La Bamba Mexican Grill Big Bear — Restaurant in Big Bear Lake

I was so disappointed for stopping here. It was such an unpleasant experience. The waitress rudely "greeted" my family and I. After several minutes, she came to take our order and when we each ordered, she made us go back into the menu and tell her which specific number the menu item was. The food took a while to come out and when it finally did, my order was incorrect. I let her know that it was not what I had ordered and she asked, "well, did you tell me the correct number?" She proceeded to walk away and return with the menu & piece of paper she wrote our order on. Before saying anything, she appeared to notice that I did indeed gave her the correct number and she just brought me the wrong order. It took a long while for my plate to be ready. When she finally brought it out, all of my family was already done eating. Throughout the time, we only received one soda refill & we asked for more chips. There is a sign by the salsa that states "if you need more than 5 salsa containers, you should consider buying a larger container for either $5 or $10. Rude, in my opinion. We eventually received the check for our orders and noticed that this lady added close to $10 gratuity to it, without even telling us. She also charged us $2.50 for one small bowl of "extra" tortilla chips, which by the way we could not get more salsa if we didn't want to pay an extra $5-10. We inquired about the additional $10 gratuity and she stated that for 5 people or more, this is an automatic fee (we were 4 adults & 1 child). We told her that she did not even get my order correct and she was still trying to charge gratuity - forcefully. She told us that this had nothing to do with it - REALLY!? Before we left, she rudely asked us never to return. Honestly, it's not like we want to come back here. I rather eat Cup O' Noodles before ever returning to this place. Rude & Gross. DO NOT RECOMMEND to anyone - Please enjoy a meal some place else...

I had the unpleasant experience of stopping by this sad hole in the wall restaurant as me and my companions passed through Big Bear. The waiter gave a glum downright bored greeting as we walked through the door and pointed to the direction of our seats. The atmosphere was tense and uncomfortable as we sat in pure silence waiting for our menus. After returning with our drinks the waiter took our orders and left. 10-15 minutes later the food arrived, but one of my friends orders never came out. We thought it was a fluke at first and began eating. The food itself was not something to write home about. (I ordered a shredded beef burrito) The rice tasted days old and some of the beans had an undesirable crunch to them. Definitely had the taste of old reheated microwaved food. The meat was dry, clumped together and unflavorful. After another inattentive 10 minutes out the waiter comes back to see how everything was, and we confronted her about not taking the complete order. She then blamed my friend for not being loud enough. The waiter leaves with a the newly acquired order and after dropping off the rest of the our food she asks us if we needed anything else. She then leans in and directly asked my friend if she needed anything else in an unnecessarily confrontational and rude tone. We dropped off the bill. Left no tip. And got out of this sad excuse of a restaurant. -1000/10 Stars (Negative a thousand out...

First I would like to say, if you're looking for that tiny litlle hole in the wall place, that the locals favor....THIS IS IT!! it's a family run restaurant. Where the owner Elaina and her sons work hard preparing delicious dishes FRESHLY made. Her homemade salsas are tantalizing to the palate. I LOVE the orange one (not sure what it's called).They were so good I told her she should bottle them. Her responce was, " if I did that they wouldn't be the same because I'd have to add preservitives which would ruin them". I couldn't have been more pleased with her answer. Her dishes are AUTHENTIC to her herritage so if ur expecting Americanized Mexican food you will be disappointed. You also need to remember "GOOD FOOD TAKES TIME" with good reason. If you want fast Mexican food you should go to Taco Bell. My suggestion is Relax and Enjoy your beverages and homemade chips and salsa while you wait for your meal. They offer GREAT Beers and Sangria Margaritas too. They also offer daily specials. This little gem is one of Big Bears BEST KEPT SECRETS!!!! SHHHH....It's out now....So go ENjOY the BEST LITTLE...