Declining Service QualityRecently I took my mother out for a lunch to the Acworth El Nopal on Hwy 41 and a male waiter, one who has served us before without issues, was not friendly at all. I attempted to chat with him and asked how his day was going, and he refused to answer and gave me a look as if I was his worst enemy. Everybody has a bad day, right? When he never came back to refill drinks or provide additional services, like asking how things were, I call over a young white 'kid' in a nice collard El Nopal logo'ed shirt and he said he was a manager. I told him of our previous experiences with our waiter and then detailed the issues for that visit. The manager, Jonathan I think was his name, listened and said he would speak with the waiter. I requested that he address the situation in a manner that said, "these customers know how good you have been and a simple apology for poor service this time would be greatly received by them". After the manager spoke with him, he just brought our check, and left, not even a thank you, hope to see you again. Needless to say, he earned no tip that day, the only way to get the point to sink in from my viewpoint. We have been back several times since and not had him as a waiter so all-in-all, things went well.Today, Sunday, 12Jun22, I had the day with my son set aside and we went back to El Nopal. Alina was our waitress and she took our orders, brought us extra salsa and our drinks. From that point forward, for our 45 minute meal, she NEVER showed up again until the end when she brought our bill. Even at the end, with our 5 empty salsa containers, empty chip basket, drained drink glasses and 1/2 empty plates, she never asked if we needed anything else. I requested a to-container and she brought that and started clearing our table; she should have waited till we were gone since she didn't care to service us even in a minimal fashion during our visit. Seems to me to be a spreading issue with service declining to a point they are about to lose our 3-5 visits a month, bit that is fine by me. We are 20% tippers, we understand the wait job is not an easy one, but treat us like these 2 staffers and you get a tip equitable to your efforts for my services. Alina received a 0% tip and a love note from me kindly explaing that her non-existent service level was not what we have experienced as a norm at El Nopal in Acworth, GA, and we hoped she would improve before we returned so we could reward her efforts at a 20% level.Management was not visible during our exit today or I would have spoken to them directly about Alina's poor service, I would like to think I am a familiar face to him, as I have provided face-to-face POSITIVE feedback for other employees to him in the past.I am hoping Alina can take my criticism and improve her services to an acceptable level before we return and are assigned to her station.The food is always good here, that is the main draw, but if service keeps declining, there are 4 other Mexican eaterys within 5 miles of each other, I am happy to drive to feel appreciated.
We decided to dine here for Cinco de Mayo and we were not disappointed. While the restaurant was packed, there was no wait time when we arrived. Almost immediately we received chips and salsa to munch on. After placing our order, there was a short time before our meals arrived. I had the shrimp tacos and they were well seasoned, with a great portion of shrimp. Overall everything was very flavorful. Prices were really good as well and service was great too. You can tell that the staff really enjoy working there. Everyone seemed so pleasant. We'll definitely be going back.
We moved here from Illinois last June. We passed by this place and sadly were hesitant due to some questionable reviews we read. Hands down the best steak tacos we've had since we've been here and trust me we have tried SEVERAL places. The service was amazing and all of our food was amazing. We will definitely be back and we are so happy to have finally found our spot. Please give it a try and judge for yourself.Definitivamente los mejores. Nos mudamos desde Illinois y hemos probado muchos lugares pero les prometo que este es al mejor! Estamos muy felices que finalmente encontramos un restaurante mexicano tan rico en nuestra área.
nopal dip rules. great takeout service.Next visit, arghh we got the slow waiter dude. The girls are so much better. This dude never comes back. Every time. I wish we could request certain waiters but guess that would be weird. I guess this is why we tip different amounts.Next visit, food great, waitress very slow. Arghh. She took the cups for refills then did a few other things then finally brought the cups back. Just bring the dang pitcher. And check on us every now and then. This place is starting to get worse.
Chips and salsa are spot on to my taste, margaritas are yummy, food is always fresh. Service is great, staff is awesome.
Great place! Accommodated my allergies well which isn’t easy. Alina was attentive and sweet and Jonathon and Noe both stopped by to check on us a couple times as well. Food was good, hot and fresh. Came out fast even though they were busy. Hubs got the skinny Margarita and it was fresh and tasty. Only negative was things were a little salty but that’s just my preference. Even the tea was good which is important here in the south.
Service was very fast, very friendly, food was simply amazing, like my taste buds were surrounded by their friends and family. Love it. ❤️
My quesadilla wasn’t done at all. I had to come home and add to pan for myself. This place use to be good. Not no more. I will not be back and it a shame because it’s really close to my house
Very good food. Their salsa is the best!!!! I got the El Nopal Special, steak and add onions.
It's a great family restaurant; there's just one thing that threw me off recently. I've been coming here for years and have always received excellent service; unfortunately, this time was not one of them. It bothered me so much that the waitress that we had that night acted like she wasn’t interested in doing her job. she's was very sloppy, looking like she had just woken up with her hair very crazy. very unprofessional. I just want to warn other people out there.