La Tolteca — Restaurant in Bel Air

La Tolteca in Bel Air, MD was a favorite of ours from the time they opened until last night. We live right in the neighborhood and have patronized this establishment on average 2-3 times per month since it's inception. My wife is a strict vegetarian, and has always ordered dishes from their VEGETARIAN MENU. Twice in the last 2 months, there have been noticeable pieces of meat in her food. Last night, there was a piece of chicken in her Spinach Quesadilla, from the VEGETARIAN menu. When this happened the other month, she simply pointed it out to the waiter, got a new meal, and chalked it up to a one-time thing. When this happened last night, she pointed it out to the waiter, got a new dish, and it came back with onion (she ordered it without, but no big deal, at least there was no meat this time). We ate, figuring we will speak with the manager or owner and they will resolve the issue. We went to the counter, let the owner know what had happened - twice now in 2 months. We did not get an apology, we got an explanation that the "...meat must have slid over from the other side of the grill..." he offered, that if we asked, her food could be cooked separately from now on. The owner went on to explain that there is not enough room or time for "restaurants" (speaking for all establishments) to cook vegetarian meals separate from meat! Really? Are you joking? He was not joking - no money off, no coupon, no apology, just an offer to do something "special" and make her food in a separate pan, if we ask, the next time, as if this would be troublesome, but we could accommodate your special need. He admitted that their vegetarian food was cooked on the same surface as meat dishes. Guess what? There will be NO "next time" as you have betrayed loyal customers, a family that has been there from the beginning, we have brought in out-of-towners and even defended you when the news reported unsanitary conditions. I don't know what you think "VEGETARIAN" means, but I am going to let everyone we know about your lack of concern for it. Mistakes happen, especially in the restaurant business, I understand that, but I am of the school of thought that says that you must fix them, and fix them right away - La Tolteca in Bel Air, MD did not, they have...

I wish I could give more stars! My husband and I moved here to be closer to family a couple of years ago and I am the only one in our family that enjoys Mexican Food. Finally got my husband to take me here for an early Valentine's Day meal and I was NOT disappointed. This place is fantastic. It is small but so worth it. We got there at a time when not many people were there and there was only one person doing hostess, server, runner, etc. and he did everything with such professionalism and style. I got cheese enchiladas with rice and beans with a guacamole appetizer, also tried the milk queso dip. Oh man, I love the dip and the freshly made guacamole was the BEST. I am a tough customer when it comes to dining out, I want to be waited on hand and foot (don't we all?), fresh made food that is served hot and cooked correctly and I don't like to have an empty glass. As busy as he was, he never missed a beat. Our food was HOT, cooked to perfection, we never ran out of chips/salsa, and our drinks were never less than 1/2 full. Some places SAY they have good Mexican food, this place actually delivers on this and it is worth every penny. On that note, the prices are great as well. I have nothing negative to say except I can't eat there every day or I would destroy my waistline. Highly recommend you try this out. The atmosphere is...

The worst! Not just the worst Mexican food I have had in Baltimore but possibly on of the worst dining experiences ever. Granted they recently opened but beyond the serious kitchen issues the staff was at best disinterested. I walked in and weighted because the hostess was on the phone and the other hostess couldn't be bothered while she spoke to a bus boy. We waited 35 minutes for our food which after such a lengthy delayed came wrong. No offer to give us extra chips or anything as we sat twiddling our thumbs. I ordered the Street Taco Platter and asked for a combination of the tacos but was told no substitutions we allowed. I asked for a minute to pick something else and our waiter acted very put out. Having a lactose intolerance I explained this and requested no cheese, etc. on my food. I ordered the grilled shrimp with spanish rice and guacamole. What came over a half hour later was covered in sour cream. I explained I can't eat that but was told they could only remake it if they charged me for another full meal. I said no cheese and dairy but I didn't say no sour cream - Seriously?! Believe it or not that wasn't the worst - some of the shrimp were RAW - that is dangerous and...