F&D Cantina — Restaurant in Orlando

Meagan,

I wanted to share a follow up on the experience my family and I had on Sunday, April 13 at 1pm. The communication prior to our arrival was decent. I shared my family of 11 would be attending to celebrate my dad’s 70th birthday so I expected good service given the occasion.

Upon arrival at 1:14, I received a cancellation for my reservation while more than half of my party was seated. I brought my father in later as this was a surprise, but also because it takes him some time to walk a few blocks with his Parkinson’s disease.

We weren’t greeted for a few minutes which was understable because I saw the restaurant had been busy. The greeter later showed up and asked if we had reservations, but wasn’t pleasant and walked towards the table without saying anything like “this way” or “follow me” so we just followed.

Later, our waiter Andres M came to get drink orders. He seemed to also be having a bad day or an attitude with our table as we saw him very chatty and smiling with his coworkers. We asked for straws and he claimed you ran out. All the while my mom had spotted stacks at the bar. With PD, it’s hard to drink from a glass.

When our apps arrived, another server spilled red salsa on my seat, my sisters feet and the floor. No one returned to clean it up, apologize or replenish the salsa.

The waiter didn’t provide any menu recommendations and wasn’t knowledgeable on the new menu that was released.

We received our lunch meals in waves so two family members ate last while we sat around waiting. We also had to ask multiple times to clear the tables as the plates were stacking up.

It was just an overall miserable lunch and I’m not sure where it went downhill. I expected a lot more based on the google reviews and even a happy birthday from the server. We walked away with the food being OK and the service being absolutely horrible.

We won’t be returning and I’ll be sharing a post. I’d recommend retraining some of your staff. Orlando is known for its hospitality and this was just an unfortunate experience. Not a great lasting impression.

Please provide better service to your next guests. Especially whenever 22% gratuity is added to the check without any notice when making...

First time in. Came with co-workers for lunch after watching a highlight of the restaurant on Channel 13. I Initially looked at the menu online and everything sounded really good, so I had a hard time choosing what I wanted.

As we walked up, one of the employees took out the board advertising their birria and "New vegan dishes are OTW." I made a mental note and decided that birria was going to be my choice for lunch.

The place is pretty big, not super bright, but not dark either. The decoration is beautiful and the dining area doesn't feel crowded, even with the bar at close proximity from where we sat.

My co-workers ordered their lunches and I very excitedly ordered birria only to be told that they were not available. I was like; "I literally just saw you put the board outside, which clearly advertises the birria." That threw me completely off, so I hastily just ordered barbacoa tacos. One of my co-workers ordered the Cuatro Dips, which she ordered with barbacoa, red salsa, queso, and guacamole. The chips were great. I really liked the seasoning, the queso is one of the best I've ever had, but the barbacoa and guacamole tasted bland to me. The guacamole literally tasted like plain mashed avocado.

My barbacoa tacos tasted pretty much the same, with the exception of the pickled onion on top. Not bad, but nothing to write home about. The rice was good, but I would probably offer a spoon to scoop it out of the little bowl. It was a little challenging to get in there with the fork.

For desert, I got the churros, which were really good, I just wasn't crazy about the raspberry dipping sauce, which I think may have been yogurt-based. That is simply because I'm not a fan of raspberries to begin with. The chocolate dipping sauce was ok, but I'm a dulce de leche with my churros guy.

With that said... I would love to come in for drinks at some point in the near future. Looks like the atmosphere would be great for an afternoon after work.

UPDATE: Went back for lunch and had the birria. Much better experience than...

Disappointing Experience at FD Cantina in Thornton Park!!

My recent visit to FD Cantina in Thornton Park left much to be desired. The service level was far below expectations, starting with the agonizingly long wait for our food. Even when the dishes finally arrived, they were brought out haphazardly, leaving several of us waiting while others were served.

Our server, Josh, seemed inexperienced and unprepared. When we requested milk for our coffee, he fumbled and claimed uncertainty about its availability. Basic condiments like salt and pepper had to be requested multiple times, highlighting a lack of attention to detail.

Adding to the frustration, advertised items from their Instagram were nowhere to be found on the brunch menu, showcasing a disconnect between marketing and reality. Despite expressing my disappointment to the server, the manager failed to make an appearance, further underscoring the establishment's disregard for customer satisfaction.

To make matters worse, FD Cantina had the audacity to include an automatic gratuity for our party of five, despite the abysmal service we received. It's incomprehensible that they would impose such a charge when our dissatisfaction was evident. This was by far the worst service I've ever encountered, and it's clear that customer satisfaction means nothing to them.

As if the numerous disappointments weren't enough, even basic requests like sugar were met with uncertainty from our server. It's baffling how a restaurant can operate with such disregard for its patrons' needs and preferences. Needless to say, I am thoroughly disillusioned with FD Cantina and will be sharing my negative experience with others.

Overall, my experience at FD Cantina was marred by poor service and a failure to deliver on advertised offerings. I won't be returning...