Sky View Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Town of Ulster

Saw a sign for this restaurant on the side of the road and decided to try it out. We called ahead to ask if they were vegetarian friendly. Specifically, we asked if the beans were vegetarian. I always ask if they use chicken/beef stock or lard. The lady who answered said, "Yes. Our beans are vegetarian, but not vegan." I should have asked her to clarify that...

When we arrived and ordered, we learned that, in fact, both the rice and beans use chicken broth. Not vegetarian nor vegan. Being too hungry to go elsewhere, we decided to stay and make the best of it. I ordered the cheese enchiladas and my husband ordered the #11 vegetarian combo (1 cheese enchilada, 1 guacamole tostada and 1 bean taco). In lieu of rice and beans (which come with both our meals), they gave me a guacamole tostada and my husband got a side salad.

The chips and salsa were decent and my husband ordered a mango Jarrito (which comes in a bottle). For some inexplicable reason, that took 10 minutes to arrive. Note that, at this point, there was only one other table besides ours. That's when our experience started to go awry.

After 30 long minutes, we inquired why it was taking so long. There were only three tables of customers. So, they brought out my tostada and his salad. Both were delicious - which is why I'm not giving this place one star. Then came our hot plates. The enchiladas were a big mess: overstuffed with onions and slathered with way too much cheese. They did not taste good.

When we inquired about the missing bean taco in my husband's combo, we were told that because the beans are not vegetarian, they left it out. Makes sense, we said. Can we get something else? That's when the server said substitutions cost extra!

Couldn't believe this. After giving us incorrect information on the phone (the woman who did this came by our table, too, and affirmed that she had been mistaken but also insisted that we be charged for any substitutions), both our server and the lady we spoke to on the phone were kind of rude about the whole thing and not at all interested in trying to make a more pleasant experience. The silliest thing is that vegetarian options in a Mexican restaurant cost so little. And we were already paying full price for both our entrees.

Terrible service. Mediocre food. Would not recommend. Keep driving to Kingston. There are better options waiting for...

When we arrived, it was really nice. Lovely view of the valley below which we could see from the table we chose. Service was prompt. Food was generous and fresh and quite good, though totally lacking in any kind of heat (and I don't particularly like spicy food, but this had absolutely none). The problems were at the end.

The moment the check was dropped we were forgotten. I put my card in the book, sticking out and obvious, but the server didn't come by until my companion waved it around much later. When the server ran it, it included this bogus "Customer Service Charge." The menu says there will be a service charge for parties of six or more, but there were two of us. Apparently they just pass credit card fees on to the customers, and I'm not entirely sure that's legal. It's certainly not ethical to do it without warning.

To top all that off, at the bottom of the check there was a suggested tip chart with the percentages calculated on the total including the tax and this fee. That's super unethical. Tips are calculated on the total before tax. I was a server for years. Do not play this game with me.

So they lost stars in a huge way for inflating the check. I will never return or recommend...

I'm really not sure why there are any good reviews.

The biggest problem by far was the water. The water at this place is disgusting. It is sulfurous and pretty much undrinkable. Worse yet, when we asked for seltzer instead, it wasn't bottled. They just carbonated the same disgusting undrinkable tap water so it was horrible with bubbles. When we asked for bottled water it was warm. Just taken out of a package of bottles under the bar.

We each had a margarita. They were all made with ice from the horrid tap water so they were all terrible. Even before the ice melted they tasted weak and watered down.

We had variations of the burrito and they were okay, but bland. Not bad, but not at all interesting. Certainly not great. They needed hot sauce which was provided in tiny individual plastic cups by request.

The view that Skytop is known for is ruined by thick overgrown brush right past the balcony, so for the most part you can't even see anything anyway.

The bill for three drinks, three entrees, and the seltzer waters came out to $126. So aside from not being very good, they were also very expensive.

Kingston has lots of great options for quality food. Don't waste...