La Cocina Restaurant

3901 N Williams Ave, Portland - 97227
340 reviews
Mexican
(503) 278-5414

I’m from Vermont. Not a lot of good Mexican food there!! I traveled to Portland, Oregon to visit family hoping to find a fix for my craving. I walked into this establishment excited and spoke to Evan the bartender. He was rude, impatient, and full of sharp comments. He should not be working there. They could do way better. The food was great but I won’t go back.

Very interesting experience. The decor was beautiful but that was as good as the experience gets. It was oue first meal of the day and the food was flavorless, my chicken mole tasted like it was boiled in only water that's it. The only thing that saved our meals was the red salsa. My partner ordered the Alambre the flavor was better than the chicken but the amount of bell peppers were excessive, not to mention slimy. Although minor, I was super excited to try the rice shaped as a pyramid but everything was put into a to go box even though we were dining in. I don't think there's enough rice or tortillas to make it towards the end of the meal. I had to ration it out to make it halfway thru the meal.The layout of the restaurant is something else. So you walk in through the entrance, order, then walk out and go all the way around the corner to get back to the same dinning area. Felt unnecessary and a waste of time. They blocked off the entrance into the dinning area from the area where you order, so you physically have to leave the restaurant to eat. I can see this being fine in the summer but its pouring rain.The customer service was non-existent. The minute we walked in no one welcomed us even though there was only 1 other table there. I felt rushed. We should have left then but gave it the benefit of the doubt. The entire experience was just off and the food was not authentic whatsoever.

This place had the best atmosphere! Their food is fresh and beautiful and properly priced. The drinks are a little expensive but they're so tasty. And once again the whole vibe of this place it is just perfect.There are creative dishes here and some traditional dishes and art

The experience was very disappointing. It looks like a festive restaurant, but it’s basically a food cart with overpriced mediocre food. You order through a separate door and the only menu is posted outside or via a QR code. The food was edible but the chicken dry and overcooked. There was no table service, and most disappointing of all, the food was served in plastic to-go containers with chips presented in a brown paper bag. The only redeeming quality was a good margarita.

Bizarre setup as noted in another recent review - no menu available in the tiny entry area, which has no access to dining area without walking outside. Food is served in take out containers for dine in service. Had to go to the bar for another tiny glass of water. Food was…fine I guess? Expensive given above. Basically food cart level service.

Food was okay and the space is very nice, but the customer experience is terrible. When ordering you have to go in one door where they don't provide a copy of the menu - when we asked, they told us to go outside to look at the menu that's taped to the door (great when it's raining and dark). They can't even hand you a menu to look at? Then after ordering you need to leave the restaurant and go around to another back entrance to enter the dining room. The dine in food is served in to go containers, nachos served is a paper bag, they have no beer on tap, my can of beer was served unopened and w/out a glass. Not what you'd expect when spending $50+ for a dine in meal in a restaurant.

This is our new favorite date night place. You do take out for everything but you have the option of dining in and having your take out order brought to you at your table. And you can get drinks while you wait. Music is good. Service is friendly. Seemed like she forgot about us after all the food was brought (we ran out of napkins) and needed more water. We had to tip in advance which we hated. We absolutely love their torta so order early before they run out! Still overall definitely our fave for a casual night out.

Used to be good but has really gone downhill. Felt sick after eating the tamales. Their to-go portions are really small. Also they don't care about how they pack it everything kind of just gets slopped together.

Delicious food, customer service was exelente very attentive and friendly, got to meet the owner and was really nice and friendly. Totally recommend it they have the best mole.

Their food was pretty good! Customer serve could have been a lil better. Who knows maybe she was having a bad day or week. But overall it was a nice place and food.