iTZCALi Tapas & Tequila — Restaurant in Wichita

Oh boy did this place live up to every terrible thing I had heard since their first “grand opening”. Buckle up, this one is honest and a promise to never revisit this interesting place.

First off we had a reservation for 6 at 5:45pm which two of us had arrived and checked in. The first to arrive the hostess in a short way said seating would have to wait until the entire party was there, and left it at that. The restaurant had very few patrons at this time. While I haven’t had experience personally in this industry— from a business stand point you’d think they’d suggest she sat at the bar and ordered a drink while she waited. So I arrived and we then went to the bar to wait for the rest of our party. There were empty places with dirty dishes still sitting on the bar, so we sat around it. We were not acknowledged, and 10mins later we were asked what to have to drink. Us two ordered our beverages which came out cute with flowers and dried fruit as their garnish. As soon as we got our drinks the rest of our party arrived and we were seated.

Once seated, a younger gal finally attended to us by bringing us iceless water without straws. She told us she was in training and couldn’t answer our drink or food questions, nor could she get drinks for the table because it was her first day. Which we found odd. Eventually, we got frustrated, and the took our drink orders. Us two who already had drinks received our second round of drinks before the rest of our table did. It took an additional 10mins for theirs to arrive, and when they did they didn’t taste anything like the previously ordered drinks we had gotten, that they had tasted. We all agreed something wasn’t quite right. And for these drinks to be $15 ea you’d expect consistency. No one came to ask how the drinks were and at this point (45mins later and $30+/ea in) had yet to see the actual waiter. Our drinks ended up empty and at that point considered just leaving. But the waiter finally came to take our appetizer order and made some snide comments about being the only server in the now somewhat full restaurant, and only 1 bartender. He did not want to be there, and it was obvious the trainee was not being properly trained, more just thrown to the wolves with no actually responsibility or tasks. Oh and some things on their menu have been deleted, but remain on their lengthy menu.

Our tapas came out fairly quickly in comparison to the drinks. We ordered the Spicy Cucumbers (great) , Ceviche (not great), their version of Poke which came out on a bed of quac smothered in sauce (it was ok), and then quac which was good but came out with weird pinwheel porch rind things which we were told was deleted, and definitely was not easy to eat. Once more no one came to check to see how it was. We all ordered another round of drinks which didn’t come out ans presented initially. No garnish and drinks kept getting worse. And NO ONE came back to ever take our dinner order. The other girls l did flag our waiter down for espresso martinis to which he didn’t recommend, repeatedly. And we saw why. They looked like watered down chocolate milk with globs of chocolate syrup and one came out in their “shot glass” and tasted like cold QT coffee for $14 each.

When it came time to get our tabs, splitting it was a nightmare even though we discussed who had what. We ended up overcharged for some. And it took 3 times to get it right. We then also gave constructive criticism about the lack of consistency and lack of service, to which we were told sarcastically to google review it: so here we are. When we asked for his name, he gave us two fake names. Finally letting us know his name was Eric. So I don’t know if he is completely to blame for this experience, or if this is a management issue. But from where we sat, what we experienced was absolutely appalling. And then to see an office full of people by the bathrooms, while front of house was slammed was also quite odd. And to each have paid $80+ we expected this to be more of a fine dining experience. Do yourself a favor save your $ +...

I had only known about this place because it was across the street from my favorite gyro place so my mom and I decided that give it a try during our lunch break (we work together) today. I LOVED how the outside looks and the inside is very well decorated. The bar was beautiful. Having seen how great the atmosphere was, I had very high expectations of the food. My mom and I ordered nonalcoholic drinks. She ordered a strawberry lemonade and I ordered an Dr. Pepper. My mom ended up receiving a strawberry limeade but she just decided to deal with it since it didn’t taste bad. Unfortunately, I was extremely disappointed in the food. We ordered the dip trio ($14) and elote ($6) first. The dip trio came with queso, salsa, guacamole, and chips (since chips and salsa were not complementary) I actually quite enjoyed the dips. The salsa was fresh and spicy. The queso came out warm and super cheesy. The guacamole was creamy with fresh tomatoes. Sadly that was the only thing that me or my mom enjoyed. The elote had a weird taste to it. Maybe I’m just not accustomed to the seasoning that were used, but it tasted very earthy and not in a good way. Almost like the corn wasn’t cleaned throughly. Now our entrees, we ordered two chicken tinga street tacos ($14) with rice and beans and the supreme burrito ($14). The street tacos were extremely dry and had no flavor. The rice was even more dry than the chicken. The beans were decent, not too salty. Just an FYI, I’m not a picky eater. My leftovers, from anywhere I eat, never go to waste. Now the supreme burrito was what I ordered. It looked really good when it came out, but once I took a bite all I could taste was the red sauce it was covered in. To me, this sauce tasted extremely bitter and sour. I told the waitress I didn’t like the sauce on it and she offered to have a new one made without the sauce. I’m not sure if there was some confusion about what she thought I ordered when she took it back because I ended up getting a breakfast burrito which was DEFINITELY not what I ordered. I didn’t find out until I got home with my burrito and ended up giving it to my boyfriend. Honestly I wouldn’t have written this review if the food wasn’t so terrible. The total ended up being $56.98 without a tip. We tipped our waitress $15 so really the total was $71.98. Paid that much just to only like the $14 chips and dip?? I can confidently say that my mom and I will not be back after this experience. The only positives I have is that the staff was amazing at taking care of us (we went on a wednesday around 12pm not busy at all) and the atmosphere was great, but personally, the food has to be good for me to want to come back so I don’t recommend this...

A Promising Start At first glance, this place exudes uniqueness, colorfulness, and a sense of fun. The exterior draws you in, promising an exciting dining experience. However, as we stepped inside, the initial allure began to fade. What appeared vibrant on the surface turned out to be a facade, at least from our perspective. Service: A Series of Red Flags Unwelcoming Hostess (Red Flag #1): Our arrival was met with disappointment. Instead of a friendly hostess, we encountered someone who seemed disinterested. We understand that everyone has off days, but this lack of friendliness left us uneasy. Understaffed Patio (Red Flag #2) Despite our request for an outdoor table, we were informed that only one server covered the patio. On a beautiful spring night in Kansas, this oversight surprised us. Surely, more staff should have been allocated to the outdoor area. Server Confusion (Red Flag #3) After perusing the menus, a server appeared, only to inform us that she wasn't assigned to our table. Moments later, our "real" server arrived to take our tapas order. The disjointed service left us wondering about communication within the team. Missing Servers (Red Flag #4) As we enjoyed our delicious drinks, we anticipated another round. Unfortunately, neither our server nor the other one materialized. The absence of attentive service dampened our experience. The tapas selection intrigued us, although not everything met our expectations. While some dishes surprised us pleasantly, others fell short. However, we must emphasize that the chips were exceptional—please don't change a thing about them! Except maybe the amount of them given! (Small quantity) Long Wait for the Check Our patience wore thin as we waited excessively for our bill. In the end, one of our party members had to approach the hostess stand to settle the tab. We appreciate the $25 gift card offered as compensation for our troubles. However, timely service would have been preferable. We believe this place has potential. Staffing challenges are common in the service industry, but prioritizing customer service is crucial. Nurture your employees, and they'll, in turn, care for your patrons. Managers and hosts should actively engage during busy nights, even through brief positive communication. Wichita deserves vibrant, successful local establishments like yours. We share this feedback with an open mind, hoping for positive changes. May this place thrive, offering memorable experiences to...