The service was amazing! The place smelt like strong cleaner (reminded me of Fabuloso in bathrooms) which is a good thing meaning the place is cleaned BUT offensive when expecting to walk into a room with the aroma of good food cooking! The food is ok. Salsa is good but taco meat is a texture that I personally think of Taco Bell. The place needs a makeover or background music to up the ambiance. Not sure if I'll return ‍ read more

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Food very very good. You have to try the Barbacoa tacos the bread is fluffy. The meat is juicy and tender and the cilantro fresh also try the salsa and chips that taste so good. You have to try that. read more

La Pagua - Mexican Near Me - Lafayette, Louisiana

This red sauce just blew us away!! Add it to the queso and boom! We like the laid back atmosphere too. read more

La Pagua - Red Sauce! - Mexican Near Me - Lafayette, Louisiana

Used to our pick for best Mexican in Lafayette. No longer feel this way. Stay away from the house margarita. It's unbelievably bad. Extra tax is levied on FOOD and ALCOHOL!!!!! NO THANKS. Not sure what happened to the place. read more

Another great find for Mexican food! Ya'll. I have been searching high and low for good Mexican in this city and was starting to think it just didn't exist. I know most people are going to be like, "but Angie, you have the best food on the planet in Lafayette. Why in the world are you looking for Mexican?" Well, while you're not wrong about the best food on the planet part, ya girl likes variety. La Pagua has been recommended to me before and I tried it once about a two years ago and found it to be just mediocre. I decided to give it another try not too long ago and was so impressed I ate there twice that week. Their tacos are all pretty good but the barbacoa is the BEST. I recommend trying out a few just to see which one you like because they are really affordable and all delicious. But I am going to bet you'll love the barbacoa one the most. I judge all Mexican places on their burrito and their chicken and shrimp passed my test with flying colors. I've dined in once and the atmosphere is upbeat and fun. Go give La Pagua a try! read more

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Great food and service! The cheese enchiladas and chicken taquitos are my favorite. Consistently wonderful!

I ordered the fajitas from here. We had to ask for the regular sides(lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, etc) that should come with fajitas. They served us beans with weaners. The food was extremely salty and the place was dirty. I won't be back! read more

I was so deeply disappointed in La Pagua. Moving back to Lafayette, I'm on a slow hunt to find new favorites. Building up a restaurant list requires you to have good and bad experiences. I was not a fan of La Pagua... The prices are quite high for Mexican food. $15 for 4 tacos is quite steep. I also ordered the sampler appetizer as my main entree and it was $17!! Everything served was dry and bland. Lacking flavor, juiciness, and cheese. The queso was served in a small plastic cup for sauces, and hardened almost as soon as it hit the table. The only thing that I liked was the chips and salsa...and I'm typically not a tough critic when it comes to Mexican food. It's not what I was imagining when I wanted Mexican. Maybe this is more authentic? Two dishes and one soda, our bill was almost $40 without tip... I don't think I'll be coming back. read more

La Pagua - Mexican Near Me - Lafayette, Louisiana

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Very authentic. Delicious food. Carnitas and menudo exceptional. First timer. Definitely will not be the last.

I had the Enchiladas (Cheese & Beef). They were awful. The Beef had some type of filler with it (? Potatoes?). The Rice & Beans had Zero Flavor!! Very disappointed, I thought this was the Best Mexican food in Lafayette at one time!!!! Yes read more

We just finished ordering from this restaurant, I had the huevos rancheros, and my husband has at the tamales and eggs, and we got the case so fundido. The one thing I was not OK with is that they do not have outdoor dining. During the pandemic they are serving people inside and the customers aren't wearing masks. The food was mediocre. The eggs were cooked over hard when we asked for them over medium, the rice tasted like the cleaning solution Fabuloso, lavender scent. The huevos rancheros had a creamy orange sauce, not spicy and not served over tortillas as is the custom. The tamales were decent. The queso fundido, (queso flameado) was good but served in a cup instead of a plate. The coffee was cheap coffee sold at $2.50 a cup. Overall, it's a good place to go if everything else is closed. read more

Ordered tacos Al carbon tacos, and they brought out street tacos....,,not bad but not even close to tacos al carbon.....when asked they said no that is taco al carbon......I'm from Texas.......these were street tacos,,,,, service just ok......not a fan.,, read more

The food was amazing the service was great the staff was really friendly the Margaritas were delicious the read more

La Pagua - a child sitting at a table with a plate of food - Mexican Near Me - Lafayette, Louisiana

Disappointing. It was freezing inside. I mean FREEZING! We asked a couple of times for adjustment of thermostat but it stayed cold. Our waitress was sweet, but the food was nothing to praise. In fact, the veggie quesadillas weren't even what was described. Tabasco was never brought out after 2 requests. There is no happy hour so the cheapest margarita is $6 and just down the road you can get 2 for $5 from 3-9 pm. It sounded like romper room daycare because so many families with babies were there. They expanded to include another room but it's like a giant warehouse now, lacking coziness and intimacy. We went because we were given a gift card as a gift but there are way too many awesome Mexican restaurants with happy hour or just better food! 2 stars might be too generous, but like I said, our waitress was sweet. read more

LaPagua is simply the best Mexican food in town. It's always a toss up between their beef enchiladas and steak chimi. The steak in the chili is tender and juicy smothered in white queso. The side are perfectly cooked beans and rice that are consistently delicious. read more

Honestly, I do not understand what the hype is all about.. This place sucks! First of all, this place is way too small.. Upon entering this establishment, I saw a long line, good sign, right? Wrong. While waiting to be seated, we had to stand near the entrance, which is jammed pack with people, and since their checkout station is also there, be prepared to be move back and forth so that people can pass through. When we were seated, the first thing our waiter told us that they are known for their tacos.. so I did what I am known to do, order one of each taco... we had the following: - Al pastor taco: grilled marinated pork sautéed in adobe sauce and served with cilantro and onions - Barbacoa taco: shredded beef marinated in Mexican spices and served with cilantro and onions - Cochinita taco: shredded pork smothered in achiote sauce and spices and served with pickled carrots - Bistek taco: chopped grilled steak, served with cilantro and onions - Lengua taco: beef tongue marinated in mexican spices and served with cilantro and onions All the tacos were lacking flavor and texture, nothing good at all!! - Chimichanga dinner: flour tortilla stuffed with ground beef and fried, topped with enchilada sauce and cheese, served with rice, beans, and sour cream (I replaced my beans with an extra order of rice); imagine a bland ground beef stuffed into tortilla and fried, and topped with gross sauces.. you got the picture. Oh, I forgot, it took over an hour for our food to come out... and we were only a party of three..... seriously how long does it really take to cook this? All the other Mexican places I have eaten are fast, even when they're busy! I am never, ever going here again! read more

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Seriously the best margaritas I feel in town! Jefe is awesome so is Cadillac. Also the tacos are legit. Beef tongue MOOore please Haha papusas are also good and all food is reasonably priced. read more

I love this restaurant! All the food is very authentic and the constant attention to your table is amazing. I would suggest ordering the pupusas. Did I mention the price point? It's definitely on par and maybe even a little bit lower than I would expect for the quality that you get. I come by here maybe twice a week to come and get food. I love it here. Great place to get margaritas with friends too. We were having such a good time that we lost track of time and no one said anything to us and let us finish our meal and finish our drink and everything was very satisfying of course we left the tip for the amazing servers there. read more

One of those days when you are craving authentic Mexican food and being we are new to the area we decided to check out a new spot - that happened to be La Pagua. Hopes are high and taste buds ready. Looking at the reviews we had good hope for the food being good. A little worried though because reviews were very mixed. Through it all - I said let's just give it a shot. Firstly, you get unlimited chips and salsa to start. Then, we got the sampler plate which includes the bacon wrapped shrimp, cheese quesadilla, pork or chicken tamale(?), chicken taquito and 2 tacos with queso + gauc. Second entree was the 4 tacos with a side of beans soup and rice. The presentation was good but what looked good on the outside did not taste good. Everything was just well... very dry. I cannot tell if it was dry because it was overcooked or it could have been reheated (I hope not). At first eating it was okay being that we were very hungry but as time went on, you start to notice that the food isn't that great. For the amount of food that you get for the price it's not too bad. However, there is always room for improvement because I can see this restaurant doing very well but certain things need to be set in place. I feel like the menu should be explained more descriptively other than just stating plainly what it is. Food should be prepared with more flavor and not just resulting to drowning everything in either queso, salsa or hot sauce. I know that things here could be better but it seems like it's lost its flair or any type of motivation to improve on its mistakes. Would love to come back to La Pagua but not until things begin to go in the right direction. read more

Where do I even start. This was amazing. The most fun and the best Mexican food we have had since we were in Riviera Maye Mexico. My husband and I arrived first and went up to the bar waiting for friends to join. The manager happened to be up there having her dinner. She is adorable what a sweetheart, she is from Korea and we had fabulous conversation. She then went and secured a six top for us and her friends and they arrived we were all seated. Our server was the best I have had in a long time at any restaurant. She was fun & we were having fun. She was attentive kept our drinks full and the salsa coming. If you go there and get the chance to sit at her table her name is Kristie. We started off with drinks we had two of us drinking beer and other four friends were drinking top shelf margaritas on rocks. We chatted enjoyed ate some chips and salsa some guacamole and chips. The salsa has a bite to it and spicy but not overwhelming, it was so good. The guacamole was creamy and so delicious. Finally we all decided to order. Some ordered beef & chicken tacos, some ordered chicken tortilla soup, some Ordered chili relleno & some ordered something different. Everybody was tasting and checking out everybody's dish. It just was amazing. One couple left a little early they had someplace they had to be but the other couple, my husband and I stayed for a long time. We chatted, drank ate more guacamole and chips and just really enjoyed our time. Lol So I went to post photos of all six people's food only to realize I was so excited about the chips and salsa that I didn't take a picture of my own chicken taco. I would love to say we would go back every week but sadly we are moving to Charleston South Carolina Tuesday. When we come back to visit we will definitely go there. read more

LOVE THIS PLACE!!! Small but authentic AMAZING food!! The fajitas are to die for !! If you're looking for good quality Mexican food look no further!! Hands down the BEST!!!!! read more

I love the Carne Asade the food here is delicious, this was my first time getting an alcoholic beverage and it was delicious.

I ordered steak fajitas and she got shrimp salad and Caesar dressing. Surprised that there was no specialty dressing. Service at 12:15 was fast and friendly. My steak was so delicious I hereby declare it best in town. Shrimp salad got a lot tastier when she put the grilled onions and lime on it. I didn't get the rice and beans because that's not my thing. read more

Service was pretty terrible and cheese dip was cold. My charro beans had two beans in them and five hot dog slices.

I don't know if we just hit on a bad day or what, but I have since heard from several people that this restaurant has gone downhill since they expanded. I've talked them up for years as the best in town, and when my mother visited for the holidays she was excited to go (even though she lives in southern CA and gets great mexican food there). Oddly, my favorite thing to say has always been that they even had great refried beans, which are usually blah at best in restaurants. Service was lackadaisical at best. My fajitas were served cold, with a half cooked onion and terrible beans with far too much salt (inedible). Whatever was in the soup cup had (I verified this with the waitress, who looked apologetic!) chopped up hot dog in it. Mom's chile rellenos was a soggy mess. It felt like they stopped caring. We left extremely disappointed and unlikely to return. Finally, the ambiance in the expansion is ghastly. read more

First of all, I had not been to La Pagua since the last "napkin incident" of a few months ago. Nice to know that the owner finally pulled his cheap head out of his ass and is now serving real napkins, not cocktail napkins. I will credit myself for getting this to occur and all of you can thank me later :). Second of all, this is as good as it gets in Lafayette, and maybe even all of Louisiana as far as Mex food goes... I shit you not. I lived in Dallas for 27 years, and have eaten at more than 50 Mex places there, and dozens in other states like CA, NM, AZ and others. La Pagua is better than about all of the Mexican in Dallas, and except for the possible exception of a few places in NM and AZ who really know how to use the local chilis there, La Pagua IS as good as it gets. However, please do not go there and expect the kind of food you get at a Tex-Mex place in Dallas or Houston. This IS NOT Tex-Mex. They do not cover all of their food in sauces, or pour vile melted cheese on it like the places in Texas. This is authentic central mexican and south American cuisine. Their tacos are simple and delicious and only have meat and a litte onion and cilantro in them. Beef, pork, lengua (tongue) are all excellent. Their shrimp quesadilla was amazing. Thick, rich, with lots of shrimp and lots of cheese.. Chips and sasla good. Margaritas good. La Pagua is legit. read more

My husband and I took a cross-country road trip through the Southern U.S., and while making our way through Louisiana we were craving some Mexican food, and found some good reviews on La Pagua, and decided to go for it. And man, it did not disappoint! I had the Enmoladas - chicken enchiladas smothered in mole sauce. So flavorful! I had to try one of their tacos, and went for the Cochinita - shredded pork in anchiote sauce and spices. The meat was so tasty and moist. Even the rice and beans were delish! I also treated myself to a margarita. It was so smooth and refreshing. This restaurant is a great find off the beaten path of the usual Mexican chain restaurants that have become tiresome. Quality of food and service is excellent! read more

Good quality Mexican food...one of the few places in town that will serve you lengua. If you don't know what that is, you don't want it, but it gives the place an authenticity that most other safe Mexican food places in town don't have. La Pagua receives only three stars though because of a billing problem we had there, our debit card was double charged for a large meal we ordered for several people and we had to wait nearly a week for the charge to drop off so we could have access to the money. My suggestion is to come with cash to this restaurant to prevent this oversight. I'm not saying anyone tried to cheat me, it's just a sloppy oversight that caused me and my wife considerable trouble, and I want to be sure others don't have the same problem. read more

as far as I'm concerned the best little Mexican joint in Lafayette, La. Do not order typical tex-mex stuff. Make sure you order a few papusas! Great drinks and great service! -eatdrinklife read more

I have heard such great things about this place for so long, and upon finally going there, now two or three times, I think it's OK. Food was good, but nothing special. Not sure what else to say about that. I haven't been WOW'd but I haven't been disappointed either. I'll give it a few more tries. read more

Terrible. Didn't even need to stay for the entree. Couple bites of the tomato sauce they are trying to pass off as hot sauce told us this ain't real Mexican food. Blech. read more

COME HERE!!! I have been incredibly pleasantly surprised with the high quality of freshness and flavor from the following dishes I've tasted: Salsa- Fresh flavor, spicy enough for my taste Appetizers: Queso and the Guacamole - Perfect Soup: Tortilla soup - Great flavor, fresh veggies, kind of small so get it as a side Entree's: - Fajitas - Had all three meats different occasions and always full of flavor, perfectly cooked, lots of garnish and might a large amount of food - Enchilada - Chicken, Beef & Cheese, Red, White or Verde sauce, all came out with great flavors and very fresh tasting. **** Overall I'd say this is one of the two top choices for Mexican food in the Lafayette area.. ,If you are looking to sit down and have one of the best mexican food meals you can get and leave happy without a big hit to your wallet, this is the spot. If you are looking for live music or happy hour crowd type of vibe, this is not the place. read more

Authentic mexican cuisine with the best margaritas in town. While it has always been packed I've never waited more than 5 minutes for a table. Superior pork tamales, great taco options, ala crate for when you eat too much chips & salsa or delicious meals for those craving a perfect meal. El Jefe margaritas & pork tamales ever time! read more

I always like La Pagua because the food quality is excellent. When we had a guest for dinner last night and he wanted Mexican, that's where we decided to go. We were seated immediately. The restaurant was not full as it was a Monday night. We ordered the Queso Fundido with chicken as the appetizer and it was great, but the tortillas that came with it really stole the show. We ordered their soup, chicken enchiladas, and chili relleno for our main courses. Absolutely delicious as always. Our server, Michael, was awesome as well. He was responsive, never intrusive, and he made sure our glasses were full. A thoroughly enjoyable experience. read more

Average food with extremely long wait times. We were here for about 2 hours for 2 people and we only had fajitas. Everytime we needed something we had to get the waitresses attention because they never came to the table to check on us. There are too many other Mexican restaurants in town to ever have to come back here. If you want good food and good service this isn't your place read more

It is really almost as good as it gets, when it comes to Central American food. Nice Atmosphere, great people, food is great, and a pretty decent bar. Nothing fancy, but for a first date, a quick lunch, or just cause you don't feel like cooking, definitely a great choice. My favorites are the tacos, specialy the cochinita one, and the Tamal is not bad either. read more

I submitted the updated info, you are welcome yelp. The drinks are strong and the food is good, what more can you ask for? My favorite thing about this place is the variety. You would be hard pressed to find a place in Lafayette with tongue tacoes and ceviche and the other varieties of Mexican fare. The ceviche was a hit. I got one of each taco, they weren't amazing but very good. The tortillas could be a little thinner. Bistek was my favorite. The new location was packed. I don't anticipate that dropping down any time soon. read more

We visited at around 6 pm on a Saturday. We were seated immediately. We ordered a cheese chile relleno platter, cheese enchiladas, and a pitcher of the house margarita. We very much enjoyed the table chips and salsa while we waited for our food. The salsa was above average for a house salsa: it had a prominent onion flavor with a mild to medium spiciness. Sadly, the house margarita was a disappointment. It was too sweet and lacked either a strong citrus or tequila flavor. The entrees were much tastier. Both orders came with well-executed beans and rice. The enchiladas were solid if not exceptional (perhaps the mole would have been better). The single chile relleno was both filled and covered with copious amounts of cheese. The corn tortillas were also excellent. read more

I was hesitant at first, because I'd never been before, but I'm glad I decided to check them out. I think I just found my new favorite place for authentic Mexican food. I had the carnitas-they were great! Homemade flour tortillas, I ate till I couldn't eat anymore and still had a to go box full enough for a whole other meal. I also tried the pastor taco-that was also on point! I got a tres leches flan to go-omg! It's everything! Also the service was really good as well!!! read more

So initially we were in search of a taco salad but since I saw this place (on yelp on my iphone ) had great reviews we just had to try it.. Food was .. exceptional.. service was a little slow but id definitely go back! I had the chicken fajita burrito.. just so good its a must try! My husband had the Lengua taco (beef tongue ) I tried it not bad very soft and extremely beefy in flavor.. personally normally I'm not as an adventurous eater as he is usually. read more