Condesa Restaurante Mexicano - Smithfield — Restaurant in Smithfield

Mexican food comes in all shapes and sizes - little roadside places, trendy looking taco shops, and even the "really rather quite nice looking" restaurant. Condesa is one of the latter, and while the and decor are excellent, the service and atmosphere is a bit lacking.

Let us begin at the beginning with something that is absolutely none of their fault - Google says that they open at 11:30 on Saturday, so there I was - arriving slightly early at 11:15. No big deal. My friend and I sat in the parking lot and catted for a bit, and then headed to the door at about 11:29. The opening time on the door? 12. Ya steered me wrong, Google.

After walking around the parking lot for about 30 minutes in the sun - there is really nothing to do within walking distance - we went in. We were still a bit early, but the chap at the door let us in and showed us to a table. We sat down, and soon another group came in and were seated as well.

The interior of the restaurant was nice. It wasn't garish or anything like that, but it did look like a Mexican restaurant in the same way Longhorn looks like a "Western" restaurant. Not bad - music was quiet, tables were clean, seats were comfortable.

Water arrived, as did chips and salsa - the salsa is actually really quite good - and then we waited.

The folks that were seated after us had their food on the table and we were still eating chips and salsa.

It took a bit, but the waiter came and took our order - I decided on the barbacoa burrito and some guacamole. The guac arrived quickly with a new basket of chips, and it was excellent. While it wasn't the "prepared at table side" variety, it tasted fresh and there was plenty. I was happy.

Then the food arrived. My friends' burrito was as expected. Mine? Mine had pepitas and orange colored sauce on it. Okay. Maybe I read the wrong description? I took a look under the hood as it were, and found that the protein was shrimp instead of beef.

I waited for the waiter to come check on us. Nope. I got up and spoke to someone to get the issue rectified.

At this point, all I had to eat since a light breakfast at 3am (when I got up) was chips and salsa and guac. I was thankful to have ordered and received the guac. So, 9 hours after my last meal, here I am, starting to legit feel shaky from hunger and waiting for the right burrito.

Then the music started. There had been quiet music playing - turns out I was just overhearing the music playing in the kitchen, because suddenly there was more and different music playing - still the same traditional sounding music from earlier, but now annoyingly loud and layered with the music that I could still hear playing from the kitchen. It was a cacophony of music - had it been either the music from the back or the music over the PA system, that would have been fine, but hearing two different songs at the same time being played while your body is begging for something besides the chip based diet you've been feeding it for the past 15 minutes is a kind of torture I've never endured. Until now.

12:30, my burrito arrives.

It was glorious and delicious - as long as my forearm and monumentally more delicious (not that I've eaten my forearm, but I can imagine). The barbacoa beef was grand - well spiced, tender, moist; everything worked so well together, though it was all over almost as fast as a blink - I was starving, so actually enjoying and savoring my meal was tougher than it should have been. Still - it was fabulous.

The check arrived, and the check was paid, and the plates were cleared and THEY TOOK AWAY THE REST OF THE CHIPS AND GUACAMOLE without asking if I was done with them. If they had asked, they would have found that I was not done with them, and in fact wanted to finish every speck of that guacamole because despite having just eaten a burrito as long as my arm, I was still hungry.

So, summary - great food, service was subpar, atmosphere was fine until the audio assault of dueling songs began, and an ultimately less-than-average experience buoyed by...

I Ate and got drinks here just to have the horrible red head bartender ignore us and play on her phone. Did not put a single correct order in that my girlfriend or myself ordered. Continued to nag and inappropriately greet anyone that came to her bar. Continued to nag and rag on all the younger people training. She has clearly been there too long and won't let anyone that's younger learn the trade. The hostess, training bartender and barback were waaay better than what this bartender could provide. I understand it was slow but we were ignored. The lady is bringing down the establishment and the ones working around her. This is the 3rd time i've been disrespected and treated poorly by this horrible red head bartender. I wish the company would make a change because their food is amazing and everyone else in there never disappoints. if you see this red head bartender run. I only gave three stars based off the hard work and complementary service provided by the others around her. If i see her in the bar again i will turn around and take my business else where. Laura's is across the street and there is also a great Italian restaurant connected to the same establishment. You have every reason to go else where if this lady is working at the bar. Don't make the mistake I did. I am only taking the time out of my day to write this review because i want to see change in such a great establishment that has been in a much better place than where it is now. i hope...

Came here while visiting in town. This is a lively establishment with a large dining area and bar. The margaritas were good but a little heavy on Sour Mix. We tried the Enchiladas Mole and Barbicoa Burrito. Both were good. The chips are store bought out of a bag (not freshly made) just regular corn chips. The salsa was ok. This is not "authentic Mexican" with so many dishes Americanized. The service was very good and quick. Parking lot on site shared by other businesses.

Came back a 3rd time on 4/20 to give this place another try and just wasn’t impressed. This time I sat at the bar and ordered the watermelon margarita. It was served in a mason jar with barely no salt on the rim (not a good glass selection for a margarita) and didn’t even have a lime garnish. We were going to grab dinner there but I had a hard time trying to force myself to select something and we ended up leaving to dine somewhere else. While I was seated at the bar, I observed the jars of garnished dehydrated fruit which wasn’t selected for one drink pumped out of the bar. I would’ve enjoyed a beautifully presented margarita. The drink menu selections were the same and I would’ve preferred something more crafted. This is supposed to be a “Mexican”. Also, one cup of salsa was brought over, it should be one cup per customer so individuals don’t have to awkwardly ask for their own cup. If I’m craving Mexican, this is a last resort of settling...