Ixtapa Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Philomath

I was informed by a local that their service is "lousy". I wanted to really find out for myself because I didn't believe it. I don't ever fall for "ph maybe it's my skin color". Well, I can't say for certain what it is, whether it's small tips or skin color, but I can say for certain that compared to what I need and compared to every restaurant I have ever been to: the service here is the worst! There is no service worse than at Ixtapa in Philomath. You never have enough time to ask for a second napkin before they interrupt and run away and even if you are able to ask, you won't get that napkin for minutes to ten minutes or more! Same goes for anything: they'd rather streamline their trips to and from the kitchen so if you ask for a second salsa, you'll be done or almost done with your only salsa before they even consider bringing you another, even if you ask before you touch the salsa! I have been to countless places that don't hesitate to make these small requests a serious priority. But here at Ixtapa, you are waiting forever on everything. They go as far as trying to delay as much as possible before even asking and handing you a bill. I waited 20 minutes one day just for the server to NOTICE me, and then it took however much longer just to ask, and then longer to get me the bill! Why are these people so clumsy, especially when it's not even busy? They'd rather chit chat and gossip and tell the new employees to just smile and be friendly, but you know there is something wrong and biased when the staff are complacent and careless at everything! The food is absolutely incredible. There is seemingly no grease, and it all tastes better than some Mexican restaurants I've been to, but the service is beyond horrendous! This is so disgraceful, you even see individuals at the door meandering their way into the restaurant because the staff are too busy talking to each other or trying to ignore their guests. Had I not been told this service was awful, I would have been much more upset! I came into this with low expectations, and came out having experienced the worst restaurant crew of all the restaurants I have ever been to. I don't even see the waiters washing their hands after they've handled the food other people have consumed, before they come back and hand you more food or even takeout boxes. The lack of attention to detail here is astounding, and makes this place a one-time stop and shop you'll never return to. Taste and enjoy the amazing food, but don't come back if you want incompetent servers more invested in unimportant matters than bringing you what should have already been made available! One napkin is not enough, the salsa serving size is too small (need two sizes), and while the food comes out very fast on slow days, I would never want to visit this place if there was more than a handful of couples or individuals. I have come in every time there were few people. Even when it's just me and a couple others, the service is just as slow and agonizing. I don't even understand why these people work here if they don't care to be passionate about their work. I would fire this restaurant crew in an instant if I had the choice. Not worth it here. Go elsewhere and have good service where they don't waste your time! Furthermore, you won't be nearly as thirsty elsewhere as this food is...

-Cold tortillas served w/ fajitas that hardly had any meat, what meat was on the plate looked dehydrated (over cooked?) My husband picked at his plate but didn’t eat much.

-We received 3 of 4 meals ordered so our son had to wait 15 min after we got our entrees to get his, there was no explanation or apology given.

-Our waitress wasn’t friendly when asking about menu items, I was ordering something I wasn’t familiar with and inquired if it came with chicken, she nodded then said under her breath, “it’s always chicken.”

-No fault of the restaurant but the couple seated right behind us was arguing, complaining about prices and adding up how much they had already spent when considering ordering another beer, and the man (50’s) was talking about fighting someone. There was only 1 other group in the restaurant (not busy!) spacing the tables out would have been nice especially so we didn’t have to listen to all of that while eating lunch with our children.

The prices definitely don’t reflect quality or service. I’ve dined at other Ixtapa restaurants with far better experiences. I still tipped the waitress 15% as I know times have been tough and the table behind us probably tipped next to nothing. Having previously been in the service industry for 15+ years, a smile and genuinely caring about your guests experience goes a long way! We will not give it another chance as it’s not worth the 45 min drive to find out if they were...

The service was good and the menu was pretty diverse. The house made chips were good but really needed salt. The house made salsa was very good. I'm leaving three stars because my burrito (the house special "Ixtapa" was really just barely okay. It's pretty big, and the ingredients in it tasted okay, but the assembly of it was really terrible. On one end was seasoned rice, which tasted fine, then about a third of the way it was seasoned chicken, which again tasted fine. On the far end if the burritos were beans, which again tasted fine. None of it tasted great, the problem is I don't want to eat rice, chicken and beans separately as I eat the burrito. It would have been much better if the ingredients had all been combined within the burrito. I'd give this place a second chance, but wouldn't get their signature...