Casa Ole' — Restaurant in Pasadena

I have always loved casa Ole. But the last two times I've come in I have been extremely disappointed. The food is always great but the service is very lacking. I go in today at 12:00 by myself. I am wearing extremely casual wear AKA could pass for pajamas because I work 60 hours a week and I was just trying to go and have lunch by myself before getting ready for work. The server comes and I give her my drink order and my lunch order and she brings me chips. I do not see her again for 30 minutes. As a former server, I understand that sometimes a table can be forgotten if you're busy. But she was not busy. I look over several times and she's visiting with her tables so I flag her down and ask if I could get my drink because my chips are empty and I haven't seen her in 30 minutes. She apologized and brought me a drink within 5 to 10 minutes. I asked for a straw and she said she'll be right back. As a former server, when I do realize I have forgotten a table, I'm in a mad rush to make sure that they're taking care of. I look over again 5 minutes later and she is visiting with the same table. It's just a straw! And lunch is normally served very very quick because people are on a schedule to get back to work or in my case to get to work. So after waiting, never getting a straw never getting my lunch I go up and speak with the manager. The reason I give two stars is because the manager was nice. He asked me if he could get me anything to go. I thanked him I just wanted to know if I needed to pay for the drink that I finally got. It was just disappointing because the same thing happened last time I came in. I won't be coming in for a while. Hopefully there will be a new rotation of servers next time I do. My standards aren't super high because I know stuff happens. But I also know that servers are capable of doing...

Casa Ole is a family favorite. We've been eating Casa Ole together as a family for almost 40 years. I used to have dinner at Casa Ole with my best friend and her family when we were in middle and high school. I married her brother and still think of the casa ole dinners we had way way before even thinking about each other in a romantic way. Those dinners with my mother in law before she was that are priceless. We miss her now, too. So many great memories then. It was a treat from her to take us all out to Casa Ole, and it's just stay a tradition without even trying. Have had countless meals with my mother here, as well. We would hot up casa ole for birthdays and any special day together. Sure, miss her, but casa ole will always be a fond spot to remember all the great meals together. My son loves Casa Ole, and when I was pregnant with my daughter, it's all I craved. I mean, I ate Casa Ole at least twice a week pregnant, having that craving. Now my kids are adults and I've been married 30 years and casa ole is still a must have. We tend to enjoy us some enchiladas at home now with the delivery services. It's always delivered perfectly. I'll still go eat at the restaurant now and then, but this is usually with my son. It's nice to have a go-to spot that everyone loves and knows.

I really appreciate Casa Ole being consistent and providing great food and great service. Also, I don't know why, but Casa Ole has always had the best fountain Coca Cola ever. Always!

So if you want to have some delicious texmex that everyone will enjoy looking no further than Casa Ole. You must try the chips and queso. There, queso is so creamy...

The worst service I have EVER had.

It was fairly early in a Saturday night and they were not very busy. We were seated immediately, but after waiting 10 min (no exaggeration!) I had to go ask the hostess for a server. We finally ordered and the server brought the queso, chips, and salsa. Someone else brought out our food and our server eventually passed by to make sure the food came out and to get a drink refill. She explained that she was covering a room on the other side of the restaurant which, I suppose, was expected to excuse the fact that she never came by again to check on us. We assumed she would eventually come so we waited... and waited. 40 min later I finally had to ask the hostess for containers and our check which was delivered by a guy in a track suit.

When I went to pay, the cashier asked how everything was. She sensed my hesitation and asked if I'd like to speak to the manager. I never complain about service or food, but THIS was truly unacceptable so I agreed. Turned out, the manager was the guy that brought our check. He listened to what I had to say with the obligatory "sorry... it will be better next time" and appeared taken aback when the cashier asked him if she should take anything off the bill. Because he was put on the spot, he took off $5 and walked away. The purpose of talking to the manager was never to get free food. I expected him to care about the customers' experience. However, the only person that seemed to care at all was the cashier!

So in the end, no matter how much I like Casa Ole's food, there are too many other Mexican restaurants to choose from to...