La Chica Mexican Grill Bangsar — Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur

This is a fun place that captures a stylized vision of an open-air Mexican beach restaurant and transports it to the tropics. Cash, credit card and probably e-wallet payments accepted. Open air with some fans and AC to help keep things cool.

Service here is key. I was seated immediately and told my "welcome drinks" would be forthcoming. This amounted to a shot glass of frozen mango margarita, a delightfully refreshing start to the experience (and a savvy marketing move as well!).

I admit I was put off a bit the menu sporting items such as burgers and pasta and pizzas in addition to Mexican food. This isn't an uncommon thing in KL, though, so I persevered. I ordered a Paloma (my go-to cocktail gauge for Mexican restaurants), their chips and salsa (which, typical for this part of the world is an appetizer option rather than a free amenity) and a beef jalapeno popper taco and a spicy lamb & habanero taco.

Despite having several tequila options ranging from Jose Cuervo Gold to Codigo and Patron, the house tequila is Jose and when I inquired about paying to switch to a better (ahem, real) tequila the server was confused and I relented. The Paloma arrived first and was awful. I mean, terrible. Part of it was a hefty dose of Jose, which you have to work to cover over. But I think the main issue was the use of unsweetened grapefruit juice and/or no grapefruit soda (Fresca, Squirt, etc.) in the drink. The result was flat, bitter and slightly sour. No sweetness at all.

My server was a champion who noticed I wasn't drinking the cocktail and offered repeatedly to try and make it better. I politely declined at first but relented before I left. The bartender sweetened it with perhaps simple syrup, and the flavor profile was much better. But it was still flat and completely without bubbles or life. Props to my server for wanting to make it better, but for whatever reason, (bad recipe? new bartender?) it didn't happen. Don't let this throw you. The frozen mango margarita shot I had when I arrived was delicious so there are good drink options!

Tacos arrived next (strangely enough). Both were tasty. You order them individually for under $4-5 a piece. They're good sized so take that into account when ordering. Soft flour tortillas (no option for corn that I noticed), with a light toasting around the edges from I presume a brief visit to the oven. However despite that, the first thing I noticed about each taco was that it was room temperature. Meat, shredded cabbage, diced tomatoes and onions - all the same temperature. I would have appreciated the meat being considerably hotter.

Each taco has a lot going on. Tortilla, a thin layer of melted shredded cheese, some shredded cabbage, the meat, then diced onions/tomatoes and some fresh cilantro as a garnish, plus a lime wedge (thank you!) to brighten it up. Flavors were good. These were the only two spicy taco options they listed. The lamb, which I assumed would be spicier because of habaneros instead of jalapenos was actually milder. Flavors were good though, and every now and then I'd think I was catching an extra burst of habanero heat. The beef jalapeno popper taco was the spicier of the two, but I'm not sure why they named it that. No obvious cream cheese or other traditional jalapeno popper filling. It was good, I just didn't understand the popper reference.

Chips and salsa arrived last. They boast a house made salsa but it's really closer to an enchilada sauce with a pronounced sweetness. They had large cans of enchilada sauce displayed as decor - I don't know if that forms the base of their salsa or not. Chips were very light, warmed in the oven, not greasy, and could have benefitted from a little more salt.

Service was great. Atmosphere was fun and upbeat. I'd like to come back and give the food (and cocktails)...

Booked another resto on Sunday for 2pm through what’s Mr. Pi Mi, who made the booking for us and informed us of the new olive tree groups resto la chica at bangsar with a video…my kids wanted to try as the deco was so lovely and food looked amazing. Never regretted going there…firstly we got to reserve a table for 4 outside and was able to bring our small pup:). We were immediately attended to, drinks (I had the shaken margarita taster grape, strawberry, kiwi and pineapple…very very nice drinks, kids had frozen pineapple margarita mocktail! Loved it!! Even loved the authentic Spanish glasses served in! I ordered stuffed sardines yum! Then we also ordered chicken burger, quesadillas, pasta and gambas all yum!! Presentation perfect! Decor is amazing, clean, staff friendly, attentive and informative of menu with great suggestions, asking to change dirty plates without me even asking:), food absolutely delicious. Must go try! We will def be back as regulars…thank...

This place is usually full house, good to make a booking to ensure a seat. Both indoors & outdoors seating is available.

We were served with a mini welcome slush - tropical flavour. This was refreshing, it had a little vodka.

They have a few vegetarian tapas. The Championes Al Ajillo (Mushrooms) was highly recommended. It was well flavoured & had a good amount of EVOO to moist the bread.

For the tacos, there's an option for hard shell or soft tortilla, opted for the latter. The Barenjena Y Championones were well filled & tasted good.

The Basil Mango Shaken Margarita had both flavours. The classic shaken Lime Margarita was my preference. The same is also available as frozen. The Gin Lime with Tonic & Sour Plum was well done. Tonic is added to your preference.

The Manager, Digvijay, was helpful in suggesting dishes & friendly. So were the other staff, they were alert & and cleared away once the dish was completed.

Will certainly revisit to try the...