Centro Cantina — Restaurant in Tampa

Talk about a bad manager. We come walking in and are immediately greeted with attitude from the managing bartender. He failed to know that the side gate (which we thought was the entrance, as did many more people after us) was wide open, so he grabs a megaphone in an EMPTY bar and says “To the group who just decided to walk past the closed gate, come here for ID check.”

A friend of mine who is visiting from out of town asks the other (friendly) bartender if he could show her photos/a scan of his ID since his was stolen a day prior, and before she even has the chance to respond the managing bartender grabs his megaphone and point it directly at our faces, while we are standing not even 3 feet from him, and says “pictures of IDs are not allowed!”

So my friend left but we didn’t want to stay anyways with treatment like that. As we left the manager yelled at 3 more girls who walked past this “closed” gate even though it was wide open. Thankfully they called him out and told him “it’s wide open…” and he replies (like they are supposed to know this already?) “Well it’s supposed to be closed so you need to go around the other way!”

I’ve truly never experienced such a bitter person in my life. And the use of the megaphone when it’s not necessary, and especially doing it right in people faces is just pure human disrespect. None of the issues we faced were of our own making, if you’re going to be so mad about people not following your rules and entering the way you want, then maybe make sure those rules are clearly stated and the side entrances aren’t wide open and unattended.

I can see why this place was so empty. And I hope whoever this man was learns to not rain on people parade so much. I’ve worked in the bar industry, and you need to be nice to people unless they explicitly give you a reason not to be, otherwise you’re going to have an empty bar.

Other than that, the other bartenders and staff seemed very sweet, and I am sorry they have to deal with him as a boss, pushing away any customers and therefor income they may have made. Like I said, we’re fine being denied entry due to my friends ID situation, but maybe have a little more discreetness and respect to customers. The last thing you need is other patrons hearing you be so rude to people who just walked in and were just asking...

I went to this restaurant tonight wanting to catch a bite to eat and enjoy the atmosphere. I ordered drinks requesting "well" vodka to find out later on that they charged me for premium without my consent. I told the waitress there was a mistake and asked if she could fix it or should I just speak with the manager myself. She stated that she would fix it...but instead, she along with other staff members decided that my concerns were not valid "because she was new". I have plenty of service experience and take pride in holding myself accountable for my mistakes....so for them to dismiss their failure to appropriately train this young lady was beyond me. I "politely " asked to speak to the manager (and after being told many lies that he wasnt available), he later approached me aggressively without giving me the opportunity to explain "the customer's concern" since he was not present during these exchanges. Aside from this waitress' lack of communication regarding this unexpected price change, she was awesome and attentive. I find struggle in wondering whether or not she panicked at the thought of a customer having a dispute, in conjunction with her inability to utilize appropriate customer service skills. Two strangers whom sat next to me tried to explain to the manager my concerns as well and he was rude to them also. I never refused to pay this ticket but simply wanted to pay for what I REQUESTED. Since the manager only took the word of his staff, whom did not try to help in any way and seemed to be reacting based on inexperience and prejudice, he immediately assumed that I was refusing to pay and summoned two security guards towards me. I never want to go here again...which is sad because I had a good time otherwise. They made me feel discounted and disrespected, considering that I am an educated and level headed woman whom has every right to speak up for myself. That manager is no leader by any means. I feel sorry for him because with that attitude, he can't possibly have healthy business/personal...

I have been coming here for almost a year now and even though the staff is friendly and amazing, the atmosphere is not. I have seen the owner many times while enjoying drinks here and every time I see him he makes the whole world around him tense. I understand it is hard running a business but he seems like an extremely disrespectful and mean person. I can’t help but always feel watched by him and it’s terribly off putting. He sits and glares at his staff, who are the only reason we were continuing to come... and EVERYTIME I hear him talk to his staff it’s rude and he acts like they know nothing. My boyfriend and I left today and decided today was the last day because of how it is ran. It makes the whole bar feel like there’s a rain cloud of anger over it. The drinks are amazing and I will miss seeing the staffs smiling faces but...