Mamacita’s Sports Cantina — Restaurant in Richmond

Starting with the food. It is pretty good, better than most Mexican places I have been too around here. I got the Arzzo Del Rey, rice with steak, chicken and chorizo and black beans. It was good, but over cooked and dry. My boyfriend got the Lomo De Cerdo, pulled pork over rice and black beans, again dry and over cooked, but still not bad. I might try something with sauce next time. The decor is cute and it is a small place so it fills up fast. Has a great happy hour, but I would stay away from the frozen stuff. So when we went there tonight there were two bartenders, or maybe a bartender and a bar back. Maybe 20-24 chairs, doable with a good bartender. There were tables around it, maybe 4/5 and I am not sure who had them. The room we were in had 1 server, Yabom (My receipt looks like they are running out of inc so if I am wrong I appologize). She had the whole room. All 12 tables 2 6 tops a couple 4s and 2s. She didn't use a book and got everything right. She was amazing. She also was the host. Now I guess there was suppose to be another server and she was running late, but the manager, at least what me and my group could see, didn't seem as involved. She was running food, but we didn't see her to often and bussed once in a while. When she did come out she rarely had a tray to clear tables as she went back to help the server and we didn't see her very often. Idk if there was something horrible in the kitchen, but our server did amazing for the lack of support. At the end when I was trying to tell her how great our server was she made the excuse that the other server spent 40 minutes looking for parking. I didn't care to hear it. There is no host, runner/busser or 3rd server scheduled. The bar was full, the dining room full and people standing to sit. It was packed. Obviously they are short staffed. The server again is awesome, food is pretty good and drink specials awesome. I will...

Me and 3 friends attended yesterday afternoon for a nice drink after eating at another restaurant. I had been there once and wanted my friends to try their delicious frozen margaritas. Two of my friends ordered quickly while me and my other friend were still deciding. We all ordered shots and were having a great time. That's when things started to go sour. My friends both found dirt in their glasses and asked for them to be cleaned and remade. The bartender was very sweet and did it without push back. Then all of a sudden the music becomes so loud that you can barely even hear yourself think! We asked the bartender to turn it down a little. Even the guests behind us were complaining at this point. She proceeds to tell us that the owner had just walked in and turned it up (as if that was relevant), but that she would ask. Instead of just doing it, she sends the owner over to us. We tell him the same, "the music is a little loud, can you turn it down?". He proceeds to tell us "that's the best kind!". My friend then says, "we know its a bar, but it's not a club. We want to be able to hear each other talk." He continues to brush it off and make excuses for it instead of just doing what his paying customers are asking! The customers behind us express to him how it is too loud at this point as well and he still is smirking and making excuses. We decided to pay for the shots and go somewhere else. Customer service starts with the owner, and he's not doing a very good job. Might as well patronize a chain...

My boyfriend and I stopped in for a quick drink. I moved to Church Hill a few months back and we have been trying to visit new-to-us spots. Service wasnt all that friendly at first, but once we ordered cocktails the one bartender that did pay any attention to us, seemed to soften up a little. A little. As someone in the service industry, I didnt think they were busy enough for the service to be as slow as it was. Then again, I don't know how this bar operates. I'm going to chalk it up to a bad day for everyone behind the bar, and I'd like to give it another chance. Based on other reviews, I'm hesitant to try the food, but the cocktails we had were good. (Red sangria- I think out of the bottle, and a margarita that was good but not your typical margarita. I appreciated the fresh squeezed lime juice and lack of sour mix but it was heavy on triple sec and sprite. Still tasty.)

Oh and they definitely auto grat every single ticket so if you dont want to tip more than 18%, be sure to review your bill. 20% is "standard" these days, so I always leave at least a little more for decent service and much more for great to...