El Meson San Pedro Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Sparta

Our initial review had 3 stars and was more favorable then. A month later, we went back with my family. This last visit (I do mean LAST) was pretty disappointing. The server apparently doesn't speak English...if he does, he isn't cut out to be waiting tables. He took everyone's drink order except mine - he turned and left quickly. He then returned with beverages and stood looking bewildered, holding a sweet tea after handing out the drinks. I told him I'll take it. Everyone then gave him their orders. I ordered a 2-item COMBO meal with Beef Taco and a Tamal. I pointed to the item on the menu and gave him my entree selections. About 20 minutes later, this guy comes to the table with the tacos our kids ordered. He comes back a few minutes later and lays a small, square plate down in front of me. In a neat pile, in the center of the plate, are taco filling ingredients...without a taco shell. He walks away, I am bewildered and start laughing, as do my kids. He returns to our table with two well-prepared dishes that are great looking, but nothing any of us ordered. Now he looks bewildered and wanders off into the dining room, apparently trying to recall whose meals he was holding. When he returns, I tell him I had ordered a combo, not taco ingredients. He leaves, returning with one Tamal on its own plate, taking the taco ingredients with him. A gentleman comes to our table and asks if I was wanting rice and beans. I repeated my combo order and continued eating the solo Tamal. This man returns with a hard taco wrapped in foil on a plate...followed by a plate with the beans and rice. I finished the beans and rice. I looked up to watch our server walking slowly out of the kitchen with two more dinner meals with a confused look on his face. A few minutes later, the shorter gentleman headed back into the kutchen, shaking his head. I laughed to myself. My daughter later told me her unfinished taco tasted horrible. I had taken my wrapped and uneaten taco home in a styrofoam box afterward. Today I decided to warm it up - removing the lettuce, I placed the taco in a pan to gently re-heat it. The cheese melted, but the meat stayed in a weird, solid, ground-up clump. This had a soft texture to it resembling dog food, but nothing like ground beef or flaked beef. I didn't even taste it - this concoction didn't remotely resemble anything I have ever seen inside a taco shell...I trashed it. So you get some understanding, my family grew up in an Hispanic neighborhood, enjoying great Mexican food. El Meson San Pedro is a faaaar cry from great Mexican food. The service was dismal. Our best experience? Smithville: Fiesta...

Ate there for my first time the other night(it was a Tuesday). We arrived about 4:30 and were seated quickly. The restaurant is kept pretty dim but each table is well lit so reading menus and being able to see who you're talking to isn't a problem.

The menu is extensive for a small place, several pages front/back, but covers a good range. There is something for everyone which is great as my wife has a number of food allergies that limit her choices and our son is a vegetarian but both found multiple items to choose from. I thought that was great as many places have maybe 2 or 3 choices for those who choose to eat vegetarian. I especially liked that the prices were not expensive. Dinner for 3 adults which included two margaritas was just about $45.

The servers were very pleasant and attentive. Our drinks never went dry and they came by just enough to ensure we had all we needed/wanted but not so much that it felt like an intrusion. They were also quite knowledgeable of the menu and how this items were made, what could be removed/substituted and so forth. While it seems like servers would know these things, too often we eat at places where that just isn't the case.

From the time we ordered to the food being brought out was only about 15 mins, but we did order an item that takes a bit longer then most. What we especially liked was our son ordered something that came with a cheese sauce/dip that was done before everything else. Rather then have it sit and go bad, the server asked if it was alright to bring it out. That is a big plus in our book, though having everything planned to be done at the same time would be perfect.(yes, we understand this can be difficult, my wife and I both spent many years working on the floor and in the kitchen of restaurants. But that's why it's a big plus for is when they do ask if they can bring it vs letting it just sit.)

Our whole experience was excellent. While my wife has been there a time or two before, it was my son & my first time. However it is a place to which we will be returning. It's nice to know we have something local that is this good. Living in a small town such as this means fairly limited choices for restaurants.

This is a must try if...

Based on 2 experiences we won't bother again. The first time we went for takeout they had their phone off the hook. Went in to order instead and found later the food was wrong. Had also ordered a large salsa but they gave us cheese dip instead. Gave them time and heard they were moving so waited longer to work out their kinks and went in for takeout again. The new location is very nice, and the front of house gal was quick with our order but I had to go back for the salsa we bought. She gave a head roll when asked about it. We don't live far but the food was quite cool by the time we got there. The portions are very small, granted pricing is a little less than other nearby places but normally spending $35-40 for two people gets us 2 full meals. We easily ate everything, and that included additional sides of rice and beans. Also the burrito was missing the pico and the guac that are listed as ingredients and it came doused in cheese dip even though that isn't mentioned in the description. Typically if there's no sauce listed it's plain or they ask what you want but to defer to cheese sauce is just weird. It says it's "extra large" but it was a normal sized tortilla and about a third was scrunched up without filling. My ground beef was waaaay over seasoned, and I enjoy a good seasoning. I find most places hardly season their meat so I was glad at first but midway through the tiny enchilada it was overpowering, like the lid came off their dispenser or something. Just really not thrilled, nothing was amazing enough to try...