Border Cafe

Reviews 4

WI

William Sieglein

Owner of Border Cafe Rules with Iron Fist and Employees Fear His No Take Out Policy. Ive been coming to Border Cafe for about 4 years. I pass through that part of town about every 6 weeks. My business partner and I generally enjoy the food and fast courteous service. Unfortunately it comes to an abrupt end today. My business partner asked our server for an additional order of enchiladas to take home to his wife knowing shed enjoy them. Hes done this here before. The server said she could not honor his request because it was against corporate policy to allow any carry out. Not believing her, my partner went to the manager who confirmed they dont allow any take home. So, he asked if he could just order an extra helping and have it brought to table and then put in a "doggy bag" as we saw the group next to us with their left- overs. The manager said "Now that I know what you plan to do with the extra order I wont allow it." He and I were stunned. I later asked the manager to explain the purpose and point of the policy but she couldnt. I asked for the general managers contact and she gave me his card. His name is Mike McCann. Ill be calling him later today when he gets in. Im also contacting the Delaware states attorney because it seems illegal to deny service to a customer as they did to us. Mr. McCann called me back at about 6pm and explained that the single owner of the restaurant made the policy because he wanted patrons to enjoy the food fresh and hot as it was meant to be consumed and that he will fire any employee that does not obey this policy. WOW, that sounds pretty Gestapo to me. Mr. McCann agreed that its very odd and that hes never come across a similar policy in his 23 years managing restaurants. He promised to convey my comments to the owner. Too bad. I used to like this place. Not any more. Such an idiotic policy makes me question everything about the ownership of this establishment.

PE

Peter Fitzpatrick

I ADVISE ANYONE COMING HERE TO READ THE REVIEWS BELOW. This is a good restaurant for what they do well, which is get you good food, and then get you the heck out of their establishment. They dont seem to do well with anything outside the norm, which is people coming in parties of 4 or less, and ordering exactly what is on their menu. I had a friend ask for a special request regarding tomatoes, one that she had gotten two weeks prior. The waitress said she couldnt do that, and then when we asked if we could speak with a manager he was hostile, and essentially said "Do you want the tomatoes, or not?". Did not apologize that he could not accommodate the request, did not try to be nice at all. The waitress pretty much ignored our table unless we flagged her down as she was rushing past. It was a good thing I ordered water and a beer, as she never refilled anything or stopped to ask for refills. If you read the other reviews this seems to be consistent with some other experiences. She also came to split up the check almost directly after she brought our food out. She did this before she brought out a side dish that she had forgotten for one of my friends. Apparently she wanted to flip the table as soon as possible, since we seemed to be bothering her. When we flagged her down one time after (because she had forgotten again) she told us "Youre going to have to bear with me here, were really busy". She didnt apologize, she didnt stop by, just told us that. I have had some pretty good dining experiences here in the past, but there is always a wait. They seem to handle the wait time very well, but if this is the type of service you get after sitting at the bar for 15-45 minutes I can take my business elsewhere.

LO

lorrie kelly

We stopped at the Border Cafe today and were very excited to go. The last time we ate at a Border Cafe was 12 years ago in Saugus, MA, before moving to PA. We arrived around 12:45, and it was busy, but not to the extreme. Our waitress promptly took our drink order and then asked if we were ready to order, though we had been seated for only about 3 minutes. We said no, and she went and got our drinks. And once again asked if we were ready. No, again. She was back, no lie, in less then 2 minutes, so we just quickly figured out what we wanted and gave her the order. We ordered an appetizer, 2 entrees, and plantains. No sooner had she set down our appetizer, did everything else show up. So now we had a table full of food, and had to figure out which items would be okay to eat cold, since there was no way to eat it all, and have it all still be hot. Not once was a drink refill offered, but 3 times she came by, and while still walking, asked if everything was still okay. Then out of nowhere she appeared with the check when we were about 3/4 through the meal. We had to ask for take out containers to take most of the meal home. It was a huge disappointment after driving over an hour to get there. We dont plan on ever doing that again. I hate to be rushed and this was really extreme! I am not sure if all the servers are taught to just keep the customers moving along, or if it was just our server in particular. Regardless, it was not worth the trip to have to choke down our food before taking the hour and a half trip back home. My daughter ended up getting sick from eating so fast. Again, this was such a big disappointment to all of us!

A.

A.R. Blankenship

Generally, Border Cafe has great food for an even better price. The service is always exceptionally quick and fast. The servers Ive had over the years have been nothing but friendly and are always willing to explain a dish if youre unsure about it. I went in the day after Christmas at 2:30pm. It was busy, but as my husband and I were walking up, we could see some empty tables and also, other patrons coming out after their meals. We walk in and multiple groups of people were waiting to be sat (which is usually expected). We put our name in for a party of two and were told the wait was "25 or 30 minutes. It wont be any sooner. I can tell you that much." So, we waited out in the entrance for a few minutes before we decided to leave and go to another Mexican place down the road, which was subpar at best. We were so hungry and wanted decent, clean food. After we left and were on the road to the other restaurant thats five minutes away by the hospital, I received a text message saying our table was ready. Clearly, 25-30 minutes means roughly 10 minutes and I didnt get the memo. The only grievance I have here is that if youre going to staff your host stand on a day after a holiday with anyone who has a pretty face, at least have someone who is competent in working a wait time list. I received FIVE additional text messages from different phone numbers within 30 minutes of the first one saying the table was ready. Border Cafe, youre great and we will definitely be back sometime. However, this was a disappointment when youve always been on point. Please dont be too good to be true!