La Lupe Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Pompano Beach

Came in yesterday to grab takeout for cinco de mayo with my brother around 7:30pm. Not sure if what we experienced was outright terrible customer service or blatant racism.

We sat at the end of the bar near the kitchen and 3 servers were right in front of us. To be fair they all seemed busy, but keep reading..

A woman walked up and was immediately assisted for her inquiry of her takeout order. A male walked up after her and was assisted, then lastly a different woman came and was helped. All 3 were white or Hispanic. We are sitting right there in front of the servers while this is going on in front of our face, still unassisted without even being offered a menu or addressed at this point.

The waitress who assisted the 3 individuals then walks off to go help someone else and I ask her “Is anyone going to help us?” She says yes then proceeds to walk off to give someone a beer at the bar and gets in a lengthy conversation with them. Completely rude and so distasteful especially because I’ve spent money there before and we were patiently waiting. Even the first woman who walked up was standing at the wall not far from us, observed the whole thing and had a disappointed look on her face.

I occasionally come and grab takeout because it’s always pretty empty but this will be the last time.

Anyway, at that point we walked out and left and decided to spend our money elsewhere where our business is appreciated. We are black obviously. I’m a hard working educated woman. This experience hurt my feelings and honestly made me feel bad. Can’t tell if it was sht service, racism, or both - but unacceptable and way you view it.

Instead of coming here, check out Taqueria Don Raquel 5 minutes down the street on Dixie highway. It’s a super affordable authentic Mexican restaurant. When we went to grab takeout there afterwards we saw a live cinco de mayo dance performance by young girls dressed up in traditional Mexican dresses and a young man in a cowboy hat. Was a 10/10 experience to see just grabbing food. Please don’t give these people...

BEFORE ANYONE QUESTIONS ME- there is a reason and I will be explaining I promise.

My husband, who is a veteran, and I decided to try a new mexican restaurant after moving out here so we decided to come here because the pictures made it look good. and it was

We got 2 waters and 2 chimichangas. The food came out quick but the service was just not there. We believe tips are EARNED not just given. Why tip a service that wasn’t great? To me that makes no sense.

We finish our food and asked if they had military discount, she said yes and then walks away. Cool no problem. Comes back and asks for proof of service, like WHAT? Questioning his service irritates him when he OPENLY displays his service. Luckily, his diver’s license has veteran status on it and has his DD214 on his phone. So questioning his service and the lack of tip worthy customer service she didn’t get a tip.

Time to check out-

She hands him the POS and he put “no tip” and the server has the AUDACITY to ask if a tip was going to be in cash.

After working in customer service since I’ve been working I have an expectation of customer service. Everyone expects a tip whether it is earned or not. That’s not how that works.

To say I’m baffled is an understatement. I’m in complete shock. How are you going to ask if you are going to get a tip in cash if you didn’t earn it to be on the card?

The food and quality was pretty good. The service is what leaves me with a 2 star. I don’t really ever publicly leave reviews.

I understand that there are a lot of people who just want the discount to not pay the whole price and that is down right wrong. But if you walk in and OPENLY display you are a veteran there should be no reason to ask for proof.

Needless to say, if you aren’t going to leave a tip for whatever reason be prepared to be questioned. If you were in the military and served, thank you! But be prepared...

Unless you're without transportation and truly have no other dining choices, I strongly suggest staying away from this restaurant. I visited today and was immediately put off by how unclean the place felt. I ordered a glass of ice water, and it arrived warm, without ice, and served in a visibly dirty glass.

I’ve had plenty of al pastor tacos over the years, but what I was served here ranks among the worst. The meat was unidentifiable—overcooked, then seemingly re-fried in oil, leaving it greasy and unappetizing. It tasted just as bad as it looked: every bite came with a strong, unpleasant aftertaste. If I hadn’t been dining with family, I would have sent it back immediately.

To make matters worse, no silverware was provided, no chips and salsa were brought to the table, and there wasn’t even salsa available for the tacos—something that should be a basic offering at any Mexican restaurant.

The lack of care in both the food and service makes me seriously question the management of this place. If there’s any genuine effort to represent Mexican cuisine here, it’s completely missed the mark.

Check out the photo I posted with this review—you can see for yourself just how unappetizing the pastor...