Blanco Cafe

Reviews 4

A

A Private User

Ive been an avid patron & word-of-mouth advertiser of this particular location mostly because of the Carne Guisada (close enough to My MOMs), & the Homemade Flour Tortillas (one is able to peak through the kitchens screen door), as well as the deletion of cilantro (a very overly used herb all over S.A. & other restaurants), for over 21yrs. However, 1 beautiful Sunday a few weeks ago, My MOM requested we have brunch here after church service. As soon as we walked in (another point Id noticed in recent "taco-run" visits) the waitstaff of about 8ppl. stared us down, no smiles, no greetings, no suggestions of which 1 of em would be willing to provide good service (much of this I know because I am witness to all the different waitstaff there have been & have usualy been very well greeted). So we sat towards the back in a booth. The waitress, whom Ive never seen before, comes around, no greeting offered just a frustrated offering to take our drink order. I asked for lots of cream for 2-coffees & to keep the joe coming. She didnt refill our cups & if she did she had to be flagged down in order to get her attention or the busser (whos worked there for several years & always lends help to all waitstaff!). Meanwhile, MOM ordered Menudo; she complained to me that it was too chewy & seemed undercooked: "It tastes like they rushed to get it made". I motioned to any of the servers to get our waitress attention as she never made it a point to check up on us. When my MOM told her the problem, the "waitress" responded that she didnt know how it couldnt be good when she had another customer eat "all of theirs!". She did offer to get MOM something else so she ordered a C.G. taco. The waitress brought it out on a plate & literally dumped it in front of MOM! No apology, & just walked away. I, on the otherhand had ordered the Chalupa plate special posted on the board; 1-beef, 1-chicken & Guacamole salad. The chicken & the Guac. had old, rancid flavors & after being served all this attitude (given, we knew the "waitress" was pregnant) & bad service & being compared to other customers, having that "spat in our faces" in such a demeaning, insulting manner, I lost my appetite by the grossness of the food & the evilness of the entire atmosphere compwnsated by the other waitstaff who walk around in a haze of grandiose (ha), it brewed in my mind that that idiotic server had insulted My MOM right before me, my niece & MOM. I asked the busser (seemingly the only 1 Ever attentive to all customers!) to ask the manager on duty to come over. The M.O.D./cashier who has always been a pleasant young man, listened to our dispute & displeasure AND HE WAS THE ONLY ONE TO OFFER AN APOLOGY...Several times!!! All-in-all, he "comped the bill", if not just for the bad experience (I reminded him off all the to go orders & times Ive visited & been impressed, "That of all the years Ive been coming here, I have Never been so mistreated." I also suggested to bring back the Family Owned Restaurants Niece "because she adds life & brightens up this place!" Another Note: As we sat down, I gazed around the room & wondered why there were so many waitstaff & so few customers at 10a.m.? Usually, this place is packed all morning long, having visited at all times of day or evening. Now I know why!

KA

Kayla Akers

Lifelong patron now iffy! My family has been going here for YEARS! I have always loved this place and bragged about to everyone, even out of staters when I lived in HI, WA, CO, & ATL. literally everyone. My usual is cheese enchiladas & been n cheese tacos. Theyve always been great and the service was always nice & welcoming....until recently. I moved back home 7 Mos. ago and been back there numerous times. The first time I went back I was in total bliss & excited for "my usual order." However when I walked in, I was greeted with absolutely NO warm welcome/happy attitude! Not a major problem at first because I knew I could still at least expect GREAT FOOD! Considered maybe they were having a bad day...all of them.. anyway I go up to order to go and the somewhat older woman (the rest were teenage girls) started talking to me in Spanish. Yes Im brown. No I dont speak Spanish, *PAUSE FOR GASP!* shocking, I know! Im what youd call an oreo. Brown on the outside, all white on the inside. I look about as Puerto Rican as they come but I was raised Hispanic-lite! I dont appreciate getting dirty looks from a woman taking my order, receiving MY LOYAL MONEY JUST BECAUSE I choose to speak in the main spoken language of this country. She actually scoffed because I spoke in English! I do not care that we are in Texas (its STILL NOT MEXICO!), I do not care that other Hispanic people EXPECT ME to be über Hispanic just because of the way I look! I do not appreciate the less than good quality customer service because I dont speak in "my native tongue!" And I do not appreciate my food being dumped on a counter ever so gently (sarcasm) WHILE MY HANDS ARE OBVIOUSLY REACHING OUT FOR IT just because I speak perfect English, came in with my super white English speaking husband and our 2 biracial children! Even though I had this experience the FIRST time I returned I foolishly went back hoping next time would be different and knowing no matter what my food was at least always great food. Every time I returned I received the same lady taking my order. Lets just say that my tips starting going down! Yes, Im nice enough to tip even though I ordered to go every time! Im a solid 15% tipper and go from there. She caught on and now will look at the tip right in front of me and give me a dirty look. Heres a tip: treat EVERY customer with dignity & respect, if its their money you want! Needless to say last time I went in ALL 10 of my familys tacos were crap. Burned tortillas and looked like theyd been slapped together in an angry fury.

AN

Ana Sandoval

¡TACOS DE PELOS! I ordered a chilaquiles breakfast taco and a glass of water this morning and my friend ordered enchiladas. Later they brought us our food, then I noticed a hair in the chilaquiles taco, notified the waiter and he apologized for that and re-orderd another one. Later the waiter said they would not charge me for it. So then...I noticed my glass of water had food stuck underneath inside of it, assumed they dont do a good job in washing them, anyways when it was time for my friend to pay at the cash register, lady named Sylvia, (maybe is the supervisor), I notified her about how I found a hair in my food, her response; well we didnt charge you for it. My expectations were that maybe she couldve at least apologized for the unsanitary experience at her "cafe"...but no she actually seemed bothered that I brought it up... food is o.k. typical Tex-Mex.. so yeah I definitely dont recommend this place.

JE

Jeff Turpin

I tried the legendary Blanco Cafe with some friends recently as they had talked it up quite a bit. However, I found it to be a bit average, although for the people there that have been going for years, I could see the fascination in their faces. I thought the carne guisada was fine, not the best and not the worst. My rice was cold so I didnt feel like eating it to test it and judge it. The tortillas were some of the better flour tortillas Ive had, but I prefer corn tortillas. And finally, my actual dish of enchiladas was very good. In fact, Id say they are some of the best enchiladas Ive ever eaten. In short, Blanco Cafe is an institution in San Antonio. The food isnt bad, but its not the place to go for the best Tex-Mex in town. My current top 5 Mexican/Tex-Mex restaurants remain: 1) Taqueria Datapoint, 2) Ajuua, 3) Guallijos, 4) Cascabel Mexican Patio, and 5) Taqueria El Chilaquil