El Sombrero Mexican Restaurant

Awful customer service and extremely disrespectful, rude, and offensive behavior from a server.

My sister graduated yesterday, and after the ceremony our family decided to celebrate at this location. My friend and I approached the hostess stand while the rest of our party waited outside because the entrance area was crowded. I told the hostess we had a party of 10 plus a baby, and specifically explained that we would need enough room for a small stroller since the baby could not sit in a high chair. I also asked how long the wait would be.

The hostess told us to wait and walked away, seemingly to check for seating. A few minutes later, two women returned and told us our table was ready. I was surprised because I expected a wait, but we followed them anyway.

They led us to a cramped area near the restrooms and seated us at a standard booth with a small table added to it. The setup realistically could have seated maybe 7 people comfortably, not 10 plus a stroller. The added table was partially blocking the walkway, leaving no room for the stroller at all. The servers could barely get by. That’s how tight this area near the bathroom was.

After the hostess walked away, my friend and I looked at each other confused. When she passed by again, we politely explained that the area did not seem large enough for our party. She insisted it could fit 10 people. I explained again that it would not be comfortable and asked if we could simply wait for a larger table instead.

The hostess then walked over to another woman, who we later realized was supposed to be our server, and explained the situation to her in English. Since they were right next to where we were seated, we could hear their conversation. The hostess told the server that we wanted a bigger table. The server then responded loudly and aggressively in Spanish while looking in our direction: “Bueno ella me dijo que eran 8, que esperen!” (“Well she told me there were 8, so they can wait!”)

I was honestly shocked. I speak Spanish and understood exactly what she said. Her tone, attitude, and delivery were incredibly rude and offensive. It felt disrespectful and unprofessional. The hostess even seemed embarrassed afterward and apologized to us.

At that point, we agreed to wait for another table because I didn’t want to dissapoint my sister on her big day. We were also completely fine with waiting because we never had a problem waiting in the first place. We were given a beeper and waited nearly an hour without ever being seated. During that time, the same server repeatedly looked over at our group smirking, which made the entire situation even more uncomfortable.

Eventually, when I asked the hostess how much longer the wait would be, she told us another 15 minutes. We decided to call the other location on Northside (which was only 5 min away), and they immediately told us they had a table ready for our entire party. We left and went there instead.

The other location accommodated all 10 of us plus the baby comfortably with no issue at all. No wait and amazing service. The difference in customer service and professionalism was night and day.

Very disappointing experience, especially on such an important day for our family. We do not recommend this location at all and won’t be going back. If I could give it 0 stars I would

Service: 1

. Ordered the fajitas for one and there was enough for three. Couldn't have left more satisfied. Recommend to everybody👍👍

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Excellent food. It was for my son's 20th birthday 🎂. He specifically requested to eat there for dinner 🍽. We all really enjoyed our food.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

Excellent 👌 Mexican food! Had the Seafood Chimicanga.... Delicious!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Our absolutely favorite restaurant in Statesboro!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Always terrific service and food here. Atmosphere gives it a great vibe. Prices are very reasonable and affordable. Parking has never been an problem. Right in the area of all that Statesboro has to offer.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

My wife and I absolutely love this restaurant. The outside of the building is very unique looking. The interior and the decor is splendid. The food is wonderful, so authentic. The staff is courteous, friendly, they really make you feel welcome. We have nothing like this in Rincon Georgia. I'm going to tell everyone I know about this wonderful restaurant.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I've never been disappointed with my meal or service. I go here because they have shredded beef and chile rellenos. They also have a house made green enchilada sauce that I like very much.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

El Som has been my go to place in Statesboro for Mexican food for the better part of 2+ decades. The food is usually good for a decent price. But this last order that I got from them through Door Dash had HAIR in more than one burrito mixed into the meat. At first I thought it might be mine, but not when I found a second one inside the filling. Obviously there is some serious lack of hygiene going on behind the scenes and I am not interested in getting sick because management can't be bothered to require staff to wear proper hair nets while working around food.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 1

Service: 4

Great place to meet friend's and business associates.
Staff is always friendly with a great smile.
No charge for the electricity to your laptop. Lol
We always enjoy our time there.

Love this place. You can smell the Delicious food from the parking lot. We always get Great service and the food is Always so Amazing. We are never Disappointed.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The food was good, Service was excellent!! Prices are reasonable too!

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 5

The food is always good. Service always friendly and making sure you have everything needed. Glasses always full of beverage. Usually, there is little to no wait to be seated.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Really good food. The pastor empanadas were especially good.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Good food and superior service

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5