Jose Pepper's — Restaurant in Shawnee

I've been working in the restaurant industry for 6 years and we have been regulars at the Jose Peppers in Olathe for just as long. I have never left a review before and I am so disappointed in my service here that I feel like I have to. I will NEVER be returning to this location.

Last night, my family and I decided to unwind a bit, as my husband and I have had an extremely hard month. Jose Peppers was our "celebration" and I left more upset than when I arrived. Our waitress was inattentive, to say the least, but I totally understand being being distracted or busy (I think it's worth saying we were one of the only tables here though at the time though).

We ordered an appetizer, and it was taking awhile to get out. When we asked about it, our waitress assured us that it was rung in already. We were fine with waiting, but then our entrees showed up. I mentioned we never got our appetizer, to which she flatly responds "sorry. Do you want another one?" We didnt, and it was no big deal. We can live without an appetizer and things happen.

We started eating our food, and mine was not only cold, the only flavor in the dish that I tasted was undercooked chicken. I didn't want to make the waitress feel bad, so I tried to be gentle in explaining that the food was god awful. It wasn't a matter of personal taste, something must have gone wrong in the kitchen because there's no way it could be sold that way. She just grabbed it out of the way and said sorry then walked off. I assured my husband that the manager would be around any second to actually fix things, because that's how a situation should be handled.

We sit around, my husband and child on their last bites, and the manager FINALLY wanders up and asks if there was something wrong with my food, "like it was cold or something?" To elaborate on her tone, it was sarcastic and as if I was being an overly demanding customer. This is where I start to get upset, just to clarify that I understand things happen and this review is based upon the handling of the situation by the manager and not even the missing and crappy food.

She asks if I want anything else. No. I explain to her that my family is almost done and my baby is starting to get really crabby, so I just really don't want to wait. She shrugs her shoulders, says okay, and walks off.

We then get charged for a lackluster meal that I didn't get to spend with my family. I don't expect them to take everything off, as my husband and child did eat their meals, but really? No other further solution asides for taking the missing appetizer and disgusting food off of the bill?

I write this because to Jose's managers, because I seriously urge them to train their managers better in customer service. This was the worst experience I have EVER had in my entire life.

We still tipped the waitress far over 20% because l don't believe this to be her fault.

Thanks for the chips, Midland. I know Bill Ridgeway at the Olathe location would have made this situation right, and you could learn a thing or two from him. We won't be coming back...

I’m done with you, Peppers!

I have been going to this particular restaurant since 2005 when I first joined met my wife’s family and we had dinner. For 16 years, I have never had an issue with your service, your food or the overall experience. Now, as I celebrated my 40th birthday weekend on Saturday, September 18th, you’ve destroyed all chances of me continuing my favorite weekend tradition of eating there.

For one, your older male host was beyond rude to the point that he barely even tried to acknowledge us entering or even showed that he cared if we were there. In fact, his attitude reflected more that he wouldn’t care if he were there either!

Secondly, and this is where the trouble with you began… Upon receiving my credit card to pay for the ticket, you were informed upon return that I accidentally gave you the wrong card. I admit that was my mistake, but when I gave you the correct one, you ran both cards with different amounts. I corrected you again informing a different server who said he’d take care of it. Five minutes later, the second server sat down at a table a little ways from us to fold napkins. He ever returned with a customer receipt to sign or anything. Finally, a female manager came to ask if there was anything else they could do. I informed her of the situation and she said she would fix it. Now, it has been more than a week. I’ve called. I’ve physically shown up to request this be resolved and called again. YOU ARE STILL CHARGING ME TWICE!!! My bank says you are requesting the pending transaction. I don’t mind that the correct amount went through. I’ve got no issues paying what I owed. I just want to know why you are still saying I owe you the amount you said was to be returned?

Fine! Just keep everything. You took a find place of happiness, memories of shared dinners with family, and ruined it with your terrible and disrespectful service at handling an easy situation. All businesses deal in customer service to some degree. You stink as much as your lousy...

I was excited to find what billed itself as "border Mexican food" within walking distance of our hotel. I'm a Texan in exile, and I often long for the Tex-Mex I grew up with, or something like it. On the Border just doesn't do it. This place could give some of Houston's best a run for their money. Their salsa is awesome (fresh ingredients, and tons of cilantro). The service was very, very good.

One thing you expect at a place like this in Houston or other areas of Texas is a big emphasis on quesadillas - they can be a great dinner item. Jose Pepper has an entire section of the menu devoted to different types of quesadilla, and my wife was VERY pleased with hers. The guacamole, she said, also had fresh cilantro in it, and she loved it.

My daughter's favorite food is cheese enchiladas, and while we agreed that Jose Pepper's cheese enchiladas weren't as good as the ones we make at home (we're kind of experts), we enjoyed them much more than others we've had outside Texas.

I chose a combo plate with a cheese enchilada, a pork tamale, and a beef taco. The tamale was very good. My beef taco had shredded, rather than ground, beef. It was good, but I have to say that it wasn't seasoned enough for my tastes. The shell was clearly fried for the occasion - no mass-produced taco shells here.

The refried beans are listed as "no-lard refried beans," but they were still very good. The rice was typical.

The unexpected ball of masa on the side threw me for a loop. I'd never seen it just plopped on a plate. We were told to eat a little with a bite of our food. I tried it with everything, and it was okay - very sweet, strong and pleasant nixtamal flavor - but it was an EXCELLENT complement to the refried beans. Try it!

Overall, this was a great surprise on our trip to Kansas City. True, modern Tex-Mex. Authentic to the source material. If you're a Texan in exile like me, you won't be...