getting better. i decided to tempt fate and visit matt's again since everyone i was with wanted to go there despite the previous problems.
i will say that this visit went extremely well and at least makes my rating "forks sideways".
drinks were excellent as always. this time i made two successful trips to the bar without any problem.
the food also was good and there were no service issues. the waitress was attentive and brought everything as ordered. checkout was quick as well.
what you are served has never been an issue at matt's, just if it got there. thankfully this was a trip that did not encounter any problems and will make me a visitor again.
-----26 oct, 2009-----
disappointing again. i want to love matt's el rancho. the decor is great with indoor and outdoor seating, and the food is above average. the drinks are great when you can get them, which leads to this review and the main repeated failure of matt's. the service is routinely horrible.
the restaurant is an austin icon, and as noted in the sign outside, "famous". the is never a surprise to wait an hour for a table as they are frequently crowded and do not accept reservations. there are several huge dining rooms, which again may lead to the lack of service, with them trying to handle so many people at once.
on a prior visit i stood at a crowded bar trying to get $60.00 worth of cocktails for a full half hour without getting service. i finally ended up leaving with no drinks.
this visit was problematic due to the server. we were not there at a busy time and only had a table of five. we were there an hour before they stopped serving, but it seemed like they had already shut down, mentally at least.
troubles started again with the drinks. one person changed their order during the initial drink ordering. simple enough, but he was then brought two drinks. my drink never came and had to be re-ordered. i also asked for a water which i did not receive until asking midway through the meal again. in addition, the waiter never asked if i wanted another drink and left me with an empty glass of ice, and no water when the meal was served.
we ordered an appetizer which never came. the only bonus to that was it was not on the bill and i did not have to ask to have it removed.
the food was as good as usual, however took in excess of 40 minutes to be served, which is unacceptable.
one person had part of their entree accompaniment missing, according to the explanation of the menu. the chili rellano was supposed to be served with pecans and raisins. this is one of the dishes that they are known for and it came without them. it was also served cold. this could be a cook's fault but a waiter should look at what he is presenting as well to make sure that it is correct as well.
after the dinner we stood up to leave and no sooner did we rise that the staff began slamming the rolling metal doors down on the outside bar. it was obvious that they were more than ready to have everybody gone.
even though the food and drink is above average, the service is so horrible every time that i would rather eat average food somewhere else with more attention given to the service.