Consuelo Mexican Bistro

4 start restaurant gone bad.... I am so disappointed with Consuelos. This restaurant had excellent food and service for a few years, even when they were packed inside and out with customers. Now, the last three times I have gone (my rule of thumb is 3 chances before I don't go to a place anymore), each time there was plenty of wait staff and less than 5 occupied tables. We (my wife and I) waited almost 15 minutes after being seated to get a menu, then another 10 or more to get our drinks, and then 45 YES, 45 minutes to get our order of overcooked chicken and greasy carnitas. Our waitress promptly disappeared after dropping off the food, never came back to us, so had to go ask bartender to get us our check. Stay away!…

Avoid this restaurant.. The food is mediocre and overpriced. The staff was ok, could have been more attentive considering the price. The management and attention to customer service is among the worst I've ever seen We never actually had a desire to go to this restaurant and the only reason we did tonight was because we had a gift certificate. The Restaurant appears nice enough, well furnished, nice looking bar, decent wait staff. The first thing you notice is that there are no chips served. Only soft tortillas and 3 different salsas. If you want chips, that will cost you $3.00. The ceviche was ok, but it was served with soda crackers. The margarita is about a 3 on the scale of 1-10. This would have been a mediocre meal at best, and an overpriced shopper trap at worst. However, it was my interaction with the general manager that really sunk the evening. He informed me that despite the fact that there was no expiration date on the gift certificates I had, he would not honor them as they were at least several years old. I let him know that the State of California actually requires gift certificates without an expiration date to be honored regardless of what the restaurant's policy is. At which point he turned cold and repeated that he would not accept the gift certificates and stated "you do what you have to do". I considered walking out without paying the bill, but thought better of it and paid with a credit card instead.

I lodged formal complaints with the California Department of Consumer Affairs and my credit card company.

I've also read on yelp that other people have had their gift certificates illegally rejected. if this has happened to any of you or you encounter it in the future I recommend you lodge a complaint with the California Department of Consumer affairs. It is quick and easy.…

CUCARACHAS!!!!!!!!. I so wanted to go my husband didnt because its not good mexican food. The only good thing is drinks, appetizers and desserts. when i got my dessert I looked to the wall and saw a COCROACH! walking up the wall. I nearly wanted to scream And sat at the very corner of my seating looking for a worker or someone. they offered free food. But we are not here for free bees was our response. my husband told me to look under the table there were dirty greasy reading glasses and another cuaracha I should have yelled CUCARACHA! yes i called the health dept on them!…

Surprisingly bad and they don't even care... What a surprise to find out that everyone wears a coat inside the restaurant because the front door is drafty and they have the top windows open. The salsa dishes don't even fit on the plate, the silverwear doesn't match, you have to ask to have sweetner for the ice tea and a match for the candle. The place is so dark you can't read the menu. There are no chips for the salsa just tortia's and when you order your food, like Carnita's, all you get is a bowl of pork, nothing else, no rice, no beans, no vegatables, just meat. Everyone wears a jacket inside while your eating and everyone complains about it and the manager doesn't even care. He blames things on the economy. Well, you can't use the economy excuse we paid $210 for dinner. They take no responsiblity for anything apparently. However, our waiter did make a great effort, the gaucamole is good, the margarita's are good but don't expect the hostess to speak Spanish, they are so mis-managed it really was a sad sad joke of an experience. Bring someone you want to break up with there because it would be the perfect place for a reality check. Oddly enough the place was full of people wearing there coats and complaining. Never never never again.…