COA Mexican Eatery & Tequileria Bellingham — Restaurant in Bellingham

We were excited to finally get to try this place as it was always super busy and we had heard good things. It was extremely disappointing. I don’t drink, maybe they have fantastic drinks and that is the draw? If so that is lost on me. The food was not good, at all. I can’t believe I paid so much to end up feeding most of it to my dogs and chickens. I had carne asada and the meat was extremely chewy and completely void of flavor. The tortillas were also chewy and not fresh. There was one tiny sliver of onion, one tiny sliver of red pepper, 3 big chunks of flavorless mushrooms, and some overcooked zucchini?? The salsas and green sauce were bland, bland, bland I couldn’t bring myself to eat more than a couple of bites and I’m the kind of girl that can eat bowl after bowl of spicy fresh salsa. The guacamole had zero flavor, which was so sad because it looked good. I didn’t eat even half of my food because it was not worth putting in my mouth. The presentation was nice and the food looked appetizing but flavor wise on a 1-10 scale it was a 2 at best. I will not be returning. Bellingham is known for loving its bland food, so maybe they are pandering to the locals?? I grew up in Texas, for a Mexican restaurant to earn high reviews from me they need to have fresh homemade tortillas, powerful flavors and spicey HEAT, lots of it. Jalapeño and Poblano peppers are must in Mexican food and are not optional, both were completely omitted in a dish where they are traditionally featured. Mushrooms and zucchini watered down and dulled the dish, please don’t add them to Mexican food it ruins it. Red and yellow peppers look pretty in photos but add nothing but crunch to a dish and if they are overcooked (which mine were) they only serve to water it down. If they really want to be an upscale Mexican food restaurant they need to ditch the colorful bell peppers and use Hatch Chiles. Maybe they have great drinks, I wouldn’t know. If you like bland tasteless food that looks pretty for photos, than this may be great...

The atmosphere was wonderful in this place was loaded with people. I was really enjoying myself. I should have yes paid closer attention to the menu.But unfortunately I did not. As a business owner they should have done much better. I Took three bites of only my carna asada. And my mouth started tingling right away. I started coughing! I asked the waitress.Excuse me is there any mango on my plate. She said yes and then went and got a plate. She put everything but the mango salsa on the plate and said here you go. Did you eat any of the salsa?She said I said no I did not. She expected me to eat the food. After all, I had eaten was 3 bites of the Carna asada.The mango salsa had obviously leaked on to the rest of the food. I left the restaurant coughing to my car to get my epipene and I was throwing up. My friend who was inside taking care of the bill said. Do I really have to pay for her food? And the lady said yes, she didn't tell us she was allergic to mango. All I can do is give you ten percent off. I literally took three bites! With such a very busy restaurant, you would have thought they would have been concerned seeing me throwing up outside and not breathing properly.They weren't concerned at all. So just be very careful if you go here because they're not going to be concerned for you only their own pocket book. It was dinner plate for 1 person in a very packed place she didn't even come outside to see if I was okay. Not kind not that they will miss our business.They seem very popular, but we will never be going back nor anyone in our family or our friends. Other than that my friend's food was very delicious and the atmosphere was...

We have been here a few times. They do a nice job of upscale Mexican food. They have a decent draft beer selection, and great (but small and expensive) cocktail selection. There is usually a wait and service has been on the slower side all three visits. That said, two of the three times have lead to surprises when the bill arrived.

The wording on their menu is poor when it comes to upcharges, and the servers never volunteer that you will be charged more. The most recent was ordering the Burtito Loco which offers "a choice of meat" in the description. Nowhere in that description does it indicate selecting carne asada would lead to an upcharge of $6, nor did the server mention it. The other time I ordered the Tres Enchiladas with the same "choice of meat" language and was charged $6 extra for chicken. Really?

It is the lack of clarity on the menu that is my big complaint. If you have (what are not small) upcharges for basic protein adders, list it CLEARLY in the description of each item. Unless of course your idea was to offer what appear like reasonable prices only to run up the bill behind the scenes. Your food is good, but not $27 burrito good.

Jalapeno's around the corner, while less fancy, is far more honest in their...