I am confused with these reviews. Like I always say, a bad experience is a bad experience and valid, but overall this place is solid. I have been eating at La Barca since before they expanded to Downey and Bell Gardens location. The south gate little og location, the one on Montebello, all yummy. Legit never had a bad experience, always consistent. Molcajete is my go to. And tbh you get more for your buck than other place like Los Compadres. Goat Birria plate is a must, and safe for the non-mexican pallet meaning not intense or gamey. The carne asada plate and Tampiqueña(skirt steak) is also a solid choice. Like I said always consistent during my visits. This newer location in downey is very nice. I usually bring my family from out of town for dinner. Very clean, aesthetic, and service usually always friendly. read more

Back in the day, this restaurant chain was the spot! So after years of kind of forgetting about them I decided to try their newer Downey location with my family. Maybe I just ordered the wrong thing but the chicken flautas lacked flavor and were super basic to me. Definitely not worth the price. I tried my dad's chilaquiles and they were good, but nothing special. Not to mention the service being really slow here. Not sure if it's not enough workers or accepting too many people but they should really improve the servers situation. Also, be prepared to wait at least 30min on weekends. read more

La Barca Restaurantes - chilaquiles - Mexican Near Me - Downey, California

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We have been coming to this restaurant since it opened and it has never disappointed. We've come in large groups, as a family and for date night and each and every time, the service has been impeccable. The ambiance reminds me of Mexico and I love how I feel when I'm here. What I love is that even though the waitresses and I know speak English; we communicate in Spanish and it just feels so authentic. Now, the food. I love birria and love it here. It's flavorful, tender and just amazing. We've also had the chilaquiles, fajitas, and ceviche. Every thing is delicious! Even my picky 5 year old devoured his plate last night. The drinks are also so yummy and refreshing! I had a strawberry margarita and it was perfect. My son had the horchata and it was authentic! We love you La Barca. read more

Been coming here for years, I've been to several locations all are great. I think the most original is the one in Bell which still serves refried beans with your molcajete. I highly recommend the molcajete, cazuela (huge drink of tequila and grapefruit), carne en su juego, and the queso fundido which is melted cheese with chorizo. read more

Great location. Food was excellent. Good service. Best horchata and drink menu was great! Bar area looked really good. read more

La Barca Restaurantes - Mexican Near Me - Downey, California

Rude way (at least from the young girl) to say they don't serve you food at the bar just drinks.

Looking for bold flavors and a cold beer? La Barca delivers both with mouthwatering dishes made from fresh, authentic ingredients and friendly, attentive service that makes every visit a treat. Whether you're craving tacos, enchiladas, or sizzling fajitas, you'll leave satisfied and ready to come back for more. However, I opted for Birria, half goat and half beef. A meal fit for a king. read more

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This restaurant is one of our family's go-tos. Dishes are flavorful and authentic and food always tastes fresh. We love their shrimp enchiladas, carne en su jugo, and filete de bagre. Service is always great as well. read more

Came to watch the Mexican game and was told at last min that they where closing at 6pm when asked the manager he said we just decided. Its sad that they don't tell you in advance so we could of gone somewhere else. Poor service from management. The serve dis give good service. read more

I visited La Barca for my Dad's birthday, and our waitress Mariam truly made the evening memorable. From the moment we were seated, she was warm, attentive, and incredibly welcoming. She checked on us often, anticipated what we needed, and made sure every detail was taken care of without us having to ask. Mariam is a perfect example of what great customer service should look like.clear communication, genuine friendliness, and a commitment to making guests feel valued. The food was excellent as always, and if you go, you absolutely have to try the Café de Olla. Mariam even offered me a refill to go, and I'm not going to lie, that made the drive home feel extra good. The atmosphere is great for large parties with plenty of space to relax and enjoy your meal. If you're planning to visit, ask for Mariam. You won't regret it. She's the kind of employee a restaurant should be proud of. Honest, hardworking, and worth every bit of recognition. La Barca, give this team member a raise. She's a keeper. read more

La Barca Restaurantes - Cafe de Oya - Mexican Near Me - Downey, California

Food came out cold. The servers were friendly but I think it was busy so it took some time to get around to us. Nice big place. Overall not too bad of an experience. read more

My first time here. We with our family to celebrate my wife's birthday. Walking in I immediately knew that this restaurant is 5 plus stars! I love the interior! it is very wide open and spacious , it's high ceiling allows sound to be absorbed rather than bouncing off the walls. The decor is casual but elegant, yes some of the booths have straight backs and the metal chairs seem unusual but are complimented nicely with booths that are well cushioned and curved so that when sitting all guests can see each other. So when you step back and take it all in, well it is majestic. Emily was our server and she promptly took our drink orders. They arrived 10 minutes later she then took our dinner orders. She was pleasant. The food. My chicken fajita plate had generous portions of chicken, bell peppers, mushrooms, and onions. It was good, but it was lacking salt since I don't normally use a lot of salt. It did not bother me however, you may want to check with your server to make sure that this plate is properly seasoned. My wife ordered the Tostada de Pulpo. She said that it was delicious. The octopus was prepared nicely. My stepdaughter ordered their club sandwich. What set their club sandwich apart from others is they add a slice of Panela cheese. This cheese can be compared to mozzarella, it has a mild and soft texture. Needless to say, she enjoyed it. My son-in-law ordered the camarones de la diabla. And a side order of octopus. He loves spicy foods. To his delight, he was not disappointed. We had mentioned to Emily that it was my wife's birthday so when we were finished with our meals, they bought out a delicious cheesecake and saying happy birthday. I did not give them five stars because I know that many of you are not on a low sodium diet so having chicken fajitas that are not seasoned may disappoint you as I shared you may want to ask them how they mail has been seasoned. read more

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Excellent Cadillac margaritas, fajitas, enchiladas and hard shell taco. Terrific service also. read more

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Clean and super nice inside relax and enjoy your carne en Su juice Damn !!!! Good and delicious..... highly recommended ...service is outstanding yes believe it ...i might add these people running this restaurant are not stingy they give you plenty and so delicious carne en su juice ..lol they get a 5 star plain and simple keep up the good work ..... read more

La Barca Restaurantes - carne en su juice... soooooo delicious.... believe must try - Mexican Near Me - Downey, California

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I ordered the cheese enchiladas and the red sauce was absolutely delicious. The servers are very polite and check on your table often.

The food is good, but the staff is getting dumber by the day. They keep making the same errors repeatedly.

My family and I have been coming here for years but as of our last visit (today) the quality of the food has diminished. The beans lacked flavor as did the birria. My husband got a green wet burrito and just the same, it lacked flavor. The rice was bland and the carne asada meat was tough and chewy. The service was okay, it was the food that was the real disappointment. The red flag was that half of the restaurant was empty which is not a good sign. We will not be returning. read more

Maria was very rude and very disrespectful, I never had an experience like this she got our order wrong and even when trying to complain or express what's wrong she was cutting us off and was not much of help, she declined for us to speak with any management and lead. And accused us of trying to get free food.... Well I brought the food back and asked for a refund and I'm trying to file a complain about her because she was very disrespectful and offered no solution read more

La Barca Restaurantes - Mexican Near Me - Downey, California

I came to Downey California because my uncle Joe had to file some paperwork and my aunt was hungry afterwards. She requested me, my acquaintance and uncle Joe try out La Barca. My aunt is Mexican and she loves Mexican food. She claims this place is good nearby where she lives. We all ended up going here to see if this place is good or decent. Entering, it is spacious, clean and a setup of tables and chairs were abundant inside. The waitresses were all friendly. They were all bilingual and could speak Spanish fluently and were Spanish descent. One thing is that the menu is only two pages. Prices were kind of on the high end with about $20 on average for a plate of food. The nearby places are tight, skin tight. There were limited parking spaces and a lot of smaller food chains next door and around the area outside. Restrooms were clean. Food quality? It was alright. The food was spicy and very very salty in my opinion. I started to welt(acne) after a couple hours and was tired for an hour. It had some sort of corn oil used. The taste was okay to me. It didn't blow me away. The machaca eggs with steak was pretty good. It had a nice texture and flavor. The beans looked weird. It had an orange color instead of the light brown one you would normally see in refried beans. Not sure if they used a different oil for it. The tortillas were the highlight because they were hand made and very fresh unlike the grocery store brand. It was soft and had a very nice bite to it. Warm and cozy! The hot pot I ordered had steak, cactus, chicken, jalapeños and Serrano peppers in it. The broth or sauce included was incredibly salty and had a very spicy taste. The chicken and steak inside were good but the sauce really made it worse in my opinion. It was like salsa on it. We also ordered a Birria steak, rice and beans to share. It was tender and texture was soft but it didn't smell good to me. Chilaquiles was ordered by my aunt, I've tasted it before, not a fan to me. Bill was around 90$ with tip and everything including a red drink. Overall, it was a nice ambiance, okay food, fast service. The attitude of the waitresses could have been better, but it was okay. I personally would try something different next time if I were to come back. It is truly a Mexican restaurant and better than most I have tried before. But the food was something to at takes getting used to for sure. read more

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Fatty cuts of meat, dry enchiladas (how?!), and one of the rudest waitresses I've ever had. SO MANY BETTER OPTIONS FOR MEXICAN FOOD at WAY better pricing. read more

As a molcajete lover, and birria enthusiast, theirs is by far my favorite out of all the ones I've tried at different Mexican restaurants. The salsa is amazing , chips and tomatoe salsa is always served . The fajitas de pollo also have a great taste ! Service is excellent, we are regulars now and love coming back. They also have a special events private room that accommodates about 85 people comfortably, you may bring live music and vendors for your private party. read more

Decent food horrible service and they all rude we dont need pretty faces standing like flys they took for ever each time to bring what ever we asked and would give rude attitude every time we need to remind them what ever they forgot read more

They are incompetent when in comes to charging a tab. Waitresses are not incoherent enough to determine who ordered what and end up making up scenarios just so they will not look incompetent. read more

The service is poor. All servers take forever , didn't matter which one. The Food was fantastic. I loved my dish. Ordered a Beef Taco like creation with White ricotta cheese on top. The 5 Stars is for the Food. The Servers need better service. Ordered for 3 was 79$ plus a 20$. 99$ total. read more

What could you improve? For starters get a new chef. Your refried beans are like soup no taste the rest of the food was pretty bad we were in a group and no one liked the food and the service pretty poor as well. Don't bother. read more

La Barca Restaurant was an unexpected (good) find on Yelp! The restaurant exterior is not flashy (and can easily be missed) on Firestone blending in like an industrial brick building. We were quickly seated by hostess. Once we passed the counter and sidebar area, we were greeted with a REAL tree anchoring the huge seating area. We asked for a long table facing the window. I can see why other reviewers commented on delay on service. The servers are running across a huge space and picking up food behind an open kitchen. However, our server was good, attentive and never missed a beat. A generous chips and salsa was quickly dropped off at our tables. We added a side of guacamole which was enough to be a meal! The menu was extensive and entree prices were a bit on the pricey end. I like seeing most entrees have option for spice level. I was exploring and ordered a shrimp marisco but wished I stuck with the classics. read more

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Great food. Plenty of parking. Great atmosphere. However, it's the awful service this place offers. The servers are more worried about gossiping amongst each other rather than attending their guest. I would rather drive to their other restaurant in South LA. ALSO....they automatically give themselves their own tip/gratuity. This is a slap on the face. They provide horrible services and give themselves what they think they deserve. Practically stealing.....plus they don't tell you either after they charge your card. read more

Food was great and came out fast. I enjoy coming here after church or for any occasion. It was really crowded but they sat our party of 3 within 15-20mins read more

La Barca Restaurantes - Fajitas Mixtas - Mexican Near Me - Downey, California

Place is totally ratchet. Visited recently and receptionist was too busy drinking her personal beverage to assist me, though I was the only one standing there. Then she proceeds to brush her hair as she stood at reception with a lobby full of customers waiting to be seated. She told us it would be a 5 - 10 minute wait. When they did finally call my name, after what seemed like an eternity, they first mispronounced my name then they took us back to a booth that was filthy and obviously hadn't been cleaned in some time. There were hairs on the seat and on the table. Not sure if they had even cleaned the menus. We decided to just leave an go somewhere else. read more

I love this place but today was not a good day.. I had the caldo de res.. and the meat was super tough.. won't be have that again.. everything else I've had here has been great.. read more

La Barca Restaurantes - Tough meat - Mexican Near Me - Downey, California

Food is really good here. My favorite is the Carne in su jugo. Tortillas are hand made and always a go to. The restaurant is very clean and most of the time crowded. The service is always good to start but horrible after we get our food. It never fails we lose our waitress. We have to flag down another waiter to help with refills or get the check. read more

*Overdue review. My favorite Mexican restaurant in Downey. I don't understand the 1 star reviews. Never had a bad experience here, we come pretty often. Just left (11/7 7:30pm) as always great food & service . Waited about 5 minutes to be seated. We sat @the bar- very chill vibe. Much longer wait for the main restaurant area. Had a Paloma b4 dinner, it was perfect. Ordered the red cheese enchiladas, the plate was great. Service was excellent, our waitress was Marian. We'll keep coming back! read more

Delicious food. We've tried almost every dish they serve and have not been disappointed. The service is very good but there are a couple servers that could have better customer service. They come take your order and you don't see them again until they bring you your bill but if we happen to get one of them we just make sure to request everything we need when they take our order. The ambiance is great. It's spacious, they have the music playing in the background and an artificial cherry blossom tree in the center of the restaurant. If you're lucky and are seated in the surrounding area it feels like you're eating outdoors. We love this place and eat here at least 2-3 weekends a month. We absolutely recommend this place but if you go on the weekend, be prepared for a 20-30 minute wait. read more

Birrieria La Barca in Downey. Amazing food and service. My expectations were high, they still over-performed. Thanks crew! Follow me on Yelp. Jordan read more

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Delicious Mexican food and authentic flavor. Birria and chiles Rellenos the best. Good beer and cocktails and the best Tequila from Jalisco . Affordable and Excellent Service. Clean and very nice Restaurant. read more

La Barca Restaurantes - Great Bar selection. - Mexican Near Me - Downey, California

We had a amazing experience our host Valeria was super amazing the food was exceptional omg let me tell you about my drink super tasty a flavorful made by the wonderful Yuridiana she is the best!!! The music is smooth Latin music which is my favorite. I love it here thanks for your wonderful hospitality. read more

La Barca Restaurantes - Caldo de res the best! - Mexican Near Me - Downey, California

So I was in the bar area watching the DODGERS WIN THE WS! Congrats to them love it!!..... Now this where it goes SOUTH as a baseball fan NOT just me but other customers ALSO WANTED to hear the players getting interviewed!! We all was yelling to turn the TV back on!! Nope we couldn't hear the interviews WHO ever in charge? Wanted the "band" the hired to play!? Really!! So disappointed! As customers was there to watch the WS NOT to hear band play! Pay more attention the customers NEEDS! not the unwanted band play!.. haven't been back since! Get it right management.. read more

Place is nice but the server was totally bad. We have to be repeating ourselves every time idk if he is deaf or what. We got tostadas of shrimp and octopus and the menu says it comes with cucumber, onion, cilantro, tomato and lime juice NEVER mentioned cabbage and carrot. We returned the food since we didn't like the cabbage and carrot food came back and it was nasty all plates were left almost full because it was soo disgusting. The drink had a wierd aftertaste as well honestly WORST experience ever i would NOT come back and if you are planning to come here make sure you are mentally ready to get a bad service and nasty food or even better take your business somewhere else. read more

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Not sure why so many bad reviews but this place is pretty good. There are a few different ones all over but this one was very clean and friendly staff. Restrooms were very clean and the food was delicious. I love the fresh made tortillas and the cafe de olla is so good The only thing I have a complaint on is the salsa isn't that good. I like my salsa with some spice and this one just didn't have it for me. Other than that this is a great Mexican restaurant read more

Not the best service. The food was salty a.f we couldn't sit where we wanted. So I give it 2 stars. I will definitely not be going back.