Hacienda Mexican Restaurant

My last time to Hacienda with a friend was very disappointing. It wasn’t the food; it was the service that irritated me.
My friend ordered two tacos because he loves tacos; that is his standard that he gets at any Mexican restaurants. I ordered a bowl of pazole because I love the pazole that they have. The food was good as usual.
However, the time of day when we went to Hacienda, they were not busy at all. There were more empty tables than customers at the restaurant.
It should not take a half and hour to get chips and salsa if they are going to give you chips and salsa. I had my smart phone and was checking the time because I was really hungry. It should not take a half an hour to get our chips and salsa, the chips were not hot, only luke warm and almost just room temperature in addition to being greasy. I had to wipe grease off my hands after I handled them. The chips were not greasy and were hot last time we were there. I didn’t like that, and neither did my friend.
Our server, whose name I thought was Adam but wasn’t, did a good job with other people and waited on them, but not us. I looked on the ticket receipt and his name is Ron. I ordered a bowl of pazole and my friend ordered his two tacos almost immediately when we were seated because we knew what we wanted. So we waited, and waited and continue to wait. A half hour later, we got our chips. So we waited and waited and continued to wait. It’s not that difficult to pour soup into a bowl and to make tacos, but we continued to wait.
So Ron did some side work before we got our salsa and chips, and he did more of his side work of rolling silverware in napkins, didn’t check back with us and we continued to wait. My friend said he had an attitude about something and Ron thought he was doing a good job, but we continued to wait. I was truly irritated and not pleased with the service that we did and didn’t get that particular day.
So we waited and waited some more for our food. When we finally got our food, I was so hungry that I couldn’t stand it anymore and was seriously considering stiffing Ron on his tip. It should not have taken over an hour to get two tacos and a bowl of pazole.
If Ron is your server, request someone else or ask to move to a different table out of his serving area because he didn’t provide good service, and we waited way too long for the food that day. You will probably know it’s him by the terrible serves that he might provide for you. I am going to request someone else if he ever winds up being our server again when I return to Hacienda.

I really like this place. Consistent food quality. Service has always been great. And the prices are good. I usually get the same thing, the Navajo Taco. I love it. Its like a pizza (fluffy dough crust) topped with black beans, chicken, and other goodies. Its very filling and the flavors are great. The margaritas are good. The same for the salsa. This is a popular joint, so it can be crowded at times. There is a large front patio that is amazing in the warmer months.

Living in California and visiting my family in Saint Louis, so Mexican is always a tough sell to me. This was no exception. Menu is completely Tex-​Mex style and nothing to write home about. Service was mediocre at best. If I am waiting for a refill of an empty drink, you are wrong. Happened three times. Keep in mind this was not a peak time for dinner, 430 on a Sunday. Cold food, rushed to eat, and asking for refills. Google some Mexican recipes and cook at home, then you can have all the margaritas you want and not have to worry about how to get home!

As much as it pains me to say this… we have gone here every for an event for my husband’s job, but I am just never happy with this place… I am always really deeply disappointed with the food.
The catering is bland and awful — the ribs were bland (why is this even an option at an Authentic Mexican cuisine place?). The mini fried chimichangas were bland. The little honey barbecue wings were better (why is this even an option at an Authentic Mexican cuisine place?) — but they were the tiniest wings I have ever seen in my life. Their salsa that looks like it has a ton of veggies and spices blended into it is solidly bland. And boy, do I mean, bland.
The margaritas are really sour and puckerworthy with every single drink. Clearly, from a mix jug. I switched to shot of tequila with lime almost immediately. (Not a joke)
Everything is just… bland. I don’t have anything else to say, except that it was a constant mission to find various salsas, or other toppings, to try to slather them on to things to make them taste better.
Someone ordered a plate of «nachos» that arrived as basically a plate with the thinnest, most watery «beef» dumped on top of it and cheese melted all over it. The nachos were soaked so soggy that we could not even pick them up — and they did NOT SIT, we attempted to eat them immediately. Had to use a fork. Nachos aren’t meant to be eaten with a fork, give me a break.
The chips were really thick and over-​fried — Cantina style salsa and chips are not that thick. The Cantina style chips are warm, lightly salted, thin and crisp — not a huge crunch with a mouth full of chip and then indigestion after ingesting a huge amount of chip with oil cooked into it. That’s the whole point of the light fresh crispy Cantina style chips… this isn’t it.
I do Mexican, and like I mentioned in my previous review of another Mexican restaurant — I am a connoisseur of Mexican food of all kinds… virtually, all types. Authentic, Tex Mex, Mom n’ Pop, Contemporary. You name it. I pay special attention to Mexican cuisine because I know I am going to review it and give an honest representation with comparison to other restaurants.
The service was good, had no complaints about our servers, otherwise, this might be a one-​star. We will go to another, more authentic Mexican cuisine going forward.

I can’t believe I’ve never even attempted to write a review of this place! I have been coming here since the very first day I moved to this area and have always had nothing less than wonderful service. In fact, I have recommended this place to several people who have not heard of it because I really like the food, the atmosphere, and the service altogether.
Let me take you back to my very first experience. It was on an early Friday night, a storm was coming and the restaurant was starting to get somewhat busy. You can definitely tell from the parking spaces or the lack thereof. Fortunately, there were still tables available so the wait was quite minimal. I tried the wet burrito and it was good. The portion was massive so I ended up taking some home but I always forget to eat my leftovers so it got tossed out but definitely not because I hated it. I was quite impressed with the food quality, the cleanliness of the place, and the friendly service so not too long after, I came back and tried a different menu item.
After the first couple of visits, I would frequent this place whenever I get the craving for Mexican food. Up until this year, I was very loyal to this restaurant. I still really love coming here but having lived in the area a little longer, I have discovered several other places and so I don’t find myself here as often as I used to be.
Nevertheless, I still love their food. My go-​to when I come here now is their chicken enchilada verdi. The sauce is quite flavorful and the chicken enchilada is well-​seasoned.
Overall, this is a nice place for lunch, dinner or just to hang out during one of those hot St. Louis summers and sip on a margarita or 2… Or 3!

Highly recommend the Diablo Margarita! Top Shelf Mesquite Chicken Quesadilla was awesome! Guacamole was very, very good. Diablo Marguarita was a real treat. Our Server, Randy, was very attentive without being intrusive. He was knowledgeable about the menu items, suggested a little sugar rim on my Marg, was a great suggestion. When we were almost finished, I said we decided to try out Hacienda even after reading some negative reviews. I’m sure glad we did, because our experience was unexpectedly delightful! From the friendly greeting by Megi, to the wait staff, Randy and his trainer Shurron and the food and drink… all was excellent!

Was in the mood for Mexican food, and had our little dog with us, so when we drove past and saw a great outdoor eating area, we had to stop.
The salsa is pretty generic. The chips however, are homemade and very good. The drinks are a little weak, but the server added another shot of vodka for me. The California Burrito is very tasty. The spicy mayo tops it off perfectly. The quesadilla is very good. The cheese is so delicious. The services is excellent. Matthew (host) was very accommodating.
We will stop in again.

The margaritas are pretty good and strong.
Salsa was more like ketchup. Street tacos were okay. Had Dos Equis and they tasted old and flat. Waiter was not very friendly. Patio was pretty big and cool on a warm day. A good place to have some drinks outside but that is it.

Bummed about my experience. Heard wonderful things about this place, including exactly what to order. However, the only thing that really impressed me was the actual patio. After that, everything was very mediocre. We have too many wonderful restaurants in St. Louis to really waste your time coming here.

I have an awesome time every time I go! All the food I try I’ve liked! My favorite things to try are the seasonal dishes! Different flavor and dish type from the normal! I’ve been many times and haven’t been disappointed yet and I’ve been coming since I was a little girl

Don’t EVER get seated in the ‘dome room’. The noise level carries so much and it’s so loud that it ruins the meal. We asked to be moved but we were told that there were no other tables available even though when I left shortly after to use the restroom and noticed the dining room was half empty… smh. There were also several flies at our table.

Hacienda has been around forever. But by the looks of the latest reviews, their food and service has greatly diminished over the years. Unfortunately, I have to agree with other reviewers. We had a party of 16 people there Tuesday evening. The only reason this is getting 2 stars was because our server, Santiago, saved the day!
Chips– semi stale, salsa– tastes like canned tomatoes. Food– just ok. Drinks-​watery. Prices– too high
Host– horribly rude
Manager– inexperienced and clueless
I called that morning for a patio reservation for our large party. I was told they didn’t take them for the patio but at 5pm on Tuesday, it wouldn’t be a problem. WRONG!
Rude male host said they wouldn’t seat us until our entire party was there even though there were a total of 2 tables occupied on the patio. I explained that people would be showing up a few at a time as they got off work. He didn’t care.
Went to complain to manager, she also said that was their policy. I told her I could understand that policy if the restaurant was busy but it clearly was not! After more than 30 minutes of waiting/​having other friends complain, we were finally seated on the patio in the exact spot we wanted. We would have gone somewhere different but we had multiple people coming from multiple places.
Our server did a good job but the food is mediocre, drinks watery and chips stale. Very, very disappointing! I will never go back! Unfortunately, the whole evening was ruined for me.

Their patio is awesome. And that’s about it. Service is rude and slow, food is bland and forgettable.

This place is always jammed packed and I cannot understand why. The place is beautifully landscaped and has a really nice patio. Last night at around 6:30 we arrived. I met some co-​workers there. We went to sit on the patio but they told us it was closed due to rain. It wasn’t raining and didn’t start until around 9:00 and the patio is 90% covered. So we wait 30 minutes for a table inside. I haven’t been here in years because I think their food is just okay. The inside is dated, dingy and dirty. The lighting is horrible and the noise level is very loud. There were more flies inside the restaurant than outside. In fact, I didn’t see one fly outside but many flying around inside.
Service: terrible. From the bar to the wait staff, it sucked. A manager did come by and give us free chicken wings. Not sure why we received these. She was very present in the Dining Room but should have stopped at our table earlier and taken a drink order or something. Closing a patio on a nice summer evening is just dumb. After appetizers we got a drink at the bar and sat on the patio. It was pouring down rain and we and others sitting outside were dry as a bone.

Standard margaritas, decent food. Tried their quesadillas, standard. GREAT guac.
Called to ask how to handle a large party for a happy hour, they said patio would be ideal and that they do not take reservations. Got there with a growing party of dozens of happy hour guests and servers were soo rude and asked why I didn’t make a reservation! And the patio was closed! Had a group of 50+ crammed in the indoor bar while the service was slow and rude. They acted like they didn’t want us there.
I liked them for dinner. Tried the famous happy hour and will never return.

We there tonight to celebrate my birthday with my husband abd kids. We were sat immediately. After sitting and getting chips and salsa we looked at menus and colored with kids. 15 pass and we get up to leave as we are walking out we are finally approached with «oh I was just about to help you.» I worked in the service industry for years and will never go back. Be warned!

Hacienda would be a great spot for a Cinco de Mayo celebration. Easy to find with plenty of parking, this is a perfect venue for groups with a fairly diverse taste — lots of menu options for just about any taste profile.
Service/​experience — Outside dining is available. The service and ambiance is ho-​hum. Not bad, but noting special.
Food — Typical Tex-​Mex inspired dishes that seem to branch out a bit. Almost anyone can find something on the menu that appeals to their tastes. Again, not bad, but nothing special. I recommend the Mango Pork Tacos. One down side is that the salsa tastes more like taco sauce mixed with a jar of Pace, to be honest.
Overall — It speaks to a somewhat Americanized vision of a middle-​tier Mexican restaurant. Not bad, but nothing special. The margaritas make it all better which, by itself, is always a reason to eat Mexican tonight!

I used to love this place and I would have given it more stars about 10 years ago but now its just not what it once was service or food wise, the last 2 times I ordered take out its been wrong or I was charged for something I did not receive and This last time well I found a smidge of things in my sauces that should not have been there for instance my salsa had bits of broken chips in it and my cheese dip had something black flat and unidentifiable in it not to mention my container looked like it had been reused The prices went up and the quality suffered maybe Im expecting too much from this place but it used to be good and was always my meet up spot with friends but not anymore, off to find a better place for quality Mexican food now

Good spot for lunch. Chips are different than you find other places — more puffy. Good cheese enchilada and better tamale. I opted for the sweet corn tamalito instead of the rice & beans — recommend this substitution unless you’re a big fan of rice & beans.
My guest went for the wet burrito and that is what I will order next time around.

Ever since Casa Gallardo closed I’ve been looking for a restaurant to fill that void in my stomach that Casa once filled. Even though Hacienda is completely on the other side of St. Louis from us, it’s worth the trek.
We came to Hacienda for cinco de mayo, awesome party, great music, great party!!! I’ve also visited with my family since cinco, we enjoyed great service and wonderful food. I had the Navajo Taco, which is like a flat pita with all of the goodies piled on top. Unfortunately, it was so filling and I had eaten too much chips & salsa that I didn’t get to eat very much of it! My parents said the pork chops were absolutely to die for tender and have already gone back to get more!
Hacienda is going to be on our regular rotation.