El Sombrero — Restaurant in Springfield

I had a really unfortunate experience at El Sombrero that left me genuinely disappointed. I’m new to town and this is the closest Mexican restaurant to my house so I was excited to give it a try. When my food came out, I took a couple of bites and bit down on a staple that was in the dish. I set it aside on my plate and waited for our server, Jesus, to come back so I could let him know.

When we told him, he didn’t seem to concerned he just asked if I wanted a new dish. Of course, I said yes, but I was surprised by how casually it was handled considering the safety issue and could have cut my mouth open on it. I waited for the replacement while my family ate their meals. I received my replacement meal and ate alone while my family awkwardly waited for me to finish. :/

At the end of the meal, I assumed they would remove it from the bill. They didn’t. So we asked if anything could be done to make up for what happened. Jesus said the front desk associate, Jose, would take care of it. But when we went to pay, Jose said he couldn’t do anything because they had already made me a replacement and I ate the replacement. We explained that I had only had a couple of bites before finding the staple, and that this situation wasn’t our fault—it was an inconvenience of time and a safety concern.

Jose said the owners weren’t there and that he couldn’t call them because they were “too busy.” Weird, I’m too busy to get my mouth cut by a staple here ever again.

I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect some kind of gesture in response to biting into a staple. I understand mistakes happen but it’s how you handle them that counts. I regret not taking a photo of my plate and a picture of the staple, but I literally did not think it would come to this.

If the owners read this, I’d appreciate the chance to talk and see if you’re open to making this right. We were actually planning to come back for Father’s Day to try the giant tomahawk steak. But after this, I...

I came into the store to pick up a Door Dash order. The worker on the floor completely ignored that I came in. A white woman came in after me and he awkwardly made his way up to the front. I was waiting near the door with the aforementioned woman and two other white men. He asked her if she was there for a door dash and she told him she was there for a pickup and he went to the back, still never acknowledging I was there. He brought out her food a few minutes later and checked her out around me, Then he left, still without acknowledging me. Then he brought out two Door Dash orders that he assumed belonged to both white men but one of them was mine. The sole time he looked at me was when I thanked him for greeting me and took the food. I’ve never been discriminated against like this in my life before and I will never eat at this establishment again. The reply sent by the company doesn't even make sense. I came in and no one even came to the front despite the very loud bell. It's not about the wait time, it's about the fact that I entered the store for the first time and no one so much as looked at me, let alone greeted me. I stood at the cash register for several minutes, patiently. When the other woman entered, he took a few more minutes to come up front and he asked HER if she was there for a Door Dash even though she came in minutes after me, but NOT ME. Even when he approached with the Door Dash orders, he never even looked my way to ask if I was there for one but he asked the men next to me - I was treated completely differently than three other people, it has absolutely nothing to do with assumptions about what I was there for. I am telling you that no one at any point helped me directly and you're trying to make it seem like I was...

We had a very disappointing experience at El Sombrero that unfortunately has us reconsidering any future visits. When my wife’s meal was brought out, she bit into a staple that was in the food. She set it aside on her plate and waited to let our server, Jesus, know. When he returned, we told him what had happened. He seemed pretty unfazed and simply asked if she wanted a new dish, which she understandably said yes to.

While the replacement was eventually brought out, no one acknowledged the seriousness of the issue beyond that. At the end of the meal, I assumed—perhaps wrongly—that they would remove the dish with the staple from the bill. They did not. When I asked if anything would be done to make up for the incident, Jesus said the front desk attendant, Jose, would handle it.

When I went to settle the bill, Jose told me they couldn’t take the meal off because they had made a replacement. I explained that we weren’t looking for a free ride—we just didn’t feel it was right to pay full price after something like that. Especially considering my wife only had two or three bites before finding the staple. But Jose said he couldn’t do anything since the owners weren’t there—and that the owners were “too busy” for him to call.

Look, we understand mistakes happen, and aside from the staple incident, the food seemed solid. We were actually planning to come back for Father’s Day to try the giant ribeye steak. But the way this was handled—minimizing a legitimate safety concern and offering no gesture of goodwill—was disappointing.

If the owners are reading this and would like to reach out, I’d be more than open to a conversation. Mistakes happen, but how you handle...