King and Queen Cantina — Restaurant in San Diego

Had an overall really strange experience here as a first time visitor. My cousin and I sat down right before lunch started at 1:50 or so and were told we couldn’t order lunch until 2. We said no problem at all and put in a drink order to wait out the 10 mins. At 2 we put in an order for two entrees which we were planning on splitting. We requested to have one of the meals served with rice instead of tortillas and we were told that wouldn’t be possible so we ordered a side of rice so we could just do it ourselves. We also ordered some chips and salsa to munch on while we waited.

About 5 minutes later, the chips and salsa arrived along with our side of rice which we thought was strange but figured the accompanying entree would be out shortly there after. Another 10 mins passed and our first entree came out, but not the one that was supposed to be accompanying the rice. We split the burrito and actually finished it within the next 25 minutes or so. It’s now 2:45 and our additional entree still hasn’t arrived, the rice is totally cold and we’re actually full at this point. We call out waitress over to find out why our entree is still not out and ask that we just cancel it since it’s been over 45 minutes since we ordered it and we were literally finished with our other dish. She said she would see what she could do. About 5 mins later she returns with the dish, which is completely cold as well at this point and said she was sorry she couldn’t cancel it. This just didn’t sit well with us as the interactions we had had with her had been really awkward and unprofessional (she was sharing a lot about her personal life without being asked and was telling us how she was trying to leave early, etc.). We asked to speak with her again and explained that the second dish came out so much later, we were full, and that both the rice and the entree were completely cold and asked that they be taken off our bill and sent back. She then explained how she’d have to talk to her nice manager and “not the mean one” and that maybe we would have to talk to them. I let her know I would actually prefer that but that I had been trying to avoid causing any problems for her. She came back and told me she would take the late entree off our check, but that we’d still have to pay for the rice that was sitting untouched on our table for more than 45 minutes without the hot dish. At this point I was actually really uncomfortable with the situation and her over-sharing and just wanted to get out of there.

Overall it was one of the strangest experiences I’ve had at a restaurant, with no apology or explanation as to what may have happened that caused the error. I can’t believe we were asked to pay $5 for the side of rice and she nor the manager made any effort to rectify the situation which is unfortunate because the one entree we did get to eat was really really good as were the drinks. The atmosphere is really fun and inviting. It wouldn’t have taken much to make the mistake right, but instead I had to be my own advocate and still left feeling frustrated and uncomfortable. I’m never someone who complains or asks to send anything back but the way this situation played out was really...

I decided to drop by Kings and Queens on a Saturday afternoon around 2:40 and I chose to sit at a table outside with my young son and was not approached or even acknowledged by the server for over five minutes (in total 10mins before I had to say something). The server gave me eye contact a few times and still decided to take other table’s orders and clear tables. I was the only table on the patio, so there isn’t a reason to not come over to the table. Another table was sat and provided cutlery and acknowledged by other employees as they entered at the restaurant and were sat. I don’t want to believe that this is a race issue, but I do want to clarify that the table that was sat before me was white family and the other tables that were getting serviced were either Mexican or white. While I am a Latino, I am not fair skinned. I eventually had to approach the host stand and asked to speak to a manager. Once I asked to speak to a manager, then a server approached to ask for my order. In addition to that, the manager ended up coming back to the table to tell me that he told them to take my order fast. The issue here isn’t about speed of service because I never got service. The fact that the manager told me that he told the kitchen or whoever to make my food fast tells me that he wasn’t listening to what I was telling him to begin with. I wasn’t looking for any comp services, I wanted to get an understanding as to why everyone else in the restaurant was being serviced, but me. It’s a very simple question. The manager could’ve said he was super busy or could’ve acknowledged the fact that he noticed I was the only person on the patio with no other patrons in front of me or behind me. My issue is that everyone who entered that restaurant was being acknowledged, a.k.a. getting cutlery, getting water, being acknowledged in the restaurant. When I entered the restaurant and decided to sit on the patio it was as if I didn’t exist. That is my issue. The server saw me multiple times and even serviced a table that was towards the front of the restaurant on the patio. So he saw me again because it was in diagonal line sight of the table he was servicing!! Once they brought my order, they never brought cutlery and at this point I was just fed up. I got up and left. The service here is absolutely terrible and I will definitely not be returning. I’ll ensure that I spread the word about this restaurant and its poor preferential treatment...

I never leave reviews but here we are. Unfortunately this place did not leave the same impact it left when I first visited in 2021. The (sticky and unclean) menu has many options, like over 100. Having options can be great but this time it was overwhelming. I asked about breakfast that they were heavily advertising but was not given a breakfast menu until requested. The $15 pancakes with no sides looked ok but I changed my mind to lunch food. Finally found an appetizer but was told there were no more oysters (mind you the ocean is a block away) but I kindly moved on. It was 12:30pm, the place was not packed and had 5 guests or so at the bar. The bartender was cool and welcoming and the drinks were VERY good. I understand the bartender needs to make drinks for all guests but he made no time for his actual bar guests and checked in on us without us reaching out for help a total of 1 time after getting our food, which was extremely mediocre. The chilaquiles tasted like spaghetti and the steak was bland, there was entirety too much soy sauce on my tuna “tostada” which came with a bowl of tortilla chips, no tostada. The chicken taquitos were good. Here is where things went further downhill, there was a shrimp poop in the aguachiles. Clean the shrimp better! After eating, the mess was not cleaned until much later. I had to request water, then ask for more water…and ask for another margarita. As a guest having empty drinks for more than 5 minutes I felt like I was bothering the bartender. I went downstairs to the other bar. The bartender downstairs was just a little better and the stern faced server just looked pissed the entire time. Overall the staff here just seems like they are just over it, tired (hungover?) they seem jaded, manufactured hospitality not really authentic. I get that its a hot spot at night and maybe the crowd differs, but take a moment to think about why you are there....