RuoQiong Lin
Google
Went to Cantina Rooftop for Taco Tuesday, and honestly, it was disappointing.
We had a reservation for 3 at 8:30 PM but weren’t seated until close to 9 PM. What’s the point of having a reservation system if you’re going to make guests wait 15-30 minutes after their scheduled time? I had to go up and ask twice why we hadn’t been seated, especially when I saw people who arrived after us getting tables. Eventually, the manager stepped in and got us seated after hearing how long we’d been waiting.
Unfortunately, the service didn’t get any better from there. After finishing our first round of tacos, we placed a second order… and then waited. And waited. After 30 minutes with no food and no updates, our waitress came by to clear the table. I mentioned we were still waiting on our order, and she casually said, “It’s almost here,” but also mentioned they were backed up with other tables. A few minutes later, the manager walked by and told me to “Talk to me.” I explained we’d been waiting over 30 minutes, and another 10-20 minutes after that, he finally brought out HALF of what we ordered (a random mix of tacos) and some fries “on the house.”
Then an older man came over and gave us one of the strangest excuses I’ve ever heard at a restaurant. He said they canceled our order (without telling us) because we had ordered “too much” and they thought we wouldn’t be able to finish it. For the record, we had already finished everything we ordered before, so that assumption was completely wrong. And even if they had concerns, they could’ve just told us—not silently canceled our order and made us wait around wondering what was going on.
To top it all off, when we got the bill, there was an automatic 20% gratuity added. After all that waiting and terrible service, they definitely didn’t earn that. We recalculated it and left 10%, which honestly felt generous considering the experience. Meanwhile, our waitress was more focused on socializing with another table, even taking sips of their drinks and asking them, “Is it OK if I drink this?”—incredibly unprofessional.
The place seemed completely understaffed for their Taco Tuesday deal. The whole night felt chaotic, disorganized, and frustrating.
The only positive: they’re generous with the meat on their tacos. But is it worth the wait and the hassle? In my opinion, no.