El Maguey, Jackson Heights NY

Don’t go, they are rats.
The owners are thieves the charge 22% of tips in advance and them they overcharge 25% of extra tips. In total 45% just in tips without my approval.

Food is good, waitresses are absolutely lovely. Unfortunately the karaoke dj is arrogant and pompous. The first time we went I thought maybe he just doesn't know us or something but yesterday we tried going again and he was horrible. He never greets us and we have to physically go up to him to request a paper and pen to request a song even though he goes to the other tables but he always skips us even the last time we went. He always "loses" the papers we give him and cuts off the songs we request before they finish. He took my cup of water straight off my table while he was singing a cover and drank it infront of me. He also stood behind my husband and looked at my husband from behind with a disgusted look while my hubby was dancing and thought i didnt see him. My friend also noticed he was ignoring our table and looked very annoyed that we wanted to sing and request music but he had no problem with the other tables doing 2 or 3 songs in a row. He is a diva and has made the problem very personal with my husband, my sister and myself the 3x we've been there. I'd love to go on a night when there is a friendlier dj but sadly he's always there lol bummer we pay to have fun not to be ignored and grilled by this jerk.

So delicious. Everything was prepared to perfection. The server was sweet and dekightful. The only negative was the place was cold. Could use some heat or a heater.

My advice is to NOT come here. Terrible food, worse service and they will SCAM you, beware!
The prices on the menu do not match what they charge you, so be careful. Also, they will include a 20% gratuity (after taxes) on the bill without asking you. On top of that you are given an option to give an additional tip.
They will charge you $8 for an order of chips and salsa and its a very small bowl with a tiny bowl of salsa.
The servers don't care about you because they will get a tip no matter what.
The food is of mediocre quality so definitely not worth paying $25 to $45 bucks for an item on the menu.
Stay away, you'll regret coming here. Across the street, much better places.

DO NOT go to this restaurant if you have kids because once the kids show any kind of tiredness they are going to ask you to leave, even if you’re still consuming, I’m not sure why they act this way, but my experience with this place was horrible.
Food was ok service was ok but definitely the fact they are not kids friendly is surprising, I’ve never experienced this before! Never going back for sure, my first and last time!

Staff are friendly but sadly they use the cheapest alcohol. My friend and I got really sick the next day.and we only had a couple of drinks

WATCH OUT FOR THE STAFF. THEY GET HOSTILE, AND ABUSE. WAITING TO USE ONE OF THE BATHROOM AND MEANWHILE OUR FRIENDS WAITING. THE MANAGER GETS THINKS SHE HAS THE RIGHT TO BE VERBALLY ABUSE. SPENDING OVER 300 DOLLARS YPU WOULD THINK THE SERVICE BE BETTER

NOVEMBER 3,2022

PUBLIC WATCH OUT AS YOU CAN SEE THEY ARE VERY HOSTILE. WE DIDNT GET ANY SUMMONS FROM THE POLICE. THEY ON THE OPPOSITE ADVICED TO KEEP AWAY FROM THIS PLACE AS OTHER CUSTOMERS HAVE COMPLAINED ABOUT THE STAFF. THE SIMPLE THREATEN RESPONSE FROM THEM GIVES YOU THE IDEA. NO WONDER THIS WAS THE ONLY PLACE WITH SPACE THAT NIGHT. BUT NO WORRIES BELIEVE WILL NEVER NEVER NEVER GO BACK. AS KABU IS THE BEST PLACE EVER!

Noviembre 3,2022
Que pena me da con usted pero la policía empeso su investigación y le van a poner cargos a usted Sr violento, y si quieres llamar borrachos a todos los que vallan a su restaurante pues les queda claro a los clientes que son ellos para usted solo por tomar unos tragos en su local. Y no te preocupes que ya el sargento tiene tu foto y vídeo de lo que paso.

Saturday 29,2022, we were a group of 6, (3 females and 3 man), we enter in this place because we saw they had karaoke and available table that night, we just wanted to have some drinks and listen music, so far good the lady who served our table was nice, but it was to the end getting close to 4am the owner or one of Top manager from the place started pushing everyone out, literally pushing disrespectful, my friend Angel was waiting for me while I was in bathroom, and this manager or owner slapped in the face @ my friend and making his glasses fly out, them this guy run to hide, we call police because this is abuse and promoting violence, now waiting for police report, eventually also we will report this incident to the DCWP (Department of Consumer and Worker Protection), also the lady bartender in the part of helping to calm the situation, she wanted to fight with one of our girls. Just be careful if you visit this place.

El sábado 29 de 2022, éramos un grupo de 6, (3 mujeres y 3 hombres), entramos en este lugar porque vimos que tenían karaoke y mesa disponible esa noche, solo queríamos tomar unas copas y escuchar música, hasta ahora todo bien, la señora que sirvió nuestra mesa era agradable, pero fue hasta el final acercándose a las 4 de la mañana, el propietario o uno de los altos encargados del sitio empujando y sacando a la gente del sitio sin respecto ni cordialidad le proporcionó un golpe a mi amigo Y haciendo que sus gafas vuelen, este tipo corre a esconderse, llamamos a la policía porque esto es abuso y promoción de la violencia, ahora esperando el informe policial, eventualmente también reportaremos este incidente al DCWP (Departamento de Protección del Consumidor y del Trabajador), también a la camarera que atiende el Bar en ves de ayudar a calmar la situación quería pegarle a una de las chicas de nuestro grupo. Tengan cuidado si visitan este lugar.

As a Mexican.this restaurant is disgusting and a disappointment. The quesadilla is soggy, the nachos are just chips and steak thrown on with lettuce. Do not come here for good Mexican food.

Beware, This place puts a tip on your bill automatically, even when it's a small $50 bill of a few drinks with appetizers for only two people. I didn't realize this and I added 20% on to a bill that already had a %15 tip applied. I feel this is unnecessary for a restaurant to do when it's not a big party.

I'm not opposed to the idea of a mandatory tip so much, I always give 20% no matter what - but the issue specifically is that receipt that was on top just had the total and a blank line for the tip - so if you didn't look at the itemized receipt underneath it, you wouldn't see that a tip was already added and you'd be putting %20 on top of a total that already had 15% on it.

The food was good! Thank you for that.

Just be careful when paying, the tips are automatically placed on your bill and when you go to pay with your credit card they ask if you want to give 20 % more for tip. It seems as if you did not tip already. El Maguey this can really mislead your customers. (you can easily double tip at this restaurant)

La comida estaba Buena! La propina ya esta incluida en la cuenta y cuando le traen el recibo de la targeta le preguntan si quieren dar 20% 25 % de propina adicional- pareciendo que nunca habian dado la propina. Tengan cuidado.

El Maguey esto puedo confundir a sus client's.

Went for cinco de mayo, very very busy. Drinks were tasty but food had a few issues, may give it a second try to see if they can do a better job.

Bad service the food sucks last time I went with friends the dish we order entrana it was burn an hard not even juicy an una mojarra con scema bad service not going back

Super poor quality of food, I don't know if they changed owners but it is definitely not the same quality or taste of years ago. From the gucamole to the carnitas they were horrible, rancid taste. I will never go back and I would never recommend it. 0 starts

This is the replay:

Apparently you are confusing me, it seems that I am not the only person who complains about the food. We never complained about the tip, you included it in check (30% gratitud), which was close to $200 dollars. We never had a fight with the waitress, on the contrary she was kind. And it wasn't dinner, we arrived around 3 pm. No one was satisfied with the food, not recommended. It is seen how you cannot manage a restaurant as a manager or owner, you do not know customer service and manners and you replay by lying.

The service was great and the ambience made it really feel like you were in Mexico. The vibes have a night club type of environment, but in a good way!

I tried the non-alcoholic Pina Colada and it was extremely delicious. It had a sweet tone with some hint of creaminess and slight sour tinge. I highly recommend it for anyone who's underaged but want to attempt to be 21!

Additionally, the churros were fantastic! This was my first time eating authentic churros and I must say, they were crunchy on the outside but extremely soft and moist on the inside. They have some melted caramel bits inside that give it an extra kick of sweetness. Additionally, it comes with a side of vanilla ice cream and whipped cream.

As a final note for.the main courses, all I can say is that you can't go wrong with any of the orders! The prices range from $15 - $35 for most items, with some.being $65 or more because they serve 2 and some have t-bone steaks and such.

Overall, I would highly recommend this place to a friend if they want to try out Mexican cuisine!