Casa de Valdez — Restaurant in Taos

Not a good experience. I will preface that some of this will be due to my visit occurring on Mother’s Day, so I start with that context. I had called earlier in the day for a reservation, but was informed they were not doing so - again, probably because of the holiday. We waited probably about 30 minutes for a table, and then found out that they were out of a number of items. It was clear that they were quite busy, and with bbq - once it’s gone…it’s gone. That changed my choice to getting just the brisket vs the smoked combination plate as they were out of ribs. My house salad arrived with some small corn chip pieces in it, so I hope that was part of their dish and not ‘extras’ that fell onto my salad. My brisket arrived with my second side selection of mixed vegetables - which were bland and not seasoned at all. A number of their bbq items come with a choice of different sauces, but I wanted to taste the meat directly. The brisket was incredibly dry, cut from the flat, and visually had no indication of being smoked. There was no smoke ring, nor was there any bark - although it tasted ok, it was not enjoyable. The bill was another issue that I should have addressed. Some restaurants charge for plain club soda, some do not. Our bill not only showed that we were charged $3.50 for each glass, but charged again for our refills. Had I not been with a larger group - I would have taken this up with staff/management. Again, I was hoping to be impressed but they fell...

If i could have gave no stars, I would have but Google makes you give at least one. First off the waitress was VERY RUDE!! My husband was waiting for a refill of Tea and she never came... he finally had to get up and ask for more tea.... then our food comes out and the plates are not worth the price you pay. He got the Valdez bbq combination, it was $23.00, he got a small little bbq chicken, 2 pieces of small ribs, and a little side of brisket... and 2 small sides.. they tack on 18% tip for parties of 6 or more so the waitress doesn't care about the service she gives out because she gets her tip regardless.... then when I was paying the ticket and let them know i was not happy she and the gentleman were arguing with me....saying were busy it's mother's day.. well if it's a holiday in Taos hire more help, be prepared. RUN CASA DE VALDEZ LIKE A REAL RESTAURANT AND BE NICE TO THE CUSTOMER'S THAT are KEEPING YOU IN BUSINESS.. TAKE SOME BUSINESS CLASSES.. THEY DIDN'T EVEN SAY SORRY. IF YOU ARE WANTING BBQ TRY JETHROS DOWN THE ROAD IT'S A BBQ TRAILER BUT IS WAY BETTER AND YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR NOT SOME OVER PRICE BBQ WITH BAD SERVICE AND IF YOU WANT NEW MEXICAN, WE NEVER HAVE HAD A BAD EXPERIENCE, WITH MICHAELS KITCHEN!!! MY MOTHER'S DAY LUNCH WAS RUINED.... MAYBE NEXT YEAR IT WILL BE BETTER.. SO SAVE YOUR SELF $100.00 AND GO SPEND IT ON SOMETHIMG WORTH IT. SKIP CACA...

I'm giving this restaurant 5 stars because the food was outstanding. However the service was not. We first stood at the door for over 5 minutes waiting to be seated when we were the only ones waiting to be sat and were told by 4 different servers that they would be right back with us. Once we were sat Ivy was our server. My husband ordered steak enchiladas and he ordered me chicken enchiladas. He asked the server for posole and was told he couldn't get it with his meal. Anyways our order came and he was served beef fajitas. Ivy clearly misunderstood what he ordered. We told her that's not what we ordered but she immediately started arguing and even pointed her finger at my husband while arguing her point. My husband said it's fine I'll just take this. He would never order fajitas because he hates bell peppers. Anyways I ended up switching him meals. Ivy then brings him posole out of nowhere. That to me says she knows she messed up. Ivy needs to get a little better customer service skills. A server should never point a finger and argue. It was just a misunderstanding and she could have handled the...