Ropa Vieja Grill — Restaurant in San Juan

I am so disappointed at the service I received at this restaurant. I was appalled to say the least. From the waitress to how management did not do anything to resolve this situation. I will give the overall experience 2 stars and that is because the food was good and the other waiter helped me. When I was initially seated, my waitress seemed extremely flustered and I told her to take a moment to herself and she can circle back to me. I understood she needed a quick moment to herself. She came back and I was ready to order. I asked for the fried red snapper meal and she proceeded to put my order in. 15 minutes later, she comes back and says they are out. I was surprised that it took 15 minutes to be informed but nonetheless, she told me that was the only thing they were out of. I ordered the lobster mofongo and 2 sides. 5 minutes later she came back and said one of the sides were out. I ended up getting the rice & beans and sweet plantains as my sides and I asked her to let me know if they are out. She came back and said we are good. I said thank you and then ordered a Piña colada. My food came out and it was delicious; everything was seasoned perfectly. Throughout the dinner, my waitress never checked in. She was off to the side chatting to her coworkers. I gave her time but after 10 minutes of waiting, I had to ask another waiter to bring me something. Towards the end of my dinner, there was another hiccup and I politely addressed it to my waitress. Her shoulders tensed and her whole demeanor got abrasive. She states, “I don’t want to be here on a holiday. I hate this job; I didn’t ask to be here”. I was so stunned by this response that I interjected and said I don’t know what warranted this response but I would like my check. She ignored my request and kept ranting. I asked again for my check. She asked if I would like to speak to a manager and I politely declined. But when she snatched my plates from me and stormed off, I immediately began looking for a manager. The same waiter who helped me before walked by and I asked him to get me a manager please. The manager was no help at all as she exhibited the same attitude as her worker. She did not apologize and she offered to resolution. I have never dealt with anything like this. I was so disappointed with the service from the waitress and the manager. I got my check and left. As I was taking the pictures out front, that same waitress was looking over at me, loudly slamming the chairs and then punched her fist into her palm. That is someone who should NOT be working with customers. Food is good but service...

Great spot, only the real ones eat here ( shout out to Andrea) great service and the food comes quick. I said it once I’ll say it again, Great spot, only the real ones eat here ( shout out to Andrea) great service and the food comes quick. I said it twice I’ll say it again, Great spot, only the real ones eat here ( shout out to Andrea) great service and the food comes quick. I said it three times I’ll say it again, Great spot, only the real ones eat here ( shout out to Andrea) great service and the food comes quick. I said it four times I’ll say it again Great spot, only the real ones eat here ( shout out to Andrea) great service and the food comes quick. I said it five I’ll say it again Great spot, only the real ones eat here ( shout out to Andrea) great service and the food comes quick. I said it six times I’ll say it again Great spot, only the real ones eat here ( shout out to Andrea) great service and the food comes quick. I said it seven times I’ll say it again Great spot, only the real ones eat here ( shout out to Andrea) great service and the food comes quick. I said it eight times I’ll say it again Great spot, only the real ones eat here ( shout out to Andrea) great service and the food comes quick. I said it nine times I’ll say it again Great spot, only the real ones eat here ( shout out to Andrea) great service and the food comes quick. I said it ten times I won’t say it...

The 4 of you that follow me know my ethos in writing these reviews is to only write negative ones when it is my civic duty to do so. This, my fellow amateur food reviewers, is one of those times.

We saw the great ratings for Ropa Vieja Grill and decided to pull the trigger. Around lunch time, we walk up the ramp to the hostess stand, sun beating down on us. We took comfort in the shaded patio, but soon realized our grave mistake that the shade only did so much to combat the brutal amalgamation of the sweltering heat and humidity.

Just after we ordered, we asked to switch to one of the many empty tables inside where the A/C was abundant. We were met with a hard "no," as the wait staff said management didn't want to go through the hassle of re-arranging tables. I understand this is a minor inconvenience, but come on lol.

Settling in from the defeat of rejection while beads of sweat were dripping down our faces, the food arrived. Half of both our chickens were undercooked to the point where they were pink and we had to send them back. This made us think back to when asking if we should order the chicken the waitress said "that one gets sent back the least." What an interesting thing to say in retrospect lmao. The vegetables felt as though they were boiled fresh out of a pre mixed costco pack. Just no flavor whatsoever.

These other reviews differ, but this felt like a major...