My girlfriend and I are always delighted, when sitting down to dine at La Tonalteca, to find a generous dish of delicious and COMPLIMENTARY chips and salsa. What a way to begin--and most restaurants don't give any complimentary intro to a visiting guest. And two of our lip-smacking dishes to order are: 1) Burrito Azteca with chicken and/or steak pieces; and 2) Quesadilla Supreme. Drink-wise, Mexican-oriented restaurants--thankfully, unlike others--tend to offer not just a margarita, but one with a frozen ground-ice mixture (sort of a sophisticated slurpy, but better), which adds to the pleasure of the drink; very delicious. But this night (Valentine's Day) they had a special guest (as they sometimes do) who was a superb violinist with a beautiful voice and a very pleasant personality. You can look her up via your computer if you want to get her itinerary to experience the pleasure of her musical company, wherever: ESMERALDA LA COR. What a mesmerizing and pleasurable dining night we had! Only at La Tonalteca! read more

Excellent service! A lady walks around the restaurant with her fresh guacamole cart, offering to prepare guacamole as you like it. Truly the best guacamole we've had! The cuisine is absolutely delicious! Every dish we've ordered has been incredible! The decor is lovely and all of the hand carved booths are from Mexico. A very lovely decorated restaurant and festive. read more

La Tonalteca - Hockessin - Ground beef Taco, pork tamale and beef enchilada, beans and rice. - Mexican Near Me - Hockessin, Delaware

Was just here last Saturday and loved it! My mom has been trying to get me to come to this place for a while because of how much she raves about the food and service. It's a pretty big menu, so they have a mix of more traditional Mexican food and lots of Tex Mex options. Also I absolutely love all of the artwork in the restaurant, very beautiful! Come check this place out if you're ever in the area! read more

La Tonalteca - Hockessin - The decor here is so cute! - Mexican Near Me - Hockessin, Delaware

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Food was great. But surprise, a Patron margarita was $18.99. More than my meal. Prices need to be included on menu. I will vote with my feet. read more

I used to love their Fajitas, but they give you a side salad with it as toppings. There is lettuce, a small deeps of sour cream, and skimpy tomatoes. I'm used to getting quarantine (which they charge extra for) fine cheese and salsa, but not here. So now after complaining and being laughed at, I'm done ordering here and will just go elsewhere! read more

for starters me and my girl came in for my birthday dinner we walk in and no one is at the bar or the host stand looks like a ghost town finally (20 min later) we get sat at a booth order our food my girl asks for only cheese and beef on my tacos and I do the same on my enchiladas however when I got my food it was only cheese this was when the waitress proceeded to leave us at our table for 20 more minutes without filling our water she finally comes back and says she's sorry and how i said cheese anyway I told her I'd eat it if it could be taken off the bill or maybe have price anyway she comes back to my table after I asked for a refund with a HALF COOKED BOWL OF BEEF FOR ME read more

La Tonalteca - Hockessin - Beef - Mexican Near Me - Hockessin, Delaware

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Stopped in for dinner and were oddly were seated in the very back of the restaurant, even though there was plenty of open seats upfront. We sat there staring at our menus for about 10-15 minutes until waitress showed up. We ordered a couple of margaritas with the salt and two appetizers: the Nachos Supreme and Shrimp Ceviche. The drinks came out in plastic cups and looked like lime juice and tasted bad. The apps came out quickly and were just okay. We had chicken on the nachos and it was just one large lump of shredded chicken on one side of the plate under the chips. The Shrimp Ceviche tasted fine. For dinner we ordered the Chicken Fajitas and Enchiladas. All three of our dinner orders came out about 5-10 min apart so we sat there waiting. The fajitas were a nice portion but loaded with mushrooms and we had no shredded cheese or sour cream. She didn't ask if we wanted it so we thought it was included. When our waitress finally returned we asked for a water and a beer. The water never showed and the beer was not what was ordered. Overall, the food was just okay and the service was not good. Not sure how this place stays in business. We won't be back. read more

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Ignore the negative reviews. None of them know what they are talking about. I have been here at least a dozen times since moving east to the area. This is the best you are going to get in Hockessin. As someone who grew up on Tex-Mex and Cali-Mex this is as authentic as you will find in the area. Staff is wonderful - facility clean - full bar - ask for Sergio! He is normally the waiter on staff when we are dining. The cost for two is under $40 for a full dinner - less if you do the lunch menu - which is not over priced for the market. It's normal to pay extra for additional sides at all restaurants. Yelp should rate reviewers like Uber does! It's disinformation and a disservice to Yelp users to be so uninformed. read more

The food is very tasty, with huge portions. The margaritas could be better (generally too sweet) but overall the experience is excellent. Excellent service! read more

Very good Mexico food, go (this is Yelp's autofilled comment, but I strongly agree with it). Freshly made guacamole is a 5star. Price is super reasonable. read more

Good food and great service. Also a good value. They're a little tucked away, so not that prominent of a location.

Food is very good, service is not. I've tried both locations here in northern Delaware and it's the same.

As always. Great place to eat try the soups is to kill / very friendly very clean and they try keep separate tables let's keep helping our loca restaurants read more

La Tonalteca - Hockessin - a darth vader sign - Mexican Near Me - Hockessin, Delaware

Server was lovely, food was super fast and pretty good! Nothing was mind blowing, but our family will go back since it's so close. First Mexican place where the chips and salsa are limited to one basket free, but we didn't mind because the food came out so fast! read more

Nickel & Dimed Me For beans I sat at the bar ordered the chicken fajitas for $19.99 and a beer on tap which turned out to be $8.99 I was asked if I wanted rice or beans with the fajitas. I requested a little of each. and was charged $3.49 extra for the beans. Well at least the chips and salsa were free. The fajitas were fine. The service was efficient, but not friendly. Usually fajitas for $20 includes the beans. It's annoying to be charged for stuff like that. This location appears to be struggling to stay in business. Only a few tables were full on a Sunday night and I was the only one sitting at the bar. Unfortunately, I can see why they are struggling. I won't be back. read more

Do not go, for your own safety. Dined in on 12/14 for dinner, and a party of 13-14 were seated next to us. (They were separated into 2 tables - one of 10, another of 3-4.) When we communicated our concerns for our own health and safety, along with those of other patrons, nothing was done. We decided to leave and dine at a neighboring restaurant. When we returned to our cars, about an hour and a half later, we were followed to our car by said party. Please, for your own sake, and the well-being of your loved ones, do not go here. read more

We usually went here out of convenience for take-out. Something was always wrong with an order. Food is just ok. But a couple weeks ago we did pick up - one of my cheese enchiladas had chicken...but a few days later on my CC statement, it was showing $15 more than I authorized. Called, the person that answered said I would have to call back and speak to the Manager Crystal. I did, two more times... Finally, a week later she calls me back. Completely disinterested and unhelpful and tells me "oh, it was a mistake, the server was busy". He was not busy. There were like four people in there when I picked up. She also said I would have to drive 50 minutes round trip with my CC for a refund, or they could mail me a check. I don't know what planet they are from, but that isn't how CC processing works. I told them I would let my CC handle it, hung up - spent 2 minutes filling out the dispute and my CC company DID HANDLE IT. REFUNDED WITHIN 16 HOURS. And guess what, now you lost a customer. Hope it and this review was worth the $15 for you. read more

Update from my 2016 review. Entry area still crowded and awkward but service is improved. Food is good but we prefer dining in as take out is a little disorganized and slow. 2016 review: After our first visit to this location we probably will not go back, at least not for dinner. The entrance is congested and tight and the waiting area is non existent so you have to stand awkwardly in the middle of a small space close to people sitting at tables trying to eat. Service was very slow. We prefer other locations to this one. The parking was also not ideal as we had to walk through very wet grass, full of puddles to get to the entrance (not many spots on that side of the road divider). All around, it was poorly designed and resulted in a frustrating and uncomfortable experience. read more

Went here for lunch with a party of 10. Made reservations ahead of time, so seating was immediate and drinks came out quick. Decor was cool and I loved the chairs! That was where the positive review ends. There were no prices for drinks and when we asked, the manager kept changing the prices. And did not honor the original price he told me when I ordered the drink. Charged me $2 more! Food was eh, I ordered the Burrito special, it was not a burrito! A soft taco maybe with very salty beef inside. Not worth the price for sure. It was hot though and came out very timely. Not surprisingly bc the restaurant was empty....go figure. And to top it off, the manager added 22% gratuity to our separate checks. Menu said 18%, but that would be a silly assumption since prices seems change on the fly at this place. Be warned! And I will never patronized this restaurant again. Ugh I hate posting bad reviews but this place deserves it read more

Absolutely the most underwhelming Mexican food I've tasted in this area. The portions were skimpy, the flavor wasn't remotely creative, and overall it made me seriously consider why I didn't buy groceries. Given all this, only pricing would have leveled things out, but at $12 for a standard entree, they sit with a price point of many other far better restaurants. read more

This place doesn't even deserve 1 star!! I was totally disappointed in my meal and with the waitstaff. Waiter was not pleasant nor attentive. I ordered nachos and it came with chips cold queso and with what I hope was scrambled hamburger. When I asked the waiter, after several times of trying to get him to come to the table, he said that's what you ordered??? UH NO!!! Also, frozen margarita was watered down. Will not EVER return back to this establishment!!! read more

We were having dinner tonight during a storm so the restaurant was not crowded. The service was good and the food was fine. After finishing dinner and a couple drinks, some more friends came in and sat down at the table next to us. We stayed and continued to talk. The bartender/server came over and told us that he really needed our table. There were at least three tables in the same area that were empty, and there was no one waiting to be seated. We said ok, and left. But that was so not OK. I have never been asked to leave a restaurant. I would have been ok with his request if there was a reservation waiting. But there wasn't anyone waiting. Bad business. I rest my case. read more

This place is the worst Mexican place ever. First off, the service is very slow. Next, the food is obviously frozen and store bought. The staff is rude and snarky. Would not recommend. read more

We've now ordered from this restaurant over 20 times (including the COVID-19 uptick in ordering out). I can say that the delivery company they use is always fast (granted, we live very close), and. The food is ALWAYS excellent and still hot when we get it. This is out go-to Mexican restaurant. If you haven't ordered from here, you need to! read more

This place has really gone down hill over the last year. Decided to give it another shot on Saturday. We ordered two fajitas dishes, both of which were served cold on a lukewarm cast iron skillet. Not exactly sizzling experience again. read more

My family eats here quite often, and I will say the food and drinks themself are delicious. I would give the food five stars, but lately they've been getting my pick up orders wrong. It's happened the past 2 or 3 times I've ordered pick up here and it's really frustrating. One consistent mess up is that I specifically ask for my side of RICE and I get beans every time. I would just recommend paying closer attention to details here and in the future, going over the order with the customer before sending it in. read more

Well... this was a mixed experience. They are new and still have some bugs to work out. On the whole, the food has good flavor (though inconsistent), and the staff is friendly. However, they still need to work out some bugs with the service. We've been there twice (family of 3) and 4 of 6 entrees were delivered not as ordered, either the completely wrong item or there was a breakdown in communication between us placing our order with the waitress and what was delivered to our table. Strangely enough, the kitchen staff delivery seemed to know the were delivering the wrong item and were just waiting for us to mention it. The food was, as everything else, a little mixed. Beef tacos are flavorless, and the chile rellenos were missing the traditional egg batter "naked rellenos" . They were flavorful (filled with cheese and potato). Drinks were, you guessed it!... mixed. Both visits, margaritas were excellent, though this last visit I opted for the Presidente. Excellent as it was, it wasn't worth any where near the $19.99 price (imagine my surprise when I received the bill, as there are no prices on the drink menu. C'mon guys, you have to fix this. You need price transparency, especially when you serve a $20 drink. You're not a high-end restaurant. My wife's first Red Sangria was very good. It looked like the one on the cover of the drink menu, with complex flavor, indicating multiple ingredients and soaked fruit. Tonight's Sangria did not resemble the first one. Cheap box wine with a lime garnish. All in all, we are not ready to write off this restaurant as it shows good potential. However, I think we will give them some time to work out the bugs before we go back. We are happy to have many Mexican food options in Hockessin (aka: Little Mexico), so we will happily return our attention to Mexican Table (more polished experience and sophisticated menu). One last thought... if you want table side guacamole as an appetizer on a busy night, do not place your entrée order until after receiving the guac. There seems to be a communication issue between the staff for this service. read more

The staff are really Good, and the food is amazin! The best mexican food in the area, in my opinion! Chimichanga lunch was really good, and was served quickly! Nice! read more

I've been here a numerous amount of times and normally the service and food is pretty average but this time I ordered soft shell tacos and there were so freaking greasy they were literally dripping in grease. In fact the whole plate had a pool of grease coated. To add on the service is okay. Sometimes your waiter/waitress is friendly and nice but other times they act like dumbasses and don't know what the hell they are doing. Hit or miss... read more

I am here right now waiting for my main dish And I can already tell you I will never come back. The caso is soup/ like water. The waitress is a complete bitch, the margaritas are all lime juice. Wow... can't wait for the main dish... and they also have a woman with a cart slanging fresh guacamole, if you deny she will give you a stare like you get when in Cancun and some local tries selling you a "homemade" blanket while lying on the beach- run run run folks. read more

I love this place. The food is always excellent, fresh and flavorful. The wait staff are friendly and accommodating. Portion sizes are generous and they have a person who will come to your table and make fresh guacamole. My only complaint is that the floor is incredibly slippery. read more

We did not have a great experience here. The primary reason was that it seemed as if the servers were spending more time at the bar talking among themselves then checking on the customers. Very disappointed. We each got a "bowl" as our meal, and it was at best ok, but certainly nothing special. A very lackluster visit. read more

I've been very happy with all the meals I've ordered at La Tonalteca! Very friendly bartenders as I mostly come solo from work and sit at the bar. They make a great skinny margarita also!! You should go! read more

There was a chicken bone in my taco...3 inches long and they did not refund my money! The food was bland, chips were old. Horrible experience read more

They are a small chain with other restaurants in the area. I don't know why they do not have happy hour specials like all the other restaurants in the area do, but they do have a Wednesday house margarita special. Thick yellow corn chips with a fairly spicy red salsa. That was ok. The house margaritas are a light green almost whitish green lime flavor. They are served in a wide, shallow glass which gives the appearance of being large, but really are fairly small, especially after it is filled with half ice. And they are very weak. I could not even taste any tequila. They were very similar tasting to the house margaritas at Border Cafe. They taste good, but for the price they should put more tequila in them. That should be a signature drink at any Mexican restaurant and when they do not even put a decent amount of tequila in the margaritas it is not worth even $4 special price. A regualr beer has more alcohol. One thing that ticks me off is going to a Mexican restaurant and getting a house margarita and having it taste like juice. After 2 margaritas usually at least a small buzz kicks in, but not with the house margaritas here. For $4 or $6 for a drink with half ice, I don't think it is asking too much to put some tequila in. I had one of the special meals which was suposed to be steak with onions and peppers covered in cheese. It came with a small side of Mexican rice and refried beans (both were very similar to any Mexican rice and beans served anywhere else), tortilas, and guacamole. The main dish was a tiny amount of vegetables and about 3 small pieces of steak. And when they say covered in cheese they were not lying. It had so much cheese it was basically a cheese dip with a few small pieces of steak and vegetable smothered in cheese. I like cheese, but it was way more cheese and way less steak and vegetables then I was expecting for a main meal, and kind of skimpy for one of their special meals. Just like Taco Bell is your Americanized fast food Mexican style food, the food here was about as average as any chain Mexican restaurant I have ever been to. I was expecting it to be better, expecially being new and having plenty of authentic Mexican restaurants to choose in the area. The decor is fancy and bright with hand painted chairs and tables, with a decent sized menu including a kids menu, but the food was just ok, even for Mexican food. I was expecting the main meals to be a bit cheaper. Almost all the main dishes were over $15 and closer to $20. My meal came out quickly and the servers and bartender were all friendly. Considering they just opened they were doing a decent job training the new employees. read more

Ordered takeout last week. My chicken in the chicken fajitas was totally dry and lacked flavor. Perhaps it was because it was cut into very small pieces or maybe it was reheated? My daughter's cheese quesadilla was ok however the French fries that came with it were very greasy. My husband was also disappointed with his meal as he also found the chicken in his burrito to be dry and similarly lacking in flavor. Our previous experience with this place was better. However based upon this time's experience. We will not be ordering from here again. read more

Was just 'ok'. Take out order was wrong. No prices on the cocktail menu. Paid $10 for a so-so margarita during happy hour. The Mexican Table a mile away is a much better place. read more

I've always been a fan of the La Toltecha/La Tonalteca chains in DE and after hearing some good things about the Hockessin Location, I wanted to check it out for myself. Went with a girlfriend around 6:30PM on a Friday night. The restaurant was full but not crazy. We didn't wait for a table. We were seated right away. We took a while to order, but ended up getting the Steak Fajitas and Carne Asada to share. The wait was normal, but when our food was actually brought to the table, our modifications we had asked (simple ones, at that), we're not acknowledged at all, nor did we have silverware or plates. So, we were basically sitting there, starving, with our food in front of us, trying to wave down our server--which I hate! The food was amazing, but based on the service, I can't see myself going back. The worse part was trying to pay. We asked the server to simply split our bill, which she seemed to be confused about. In my experience, this is a simple, and painless request! After 10-15 minutes, she finally comes back, and sure enough, not only has she has done the math completely wrong, but she used someone else's card on 1/2 of our bill. After painfully TRYING to explain to her what she did, she finally took the cards back, this time doing the correct math, but running my card AGAIN. So now, I have two holds on my card while she could have..I'm sorry, SHOULD have just ran my friends card for the portion of the card that she incorrectly charged. It was such a cluster you know what at the end of this meal, that it completely ruined the experience for us. I understand it's a new restaurant and possibly a new staff, but it's little things like that that will really leave a bad taste in people's mouths.. So much for thinking good Mexican food was coming to Hockessin. I'll go to Morlean next time I have a craving.. read more

The food was bearable but the wait staff is the worst we have seen. They just don't care. It feels like each one is competing for the worst waitress ever position. Totally disappointed and we are never coming back!! read more

Went there tonite for start of weekend and had terrible meal and experience.The waiter and all staff we came into contact with were extremely unfriendly....like we were a bother to them! The food was flavorless and tasted old..not at all fresh. we will never go back.....taco bell is better. read more