Laredo's Mexican Restaurant Fitchburg — Restaurant in Fitchburg

I grew up in one of the northern most states of Mexico and have travelled across the land below the border exploring cuisines that truly exemplify Mexican culture. I now find myself in Madison, Wisconsin travelling on business and looking for what this part of the country has to offer by exploring local eats. Because of my Mexican heritage, I generally gravitate towards exploring Mexican restaurants such that I now make it a point to give back to the community by reviewing Mexican restaurants for their authenticity, flavors, and cultural immersion. On today's stop I visited Laredos in Fichburg, Wisconsin. Upon entering the establishment I found myself in a large room filled with Mexican inspired art, ranging from parrot statues hanging from the walls to your typical collection of Mexican tile scattered throughout the walls. Soon after I sat down, I was greeted by a familiar English Mexican accent inquiring "what would you like to eat today sir?" As I reviewed the menu I found lots of familiar choices from my home country of Mexico, however I found that there was,not a lot of flexibility in the Menu. What I mean by this, is that unlike the Mexican restaurants I have come to know and love Laredos' menu lacked to present the fundamental templates that facilitate the process of building a custom order. Instead of having the option to for example pick the enchiladas, then select the type of meat, then the type of sauce (red, green, or mole), Laredos' provided discrete menu options that did not allow for much flexibility. Despite this small set back, I managed to find and order the one dish I truly believe embodies Mexican culture: the Green Chile Enchilada. As I waited for my order I was offered a generous basket of tostadas with a supplemental cup of salsa roja all the while listening to Mexican classics from Vicente Fernandez. The tostadas were great, not too salty and with a euphoneous crunch, however the salsa I found was missing a tang resulting from a lack of lime and did not have me reaching for my glass in efforts to relieve myself from the pain that comes from a masochist addiction of eating spicy foods. After a couple of moments, finally my enchiladas were on their way. At first glance I was pleasantly surprised with a perfect plating execution. Everything came in modest portions and segregated evenly across the plate. The rice was moist, yet mildly sweet and was complemented by a delicious scoop of not too salty refried beans. While the sidekicks were quite tasty, I found that the enchiladas, the star of the dish, did have some performance issues. The green sauce was quite insipid, and I found no expression of lime, cilantro, or even jalapeño. Additionally I found that the proportion to be a bit skewed such that the enchiladas were rather dry and needed a more generous shower of green sauce goodness. To offset these shortcomings I do concede that the chicken and pepper enchilada filling was quite tasty and no flavors dominated over others. The chicken was moist and truly reminded me of how my mother used to grill with all of its pepper and salt coat. Overall I rate Laredo's 3 stars mainly because of its friendly service, its ability to provide a truly Mexican and family oriented environment, and for its rice and bean flavors. While it was clear that the experience at Laredo's was inspired by Mexican culture, I found that the flavors of the food are in desperate need of some genuine Mexican influences. Now, I do want to communicate that relative to other Mexican restaurants in Madison, Wisconsin I found Laredo's to be the most genuine and I would definitely recommend this restaurant, however not as a Mexican eatery, but rather as a Mexican American...

I am writing a complaint about the extremely poor service and disrespectful treatment we received during a recent visit. Family was visiting from out of state due to an emergency, and we were hoping to enjoy a peaceful, quality time meal together. In order to make it special, we chose your restaurant and even recommended it to our out-of-state relatives based on previous positive experiences. Before arriving, we were aware of our larger party size and called and asked if your team would be able to accommodate us. We were assured that it would be no problem. However, once we were seated, it became very clear that your staff was not prepared or willing to provide even a basic level of service. It took approximately 30 minutes just to get our drinks, and over an hour before anyone took our order. Even ordering an appetizer that should have come out first, was either forgotten or brought out after the main dishes. When we finally received our food, it was cold and several plates were incorrect. When we politely asked about the delay, we were told that you had a small kitchen and they were “trying to push the food out.” Rather than acknowledging the issue or attempting to resolve it, the staff's behavior only made things worse. We witnessed team members gathering at a different table, laughing, rolling their eyes, and clearly mocking our frustration. When we brought our concerns to the manager on duty, we were met with blatant disrespect, defensiveness, and absolutely no apology or accountability. This visit left our family feeling humiliated and completely dismissed. It was especially hurtful considering the emotional circumstances that brought our relatives to town. They are now heading back to Texas with a sour memory of a place we once felt confident recommending. We hope you take this complaint seriously and work to ensure that no other guests experience the...

I am writing to formally file a complaint about the extremely poor service and disrespectful treatment we received during a recent visit to your restaurant. We had family visiting from out of state due to a family emergency, and we were hoping to enjoy a peaceful, quality meal together. Wanting to make it special, we chose your restaurant and even recommended it to our out-of-state relatives based on previous positive experiences. Before arriving, we were mindful of our larger party size and asked if your team would be able to accommodate us. We were assured that it would be no problem. However, once we were seated, it became very clear that your staff was not prepared or willing to provide even a basic level of service. It took approximately 20minutes just to get our drinks, and over an hour before anyone took our order. Despite ordering an appetizer that should have come out first, it was either forgotten or brought out after the main dishes. When we finally received our food, it was cold and several plates were incorrect. When we politely asked about the delay, we were told that you had a small kitchen and they were “trying to push the food out.” Rather than acknowledging the issue or attempting to resolve it, the staff's behavior only made things worse. We witnessed team members gathering at a different table, laughing, rolling their eyes, and clearly mocking our frustration. When we brought our concerns to the manager on duty, we were met with blatant disrespect, defensiveness, and absolutely no apology or accountability. This visit left our family feeling humiliated and completely dismissed. It was especially hurtful considering the emotional circumstances that brought our relatives to town. They are now heading back to Texas with a sour memory of a place we once felt confident recommending. We hope you take this complaint seriously and work to ensure that no other guests experience the treatment we endured.

Les escribo para presentar una queja formal sobre el pésimo servicio y el trato irrespetuoso que recibimos durante una visita reciente a su restaurante. Teníamos familiares de fuera del estado de visita debido a una emergencia familiar y esperábamos disfrutar juntos de una comida tranquila y de calidad. Para que fuera especial, elegimos su restaurante e incluso lo recomendamos a nuestros familiares de fuera del estado basándonos en experiencias positivas previas. Antes de llegar, conscientes del gran número de personas que íbamos a visitarnos, preguntamos si su equipo podría acomodarnos. Nos aseguraron que no habría problema. Sin embargo, una vez sentados, quedó claro que su personal no estaba preparado ni dispuesto a brindar ni siquiera un servicio básico. Tardaron aproximadamente 20 minutos en servirnos las bebidas y más de una hora en tomarnos nota. A pesar de haber pedido un aperitivo que debería haber salido primero, se nos olvidó o lo trajeron después de los platos principales. Cuando finalmente nos sirvieron la comida, estaba fría y varios platos estaban equivocados. Cuando preguntamos amablemente por el retraso, nos dijeron que tenían una cocina pequeña y que estaban "intentando sacar la comida a empujones". En lugar de reconocer el problema o intentar resolverlo, el comportamiento del personal solo empeoró las cosas. Vimos a los miembros del equipo reunirse en otra mesa, riendo, poniendo los ojos en blanco y burlándose claramente de nuestra frustración. Cuando le planteamos nuestras preocupaciones al gerente de turno, nos recibió con una flagrante falta de respeto, una actitud defensiva y ninguna disculpa ni responsabilidad. Esta visita dejó a nuestra familia sintiéndose humillada y completamente desestimada. Fue especialmente doloroso considerando las circunstancias emocionales que trajeron a nuestros familiares a la ciudad. Ahora regresan a Texas con un amargo recuerdo de un lugar que una vez recomendábamos con confianza. Esperamos que se tomen en serio esta queja y trabajen para garantizar que ningún otro cliente sufra el trato que sufrimos.

And yes we...