What’s the Deal, Hacienda?

Posted on March 3rd, 2010 3:32pm by Jennifer Chininis
Filed under Rants, Tex-Mex

So our photographer, Matthew Shelley, has been trying to set up a photo shoot at Hacienda on Henderson since before Christmas. He would call three or four times a week, and each time someone would take a message, promising that the manager would get back to him. It never happened, so eventually he gave up. Until we asked him again recently—hey, Matt, where are those pictures of Hacienda?

Well, he’s resumed trying to set up a shoot, and still he can’t get the right person on the phone. This week he’s been told to call back tomorrow (which he did) or in 20 minutes (which he also did). Still no luck. And, no, he’s not calling during peak hours. (He’s shot restaurants before, so he knows when to call.) So I ask you, what gives? Why is it so hard to take a picture at this place? Are people having similar issues with the service when they dine? I haven’t been, so I’m asking you, SideDishers: do you get the runaround at Hacienda? Oh, and let me know how the food is, too.

55 comments

  1. Try facebooking them. I always get a response.

    @ 3:49 pm on March 3, 2010

  2. set up a photo shoot through facebook? really?

    @ 3:50 pm on March 3, 2010

  3. The food is pretty much some of the worst I have ever had! I will never go back.

    @ 4:04 pm on March 3, 2010

  4. My husband facebooks me all the time for errands, grocery lists, and “love notes.” C’mon, all the kids are doing it!

    @ 4:09 pm on March 3, 2010

  5. food is pretty bad. i’ve been 3 times, each visit w/ friends and really wanted to make a go of it.

    but it’s mediocre. the patio is very nice. the margarita i had was either that nasty margarita mix or verrry old lime juice. either way i just stick to beers and the scenery.

    @ 4:12 pm on March 3, 2010

  6. I thought the patio and the rice were great, other than that the food was no bueno!

    @ 4:28 pm on March 3, 2010

  7. Considering that on my first-and only-visit, our waitress got so belligerently drunk in front of our table of 6 (and proceeded to make extremely rude comments about the time it took us to eat, pay and leave), I can’t say I’m all that surprised.

    @ 4:38 pm on March 3, 2010

  8. Yikes. I went for Sunday brunch. Wasn’t packed at all. Had a pleasant experience and the waitress was friendly. Average food. Very generous with mimosa refills.

    @ 5:07 pm on March 3, 2010

  9. I myself can say different than other opinions. I have seen the service and tried the food at Hacienda. Service is Awesome and the food is Great! As a frequent traveler of the Henderson street I ask around often and recently have heard nothing but great comments! If you havent dined at Hacienda you have to go try it! How can you go wrong? Good eats, good drinks,and a great crowd. Who doesnt like a great patio?!? Summer is coming right around the corner and Hacienda always has great music when they have it on the patio. I myself will stand with Hacienda and definitely return……maybe they a little shy and dont want their pic taken. ;-) If I wanted the pics bad enough I would be up there in person knocking on the door trying there food!

    @ 5:17 pm on March 3, 2010

  10. Sorry it had to come to this…
    please call me directly to set up a shoot if you are still interested.
    However, have you ever heard of the internet, or email?
    It’s an effective way to communicate that also ensures accountability when mistakes occur.
    469.951.1138

    @ 5:29 pm on March 3, 2010

  11. and… cue video for ‘dramatic chipmunk’…

    @ 5:34 pm on March 3, 2010

  12. Couldn’t Matthew Shelley just go to the restaurant, talk to the manager on duty, and get his photos? He must not be hurting for work, if he’s willing to play phone tag for two months.

    @ 5:39 pm on March 3, 2010

  13. Yeah, it took this blog to get H on H to get on the stick.
    Just why did they give Matthew the ‘runaround’ on the telephone? Enquiring minds want to know…..

    @ 5:47 pm on March 3, 2010

  14. Uhm…this may be a stupid question, but why are you guys running after them, begging to let you do pictures???
    It’s basically advertisement for them and they’ve shown a lack of interest.
    William’s comment about email/internet is a little snotty, too, which doesn’t really make them endearing either.
    So, give the chance to another restaurant that deserves it.

    @ 5:58 pm on March 3, 2010

  15. Gawwwd – what a snotty message from @William.. Manager? Owner? Whoever – rude. Phone is still the best form of communication and William you should return phone calls if you have any role in running this restaurant.

    @ 6:01 pm on March 3, 2010

  16. Jennifer,
    The place is very attractive. I have photos if you need them. I also know quite a few people who would love to shoot for you guys. If you want to get rid of your inept photographer, please send me an email.

    mike

    @ 6:19 pm on March 3, 2010

  17. I don’t think William’s comment is snotty or rude, it’s actually a decent response considering that D Magazine is taking a cheap shot by writing this article in the first place. He’s merely stating a fact or an opinion which HE and EVERYONE is entitled to right?

    I think the “bully” approach by D Magazine is in poor taste. Fact is, Matthew was told to call after 5pm yesterday and HE did not. I noticed they did NOT bother to print this at all. Another fact is, there are always two sides to every story and everyone blogging only read one side-until now. Never ceases to amaze me how things get blown way out of hand over something so trivial….and how many people just love to hate!

    Here’s a little advice-try looking at things from someone else’s perspective. Walk a mile in their shoes before you pass judgement.

    @ 6:33 pm on March 3, 2010

  18. William, Pull your head out……… The phone is still the best mode of communication. Sidedish, give a deserving restaurant some free, and appreciated exposure!What a jerk.

    @ 6:36 pm on March 3, 2010

  19. Ma Bell, you’re quite the hater. Do you ever screen your calls or just let the phone go to voicemail? It may be the best form, but it may not be the preferred.

    @ 6:46 pm on March 3, 2010

  20. William – I don’t know your relationship to the restaurant but you aren’t doing the it any favors!

    At this rate I give your restaurant 6 months TOPS.

    @ 7:06 pm on March 3, 2010

  21. WOW, william you are as repelling as your nasty attempt of a taco.
    You get an F for FAIL- what a gross comment.
    I hope you are the owner cause if not you deserve another f for FIRED!

    @ 7:18 pm on March 3, 2010

  22. William…wake up and smell ur rank salsa. How dare you? You are asking for failure. If I owned Hacienda, and I found out about your condescending remarks on this blog, you would be unemployed. However, if you are the owner, WOW!
    Is this how you want your establishment viewed?
    No wonder why you got a 1 star review.

    @ 7:38 pm on March 3, 2010

  23. Sounds like a lazy photographer trying to foist the blame on someone else. Next time, D should call in The Brad.

    @ 8:29 pm on March 3, 2010

  24. @zeke Who is “The Brad”?

    @ 8:43 pm on March 3, 2010

  25. That photographer should be canned. 2 months of phone tag. Come on man. Journalist man. Sometimes you have to go to the story. 2 months! What a lazy a$$.

    Btw. Hacienda has good ritas.

    @ 9:01 pm on March 3, 2010

  26. As a reatraunteur the PROPER etiquette is to set it up by phone and at the least confirm by phone. A manager who doesn’t return phone calls is lazy. Quit basshing the photog for following widely accepted procedures. If I wanted my pics in D MAG badly enough I would return a phone call. William..you could use a lesson in couth.

    @ 9:56 pm on March 3, 2010

  27. Matthew – Don’t take it personally. After suffering through tragically poor customer service at Hacienda I called and asked to speak with a manager and was told they’d call me back. That was about 6 months ago and I’m still waiting. William – you’re so clever first posing as super-thrilled customer Nick before posting your well-planned retort. Maybe let a whole 20 minutes pass next time between posts, maybe even let another post be in between.

    It’s not a cheap shot to describe a place with terrible service as a place with terrible service. It’s a natural consequence of amateur management.

    @ 10:02 pm on March 3, 2010

  28. Had eaten there back in September right after they opened and the service and food were mediocre. Have been planning to make it back and giving it another shot, but after seeing how their mgmt/ ownership (whatever William is) handle things, I will take my business elsewhere.

    @ 10:08 pm on March 3, 2010

  29. Jennifer, this is Miles Zuniga – owner at Hacienda on Henderson. All of this has just been brought to my attention. I’m so sorry your photographer Matthew has had trouble connecting with us. Please have him call me at 214-621-4468 to discuss his project and I will do my best to accomodate him. And since you say you haven’t been in yet, why don’t you let us buy you dinner next week?

    Once again, my apologies and I look forward to hearing from you.

    @ 10:09 pm on March 3, 2010

  30. The photographer is just trying to cover his own ass, and the service, food, drinks, and staff is awesome!

    @ 10:12 pm on March 3, 2010

  31. Dazed, Get busy bussing those tables, or whatever it is you do for that place. Anyone knows that it’s only good business to return phone calls, especially when the local mag is giving you free exposure!

    @ 10:38 pm on March 3, 2010

  32. good or bad, i guess i need to quit trying to get a table on the patio during peak times…i can never snag one and i never get a bad table…

    @ 12:28 am on March 4, 2010

  33. The food is pretty much some of the worst I’v ever had, and the service sucks too. If you think this place is great, there is something wrong with you.

    @ 7:57 am on March 4, 2010

  34. This place is HORRIBLE! The food sucks! The waitstaff (all female) spends all their time at the bar flirting & the managers spend all their time staring at the waitstaff – absolutely the worst food & service,

    @ 9:18 am on March 4, 2010

  35. This place is simple awful, why bother with pictures.

    @ 9:40 am on March 4, 2010

  36. I now know where I’m never going. William, Grade A douchery… I’d explain it to you but I’m certain it would be lost on you.

    @ 10:11 am on March 4, 2010

  37. Aside from them not wanting the exposure, we seem to lose track of the real issue. The food. They spent so much money and effort to replace what WAS a great restaraunt to build a medicore sight seeing patio/bar. Everyone talks about the margaritas? Hope you’re not talking about the frozen ones b/c those aren’t hard to mess up. They are pre-mixed!!! I’ve been here twice and had horrible service! The food is what any authentic Mexican food lover would call an insult. Take the pictures but don’t eat the food.

    @ 10:42 am on March 4, 2010

  38. We go out on Knox-Henderson every weekend and Hacienda is never on the list of options. We went close to opening, poor service, iffy food at best – took forever to get service. Only saving grace is the patio.

    Mexican food in Dallas shouldn’t be difficult, in fact it should be the easiest thing to do, but somehow this place botched its chance.

    Rather go to Cap Pub, Victor Tango, Porch, Louies, or head over to Matt’s – places that are run by idiots that think its cool to own a bar/restaurant will lose money, and fail. So hopefully someone with a clue will get this prime location next time.

    @ 10:43 am on March 4, 2010

  39. This is a laughable situation. This William git needs to find a new line of work since PR doesn’t seem to fit as well as large L shaped hat does. Pass on this place as I have since my one and only visit.

    @ 11:01 am on March 4, 2010

  40. Well let me add my 2 cents… I’ve been several times and both times I’ve been very disappointed! I went back because I’m always willing to give a place a second shot. The truth is, the food and the service are both TERRIBLE! This place is basically a bar posing as a Mexican restaurant. I guess if you just want to grab a few drinks that’s cool- but don’t go thinking you’re going to get good Mexican food… The food is below mediocre! I can list 50 other Mexican restaurants that I’d rather visit before I hit up this place…. Miles, I’ve met you before and you’re a nice guy- but your staff is less than stellar. You need to ditch the tattooed staff that looks like they’d rather be smoking out in the back and hire some real waiters (and some real cooks that know MEXICAN food)!

    @ 11:03 am on March 4, 2010

  41. Been there 5 or 6 times and loved it every time…who cares if D magazine cant get in to rail on a place..if you dont pay big money you dont get into D magazine BEST OF bullshit anyway..woopty do..and when did a bunch of idiots defending a 2 bit magazine become the critics of dallas food? hell I paid $8 for tacos..they were just fine.

    @ 11:33 am on March 4, 2010

  42. I thought the food was great and so was service. I was happy to see that Lone Star Valet was the company working there. I was skeptical about going, but seeing a trusted valet company being chosen means that as soon as I pulled in the parking lot they were good decision makers. I didnt know if I wanted to go in, but the valet named “Carlos” told me about the menu and his favorite item so I went. Food was good and so was service. I give the overall experience a 10.

    @ 12:37 pm on March 4, 2010

  43. @Zeke Ha!

    @ 12:54 pm on March 4, 2010

  44. @TD

    Only a couple problems with your theory regarding D Magazine’s obvious agenda with HoH…

    This gem… http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/ent/stories/DN-hacienda_1030gui.State.Edition1.11eb730.html

    This one…
    http://www.dallasobserver.com/2009-12-03/restaurants/hacienda-on-henderson-has-a-small-window-and-a-great-patio-to-get-things-right/

    All of these…
    http://www.yelp.com/biz/hacienda-on-henderson-dallas

    @ 1:00 pm on March 4, 2010

  45. Here’s your story:

    LAZY D PHOTOG LEADS TO TO ANOTHER UNWARRANTED D HATCHET JOB ONLINE. TRISTAN NEITHER IMPLICATED NOR THANKED. (ie cafe san miguel gets it’s shill on).

    @ 1:01 pm on March 4, 2010

  46. This topic certainly hit a nerve for some people although it looks like the “bad” weighs in the winner.

    So here is my open letter to the manager.

    I too had terrible service, in fact so bad, on a half empty patio we sat there for 30minutes with just our chips and water and no-one came over to us, this was after 2 other attempts of visiting the establishment. Once when it first opened and late food was not served, o.k fair enough you just opened, I was still excited and wanted to come back and then the second time, we tried calling to see how long the wait was with no answer and turned up with the restaurant 3/4 full and an attitude by the hostesses (I say plural as I’m not too sure, there was a bunch of teenage girls hanging aroudn the front with menus)…we tried calling 3 times with no answer so just headed over.

    So after my third visit, I called to reach out to you for some explanation all to no avail and I even reached out to your establishment on Facebook – only to not have my message not replied to, and my comment on the page deleted.

    I have and continue to tell everyone not to go there because of this.

    Oh and in defense of the photographer, as someone who has opened and ran two restaurants before, calling “IS” the best thing to do, obviously the ppl putting in their two cents have never worked in a restaurant, otherwise they would know that orders can arrive in the morning or afternoon or perhaps you trying to cover a shift because someone has called in sick or its inventory time, or the bathroom is clogged up etc, etc – so the last thing a manager at a restaurant wants is someone turning up trying to schedule a photo shoot. Call and perhaps a manager can talk then if not, a true professional will call back in a timely matter and thank-you for your interest.

    @ 1:13 pm on March 4, 2010

  47. @DarnellErwinFletcher – EXACTLY!!!

    @ 1:14 pm on March 4, 2010

  48. I have held out as long as possible without commenting. The first visit proved great service and terrible food. I so badly wanted to love this place (indeed, because of the great patio), that I gave it another try, this time avoiding the food. I waited 30 minutes to get a water, 15 min to get my drink, and the service never improved. WA- HURST service. So much for second chances.

    @ 3:40 pm on March 4, 2010

  49. My cousin and I tried this place out about 3 months ago for lunch. We both got a cup of the tortilla soup and split an order of chicken fajitas.

    We both spent the night and the next day on the toilet with food poisoning. As many times as I have eaten out in my life, I had never gotten food poisoning before then.

    Yeah, not going back.

    @ 3:59 pm on March 4, 2010

  50. Many thanks ya’ll. I WAS going to book the entire restaurant for a huge party with an open bar.
    Thanks for saving me the $$$$$$!

    @ 4:10 pm on March 4, 2010

  51. William….come on man we are waiting for another condescending jerk off remark that will definitely make us want to never come back. Do we need to call you for that…or does posting a request here suffice. What’s your email, i’m happy to send a request there! We know you aren’t busy helping customers or training staff…so what’s up Big Queso??

    @ 7:48 pm on March 4, 2010

  52. Can’t comment on the place but it seems like the owner responded to the purpose of the article and is making efforts to make it right. Did everyone miss that? I seriously doubt they are in it to fail and provide the worst food and service possible. Some of you ppl need to get a life and focus your energies on something more positive and constructive. Let me know when you all open up your own places so I can come in and check it out and we can blog about it…..

    @ 2:12 am on March 5, 2010

  53. Inthebiz, Let us know where you are, and we’ll gladly come check your restaurant out, and blog about it. That’s what this blog is for! It saves folks from having to waste time and money on lousy eateries, and lets everyone know where the new, good places are. That owner is a bit too late in trying to make things right. He must also be an idiot to have hired William for the service industry.

    @ 7:41 am on March 5, 2010

  54. Ma Bell, I agree with Inthebiz. You don’t get it. Is it ever really too late to make things right? And now you’re calling the owner an idiot? Wow. If you really use the blogs to get dining advice who’s the real idiot? You must be a follower or better yet, a sheep if this is how you live. If you can’t form your own opinion from experiencing things first hand you must live a very sad life. Here’s a thought…try being positive and say something nice every now and then. You’ll live a much richer life.

    @ 12:13 pm on March 5, 2010

  55. Bottom line the food there is bad and they are unorganized. $3 margaritas are the only reason i’d go

    @ 7:09 pm on March 7, 2010