Fernando's Restaurant

We arrived at 710 on a Saturday night. We were seated promptly. I thought we were in for a pleasant mexican meal... boy was I wrong.

My friends started off with some Margaritas. They each wanted the 9 dollar triple g. The waiter offerered them a $33 dollar deal, 5 Margaritas for the price of 4 i.e. a pitcher of the stuff. Now we didn't know this at the time, but our waiter was a complete moron.

First off all, after a 25 min wait (for drinks),there was not even 4 margaritas in the pitcher. Secondly, he spilled some while pouring their first one (it was insignificant, but every last drop wouldn't have made it even close to 5 margaritas. Strike one.

They offered complimentary chips and salsa, like every mexican place in the city. They were average at best. probably the most positive aspect of the trip.

Along with the margaritas, we were all ready to order. Unfortunately, our waiter didn't feel the same way. This guy had 3 tables; Our group of 4, a huge group of about 12 (who the waiter seemed to know), and another group of 4. After staying that we were ready to order, the waiter said this:

"Sorry guys, I've got 2 tables ahead of you so I can't take your order."

What the hell? Since when did that have anything to do with when you can take our order? And now you're telling me you are going to take the orders of the table of twelve, who all arrived at different times (some after us), put in their order, take another order, put that in, and then take our order, after making us wait 30 minutes for our drinks? Strike two.

So, after seeing the table of 12 receive their food, and the other table have their order put it, it was our turn! Someone also sent food back from that table, so there's another delay. I  also saw 3 parties who entered after us receive their food well before us, and they arrived after us too!

Honestly, it doesn't matter what we ordered, but I'll tell you. Our group of 4 ordered these items: Chicken Oxaca (sp?), which was chicken and mushrooms cooked in a bag with a side of rice and veggies. Another ordered the combo plate of a stuffed pepper and tacos. Another ordered the carne asada burrito. Finally, I ordered the chicken lime dish. Came with refried beans and veggies (doused in cheese which I asked for dry). Our order was taken at about 805. We received our food at about 9. Strike three.

Mexican is hard to screw up; nothing was that good. Meat, Veggies, Rice, Beans, Tortillas. That basically all mexican food is, right? Anyways, nothing stood out, besides them screwing up my order. I ordered an extra side of veggies (sans cheese) because I was super hungry and my dish was the smallest (and of course I'm the biggest eater). I sampled everything else, and it was 'eh' at best.

After finally eating, Our waiter had no problem getting that check in and out to us. The guys' margarita was 35 bucks (individuals were 9, they got ripped off bc the waiter was a liar). My dish was 10.95. I even tipped 3 dollars for some godforsaken reason. I wasn't charged for my extra veggies, so I guess there's some silver lining.

This place had decent reviews, and it was close, so we decided to go. I should have looked a bit closer at the most recent reviews, they all are just average or very bad. This one is no exception.

The old lady at the front (carmen, the wife of fernando, the owner, who might be dead, or maybe I missed him) is definitely just a figure head for the place. She sat upfront and walked really slow and did nothing. I'm sure she worked very hard earlier in her life, as evidenced by a picture on the wall where the place was featured in the suntimes about 15 years ago. I almost had the heart to tell the sweet old lady how bad my experience was, but it didn't come to that.

Listen, I give everyone a fair shake, especially restaurants. Fernando's did nothing right, nothing well, and was just plain awful. Our waiter was a liar, and he checked on us about 4 times all night, showing much more attention to his other 2 (!!!!) tables. He had a bad jerry curl too (sorry I'm getting personal, but yeah).

I would venture to say this was the worst restaurant experience I've ever had. Slow service, subpar food, and generally, just nothing good gained from the experience.

I LOVE FOOD, and I never, ever think about stiffing businesses, but it definitely crossed my mind, and i'm a very honest person, but they pushed me to the limit. The only good part was the company of my friends. I'm surprised we didn't walk out during our extended waits.Thanks for nothing Fernando's.

Maybe this place was good at some point in time, but my god, good would be the last word I would use to describe this place.

AWFUL. BAD. TERRIBLE. SH*(&(Y. CRAPPY. Insert any other negative adjective here.

AVOID AT ALL COSTS! THIS PLACE SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The food is great but the service is slow.

It was a treat coming to Fernando's on a Saturday night, not having partaken in Mexican for quite awhile. On that Saturday, the rooms were full and festive. The atmosphere in the bar felt like a busy college place, largely due to a younger crowd. That didn't stop us from being seated in the dining room fairly quickly, after a brief stint at the bar with a pitcher of margaritas, for us three. We had had a margarita at my friends' home, so I was surprised to taste the ones here. I will call them "bandaid margaritas." What I think happened was on this busy night, they were re-using pitchers and glasses so fast that there wasn't time to get the disinfectant off the glassware.  I suppose it's better than having garbage-infused margaritas, but overall it took away from enjoying the drink. Not to mention keeping me more sober!

The menu is very adequate, as standard Mexican goes. I let my friends order, so we had a combination of dishes: Chiles Rellenos, Enchaladas Suizas, and Carne Asada. The Carne Asada was sliced very thin and was extremely tender. Chiles Rellenos were rich with cheeses and a spicy oilyness which slid down the throat quite easily. The chicken enchiladas were tasty, too. We cleaned our plates. Without appetizers or dessert, the bill was pleasant, too. Only $36.00. Actually the pitcher of margaritas cost more than dinner at $40..00. But all in all, for drinks and dinner, it was a good value. Service was fast and the staff treated us like old friends or family. Fernando's is a great spot for neighborhood Mexican, and probably a good place for groups or birthdays, too.  Me gusta mucho!