Don Quijote Restaurant — Restaurant in Town of Brookhaven

I used to frequent this restaurant before Covid & my mom loved it so I've held on to a fantastic memory of the place for a while now. I've been raving about it for years & we were finally in the area to stop in for dinner.

It was Friday night so the place was packed which was a good sign to me! We sat in the corner, the seating between tables was super tight and my chair was pushed up against the wall so I couldn't move back or around. They tried to seat 2 other parties behind us and they reseated elsewhere or outside because they couldn't pull the chairs from the table to take a seat. Great! We had a corner to ourselves.

The Pro is the service was phenomenal. I cannot complain; not at all. We ordered just waters since we're not heavy drinkers anymore & the wait staff ensured our glasses were always full. Our waitress was attentive and delivered everything we ordered perfectly.

The Con is the food. It was off putting to me for the restaurant to be so busy; birthday party, families with children, date nights & the chips and salsa served to start had... stale chips? We had 2 servings and they weren't all stale but some were so maybe they pre-made the basket and this one came from the bottom of the stack? Idk. The salsa is odd like a duck sauce, mango salsa? It was sour sometimes & I questioned what it was made of the entire time. I was hungry so I ate it.

We ordered the calamari as a starter. It was rubber. Chewy. Frozen Rings. I was hungry so I ate it. The sauce on the side has no flavor. It was not a red sauce.

My bf had the Arroz com Pollo! It had chorizo in it which he did NOT enjoy & he said the chicken had no flavor, it was all bland. He said, "This is great for dog food!" as we packed it to go.

I had the Cerdo Empanizado. No complain on the pork loin but the pinto beans were a horror. I had to smell them each time as I ate them like what the hell was wrong with these beans. At first I'm thinking "Oh I know! They're beans from a can." I smell them. "Oh I know! They're made with bacon?" I eat them. "Oh. Are these.... Expired?" I'm thinking... HOW. The restaurant was so busy. I'm thinking maybe they're frozen & then thawed out per order? WTH NO WAY.

Yack. Idk. I couldn't sleep. This place was great. Sucks to lose another...

A friend and I went there for an early dinner this past Thursday. The place was practically empty when we arrived but filled up rather quickly. Very nice dinning area with a good side bar area, outside dinning is also available

We were seated and given menus and a basket of warm chips and salsa was put on the table immediately, nice to get something to pick on while looking at the menu.

We ordered a 1/2 pitcher of margarita's which while good were not in any way remarkable though it is nice to have the option of the 1/2 pitcher.

We got an order of guacamole, which is served in a bowl made out tortilla chips. I'm not a huge fan of guac but this was very fresh and good. My friend who loves avocados and guac loved it.

We also ordered the chorizos Sancho which was excellent & highly recommended. My only 'complaint' is it's not served with enough bread for dipping in the delicious sauce.

Not a couple minutes after serving our appetizers my friends dinner entree, the chimichanga's was served. Not only was there not enough room on the table but why would they rush out her dinner, we had barely enough time to try the apps.

Not only that but they just brought her dinner not mine, which I was grateful for but still...

We had to have them take away some of the items on the table as there was literally no room.

The chimichanga's were served with rice and black beans, my friend ordered one chicken and one beef and she said both were very good.

I ordered the Paella Valenciana without mussels. It's served in a cast iron skillet and piled high, more than enough for two, maybe three people.

Now I admit we over ordered so we took home most of our dinners and about half the guac & chorizos.

The food was very good but they really need to work on the pacing of the service which took a bit away from the...

-This restaurant has the worst customer service. It was my daughter's birthday and she wanted to go to this place so I made a reservation for Friday night, 10 people at 8pm. When I made the reservation the person I was speaking with said it wouldn't be a problem to accommodate and reminded me that restaurant closes at 10pm due to covid restrictions. So far so good. I get to restaurant at 8pm. There's no tables ready. Hostess said it'll be 10 minutes. Not great but ok. Then she said we have to wait OUTSIDE IN THE COLD! I told her that's crazy and that my 83 year old grandma can't wait in the cold. I was told it's policy and cannot wait indoors. We waited. 10 minutes go by and nothing. 10 more minutes go by and still nothing. During this time other customers are leaving and others being seated. I check on my tables. No tables ready! Hostess said there's a large party that won't leave so there's no tables for me. I go back and forth with her about get me other tables. I made a reservation and this is ridiculous. I wait another 10 minutes. Now it's 8:30pm. Check again and was told too many people in restaurant so they can't take my party in until 10 other customers leave! Worst experience I've had at a restaurant and truly worst customer care. Never an apology or offer to make up for this debacle. My birthday girl was devastated as well as my entire party upset and COLD. It was 34° outside by the way. Horrible. I have been to this place about 7 times in the past. Last 3 times had customer service problems. Things like people being seated after me and they getting their orders in and food served before me. Food order wrong. Ordering food that they didn't bring out but was still charged on check. But this time was the worst. I...