Uncle Rico's Cantina — Restaurant in Virginia

I went with my sister and niece a week ago on Friday. I was only there for a short period of time but my experience was terrible. First I will clarify that I am a black woman (not that it should matter in 2023). I have been here before for take out and the experience was ok...not great but not bad. Upon walking in this time the waiter/host looked like he was too busy to be bothered but yet the restaurant was mostly empty and it was around 2:30 pm. He grabbed menus and I asked if we could have a booster seat for my niece to which he replied "We don't have those.". I thought this was odd because it was a restaurant, so if they didn't have a booster seat I would assume they would suggest the next best option... a highchair. Unfortunately the man did not, to which my sister had to ask if they had highchairs and he said they did and he would get one. Initially my sister asked if the outdoor area was open to which he quickly snapped and said it wasn't and we could not sit there. We then asked where we could sit because he hadn't sat us yet and was attempting to clean off several dirty tables. I suggested the booth and he abruptly said we could not sit there and mumbled something else which I later assumed was that he needed to wipe it down. We stood there while he literally just swiped the crumbs on the table onto the floor with a damp rag. Once seated, while looking at the menu, a white family of three came into the restaurant and went to the bar because the waiter was in the back getting our drinks. My sister and I both heard the couple ask if they could sit in the outside area to which the lady behind the bar stated "...Yea". The family then swiftly went to the patio. I then walked up to the woman and asked if the patio was open to which she said "No it isn't". I looked over at the white family and then she took a pause and said that the family asked to go out there even though she said it was closed. Which was not entirely true because I had heard her say yes to them asking if it was open. Then she just stared at me and said "I can ask them to come back inside if that would make you feel better". At this point I went back to the table and informed my sister and we both decided to leave. There was a stark difference in how the older white family was treated from the moment they walked in, to how we were. Then when I asked why the same restrictions weren't imposed on the other family, I was met with a sarcastic crass response. I am not sure if it was just the staff that day but I will not be going back and spending my money in a place that seems to have...

First I have never had bad food here, the quality of food has always been great! However, there is an investment of time to enjoy the food.

I will not be returning to this restaurant as I have never received timely service the numerous times I have been there. I love supporting local restaurants and I gave this restaurant so many tries. Understandably, COVID brings unique circumstances but the restaurant had more than enough wait staff standing around each time I have been there. Each time I have ordered either through in person or through delivery it has always been a long wait to receive my and my families food. The service is inconsistent and the staff doesn't remember to bring back the correct drinks and long waits in between check-ins.

The final straw was when I ordered my food online for carry out and I ended up waiting an hour and half for food with my 13 month old son - I ended up cancelling because I needed to get my baby home to feed him. I walked into the restaurant, there was no one greeting so it wasn't clear where to go to get the food. After I waited for anyone to greet me, I walked up to the bar with my son in his stroller for 15 minutes before anyone greeted me. After that 5 different people asked my name and didn't receive any status updates each time someone asked me, yet they continued to walk past me. They had at least 6 people out front and not all the inside tables were filled. I ended up sitting down at a table, continued to wait for any status update and then my son started to get fussy after we were at the hour mark of waiting for the food. Finally when my son started getting really fussy, I walked up to the bar and asked where my food was - they hadn't even started my order. I asked to cancel the order, the lady didn't listen to me and told me to wait, I told them I needed to get my son home to feed him and put him to sleep and requested them to cancel the order. The order was cancelled and so was any future visits to...

Something really bizarre happened to me, I’m basically a new customer, the first time I ate at this place was like 5 months ago, the waiter a Spanish speaking guy was very friendly and polite, the second time I ate at this place, I was served by this young girl, it seems to me she’s related to the restaurant owner or something but for some reason I get this bad vibe from her. I remember thinking, the other guy is more polite than her. When I ate here for the third time, this same girl let the polite guy take my order. Well, I visited this place again for the fifth time, I was sitting waiting for someone to take my order, there were like 4-5 waiters/waitresses at this place, and there were like two-three tables with people eating but not really crowded, I was wondering why none of them came to take my order until the young girl came to me and said: and I quote: “your server is in the restroom, he’ll take your order when he finish” In my mind I was like, my server??? Did she really said that???? I mean, who does that??? It was so unnecessary for her to even say that! It is so disgusting and disrespectful of her, if that was the case, that I was waiting for the polite waiter to take my order all she had to say was, he’s busy at the moment, I can take your order. Does she really think I care who takes my order? I just hope she reads this review and change her behavior accordingly to avoid being seen as an uneducated person. There is no reason to put down a customer, her behavior is so unnecessary and unprofessional that she should not be allowed to serve customers...