Loteria — Restaurant in Asbury Park

Functionality: Amazing spot. We're a situation different than most; being a family of six with a 4, 2, and twin 1 year-olds not all restaurants can accommodate. They have an extremely convenient ramp in the restaurant to get to the slightly lower level. Perfect for wheel chairs or, in our case, a stroller. With booths on the upper level and a mix of booths and tables on the lower level; it was very accommodating to be able to situate the stroller next to the table.

Atmosphere: Very clean. Very, very clean. The restaurant has almost a modern "garage" theme. As if you were eating at a lucrative restaurant that no one was supposed to know about. Reclaimed wood style garage doors decorate the back wall while the perfectly placed tequila bar with modern metal overhang sits in the back corner. Steel plates and appetizers in mason jars complete the look. Our kids did nothing but look around the first 10 minutes we were there.

Food: 11/10 Way above expectations. Appetizers include a variety of items you'd expect, but the quality was amazing. The nachos were complete with, what tasted like, homemade sauces. A word I'll keep going back to is 'clean', as in there was zero taste of additives or preservatives. There's NO WAY anything on those nachos was store bought. Authentic ... that's the best way to describe them ... authentic. I cannot recall the name of the appetizer on the menu, but it was street corn. Little bit of mayo ... spices. It was incredible. We had them do one without the spices and our one year old sons devoured it.

For dinner the kids split a cheese quesadilla with chicken on the side. My wife and I both ordered the Carne asada burritos. Filling, well- seasoned, not over- done. Again .. clean. Great tasting meal.

Staff couldn't have been more friendly. Overall a great experience. We'll...

Worts place ever I can’t give (0) start otherwise I would, I went to this place because I heard it was good, I guess it depends on everyone’s taste but if you are thinking to eat truly Mexican food or at the very least ok food let me tell you!!!!! Don’t even think about it you better of head to Taco Bell is way better and way cheaper. Let me start by saying that the service was great my waiter was very nice and polite I had no problem with that , also the restaurant has a nice look nice decor not your regular small Mexican restaurants, it looks modern, the only problem the most important one the food!!! OMG just by looking at the menu you can see there is not much of a variety that you can pick from, is mostly comfort food the menu is basically single tacos, burritos or quesadillas and nachos . It was three of us we end up ordering two orders of steak quesadillas and two tacos (1) el jefe and (1) la sirenita, Two sangrias and a Ginger soda , the food suck big time and , let’s start with the tacos. One of the tacos had chorizo that looked like it was made two week ago that’s how dry and hard it was, the size of each taco was like a kids size, the steak quesadilla had a weird smell like men’s sweat also very small size, not even the ginger soda was good it taste like pure water no joke pure water, the sangrias were also bad. By the Time we got the check I wanted to smack someone in the head the total was around $70 plus tip I don’t mine paying that price for good food but what I got there was beyond disappointing what makes me real mad is that they try to make you pay for something that is not reasonable, I left feeling extremely mad and sad for the waiter that’s my honest opinion but like I said It depends on...

Unacceptable Service and awful staff and experience

We came here with a group of 12 to celebrate a birthday, and the entire experience was an utter disappointment. We were seated at 7:30 PM, and it took over 35 minutes to get a cold queso appetizer. After asking for a replacement, the second queso came out warm, not hot. We placed our dinner orders and didn’t receive our food until 9:15 PM—nearly two hours later. Every single meal was cold. Our waitress was inattentive and left dirty plates on the table throughout the meal. The manager even had to bring food to our table, indicating the staff was overwhelmed or unprepared for the crowd. When we finally asked to speak with the manager about the situation, she refused to offer any kind of discount and said she would bring out the owner. The owner was aggressive, condescending, and completely unprofessional. Instead of addressing the issues with empathy, he dismissed our concerns, saying, “It’s a Saturday night in Asbury, what do you expect?” and insisted we pay the full bill of over $540. When I refused, he told me to “pay and leave,” and even bobbed his head at me in a mocking, disrespectful way. The police were eventually called—by the restaurant—and even the responding officer expressed that he wouldn’t want to wait two hours for a cold meal. He also asked if I wanted to press harassment charges, which speaks volumes. This was the most unprofessional, chaotic, and disrespectful dining experience I’ve ever had. I will be reporting this establishment to the Better Business Bureau and the local health department. Do yourself a favor and...