Matador Tacoma — Restaurant in Tacoma

My husband and I were excited to try this Mexican restaurant last night. I’m a Black Latina and he’s Mexican. We both speak English fluently and were looking forward to enjoying a Mezcal Old Fashioned and dinner together. After waiting a long time to be greeted, our waiter, Nate, finally came by. He seemed nice at first as he took our drink order.

Right then, a Hispanic couple was seated at the table right next to us—close enough that we could clearly hear each other. They ordered a Coke and a water, no alcohol, and Nate immediately asked them for ID. The gentleman handed over a Guatemalan driver’s license, and Nate told him it wasn’t valid, that he needed a passport, U.S. license, or other U.S.-issued ID. The couple, speaking in accented English, explained that they had been there just weeks earlier and no one had asked for ID.

Here’s what made it even more unsettling: this couple looked about our age, and my husband and I had just ordered two Mezcal Old Fashioneds—and Nate never asked us for ID at all. When I pointed this out, Nate doubled down, saying he cards anyone who “looks under 34,” even if they aren’t ordering alcohol, because alcohol is sold in the restaurant. The woman asked for the manager, Thomas, who came over with no apology or empathy—just repeating the same explanation.

It was painful to watch: two white men working in a Mexican restaurant telling a Hispanic couple with accented English that their ID wasn’t good enough, effectively forcing them out even though they only wanted Coke and water. Under Washington law, servers are required to check ID only when alcohol is being purchased, and while a Guatemalan driver’s license may not meet the requirement for alcohol service, it should never be a barrier to simply eating a meal. Also in Washington, if a restaurant chooses to check ID for entry because they are 21+ or serve alcohol throughout, they must check everyone’s ID, not just people they think look under a certain age. Selectively carding certain customers (like what Nate and Tomas did) is not only inconsistent with best practices, it opens the door to discriminatory treatment.

What happened here wasn’t about following the law—it was selective enforcement, targeting customers who had a heavy accent and looked Latino. The lack of care or awareness from both Nate and Thomas made it clear that empathy and equity were not part of this restaurant’s values. My husband and I decided to walk out in solidarity with the couple, who left right after us. To add insult to injury, Nate told my husband to pay for the drinks we had ordered and never received.

This wasn’t just bad service. It was discrimination, plain and simple. We will not return, and we’ll be warning our Hispanic friends and community to avoid supporting a place that treats people this way.

Update in response to the owner’s reply:

Your response contains several inconsistencies that do not address the core issue of discriminatory treatment: •   If you are truly a 21+ bar, IDs must be checked for all patrons at entry—selective carding based on perceived age is inconsistent and invites bias. •   You admit I “should have been asked for identification,” confirming unequal policy enforcement. •   The couple next to us was not ordering alcohol, so there was no legal reason their Guatemalan license should have prevented them from dining if you were not carding everyone. •   You state you do not condone discrimination but offer no indication of investigating bias or preventing it in the future. •   Having a “multi-cultural team” does not eliminate discriminatory behavior or its impact. •   You acknowledge we should not have been asked to pay for drinks we never received but give no explanation or plan to address it. •   You provide no steps to repair the harm done to the couple, to us, or to the...

We went to eat dinner and couldn't find a parking space around the place we chose (we're both handicapped) so went to Matador because we've been there before and enjoyed it. My husband dropped me at the front and went to park. The host took my name and party number and 2 is a pretty easy number to find space for. I told the hostess I was going to the restroom and we would take first available. I come back and ask the hostess at the firepit clearing four plates if they're done to which she replied yes so I was like cool perfect place to watch the game while we eat and as I go to get my husband by the door, this other customer goes," oh, no! She's clearing that for us 3". I looked at the female hostess and asked how that was possible if we were here before them. The male host said the firepit was first available open sitting to which I replied, I know we just looked for two seats because my husband wanted to watch the football game and I just went to the restroom because EVERYTHING was full and you give our seats away!!!! Do you see the problem here? Why do you have 3-4 hosts/hostesses when one doesn't know what the others are doing? Needless to say the 3 people were given our seats and we didn't stay to eat since our mood had been comprised. All I told my husband was it was too loud and I already had a headache because he's a marine vet and he would have lost it on everyone! It's such a shame too!!! We love some of your food like the grilled watermelon salad and after last nights chaos I doubt we'll be back! We eat out 4-6...

Long wait times, from seating, food, and especially drinks, ordered 2-3 rounds of drinks and each time it took a good 30 minutes, by that time we were done with our food and ready to go. Drinks were inconsistent, had 2 old fashions at the same time both different, one was full, other was almost empty, no orange peel in one, two in the other. Carne asada + shrimp was cold, waitress was overwhelmed and very busy, but it didn’t seem packed by any means, she was kind. The sun was beaming in and we couldn’t find a waitress to ask to close their curtain, so a friend at the table went to shut it slightly and a waitress yelled at him, like yelled. Really, really rude, especially considering she said they aren’t allowed to be closed, but yet our waitress closed it. Overpriced, not clean, the bathroom floors were so slippery, that you nearly fall walking in, toilet paper all over the floors, the water in the bathroom was ice cold and did not warm up, which is a health hazard, I mean, waitresses and cooks use the bathroom and wash their hands before preparing our food and drinks, with cold water, that’s useless and probably a health code violation in all honesty.. With all of this, I would say it’s not worth going, totally overpriced for the experience and taste, I did like the macho tacos, those came out fast, pre made so makes sense. Tacoma has many other places to eat + drink at, skip...