I recently visited Cantina Laredo for the second time, and unfortunately this visit was very disappointing compared to my first experience.
About a week ago, I attended a special event there that featured a four-course curated dinner with four drink pairings, and it was excellent. The food was delicious, the drinks were thoughtfully paired, and the entire experience felt very intimate and well planned. Because that event was so good, it actually motivated me to come back again as a regular customer.
This time, I planned to go for Taco Tuesday with a friend. Before going, I looked at the restaurant's menu on their website. The menu clearly stated there were two happy hours: one from 3 PM to 6 PM and another late happy hour from 8 PM to closing, with Casa Ritas listed at $6.50 during happy hour. The website also advertised Taco Tuesday with tacos starting at $2.
Because of that late happy hour, I invited friends to meet there around 8 PM.
When we arrived at 8 PM, we were seated immediately since it wasn't very busy. However, when we looked at the menu on the table, it only listed happy hour from 3-6 PM at the bar and did not mention the 8 PM late happy hour that was listed on the website.
When our server came over, we asked about it. He mentioned that he had just started working there and wasn't sure, and that he only knew about the earlier happy hour. I showed him the menu directly from their website. He asked if maybe it was an old menu, and I responded that I didn't know if it was old, but it is the menu currently on their website. He went to check with someone and came back to tell us that they do not have a late happy hour.
That was frustrating because the late happy hour was the main reason we chose to meet there at that time. If the information on the website is incorrect, it really should be updated or clarified, since customers are relying on it when making plans. We even debated leaving because that was the main reason we came.
Since we had already driven from different areas to meet there, we decided to stay and order tacos and drinks anyway.
We both ordered the passion fruit piña colada, which the menu listed at $12.75.
For food, I ordered four tacos: two carne and two pollo asado. My friend ordered four tacos as well: two carne, one pollo asado, and one pescado (fish). Most of the tacos were $3 each, with the fish taco being $4.
Unfortunately, the food was very disappointing. Each taco only had about three strips of meat, and the flavor just wasn't there. I ended up mostly picking the meat out and leaving the tortillas, and my friend had a similar experience. Our plates were mostly full because we simply didn't enjoy the tacos.
The drinks were also underwhelming. We both ordered the passion fruit piña colada, but it didn't really taste like passion fruit and barely tasted like a piña colada either. It was very bland.
Because we didn't enjoy the food or drinks, we were only there for about 30 minutes before asking for the check.
When the bill came, we noticed that the drinks were listed on the menu at $12.75, but on the bill they appeared to be around $13. At that point we were already ready to leave and didn't feel like debating it, so we simply paid and left.
Overall, this visit was disappointing from start to finish. The inaccurate happy hour information on the website is what brought us there in the first place, and it wasn't honored or explained. The tacos and drinks also didn't meet expectations, especially compared to the excellent experience I had at the curated dinner the week before.
I know the restaurant is capable of great food based on that event, which made this experience as a regular customer even more surprising. read more