Table for 4 for Dinner
The whole family was headed out for a pre-Father's Day dinner. I was in the passenger seat and had no clue where we were going. We headed up 75 north and arrived at the Nazareth Plaza. The restaurant was located in this plaza and they had a huge shared parking lot. We found a spot and took the short walk over to the Bar Amaya. We passed a glassed enclosed patio before we found the entrance. Wifey approached the hostess and informed them she made a reservation. There seemed to be some confusion, but they eventually figured it out and we were informed there was a 2 hour limit for our dinner. While standing there I could see there were 2 main dining areas; a dark interior dining room to the left and the glass covered patio on the right that we passed from the parking lot. We were led to a table for 4 in the patio that seemed lower than your average table. We were informed we could scan the QR code on the table to pull up the full food and drink menu. While looking around I could see this place had a very eclectic design. There were definitely some Mediterranean influences, but then I saw large dice, Lego sets and Hookahs on display. When I pulled up the menu it continued with the eclectic/confused theme . There were Mediterranean dishes but then I saw Mexican birria tacos. We all kept reviewing the menu and realized no one came by to take our order. There was a lot of activity in the room, but nobody actually stopped by our table. The service was already starting a little slow. My daughter chased down the hostess and let her know no one had come by to take our order. She informed us that someone would be there shortly. I did not press the envelope as I was the guest of honor for Father's Day. Our server Alexis arrived and greeted us with a smile. By that time we were all ready with our drink and food orders. Their beer selection wasn't huge. The menu had about 10 things to choose from but there were 2 I had not seen before. I asked if they had either the Efes or the Tusker beer available. Our server said she would have to double check at the bar. Wifey kept it simple and ordered a Modelo. My daughters tried some of their specialty cocktails, my youngest ordered a Blush Blossom drink and my oldest ordered a Gypso. For food, Wifey and my oldest ordered the Chicken Pesto Pasta, my youngest ordered the Salmon meal and I ordered the Chicken Shish Kabop meal, keeping with the Mediterranean theme. The server came by not too long after and informed me that neither of the "Exotic" beers were available. I just settled for a Modello like Wifey. The food and drinks came out very fast and looked very fresh. Even though our server said she was gonna bring us some water, they never arrived and we had to remind her. Also only two of us had utensils when the food arrived. My daughter tasted the Blush Blossom, didn't like it and asked if she could swap it out with the Gypso. Our server initially said she would have to charge us for both drinks. I inquired if she could ask if they could be swapped out at no extra cost. She came back over and said the manager agreed to only charge for 1 drink. That was good to hear and accommodating. Once everything arrived at the table and we started digging, the food was excellent. No one had any complaints. The food was definitely the highlight at Bar Amaya. I asked Alexis about the dessert options and she named a few good ones; including Tres Leches and Baklava. We decided on the Baklava so everybody could share it. I thought all they had to do was cut a slice, maybe warm it up, and bring it out. Why did it take almost 15 min for the desert to come out? Even our server came by at one point and said "you didn't get your cake yet, let me check on it". When it finally came out, it was a pretty small portion. It didn't look that fresh, but it was served with some pistachio ice cream on the side. We all took a few bites and agreed, for the most part, It was good. The ice cream was better than we expected, but the Baklava itself was a little mushy. Overall, for this visit to Bar Amaya, the food and ambiance were excellent. The entrees came out quickly, but the other attention to detail and overall customer service could have been better. Rating 3.5 read more