La Popular Claremont — Restaurant in Claremont

*Updated April 2024. Fabulous interior with a great bar arrangement with sports tv's and underlights that illuminate the bottles of liquor. Very cool.

I was able to find parking on the street with ease, and my dinner guest was able to park in the lot. The restaurant has a small lot to the north of the restaurant, which is a big plus, as parking is contentious in downtown Claremont at times.

I did not have a reservation, but we were quickly sat in their very dark seating area. But, not too dark. After our eyes adjusted it was okay.

The server quickly introduced herself and took our drink order. Happy Hour ends at 6pm, so we were able to order our margaritas at $8 each instead of the $13.50 list price.

So let's talk about this... the drinks were watered down and tasted like Margarita Mix only. I quickly drank two and did not feel the affects from the supposed Tequila in them. I am so glad I did not pay full price for these Margarita Mix drinks. Very didappointing.

Chips and a small dab of salsa were brought to the table. The salsa was bland and had no flavor. We asked the server if there was another salsa that had more kick? She brought a darker one that disappointing. It was only after we left I realized one could order the salsa trio, which is a sampling of three different versions of salsa.

We asked our server for a recommendation on the menu. She quickly suggested the Chicken Enchiladas or one of their Taco Plates. For a soup, she recommended the tortilla.

We both ordered the chicken Enchiladas, which came with a Verde sauce and cilantro on top. ($22) A very nice presentation. However, the food was luke warm. I must note here that I found a hard plastic piece in my shredded chicken. I searched through the rest of the enchilada but it was over for me at that point. I feel plastic stuck in my throat.

The meal of two Enchilada plates and four drinks, 3 Margaritas and one Paloma, was a $89 plus tip.

La Popular has a nice atmosphere, and maybe over time will get better. But, I would not waste my here with bland food and very poor cocktails. Or order a drink with the shot on the side.

*My update as I visited a second time. This time for lunch. We ate on the outdoor patio (April 2024) on a nice warm day. Emily was our server, who quickly greeted us and took our drink order. She checked on us several times and was quick to bring a to-go box for my leftovers, and to bring our check.

I had the AL Pastor Enchiladas: Cotija Cheese, Lorenzo Salsa, Guacamole, Sour Cream, Steak Salad, Pineapple, Cilantro and Onions. My friend had the Steak Salad (a new addition to the menu), which included: Heirloom Tomatoes, Onions, Cotija Cheese, Cilantro Dressing, and Tortilla Chips.

Today was a much...

I used to like La Popular. I’ve been here before, brings clients for business meetings, and always recommend this place. So when it came time to celebrate a coworker’s birthday, I thought, hey, let’s bring the whole team here for a fun lunch!
Big mistake. Huge.

We were a party of 13—which apparently translated to “we don’t care” for the staff. It took 15 minutes just to take our order, and then a soul-crushing 50 more minutes for the food to arrive. Want to know what really sets the mood for a birthday celebration? Watching your coworkers’ stomachs eat themselves while awkwardly pretending this is still “fun.”

Oh, and when the food finally made its grand entrance—it came out like a slow-motion parade, one sad plate at a time. Because nothing says “group lunch” like taking turns eating while everyone else just sits there like it's a spectator sport. But wait—it gets colder. Literally.

Everyone’s food was ICE. COLD. Cold tortillas. Cold meat. Cold rice. Cold everything. We weren’t at a restaurant—we were at a buffet line at the North Pole.

Naturally, we brought this up to the manager, who responded with the energy of someone who just wants you to stop talking. She said, “Let me check with the kitchen.” Great. But when she came back and I asked again about the food being cold, she hits me with this gem: “I’m sorry, that’s just unfortunate. I watched the kitchen plate your food, so it’s just unfortunate.”

Oh. Okay. So because she saw it come off the line, clearly we’re the delusional ones for noticing it was served at arctic temperatures. Love that for us. And let’s not forget: this same manager was walking around the restaurant for a solid 10+ minutes while we waited for the rest of the food to come out. So yeah, she “watched it get plated”... and then watched it sit there. Getting cold. Like our will to ever come back.

Her big solution? One free dessert and a scoop of chips and guac. For 13 people. After a $250+ bill—plus a mandatory 20% gratuity for service that we’re still trying to find.

To be honest, we weren’t even mad about the long wait. We know large groups can be a lot. But what really ruined this lunch was the manager’s dismissive, passive-aggressive attitude. The cold food was bad. The way she handled it? Worse.

La Popular? Try La Disappointment.
Won’t be back. Won’t be recommending. And if you're planning a...

Really disappointing. We’ve been waiting for this restaurant to open for months and were excited about it as it’s sister restaurant, Eureka, is a solid place to go to in Claremont. My wife and I went out just to sample it. Have a drink an and an app just go get the flavor. On opening night, I’d expect them to put their best foot forward. Not what we saw. The good: Queso fundido was pretty good. Served in a cast iron skillet the chorizo was fresh and tasty. The tortillas were fresh and obviously made on site. The mediocre: drinks were okay, not bad but not great. Chips and salsa were okay. Chips a little cold and stale, salsa was good, but I couldn’t tell if I liked it or it was just okay. It had a burnt habanero flavor to it that I liked in one bite, but not the next. The bad: service was meh at best. Not good on opening night. I get it, you’re a new restaurant and you’re training a lot of new folks, but teach them to interact with customers. Guy in the white sweater who is obviously the manager…it’s your first official night open. Instead of spending time with the couple at the corner of the bar that are obviously family or friends, walk around the restaurant and interact with your customers. We were there about an hour and other than the two people you were hanging out with at the bar you only spoke with staff. How about stopping by tables and thanking folks for coming in? Just didn’t feel welcomed or valued as a customer. If this is what it’s like on night one, I’m not sure it’s going to be better on night 101. Chicharrones, we saw on line they were on the menu and were looking forward to them. They are the small ones. Like what you get in Mexico, not the big pork rind style. Way, way oversalted and too much lime on them as well. Made them uneatable. I gave a three star rating because I’m hopeful they’ll work out the kinks. We decided to give it a couple of months to let them get their bearings. We’ll try back the and see if there’s any improvement. Too many good restaurants in the Claremont area for the service and experience to be so weak right off the top. Also, too many Mexican restaurants in the Claremont, Pomona, Upland area to not get flavors right. We would love to see this place succeed but things need to...