La Fuente Meridianville — Restaurant in Alabama

1 star was too high for this visit. First of all my family and I have been driving from "out of town" to visit this restaurant since it opened. Each visit has gotten steadily worse and tonight was the last time. We will not be back. It was so nice the first few visits.The decor is beautiful and everyone would be smiling and having a good time, the food was excellent and the service was impeccable. What happened? Besides the unappetizing bloody MMA on the TV screens which I could have overlooked at first it took a while to be seated. We felt ignored because numerous employees walked past us looked and just kept walking. How awkward is that? Finally we were seated our drink orders were taken and I was specific about lemon for our tea. The waitress brought our drinks and no lemon. I asked for lemon again and it took 10 minutes to get it to the table. It took another 10 minutes to get napkins.We placed our order and it only took about 15 minutes for our food to arrive but it was the sides (beans rice etc) and 1 entree that arrived. 10 minutes later the other entrees arrived (the sides for the fajitas were getting cold by then) and my entree came as steak and not chicken like I had ordered. Soooooo the waitress left and reordered the entree. 15 minutes later my food came and the pineapple and cheese had been scraped off the old food and topped the new food. I also had asked for extra pineapple and green pepper which never made it to the table but by then my wife and daughter were almost through eating and I was starving so I ate. The food was very greasy like old food so I suspect what I was eating was not fresh.I couldn't eat the guacamole because it was brown! (See pic attached)Each time we asked our server for something it took forever to get it to the table. I ran out of drink out of ice and out of chips and salsa. A horrible horrible experience to say the least. At checkout I finally realized what happened to this place. The Alabama State Health Dept score was an 87!!!! Terrible score for what was once a fabulous place to eat. So I asked the cashier what happened to this place and without hesitation she said "the owners never come around now since they opened a new restaurant in Fayetteville Tn." So theres the answer and it shows. Negative - 3 stars for this experience. I hope that I dont get...

Really enjoyed dinner at La Fuente tonight. The wait staff was effective and efficient and all were displaying appropriate "safe" behavior. We were seated quickly (and spacing was observed at all tables and booths). Our Margaritas came quickly and were prepared exactly as ordered and were refreshing and tasty. The complimentary chips and salsa were typical, the salsa was so-so but the chis were very tasty, not greasy BUT weren't warm when brought to the table. My friend ordered Pollo Feliz and I had the Chili Colorado (the 'standard' by which I judge Mexican restaurants). Both of our entrees were served quickly and were hot and fresh. The Pollo Feliz was good, with seasoned chicken over rice with a thick white cheese sauce. My Chili Colorado (pictured) was excellent with a generous amount of heat and lots of tender beef. Food prices were in line with other Mexican restaurants in our area but the Margaritas were just a tad higher that the average-but they were larger than some places serve. One unique thing that La Fuente does is place a 'pager' on the table to summon a server if needed (which is helpful because the dining room is large and the kitchen/server area can be a little far away for a simple hand signal-BUT our server was always checking on us and quick to meet any needs from refills to bringing the check. I recommend La Fuente for couples, small groups and families (a few good items on the kid's menu is a nice touch). I'll be back to try the Huevos Rancheros or Huevos con Chorizo! And I'll try to save room...

Very nice layout, however that is the only positive comment I have. I will not return.

After being seated our waiter took our orders. My wife wanted extra shrimp, and I did not want guacamole or lettuce. The waiter even repeated our requests. After a lengthy wait our food was delivered and incorrect. Normally we would just have mentioned this to our waiter, but for the entire meal he never showed up (the restaurant was not at all busy).

After waiting and waiting, we had no choice but to approach the cashier without a check. The cashier station did not have anyone attending it, and after 3-4 minutes we received what I can only call "drive-by service." As we waited an employee walking past us asked if we were paying in cash or credit. I replied credit. He did this as he walked by, never actually slowing down. Regardless he had a cashier come to assist.

I told the cashier we never saw our waiter after the initial order and had no receipt. She tracked our receipt down and when she asked about our experience, I told her we were not pleased and would not return. She was cordial throughout the transaction even asking us to ensure our bill was correct, which is was not as it had the extra cost of the shrimp. At this point however I just wanted to leave the establishment with the knowledge that at least I know where not to go in the future.

I believe this location is owned by the same person as the one in Fayetteville. That location is superb and does not compare at all to...