Hacienda Vallarta Mexican Buffet & Bakery

Reviews 7

DA

Dave M

Should have listened to my wife and not gone to a buffet. She was right again. Overall, the food was bland at best. I judge a lot of Mexican restaurants by their Chile Rellenos. This one was about as close to flavorless as I have ever had. It wasnt awful, but I couldnt differentiate the poblano pepper from the picadillo or the cheese. It was all one non-distinct flavor. The chicken mole enchiladas were a little better, (I think they were chicken, but who knows?). The mole was flavorful, but not the rich chocolate flavor Im used to in really good mole sauce. The fried shrimp was fairly okay... Not much seasoning in the breading, but the shrimp was good or at least fresh tasting. They even had boiled crawfish which was pretty flavorful, but again, could have used more seasoning. The flautas were again, unremarkable, as were a lot of other items. All in all, they have a huge selection of Mexican food items, and the vast majority were bland. What was irritating, and actually disgusting, was the kids running free all around the buffet tables. There are signs saying that children 10 and under must be accompanied by an adult, but no enforcement of that that I could see. While I was getting some food from another buffet table, my wife witnessed a small child walk up to the salad and dessert table that was right in front of the table we were sitting at. She said the little boy looked to be maybe 7 or 8, and he was alone. He walked over to the jello salad (with marshmallows and cool whip) and put some in a small bowl. He then proceeded to eat some of the jello salad out of the bowl with his fingers, grimaced, and dumped the bowl he had just stuck his fingers into back into the buffet table tray!! And then he spit out the jello and marshmallows he had in his mouth all over the floor next to our table!... He then went running off to another buffet table, probably to continue contaminating more food with his disgusting behavior. No one did or said anything to him. No parents in sight, or if they were, they either didnt care, or didnt see what he did... Revolting. We certainly wont be back. As we left, patrons, waiters, and waitresses were plodding through the spit out jello salad as if it wasnt even there smearing it further on the floor.

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forgetparis2003

Horrible customer service and the place was dirty. Went there for dinner on a Tuesday night. The place was semi empty but the staff was still hard to find. Waited forever just to get some napkins and ended up just grapping some leftover ones from an uncleared table next to ours. Waited forever for refills on drinks. I pointed out to someone that there was food on the floor by the buffets and someone needed to clear it before someone felt. Five of them stood around staring at the floor and looking at me and whispering. Like it takes five people to clean that mess! When we got to the dessert, the people manning that station were too busy talking to each other. We wanted the chocolate sauce that was kept behind the counter but stood there and no one asked if we needed help. Finally I just walked over to the other side of the counter and grabbed the sauce myself. THEN they noticed us and gave me the nastiest look like I was trespassing. When my friend tried to apologize on my behalf for just going over to get the thing myself, the lady raised her hand to stop her and looked away as if saying "speak to the hand." SERIOUSLY???!!!! The worst part: my daughter wanted oranges for dessert so I went to get some and found a fly doing the backstroke in the orange vat. I tried looking for staff to let them know, but again they were nowhere to be seen so I went to the front cashier and told him instead. His reaction was just "oh ok" then I noticed all five staff from before around the orange vat and whispering and looking my direction again. No one ever apologized or even acknowledge there was any issue. Worst experience ever and I made sure they knew. I told the cashier on the way out that I was very disappointed and he just looked at me with a blank stare. $60 plus dollars for this was NOT worth it.

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Jayden Alessandro

hoy fuimos a comer a las 8:15 llegamos, cierran a las 9. Le pedi macarroni a varias personas las cuales respondieron que informarian al cocinero, nunca salio.. la lengua tampoco.. estuvimos esperando gorditas.. nunca pusieron mas. Yo estoy conciente de que era cerkas de cerrar pero nadien nos informo que lo habia era todo lo que hiban a sacar. Mi niño de 3 años pago y no habia nada de lo que el come. Les recomiendo k no vallan despues de las 7:30, para que puedan disfrutar de la seleccion completa de la comida. Porque yo acabo de desperdiciar casi 80 dollares, ya que no habia casi nada de comida y se reusaron a cocinar mas.

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James Allen

In close to fifty years of dining out, including fast food restaurants, this was surely the worst food Ive yet to come across. The steam table meats were so tough as to be literally inedible. The vegetables were overcooked and tasteless. I tried a to-order steak and the woman grilling kept flipping it over and back, like it was some sort of game or curiosity and not a piece of meat to be eaten. It was as tough as the steam table meats but also tasted of gas and carbon from the grill. Just awful. Did I mention the pinto beans were cold and had huge chunks of bacon fat, but no bacon? Or that the cake was stale? Or that while waiting for the steak to cook I looked into the back kitchen and saw an amalgam of dirty floors, dirty pots and pans everywhere, and just utter chaos? Why hasnt the health department closed this place down yet? It is clear that not a soul in there has a clue about operating a restaurant.

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roberto aguilar

Algo que no me gustó es lo de los horarios que te cobran horario de cena si falta poco tiempo en mi visita faltaba 15 minutos para el horario de cena que por la tarde y claro más carro es mejor que cambien los horarios. Media hora antes si sienten que pierde resulta moleto hasta me hacen sentir que me roban al cobrarme mas de lo que dicen sus anuncios de costo fue lo malo comida buena

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D Bell

Great variety of authentic Mexican food (including soups) and lots of it. Some things Id never seen before. Buffets should have a good heat source for the hot items and this one did. I enjoyed the variety of beef and chicken dishes, but there were also several types of fish. The meats were tender, but a little more seasoning would have helped them. The buffet also included a separate section for Chinese items and pizza. The baked goods looked good and also many to choose from. Im glad I went once. The food while good was not worth the drive. Comparable or better available at more convenient restaurants like TC or Chuys. If I want really good Tex-Mex Ill drive to Tomatillos.

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Daniel T Talavera

This place is perfect. Food tasted very authentic, and music playing in the background (Vicente Fernandez, Yolanda del Rio, Beatris Adriana, Graciela Beltran) made me feel like I was back in Jalisco with my late Grandamother eating her delicious food. Ive lived in Texas no for almost 4 years, and this place, and another in Austin, are the only 2 perfect 5 Star no too hard on your wallet, kid friendly, and Very, Very Authentic. I have never rated a restaurant/Buffet with no more than 3 stars, this place got my 5 Stars. God Bless you all. Sincerely Chicagman Daniel Talavera

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