Maria Bonita Restaurant — Restaurant in Firestone

We have been here 3 times in the past 2 weeks. First visit was great! Food, service, everything was exceptional. I raved about it to my in-laws and we went for a second visit. Still decent but not at all like the first. Food took forever (it was lunch time and not even close to busy), service was subpar, and my food had the wrong meat (which they did fix). Once fixed it was delicious and craveable. Fast forward to tonight (visit 3) after raving about it to my parents to try, everything started off strong... until it didnt. Again I ordered the same shredded beef deluxe tostada and the meat was wrong. I corrected them, they brought it back and told me it was shredded beef and insist I taste it. I do so and just clearly based off looks it was chicken or pork and after taking a bite for them I told them again it was not shredded beef and I had ordered the same exact thing 3 days earlier. After several minutes and many messed up or missing parts from other family members meals, they bring me out the same exact plate and two sides of meat to show me what they claim is beef and chicken to know the difference. Again I told them that what they claimed was beef tonight was not. I think anyone could clearly know that beef isn't white.... and I had it 3 days prior. I left without eating at 26 weeks pregnant because at that point I was over it and when you have your heart set on something and it's continuously wrong, it gets frustrating. Especially when you had it THREE days prior; mind you this isn't my first time having shredded beef... I have been eating it for 30 years lol

They did comp my meal (as they should) but clearly the kitchen staff has no clue what meat is what.

Below are pictures of what they claim is beef vs chicken. Clearly this is not beef.... it has to be pork or some other white meat. Beef is...

Another date night with my beautiful Bride, this time at Maria Bonita Restaurant. She waited patiently for them to open. We went on a Saturday around 6:30 — hardly any parking and standing room only at the hostess stand, which is usually a good sign.

The hostess said it would be about a 45-minute wait, but if there was a spot at the bar, we could sit there. No luck — the bar was full. Fortunately, we weren’t standing long before someone who I believe was the manager asked how many were in our party and led us to a small two-person table near the bar. What a break!

We were greeted quickly by Leo, who took our drink order. My Bride ordered an authentic margarita, and I went for the jalapeño margarita. Both were delicious — mine had just the right kick. Leo also kept our chips and salsa flowing.

The chips were warm and perfectly salted, and the salsa was mild but tasty. We decided to split the Macho Grande Burrito. It took a while to come out, though I didn’t mind, I was enjoying time with my Bride of 30 years. Still, it was long enough for me to finish my margarita and order an IPA.

When the burrito finally arrived, it looked fantastic. The first few bites, though, were a bit bland, not bad, just missing that extra punch of flavor. The sauce tasted mostly like tomato paste. Then Leo came to the rescue, bringing out both mild and hot salsas. They all tasted homemade, and the new ones were absolutely delicious, so good I wanted to take some home!

We saved some room for desert. Well, not really but we could not pass up the lemon ricotta cheesecake. Oh my, this was definitely worth any wait we had. Absolutely yummy!

All in all, we left happy. Prices weren’t cheap, but not unreasonable either. The atmosphere was lively, the food solid, and the staff genuinely attentive. We’ll...

We went for dinner on a Wednesday at exactly 4:30pm and the place was already packed.

The good: We were seated promptly and started looking at the expansive menu. The view from the top floor is nice, but for dinner they have the, much needed, sun screens down. The inside is really nice And the staff is very friendly. The margaritas were really good and the burrito we got was pretty good as well. More on that below.

The not so good: First off, sticker shock. While you can find a few things under $20, most items were over $20. Maybe I just eat at cheap places, but when an Indian meal costs less than your burrito, you’re overpriced. We placed our order and waited…and waited…and waited. Finally, after about 25 minutes, our margaritas arrived. During that time another couple had come up and were originally going to sit at the bar, but seated themselves at a table instead. They were eventually discovered by a waiter and their order was taken. After we had been there an hour or so and no food had arrived, the other couple who had arrived after us got their food. We finished our drinks and got the check. About that time, our burrito finally arrived and we took it to go.

Think of the TV show Hell’s Kitchen. Maria Bonita just reopened after being closed a year and built a very large, very nice double decker of a restaurant. They need time to get into their groove. They’re not there yet. Give them a month or two, then try them. An hour for a single burrito? That shouldn’t be a...