Casa Martin | Ocean Ave — Restaurant in Santa Monica

I was in SoCal for a business trip and decided to clear my head by taking a day trip to Santa Monica. As a huge foodie, I wanted to get a taste of the best therefore, I asked a few locals and world travelers for restaurant recommendations within the vicinity. Almost every person I asked suggested Casa Martin on Ocean Ave. First off, they don't take reservations. Not a big deal. You will have no troubles getting a table, as the restaurant was pretty vacant at prime dining hours (6:30pm). We got a table outside, adjacent to a heat lamp in the midst of November, so we were able to enjoy the views comfortably. The area was very posh and picturesque with color Christmas lights beaming. Additionally, it's only a 3 minute walk to the Santa Monica Pier. The atmosphere and ambiance were definitely the highlight of the night. The food, drinks and customer service, on the other hand, were questionable. First off, I already came in with high expectations, but even without expectations, I wouldn't be impressed. For starters, I ordered the watermelon/pineapple margarita on the rocks. I personally wasn't a fan, mainly because I prefer alcoholic beverages on the sugary side. The men I was dining with, however, went for seconds. I can tell you that they definitely don't cheat you on the liquor, but then again, they come with a hefty price. I recommend to go during happy hour for drinks to prevent putting a dent in your wallet. HH is from 3-6pm, with $4 off all house margs. Drinks aside, there was nothing my taste buds were buzzing about. For apps, we ordered the Queso Fundido that came with mixed Mexican Cheeses/Chorizo, with your choice of tortillas. OMG this was the hardest thing to eat, both literally and figuratively! The app came on a flat, hot plate to keep the cheese warm, but it was literally gooey and hard to scoop due to the viscosity. It only took 3 pairs of hands and 3 forks to scrap a bite of this cheese onto the tortilla. I almost lost a tooth trying to bite into this. For my main course, I ordered the highly recommended Cheese Enchiladas from the vegetarian menu however, I ended up getting Cheese Quesadillas. Everyone at my table heard my order right, except for the waitress. My coworkers were too considerate and waited for me to get my correct order until they dug in. By the time I got my Cheese Enchiladas, their food was cold. They came filled with mixed shredded cheeses, green sauce, and sour cream drizzle, with a side of black beans and white Mexican rice. One of the two enchiladas was left untouched, and I probably ate 1/3 of the other enchilada. I didn't even bother to take the leftovers home. The enchiladas are those compared to a fast food joint, such as Taco Bueno, but with a premium price tag of $22/plate. There goes my per diem! These were more Tex-Mex in taste as opposed to authentic. Mexican food is known for their spice, but the red sauce topped over the enchiladas was sweet. I, along with everyone else at my table, asked for hot sauce, which was made of habanero peppers. Everyone got their hot sauce but me! It's evident that the waitress had something against me - first by getting my order wrong, then by not bringing out my hot sauce. Overall, not a satisfied customer. I most certainly will not be making another trip to this...

Truly one of the worst experiences of my life, and the first and only time I've faced discrimination for being a diabetic.

Popped in to grab a pina colada on a sunny day, was seated inside beside the front open windows. As my girlfriend ordered, I casually and fairly inconspicuously gave myself a quick shot of insulin into the side of my hip. I'm a type-1 diabetic, so I use an insulin pen, and I take shots through my clothing, which is barely noticeable (not that it matters). Well, the waitress noticed, and she informed me there's a bathroom where I could go do that. At first, I thought she was just being polite and offering me a place with some privacy to administer my shot, which as someone who's struggled with shyness/shame about being openly diabetic earlier in my life, I actually appreciated the gesture. I thanked her and let her know that it's actually fine. After which she clarified, "Some of our customers may feel uncomfortable seeing that". Momentarily stunned, perhaps thinking she didn't understand what I was injecting, I let her know "Umm this isn't heroin, I'm a diabetic and this is insulin." She said she understood and again reiterated that her customers would feel uncomfortable. Again stunned, I took a few seconds to process, got up and left. On my way out, I informed her that this is blatant discrimination, and that she can't treat customers like this. She responded with "Thank you. Have a nice day."

With 10.5% of the US population diabetic, everyone is aware of the disease, and pretty much everyone has someone in their family or close to them dealing with it. Moreover, everyone's seen someone take insulin, whether through a pen or a pump, and it's really, REALLY not a big deal. So it goes without saying that this clearly had nothing to do with her customers, who I'm sure are all normal humans and would not have batted an eyelash, but rather her own blatant ignorance and bias. Which is unfortunate, because it truly ruined my mood and my day.

I've gone ahead and filed a business complaint with the California Dept of Fair Employment and Housing. Please stay far away from this...

Came in for happy hour, apparently missed it by 1 minute. Asked about the happy hour prices when I got my receipt, advised they put the order in before happy hour … checked time stamp, literally 1 minute too early. Chips were very clearly not made in house or dressed up in any way… salsa was very watery. Ordered a margarita with mango and added jalapeño, thought it was a house margarita ($10 happy hour price) but was charged for one of their speciality margaritas, Pacos Mango $17. Ordered the Tex Mex cheese dip $17, could literally taste the Velveeta and a very small portion. Next up is the shrimp ceviche, small portion for $22 and the liquid the shrimp and veggies were sitting in was a gray color. I don’t eat sea food but my son who ordered it said it didn’t taste bad but it definitely wasn’t good. Left most of it on the plate. Lastly was chicken wings $18 (I know, chicken wings at a Mexican restaurant but I was looking for something on the happy hour menu my 7 year old would eat) … large wings that tasted ok.. were definitely reheated, not freshly fried.

All of this wouldn’t have been that bad I guess, you take a gamble when you eat somewhere new in a town you aren’t from. But the happy hour thing just pissed me off. $81 for literal trash food…. Kids left hungry, going to In N Out as...