I took my four year old daughter there on a Saturday evening. We arrived at five and there was one table occupied so we sat ourselves.
I was told it was a great Mexican restaurant. I had tried EE Burritos on 22nd and it was OK but I needed more. I need flavour.
The place is clean and the people are nice but I can't give it more than three stars.
I have relocated back to SK from AZ and consider myself quite familiar with the Mexican food fare. It's one of the things I miss about being down south.
I decided to go with a basic dish before I commit myself to anything more. They are all pretty basic but I opted for the tacos and kiddo got the quesadilla. We also engaged the chips and guacamole. For $10.99 I thought it must be an impressive dish.
On a side note: best tacos and presentation is at the Cheesecake Factory (USA) believe it or not! Great flavour with a colourful presentation of beans, rice, greens, etc (is there a need for etc?)
Our chips arrived along with a generous portion of freshly murdered avocado avec tomato, onion and I couldn't really grasp any salt, cilantro or pepper? When I first saw the price tag I was skeptical but the portion was reasonable but the guacamole sent my taste buds out for a siesta.
I can't say that when our main dishes arrived the flavour train joined theml. Such was not the case. But my standards are different. The food is not bad by any means but there was nothing that said, "Hola Amigo! bienvenido a otro sabor."
The rice was good, the beans were refried (just a dash of something amigo, please)
The lack of flavour ate up a star.
A pretty common experience in a restaurant down south is the presentation of limitless chips and salsa --- before you even order. I thought the mandatory required entree in order to receive chips and salsa seemed stingy and the fact that there were no refills.
The stinginess ate up a star.
In regards to the service. It was a lot like the food. I would have liked the girl to inform us of the payment procedure. Somewhere it stated pay the server. To them that means the server will help you at the cash machine. I was waiting for the bill, and we waited and could not reach our waitress and I was really in no rush, but 15 minutes went by before she came back to the table to see if we needed anything.
I asked for the bill and she said that we just pay at front. I've never been to a restaurant where you don't receive your bill first? I suppose they are out there but I have been to many places. Not that it's a big deal, but at that moment during the meal, there is the common understanding that the waiter-customer relationship is coming to an end usually there would be a mention that you need to go to the counter to receive your bill then pay it. So we waited but then she suggested that we take the guacamole. She put it in a container which remained in my car overnight. Had the contents contained flavour, they would have made it into my belly that evening.
Overall I suppose its unfair to comment on price considering I am used to US prices, but I look at the portion of protein as opposed to filler foods. Is the price in balance with the over all value. Whether it's $14.95 for three small tacos and beans with rice or $45.99 for Filet Mignon with Asparagus and a Twice Baked Potato i it worth it. Taste, presentation, ambience, service.
La Bamba has some great two for one deals on drinks on certain nights so I might take advantage of that and try an enchilada. I will give their sauce a try before I make my final decision of whether this place is worthy of regular dining dollars.
J read more
