We love La Altena. Great service and the food is even better. Love to go on Tuesday for margarita specials and Tacos.

Excellent service and knowledge of the menu. The energy of the lunch was pleasing all together. Will return and recommend highly read more

La Altena - Lunch Special #3 with a taco - Mexican Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee

Our neighborhood restaurant Always delicious, friendly staff that knows us well from our weekly visits. I've reviewed a few times but it's also worth recommending the Enchiladas, Grilled Tilapia, and the Fajitas Mi Tierra. read more

See all

So obviously Mexican is one of my favorites. This is Ok Mexican food, better than fast food but hey it is a sit down restaurant with great table service and although the food wasn't awesome it was good and even better for price. The colors, designs and furnishings give it that Mexican restaurant flair. Again I'm thing this is a restaurant still trying to serve you a good meal at a great price and maybe the cut backs show a little. It was good, not great but I would try again. read more

See all

Had considered eating here for a while.I had seen some reviews that were negative. But I decided to give it a try.Today I tried their Enchiladas I had 2 beef 1 cheese with rice and beans. The waitress brought salsa I thought it was good so I thought this should be good.So I ordered my food was there way too fast! I cut into the beef enchilada And the tortilla was hard evidently microwave the cheese enchiladas was cold. Beans and rice just barely warm. Not hot not fresh I was extremely disappointed glad I didn't take my wife or I would have spent that much more for microwave food. Won't be going back! read more

This is the most uneventful "Mexican" food I've ever had. Flavor: dull Cheese enchiladas are just that. Nothing special, bland. No rice or beans. The climate is humid. The restroom is disgraceful. If this isn't clean, the kitchen more than likely follows suit. I do not recommend this place. read more

We wanted to find a place to eat off the beaten path of Hamilton Place for lunch after church on Sunday. Church crowds usually take everything over around noon. We found this place and it's conveniently located right next to a Publix. There were maybe three tables occupied when we got there. We were put in an area by ourselves; which is awesome because the silence gave us time to talk. I always order queso, and this was the best I've had in a long time! We ordered off the lunch menu, which is available everyday until 3pm. The lunch fajitas were half the price of dinner fajitas but it was about half the skillet size. Service was slow for not being very busy but overall it was a good experience! read more

See all

We tried this place on a to go order. Everything was great. The enchiladas were great. Would highly recommend and prices are really good.

This place will never compare to any other place. For American style Mexican food this is the best don't even go anywhere else. Talk to the employees they can help you find what you will like the best. Margaritas as fantastically strong and original is not too sweet! I always get some sort of fajita and the steak there is the best steak for a Mexican restaurant you can find. Queso on point. Service always fluid and good. Can't complain ever read more

I ordered a combo enchilada and chili relleno. I received an over microwaved enchilada with microwaved hard burnt tortilla. My chili relleno was a bowl of chopped bell pepper, ground beef, covered in cheese! That chili relleno was completely insulting to my Hispanic culture and I gave it back! The manager insulted me further by only giving me a dollar discount. Then he was so smug about it! Don't eat here! The only thing Mexican about my meal was the Dos Equis beer! My wife had a bland chunk of carne asada. If you want authentic Mexican food DON'T eat here! read more

La Altena is amazing!! The food is good, the drinks are good! Very good staff and polite.

Great food and excellent service! Love their tacos and enchiladas. Employees are friendly and polite.

Tried several times to like this restaurant as is close to home. However, the salsa is very tasteless and no spice even for those of us who do not like it spicy. enchilada sauce as well. Chips were overfried, flautas were really greasy...tomaoes were not ripe and tasteless...guac tasted like out of tube.....presentation... plain and unappealing.....chip warming room looks dirty... rough unpainted base to chip oven. Service was good. Could be cleaner read more

I wish we could do negative stars. Went to this restaurant and a roach crawled across our table. We finally got it and gave it to a lady walking by who apologized, but did nothing else. Immediately knew this would be a horrible experience. Got our food and found a hair in my rice. The waiter "asked his boss" what they could do. We got up to pay and they weren't going to do anything. The boss discounted some of my meal and asked my friend if she was good. She was not good as a roach crawled across our table, but he charged her full price. Absolutely will not be back. It was foul! read more

The menu prices on their website are incredibly off... went in thinking that I was spending about 25-28 dollars and come out spending 39.48.... The guy said I'm sorry tho.... I guess that fixed everything... I asked for a half slice of avocado and he didn't tell me it was 3.99.... I guess that's on me, but seems shady af...I'm not sure what's going on here, but as a first timer... I won't be back read more

See all

We came for lunch. Our waiter took our order and was never seen again. We felt like we were bothering the other servers to ask for a beer, a question, our check. When I paid the check I said we never saw our waiter after our order. I was told he went on a break. Fine. But don't make me feel like I'm bothering other servers when ours bailed. He actually said, "I was busy with other customers". The chili relleno is a bowl of beef with green peppers and covered in cheese ??? read more

Service was excellent! Menu was well proportioned and reasonably priced. We had a People's Margarita and a Jalapeño Margarita and they were Devine! No skimping on the alcohol and since we sat at their bar, we watched them cut the fresh ingredients. The ambiance was bright and sunny but a little on the small side. We will definitely be back. Recommend to friends and family. read more

Wonderful service! Great authentic flavorful food and has beautiful artwork to enjoy. Great atmosphere and the employees are very friendly

Average Mexican food you can find all over Chattanooga and Cleveland. Not stand out amazing but not bad either.

Service was great. Margaritas were very good too. Highly recommend this place! Food was really good, definitely coming back!

My family ordered food for pickup. They had it ready as soon as we arrived. The food was okay. Just like I read in another review just Tex-mex. The salsa is just okay! I would also suggest asking for extra sauce on your food. My enchiladas were dry with just a little red sauce. read more

What's cool about Altena is that they have a Lunch buffet on the weekends from 11-3, for $8.99 adults. We just happened to find this place after wandering about trying to find a Mexican restaurant to satisfy my craving. Sadly we got here at like 240pm and the buffet was slim picking/dried up. Otherwise we would have most definitely tried that. They have options of fajitas which is awesome, chicken and steak, it looked like maybe burritos and enchiladas, rice, beans, a salad bar and all the fixings. Instead of the buffet we opted for the menu and ordered 2 beef burritos with extra sauce, and i had ordered one chicken and one beef burrito with a side of lettuce, rice and beans. I got 1 chicken enchilada and 1 chicken burrito. It was fine i didn't say anything because my fiancé had 2 beef so we just shared. Overall the food was decent, nothing stood out. The salsa wasn't my favorite but they had several different hot sauces on the table and when i added some to the salsa it made it better :) The salsa just needed more depth for me. I think I'll be back to try the buffet bar one day when the craving hits again bc for $8.99 you can't really beat it :) read more

La Altena - Beef and chicken burritos - Mexican Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee

Place smells a little off when you walk in, like old grease. Was sat down right away but it was only 4pm and they was pretty empty. Chips and salsa was brought out right away and drink order was taken. Waitress came back right away with drinks and took our order. Food came out fast. Now about the food. The salsa, great, It's been a long time since I've had good salsa. I even got some to go. The food it's self. Yum. My kids plates was big and a lot on them. My fajita was good as well. We ordered fried ice cream for dessert. One each was much. We could have shared one, they was huge. The waitress was good with the kids witch is a plus for me. Great place to go. read more

See all

Food came out quickly. It tasted was ok. Not at all spicy. The enchilada sauce tasted like tomato soup. The salsa with the chips tasted like canned tomatoes. Service was average. They forgot one item that was ordered even when the waiter was reminded a second time. Probably will not return. read more

I come here every week basically, sometimes more than once. The salsa is really good and they aren't stingy with the chips and salsa either, they will always bring refills of both, truly bottomless. The lunch specials are great and really inexpensive. The buffet is amazing too. Friendly service that's there but also out of the way enough to have a good conversation and not feel surveilled. Also, I have a son with autism and they are very accommodating to making alterations to foods so he can enjoy his meals too. :) read more

Ironically, I went to another Mexican restaurant just yesterday but didn't get tamales. Yesterday, I noticed La Altena when I got back to "my side of town" & needed to stop at Publix. I lived in this area for 6 months, & never noticed it until today! What a hidden gem & since I hadn't had lunch yet, I thought "time to get my tamale fix on"!!! Walked in & the owner who was the host today was very welcoming with a sense of humor, decor was nice & my server Lola (I think she said her name was) was GREAT! Now to the food: I ordered the combo plate of beef enchilada, tamale, rice, & beans along with a Rita. The enchilada I could tell was freshly made with a light sauce & not that overly thick sauce. But OMG, the tamale!!!!! I knew THIS tamale was made from scratch as I use to make them with family& not only could I SEE the difference (as they were not smothered with sauce) but especially TASTE the difference. I was in tamale heaven. These were shredded chicken tamales, so light , airy, so tasty & better yet, not one drop of sauce on top (which I am accustomed to but only when making them homemade). Sooo glad I didn't have it at the other place yesterday b/c I have had theirs before which are okay but not from scratch & are Americanized as they are covered with that thick sauce like in a way to disguise them from being from Sysco or some other food distributor. I finally asked my server who makes them. She very proudly & rightfully so, told me it is the owner's wife! I could not help but order 3 tamales to go with the thought for either a snack later tonight or for breakfast (yes--breakfast) tomorrow. It is now "snack time" now that I am raving about these. I can't wait to try other items there but I will say that I will always have a tamale with whatever I order. If anyone is looking for AUTHENTIC Mexican food---especially tamales---this is the place to go to! Oh yeah, they have lunch specials from 11am-3pm Mon-Sun yes, that's right...every day! They also have other specials such as on Tuesday, tacos for 99 cents each. I will end this novel of review, that they just made me a regular customer! read more

La Altena has become a family favorite, first we went to the original downtown, then the E. Brainerd location and we went all the way across town to try the new location at the foot of Signal Mountain. All three are run by the same family and it shows. Great food at all three. the Mojado burrito is a fave and so is the "Lunch Burrito" Enjoy read more

Probably more like 4.5 stars but definitely best Mexican restaurant in the area. Great food, great service, super fast. Cheap meal and good prices on beer. read more

Our favorite neighborhood cantina! Haven't had a bad meal there and have eaten there hundreds of times. Love the Dos Equis, Negra Modelo, and Modelo Especial - all on tap. Best guacamole I have ever had! Favorites include: Pollo Mexicana, Carnitas, mushroom Quesadilla, Mexico City Tacos, and the lunch buffet Friday-Sunday. read more

Enjoyed an average Mexican meal here recently. Location is nice, staff is friendly. The special that I tried was a let down for me but my friend loved his food. I'd come back read more

The employees cant keep from fighting and raising hell behind the restaurant after hours. Several times the police had to be called. Not too impressed with the food either. Its by no means authentic mexican food. read more

We relocated to Ooltewah from out of state & were looking for a mexican restaurant. After trying a few, this is definitely our favorite. The salsa and cheese dip are both good. Service is fantastic. The food is as expected - similar to other mexican restaurants were use to. Going to a restaurant with good service has been really nice. read more

A favorite location of mine. Great food, good, friendly service, and wonderful margaritas.

It was just ok. The waiter was real friendly but just another authentic Mexican restaurant. Their location downtown was better. read more

La Altena - Mexican Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee

Me And Mike have eaten here many times... We love all of their food... The service could be better .. But for the food itself.. 100% awesome

The Carnitas Street Tacos are excellent! Lots of flavor and never dry. The chips and salsa was quite delicious as well. The service was great and this will definitely be a regular stop for us! read more

Good Mexican food at a reasonable price. Buffet on Sat and Sun. Employees are friendly and polite. Provide excellent service. Tell Manuel Pedro recommended La Altena. Peter read more

See all

My favorite place for chicken tortilla soup. Large portion of soup with loads of chicken breast, zucchini and rice. I've never had anything else there. The service is typically very courteous and prompt. read more

I've been on the hunt for good Mexican restaurants and this one is pretty great. The only complaint I have was the queso wasn't hot when I got it. read more

Absolutely incredible restaurant, food was delicious and was a great price. Very authentic and they clearly know what they're doing. This is the perfect place to take a family. The service was great, not to mention that the hostess was incredible at her job. She was so kind and absolutely made the meal! Her name was Caroline. She was actually the reason why I came and I don't regret it one bit! read more