Margarita Phil's — Restaurant in Saint John

Im going to be completely honest here and trust me nothing pains me more than leaving a bad review for a small business but this experience was one of the worst in my life. Me and my family went here on our last full day of our trip, hoping to have some good food. I hadn't eaten breakfast and was ready to eat just about anything. Not this though. We were greeted by one server and were sat at a table but it took a while for her to even mention drinks. When she did there wasn't much to offer. Although Margarita is in the title i expected more than just Margaritas to drink, unfortunately for me and my underage sister the only drink they could offer was water or non-alcoholic ginger ale. The server herself was rude and just stood in silence at the end of our table waiting for us to order even though we had JUST sat down and were only given four menus for the five of us eating. The food is extremely overpriced for what it is (essentially really old, stale, or expired) meals. Although the portions are pretty big the quality of the food doesn't make up for the price. The quality is actually horrible. Another issue I had was how this place apparently has “authentic Mexican food” according to other reviews. As a Hispanic woman myself I can assure you that what you eat here is offensive to Hispanic people and food everywhere. Another issue I had was the waitress was sitting in a chair watching us eat, it was really weird and made me uncomfortable. I felt I couldn't eat my food in peace. After staring at me for a few moments she asked "is your quesadilla good".........it wasn't. Who the hell puts carrots in a veggie quesadilla????? And by far my greatest concern out of this disaster of an experience, was the literally rotten, curtled, and expired sour cream I got on the side. If it weren't for my sister giving me eyes to warn that the sour cream was bad I would've kept eating it without notice. It tasted like a mix of soap and cheese. I'm honestly scared we'll get sick. My sister ordered steak tacos and I'm praying the steak isn't bad too. It makes you wonder what else they let expire and continue serving to their customers. Overall this was the WORST experience I've had in my life. The mixture of disappointment, sadness, and anger that this is the last meal I got on my trip is so frustrating. I don't recommend going here unless you want to be severely disappointed and risk food...

I've visited Margarita Phil's on previous visits to ST John and have always loved the food, enjoyed GREAT margaritas, and received great service...albeit at a pretty high price (restaurants on St John are all pretty expensive so to be expected).

However...on this visit we were truly disappointed in every way. The website for the restaurant stated they were open to 10:00...and of course knowing that it was off-season that might not hold true if they weren't busy. However, when we arrived it was 8:30 and we were told rather curtly that if we wanted to eat we'd better get seated quickly. We did...apparently only one employee was working the front and one cook in the kitchen. I ordered the jumbo size margarita while my co-worker ordered a Pina Coloda. When the drinks were delivered we were a bit stunned...not much flavor and absolutely NO alcohol...not even a hint. When I asked if he'd forgotten the Tequila I received a quick answer that he made the mix himself and always puts plenty of Tequila in the mix. I accepted his response and declined his offer to "add more" on top. I'm sorry...but this was a huge Margarita that would leave anyone with at least a slight buzz considering I drank it in less than 20 minutes...but nothing...there was no doubt that the Tequila was an option only if the customer complained. The Pina Coloda was about the same...weak on flavor and zip on rum. It's just strange...this stuff (house brands) is dirt cheap here so why short change a customer that's paying over $10 a drink?

Then the food arrived...it was ok...not a lot of flavor in the meat but decent cuts...but I sincerely doubt it was really flank steak as advertised. Overall, it was just short on flavor...no zip...no savor. Our server/bartender sort of hovered over us waiting for us to finish...almost creepy.

In the end, I found myself wishing that they had been closed so that my opinion of them would still be 100% first class. I'm writing it off to the late hour (for off-season) and a bar tender that may have been sipping my Tequila instead of putting it into my drink. Next time we're in St John, I'll go back...but I'll insist on watching my drink being mixed with the REAL stuff. It's still a good place...just one of those "what the heck happened" bad experiences. Come On Phil...repeat customers are pretty valuable in your...

Honestly, food and drinks were average. That isn’t what warranted this 1-star review. It is definitely the experience that’s the cause of this.

Our party of 8 arrived and we’re the only 8 ppl in the entire restaurant. Upon being told we had to order $3 bottles of water we all put in our orders with the waiter. Again, we are the only 8 customers in the restaurant.

When our food arrived, 3 of the 7 dishes they brought out were incorrect (they didn’t correct them, just asked if we were okay eating it). They completely forgot one of the dishes they had written down for myself. Food was bland and didn’t seem fresh.

I don’t expect them to comp everything or anything like that, but an apology would of been nice which we didn’t receive.

We are usually easily pleased and have no issues with food/service but this experience needed a review on it, to help sway other customers away.

The total bill came to over $400, which is outrageous considering the food and service. The gratuity was automatically added so we didn’t have a choice on the tip which they charged much more for themselves then we would of chosen to.

I hate leaving this review for a small business in these times, but this place needs to change. Especially being in the prime location...