Perfect. We actually went to their competitor (the other Mexican buffet place in town. Not Berta's second location) first, but now that we've been to both places, they each have their own respective thing(s) that make them worth going to. So we've just decided that from now on, instead of having to make the hard choice, we're just going to go one place this time and the other next and just go back and forth like that. That's called a WIN/WIN...lol! Several other reviews say that Berta's has been being kept secret by the locals and apparently it's true and while I will typically take a secret that I share in to my grave, I WILL NOT be keeping Berta's a secret! See...

I have visited Berta's 4 times in just slightly over a year; each visit has been progressively worse. The quality of the food, the service and even the things one should generally take for granted have disappeared. Tonight's visit has ultimately brought my willingness to settle for what this restaurant offers to an end.

I always felt that the caldo de res was worth any amount of other sub-par food, but tonight, the caldo didn't have even the hint of actual meat, beyond the flavor of the broth. It was completely disappointing, and even though it was being eaten, and replenished occasionally, no meat ever appeared

I have come to expect a variety of dishes at Berta's; enough to satisfy my curious palate, still, tonight's dinner had only some decent red chile to keep my interest, and not for long.

So, the caldo de res was sad, the flautas seemed to contain a filling of mashed potatoes, the flan isn't so much a wonderful custard and caramel sauce dessert, as much as it was an opaque gelatin soaked in a sugary brown liquid. Maybe I've been spoiled by some truly excellent flan, but this stuff was just pathetic. I wasn't even offered tortillas to accompany my meal, nor were my empty plates removed at all!

Bottom line? I will not return to this restaurant, unless I find out that things have...

I will not be coming back to this place!! They spoke no English, so no communication between us and staff. Could hardly order a drink! They didn't tell us how much is was when we asked and just told us to grab plates.. they charged at the end and without a single word.. $48.88 for 2 people to eat!!! The receipt had no break down of cost... For me to literally eat 2 potato taqititos and some rice and beans and a horchata drink... Regret even walking into this place.

**Added after the owner left a comment about "lies".. there is a picture of our "detailed receipt" on the review.. and it just had a total of 48.88 with no break down.. that's hilarious.. obvious bullshit! I had a shorter lady who couldn't hardly take our drink order.. and then didn't speak to us for the rest of our experience there. I think it's kind of funny that their response was to call a paying customer WITH A RECEIPT a liar BECAUSE THEY ARE...