Mi Cocina — Restaurant in Rockwall

As a small business owner and mother, I rarely get time to myself. One of my favorite ways to spend such time is by enjoying good food in a comfortable atmosphere and either reading, listening to a podcast, or casually catching up on emails. I decided to drop in to Mi Cocina on a Wednesday afternoon hoping for such a meal, and was sorely disappointed.

I understand that servers depend on check size for their tips, and that length of time at a table should be taken into account, which I typically do - provided I receive at least baseline service.

I was dining alone, and was placed at a two-top table. However, the table I was placed at was way off to the side, and was so close to a decorative brick wall that I had to move my chair out sideways just to not be bumping my arm against the wall while sitting (and I’m not a large person). While there were several other diners, it was by no means packed and multiple other tables were available. Then, being off to the side, did not have anyone acknowledge me for nearly 10 minutes after sitting. The first interaction I had was with a server that brought me chips and salsa. She smiled as she sat the chips on the table, but did not speak to me at all and quickly hurried off. I could not enjoy the chips and salsa yet, because I had no beverage. A few minutes later, a different server slowed down his walk past my table to ask “have you been helped?” and when I said no, he actually had to walk back toward my table, as he didn’t plan on stopping. He did not introduce himself, and just said “what would you like”. I ordered my drink, and then he said “and to eat”. Having had plenty of time without anyone checking on me, I did know what I wanted to order, and placed my order. I never saw that same server again.

A different person brought my drink. And yet another brought my food. Both did not say anything beyond “here ya go” (or similar). The next time anyone spoke to me was one I had eaten one of my two lunch menu tacos, maybe 5-6 minutes after receiving my food, when I had paused eating to respond to a text message. At that point I was asked “can I get you a box and your check?” I responded that I was still working. About 5 minutes later, nearly the minute after I finished my meal, yet another server came and offered to take my plate and bring me my check. At this point, it was clear that they wanted me out, so I agreed. At this point, my water was empty, but was not offered another water.

When my check arrived, I handed my card directly, and finalized the process.

Despite being ignored for nearly the first 10 minutes after I’d been seated, I ordered, was served, rushed into paying, and out of the building in less than 30 minutes. Not only was it not the relaxing, leisurely lunch I was looking for, it felt like they were actively trying to...

UPDATE I contacted them as they requested but still have not heard a word back. LOL

Horrible experience this evening. We get there about 9p (they close at 10p) and wait forever for our appetizer (and lemons for our drinks.) Then we wait and wait for our meal after tracking down our server to even place our meal order. We see our server just hanging out by the order entry computer doing nothing. Finally, I approach who I guess is the manager and he tells me they stop cooking at 9p so it will be fresh chicken when it comes out (good - it's fresh. Shouldn't it always be?) So, at 10p, they bring up the lights and start cleaning all around us. Still no food. Finally, when the meal came out, we just asked for a to-go box and left. Didn't even want to wait for dessert. So, I get they don't want to have a lot of leftover food. But it sure would have been nice for someone to tell us we would be sitting there staring at an empty table for 15 minutes. Also, we got the leftover chips, too. About the size of a nickle. Try scooping hot sauce with one of those babies. I would highly suggest they change their sign to "Open until 10p - Kitchen closes at 9p." Had we known we were going to be in the way, we would have gone somewhere else to eat. I get that everyone wants to go home, but to make a customer feel like they're just in the way isn't a good feeling for the customer. We used to eat there weekly, but service fell off and we stopped going there. Thought we would give it one more try tonight. Adios Mi Cocina! BTW - the manager called me "Mama." I'm not his mama and I found that...

My wife is a regular here and we had dinner there on 11/27/21 with three adults and two kids. We were seated almost immediately. Our server greeted us and right away I could tell he may have been new to the business. After we ordered, our food arrived promptly, then right next to us, our server was assigned a group of close to 15 people, a birthday party I think. After that, our server was clearly overwhelmed and we never saw him again.

At one point a different server checked on us, which was both thoughtful and awkward.

On the way out, our original server apologized for getting busy, again a nice gesture, but not good when your server acknowledges that he was not attentive. I stopped the floor manager while leaving and told him about our experience. He said they were fully staffed but acknowledged that he noticed our server "get busy" and kind of forget about us!

I applaud these folks for working on a busy Saturday night two days after Thanksgiving in order to make a living, but it's hard to tell if they were busy, under staffed, not capable, or what. Maybe have some help for a server with a party of 15 people. Maybe have a large group sit somewhere other than in the middle of your dining room.

Food and entertainment is more expensive than ever, I know restaurants need to make money and pick up for lost revenue, but don't be greedy- don't overload your dining room if you can't give your guests a...