Emiliano's Mexican Cuisine — Restaurant in Olathe

Not Worth the Attitude: Emiliano’s Needs a Lesson in Hospitality

We genuinely liked Emiliano’s Mexican Cuisine in Olathe and had been looking forward to another good meal there — but a ridiculous interaction with the manager over a simple coupon completely ruined it for us.

First, credit where it’s due: the food does have its highlights. The Cream Cheese Enchiladas were fabulous — two flour tortillas filled with nicely grilled chicken and smothered in a rich, heavy cream cheese sauce that hits all the comfort-food buttons. If you want something indulgent, this dish is absolutely worth ordering. The beans that came with it were ranchero style — more chili-like than the typical refried beans you’d expect. Some folks might like that heartier texture, but I prefer the traditional style as a side for enchiladas.

We also tried the taco salads for lunch and dinner on different visits. Both times, the flavor was fine but the portions of lettuce were just stingy. Just disappointingly skimpy for something that’s supposed to be a salad. For the price you’re paying, you’d expect a generous bed of lettuce to hold all the toppings.

To be fair, our server was fantastic — friendly, attentive, and genuinely made us feel welcome. Unfortunately, the manager’s attitude about a perfectly valid coupon erased all that goodwill in seconds. We had a Kansas City ValuMail coupon for free queso with the purchase of two entrées — it’s right there on KCValuMai's website , completely legitimate. But the manager didn't want to honor it because it wasn’t printed out. He actually told us, “You could come in every day and we’d be giving away free queso,” like we were trying to scam him for a few ounces of cheese. Newsflash: you still have to buy two entrées — that’s the whole point of a coupon.

If you don’t want to accept digital coupons, don’t let ValuMail post them online. Call Bill at Kansas City ValuMail and tell him you only want printed ads — but don’t scold paying customers for using what you put online. Absolutely unbelievable.

It’s frustrating because the food can be pretty good and the servers clearly work hard to give you a nice experience. But one manager’s condescending attitude was enough to make us rethink ever going back. Next time we’ll just use the Jose Pepper’s coupon — they do free queso too, but they honor it with a smile, not an argument about whether it’s printed.

Bottom line: the enchiladas are wonderful, the beans are more chili-like than traditional, the taco salads could use more lettuce, and the server was great. But the manager needs to learn that good hospitality is about respecting your customers — not acting like they’re out to rob you for queso. Head to Jose Pepper's they don;t argue with you over a...

We booked a reservation at 7pm for 5 people. We then told them when checking in we actually had 4 people. We arrived 5 minutes before our reservation to see a line of people. We waited for around 40 minutes outside, seeing those who were walking in getting seated before us. We were then told that they do not hold reservations and that it's only first come first serve. We were told we were next, then we saw someone else got our table before we did. We then were told that the host mis clicked for paging us. They got a table cleared for us around 7:50pm and sat us down. We were met with chips and salsa. A LOT of it. We were confused why they sat us at two tables that had 8 seats when we were just 4. The lady took our drink orders, she then brought them back. Then ran off. My dad's margarita was supposed to be frozen, it came watery and melted. We didn't complain as we were there for food. We were confused why she didn't ask us for our order so we waited. It wasn't till around 8:20pm that we got asked if more people were coming. We were VERY confused as to what is going on. Then she asked if it was a party of 7 people. We were confused cause our reservation was ALWAYS at 7 and for 5 people which we corrected to 4. We ordered our food which took awhile to come out. My partner was given something that Was not his. We mentioned this and the waitress found another of the same order and gave it to him. Fajitas were interesting. They were on a bed of onions with each piece of chicken and steak individually spaced and placed horizontal. Then two slices of bell pepper. My mother and I asked for no beans, which our waitress understood, but we ended up getting on plate with beans.

While waiting for the food we started sweating. Like dripping sweat sweating. The building was super hot, and the waitress agreed, many others were dripping sweat as well.

They gave us a free serving of Flan because of the issues, but we were too full to really enjoy it. We waited for our food for so long. We expected a cut of a meal item on our bill.

We...

We stopped in for lunch and ordered the ground beef taco salad, which was served in a massive, crispy taco bowl that was honestly the highlight of the dish—perfectly fried, golden, and sturdy enough to hold everything without getting soggy. The flavor overall was really good. The ground beef was seasoned well, rich and savory, and paired nicely with the other toppings.

The salad itself came with a solid mix of ingredients: charro beans, guacamole, sour cream, shredded cheese, diced tomatoes, and crunchy tortilla strips. Each bite had a good variety of textures and flavors, from creamy to crispy to tangy. Everything was fresh and well-balanced.

The only real downside was the amount of lettuce—it was surprisingly minimal, especially given how large the taco bowl was. For something called a salad, we expected a more generous base of greens to help balance the heavier ingredients. It almost felt like the lettuce was more of a garnish than a main component.

That said, we enjoyed the dish overall and would order it again, but we’d definitely love to see a bit more lettuce next time to make the most of that...