La Playa Mexican Restaurant & Cantina — Restaurant in Corpus Christi

really unpleasant experience at my first and last time here. a couple of single chalupas a la carte are a whopping near $15 to which i was unallowed to cancel my order and they offered a $5 discount instead which is fine. i just didn’t feel justified paying that much for what’s usually maybe like $7 elsewhere. i just wanted to stop for a quick inexpensive dinner to-go. when i ordered my food prior, i asked the server for chalupas with only beans, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and onions. the server said “that’s how it comes but without the onions, so add onions, got it.” she was really sweet and i hated having to trouble her about the pricing afterwards. nonetheless, i get the food, go home, ready to dig in, and open my box to see there is guacamole on my chalupas. i really don’t like avocado. i call the store, and ask to speak to the owner again, who i had just spoken to at the restaurant about their pricing. i’m put on hold, then the call hangs up. i call back, a man picks up, i reiterate that i was the one who was put on hold waiting for the owner, then they say “yes how can i help?” i explain that my order was made incorrectly, and he says their chalupas have always come with guac. i explain that the server told me otherwise which i’m sure was just a miscommunication, and that either way i told her what i “only” wanted on my chalupas was x y z. and that i would really like the rest of my money back at this point. the person on the phone who i’m assuming is to be the owner i requested to speak to, says to come back tomorrow with my receipt and my debit card so he can void the transaction for me. i said i can take pictures of my food if he needs it since it will be the next day by then and the food needs to be thrown out, and he said “i don’t need that, all i need is you to come in person with your receipt and debit card and i’ll take care of it”. great! so the next day, i come with my receipt and my debit card as requested, and the owner is looking at me like i’m crazy. saying he never spoke to me on the phone and that he can’t refund me without the product. ??? basically everything that the owner starts telling me is opposite of what i was told on the phone. i don’t even know why i would be speaking to anyone else on the phone if i requested the owner. the owner says “i already gave you a discount”. yeah, when what i REALLY wanted was to cancel my order. and even if i hadn’t gotten a discount, i still would have went home with an incorrectly made order and want a refund anyway. the person on the phone who may or may not have been the owner, i don’t know anymore, was EXTREMELY clear as to what i needed to do and how he would help me. and if that wasn’t the owner on the phone and was just an employee — if i was the owner and my employee promised a customer assistance, and had them come ALL THE WAY back to the store for said assistance, i would follow through on what that employee promised and correct the employee afterwards if needed. telling a customer to drive down for a refund and then when they arrive, refusing the refund and turning them away? i don’t know what kind of game they’re playing, but it’s not fun. i have a medical condition that makes it extremely hard to leave my house and causes high heart rate and dizziness with pretty much any task, so i really don’t appreciate this happening here. i was turned away and told to dispute with my bank knowing fully well he’s able to void the transaction (minus the discount) from their system in store. just pettiness and ridiculousness all around from the owner. i can’t believe an owner would allow a customer to be put on a goose chase and not follow through on what one of their employees promised — if it was even an employee and the owner wasn’t just playing dumb. i’m EXTREMELY disappointed with my experience here and will not be returning here again. overpriced and will not make things right when they mess up. on top of that, they’ll ask you to use your time, energy, and gas to come in for compensation, just to...

I recently called this restaurant while visiting my son in college, hoping to find a nice place for our family to dine together. Before making a reservation, I needed to confirm what type of cooking oil they use, as one of our sons has a severe nut allergy.

Unfortunately, the experience was very disappointing. The woman who initially answered the phone reacted as though my question was unusual, and I could hear her speaking to others in the background as if the inquiry were a joke. This was concerning, as food allergies are a serious, potentially life-threatening matter, not something to be taken lightly.

Another staff member then came on the line, and after I repeated my question, she simply replied that she did not know what oil was used. If your cooks and staff aren’t even aware of what type of oil you cook with, that raises serious concerns about food safety and training. It’s troubling that a restaurant would not have such critical allergen information readily available, especially given how important this is for guest safety.

Based on this interaction, I would not feel comfortable visiting this establishment. If you or someone in your family has food allergies, I would strongly recommend exercising caution before...

If you want good Mexican food, go somewhere else!!! I use to love La Playa, but havent been in a couple of years. The tortilla soup that came with the fried avocado was terrible. I use to love their tortilla soup but they changed it. The green sauce was terrible. The waiter was impatient. The soda dispenser was broken and they brought me club soda instead of Sprite, and then gave me the option for a can of Sprite, after trying to pass off the club soda. My friend and I opted for water instead. The refried beans seemed like they were from a can. La Playa use to have good beans. The table we sat at had very hard plastic peeling up, and I scraped my arm...I should have let them know, but we were more pissed after the terrible food that we had to walk to the bar to get our check. No one ever brought it to us. And then after we paid, we realized they charged us for tea when we had water. When we pointed it out, they couldn't void the transaction but rather just gave us cash back...not sure what the problem was with their credit card machine. IDK if they've changed management or ownership or something, but it's not what it use to be....There's plenty of other very good Mexican Restaurants...