The Matador
| Address: | 7824 Leary Way, Redmond, WA 98052, USA |
| Phone: | +1 425-883-2855 |
| Site: | matadorrestaurants.com |
| Rating: | 4.1 |
| Working: | 11AM–2AM 11AM–2AM 11AM–2AM 11AM–2AM 11AM–2AM 11AM–2AM 11AM–2AM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 7
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Amanda Picard
Don’t go here if you have 4 or more people in your group or you could be left just standing around by the front door watching people eat. Don’t come here if you have time sensitive plans, the wait can be anywhere from 5 minutes to 45 minutes. Don’t depend on the “Text you when your table is ready” because you might not ever receive the text. Yes the place looks “cool” but it’s very small, everyone is seated very close with hardly any space to walk between tables. We had 2 of our 10 go to the restaurant early to put us on the waiting list for a table. *They don’t take reservations* We called ahead and were told this would be the way to do it. Never were we told that it’s almost impossible to get a table for more than 4 people. They have a service where they will text you when your table is almost ready for you. Let’s just say we NEVER got the text and our group of 10 stood at the front door for 45 minutes and never got seated. We were told our wait would be “10 more minutes”, 10 minutes later we were told "10 more minutes", 45 minutes later we told them we were running out of time and would be late for our show. Keep in mind that our first 2 people were there before us so this is about an hour and a half later wait from the time our first guest got there. That’s when they apologized and said oh sorry we could not make it work. Why not just tell us that from the get go so we can walk across the street to a different restaurant and have time to eat before our plans? If it’s that hard to sit a group of 10 why not just say that over the phone when we called or even suggest that you split our group up so we can at least get drinks and eat? I mean anything would have been better than the fake “oh its just 10 more minutes”.
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alex morrison
This used to be a staple of quality and service, but it seems to be a place of haphazard waitresses and reliance on a dated menus that fizzle at the site of careful attention to flavor. It lacks a sense of personality, it seems to pull you in with its crowd and its interesting architect and interior design, but I dont go for food to admire the artistic panache of the place, it needs to have personality through its wait staff and a menu that doesnt scream Im a bar first, then a place to get food for if that were the case, then get rid of the tables and just do stool with standing room only. The charades of getting a table disappoints when you finally take your first bite, into a slovenly put together enchilada, or a street taco, that tastes of street gutters. The wings caked with sauce you are not sure that you are eating chicken wings. The list goes on, but good luck finding the same waitress two times in a row, for they seem to go through waitress as fast as you go through TP post-eating. The pretty waitress thing is nice eye candy if this was a bar in U-district, but even if you were going to strike up a conversation to later have that familiarity and positive engagement you get with seeing familiar faces, that doesnt appear to be the goal here. Rather I am not sure why management cant seem to keep staff long enough to resolve any of their issues, so alas, this is more like kitchen nightmares where it turns out to be mismanagement rather than anyone employees fault.
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Brooklyn Roberts
This is absolutely my favorite restaurant on the east side. The food is amazing - especially the nachos & street tacos! If you like flavorful food, this is your spot! But anywhere can have amazing food; here its the service that keeps us coming back. Tracy made us fall in love with this place and has always taken good care of us. Shes the waitress that originally made matador become a favorite place to eat dinner rather than an occasional place to eat while we were in Redmond. I STRONGLY recommend sitting in her section if you can. Alicia, Michelle and Monica took good care of us too and they each took the time to get to know us. Being a business owner, a mentor in customer experience, and a former server myself...these ladies continue to amaze us with the level of attention to their tables and consistently quick comfortable service. They all are the reason we go back - and thank god for that because it would be a shame to miss out on that food!
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Marshall Lacomb
I have only been here once but Im always talking about going back. I have absolutely no business in Redmond, although I plan on making a special trip just to try another meal. The wait time was a bit long but to be expected when the establishment is so popular. My enchiladas were outstanding. And trust me, I have had a lot of enchiladas. I saw a plate of nachos walk by that almost pulled me out of my chair due to its mass having created its own gravitational pull. The atmosphere is both comfortable and very entertaining. I forgot to mention that while we waited for our table I had a drink at the bar. Due to it being so crowded I could only squeeze in at the very end, and yet the bartender still managed to check in with me regularly. Deffinately deserving of the stars.
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Kevin Stone
The food is average to above average, depending on whos in the kitchen. The quality and portion size are very good for the price. The atmosphere is dark and maybe even a little seductive. Thats not a bad thing! This is a great place to bring a date. And they have outdoor seating on warm nights. With that said, the staff seem to have been hired based on looks rather than serviceability. Some of the waitresses are not firing on all cylinders. And ordering a custom drink from the bar is hit or miss. How do you screw up a Vodka Sour? But this is a minor complaint as I can always send a drink back or have an entree replaced the way it was requested to be. And in fairness these incidents have been rare. I still wont hesitate to return.
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Austin Worthington
Let me start by saying that I love The Matador. This review is only on the customer service at this location, the food is 5 star and they do have some friendly servers still. Most locations give an excellent experience and the food is great. That noted, the Redmond location has been going downhill. A number of the newer servers have been downright rude (my customers all noted it) on multiple visits and they now require you to have half your party at the restaurant before seating you -even when the place is empty. Customer service has really gone down here which is a shame, I have gone multiple times a month for The last few years. Ill be finding somewhere else to take clients for lunch going forward.
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A Private User
This WAS a favorite place for a group of my friends to meet up 2 or 3 times per week this past summer. The attitude of the staff was a running joke, but the quality of the food, happy hour food deals, and drink, and the ambiance, made it worthwhile. Last night a friends brandy arrived in a cold glass, with 5 or so bugs. No apology, no comp - just another cold glass of brandy (from a new bottle, after she pointed out that the existing bottle was the source of the flies). Her boyfriends drink - a mexican coffee - arrived lukewarm. We ended up leaving after the first drink, mostly because of the smell of a propane leak or sewer backup. Matts Oyster Bar here we come!
