Nicha's Comida Mexicana - Churchill — Restaurant in San Antonio

I was excited to experience this restaurant since it set in the old historic mission section of San Antonio. Unfortunately, my experience was not that historic. Parking is difficult despite them having an overflow lot that is not marked with any signage. Upon waiting for my table, I overheard one of the general managers talking about how they’re planning to expand their location size in order to increase their volume even more. He was joking about the location being historic because he grew up in the neighborhood and didn’t really think much of it and was more interested about increasing his capacity at the restaurants. While I was sitting there, there was a large tables of over 8 to 20 people’s coming in and out of the restaurant. They have no booths or complicated seating arrangements besides tables and chairs. The food was disappointing Both in his preparation and taste. The menudo was overcooked and tasted bland with no flavor, no spice, and no texture. Luckily, I was able to return it and exchange it for a chicken tortilla soup. That required also corrections of errors on the kitchen, being an under serving the chicken, under serving of cheese, and a cold soup. The menu noted that the suit came with tortilla strips, cilantro, and cheese on the side. Unfortunately, there was no cheese or cilantro on my plate. The portions of chicken inside the soup were possibly only 2 tablespoons at most in a 32 ounce bowl. The waiter was helpful and brought me cheese and extra chicken to add to my soup and warmed it up for me. The taste was good but again overall bland with little To know spice or chipotle flavor. At the end, they build me for extra cheese and extra chicken. I will keep looking for more authentic and less high volume and high cocktail menu weighted Mexican restaurant. It’s too bad that this family owned restaurant has lost sight of what it was based on in the...

I have been a "regular" customer at Nichas since they opened...but no more.

They have adopted an illegal policy of charging a 3.5% upcharge fee for using a credit card or DEBIT card as payment. While that is legal for credit cards...it is not legal for debit cards; according to the Durbin Amendment of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and consumer Protection Act of 2010.

Debit cards are processed the same as cash. That means the money is "debited" upon payment so credit card companies do not charge merchants a fee for processing that form of payment...LOOK IT UP.

Their rationale for doing that seems to be, "we use the same software to process debit cards as we do credit cards". Perhaps they circumvent this law by posting it on the door to "warn" customers ahead of time or by ALLOWING customers to pay with cash (paper money). Not everyone carries cash. I'm sure they are banking on that.

Maybe some customers are okay with paying a 3.5% upcharge fee for paying with a (same as cash) debit card...I am not. And I am a very generous tipper.

It is a sleazy business practice that only serves to fleece their customers whatever their rationale.

Additionally, they began with an amazing staff of competent, attentive and caring people but seem to have replaced them with a staff of people who appear to have the emotional intelligence of 5 year Olds.

Since I do not like what they have become, I will never again spend my money at Nichas.

Besides, they have the worst (doughy) flour tortillas I've...

I can't say enough good things about this restaurant. The dining area is open and roomy. The lighting is perfect, not too bright, not too dark. The decor is soothing with an excellent color palette. The walls are covered in colorful and tasteful art. Chips and salsa are brought first to the table. The chips are warm and fresh, and the salsa excellent, with a nice heat. We ordered the guacamole, which was substantial, fresh, and with chunks of avocado...not something beaten to death in a blender. We ordered the fish tacos, shrimp tacos, and the green enchiladas. Everything was wonderful. The ingredients were fresh and beautifully prepared. The portions were more than ample. No skimping on ingredients. Honestly, the fish tacos were the best I have ever tasted. Loaded with fish and beautifully seasoned and cooked perfectly. No dried out chunks of fish lying in a tasteless slaw, as I have experienced in other restaurants. A real standout of the dinner, however was the El Capitan Margarita. Holy moly...the tajin on the rim, rather than simple salt, the top shelf ingredients....Avion Silver tequila, Grand Marnier, and Cointreau beautifully presented up in a martini glass. Extraordinary! Last but certainly not least, our server Anna was all things you want your server to be....professional, friendly, knowledgeable, efficient and experienced. Highly recommend this jewel of a restaurant. I plan...