banditos cantina (aiea)

restaurants > aiea > tex-mex > banditos cantina

posted by:  bandito 's in pearl ridgehonolulu, hawaii on 2003-09-10

foodrating:	6
servicerating:	6
ambiancerating:	8
overallrating:	6

review: i was immediately turned off by greeting staff person who was abrupt and gruff and obviously holding a personal conversation she just couldn 't seem to drag herself away from, and seemed to resent us bothering her. nothing really says "customer service " to me, more than a polite, attentive hostess, and i was disappointed in the rather flighty, impatient and bossy one that we were presented with. great salsa and chips, but could use some "fire " in the mix as it was not spicy enough for me, but fantastic for the kids. very kid friendly, but don 't expect a booth and a high chair at the same time, as it 's apparently against company policy, no matter how empty the resturant happens to be. main dishes were really good, and generally authentic. once again, we have an ethnic food that has been adapted to the hawaiian palate, and i 'm talking about the kailua pig that bandito 's uses in their dishes. if you like mexican kailua pig, then go for it, but i found it a bit disarming. wait staff were quick, affable, and light hearted, which matches the resturant 's ambiance. the place was clean, too, but i found the shopworn plastic placemats a bit out of place, and would have preferred the disposable paper ones or perhaps cloth. overall, i 'd probably dine here again, but they gotta change their rules about the booth-high chair thing when they are slow, and i guess i 'll have to beg them for some jalapeno peppers next time.
i recommend you order the 3 combination plate/medium rare steak!!!

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