CAUTION TO YELP REVIEWERS: within 24 hrs. of posting this review, I received a "private" message from the owner. He castigated me for using a public forum. However, that is the purpose of Yelp. I have posted both excellent and poor reviews. I feel he preferred privacy because his message was not only poorly written and full of misspellings - he was nasty and unprofessional to the point of being abusive. After scanning the 44 filtered reviews, it is clear that others have had similar experiences with this guy. He has been reported to Yelp corporate. The length of it prevented me from cut/pasting it here. In the interest of full disclosure: I did not realize at the time the steak was comped and mailed an additional $10 tip to our server a few days later - but the owner thinks WE should be embarrassed???? - yet he admitted that steak was in a puddle of maple syrup. I have been "ordered" not to step foot in any of this guys establishments. No problem. i certainly would not even feel safe in doing so!!! The owner states he was upset that we left upset. We didn't - we smiled and thanked all. He wasnt "upset" - it was a temper tantrum. He states he is not "obligated to smile and suck up to" us. I did apologize at my tendency to give "tips". I used to teach Culinary Arts, and including tips was habit, but at the same time presumptuous of me. This owner also blathered his team's affiliation with the owner of the Barrio Cafe, Silvana Esparza - who we know (although he did not know her first OR last name correctly). Because of his demeanor, I thought she should know her name was being used by this individual and the entire unedited communication has already been sent to her via email. Further, a "new" Yelp member (0 reviews/comments) has accessed my messages [after I blocked the owner] and continued the rant......thinking I would not recognize the familiar syntax and complete lack of punctuation. ORIGINAL REVIEW: I notice the ratings here are either very good.....or very bad. That was our experience here - massive inconsistency. We had been wanting to come here for some time and took advantage of one of the local deals. The patio is lovely and our greeting was friendly. The mango mojito was the best I've had since Puerto Rico and the Salmon Crouquettes were delicious - flavorful and just the right crispness and spice. Our dinners were more than disappointing. My husband's steak - ordered medium rare - arrived well done and chewy/tough. I can't remember when we sent something back....it's been years. But we spoke to the waiter and he took it back. That meant we both ate from my dinner - an evening special of blackened Mahi Mahi. I've had Mahi blackend many times, and this wasn't discernible as being blackened or flavorful at all. For one thing, I've never seen blackened fish with the skin left on. The Mahi "steak" is a firm fish - supposed to be rubbed with spice on both sides and seared quickly at a high temp. The creamed corn was watery and bland. My husband's 2nd steak arrived nearly raw and swimming in a 1/4 inch puddle of maple syrup. The syrup was no doubt spooned over the maple-chipotle carrots at the other end of the large plate, Come ON!! The idea is to GLAZE the carrots. Drizzle the syrup over the carrots and shove that plate under the salamander to carmelize. Eeeeeyuk - especially since the steak was smothered in onions, peppers, etc. My husband ate a few bites from the outer edges. The cheddar chipotle mashed potatoes were the best item on either one of our plates, but only the top of the potatoes could be sampled, as they had also sponged up the maple syrup. Our waiter was very good - professional and friendly. He was very apologetic about the steak and I always feel sorry when the waitstaff has to take complaints back to the kitchen (I've been in that situation). My husband, an excellent grill master, remarked that whoever was on their grill just was not confidant at judging the "doneness" of the meat. From the look on our waiter's face, it appeared that he already knew this. Steak is simple and if their grill manager isn't confidant.....use a thermometer. We passed on dessert, and because of the special (an Amazon Local) - our bill wasn't painful. Had there been no discount on the bill, we probably would have asked that my husband's meal be refunded and ordered another round of the salmon crouquettes. All in all, this felt like a place that just opened and doesn't have their act together and hasn't bothered to clean up the "details." - like the type-written drink menu that says their house Margarita contains rum. (Huh??) How hard is that to fix? And their bartender - who knows nothing about tequila. And why was their restaurant sign tilted up against the wall and not out front at 6:00 on a Saturday? This experience was like one of those TV shows where someone needs to go in and decorate, organize, and teach.
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negative

This place is gorgeous inside ! The environment is relaxing and has great potential but I will not return until they hire someone new for the front desk . After visiting 4-5 times I am completely over this girl. The first time I visited I understood they were a new salon but I literally at 6 months pregnant had to lift my feet up to show this girl I did NOT Have a French pedicure done as she asked me 3x in a row as she was ringing up my transaction. Another time , I was washing my hands after a fill and she walks up behind me and tells me where the soap is . I had already used the soap before that and was continuing to wash my hands. She stood there and watched me til I was finished . I'm in my 30s I really do not need a young girl with no customer service skills watching me wash my hands or telling me where the soap is . I had to explain to her I knew where the soap was and had already used it before she would finally walk away!?! Every time I get ready to pay and leave she watches me and practically runs to the counter to collect the money. Umm , again , I am pretty sure I have never walked out of anywhere without paying or given her reason to act like this towards me . The final straw was the last time I went she told me they were too busy to get me in, she did not ask if I wanted to make an appt or ask anyone what time I could return or offer me a time to return.. You do not just let your patrons walk out the door especially when you know they visit there 1x or more a week. There are way too many nail salons in this area to refuse good customers or run them off. My only issue with a couple of the other staff members is they do tend to UPSELL their services without actually telling you that it will cost more . I do know certain things cost more but they do seem to be a lil sneaky in the way they jack up the price on you without knowing .
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negative

I don't understand why some of you are complaining so much as if this is high end salon. Going to a student salon is always a risk however the prices are worth it. All of the times I've been here they have never done wrong to my hair. They really take their time and the instructors often assess the student's work and lend advice. If you need something complicated or expecting to have out of this world hair color then you probably should look somewhere else.
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positive