La Bonita Restaurant — Restaurant in Ottawa

My recent visit to La Bonita left me profoundly disappointed and questioning whether I'll ever return. My first experience at this establishment was delightful, but unfortunately, the subsequent visit was nothing short of a disaster.

To begin with, it was evident that the restaurant was understaffed and lacked the presence of experienced personnel. Instead of the attentive owners, the place was overrun with inexperienced students who seemed clueless about the menu and unable to answer even the simplest of our questions. This lack of knowledge about their own offerings set a worrying tone for the rest of the evening.

As for the food, it was an unfortunate letdown. What used to be a delightful culinary experience turned into a tasteless and uninspiring affair. The dishes were bland and lacked any of the flavors that made our initial visit so enjoyable. Furthermore, some of the plates were missing items, while others arrived with incorrect items, leaving us to question the competence and attention to detail in the kitchen.

The drinks served were equally disappointing, as they seemed to be made with excessive amounts of alcohol, rendering them practically undrinkable. A restaurant that prides itself on its beverage selection should know better than to serve such poorly crafted drinks.

The service was abysmal, to say the least. Not only were the staff ill-informed, but they also demonstrated a complete lack of professionalism. Shockingly, they began cleaning up and closing the restaurant at 7:45, well before the advertised closing time of 9:00. This made us feel rushed and unwelcome, as if they were eager to push us out the door. The sight of mops, closed signs, and charity boxes being lifted only added to our discomfort.

Overall, I cannot fathom how such a drastic decline in quality and service could have occurred in such a short time. It's clear that the absence of the owners and the reliance on inexperienced staff have severely impacted the once-excellent reputation of La Bonita. Unless significant changes are made and improvements are implemented, I regretfully cannot recommend this restaurant to anyone seeking a pleasant dining experience.

I sincerely hope that this review reaches the management, as it's essential for them to understand the magnitude of the disappointment their customers are experiencing. As for me and my companions, we will be exploring other dining options until confidence in La Bonita...

We came for lunch at noon on a Wednesday. The restaurant had plenty of seating and parking.

The strip mall restaurant is not accessible to wheelchairs. As soon as you open the door, loud salsa music greets you. (Note: it is quieter in eating area near windows)

The ambience and decor are very lively and colourful.

It smells nice like the little restaurants on Cozumel.

Hostess was quick to great us.

The waitress brought water to us before taking drink order which was very appreciated. She has good recommendations. She was efficient in getting us served our food.

The drink menu is well varied and they have many kinds of beer. They also have a wide variety of non alcoholic beverages.

We ordered the burrito with beans and the taco dorados in chicken and pork with rice.

The burrito - filled with chicken. My dinnermate said it was moist and tender. The shell broke appart as he ate. The portion was generous. The beans were creamy and tasty. A little bit too salted but a generous portion. The chips were crispy and tasted of corn flour. They were good. Approximately 10 chips.

The tacos were tasty. The portion is generous. I had two pork and two chicken. The salsa Verde was delicious on top of the tacos. The pork was tender and moist. It was easy to eat. I enjoyed adding a little hot sauce they brought to the table. The chicken one was ok but a little dry. The rice was good.

The prices are on the higher side when you compare it to a fast food restaurant. It is very similar to other sit-down restaurants in the city/urban areas.

The restaurant is not accessible to mobility restricted individuals. There is a step to come in the restaurant, no large washrooms. The tables can accommodate a wheelchair however.

They have booster seats and a high chair for children. The food is not to spicy and the rice is plain enough for most children to enjoy.

The restaurant was clean although some parts like flooring and restroom could use a "rejuvenation".

The ambience was nice and my experience at lunchtime was overall pleasant. I would come again.

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This is the weirdest restaurant experience I have ever had. I ordered the 2 orders of quesadillas. When the food came out, there was 3. I asked the waitress that took my order that I ordered 2 and the dish came with 3 and asked her what they wanted to do. I did not touch the food yet and I was ok with her taking one away. When the waitress came back, she told me that I could go ahead and keep the 3rd one since it was her mistake and she would still charge me for 2. Normally, it is common courtesy for most restaurants to tell you to keep the food after it has been put on the table since it was the server’s mistake. After I started eating, another waitress came and told me that her manager told her that she could take one away from me if I wanted but I proceeded to tell her that the other waitress told me I could keep it. She never said she had to take it off the plate nor did she tell me I would have to pay for 3. I also started eating already and it would be unsanitary at that point for them to take it off the plate. She looked prepared to reach onto my plate to take the 3rd quesadilla away with her bare hands. I would also assume that they would throw it away after taking it back anyway so ultimately, they would have wasted that food. I ended up only eating 2 and was full so requested to take the last one to go. When I got the bill, I was surprised that I was still getting charged for 3… She went to ask her boss again and she fixed the bill but then told me she had to take the 3rd quesadilla back to the kitchen after I was done eating. However, the way she worded it, sounded like she had to pay the difference of what was lost when I was given an extra quesadilla. I initially understood it as the restaurant would just let me take the 3rd one at no additional charge so I started to eat the food. By the end, I was pretty shocked at how it all unfolded and believe they have a lot of improving to do in...