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    La Tonalteca

    3.6 (66 reviews)
    ModerateMexican
    Closed 12:00 pm - 9:00 PM
    Updated 2 months ago

    La Tonalteca Photos

    Business Info

    LA TONALTECA ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - La Tonalteca

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    Chile Relleno
    Stephanie P.

    This place is a little dark inside with bright vibrant furniture. We came at an off time just to grab a quick bite in our journey. The tortilla soup was flavorful with a bit of a spicy kick to it. The chile relleno was very cheesy with very similar cheeses both inside the chile and out which did not give it much body or flavor. The cheese cake was rich and creamy. The flan had a nice texture to it with a hare too much cinnamon involved in the syrup. Worth a try if trying to go local.

    Crunchy and warm nachos
    Bobbi S.

    Don't judge this strip mall restaurant by its nothing-special, unassuming exterior (see my pictures) because the riotously colorful, attention-to-detail interior is beautiful. The chairs and tables are all made in Jalisco; carvings of traditional scenes of Mexico and painted in a rainbow of colors and animal, jungle, religious, farming designs and more, even down to the tabletops and legs. I couldn't stop gazing at them all. Even the bathroom has ceramic sunflower-painted Talavera sinks. Mexican "muzak" entertains you while you enjoy crunchy, warm and not-too-salty nacho chips dunked into a thick salsa with just the right amount of heat, The large (too large?) menu has affordable prices (eg, filling lunch specials are $7.49), and good sized portions. So many Mexican restaurants serve dishes where everything tastes the same but here, the rice is well seasoned, each item has its own distinct flavor, the mole has a good punch of spice, there are lots and lots of pieces of chicken in your meal, and, lest I forget, the service is friendly, quick and COVID protocol is being followed by our server wearing a mask and standing a comfortable distance away from us.

    Side of burritos! Looks good, but taste doesn't match its looks:(
    Victor H.

    Big Time Disappointment! The mark to me of a good restaurant is not necessarily its size, but the quality of its food and the generosity and helpfulness of its staff. Along that line, some of the finest dining experiences I've had throughout my life have been in small and big dining places along with some divey joints scattered throughout the world. Regrettably, La Tonalteca is not among these gems. Our waitress Blanca seemed to have a bad attitude at first and I couldn't get over it. Had I been by myself, I would have walked out and give it a shot another day. We came on Monday evening, April 30, 2018. Unfortunately, it wasn't one of those situations that I needed to talk to management about or leave feedback on a card (none was provided) nor did I have time to do that. I was with a group of friends who like this place. She wasn't very helpful at all. I said this was my first time here and I didn't know the rules or better the menu. That response was met with stone silence or crickets. My friends asked about "Happy Hour" and she did respond that that is on Tuesday only, so that was helpful. Star for that one!. Did she offer to explain the menu or what's on special to us or ask what we were interested in? No, she offered no help in that regard. Instead she just asked, " Are you ready to order, yet?" We responded no, and she came back in about 5 minutes with still lack of interest in helping us. I guess it boils down to this there was no welcoming attitude towards us by the waitress, Blanca. Her attitude felt like hurry up and order so I can move on to whatever else I need to do, but help this group. I would be remiss to not say, her attitude seemed to change when she served our food, but from my perspective the damage had been done and I thought I would just tip her 10% instead of my normal 20%. (Maybe she had a bad day or is a new staff member, but really, you had to be there to get a sense of how miserable I felt and since I am not a vindictive person, I still felt I needed to air this out on social media. I hope things improve for her) I will list the best attractions about this first. * I was blown away about the set up of this place. Stunning and beautiful décor, this made it look promising to me. Everything was so clean and neat in appearance. Pricing seems reasonable and portion sizes seem big enough. Place became really busy when we left. * Parking is available in this strip mall area. * Our food arrived in less time than what we expected as when we came in the place it wasn't too busy and it seemed appropriately staffed for the evening. * The tables were clean and they had an assortment of hot sauces at your table. My side order of burritos looked promising, but tasted like a paper machè thing filled with cheese. Red sauce was ok, but needed some added heat/spice for my taste. Why did I order this? Well, let me explain, I thought since the waitress made no mention of what is their special or make any recommendations whatsoever, I decided to order a side to sample their food. Here is the description of what I ordered. SIDE ORDERS Oder of burritos (two beef) $8.29 Nowhere does it say it is filled with ground beef. I am thinking it would be some sort of beef slices or chunks, but no it was some cheap ground beef that tasted like paper machè. I guess I should have asked what's in it. Visiting the La Tonalteca was certainly an experience to remember, but one that I never hope to repeat and would not wish upon anyone else. If the beautiful decor and the intriguing inside color tempt you, you would be better off bringing a camera to the restaurant than your appetite. I'm skipping this place in the future as I know my friends like it, but first impressions mean a lot to me. Adiós

    Main entrance
    Iris F.

    Stopped at La Tonalteca on our way back home from Ocean City. It's convenient because it's right on the highway. Love the ambiance it feels very Mexican with all the decor. The nachos they serve before the food are good! Ordered some Shrimp with garlic and were delicious! The service was great. Food came quick and our server was very attentive to our needs. What I didn't like was their fried ice cream. The tortilla shell tasted old and you can tell they were corn flake bits in it, maybe honey drizzle, or sugar cinnamon powder will make it better. Will definitely stop by again and try other desserts!

    Birthday hat

    Had a great time! Came for my friends birthday and they sang and gave her a hat. Even got to keep the hat. Been here many times before and the food and service have always been good. Never a bad time. Always enjoyable.

    the receipt for the restaurant

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    3 years ago

    Fresh food consistent quality friendly service. My go to when itt comes to Mexican food.

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    Latino Market & Taqueria El Parientito - Three sopes with meat. Almost no flavor, mostly lettuce and sour cream. Not worth $14.

    Latino Market & Taqueria El Parientito

    4.0(5 reviews)
    0.9 mi

    Love this restaurant! Every time we eat here we're are impressed with the quality of the food…read more Delicious and excellently priced

    The sopes were "meh" at best. For $14, I ordered three sopes with meat. I wanted tongue, but I was…read moretold chicken, pork and beef were the only options. The chicken was finely shredded, the pork was in small pieces, and the beef looked like chopped slices. I ordered them to go and they came in a box with a small container of the hot sauce. None of the meat had any flavor. I was expecting the pork and beef to have been marinated - they both were incredibly bland. The chicken had some type of very mild seasoning. None of them were savory or spicy. The sopes were barely warm and soggy. I tried to eat them in the parking lot but the sopes just flopped as I picked them up. There wasn't a lot of meat. The meal was mostly cheaply shredded lettuce and sour cream. There wasn't enough hot sauce to make it even a little bit spicy. Each sope had one small thin slice of avocado. I would never order them again for that price. Even if they were only three bucks each, not worth it. When she handed me the bag and it felt really really light for three sopes, I knew I was doomed. The store has some great items - lots of great snacks and drinks. Plus pantry staples, household items, and some soccer things. Maybe I caught them on an off night, but this was a total disappointment.

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    Chipotle Mexican Grill

    Chipotle Mexican Grill

    1.1(7 reviews)
    1.3 mi

    I tried a burrito and salad last night! Both had a lot of free fillers but not much meat at all! In…read moreorder er to get more chicken for both I would have to pay extra added to the $19.60 I already paid! I was not satisfied at all! Doubt I will ever be back again! My advice.....if you expect to win over anyone older than teenage, put some meat in your food, which is what most people expect!

    Yesterday, we placed an online order around 9pm. Upon returning home, we found pico, corn salsa,…read moresour cream, and guacamole (which we were charged for) missing. We drove back and spoke with an employee, that told us they had run out of the items and there was nothing that could be done. I fully understand that the restaurant may get busy, and they could have run out of multiple ingredients, but a courtesy call or notification informing us that the 3 bowls, 1 burrito, and quesadilla would be missing several ingredients would have been greatly appreciated. Maybe we could have requested alternatives like veggies. When we asked to speak with a manager, the employee shouted for Allen, but a young-looking kid came to the window and identified himself as the night manager, named Soto. The kid looked about 16/17 years old, but I wasn't going to ask for ID. After speaking with Soto the way he presented himself made it clear to me that he didn't hold a manager title. He was unable to offer any immediate resolution and told us to return the following day. Suspicious of the boy at the window, I requested to speak with Allen, but was informed that he was too busy to come to the window. At this point, we were left feeling as though our concerns weren't being taken seriously. This wasn't a small order--it was for five meals, $92 in total, and each meal was missing items. The lack of proper communication, as well as the absence of a concrete solution, has left us very dissatisfied with our experience. I understand that the team may be new and still getting the hang of things, but I expected better customer service or a genuine effort to resolve the issue. The following day, I returned to speak with Henry, the manager on duty, he informed me that there was no one there named Soto and that he was not, in fact, a manager. As I conversed with Henry, an employee overheard the part about "Soto" impersonating a manager and laughed while nodding his head, saying, Oh yeah, yeah, as he recalled the incident. Soto had told me to come in the following day to speak with the day manager and assured me he would pass along the information, which ultimately wasn't done. Had Allen for a moment spoke with me, he could have informed me that a refund can't be processed in person, as the order was placed online. This would have saved me the 3rd trip to Chipotle. I avoid posting, as I prefer not to make a bigger deal of things, but this situation felt particularly disrespectful. The only positive in this whole ordeal is Henry, the GM. He seemed to display some embarrassment for his staff and apologized multiple times. He also provided me with the number of whom I should contact to handle the refund.

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    Chipotle Mexican Grill
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    La Tonalteca - mexican - Updated May 2026

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