Mexicano

7.5 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  8     

What a great place. I can imagine finishing up a summers day here. Top food, top beer. We had one of the banquet meals and finished it off with a shot of good quality tequila. Recommend!

May 28, 2012 

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  8     

We ate here on a Tuesday night, and acknowledging that weekends may be absolute madness and may be why the reviews lean towards being quite critical, we thought the whole experience was fantastic.

We passed by just before 6pm to make a reservation for 7.30pm. We were greeted and seated immediately after arrival and had the menu explained to us by a friendly and knowledgeable staff member. The meal was delicious and dishes very well-timed. There were lots of full tables but that only added to the ambience. Great beers on offer and we recommend that you end your meal with a tequila!

A great night out!

May 02, 2012 

3 Below Average

Food  7      Ambience  1      Service  1      Value  3     

It was our 4th visit, service always been appalling especially from the "professional" manager, can't really blame the young girls as they just haven't been trained, however have enjoyed the food. On this evening the manager had large table of friends that sat down 20 minutes after us and had their margaritas well before us, our wine still hadn't arrived before dessert so cancelled it with a shrug of the managers shoulders and
absolutely no apology, the young first night girl did however apologize. I guess while they are busy they don't seem to care but as a local they need locals to frequent through the quite winter months. The noise was out of control, we couldn't hear our friends without shouting across the table. For the first time our food wasn't great and did wonder if the head chef and owner were away especially with the way the manager behaved. I do hope they sort it out, will possibly give it another go however not with friends for a birthday.

Apr 23, 2012 

6.5 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  6      Service  7      Value  6     

Food was tasty, however, I found some items on the menu to be expensive, like 6 dollars for a corn of cob, and 5.50 for cakage is far too much! The overall bill (minus the cakage) came out pretty cheap though. The beer I had was delicious and I thoroughly enjoyed the food.

The kind of place you go to with a couple mates for a drink and a bite to eat. Will probably go back with that in mind next time.

Mar 30, 2012 

6.8 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  5      Service  8      Value  7     

It's good food, not the average tex mex out there. We came across the venue through the manly surf open. Service was extremely lacking. I think this and Cantinera in manly are the two best Mex joints on the beaches.

Mar 04, 2012 

1 Not Recommended

Service  1     

Did get to the restaurant as the service on the phone when trying to book was a joke. Asked to hold for 3 minutes then kept wait for 12 minutes before hanging up but had the pleasure of listening to staff discuss table setting which was obviously more important than customers. Fear this poor service would be the same in the restaurant so won't bother.

Mar 01, 2012 

4.8 Average

Food  8      Ambience  1      Service  4      Value  6     

Well after reading all the negative reviews on this forum, my dining partner and I choose to give it a go. I should have listened the the below comments! I booked for 8pm and we were finally seated by 8.10pm (which isn't really a big deal)..but we were seated at the bar right in the corner, where there were an array of dirty tea towels and dirty glasses..that was our view. One of the waitresses was very good, can't say the same for the others.

Yes, it is a very noisy eatery. However, the food is really good. We ordered the guacamole and corn chips, the guacamole was damn good and the corn chips were very good and no sign of oiliness, obviously made on the premises. We then ordered the grilled rodriguez chorizo sausage with red pepper it was very good. Then we had the arrachera skirt steak (grain fed) very tender, but a small serving.

Then came out the triple cheese quesadilla, very tasty and a bit of a chilli bite...yummo..my dining partner wanted dessert, he had the ice cream sandwich, while I ordered the chicken winglets...very very yummy and highly recommended.
The guy behind the bar making the drinks got it right...I had the frozen margaritas and my dining partner had a mojitio both were very good.

However, the noise level was out of this world, there were 2 large groups of diners, one group was youngish and really didn't give a hoot there were other diners there trying to enjoy their meal, these young revellers kept yahooing and carrying on, at one stage I noticed the kitchen staff was shaking his head with disbelief at their behaviour, but not one staff member walked up to that group and asked them to turn it down a tad, so we would have stayed lingering and probably ordering more drinks but the noise level was unbearable so we left.

The food is really good but the noise and the untrained staff (with the exception of one of the waitresses and the bar guy) left the restaurant down, maybe a visit during a week day night might be the way to go.

Feb 26, 2012 

6.5 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  8      Service  4      Value  7     

Nice, better than average Mexican, absolutely fantastic margaritas. Poor management. Been there four times now and had issues with the senior staff everytime. Shame as its a really nice place for locals.

Feb 24, 2012 

1.5 Not Recommended

Food  2      Ambience  1      Service  1      Value  2     

Ever had the feeling of regret from the moment you sit in a restaurant? Despite it being a repeat visit to this ‘local’ and second time around we bring similarly based local friends and family, the night could not have ended in a more pathetic outcome!

Travel the world and anyone will tell you that you get lost in translation but in your own backyard…I don’t think so!

Dinner starts at 6.30pm, as booked and confirmed three times in total over the previous week. We order drinks and entrees, we ask then for the menu to order our mains, ask again to order more drinks and then ask again for the menu to order dessert. Lots of asking from our point of view.

Let me set the scene. It is dark, cramped and horrendously loud, so loud you can’t concentrate on the person talking right next you that you have to revert to lip reading!

Nevertheless we near the end of our meal and order our dessert. A young waitress takes our order. Another girl returns to advise me approx 5 minutes later that ‘we can’t have dessert’… why I say? ‘we need the table as it is booked’ she says.

So I repeat in case she didn’t hear me correctly, ‘we just ordered dessert’ I say, and the lady retorts and say ‘yes and we need your table’.

What is one expected to do? Leave the restaurant because someone demands your table despite having just ordered dessert and still enjoying our drinks from our main meal. I am then affronted by yet another ill-trained, socially inept tween and advised that I have to go. Go where? I was then advised I should have been ‘told’ that my booking was only for a set time, as they have a second sitting.

Funnily, despite me calling and emailing throughout the week, No One made me aware of this policy. So I politely tell my group of 60+s that we need to go, we will not be served the dessert we ordered. I offer to move outside so that we may finish our meal and the waitstaff agree. Would you believe, there isn’t a table outside, so we are standing drinks in hand on the pavement with nowhere to sit. Mexicano you should be ashamed of your display and your staff I know why they work for you, who else would have them!

We were left high and dry on the pavement arguing with your waitstaff about where to sit. Suddenly no one in our group wanted the dessert they ordered. Do you wonder why? Drinking the last of second glass of wine each on the pavement, dinner was called to an abrupt end, a bill shoved at us for payment on the pavement, meanwhile fellow diners watching on.

Funnily, another group of ladies had their dinner abruptly brought to an end and were asked to move on as well as their table had been booked. Perhaps, you have a loose policy in place that suits you to take two sittings a night, perhaps, you should ensure your staff are trained to convey this and not allow such incidents as our experience take place.

I can assure you we will never return and we will make sure no one we know comes to your mismanaged establishment. A total embarrassment on your part and a bad show of local business. Would I return? No way.

As for the food, its amazing how such a terrible experience can turn against, perhaps, the only thing you had going for your restaurant, the food. Even still I wouldn’t return.

Feb 20, 2012 

4.3 Below Average

Food  7      Ambience  3      Service  1      Value  6     

Drove 1.5hrs to eat here last night after hearing about its authentic flavours. Was told we couldn't order the chimichangas as they "weren't doing them". Half an hour later we saw loads of them going out to various tables. We asked and were told they were only doing them for the large groups or banquets. If you're going to put a dish on your menu, you do it for everyone or not at all. For that they get a one for service because that's a deplorable way to treat your patrons.

Its also the noisiest restaurant I've ever eaten at so if that doesn't appeal to you, definitely give it a miss. Can't say I'd return. Hell, they might refuse us more dishes and I'm not driving 90 minutes to be treated like this.

Feb 12, 2012