If you want amazing margaritas and tacos come here but don’t expect to be filled up. The portions are very small for the price. 14$ for two little (but delicious tacos). Perfect for those small eaters. We have tried every taco and every margarita here and never been disappointed.
High prices for small portions of well presented, but cold, poor quality food. Wait staff, who outnumbered guests, very disengaged and inattentive.My wife and I were quite excited to find out there was a place to get tacos and not have to drive to Toronto or Hamilton. Unfortunately, we were quite disappointed with the service and food we received at La Reina a few weeks ago.The reason why I'd avoid coming back is that all of these concerns below can be easily addressed if I had been able to speak to the staff to let them know that this was happening and fix the dishes. I am not one to return dishes to the kitchen unless absolutely necessary, and I was hoping that someone would come and ask us how our meal was going. I am really not picky and not hard to please, and understand that there are staffing issues, new kitchen rotations, and bad days. Unfortunately, between the two hostesses at front of house, the three waitstaff there was a 15-20 minute gap between receiving the food and me giving up, walking to the hostess and paying the bill so we can leave. One was still being trained by another in the back which was understandable, but the other one on her phone beside the bar and serving intermittently for the entirety of our visit was less so. I understand and believe in breaks and busy nights, but that kind of behaviour when a customer is trying to flag down a server while there are only 3-4 small tables combined patio + inside with 4 or 5 staff members around is ridiculous.The guacamole was served with cold chicharones/pork rinds and cold, oily chips. I believe that the oil is a good sign that these chips were once freshly made in house, but they were stone cold and a little bit soggy. Guacamole was ok (more on the acidic and mushy/homogenous side if you enjoy that), with a sprinkling of Tajin on top.The tacos we ordered, the brisket and al pastor specifically, were terrible. They were small, cold tortilla with no second tortilla underneath, and the meat was overcooked to oblivion. The presentation was very good, but upon taking the first bite, the taco was cold and the meat was dry. I understand the process of a proper roast and carve taco can be a bit dry at times, but this was a completely different level of negligence, thinly veiled by sauce and toppings. Not crispy, but dry and stringy.The shrimp taco was the only one that was edible, but be warned that it is on the heavier side with rich sauces and cheese.Having paid much more and much less for tacos, I can certainly attest to the Brisket and Al Pastor I ate being the worst value in all of my travels. Better than a Taco Bell Taco, but even at taco tuesday prices, I would not say it was worth it. I really hope that this restaurant can take this feedback and improve! I would love to see this restaurant become a decent establishment, worthy of the Toronto pricing they feature on the menus.
This place deserves a much higher rating than it has! I would say the pollo loco burrito is the best burrito I've ever had and I've been too many spots across North America known for burritos. Their spicy shrimp tacos are the best tacos I've ever had in my life. Perfect bites and tons of flavour coming from every angle. The burnt habanero salsa is unreal and the little death hot sauce is a perfect accommodation for a spicy taco! Their tequila and mezcal lists are well rounded! The servers are hospitable and full of fun conversation! I definitely recommend coming here if you actually know what Mexican food should be like! I would say best restaurant in Guelph bar none! Outstanding work La Reina, keep it up! Picture is the brisket tacos and they mean business!
The pastor and the guac were ok, but it's definitely not authentic Mexican food. I had a chuckle when the staff corrected my prononciation (I'm Mexican). It's a bit overpriced for what it is, the portions are generally small. The decor of the restaurant is interesting. Overall, it's ok.
Good food but GET READY to wait! Waited for an hour to get food. I understand restaurants can get busy, but this one wasn't and even then you should be able to serve the food sooner.It was nice sitting on the patio outside. Great vibe, just get on with the food!!!
My family and I frequently visit la Reina, probably about once a month. Unfortunately tho, our most recent visit might be our last. The main reason for this decision was the pathetic lack of service. We were seated on the patio without any wait time, as the restaurant was at about half capacity (both inside and on the patio) from what we could see. We were blatantly ignored by multiple employees for over 20 minutes, including one that was most likely a manager based on how she was dressed. We weren't given water, didn't have a food/drink order taken, and didn't have a single employee even took the time to let us know they will be over shortly. Instead we had two servers and a manager walk directly by us, clearly avoiding eye contact. Needless to say we stood up and walked out. My girlfriend and I were already hungry when we got there and had no desire to deal with servers that clearly don't care about us. If the goal was to lose our business this evening, as well as moving forward, then I would call it a success. The only positive point to this restaurant is their food, but the lack of customer service is causing me to struggle with the idea of going back again. Do better.
An amazing restaurants. Very cozy environment, nice Mexican decor.Service is great. Food is so delicious.You can turn any tacos in to burritos.The goat cheese chocolate cheese cake is beyond delicious and is a must try.
Visited for Mothers Day as most places were booked up. Surprisingly got a reservation at the last minute for 6pm. Arrived at 6 and would say the place was 60-70% full. Service was a little slow as it appeared that they were training new staff as the wait staff was paired up. This was fine but we then got different pairs of wait staff showing up at our table with very long time periods between. Ordered our food … Guacamole appetizer came first and was good, just too little guac for the chips & pork rinds included. I ordered the fish tacos (around $14 if I remember correctly) and got two mini (literally 2bites) soft tacos. There was no sides of salsa, sour cream or anything else included. Same was true with my daughter and wife who also order tacos. My other daughter ordered Nachos and, again, no salsa or other sides served with it. They were pretty dry. I’d heard good things about this place but we were all dissatisfied and disappointed with our meals. Will not return.
The portions are very tiny. When our meal was brought to us we thought we had made a mistake and ordered appetizers instead of entree. Very expensive for the serving size. The food was cold. The server was friendly. Took forever to get the check. This is the second time trying this restaurant and probably the last!
Amazing food service. Great drinks! Amazing food, great food portion!