I don't know what has happened but the last 3 times I have been to Alberto's the food has definitely gone downhill - big time! Â I will not go back again. Â All 3 of us found the food extremely bland - with the exception of the salsa. Â I've been going to Alberto's for 16 years and am saddened to see the quality decline.
Review Source:HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE.
The one star is for the service my friend got. However... Our waiter took forever, we went the bar to order drinks, there were 5 people total and 2 bartenders yet I couldn't get my drink order in. We get our food, the rice was cold. There was a bone thing in my beans. And to top it off we had to refill our own waters. Wthef. It was worse. But, just don't go here.
Oh also, didn't split the check. Thanks bro.
I've been here 3 times now (I admit, I'm a sucker for the patio) and I'm disappointed each time. Â The food is marginal at best relative to what you can get almost anywhere else. Â I don't usually leave 1 star ratings but these guys deserve it. Â And it's SUPER EXPENSIVE. Â Why is this place so busy?? I can't figure it out. Â Location I guess. Â I'm done with this place!
Review Source:The hostesses and our server were very nice which is why I give Alberto's two stars instead of one--or zero. After that everything was downhill. AND it smelled like stale beer and cigarette smoke. Huh?!--how long has it been since you could smoke in a restaurant in California? Answer--Long enough that Alberto's should NOT smell of ciggy smoke.
We wanted to like Alberto's but the food was bad, the margaritas were bad AND expensive--and the bartender kept spraying herself with body deodorant/cologne. Yes she sprayed herself over food and drink every five minutes or so about 10 feet from us. Not to mention it stunk like female Axe--which smells pretty bad especially when trying to eat food. We couldn't wait to get out of here. Very disappointing.
Ate here with a group of co-workers for a going away party. Â The service was terrible and many didn't get drink refills. Â It took a very long time to get food. Â When the food was served a majority of them were cold. Â Very poor quality food! Â The chicken tasted awful and looked as it was from a can. Â For the price you would expect better quality. Â Menu said 15% tip for parties 8 or more which is fair, but we were charged over 20%. Â Since it took so long many of us had to leave to get back to work so didn't realize this until later. Â Should have chosen a different place....Blue Agave? ;)
Review Source:Alberto's is a decent choice when you are down in the heart of Pleasanton. They have great service which is constantly bringing out chips and salsa along with a large menu. Though just because they have a lot of options does not mean they are all good. I enjoyed my food, it was the Taco Salad. My family also liked theirs. It was not the most authentic and best tasting mexican food we have had, but it is still a good option. My favorite part of this place is sitting out on the patio.
Review Source:Last night I thought we would end up our night lovelier but it turned out to be the worse night ever having dined in in Mexican Rest. It was a flop. The food was terrible and tasteless. We ordered Fajitas beef for both of us, Â in the first try i thought it was only me but when my husband said the same thing, we took the liberty to tell to the waitress when she came over to ask about the food. I told her she could try her self, the food was barley eaten, although she offered me for a different dish i refused, I dont wanna put any crap food in my belly. Even worse, when she charged us for the food we barley ate, she could have told the management or cook, instead she said, the rest, has been here for 20 yrs, (proudly) what a bummer what a waste of money. Go to other cheaper mexi rest, its more way much better.
Review Source:OMG! IT WAS BAD... food without flavor, refried beans taste like can ones...
I ask if they have horchata and the man said: we are in pleasanton.. so I ask: and so... and he said: no, we dont have. So I ask myself is it not ok to drink horchata in Pleasanton or nobody likes it there? well, I did not like nothing at all of this place, no even the salsa.
Went here on a Saturday for lunch...
A short summary of this place would be, probably a good place to drink, but not to eat!
The Positives:
*We were seated promptly and our drinks and food arrived quickly.
*Our waiter was very courteous and all smiles
*Nice outdoor seating area
*Clean Bathrooms
*Beers were great served in ice cold goblet-style glasses.
*Nice bar inside, big screen Tv's if there was a game going on or whatever
The Negatives:
*The consensus among our group was that the food ranged from cafeteria food quality to not really that good at all.
*The chicken was tough in my chicken mole, and the sauce tasted like straight bbq sauce
*The chips were okay but were definitely store bought, and the salsa was pretty bland
*Does not make their own flour tortillas! Store bought!
*We had to wait what seemed like forever for our check!
*Expensive considering the quality of the food- I can name 5 places off the top of my head that have much better food for about half the price! For example, my chicken mole was $16 for some tough, dried up chicken pieces drowned in what seemed like regular bbq sauce with a little scoop of mediocre rice and beans that seemed like they came from a can!
Even calling Alberto's mediocre would be a stretch. Â Conversation with my wife tonight:
Me: I'm gonna write a review of Alberto's.
Her: Good! Maybe you can save others from wasting their money.
Me: I'm thinkin' three stars.
Her: Are you high? That food sucked.
Me: Wow, I thought I was tough! Okay, two stars.
Well, we hadn't been on Main Street for awhile; therefore, I had amnesia about how awful all of the restaurants were there. We took the kids for a quick casual dinner.
The hostess was efficient and sat us in the rear dining room, which was much quieter than the main room. Â Our waitress came right away and took our drink orders. Â We should have ordered our food, because after that, she disappeared for about 15 minutes. The bus boys were moving around so fast that I practically had to tackle one to get a refill of chips and salsa.
The food was incredibly bland. I agree with an earlier reviewer who said the salsa was bland--yes, they might be catering to the P-Town audience, but there are a couple of legit taquerias in town that have very spicy salsa. The retried beens were a puréed mess. The fajitas literally had no taste...really...it was weird!  How did they have no taste?  My son's "crispy" taco came out of the kitchen totally soggy.  All in all: blah!
I also agree with other reviewers that it is good spot for some beers and to watch a game. Lots of beer on tap and many TVs. Just don't eat.
This is a great place if you want a lively atmosphere but after coming here hungry some nachos, we ordered the beef nachos and  can definitely saw, I had better. Even after having a few drinks, it really wasnt the greatest.
I think this place is great if you want to have some cocktails but the food is pretty mediocre. I have been here when they had the first Wednesday events and its seems like a great party spot!
Quality has definitely improved since last time i was there. I went with 3 of my colleagues.
We ordered
Enchiladas Suizas - very Yummy, sauce could have been better
Chili Relleno - Perfectly flavored
Taco Salad - Â Pretty Good
Salsa was not up to mark and felt very bland. Chips were just okay for restaurant standards,.
Everyone loved their food and agreed it was definitely better than previous times. Little too expensive for $15 entree.
The one thing that I like about this restaurant is everything seems to be homemade and light (not drenched in GREASE). You can't get that from a lot of mexican food places.
BUT
Everything seemed to lack flavor.
Tasted a little boring .....
AND NO i'm not saying that because it lacked grease lol
(Things our tastebuds secretly like)
And WOOOOH was it pricey! $9.00 for Guac?!
Alberto's is a good watering hole. Fresh beer and extensive tequilla selection. Service varies from poor to good, depending on the bartender.
The food is nothing special, but it's not bad per se. If you're craving a basic mexican meal, this will feed that. Or it's great for meeting up for a few margs or Modelos. Â But don't go out of your way for this. Â The outdoor seating is a nice perk if you like dining al fresco.
Like many Pleasanton restaurants, there is nothing special that elevates this restaurant above status quo. Â Where will I find somethign to rave about in this town?
Went here with a few coworkers the other day for a business lunch meeting. Someone who works around the corner chose the place and I drove from San Jose to get there. I have to imagine there are better options than this, but hard to argue with a customers choice of restaurants.
The food is pretty mediocre from an authentic Mexican food standpoint starting with the chips and salsa. I am guessing store bought chips...could be wrong, but if they are fresh made they can do better. Salsa is bland, maybe catering to the Pleasanton crowd? I had the carnitas which were ok and it was served with some weird version of pico de gallo. The flour tortillas also seemed store bought. Couple guys got a salad that looked decent, but was served with a strawberry vinaigrette. Personally, I think the only thing strawberry at a Mexican restaurant should be margaritas.
Now, this place may be an ok joint to come drink at. The bar is pretty big and the drinks looked inexpensive.
Not very good. Felt a bit like a rundown chili's or something similar. Burger was worse than Burger King standard and fries were tasteless. Chicken quesadilla tasted like dog food. Was shocked at the price for such awful food. Service was slow and not very polite.
This may be the kind of place to sit at the bar and watch sport but not eat a meal.
Horrible food, horrible service and horribly expensive!
This place sucked so bad I had to write a review!!
We had to ask for utensils TWICE, because the chick didn't understand my english the first time...
We didn't have a normal waiter, I think the manager ended up taking our order...
The prices on the menu were outrageous! Who seriously charges $20 for fajitas?! They charge $2-4 extra for meat on anything... And they charged $2 for three slices of avocado on a salad with no lettuce.
The chips were ok, nothing spectacular. The salsa tastes like it was diced tomatoes out of a can and they added some canned onion to it and maybe a splash of hot sauce- gross.
The black beans had no flavor, the chile rellano was drowning in grease and cheese, and had no chile at all! They dumped this "orange sauce" on top of EVERYTHING. Wth?! It wasn't even a good tasting sauce!
A chicken flauta, beef enchilada and "chile" rellano with bland rice and bland black beans cost $15.95. I could have eaten better at taco bell for two people for that price!
I am baffled to why this place was so popular... Um... Unless everyone there had no taste buds....
The Chicken Fajitas were great! I asked for a side of shredded cheese and most people would give a small bowl, they brought out a HUGE bowl - made me a happy camper, I love me some cheese.
Bottomless chips and salsa never get old. And we finished the night with a shot of patron. Can't go wrong there.
One of the most boring and flavorless meals I have experienced in a long time. topped off by poor service.
First, the hostess was so preoccupied with making some kind of "school project" type of thing at the podium, that I was just annoying her by asking if we could sit outside. Our server was super slow and non-attentive. No bus service, even though there was a bus person wandering around in plain site, but not really doing anything. Margarita was weak on alcohol and made with cheap mix.
Oh, and the food. . . The chimichangas were the size of a slightly fat taquito, and the relleno was the smallest I have ever seen, as was the enchilada. None of these items had any flavor. . . No spice, no nothing. . . The relleno had slices of poblano, but not the entire pepper as you would expect. Shame on you guys.
Our server took for frickin ever to get back with the check. . .
Never coming back. They must be living on the bar checks, the food certainly isn't it.
If I could I wouldn't even give the 1 star. Â Should have read the reviews. Â Haven't been in a long time. Â The only thing that his place has going for it is the location. Â Food has no flavor. Â Tasteless and expensive. Â No cheese with the fajitas. Â ?????
The server was pleasant but didn't have a clue nor did she care when we told her the food was just OK and that was being nice. Â Won't ever go back.
I was a little leery of this place seeing all of the 1 & 2 star Yelp reviews. Â But Sandyann G urged me to give it a try anyway & I could blame her if it all went horribly wrong. Â We ended up having a very pleasant meal on a nice outdoor patio in lovely downtown Pleasanton.
The positives:
Outdoor patio - I hate having to sit inside on a Saturday when it's beautiful out.
Tortilla chips - light & crispy. Â The salsa was forgettable tho & didn't have even a hint of spice.
Enchiladas suiza - large portion, yummy shredded chicken, loaded with cheese & sour cream. Â Good pinto beans & so-so rice.
Margaritas - Rene's margarita was really good, but the glasses were small.
The negatives:
Service - as the other Yelpers have mentioned, the service isn't great. Â It took a while for someone to take our order & no one came by to see if we wanted another drink. Â It was difficult to even flag someone down, which we tried doing several times.
Prices - $18 for a carnitas burrito...yikes! Â That better be some damned good carnitas. Â The burritos are comically large so maybe that's how they get away with those prices. Â You can get a "mini" burrito for $1 less. Â What's the point?
Spice level = 0. Â They must be used to serving wimpy-palated folks because nothing had any sort of spice to it. Â We tried to ask for a side of spicy salsa or sauce but never received it.
This is an OK place to have lunch (god, I can't even imagine the dinner prices) or just have a drink & sit on the patio. Â With so many other restaurants in Pleasanton I'm pretty sure I'd eat elsewhere next time.
on the fence with this place. I've been here numerous times, once for my birthday and a few others were just spent having lunch/dinner with friends. Food is ok, alcohol is pretty strong (so its good for the price) but the last time I went here the service was slow. The bartender asked if I wanted another margarita and I said yes, about 30 minutes later we received the check. I didn't want to bother asking her for my margarita but it wasn't even a busy night. I'd probably go back with friends just for a drink or so.
It gets busy on First Wednesdays & weekends.
Nothing special. Over priced. Food is bland. Â The only plus was that the food was so bland my kids loved it and wolfed down their burritos. The salsa is a total joke. Tastes like Ketchup. Absolutely no heat at all. I think this place is really a confused bar that thinks its a mexican food restaurant. The only thing people seem to be happy with are the margaritas. Â sort of.
Will probably skip this place in the future. With so many other choices on Main street don't waste your time or money eating here.
I've eaten here in the past and would maybe have given it three stars, one of the stars would have been for the margarita. Or maybe the margarita dulled the senses. Because today I had a sangria, a salad, and two chicken enchiladas with green sauce -- but I only took two swallows of the sangria. Â The second swallow was to confirm that it really was as bad as I thought. Syrupy, little wine content, not made from good wine, no fresh fruit in it -- in short, bleh. Â The salad was ok although the Italian dressing was bland. Â The enchiladas were covered in cheese, and the insides were solid, dryish, bland chicken -- no seasoning. Â The big crime was the green sauce, which was almost non-existent, and had no texture or heat. Â
The service was great. Â He asked how the drinks were, but I didn't say anything. I should have, but I hate making a server feel at all responsible for the kitchen or bar. Besides, how do you send back a sangria? Â Are they suddenly going to make one correctly?
If I could, I would give them zero stars but I cant do that on yelp in order to review. The area is very deceiving, cute tables and the decor was as if you were in mexico, but everything else makes you want to leave.
My friend I recieved chips and salsa. It was so yummy I was happy thinking somehow randomly we choose a good spot, while hungry. When the platter came my friend and I took a bite of the food and threw it on the plate. I thought to myself how taco bell tastes better thana this shit! The food tasted as if it was reheated and greasy. Â My friend broke out in hives and i got really nasues. I had to take ums and bubby water to settle my stomach.
We talked to the supervisor and he was being a total hypocrite! He told my friend how theres no way she can possibly know the taste of mexican food, but she's mexican. Then he said he ment that white people like different "food." To make matters worse, the food was expensive for the poor quality.
When I wanted to say something, he rudely walked away and smirked at me. He even had the courage to say it's because we dont have money and thats why we were complaining.
By the way, if the manager reads this, the supervisor worked on june 19 around 4:30 pm. Hes tall and dark skined.
I know I previously said I would never step foot in here again and I stayed true to my word. Â However my friend was grabbing food and un-aware that he was grabbing food here I agreed to let him pick me up something.
Everything about it is wrong. Â I don't understand why the food is so bad.
We went with 7 people for a week night dinner at 5:30 pm and the service could not have been worse. We were stuck in an inside back room and forgotten. We had to ask for drinks repeatedly and it took forever to even order the food. Once ordered it took a long time to received our average tasting food. Tables in the main dining room had been served long before us and these customers had arrived well after us.
In all very poor service and food that was less than average.
What can I say...this restaurant is appalling! We went there on a Sunday night, walked in around 8:45. The kitchen always closes at 9 so we thought "great we made it"...WRONG! We had already sat down, they had given us the menus and we were ready to order in 5 minutes being conscious of the time.
The waitress came back, we thought to take our order stating that the kitchen was closed. At that point I said doesn't the kitchen close at 9? She said yes, and I said its 8:50...she said " yeeeeaaaa so sorry, they closed it". What kind of place is this??? Knowing a bit about customer service and establishments, this was by fair the rudest, most unfriendly restaurant.
The manager should be ashamed!!! I don't think I will return having had this experience. I have referred loads of patrons to Alberto's, I plan on informing them of my experience as well.
Came here on a Wednesday night.. not too full but it's a weekday in Pleasanton understandable. Â We walked in and was greeted by the hostess. Â She insisted we sit at the bar area but we just kindly asked to be seated in the "dining" area instead. Â They were quick with water, chips and salsa. Â It didn't take us long to decide what we wanted. Â
The chips were nicely warm and the salsa had a nice little kick. Â It was tasty so I had high hopes for the food. Â Our server was very friendly and warm. I ordered the Dos dish entree which allowed me to choose two items, plus beans and rice. Â The food was a bit slow coming out and I ordered the burrito and the tostada. Â The tostada with chicken was rather bland. Â There wasn't much to it and the tostada chip tasted almost burnt. Â the burrito was very very wet, which is okay I like wet burritos but I just didn't know it was a wet burrito. Â The size of the food is enormous.. I ended up taking some beans rice and the burrito home and eating it for lunch the next day.
The burrito was also a bit plain. Â The food isn't terrible but it does lack a little flavor. Â Not the worse I've had but also not the best I've had.
They serve complimentary chips and salsa. The  tortilla chips are nicely warmed and the chunky salsa was just spicy enough. We ordered a combination plate with two chicken tostadas and a chicken enchilada. It came with some salad, rice, and beans. The plate of food was massive and meant to be shared, so the server brought three extra plates.
I also ordered a bowl of the Linda's chicken tortilla soup. It is chicken broth that comes with chunks of chicken, rice, vegetables, cheese at the bottom, avocado, and pieces of tortilla. At $10, it's a bit pricey, but the portion was also hearty enough to be an entire meal.
I think the prices are a bit high, but the portion sizes are good for splitting orders. You'll end up with lots of leftovers otherwise.
Sometimes having a teenage daughter can be really taxing. One of the latest "scams" the daughter likes to pull is that anytime we ask what she wants to eat, she declares "she doesn't care as long as it is not fast food". So we (the adults) will go to a place and then she will loudly exclaim "she doesn't want xyz type of food".
This is what happened on Saturday after we perused the Farmer's Market. We started going to a sandwich/salad place and she complained so we ended up here.
Here is the breakdown:
The food is pricey-especially for lunch. I guess they feel they need to keep up with Blue Agave.
Decent chips/watery salsa that husband liked.
Strongish/flavorful margarita but smallish for $7.00.
Tostada salad reminded me of what El Balazo was back in the day(we all had a different version). Fresh veggies (tomato and cucumber).
Took a long time to get our food/service was fair.
We all agreed we wouldn't come all the way to Pleasanton to eat here again, but that the meal itself was decent. Daughter also agreed to keep her mouth shut if she doesn't offer up an opinion at the onset of the where to eat conversation (we will see how long that lasts!)
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