Armando's Cocina Mexicana — Restaurant in Sarasota

My girlfriend and I eat out 4 or 5 times a week and I had the most ridiculous and worst experience there I’ve ever had. We decided to eat there before the Oriole game, on Thursday March 24. It was next door to the Ed Smith Stadium. When we got there there was only 3 tables where people sitting. The owner came over and took our order and shortly after went outside nand put a sign up for PAID parking to the Oriole game on his lot. There was only 1 lady there to do everything...wait on tables and do the cooking too. As time went on the place started to fill up. The poor lady/cook/waitress could not keep up. You could see she was getting frustrated as the owner stayed outside to attend the parking lot. As more people came in, she actually LOCKED the front door so no more people could come in. It took a long time to get our food. My fajitas were very bland and it was a very small portion. My girlfriend said her food was good. When we got done eating and waited to pay the check...after a long wait I decided to put enough cash on the table with enough to include a tip. When we went to leave, several tables still hadn’t been waited on and we had to turn the lever on the front door to unlock it to get out. As we walked Out i ask the guy out on the parking lot if he was the owner. He replied he was. I told him he should be ashamed of himself leaving that one lady to do everything. He was more worried about making money on the parking than he was with HIS OWN restaurant. After a few back and forth comments he said “I don’t need you or your business”. As we left, I said no worries, you’ll never see us again. BTW.. this is the very first time I have ever done a review. ...

Three strikes, you're out. The food is decent, yes, but unfortunately, the waiting time for the food is utterly ridiculous. The latest of 3 encounters was myself and 1 other person seated at 1:15 PM in an EMPTY restaurant. Not one other customer present. Chips vanished in 5 minutes. No refill offer. Meanwhile, 25 minutes goes by and we are inclined to ask what's taking so long. "It'll be ready soon". Another 20 minutes goes by and finally our food comes, which was a sandwich and 4 tacos. Wow! 45 minutes to make 4 tacos and a sandwich?!?! Absurd. No apology, no comp', no nada.

Addendum: Armando's has since stepped up their game. Wait time is still a little on the long side, but it's actually worth the wait. I don't know if they got a new chef and/or owner, but all ingredients are fresh and prices are reasonable. While the above (old) review only got 1 star, I've given it 5 out 5. Kudos to whoever took control and made...

The best thing about this place, is the food hands down!! Especially the homemade corn tortillas. It's very authentic and has great flavor. I grew up on Mexican food and from what I've had so far, this is just like Mama's cooking. That's the 'pros' of this restaurant

The cons: The outdoor signage is only on the front of the glass door. No big sign outside, indicating the name. Just a large address number. I wasn't even sure if it was open during lunch time, so I got out of the car and looked before fully parking.

They also don't serve complimentary chips and salsa. You have to purchase them as a separate item, which I was initially disappointed about, but once I tasted the food, that was quickly overlooked! The portion sizes are also very good.

Overall, I think this place could be one of the best restaurants in town, with a few good improvements. I will definitely be back to try some of the other items...