Mekenita Cantina — Restaurant in Tampa

The one star is because I really liked my server. Ultimately, I don’t come to restaurants soley for nice servers though. I also need the food and drinks to be good as well, and this restaurant tastes like it employees only white Americans that are gluten free by choice and trying to reduce sodium in their diet. The chips and quac and salsa trio were average….nothing you couldn’t easily find elsewhere for a few dollars cheaper. Drinks were also just okay, watered down quite a bit, but whatever. My issue came in with my entree. I ordered the pork enchiladas “with authentic Oaxaca mole.” And my husband ordered the steak fajitas. It didn’t take long for the food to come out, but while his plate sizzled, mine was didn’t even steam. No, my comically large dinner plate featured three smaller enchiladas, covered in at least 1 cup of melted and then cooled orange shredded cheese and a tablespoon on mole, as well as rice and beans that both lacked salt and some greens. The mole might have tasted good, but I couldn’t tell compared to the room temperature orange cheese I was fighting through to find the mole or my enchiladas. I don’t like to send a plate back, but after two bites of my room temperature enchiladas, I did. The biggest issue is the fact that the covered them in a 1 cm thick layer of orange cheese and then let to cool to the point that If cut through, it was just a little block of cheese with each bite. The server informed me that the dish shouldn’t be cold because they don’t freeze any ingredients but “maybe it was because the fajitas took longer to cook” and offered to put it under the warmer for me. Not wanting to be a huge bother, I accepted. The plate came back out a few minutes later scalding hot. However, the food was the same temperature. I didn’t send it back again.

I came here to celebrate my birthday and anniversary with my husband as well as having just started a new job the week prior. The chefs just don’t seem very experienced. The flavors are average, but that would’ve been okay if they could’ve just given me a warm meal. This is solely the chefs and line cooks responsibility, to time plates correctly so that all plates on one table go out at the same time and aren’t sitting in the kitchen or at the table waiting for the rest of the tables food.

Wouldn’t eat here again, wouldn’t recommend...

Our recent experience at Mekenita was a disappointment. My kids and I happened to be near the Seminole Heights neighborhood, so figured we would try Mekenita’s new location.

Upon entering, the host said it would be a 15-20 wait and suggested that we sit on the patio until a table became available. Although it was an extremely cold Friday evening (55 F), we figured that the wait time was not that bad (the kids were also hungry). Luckily, we had just purchased winter coats and were given blankets to keep us comfortable.

The real shocker came when we noticed that two parties came into the restaurant and were seated. I left the patio to inquire why we were not offered a table inside and the host replied that he just does what he is told. Seeing as though his response was unclear, I asked the manager if we could be seated inside and she said that we would have to wait another 15 minutes. Mind you that I was standing next to an empty booth when I asked. The whole ordeal was bizarre, really. It was only when I insisted that I am bringing my kids in from the cold did she agree to let us sit there. I’ve never experienced that type of service before. We were promised the next available table, but were left in the cold.

Our food eventually came, and thankfully that was great. The server was awesome, but then the host came by near our table several times and blurted random comments. He kept referring to me and my kids as “brother” and “sister”, which I didn’t appreciate. On top of that, he made negative references/asked questions about African-Americans. I felt he was out-of-line. If he was trying to be funny or entertaining, he really wasn’t.

Needless to say, we won’t be coming back to Mekenita again. It’s a shame because the...

Well, there is a lot to like here but overall it wasn't a good experience and I don't think I will ever go back. The good: the decor is charming and welcoming and there are some really nice touches like providing ponchos for people sitting outside in the cold, and serving children's tacos in cute dinosaur-shaped holders. The bad: the service is lacking and there's a serious problem in the kitchen. We were barely greeted on arrival then eventually someone came and said there was a one hour wait for indoor seating or we could sit outside immediately. We should have realized this meant trouble. Service was sloooowww. It took a long time to get our sangria and the waitress admitted she made it herself because the bar was 'a mess'. We ordered and lots of items were off the menu. I ended up with not my second, but my third, choice of entree. Then the wait started. From placing our final order for items they actually had to receiving the food was 55 minutes. Nobody apologized or even checked in with us. When the food finally arrived the enchilada was delicious, but the beans and rice were cold. Eventually we got some grudging recognition from the manager who said she really didn't know what happened who gave us a free dessert. Everywhere there were tables of people waiting for food. Maybe the chef quit or the stove broke down, or maybe this is just the way the place is managed. Either way it was a shame. The place has potential but needs to be properly run and the guests need to be...