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| - I am a long time customer of both Laredo's and Mi Cocina (Cocina Real) in Middleton (they have the same owners). I went out for dinner last night at the Hilldale branch and had a very bad experience. I was dismayed because it was so atypical to what I usually experience when I visit Laredos.
The Good:
The host, Jesus, was pleasant and friendly! He did an excellent job of seating us and bringing us our chips and salsa. He provided great service and had an awesome attitude. Unfortunately, this is where the good part of my visit ends.
The Bad:
Our server, in stark contrast to Jesus, was quite disappointing. First of all, he screwed up my drink order, bringing me a blended Margarita instead of one on the rocks as I had ordered. When I politely sent my drink back, he had a bad attitude about it. The replacement Margarita that he gave me tasted as though it had no alcohol in in. I would not be surprised if this was his way of "getting back at me". This alone really wasn't all that big of a deal and I wouldn't be writing except for what happened next. My dining partner ordered a steak taco salad. He was brought a taco salad with scallops. We told our waiter about the mistake and asked for a steak taco salad. He the proceeded to ARGUE with us and said that we did order scallops. My companion is actually allergic to seafood, and I can assure you he did not order scallops. The correct salad was eventually brought to us after about 30 minutes, but not after our waiter basically abandoned our table. He stopped refilling our waters, and he never brought us the refill of chips and salsa we requested. And Lord knows what they did to the taco salad. I actually can't believe my companion was brave enough to eat it. We did not leave a tip. Unfortunately, I did not catch the waiter's name, but I wrote an explanation on our receipt as to why there was no tip given. For the record, I generally give 15-20% for average service, and 25% for excellent service. I was just so irked that this waiter ruined our dinner that I couldn't reward him. Finally, the food wasn't up to par. I feel like they've cheapened the quality of their food of late. I might as well have gone to Taco Bell.
I am not sure that I will return to any Laredo's establishment for quite a long time, if at all.
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