La Marginal — Restaurant in San Antonio

Let's get something straight. This restaurant was 100x better 13 years ago. Me an my family were regular customers throughout my childhood. When I say regular, I mean we went there just about every Friday and Saturday night and Sundays for lunch for a good 8 years. The last time I ate there was after I graduated high school in 2008 and the week before I was shipped off for the Marine corps. Fast forward to Friday, August 6th, 2021. To start off, the reservation was set for 6pm, had to be pushed to 7pm for not so many told reasons. Our party of 9, 8 adults and a child, promptly all arrive exactly at 7pm, just to find out that our connected table was given out to another party that had just arrived without a reservation. Easy fix, make us wait an additional 10-15 minutes while they clear out 2 other tables and conjoin them. Within 10 minutes, our server takes our drink orders which very quickly turned to taking our dinner order at the same time. My family was pretty much familiar with the menu since they had still visited the restaurant at an extremely less often schedule than 13 years ago. All dinner entrees come with a side salad. Side salads don't take much time to make but neither do drinks. Our table didn't order any complicated drinks, mostly sweet tea, a soda and 2 juices. Tell me what restaurant brings out side salads 10 minutes before bringing out drinks? We didn't have any drinks on our table until about 5 minutes after all the salads were eaten. In my experience, drinks have always been served first, whether or not side salads are being pushed to the table. Just staring at each other wondering if we're ever getting to wash down what seemed like prior prepared salads, nothing different from a McDonald's side salad to be honest. After drinks finally come out, complimentary bread makes its way out without knives to cut it, for a table of 9, odd. Food comes out, nothing special. Everything tastes the way it should. Literally just like any other Puerto Rican place. Nothing special. The most irritating thing we experienced the entire night, the live musician. I shouldn't even call that a live musician. The only thing he sang for the almost 3 hours we were there, was happy birthday twice. Once to the party that our reserved table went to and 2 hours later, to our table. The entire time, the guitarist was having fun scrolling through his phone. Didn't play or sing one note besides 2 happy birthday songs. Even while the "live musician" sang happy birthday, they didn't lower the radio playing music in the background. All the music playing was over speakers controlled by the overly excited host who only visited with specific people until you walked out. All he had to say was to please leave a good review and come again. Nothing special about the food or the place anymore. I miss La Marginal from my childhood, the food was spectacular and don't get me started on the live music. The place went from that Puerto Rican hole in the wall where you brought everyone to experience amazing food and an amazing ambience of friendly people and awesome music and families breaking down to dance into the usual restaurant that overprices their food and doesn't care if you have fun or experience Puerto Rican music and customs. I hope this review is good enough for that host that literally only said one sentence to my family for the almost 3 hours we spent there. Only reason you get 2 stars is because of memories I had in this...

May 21st 2019 came here and ate today around 1 p.m. as soon as I walk in, the Hostess set me down right away. It wasn't that busy. I eat from the buffet. The food was really good. The pork was phenomenal. It was juicy and tender on the inside and crispy on the outside with good seasoning. It was done to perfection. All the food was great. My compliments to the chef. The only problem was the service. It was horrible. The waitress was unattentive and forgetful. After I got my food I said down to eat still had to wait to get my tea. Even after I ordered it she went and clean up some tables instead of bringing my tea. I had to remind the waitress about it. Finally she brings my tea and I asked her for some Sweet and Low and she brings me one Splenda. Just one. And walks away. I didn't order Splenda, it's not sweet enough. I Actually had to ask the owner that happened to be walking by if he could bring me some Sweet and Low. And he brought about 10 or 15 of them in a little container. I finished my tea and I need a refill and it stay like that for about 10 minutes. She went and was talking with other people, attended some people that were fat in her section, totally ignored me. Refuse to acknowledge that There Was An Empty Glass right in front of her every time she walks by. I had actually ask the waitress for a refill. I know she saw the empty glass, because she passed right in front of me about 5 times and i know she saw it. It seemed like she had an attitude. Like she didn't want to be there or something. I don't know if she was having a bad day or something else happened but she did not provide good service. Now normally I'm a good Tipper. I always try to give at least 20% or more. I tip accordingly ,But today I left without tipping because I don't think that she deserved it. It's a shame because the food was really good. Oh well. I recommend going here but hopefully you don't have the same waitress as I did. But I think you will enjoy the...

I’ve known this place since early 2000s and every time I come to SA it’s my first stop. I had seen how this place has grown throughout the years and got so fancy. Puertorrican cuisine is delicious but I don’t think should be that pricy . But we all know that we will pay anything just to have a real puertorrican taste that remind us home. I was so excited this time because I wanted to introduced my lady how good our food is . Unfortunately her experience was terrible and somehow I fell ashamed . If you read previous reviews, there are a lot of complains about the service and let me tell you , they are right! There’s a lady that I think her name is LuLu, who served as our waitress. She started offering us a raspberry peach tea !!!!! Seriously ! How puertorrican is that ? Seriously? And she insisted ! She was very pushy and arrogant , completely out of manners and made my lady feel so uncomfortable. Then, I ordered the sampler platter as appetizers because I wanted my lady to try different stuff . Then she kept asking if we wanted to eat from the buffet or from the menu and don’t give us space just to figure out what we wanted to order. Finally we went for the buffet, we loved the Paella, pernil , arroz con gandules and sweet plantains , but I found the potato salad very different , with sweet peas ???? Really ! So later, we decided to have the sampler platter to go, so when I approached her to get me a to go box she said “ you didn’t even touch that “ , are you serious ! What’s wrong with that lady seriously . I think the problem in this restaurant is that is not own by a puertorrican person , I have no doubt that the cook probably is boricua but the staff doesn’t seem too knowledgeable to me as far as how a real puertorrican meal should be like. I agreed with other reviews , service is not good and that’s why I have to give them...