We had an amazing experience here. Too bad it recently closed. We go down Wednesday for lunch and lucked out as we found parking right next door. Only one space left near the restaurant. We get there right before it opens and they sit us down right away. I thought that was awesome. Some places will wait until they officially open. Even while just opening it was a festive atmosphere and the employees were amazing. My wife had the Diabla shrimp plate and I had the three taco platter I choose the birria and Korean tacos and they were amazing and had a different twist to them. You get to choose from various ones. This place is very instagramic and you may be paying a little bit more but in my opinion it is well worth it. We had the Miche mango blended drink and I ordered the Cadillac Margarita. They were very good and reasonably priced as well. The grand finale was the churro cart. What a show. Definitely worth some social media posts. We really enjoyed this place and hope it makes a comeback read more

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I pass this place quite often and finally had the chance to try it with a fellow yelp elite! The overall vibe of this place reminds me of a place you'd go to late at night if you wanted to drink, eat some Mexican food, and maybe dance a little bit. It's a huge restaurant with a bar up and downstairs. Our server was really attentive and did a great job explaining the menu. They actually had so much I was a little overwhelmed by the menu but ended up just getting the tacos. It's not the best tacos I've had but they hit the spot if you're in the mood for some. read more

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Not a good experience here. We had a large party so I was trying to give grace, but overall it was just bad. We were seated all together but some seats had a metal riser in front of them, so they had to eat around it. The staff were incredibly rude anytime we asked for anything (with the exception of our actual server who was great). We had to ask multiple times for water and wait ten minutes before we even got menus. The service was just awful. The food and drink was hit and miss. Our waters finally came in tiny plastic cups. My Mule was not great, which sucks because their drinks look so good. My friend pulled a bug out of her drink as well, which was wild. I ordered Chiliquiles which is my favorite breakfast food. It was seriously lacking. The birria was great, but everything else was sopping and soggy. Not a single crunch. The flavor was also lacking, on Chiliquiles! My fiancee had to use a steak knife to cut through her piece of toast... Though she did say the pork belly was outstanding. Their plating is beautiful but the food doesn't match. Overall I was just disappointed. I don't think I'll be back. read more

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I've now been here twice and enjoy it very much. Staff and service is great. The taco menu is spot on-- particularly the Guadalajara Tacos. I found the Happy Hour street tacos to be sub-par and very small portion -- skip those and stick with the regular menu tacos. Plenty of beer on tap! read more

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Friend recommended this place for dinner, and it was a great time! Ask to sit upstairs next to the windows to enjoy the view, it did feel stuffy inside with the heaters on. Tried the pork belly bites and they were amazing! Cooked amazingly and perfect. Cucumber margarita was huge! Was not expecting it to be that big of a serving. Tried their Korean tacos which were great as well! Service was really good! Very friendly staff! They really bring in goods vibes. read more

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I really enjoyed my time at this place. The drinks & food are pretty affordable for the price. I ordered 2 Mimosas flight towers, Mr.Tempo shot flight, and chilaquiles with Birria. The Mimosa flight tower comes with 10 mimosas. The flavors are guava, orange, watermelon and pineapple. All were very delicious but i enjoyed the guava one the most. The Mr. tempo shot flight comes with 10 shots of the Mexican flavor lollipop's. It's more of a salty/spicy yet sweet experience. It tasted very good, my wife enjoyed these ! I was very surprised on how well the chilaquiles tasted ! They tasted very nice , it was a rojo (red) chilaquiles and had a nice kick to them. The Birria tasted surprisingly well and was boasting with flavor and soft. The atmosphere was very nice as well, a bunch of Mexican heritage theme and graffiti. The service was exceptional. I enjoyed my time here i will definitely be coming back ! read more

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Honestly pretty happy this location closed down. I figured it was only a matter of time. When we went here, both times it was fairly busy, but not packed, and the service took wayyy longer than expected to get our orders taken and food brought out to us. I believe this restaurant banked on the fact that it was in Little Italy within downtown so they could charge extra for everything. Nothing you would get food or drink wise felt it was justified and the food was really plain or didn't taste good. Ambiance was a bit of a mess too since it seemed to try and mix a lot of different themes together which didn't work out too well. I think it was for the best this business moved on. Let a new restaurant take it's place that can do a better job in the night life scene, or try something new and different. read more

Saturday night out in Little Italy; There was so fun music playing and the graffiti on the walls was as intriguing as we walked by so we decided to grab a drink. Around 9pm there was room at the bar where we slipped in. You had some decent views f the area. However the service was lacking. We sat down and it took awhile for one of the three bartenders to take our order and after they arrived no one followed up with us for an hour to see if we wanted anything else so we decided to close out and move else where. The Paloma was good not too strong or too sweet but the cider that was poured tasted flat. If the place was busier I could understand the lack of service but the drinks didn't taste good enough for me to want to be ignored again. read more

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You won't want to miss the vibrant energy of @kingandqueencantina right in the heart of @littleitalysd . The atmosphere is electric and stylish, with colorful walls that add a bold, beautiful touch, the food is amazingly served and so tasty, My fav was Tinga Taquitos with the 3 different dips, my sis felt in the love with the Mayan Grilled Salmon. read more

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Wanting some late night Mexican food, this was the right place to come. Even though it was pretty late, the service was excellent. The service were all very friendly. And the bartenders made great drinks. The Place is very bright, very clean, and has tons of seating in the upstairs and downstairs The food here was very good. The mini birria tacos were a great appetizer. And the tacos were delicious! This is a highly rated place, and they deserve it! read more

Randomly stumbled upon this place while driving through Santa Monica but would absolutely recommend checking it out! Such a lively spot with great vibes and music! They have an awesome late night happy hour menu with drink and food specials. I highly recommend getting the Nachos and anything birria!! Tons of indoor and outdoor seating with heaters for those cold weather days. read more

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Dropped by for lunch on a taco Tuesday, and not an unpleasant experience! Quick service, friendly staff, clean cantina vibes, and decent bites. I opted for the cucumber mocktail, and wasn't bad, it just wasn't my favorite. Too much lime. I also snagged the adobada street tacos, which were pretty decent. The actual pork lacked the flavor I expected & have had at other places, but adequate overall. Not a bad experience overall! read more

Popped in here on Tuesday for their $3 street taco and $5 margarita special. They did not disappoint. Funny spray paint glow in the dark decide. We sat upstairs and the weather and vibe was nice. Everything we had was good. Chips and guacamole, Mini birria (omg soooo good!!), Guava margaritas (delicious!), Street tacos: chicken, pastor, asada. Chicken tinga (this was good, post and flavorful). I definitely plan to come back next time I'm in town. Ans the mini churro dessert was the perfect sweet treat for one read more

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Really fun, lively, and vibrant place in Little Italy. I loved the decor and how eclectic it was. I could see this place being very fun at night after a few drinks. There were also plenty of TVs to keep up with sports if that's your thing. The menu was huge! Something here for everyone that's for sure. It was a mix of Asian and Mexican cuisine which I personally loved. Where else can I get raw tuna tostadas and tacos?? We opted for the surf and turf tacos and then a sampler of 4 different tacos. All of them were delicious but my favorites were the surf and turf by far. One of the most unique tacos I've ever had. This was a fun meal. read more

King & Queen Cantina - Mexican Near Me - San Diego, California

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To preface this review we went at around 3pm on a Saturday during happy hour: Happy hour deals are relatively good with margaritas at $7 and food at $10 but you aren't allowed to add any protein options to the food options which is why they discount them and the margaritas are a reduced size. That being said the quesabirria we had on the normal menu was delicious and our server Manuel was friendly and offered us free tequila shots for posting a review on Google. That's why you'll see so many high rated views there. The ambiance was lively with fun music playing and a relatively young crowd. read more

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Our team had a dinner here recently while in town for a conference. This spot is located in downtown San Diego and is within walking distance of many hotels. We were greeted and promptly seated upon our group arriving. The restaurant has two levels of dining space that is decorated with black light graffiti. We were seated upstairs and found the noise level to be loud but not prohibitive to conversation. Our waiter was a bit inattentive, we had to wave him down a few times throughout dinner. We started with a round of tequila shots and drinks. I had the mixed berry margarita which came with a Mexican candy (unsure of the name) straw and a cup you could take with (I didn't). It was refreshing and LARGE, I could hardly finish it! Our table had a variety of entrees from enchiladas to birria tacos, however I wanted something somewhat healthy so I ordered the Mayan grilled salmon and substituted the rice for veggies. The salmon and veggies were good, but nothing outstanding. The three sauces were not my thing, so I was happy to have a side of salsa to add some flavor to my dish. One of the members of our party was celebrating their birthday and the restaurant was gracious to give the table a complimentary churro cart. This was the highlight of the dinner for me, although the churros were not as soft as I'd like. The ice cream and dipping sauces were yummy too. Overall this is a fun spot with adequate food and drink. I think the vibe was more of the draw than the food, to be honest. read more

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This used to be one of my favorite places in San Diego for happy hour... We still enjoyed ourselves, but I do feel as though the quality has gone down a little bit. First of all, we specifically drove down there because we loved sitting on their upstairs patio, but that is no longer available until the evening. OK, no problem. We sat in the downstairs dining room and it was fine. There were maybe three other tables of people in there at the time. Our server seemed somewhat disinterested in taking care of us. No suggestions, never checked on us after the food came out until we were almost done eating. I asked for a margarita to come out when my food came out, but I ended up asking another staff member if I could get my margarita when he came by. We were there on Wednesday and got the ladies day three dollar margarita. That was delicious. One thing I have always said is that they have a very good cocktail program. Didn't even skimp on the $3 Margarita, I could tell it was made with fresh juice and was perfectly balanced. The happy hour food menu had less available options than it used to. Got the chips and guacamole, which were good. The chicken Tinga taquitos used to be my favorite thing but they were overly greasy. They were served on a wooden plate that probably used to look really nice but has seen better days. We also got the street tacos and did enjoy them, but $10 for 3 tiny street tacos isn't exactly a happy hour deal. I was considering getting something an entree and an additional margarita. I asked to see the menu again, but by the time the server came back it had been so long, I didn't even want it anymore. read more

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TL;DR: 3.5 stars. Came for Happy Hour and the food was okay. Chips and guacamole were good, the tacos had nice flavor, but were cold, and the rolled tacos had mild flavor. For the cost ($10 each during HH), I'm not sure I would go back. It's been a while since I've been to King & Queen Cantina, and I love the general vibe. However, they could stand to replace the wood plates they use. The wooden plate holding the rolled tacos was frayed on the edges and completely worn out and the plates are all banged up. The service was quick - only three tables. read more

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Great place! Been here a few times and each experience never disappoints! The ambiance is great! I love the decor and there is so much to look at. The servers are friendly and attentive. They even have a photographer walking up to each table asking if you want to take a photo. If you like the picture, you can buy a copy to take home and they give you the option to put it in a frame. Food has also been great! For this particular visit, I couldn't remember what I ordered aside from the oysters, but I have pictures attached. Will definitely come back! read more

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Our servers Carlos and Leo were awesome! They were very helpful, friendly, and welcoming. It was our first time coming to this location and we enjoyed our experience from the time we walked in the door. We ordered the Birria Quesadilla, El Buchon, watermelon man cantarito double shot , and the tinga taquitos. Food was delicious. Music was fun. Music may be too loud for conversation but it was a fun environment. read more

King & Queen Cantina - Watermelon Man Cantaritos Double - Mexican Near Me - San Diego, California

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I remember coming to this Little Italy location when Bracero Cocina De Raiz was still in business. What a fantastic place that was! The interior decor did not change much except for the branding of this restaurant as King & Queen Cantina. Quite a few of the staff were dressed in honor of Dia De Los Muertos with their face make-up and outfits. They didn't seem to be too busy as customers trickled in slowly throughout the time I was there. I didn't want to eat tacos so I ordered a Pork Belly & Octopus appetizer and the Seafood Rice as an entree. I enjoyed the appetizer more than the entree as the plating of the fried pork belly and octopus was lovely with the added pomegranate seeds, avocado, radish, and guajillo oil. The rice came in a hot stone bowl like you would see when getting a bibimbap at a Korean restaurant. For the price, there should have been more pieces of shrimp and calamari to blend in with the saffron rice. At the time, a check-in would provide you a complimentary small bowl of churros covered in chocolate sauce with sliced strawberries. I rated King & Queen Cantina with 3.5 stars as it was not on the same level as Bracero, but it was still a decent neighborhood spot to indulge in modern Mexican cuisine. read more

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Highly recommend getting their margarita flight - every flavor on it is delicious. Our group got a bunch of food which I don't recall trying because I was occupied with devouring the chicken fajitas - yummy! If you are thinking of bringing your kids along, maybe don't because they keep their music on blast. Service was fast! They were open around 2 in the afternoon when most other places were starting to shut down for lunch. read more

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King & Queen Cantina has been a top choice of mine for their brunch menu that features classic options such as eggs and buttermilk pancakes, or their elevated dishes such as tres leches pancakes, their chilaquiles, and huevos rancheros. San Diego is spoiled on the brunch scene; this is one to try. It's a lively spot so best to have reservations, and you can conveniently park right across the street at the garage at the corner of Kettner and Beech. read more

10/10 Kings and Queens Cantina is hands-down one of my favorite spots in Downtown San Diego -- I'll definitely be coming here multiple times. I had the Hot Cheeto sushi roll and a Mai Tai, and both were incredible! The roll was so good and packed with flavor, and the Mai Tai was perfectly made. Their happy hour is unbeatable. The wings are great, the nachos hit the spot, and the tinga tacos and mini birria tacos are amazing. Honestly, every happy hour option is fire -- you can't go wrong with anything on the happy hour menu. One of the top happy hour spots in all of Downtown. Highly recommend! read more

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3.5/5 stars We came with a large party of 9 at the last minute on a Friday of a holiday weekend and the restaurant was able to accommodate us on short notice. Kudos to them! Our waiter was very friendly and helpful and check on us just the right amount. The food we did order was delicious. I got the wet burrito with soyrizo and it was soooo delicious. Even the chips and salsa were delicious and seasoned well. Probably sone of the best chips and salsa I've ever had. The ambience is all party here. Not very family oriented or traditional, but to be fair it is a modern Mexican restaurant. Not kid friendly as there are no kid menus or kid seats. Just something to note. It's a bar and we wouldn't have picked this type of setting if it wasn't last minute on a Friday night of a holiday weekend. Mostly a bar/party setting with lots of fluorescent paint and black lights. Kind of a mood killer to be honest as I could hardly read the menu without a flashlight. It's not my favorite, but it's not a big deal to me in the end. We had vegetarians in our party and were ordering from the vegetarian menu, but we found out from the waiter that the refried beans have lard in them. What is the point of calling items vegetarian if they aren't? Lard is not vegetarian. Our party was very disappointed about this but we found other items without refried beans. Oddly enough they did not have any black beans. Also it felt like nickel and diming charging $3 for each of the little cups of salsa and $8 for each chips and salsa. The entrees are about $20 each so I kinda expected some of the salsa to be complimentary. Parking is a pain because of the downtown location so if you get lucky with street parking you scored. There is a parking garage nearby that is $5/hr which is your best bet. The parking situation is not the fault of the restaurant, it's because it's a downtown location. I'm mostly saying this as an FYI. In short, great food, great service, hard to read menu, charging for every little thing is annoying, and don't order anything with refried beans if you are vegetarian. read more

King & Queen Cantina - Seating area - Mexican Near Me - San Diego, California

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Kicking off a business meeting at work, the organizers decided that we would have dinner together at King & Queen Cantina in San Diego. We went to the Little Italy location, and we were seated as a group at three long tables on the roof patio. There was a bar and restroom just around the corner from us. The service was good! Our server continued to engage with us to see how the food was and when we were ready to order our next course. She was careful to note any dietary restrictions. The food came in a reasonable amount of time, and we didn't need to wait around too long after we finished eating. A manager also stopped by to check on us at one point. To drink, I kept it simple with a Shirley Temple. The tables each shared some chips and guacamole. I then ordered from the Fajitas Grill with chicken. Other dishes included sautéed bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, and serrano peppers with a side of rice, beans (I left off), sour cream, guacamole, pico, and chile toreado. I also had the dish served on flour tortillas. While I left off the more spicy sauces, I really enjoyed my dish, and I know others in my group did as well. Weekend brunch is from 10 AM to 2 PM on Saturday and Sunday, where you can get 2 for 1 Mimosas, Bloody Marys, Micheladas, and Champagnes. You can reserve a table at one of the 14 different locations by going to https://kingandqueencantina.com. Happy Hour is every day from open until 6 PM and then 9 PM to close except Friday and Saturday when it is only from open until 6 PM. Every Monday is Industry Night when you get 30% off your entire bill if you work in the hospitality industry. There is also a new Chingon lunch menu from Monday through Thursday from open to 4 PM where everything is $13. It was certainly a treat as we kicked off my business meeting! read more

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No wait to get a table, but slow service. Food is solid, not the best in San Diego but convenient and good location. We got the steak tacos and birria quesadilla. read more

King & Queen Cantina - Steak Tacos - Mexican Near Me - San Diego, California

Literally some of the best food I've ever had, ever! The service was fantastic and the ambience is hard to explain, it's fun, I sat in the rooftop bar area and it was perfect. read more

King & Queen Cantina - Mr. Tempo's Favorite - Mexican Near Me - San Diego, California

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This place is very colorful which is a complete vibe for me. The music selection was also good, as I felt there was a good mix of songs. Our waiter did take awhile to get to us because either they first opened and was busy or they were sort staffed. Our waiter did try but I could tell he was very overwhelmed with everything. I ordered the dulce leches French toast and it was really good. The French toast was very sweet so I suggest if you're not really a fan of sweets this may not be your thing. I will come back to try their dinner menu but overall the breakfast was a hit! read more

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Such a fun vibe! The service here is super quick and the recommendations are on point. They have an epic menu so trying to decide what you want here is a tall task. We've been here twice and every time we ask for recommendations they're always great! This time we were recommended a pomegranate margarita and they were prefect and refreshing! I got nachos with birria and wow they were amazing! They give you a good strong nacho chip! Not flimsy chips like some places haha Love this place! The only downside is the parking can be tough but we've either got a ride share cars there or got lucky parking but it's in a cute area so walking around a couple blocks if necessary isn't bad! read more

King & Queen Cantina - Birria nachos - Mexican Near Me - San Diego, California

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This spot is amazing!!! And it's affordable! I got something new the eggs and birria and they were surprisingly delicious. The agua fresca de mango was super fresh and large for the quantity they give you. The birria was soooooooo good! For reference birria often gives me acid reflex and this one didnt. I assume the spices were light but it was still really tasty. My sister got the ceviche tostada and that looked pretty good. It was super fresh! I think we're definitely returning when we are in town. Service was alright, we lost our server but I just assumed she went on break. The actual spot is super cute and mellow. It's hip and new. Give them a shot. read more

King and Queen Cantina was a lively restaurant with a darker lounge style atmosphere. It gets busy and loud, but that's part of the fun if you're in a going out mood. The burgers, bone marrow, and cocktails were excellent. Great spot for a night out in Little Italy. read more

King & Queen Cantina - Margarita - Mexican Near Me - San Diego, California

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Came here for dinner with hubby and friend. I found this while yelping to find good taco spots nearby. King and Queen sounds good to me. Dark restaurant with dim lighting and cool vibe. Love the glow in dark lightening and it sets the mood. Gives vibes of raves/night club. Really love the decors! We were seated upstair. Very long extensive menu with so much options. Abit hard to read menu due to lighting so we used our phone flashlight (or are we that old? ) Got the house special margarita to start, because why not? Music and booze flowing and having a great time. We were really interested in the Bone Marrow Taco--- sounds amazing. We ordered: House Special Margarita Bone Marrow Taco Pastor Taco Fish Taco Ensenada style Mayan Grilled Salmon Our favorite was the Bone Marrow Taco! Very rich, flavorful, fatty and delicious! We were amazed by it and wish they have this in NYC. The Mayan Grilled Salmon was over brown rice and mixed veggies. We thought we should have some veggies while we can. It was "clean" and healthier of all the options we ate. The others were good but the Bone Marrow Taco blew it out of the ball park and it stood out the most. Highly recommend and would love love love to return just for that taco. Also, entire meal was messy. Had to use restrooms a few times just to wash my hands. Perhaps they have hand wipes or more napkins at each table. Yummy tho read more

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They have so many options for different types of food from tacos to burgers and even sushi. The vibe is great, everything is neon and has a trippy party atmosphere. The service is top notch, they check on you just the right amount and every server I have gotten has been so nice. They also have a pretty solid happy hour menu with discounted drinks and food! Definitely try their margarita flight, such a well rounded flight! read more

Love this franchise. Great location in Little Italy. I come here every year after CRSSD and make it my own little after party lol They have so many different drinks and food. All time fave dish there is the pork belly bites. read more

Whoa, the interior is so colorful! Came on a Tuesday night. M-W Happy Hour All Day! Shrimp Ceviche -- $10 (HH) You get a decent amount for the price. It was refreshing. Came with one tostado. Found myself drinking the juice afterwards. Street Tacos -- $10 (HH) Came with 3 tacos. They were pretty tiny lol Everyone at the table was laughing at them. Came with chicken, pastor, and asada. The flavors were pretty good though! I don't see that on Tuesdays, street tacos are only $3 each, so we ended up paying more for them by ordering them on happy hour. ($9 vs $10) Aguachile -- These were soooooo good! Someone else ordered it and I got to taste. The shrimp was huge. The flavors were fresh. The mix of avocado, onion, and cucumber was perfect. LOVE how thinly they slice the avocado. Margarita Flight -- $25 These are so cute and so YUM. My favorite was the pineapple forsure. My boyfriend liked the cucumber. The little candy that came with it was delicious! (I love Mexican candy lol) Our server was really nice. Some cons: The black light inside was throwing me off a bit. You could hardly see the menu or your food. I couldn't really tell you the color of anything lol There was an 18% big party gratuity tacked on but when we calculated it, it came out to a little more than 18% which was odd. We didn't really look into it again. read more

We got the margarita flight, nachos, and Birria tacos! Man were these all soooo good! The tacos were definitely the main hit! Our server was great and let us catch up because we hadn't seen each other in so long. The place is lit up like a night club and has a really cool feel to it! read more

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Just wondered in and everything went absolutely right! Show up, they've got great food ready!! read more

King & Queen Cantina - Seated view - Mexican Near Me - San Diego, California

Hi Jorge I don't remember her name but it was a young woman and it was October 22 around 11:45am- 12:00pm Because I remember her giving us breakfast menu and we ask was you guys serving lunch too and she said yes read more

I decided to drop by Kings and Queens on a Saturday afternoon around 2:40 and I chose to sit at a table outside with my young son and was not approached or even acknowledged by the server for over five minutes (in total 10mins before I had to say something). The server gave me eye contact a few times and still decided to take other table's orders and clear tables. I was the only table on the patio, so there isn't a reason to not come over to the table. Another table was sat and provided cutlery and acknowledged by other employees as they entered at the restaurant and were sat. I don't want to believe that this is a race issue, but I do want to clarify that the table that was sat before me was white family and the other tables that were getting serviced were either Mexican or white. While I am a Latino, I am not fair skinned. I eventually had to approach the host stand and asked to speak to a manager. Once I asked to speak to a manager, then a server approached to ask for my order. In addition to that, the manager ended up coming back to the table to tell me that he told them to take my order fast. The issue here isn't about speed of service because I never got service. The fact that the manager told me that he told the kitchen or whoever to make my food fast tells me that he wasn't listening to what I was telling him to begin with. I wasn't looking for any comp services, I wanted to get an understanding as to why everyone else in the restaurant was being serviced, but me. It's a very simple question. The manager could've said he was super busy or could've acknowledged the fact that he noticed I was the only person on the patio with no other patrons in front of me or behind me. My issue is that everyone who entered that restaurant was being acknowledged, a.k.a. getting cutlery, getting water, being acknowledged in the restaurant. When I entered the restaurant and decided to sit on the patio it was as if I didn't exist. That is my issue. The server saw me multiple times and even serviced a table that was towards the front of the restaurant on the patio. So he saw me again because it was in diagonal line sight of the table he was servicing!! Once they brought my order, they never brought cutlery and at this point I was just fed up. I got up and left. The service here is absolutely terrible and I will definitely not be returning. I'll ensure that I spread the word about this restaurant and its poor preferential treatment and services. read more

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