Noche Woodfired Grill & Agave Bar — Restaurant in Tulsa

Man it's tough to leave a mediocre review for a place with such wonderful food, but the hospitality has been severely lacking the last couple of times my wife and I have been here.

Last Friday I brought my wife here for her birthday, we love Noche, I noted in the reservation that it's for her birthday. For starters, we waited patiently at the hostess table behind a woman who was trying to get on the wait list, nobody greeted us, yet another couple came in behind us and the pink-haired hostess immediately greeted them and started helping them. I interjected and just said hey we have a reservation too and have been waiting here already? They said our table isn't even ready, so we waited, admittedly only 5 or so minutes, but if we reserve a table, especially for a special occasion, I feel the table should be ready at the reserved time.

Next, when we did get our table, we felt crazy because the server kept bringing us room temperature bottles water while giving the table next to us chilled water. This actually happened to us the last time we were here back in June too. What is with that? Are your servers clocking some guests as premium and others as not?

We ordered an appetizer and I ordered a glass of mezcal neat to sip, we hadn't even decided what we wanted to order, and the same pink haired hostess came and took our menus lmao. I had to ask our server for them back, and when I did ask for them back, she acted like "what do you need them for" ????????

I had to explain that I'd want to keep the menu to order our food and possibly another mezcal

As a former industry guy who's trained in mise en place, hospitality etc, it felt pointed. I'm not sure if it was because we were dressed more casually or what, but we for some reason received different service than others. We'll be taking a break from Noche and exploring some places that put more of an emphasis on hospitality, which honestly sucks, because the food at Noche is so very good.

The best service we received was from a guy in a black shirt towards the end of the meal, I complimented the morito salsa and he took the time to explain to me the things that give it that unique smoky taste, it was appreciated and much more in line with the type of service we expect. What sucks is as a patron, I always tip well, even if the service is substandard, but it feels like it reenforces the substandard service. If I were to tip poorly to reflect the hospitality, that would also justify in the servers mind treating us differently. It's a catch 22. While Noche isn't the most expensive restaurant around, it's definitely priced more premium than a lot of places, and the service should reflect that, especially when I take the time to note it's a special occasion on the...

Noche specializes in small portions of off-putting food and distasteful cocktails. I've been here twice, hoping that the first visit was just a fluke and an off day for them. Both times, I had the displeasure of being seated by the same rude lady. I had a reservation the first time around, and I did not get seated for 45 minutes after the time I booked, but the seats were fine. The second time, I waited over an hour when I was told it'd be 15-30 minutes. I got multiple eye rolls and an attitude for politely asking for an update. The mean girl energy I received was intense. I was seated on an awkward stool at the base of a tree pot meant to serve as a table. It's an odd place to seat people. No place for leg room, so you have to sit sideways and on a stool the size of a notebook. I am 130lbs...my size is not the problem. I've tried all 3 margaritas, with the classic being the better of the 3, and the mora y pera being the worst. It's what I imagine putting a Christmas tree in my mouth would taste like. Anytime my water cup was empty, I would have to ask for more - there's no attentiveness from the servers. The chips and beans were the best things I've had here. The aguachiles are also edible, just missing some flavors and spice. It's evident that they try too hard to satisfy their American customers instead of keeping the culture and authenticity that comes with Mexican cuisine. Everything else I've tried is a laughing matter. That includes: pozole, steak & chicken fajitas, tampiqueña, y pollo a la brasa. I was born in Sonora, so I was hoping the Sonoran-style tortillas would be a hit. I was disappointed. Unfortunately, none of these incredibly tiny portions of food were finished because nobody in my party was satisfied either time. Out of politeness, I agreed to take some to-go, which resulted in us waiting an additional 25 minutes for them to return with the packaged food and the bill. It appears that the staff struggle with time management overall. I appreciate that the servers I had were friendly and held a positive attitude. I can't imagine the stress of working here, but it does not excuse the treatment of the hostess. Noche does an excellent job marketing themselves as "fine Mexican dining," but I can assure you that is far from the truth. Serving small portions in a beautiful and dimly lit location does not make a place a "fine dining" establishment. It's a shame that this restaurant falls so low on my list because I sincerely expected better. Chef Marco has the right idea, but a terrible execution. I refuse to leave just 1 star because he is la raza after all, and the music + interior design are perfect. That alone has clearly been enough to get people inside. 10/10 on how "Instagrammable"...

TLDR: Food was fine. Drinks were fine. Service was rushed.

I made a reservation online and all that was available was a 7:45 high-top and I noted that we may prefer to sit at the bar if there was an opening when we arrived. There was, so we sat at the bar, but there was a booth open and they were very accommodating to move us to the booth. As soon as we sat down with the bean dip and chip starter (which was a nice change from chips and salsa), our server immediately asked for our drink order and tried to get an appetizer going. We hadn't even looked at the menu, so we asked for a minute. We ordered the mango habanero margarita and the Classic Margarita with egg white (nice!) and a tequila flight. The bartender brought the tequila flight and told us what they were - I have seen pictures of the pairings and maybe those are the mezcal or more expensive one, but they're paired with different things, ours were all just paired with lemon slices dipped in tajin salt and we weren't told why it was lemons - I thought they had maybe run out of limes or were just trying to be different. Our margaritas came and again, we were asked if we were ready to order so fine yeah let's uh get guacamole and queso that they can't do without meat in it so feeling rushed again, haven't even tried our drinks. Apps come out in what feels like not even 10 seconds but might have been 2 minutes. Again, are we ready to order? The restaurant is NOT full or busy, but I'm just tired of being rushed, so we order chicken fajitas to share. I'm not joking - they came out in 4 minutes. How do you cook fresh chicken in 4 minutes? We haven't even enjoyed our appetizers. The chicken was fine. It came with grilled onions (and only onions) and one grilled jalapeño, pickled carrots and more onions, sour cream, and a small sprinkling of queso blanco. The tortillas were delightful, though (i would just order those by themselves). The chicken fajitas were fine. Not sure it was a dish that was $30+ fine, but whatever. We ate, paid, and left in under 45 minutes. I always give a restaurant 3 chances, sometimes more, so it could have just been an off night and i will try it again, but probably not for awhile as there was nothing that stood out as fantastic. Maybe lunch & brunch will bring something different to the table. It's a cool space, though, and I know it's new. And we ordered basic things because we felt so uncomfortably rushed we didn't have time to really look at the menu. It was date night. We were trying to enjoy our time together at this cool new place, but we enjoyed ourselves at French Hen next door...