Las Palapas - Potranco and 151 — Restaurant in San Antonio

Today me and my children experienced the worst customer service (or lack thereof) and discrimination. I’m still so shaken up about this as I’m writing this. We came in around 8 pm and immediately I could tell that something was off when the host acted as if he didn’t want to seat us and said that we could sit anywhere. We looked over the menu and I waited for our server to come. They never came I made eye contact with at least 5 people, one a woman looked at us the whole time from the counter where her and several others stood and talked and laughed. I immediately knew from that point exactly what was happening since this is not my first time experiencing racism. A sever came and took care of their guest who were one booth down from us on the other side. I saw another woman come down the she made eye contact with me then turned around. Yet another woman looked at us and never came to take our order. By this time 10 mins have come and gone the restaurant was not busy at all and there was literally people standing and just talking at the counter. I go up to the counter and again wait for someone to acknowledge me, the same lady who’s been staring at us ask what I want and I ask for the manager. She tells me he’s in the restroom and he’ll be out shortly. I wait another 8 minutes or so at this point I feel very much disrespected as they’re all still standing at the counter laughing and talking in Spanish while I’m standing there waiting and very frustrated. I ask the lady again is the manager is still in the restroom she says yes another employee is standing there and he tells me he’ll go get him for me. I wait more another male employee goes to where my children are sitting and brings them chips and salsa which I appreciate because he’s the only one at this point who’s even come over. As I’m waiting the same lady who told me the manager is in the restroom is eating chips and drinking soda and doesn’t have a care in the world. The manager comes out and starts talking to the gentleman who went to go get him in Spanish. He finally addresses me and I tell him that I’ve been waiting 10 minutes for our order to be taken. We are the only black customers in the restaurant and it seems like no one wants to serve us. He apologizes and says let me take care of you guys but he actually never comes to the table either. Finally the who got the manager comes to the table and apologizes to me. I wasn’t trying to lecture him but I wanted him to see how obvious it was that they weren’t serving us and he tries telling me it’s not that the host was supposed to let the server know we were there. I told him clearly that wasn’t the case because again, they were all standing there chatting the whole time because the restaurant wasn’t busy. I tell him on top of that I know they were talking about us and laughing because I was making eye contact with them the whole time. At this point I don’t feel like either apologies were sincere and the explanations weren’t making sense that I’m just going to leave because I know we aren’t welcomed there and no telling what they’ll do to my food since I’ve complained about the service. To add insult to injury he tells me that the manager was going to comp us half off our food. I know he was trying to deescalate the situation but that just made me more angry because that was not what I was looking for. I hope corporate sees this, look at the cameras, and actually talks to their employees about discriminating against black people and racism. It was very clear that they didn’t care how I felt and that this was done intentionally. My 8 year old daughter told me that the lady was staring at her and it made her uncomfortable and I had to have a conversation with her that what just happened was discrimination and racism. You don’t have to worry about me patronage your restaurants anymore. I know when I’m not respected and my business...

Horrible experience at this Palapas!!! My niece, her 2 yr old & I went for dinner after a hectic day. We were sat by the manager, Hector Garcia. Other tables around us got waited on, some people left, others got seated & were brought chips & their orders taken. We waited 15 min. There were 2 waitresses in our area, but when I asked one, she said our waiter was at the cash register. Waited some more. More people came & went. I got up to check with the manager, who said he’d get someone on it. Another 15 min. No chips, drinks - nothing. The 2 yr old was hungry & we were all impatient by now! I spoke to the manager again, he said, sorry, 2 people walked out on him today, & he’s having difficulties with the staff. I said there are 2 waitresses in our aisle can’t they help us? We’ve been very patient!! Finally close to 45 min later a waiter came & took our drink order & food order. Waited another 20 min!!! Got up to ask the waiter about our drinks & chips???? He said sorry, will get them right away. Brought our drinks & he got the order wrong!!! I called hector garcia over & told him we have been very patient! Reminded him he sat us down over 1 hour ago & we still don’t have drinks! ! The waiter came & our food order was also incorrect!!! Advised Mr Garcia that the service at this location in his store was pathetic!!! Advised I hope he didn’t think we were paying for this poor service!!! We stayed because traveling with a 2 yr old is stressful enough & because it would have been an additional hassle getting her back in her car seat & traveling to another restaurant. He said he was sorry but he could not comp the food, he didn’t have the authority. My niece & I decided to leave rather than risk the staff messing with our food (at that point they were still trying to get our orders correct) We ended up at Taco Palenque & they were fast & good!!! Don’t mess with this...

Las Palapas at 8851 TX-151 San Antonio Tx 78251 or the one at Potranco and 151. Arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on April 11, 2025. Our Waiter’s name was “Ulysses” ! We were promptly seated and he took our order in a timely and polite manner. My wife ordered the Stuffed Avocado with chicken and I ordered the “Lite Fare” Senior Special Enchilada Dinner. NOTE; We were used to going to the Las Palapas at Alamo Ranch but quit giving them our business a long time ago and will probably never go back. Getting back to THIS Las Palapas! Excellent Waiter Excellent Service! Plus! When our meals were served by him, they looked like something out of a magazine from a very fancy restaurant. The Culinary Staff who prepared our two plates made them look very professionally done and delicious. Coming from a Culinary and Management background I talked to Ulysses about the Superb presentation. Wow and Wow! I took a picture after I had taken a bite of the Enchilada! 😩Darn! But you get the picture and the compliment. My Wife and I BOTH highly recommend this particular Las Palapas at Potranco & “151” in San Antonio, Texas! Amazing! PS: I was unable to upload the picture!

My qualifications as an Expert and Experienced Food and Service Critic; I have over 65 years of Management Experience. I have a College Degree with a BS in Management and have been trained in two Culinary Schools, to include on the job training at other venues. I’ve managed full service as well as fast food restaurants and have had my own successful Catering business. As a Culinary Trainer, I have trained personnel on how to provide superb cuisine and sales and customer service. At the age of 78, I am now retired and enjoy being on the other side...