La Tonalteca - Christiana, DE — Restaurant in Delaware

I literally just walked out of this restaurant. This is my first time at this location and I thought I would give it a try this evening. I was looking forward to enjoying their chicken fajitas. The chicken was really tender and it definitely came out piping hot. They didn’t serve it with any cheese and I did double check that most restaurants do serve their fajitas with cheese. So after waiting about 20 minutes for my server to come back by my table so I can order a drink, I grabbed one of the other staffers to see if they could go ahead and grab me a small plate to assemble the fajitas and a soda that I had been waiting for after seeing the waiter walked past me six times and never deliver any of the items to me.m, along with some shredded cheese. What is worse? Is that the same server I had to grab to get me the plate and the drink that I’ve been waiting a while for even after putting my drink on the edge of the table for him to clearly see that I had no soda in the glass she came back by to ask me if I wanted another drink. I’m like ‘yes’. She grabbed one of the glasses and got me more soda. Now I’m not going to put it on her but instead of grabbing a fresh glass from the back, I ended up with that same glass, with the same melted ice cubes in it so it wasn’t a good glass of soda like the previous two at all. My original server comes back by and asks if everything was okay with the food and I asked him for a box. I sat there 10+ after getting the box because clearly if I’m asking for a box that means I’m ready or I’m ready for dessert. So I got up and asked the person at the front to please get my check so I can pay and leave. He grabs it and my waiter comes along to get the check. I look at the total of the check and I see I am charged for the shredded cheese, the cost of a bag at the store for the little bit of cheese I needed and used. Had I known that I would have taken all the shredded cheese that they gave me. I tried to give them the benefit of the doubt because when I first came in, there was a large birthday party there but other than that there was only a handful of us there eating. The party came to an end within the first 20 minutes of me sitting at the table. The waiter seemed like a nice person but I’ve never had to sit there that long like that after asking for a drink and a plate to actually get it. All 6-10 times of him walking past me he was barely doing a thing and it wasn’t like he had anything g other than a cloth in his hand. So it was like ‘Did you forget?!’ and if so I’m sitting at one of his tables and he can clearly look over and see that I’m barely eating because I’m waiting on these items. Idk, this is probably a one-and-done for me and I wish them the best. To charge me for the cheese after that poor service is crazy and I didn’t even get to leave a tip because he did nothing but bring me two drinks, the others did more than he did. As a single person, you sometimes want to go out and enjoy yourself and feel good but this just made my night worse because of the experience. Just not...

Parking was easy, strip mall, plenty of parking. This is a large restaurant close to the Mall, Hospital, and Delaware Park. The decor inside is festive, clean, and aesthetically pleasing. They have a nice size bar at the front of the restaurant and that's where we sat. Service was excellent, anything we needed we got in a reasonable amount of time.

Chips & Salsa!!! Chips were warm, kinda basic, but serviceable. Salsa was pureed hard, good flavor, could use a bit more cilantro, and had a little touch of heat to it. I liked it.

We ordered Grande Sampler #180: Chile relleno, enchilada, crispy corn shell taco,vegetarian tamal and burrito. 15.99. Chile... was delicious. Some potato mixed with cheese inside, and the red sauce complimented it well.This was one of my favorite chile relleno's I've had. Enchilada... was beef and wasn't anything special. A little dry. Tamale... was was solid, chicken was just like the enchilada, masa of on the savory side of the spectrum. I could've gone without the red sauce on this one. Seemed like overkill. Burrito... was again the same red sauce, chicken inside, this time the chicken was a bit dry. Can't really tell the difference between the enchilada and the burrito. Crispy Taco...was as good as it gets for ground beef tacos. I really enjoyed it. The corn shell was warm, crispy, and delicious. The ground beef was moist and seasoned flawlessly.

I ordered Cuatro Amigos #220: Four grilled tacos (steak, chicken, chorizo, and carnitas) served in soft corn tortillas, and topped with fresh cilantro and onions. Served with beans and hot salsa. 15.99. Steak...chewy, not much flavor here. The tortillas were soft, but could use a second on the flat top. Chicken...grilled, just tasted like a grilled meat. No seasoning stood out to me. Chorizo...no char, mushy, with a solid spicy kick. I didn't hate it. Carnitas...bland, basic, didn't have any fat in there. It was juicy, but lacked the crisp.

I ordered enchiladas Tricolor #15: Two chicken and one cheese enchilada covered with green tomatillo sauce, mole poblano sauce, and our traditional enchilada sauce. Served with rice and beans. (contains nuts) 12.99. Green chicken enchilada was solid. The chicken was moist, delicious, and the green sauce wasn't overly tangy. Red chicken enchilada was good too. Same chicken as described above. I couldn't really tell the difference between this and the burrito. Mole cheese was outstanding. Warm chocolate flavor. I could eat the for dessert all day they were like that. I'm not into mole chicken usually, but this mole cheese enchilada was the truth! Beans...creamy almost soup consistency, good flavor. Mix with the rice. Rice...was outstanding, soft fluffy, with carrots, peas, corn....

Edit 1: With the following in consideration, I'm upping this to 5 stars. Coming up on 10 years in Delaware and we're still happy going here. Like everywhere, this place has good moments and rare not so good moments. We're on a hell of a good run right now. The kitchen has been killing it lately. The food is probably the best it's been. The food runners have been sharp. Claudia and Rubi, can't comment on the other wait staff, really excellent service. We've had the 2 ladies as our server the last 9/10 times we've been here.

The food, all 5 star dishes. Seafood nachos, Pescado Frito and the Molcajete in all of its various conditions are all delicious. My only concern with the food is it can occasionally be a bit salty but never terrible. I don't use a lot of salt, so I never have to add any here. But that's a great excuse to drink some Long Island iced teas, Margaritas or sangria!

The original review: This is a great place to eat. The food is better than average. The drinks are definitely compelling. The service is what it should be, at least.

I think this would be a great place to go after work and get some rest and relaxation with coworkers. I've done it by myself even.

Four stars is no snub, competition is steep in New Castle County. This place is very enjoyable. It's definitely one of our most frequently visited establishments. That's 8 years into Delaware living.

Stop in and check it out. If you fancy Tex Mex, odds are good you won't be...