Fernando’s Mexican Restaurant

The worst experience I have ever had in a restaurant! Knowing that it’s Valentine and nothing extra like at least a SMILE! Well first of all there’s nobody there to seat you, they just kind a of yelled out «sit wherever you want». No manners and not even a «welcome to Fernando’s» no water no coffee 25 minutes later while were eating chips, I’m parched and I finally, after 3x asking, walked in back area and I said «is it that difficult to get a glass of water?»
We were totally ignored as other people walked in that makes about six people in total they helped them first as we are still sitting there.
it’s really unfortunate that that place has a lot of bad reviews and I wish I would’ve read them before I stood 1 foot into this restaurant! Sucks! plain and simple! Rude waitresses if they are even that maybe they hate working who knows I’ll never refer anyone here! peace going elsewhere…

Don’t waist your time for the Mexican food. I can walk here but would drive across town to have better. Over priced and ok.

Good place to go for a laid back dinner.
Chips are homemade, salsa is spicy, and 32 ounce beers are only $ 7!!!
Food was good, but I wouldn’t rate it as the best.
Sat at the bar, saw lots of different people, and had a friendly bartender/​waitress. Don’t expect full service since she’s making drinks and serving others, but she was responsive whenever we flagged her down for something.
We paid about $ 50 for 4 32 ounce beers and two entrees. I think that’s a good deal in Pleasanton.

Walked in at 11:35 AM on a Sunday for a quick lunch with the family. It was our first time and we were looking forward to, at the very least, a standard Mexican restaurant. As we walked in we were greeted by… oh, that’s right, nobody! Nothing say’s «Welcome to our restaurant» like making customers search for someone to seat them. Fortunately I found the bartender and she let us know that we could sit anywhere. My daughter chose a booth and I was the lucky one who sat on the ripped section that had once been «repaired» with duct tape that has long gone away. There was not another sole in the restaurant and we did get chips and salsa quickly.
Kids ordered small burritos, we also ordered the Sunday special, fajitas as well as a single chicken enchilada with green sauce. Our food arrived at 12:15 which is close to mind boggling given the fact that we were the only customers in the restaurant! The burritos were standard operating procedure and the fajitas were tasty but the flour tortillas were barely warm. The chicken enchilada with GREEN sauce was an enchilada filled with chicken drenched in red sauce covered in what can only be described as a microscopic layer of something with green food coloring in it!
in short, if you want to be ignored and wait a really long time for sub-​par Mexican food then this is the place for you!

Daughter wanted Mexican and we were in Pleasanton so decided to give this a try.
Started out oddly… A hostess looked at us but didn’t acknowledge us. Finally she told us to sit wherever we wanted. Chips and salsa came quickly. Standard fare.
Chicken tortilla soup was very tasty, but I ordered the cole slaw. Never got it. One pleasant waiter who was left by himself to help us, another two tables and a large youth soccer team. Didn’t bother to ask for the cole slaw.
Cheese enchilada was filled with what seemed to be cheddar cheese product rather than authentic Mexican queso. Beans were SO salty I couldn’t eat them. Chicken taco was also heavy on the salt.
Will I come back? Likely not. Suffering from a salt headache now.

Stopped by with 8 friends after work one weeknight for drinks and appetizers. The service was nonexistent. Neither the bar or restaurant was crowded, in fact the place was practically deserted. There were employees there, but they never once came to our table. Each time we wanted to order appetizers we had to track someone down and for drinks our group had to tally requests and go get them from the bartender. The appetizers were like something you get from the freezer section of the grocery store and then deepfried. They were edible, but not in anyway good.
It was beyond me why the service was so poor as a half way decent waiter could have made some great tips from the group. I got the vibe that we were interrupting the employees siesta.
Our group will never go back.

A group of about ten of us girls all got together at Fernando’s on July 29^th, 2015. We sat in the bar area, and the restaurant was almost empty. All of us had to take turns going up to the bar to order drinks because no one ever served us. We even had to had to approach a waiter to order appetizers. Last night, just a few of my friends went and there was once again, NO service. Amanda, a girl that doesn’t even work there brought them ice water (bless her). Long wait for drinks and the food was shitty. So unhappy, they left, and the bartender chased them out, at which time my friend on crutches lost her balance and gashed her arm about 6 inches and bleeding. The bartender never asked if she was okay. We are not going back again.

We’ve been enjoying Fernando’s for years! I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad meal, and I can guarantee I’ve never had a bad margarita!. I admit it doesn’t have the upscale feel of many of the other restaurants in downtown Pleasanton, but with friendly staff, good food and great drinks, who cares about that?!

$ 1 tacos were good but the service was bad. We ordered queso and a kids meal that never came… we had to ask them again. Took a long time to get our second margarita. And when we got the queso it was a little watery.

We were looking for a dog friendly restaurant and stumbled upon this place. We sat outside on the patio and had a great time. The waiter was very personable and had great suggestions on his favorite dishes and he NAILED it. Very good food! My husband had enchiladas and the sauce was one of the best tasting sauces I’ve ever had. The chips were fresh and tasty while the pitcher of Cadillac margaritas were amazing!
We will be back … Thank you Chris you are the bomb

This is a great, traditional Mexican joint. Good food, decent margaritas (full bar) and good Mexican beers on tap. I was intrigued buggy the fact that a fellow Unilocaler said the atmosphere was «divey», but I’m not sure that’s true, but it definitely wasn’t upscale, California frufru — just good old-​fashioned, traditional Mexican!
My companion ordered a delicious (albeit slightly «off-​menu») vegetarian enchilada/​avocado tostada combination which was served with a tasty vinegar-​based coleslaw and I ordered a wonderful chicken enchilada/​shredded beef taco combo which was preceded by a yummy tortilla chicken soup.
We opted to eat on the patio outside the bar and our waiter, Christopher was professional, efficient and very friendly.

Loved this place. Who doesn’t love Mexican food? The chips and salsa were good. My enchilada, rice and beans were very good. My friend enjoyed his burrito, but said it was a little salty. Chris was are very fun server. Life is good!

I come here pretty often with my boyfriend, and we love it! We usually order the same things each time, but they are always really delicious and it never takes long for it to be made! Never super loud or noisy unless a game is happening on the TV in the bar area, and the staff is always very nice and very attentive! Prices are pretty decent for what you get! I would rather pay a couple of dollars more here than pay less at Taco Bell for food that’s not even half as good! Thanks Fernando’s for always making the best Enchiladas in life!

The steak Mexicana was a huge thick piece of NY steak was only 15.99, which would normally cost 38.00 at any other place. Completely delicious and this Pleasanton landmark’s food is always consistently good. Family friendly and they have a great patio with happy hour.

Went here last night with My Friend. We sat on the patio next to a group of chicks that were waaaay too drunk for 7 p.m. lol.
There was so much screeching and hooting going on, felt like we were at the zoo.
The food was sub par and the waitress never refilled anything or even came back once to ask us if we needed anything. Boo

After reading all the ghastly Unilocal reviews on this place, I was very nervous to visit. I had a $ 5 coupon and we cannot go out very much, so we still went. I am glad that we did! We were pleasantly surprised at how delicious the food was!
I went with my husband and our 4 year daughter… she insisted she was not hungry so we ordered the Three Amigos appetizer and Chili con Queso. I am a vegetarian so I did not taste the «meat» items; however, in the time it took me to run my daughter to the bathroom my husband had devoured the chicken wings and was moving onto his chili con queso; he says the wings were delicious. I ate the nachos, which were really yummy and no American cheese or Velveeta in sight! I really enjoyed the spicy salsa and my husband liked the mild. Our daughter ate the entire cheese quesadilla even though she was «not hungry».
The restaurant was very quiet, only a couple of tables had customers, the bar had about half a dozen people in it. Yes, the atmosphere is dated but the waiter was very pleasant and attentive even though my husband ordered 4 refills on his «fantastic» root beer.
Overall, this was a great experience. The food was hot and delicious. We were full AND left with a huge amount of chili con queso which was only $ 4.95. The prices on most entrée items are quite high which is why we opted for appetizers but we would definitely go back!

For whatever reason, I found myself in Pleasanton looking for a drink. Came here for the bar. Took a little finding, but eventually discovered it way in the back of the building. The have all of the normal Mexican beers plus a few domestics. Tequila lined the walls, and Mexican music filled the air. The place was loud so we hung out on the patio. Staying warm with libations and a fire pit. I probably won’t return, I didn’t rely enjoy myself.

Wonderful waiters, but there were problems that they couldn’t fix.
We made the mistake of sitting on the patio where there were loud drunk people smoking enough to the point where the non-​smoking section was plenty stinky. This group was loudly playing dominos and had their dog walking around the entire patio without a leash. On yes, this old brown Labrador pleasantly greeted everyone walking past. Cute but not appropriate. I was blown away by this as I sat over 35 minutes waiting for our food; but not because the place was busy. They desperately need to power wash clean the place (inside and out). You can hear people at other restaurants near-​by having a great time, left me sad and ready to run from this place.
Oh, and the steak we ordered was fried, who fries steak?! One last thing, the super-​diced iceberg lettuce used in my salad, CHEAP TACO BELL TACO FILLER!
:-(

I love Mexican food and Fernando’s has been a pretty good spot to stop in once in a while. I love their tortilla soup, have had good chicken enchiladas, rice and beans, and a decent chicken tostada salad.
The staff is endearing, friendly, and professional. Atmosphere is kind of ho-​hum, but overall it’s cool. I visited between ’07-’10 so I’m not sure how this spot is now but I thought it was a cool spot to have for lunch once in a while.

Oh my … I cannot remember a meal any worse than I had tonight at Fernando’s. I feel bad for the staff tonight … The place is so run down and understaffed. The service was … Well … There was no service. The cook did his best to wait on tables. In the meantime, the food just didn’t measure up.
So where is the management or the owner? Perhaps getting ready to file bankruptcy? I hope so …
One star is about 5 too many … But if this review helps you to turn right and head to Alberto’s or left to Taco Bell, I wish you the best.