Steve's ALS Restaurant Review #8

ABUELO’S

The weather turned a bit warmer and we were not as anxious to hurry home on Friday evening.  Instead, we drove to Abuelo’s. Abuelo’s is located in a shopping center near 86th and Zionsville Road.  We had been there previously but never with an eye towards gauging accessibility.

As you may have guessed from its name, Abuelo’s is a restaurant featuring Mexican food, and quite good food at that.  We started with stuffed mushrooms (maybe a bit spicy).  My wife ordered enchiladas and I had sea bass tacos.  Both of us enjoyed dinner enormously.  (Hint: the taco shells are soft and easily eaten using only one hand.)

There was ample handicap parking placed close to the entrance.  My wife offered assistance in gaining entrance through the two sets of front doors.  (Is there a law against automatic door openers at restaurants?)   Once inside, the foyer was spacious and the hostess quickly greeted us and found a booth.  Earlier in the day I had made reservations and requested seating in a booth.  That turned out to have been a good idea.

The aisles were wide and made getting to our booth a snap.  There was space close by to store my scooter during dinner.

Service was quick and friendly, although it seemed to drag a little as we finished and waited for our check.  There are machines on the tables that allow you to play video games, although you have to pay $1.99 for the privilege.  If you are using a credit or debit card these machines are to be used to pay for your meal.  I suspect that the delay at the end of the meal was meant to encourage use of the device.  We ignored that encouragement.

Restroom access was a challenge.  You get to the restrooms by making a sharp right turn off  the bar area.  The men’s room door is immediately on the left after you make that turn.  The door is heavy so it was necessary to use my scooter to open the door.  The problem is that there is not room sufficient to maneuver to an angle that allows the scooter to assist.  Once I got the door open the handicap stall was at another sharp angle.  Inside the stall I could not easily shut the door behind me.  The grab bars were placed helpfully.

I had to back out of the stall and repeat the entry process, only in reverse.  My advice?  Don’t drink a lot of liquids at Abuelo’s.


CONCLUSION:  Abuelo’s offers good food and good service.  Access into the restaurant and to seating is good.  Restroom access, however, is just really hard.  2 ½ scooters.

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