123 Main Mexico — Restaurant in Pineville

This restaurant is definitely and easily a criminal enterprise given how they are shaking people down!! Very poor service—there were two tables occupied in the whole restaurant and a gentleman sitting at the bar. Both of the tables had a family/party of three. Our table consisted of four of us. With this as the back drop, service was extremely slow and lazy—drinks (lemonade) glass was empty and a special request had to be made to get more lemonade. Asked for queso and that took ten minutes to bring—it wasn’t even enough for four people and didn’t taste anything like queso which in some restaurants comes standard with chips or a nominal cost. This one came out in piping hot though which I supposed is what made it cost $9!!! The food…ALL of it was bland and lacked taste or authenticity. The beans were hardly beans but rather bean soup, the tacos and fajita were extremely small and not fully cooked, the carne asada was the worst of all—Steak-umm for the win especially giving the price!! Ambience was depressing and lifeless…it just felt off and was very off-putting and filled with questions of why the place was so empty. Prices—OMG…I get the whole high end…trust me, I believe everyone else does too and have had a taste of it…but literally…taste was missing….but the price was definitely in full effect!! The fun part was when we got the checks….on our table of four, there were two pairs—so two checks each consisting of two people. Now, looking at almost $70 for a Mexican restaurant caught our attention and lead to us examining…and what we saw was a CC FEE at over 3% and SERVICE FEE at 20%. We kindly asked for explanation and the snarky waiter thought to go and bring the menu and present to us where it was 20% gratuity for 5 or more adults and $120 per tabs. Well, there were four of us and my tab, since I was one of the two couples picking up our tab for the pair was about $70…this snarky waiter seriously attempted to change the definition of TABS and said that TABS was TABLE so therefore the 20% was valid. Furthermore in this shakedown, it was made clear that we were paying with cash….so why was the CC FEE applicable?!! At any rate, we asked for both the CC and SERVICE FEES to be removed as a party of five was not present and the Table, I mean TABS were truly TABS and neither of the TABS was the TABLE. TIPS are earned based on how satisfied the patron/customer is with any one aspect or all aspects of their visit and experiences…not mandated and forced on simply because someone shows up in a group of 5 adults or more. The idea that a family (mom/dad and 3 kids) showing up can be surcharged 20% because they crossed some arbitrary dollar amount is scary!!

In the end, it became super clear and obvious why the place was empty—many people, whether they speak on it or not or share their experiences, they are not returning customers to be had yet again! They can have their crinkly fries and bland foods/meats, onions packed dishes and undercooked tortillas and soupy...

It kind of felt like we way overpaid for a typical mexican dinning experience. The price really isn’t reflected in the food or service. Two of the best restaurants in the city are right across the street, and at a cheaper price point. My experience was really more of a 2 star but I get they are new and it can take time to get up to speed. I hope they can work it out.

Pros: Lots of parking. Cool ambience inside. Staff were friendly. Chips and Salsa were good. Heated patio dining area looked nice.

Cons: The price isn’t reflective in the amount of food. Rice and beans are so cheap…there’s no reason for the portion of those sides on a $22 plate to be so small. My steak quesadilla (although cooked well) was maybe 3oz of steak and what felt a full raw bell pepper inside with very little cheese. Way too much pepper for a quesadilla and it needs to be cooked, or cooked longer. It’s not going to heat up enough inside the tortilla.

The cheese dip tasted okay but nothing really special. It also needs to be served hotter…it was already clumped together when it came to the table and just warm.

Our server was attentive and friendly but he couldn’t understand us. Our drink and food orders were both wrong.

The cocktails need some work. You’re putting way too much tajin on the margarita rim. Mine had enough for at least 5 margaritas. A huge chunky amount, making it impossible to just take a little with a sip.

Second drink was wrong again but after sending back food and the first drink, I just kept it. No idea what it was, I think our receipt said Fig something, but was supposed to be a pain killer. It had salt all the way down one side of a highball glass. You should leave room on narrow glassware for holding so I don’t have to put my hand in sticky salt to drink.

Not sure if I’d...

We waited two weeks after the grand opening to give them time to sort things out but the place still needs a lot of work. The good: the margs were quite good and should be for the price. The asada and fish tacos were tasty. They brought our kids their food sooner than the adult entrees which was good because the adults waited close to an hour. Indoor atmosphere is good with potential to be great. It was a little too warm for the patio but I love a good patio space and hope to try it next time. What needs work: Service was subpar, overall slow and attention to detail lacking. We finished our basket of chips quickly (four of us devouring them) and it took a bit for a refill but right after that our salsa ran out with no offer to refill. Our drinks took about twice as long as they should have to get to us. Kid food came out about 30 minutes after ordering. One adult entree came out about 10 minutes after that and then the second adult entree five minutes later. While we’re waiting for the food, we’re watching elaborate dishes come out of the kitchen for multiple photo shoots for what must be marketing content. It felt very much like they were more concerned with marketing demands than pleasing customers, which is a big miss considering happy customers leaving good reviews is your best form of marketing. Music was a little too loud and the TVs were playing random YouTube videos. Felt like things were in place to operate a nice restaurant but the experience and application to do it well is lacking. We really want this place to improve and succeed and will give it another try after a couple months. I hope the manager or owner gets some experienced restaurant consulting by then to make some needed...