Mad Mex — Restaurant in Ross Township

My wife and I had dinner at the McKnight Rd., Mad Mex 2 days ago. It was the first time in a long time. As we crossed the threshold at the entrance, we were greeted by a loud, booming sound system. I play guitar and have been a music fan all my life, so I'm not a stranger to loud music. Also, altho the mix was mostly modern "alternative," there was variety and I didn't mind it. But when you have to yell and lean over into the face of someone to hear you - whether it's your dining partner or party or the waitstaff - the music is way too loud. I noticed other parties having to lean over and yell to one another to be heard. Further, I had young ladies standing at the counter right behind my seat and across from the bar, and they were yelling to be heard over the din of the music - yelling practically in my ear. I read through some 1 star reviews and saw one from a guy 4 years ago complaining about the music: "I was immediately aware of the loud din of music blasting throughout the building," he said. He noted that he had the same experience in 2008. I don't know what kind of management group - and I don't care how young they are - or manager would think it is cool to play music so loud that people can't have a normal conversation. This is a restaurant, a place for dining, and NOT A dance club or live performance venue. It should have been background music. If management replies, please help me understand why this practice is done and why it continues. I find it terribly annoying. Next was the young lady at the podium that manages the seating. She didn't smile at any time when she acknowledged us and spoke to us. I would describe her and another woman walking around the restaurant who looked to be in a supervisory capacity as "hipsters." In fact, they acted like they're just so hip that they're too cool to be friendly to customers, too cool to even be there - irritated, even - and they resent that they have to be, so they have a condescending air about them (I had a waiter like this a few years back at a local upscale burger chain who had a permanent smirk on his face the entire time and consistently interrupted our conversation). Our waiter, though was very good. He was friendly and we didn't have to ask for anything. He brought extra napkins and chips without our having to ask. He even got the manager to turn the music down to a more reasonable level. I would've turned it down a few notches more, but I wasn't going to complain. The food was very good to excellent. We started with the dips. The mango was okay, but the cheese and pineapple habanero were excellent. Our waiter was right: the pineapple had the right amount of sweetness that offset the heat. My wife said the fish tacos were among the best she has ever had. I had the veggie burrito and it was very large. Back in the day I could've polished it off, but I'm trying not to overeat so I had enough for the next day. I wish it didn't have rice in it as a filler and had other veggies instead, like maybe sweet potato, avocado or squash, but it's not a deal breaker. The food was great and so was our waiter, but I dinged the service a star because of the standoffish hostess. The atmosphere, however, is enough to dissuade or deter my wife and I from any future visits. When I go out to eat, I like to feel relaxed and have pleasant conversation with my wife. The loud music was terribly annoying and made it difficult to enjoy my meal, despite the quality of the food. In fact, we would have left when we got to the hostess if my wife wasn't so hungry. I tried to be fair and objective in my review, and we try to support local businesses, rather than chains. However, next time we are hungry for Mexican food, we will try one of the other options on McKnight Road. UPDATE: July 6th, 2020. I was contacted by the manager with a thoughtful response. To...

I'm a Mad Mex and Big Burrito Birthday Club lover. Go all the time but it's great getting that free burrito and a free Big Burrito dinner. Every other year(since they started it) we went to Fox Chapel Mad Mex. We happened to be in North Hills so we went to this one.

The food was honestly great. The service? Not so much. Hostess was great. The girl that brought our food was great. Our server and the manager were not.

The server ignored us as much as he seemed irritated to even talk to us. We spent 2 hours there and he never asked if we'd like another drink or even refill water even once.

When it came time for the check, we were using my Mad Mex Birthday Coopin and my partner had the $15 off an entree coopin. First he says we can't use them together(never had this in Fox Chapel, or any other BB Restaurant), so I say that's fine. Separate the checks. We usually prefer that anyway since we use different cards. He comes back with the check and my Birthday coupon is for a random $14.25, my burrito was $17.50 and my partner's coupon took off $4 for soup instead of the $12 for his meal.

I asked for a manager to just help explain this. She comes over with a check with the $17.50 burrito off and nothing off for his. She just says, "Sorry, I can't figure it out. It just keeps discounting the soup so that's all I can do". I asked if we could at least have it split and she says no, if we do you won't get your birthday coupon. She literally "fixed" the check by increasing how much we owed.

We've learned and even if it's convenient because we're coming back from Wexford, we won't be stopping at the Mad Mex on McKnight. Their management obviously needs some training and their service...

Parking lot has many open spaces. Figured, how bad can it be? Have now been waiting for 30 minutes for a table, with two open 4 top tables in view. Just a basic math issue. You have three 4-tops and a 2-top open. We have five people. Another group has four. One party has two. You push the 2 and 4-tops together. Seat us. Then use the remaining 4-tops for the party of four and that of two. Instead MM NH seats the party of four and two in the 4-top and 2-top that are located next to each other leaving the other two 4-tops standing open and a party of five standing at the door. Poor management. Oh! One of the tables was just seated by a party that just walked in. We are STILL WAITING. Another group just walked in. Seated. We wait. Do we asked why this happened. “We are not allowed to push the tables together because the server can’t get to them.” Really? Have seen this done at 3 other locations. This is why I never come to this location. Do yourself a favor and make the drive to MM Robinson. Never have any issue there. Even when it’s slammed. Drive there even though it’s 15 minute further. TRUST ME. Update:Asked after the promised 30 mins when we would be seated and were rudely told in a round about way that they don’t know. At least be polite. GET...