Can a name of a place indicate its hospitality and quality? This is my story at Gringo in Lower Lonsdale

Excited of the fact that there was a taco place opening in Lower Lonsdale with good reviews at other locations, I overlooked the fact that the place was called Gringo and decided to give it try.

To my surprise, this has been one of the most disappointing experiences I’ve had in a long time! I mean, I’ve left other taco places and Mexican restaurants sad before, but Gringo was able to get a spot into my nevermore list.

When we arrived at the restaurant, I noticed the pretty lights and decoration of the place but also how tight were all the tables around, so we decided to sit in the bar thinking it will be easier and faster to order our food and drinks. We were welcome with a QR code card to scan for the menu, and I got my name confused and fully changed to which we just made fun of it; after that we ordered a couple of micheladas with the bartender and were left of to decide on our food.

After more than 10 minutes of waiting for someone to take our order and considering that the bartender was looking busy, I decided to reach at a server passing by and ask her if she could take our order to which she just run off saying ‘sure, give me a minute’ and never more appeared or came back, but she did make sure to talk with the other customers at the bar. I also tried reaching to the bartender for help, but I was unsuccessful as his attention was fully on the couple sitting next to us that had closed their bill at their table and decided to continue drinking at the bar.

Having been ignored twice and being very hungry, I asked my husband for help to call the attention of the bartender and ordering our food, as I knew that it would be harder to ignore a big guy.  

We both order a couple of tacos and a portion of nachos to share, the food was ok. Definitely far to be compared with Mexican food, but I can see some people eating the tacos when there is no other option. During our stay I didn’t hear any Mexican or Spanish speaking music, and while observing, I couldn’t see if there was any Mexican or Latino working at the place.

In summary, Gringo at Lower Lonsdale it’s a place that I wouldn’t recommend visiting in terms of hospitality. As Mexican the vibe felt off from the moment I entered the place, no Latino music or Latino people around, lack of attention, and being actively ignored by the service are some of the things that made me had a sad experience.

I always say to not judge the book by it’s over and to give everything a try/chance, but this time it should’ve been easy to know the experience that I would have at a taco place called Gringo.