La Popular Austin — Restaurant in Austin

We were so excited to be a part of the grand opening of this second U. S. location today ! We've been eagerly anticipating opening day for this genuine Mexico City restaurant since 2019 and let me just say it was well worth the wait! From the front of the house to the back of the house...A+! Upon arrival, our party of four was immediately greeted and seated in a large comfy booth, enough to fit six, and the service never faltered once all night.The ambiance was laid back, open concept, and upscale. Our primary server, Alisha, was outstanding and well supported by a large cast of other servers that rotated in and out all evening filling water, delivering food, and clearing plates. Not to mention, the four table visits from all the managers on duty that night to ensure everything was going well was a nice reassurance that this well-oiled machine was humming beautifully. Since the four of us were we were able to sneak in just before happy was over (Happy Hour between 3pm uy 6pm Mon-Fri) we ordered a couple of drinks; a well balanced House Margarita and Red wine...along with a non-alcoholic Aguas Frescas for our 11 year old daughter! From the kitchen we enjoyed two starters: Guacamole and Bean Dip! Both delicious and hearty portions! We were also treated to a "flight" of their four in-house made salsas. We all had our favorite, but the Salsa Torreado was the winner for us! (You can take a jar home with you for only $8) After the starters we dove in, head first, to the Tacos! We ordered the Rib Eye tacos, freshly sliced off a spit, and the Campechano; a combo of Ribeye, Chorizo, and Chicharron. Amazing! My daughter had a quesadilla and rice, but couldn't finish it due to how large it was! Lol! Then, finally, to top it all off we indulged in all three of their dessert offerings: hot, freshly made Churros, Tres Leches cake, and a Pineapple Sorbet. All exquisite! However, the Tres Leches cake blew me away and has now raised the bar for me and my love of this traditional Mexican delicacy! Overall...outstanding and would highly recommend for a date night out or even a random happy hour during the week with the family. Attention to details in the high touch ratio of customer service and and outstanding food quality has moved this hot spot into our #1 spot for dining out in Southwest Austin! Bravo y muchos gracias! We'll see you again...

La Popular? More like La Letdown.

I visited La Popular with my girlfriend a few weeks ago, and I’ve never felt so ripped off in a restaurant. Let me walk you through the $99 robbery dressed up as “elevated Mexican cuisine.”

We were greeted and seated quickly—cool. But that’s where the professionalism ended and the confusion began. The place wasn’t busy, it was staffed well, yet somehow everything took forever. Our server was nice, but that’s about the only good thing I can say.

The guac? A mushy mess. The texture screamed “filler”—like someone took a half avocado, whipped it with mayo, and hoped no one noticed. There was nothing “elevated” about it.

The agua fresca flight? Took a magical disappearing act. Ordered it at the beginning of the meal… it showed up at the END, when we were asking for the check. Server apologized and said the manager brought it to the wrong table. Guess that’s what qualifies as management there—delivering the wrong drinks and vanishing when it matters.

Now for the punch in the gut: I ordered the carne asada. What arrived was a sad, chewy strip of skirt steak that was clearly cut with the grain (which is WILD at a place charging $40 for a 6oz piece of meat). No marinade, no seasoning, no citrus, no spice. Just gray meat and a side of rice and beans so bland they could’ve come from a microwave tray. This wasn’t carne asada—it was dog food with a garnish.

My girlfriend’s shrimp tacos? Overcooked and forgettable. I expected flavor, heat, texture—hell, just basic execution. Instead, we got dorm room quality food on designer plates.

And that long-lost agua fresca flight? More like overpriced Mio water with a glam filter. Looked cute, tasted like nothing.

Final verdict:

Waitress tried. Not her fault

Management? Useless.

Food? Abysmal.

Value? I would’ve had a better time at a gas station taco truck.

Gents, don’t take your date here. Take her to a real taco stand, Chuy’s, a frutería—literally anywhere else. This place is all style, zero substance. Don't let the fake aesthetic fool you—this is the kind of spot that charges fine dining prices for cafeteria-level food.

Save your money. You've been...

I have been to La Popular 5-6 times now. Absolutely love the salsa offering and I feel like it gets better each time.

When I have made a reservation I never had an issue. I usually just walk in and grab a seat at the bar, but keep in mind, people in the SW area have been waiting for places like this to open. So it will get crowded, there is a large hotel in the same shopping center so La Popular can be popping at any random moment depending on what's going on. If it's a Friday/Saturday prepare to wait. Happy hour? Yeah it's gonna be a bit busy.

The sense of entitlement is high, and not to brigade against customers, when the price is high you may get some entitled personalities, it comes with the dollars. With that being said, grow some patience and understanding (customers), hate to see a legitimate great restaurant get railed for wait times or reservations.

Back to the good stuff. Great tequila selection and really good tacos. I have the food a 4 because I've had some hit and miss items, if a taco is going to cost 16 dollars it better be a top 3 taco and unfortunately, it's not. Not saying the taco is bad, but we're talking about value here. A 16 dollar good ribeye taco doesn't beat a 4 dollar great azada taco. I would love to see more value from La Popular, an elevated mini taco plate or something would really fill that void.

The staff and bar are fantastic. I usually get my tequila on the rock or neat depending on how I feel that day, but their mixed drinks are super damn good. The Perla's has become my go to before I switch to straight and it's always good and strong.

Mistakes happen y'all, don't treat staff like they are beneath you and it goes way smoother for everyone. I haven't experienced any communication issues but hopefully they have worked those out. Enjoy y'all!

Update: Had to change the food score. Ceviche and Salsa are fantastic. Everything else...