Lupe Tortilla Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Shenandoah

The service was horrible. By far the worst I’ve ever had. This was my last night in town for work and I was meeting two of my coworkers here for dinner and drinks. I got out of work late, and I told them to start without me. When I got there, they said their service had started great; quick greeting, quick drinks, quick food..... then nothing. Their server had said he was leaving for the night but didn’t offer to close out with them, instead he introduced them to their new server and stood in the kitchen window awkwardly staring at them.

I got there and was told they hadn’t seen their new server since she was introduced to them, and multiple servers passed by our table without saying anything to us (but making lots of eye contact). I wasn’t acknowledged in any way, even though I was new to the table and looking at the menu. I was very confused as they were not busy at all. Three employees were standing right behind our booth doing literally nothing. We could see their original server through the kitchen window eating chips, and came out into the dining area to get himself some water. Good thing one of us got something to drink, I guess.

After I had been there for about 25 minutes, their new server finally came to our table. “[original server] never came back?!” Like..... no. And neither did you. She asked me if I wanted something to drink. I told her that 20 minutes ago I did, but at this point we’re all ready to leave so could we please have the check. My coworker asked her to split the check two ways. She said she would.

She brought the check back (after having a conversation with another server) and handed it to my coworker before realizing her mistake of not splitting the check like she said she would, and tried to take it back. My coworker said “don’t bother, just put it all on this card” and handed her her card.

As my coworker was signing the check and leaving a tip (over 10%, which was honestly much more than what was deserved), our server came and put down a tray table and slammed her tray onto it, and started to bus our table, even though my other coworker had still been snacking on the chips and guacamole. She didn’t say a word to us.

All three of us are in the service industry. We understand that sometimes people have an off night and mistakes are made. But no one apologized, no manager ever got involved, and no one showed any form of ownership with the oversight regarding our table. If my servers treated a guest that way I would be embarrassed.

I can’t attest to the food or drinks since I never got any, but the drink selection looked great and the fajitas being brought to another table...

Okay I normally don’t leave these long reviews but….. We went to Lupe Tortilla on Sunday to celebrate our nephew’s high school graduation with a group of about 18 to 20 people. It started off well—the staff was friendly, and our waiter introduced himself warmly. Things seemed promising at first. However, the experience quickly became frustrating. For a group our size, basic things like water became a hassle. At one point, we asked for more water and were told that the restaurant doesn’t allow pitchers to be left on the table—for reasons that weren’t really explained. Eventually, the waiter brought out several glasses and just placed them randomly on the table, which helped a bit, but it still felt inefficient and inconsistent. Then came the food. My husband’s meal was served first—way before anyone else’s—which was awkward, especially in front of a big family gathering where we typically say Grace and eat together. Instead, food trickled out piece by piece, one plate at a time, with long delays in between. Some people waited nearly an hour after others had already started eating. We were there for a total of three plus hours, and honestly, after two, I had to get up—I just couldn’t sit any longer. It was exhausting. It’s clear that this restaurant, while maybe great for smaller parties, simply isn’t equipped to handle a large group and serve meals in a timely or coordinated way. At one point, one of the servers gave a bit of a side-eye to a guest as she leaned around him while speaking to another gesturing while talking to deliver drinks, which felt unprofessional—even though, to her credit, she did manage to dodge the gesture gracefully. Still, it was a strange vibe. To be fair, the food was good. Everyone seemed to enjoy what they got once it finally arrived. But based on the experience, I wouldn’t recommend Lupe Tortilla for large gatherings. It just wasn’t organized or efficient enough to make a special occasion like this feel smooth or...

Wow. Just wow. It was level set comical how terrible this experience was... Saturday yes but you're an established restaurant - get it together. My first impression of the evening was waiting in at the host station for a table a manager walked up and asked an associate if she had clocked out - never acknowledged there were customers as she yelled on her way out of the entry "Gotta save on labor!" to which we discovered she had. It took ten plus minutes to get a drink order. We felt completely invisible. Simple food order made at one time - Queso for appetizer and fajitas for the table. The server totally forgot the queso. Meanwhile larger groups are getting tables full of food that arrived after us. I saw the same manager running in and out of our room so I flagged her down (we were a front table but again invisible - she even asked a two top next to us if they were ok before leaving again, I flagged her down on another pop in) and she went to check. We didn't want the queso at this point since we would only fill up on chips. Everything was the kitchen's fault which in industry terms is "I didn't put in the ticket". Fajitas, which are being prepared constantly, took over 30 minutes. Food was good when we finally ate, manager never apologized or offered any concessions besides a free dessert. Disappointing at best. Then as we were being served, a bottle of hot sauce fell off the table and broke - accident for sure and definitely not an issue in any other setting but it became a parade of staff hollering for people to come and crouching by our table talking. And if it couldn't get any more theatrical, a birthday. Staff again gathered around our table screaming. Have some foresight or get your workplace together, no doubt this was lack of management. The entire evening was a mess. What...