Chicken fajitas were good...but need to remember to ask for no
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
goddessofdarkness804
My husband and I came to North Carolina from Pennsylvania for a friend's wedding. Our hotel was near and my husband decided to surprise me with lunch. I had no idea where we were going, we just knew we were starving. To my absolute delight he brings me here to La Cocina!!! This establishment has such a cozy, relaxed atmosphere and I loved that they were playing good old fashioned Spanish music that I was super familiar with and was able to sing along with and dance in my seat to, as I enjoyed my meal. There was a very small "lunch crowd" I guess you could call it but, not rowdy or anything of the sort thankfully. Now to the SERVICE! Our server was Alex (Alejandro actually but I guess he uses Alex for the job). This gentleman is an absolute GEM!!! From the moment he introduced himself and took our drink orders, his demeanor was wonderful. He gave awesome, detailed recommendations about the variety of sangria's and drinks that they served. I went with his recommendations! lol When he brought us our drinks, he asked if we were ready to order and I proceeded to ask him about the menu since it was my first time ever visiting. He was so detailed and took his time explaining as well as recommending a variety of items to try. My husband ordered the Tender Ribeye and I ordered the Shrimp Fajitas. They served you tortilla chips and homemade salsa as you wait for your food. Without a doubt, their house salsa is one of, if not THE best salsa both my husband and I have ever had! We told Alex how much we enjoyed it and I didn't realize it at the time but, he took note of it! (keep this in mind for later). Now, my mother back in Pa has been looking for a place that makes authentic tamales and unfortunately, we can't find anywhere back home in PA. As luck would have it, what happened to be on the menu???? You guessed it...TAMALES! lol So I told Alex about my mom's predicament with her sooooo desired tamales and told him that I would like to try one to see if I liked it, so as to bring some back to my mom. He jotted down an order for 1 along with the rest of our food and went away to the kitchen. When he comes back, this wonderful gentleman came back with not 1 but 2 tamales, each made differently, so that I may try them and decide which one to take back home. He was super attentive, truly cared about whether or not we were enjoying the food and that we had everything that we needed as well as talking with us as if we were old friends catching up after a long time. All that along with never missing a beat with his other tables! Needless to say my husband and I enjoyed our experience here in every aspect. I ended up ordering a dozen tamales to take back home lol. I thanked Alex for absolutely everything and especially for making my first ever Mexican restaurant experience in North Carolina such a wonderful one. OH, and we also took a huge container of that delicious salsa of theirs back home too! LOL! If you want a great dining experience that will make your taste buds dance, and an even more awesome dining experience because of such amazing quality servers, then definitely come here to La Cocina! My husband and I cannot wait to come back on vacation next year and eat here again!
This is the first time at the restaurant. Enchilada, taco and chile releno were very salty and greasy.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Chips and Salsa
Jamarcus Carter
I don't understand how this place has such highly rated reviews. Cool environment, but ordered 5 different types of items. Each one bland and horrible in its own way. I've never been so disappointed ordering from a restaurant that has such great reviews.
A solid Mexican restaurant with quick service and comfortable booths.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
George Imes
Service was fast.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Tacos, Chips and Salsa
Nisha K
Chips were stale but the Strawberry margaritas ? were amazing!!! Get the
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Jayme Dubernas
Good food, clean restaurant and friendly staff!Features: Some mask being worn by the staff.Vegetarian options: They are a commendating to your needs when possible.Parking: Restaurant sits by itself large parking area.Kid-friendliness: See a lot of families in there.Wheelchair accessibility: All on first floor.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Fajitas, Cheese Dip, Chips and Salsa
Dine in: Yes
Outdoor seating: Yes
Takeout: Yes
Delivery: No
Curbside pickup: No
Nevin Williams
Our server was awesome. What I disliked:Food came out in about 4 minutes. Obviously pre-made and served. My meal was room temp. Wife's fajitas were sizzling hot.House salsa was not flavorful or authentic. Bland. Server brought me the real stuff and that was good and spicy.Seasonings were okay. The restaurant appeared clean.I can't give 3 or more stars when food isn't fresh. I've had worse but this to me was not impressive. The menus have a page that defines what a tortilla is, a taco, an enchilada etc. I think this restaurant caters to people who don't eat Mexican food.I wouldn't say it was a bad experience because the service was fantastic but the food in my opinion was very disappointing. Presentation wasn't all that great either. My chimichanga was drowning in sour cream, guacamole and lettuce.
I'm in Chapel Hill to meet with a an oncology ENT surgeon on 1/23/24. So I had dinner on 1/22/24-steak fajitas with beans and rice and drove back to my hotel. At 3AM I woke up feeling nauseated, went to the bathroom and my body immediately began throwing up, along with a strong bout of diarrhea. Fortunately I keep Pepto Bismol tabs with me, but even those I could not hold down. Because the moron cooks served me contaminated food (or spoiled?) I nearly missed the first meeting with the surgeon at UNC. A meeting that was scheduled THREE months in advance. I DID make the meeting with the surgeon out of pure will power, then returned to the hotel and slept all day in a weekend state. I say avoid this chain.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 5
Nate Lambert
We picked up take out here last night and I was highly disappointed. The chips were stale and my steak tacos were dry with no flavor or anything to them. The meat was overcooked so it was like rubber. My family also dined with us, and everyone who tried the food had the same expression with lack of taste and just not good. Disappointing as they use to be good.
Food: 2
Service: 3
Patricia Hamilton
Food is good.Service is good.Place is
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Doug Lewis
Consistently perfect food and service in either of their locations that I visit !!! ?
Food was good, good neighborhood Tex Mex.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Chips and Salsa, Cheese Dip
Chicken fajitas were good...but need to remember to ask for no
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
My husband and I came to North Carolina from Pennsylvania for a friend's wedding. Our hotel was near and my husband decided to surprise me with lunch. I had no idea where we were going, we just knew we were starving. To my absolute delight he brings me here to La Cocina!!! This establishment has such a cozy, relaxed atmosphere and I loved that they were playing good old fashioned Spanish music that I was super familiar with and was able to sing along with and dance in my seat to, as I enjoyed my meal. There was a very small "lunch crowd" I guess you could call it but, not rowdy or anything of the sort thankfully. Now to the SERVICE! Our server was Alex (Alejandro actually but I guess he uses Alex for the job). This gentleman is an absolute GEM!!! From the moment he introduced himself and took our drink orders, his demeanor was wonderful. He gave awesome, detailed recommendations about the variety of sangria's and drinks that they served. I went with his recommendations! lol When he brought us our drinks, he asked if we were ready to order and I proceeded to ask him about the menu since it was my first time ever visiting. He was so detailed and took his time explaining as well as recommending a variety of items to try. My husband ordered the Tender Ribeye and I ordered the Shrimp Fajitas. They served you tortilla chips and homemade salsa as you wait for your food. Without a doubt, their house salsa is one of, if not THE best salsa both my husband and I have ever had! We told Alex how much we enjoyed it and I didn't realize it at the time but, he took note of it! (keep this in mind for later). Now, my mother back in Pa has been looking for a place that makes authentic tamales and unfortunately, we can't find anywhere back home in PA. As luck would have it, what happened to be on the menu???? You guessed it...TAMALES! lol So I told Alex about my mom's predicament with her sooooo desired tamales and told him that I would like to try one to see if I liked it, so as to bring some back to my mom. He jotted down an order for 1 along with the rest of our food and went away to the kitchen. When he comes back, this wonderful gentleman came back with not 1 but 2 tamales, each made differently, so that I may try them and decide which one to take back home. He was super attentive, truly cared about whether or not we were enjoying the food and that we had everything that we needed as well as talking with us as if we were old friends catching up after a long time. All that along with never missing a beat with his other tables! Needless to say my husband and I enjoyed our experience here in every aspect. I ended up ordering a dozen tamales to take back home lol. I thanked Alex for absolutely everything and especially for making my first ever Mexican restaurant experience in North Carolina such a wonderful one. OH, and we also took a huge container of that delicious salsa of theirs back home too! LOL! If you want a great dining experience that will make your taste buds dance, and an even more awesome dining experience because of such amazing quality servers, then definitely come here to La Cocina! My husband and I cannot wait to come back on vacation next year and eat here again!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Steak Ranchero, Lunch Texas Fajitas, Shrimp Fajitas, Guacamole, Tortillas, Enchiladas, Chips and Salsa
This is the first time at the restaurant. Enchilada, taco and chile releno were very salty and greasy.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Chips and Salsa
I don't understand how this place has such highly rated reviews. Cool environment, but ordered 5 different types of items. Each one bland and horrible in its own way. I've never been so disappointed ordering from a restaurant that has such great reviews.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Tacos, Tortillas, Enchiladas, Nachos, Cheese Dip
A solid Mexican restaurant with quick service and comfortable booths.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Service was fast.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Tacos, Chips and Salsa
Chips were stale but the Strawberry margaritas ? were amazing!!! Get the
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Good food, clean restaurant and friendly staff!Features: Some mask being worn by the staff.Vegetarian options: They are a commendating to your needs when possible.Parking: Restaurant sits by itself large parking area.Kid-friendliness: See a lot of families in there.Wheelchair accessibility: All on first floor.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Fajitas, Cheese Dip, Chips and Salsa Dine in: Yes Outdoor seating: Yes Takeout: Yes Delivery: No Curbside pickup: No
Our server was awesome. What I disliked:Food came out in about 4 minutes. Obviously pre-made and served. My meal was room temp. Wife's fajitas were sizzling hot.House salsa was not flavorful or authentic. Bland. Server brought me the real stuff and that was good and spicy.Seasonings were okay. The restaurant appeared clean.I can't give 3 or more stars when food isn't fresh. I've had worse but this to me was not impressive. The menus have a page that defines what a tortilla is, a taco, an enchilada etc. I think this restaurant caters to people who don't eat Mexican food.I wouldn't say it was a bad experience because the service was fantastic but the food in my opinion was very disappointing. Presentation wasn't all that great either. My chimichanga was drowning in sour cream, guacamole and lettuce.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Mediocre food at best. Wait person pleasant.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 4
I'm in Chapel Hill to meet with a an oncology ENT surgeon on 1/23/24. So I had dinner on 1/22/24-steak fajitas with beans and rice and drove back to my hotel. At 3AM I woke up feeling nauseated, went to the bathroom and my body immediately began throwing up, along with a strong bout of diarrhea. Fortunately I keep Pepto Bismol tabs with me, but even those I could not hold down. Because the moron cooks served me contaminated food (or spoiled?) I nearly missed the first meeting with the surgeon at UNC. A meeting that was scheduled THREE months in advance. I DID make the meeting with the surgeon out of pure will power, then returned to the hotel and slept all day in a weekend state. I say avoid this chain.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 5
We picked up take out here last night and I was highly disappointed. The chips were stale and my steak tacos were dry with no flavor or anything to them. The meat was overcooked so it was like rubber. My family also dined with us, and everyone who tried the food had the same expression with lack of taste and just not good. Disappointing as they use to be good.
Food: 2
Service: 3
Food is good.Service is good.Place is
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Consistently perfect food and service in either of their locations that I visit !!! ?
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5