La Playa By The Bay — Restaurant in Corpus Christi

Overall, this was a pretty disappointing dining experience. We found all of the nearby restaurants had a 1-2 hr wait on Sat night. Not here, got in and was seated with a party of 6 right away. Chips and Salsa came out and I have to say the salsa was really good. The chips were a little thicker and crispier than I like but that’s my preference. We asked if they made their own Guac and it was nice and fresh and chunky and they told us yes. So we ordered some up while we would wait for food. It was a long day and we were hungry so we needed something to get us started. The Guac came out and it was the usually highly blended mush that often happens. It was a really small portion for $12 and it was pretty flavorless. It actually took till after the food was out before someone in the group of 6 actually grabbed the rest of it to mix with some other food to give it some more flavor (more on that later).

While we waited for our food I was hoping to munch on some chips but we finished the first basket really quick. I asked for more chips and the waitress took the old ones. 10 minutes later I managed to flag her down again and said we were still waiting for chips. She asked if I had asked anyone…I simply said, yes…you. She did come back with chips and salsa after that. Again, the salsa is great!

Food came out and that’s when the waitress realized we had no silverware. Eventually got that sorted and the rest of the food.

The food was bland and flavorless. I had a stuffed avocado and it was a big ball of cheese with breading on it and two slices of avocado. I would guess I had about 1/4 of an avocado in that whole thing. The beef it was stuffed with was completely bland. No spices, no marinading, not even any salt and pepper. It was just charred meat. Same meat was in the taco and it was again like eating boiled beef or something. Added some salt and pepper and some diced jalapeños and then it was edible because I was hungry.

The rice tasted like it was just rice with some boiled beef broth added to it. The refried beans were so nasty I could only get one bite in.

However, the enchilada soup or whatever that soup was that came with it was really tasty! This is why they got 2 stars, at least the soup and the salsa were good.

Everyone else had similar things to say about their food. Bland and flavorless. My wife had a Pollo Asado and the chicken was maybe 1/8” thick. It had been pounded flat so when cooked it was tough. And the mixed veggie medley was obviously some frozen prepackaged because the carrots were still frozen in the middle.

The person with the fish tacos ate a couple bites of the fish and then ate everything BUT the fish because the fish tasted weird.

Oh but the margaritas were good. Ordered them with half salt to get salt on only one half of the rim. Instead got one salted and one unsalted. But still tasty.

And in have to drop the atmosphere down by a little because, though maybe it’s authentic, the bathrooms were in horrible shape. The women’s room had 3 stalls that were falling apart and 2 of them were out of order. So the third was seeing some pretty heavy (ab)use. Two of the ladies tried to hold it after going in but couldn’t manage the whole time and had to use it.

We did also have a 20% gratuity added on. I did not push back on this because it’s not the waitresses fault that things were bad. But if we have a large party and slow service, at least help the poor server bring chips or water or the second tray of food or maybe silverware. Same girl had at least 3 (if not 5) large parties the whole time we were there. She could not keep up and no one was helping.

We visit here often and this is off the list of available places to eat. Shoulda waited an hour for a seat elsewhere versus spending an extra hour in the bathroom...

The Restaurant Debacle: A Catastrophic Culinary Experience They say that everyone has their own share of horrible restaurant experiences, and unfortunately, I recently had the displeasure of joining that unfortunate club. Settle down, folks, because today we're diving into a tale of epic proportions – the story of a restaurant that managed to be mind-numbingly awful from start to finish. Buckle up, because this is going to be one wild ride. The Dreadful Wait: Picture this: you walk into a seemingly deserted restaurant, expecting a quick and delightful dining experience. Oh, how wrong you are! Not only does it take us a solid 15 minutes to catch the attention of a wayward server, but even then, it seems like we are invisible. Clearly, this restaurant is practicing their own version of The Invisible Man, except this adaptation was anything but entertaining. The Torturous Delays: Once our pleas for attention are finally acknowledged, we foolishly believe our misfortunes have come to an end. Oh, how naive we were! After a grueling wait, our drinks finally grace our table after 25 mind-boggling minutes. Mind you, it's not like the bartender was off creating the most exotic concoctions known to mankind; we're talking about water, soda, and simple lemonade – drinks that require little more than a few seconds to pour. Sigh. The "Hot" Sauce and the Endless Quest for Chips: Surely, the arrival of our drinks marks the beginning of a turn for the better, right? Wrong again! Our trusty server, or should I say, the Houdini of Waitstaff, disappears into the abyss, leaving us parched, hungry, and desperate for chips and hot sauce. An additional 10 minutes pass before this basic staple of restaurant dining finally makes its grand entrance. You'd think someone had built the chips from scratch and grew the peppers themselves, the way these items were withheld from us. The Wrong Order and Icy Cuisine: Finally, the moment of truth arrives: our long-awaited food appears. However, what is placed before us is a monstrous display of culinary chaos. What we ordered bears no resemblance to what now occupies our plates. And in an ironic twist of fate, our meals are barely lukewarm – as if the restaurant is trying to recreate the Ice Age through their cooking techniques. How utterly delightful! The Great Check Chase: Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the end is near. By this point, we've entered a state of delirium, fueled by hunger, frustration, and the overwhelming desire to finally escape this nightmare. Just when we thought we were free, our server takes another 15 minutes to deliver the check. Perhaps they've mastered the art of elongating time and prolonging misery? Conclusion: In the end, our restaurant experience can be summed up quite simply: a comedy of errors. From the agonizing wait to the wrong order and chilly cuisine, every aspect of this dining adventure was an exercise in patience and a true test of our sanity. It's hard to fathom how such a poorly run establishment manages to stay afloat. But hey, at least we walked away with a story to tell – a reminder to always check restaurant reviews before making a reservation. Bon appétit, and good luck out there,...

server was Mark. He brought out a dirty glass of dr. Pepper- had lettuce around the rim of it. Very noticeable. Ordered queso and he recommended with meat because it’s free! When he set the queso on the table I really couldn’t believe my eyes. It was full of grease from the ground beef. I mixed it as good as I could into the cheese. We were hungry, after all we did drive three hours to CC for a memorial. Come time to order, I ordered the beef crispy tacos. I had my heart set on tacos! Wrong choice! The grease that was on my plate was deep enough to fry chicken! I managed to eat one of the 2! I asked Mark to take it away that it’s way to greasy for anyone to eat. He apologized and said he’s not the cook. I kindly told him, but your the server and brought it out looking like this. He was puzzled and asked if we wanted dessert. Uhhhh no! Check please! He brought it out and I reviewed the ticket. I asked him if I had to pay for something that I didn’t eat? He said I ate it. I said somewhat did, but I couldn’t eat the other taco because I was disgusted by the amount of grease. I understand there’s grease in tacos, but this was ridiculous! He wanted to argue with me and said he can’t take it off because he’s not the manager. I chuckled, he walked off with my card and he brought out the original ticket and the edited one that says to greasy. I did not put a tip because everything was just so wrong. Oh, I forgot we got served plastic ware because Mark said the lunch rush came through and used the Silverware. Our ticket states 4:15 and we were a party of 5 and there was a two top. So 6 days later I checked my bank account online and these people put a $10 tip when I clearly put a 0 with a line through it. I kept all receipts because I had a feeling something like this might happen. I’m not understanding what kind of operation they are running, but save your money and arteries. They are thieves Or hire thieves that can’t cook or serve. I’d highly recommend google remove them from the search engine. I’ll be calling them tomorrow to see why they added $10 to the tip. I didn’t put one on purpose.

edited 9/1/20 So, Mark discarded the receipt with my signature without a tip and took it upon himself so add a $10 tip and forged my signature on a different receipt. CC police department has contacted me and a defective will be getting back with me.

I’ve attached the forwarded receipt that the restaurant sent me to verify. Clearly in the picture you can see the difference...