I have always been a fan of Macayo's, but after stopping by for dinner last night, I will probably not be visiting this location again.
First off, when pulling into their parking lot, there is a very visible sign notifying customers that Macayo's is not responsible for any items stolen from customer's cars. Not so good. If you are openly warning me that break-ins are frequent in your parking lot, why should I eat here if there is a safer option somewhere else?
On the night I visited this location, four of us had stopped by to grab dinner before a concert. When we asked for a table, we were offered seats at the bar. No big deal - except that after we walked around the corner, we quickly learned that the bar was completely full. Back to the hostess station.
We are now walked back to another portion of the restaurant that is almost completely empty. Huh. In any case, our server promptly brought us drinks and kept the chips & salsa coming until my brother arrived.
One of my favorite entrees is the Baja Chimi, but I have to tell you that I was really disappointed with the one that I ate here. I chose shredded beef, but apparently at this location that includes gristle & fat that I don't normally receive at the other Macayo's locations. I'm not sure what the issue was here, but at least three times I bit into meat that was inedible.
Our server was very attentive and kept things moving, so kudos to him for doing an excellent job. Hostess station...not sure what was going on there. As customers were leaving, they never even thanked them for stopping by - or even wished anyone a good evening. In fact, the girls in the front appeared to be spending more time talking to each other than to customers. This is really not THAT big of a deal to me, but if it were my restaurant, I would probably extend myself a little more to thank my customers for choosing me over another establishment.
If you do decide to visit this Macayo's location before seeing a concert at the nearby Pavillion, plan on arriving there at least 2 hours before the show. If you arrive this far in advance, you will have no problem getting a table. One hour before the show and this place will be packed with concertgoers.
I am still a Macayo's fan, and I will still frequent the Depot Cantina location in Tempe - but I will probably not be returning to this location.