La Nopalera Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Jacksonville

I just moved from Texas and have been trying to find a good authentic taco place. I’ve been to this restaurant in Bartram last month and they were superb!

Last night I visited with my son, and we dined in. Our waitress provided horrible service. We practically didn’t even get service. First she brought out a 32oz drink for my 7 yr old. He could barely reach the table so why would you bring a drink bigger than he can hold? He asked for the quesadilla kids meal which came with rice and beans. My son is allergic to tomatoes, so I asked if it’s possible to get rice without tomatoes. She says no, fine. I know most restaurants pre make it. Asked her what we could substitute for the rice she said “that’s what comes with it.” I’m like soo he can’t substitute fries or anything? She said “we can add and order of fries” no, I’m not paying for an extra side when he’s not able to eat it. We went back and forth and she continued to say she didn’t understand. I asked to speak to someone who could and she walks off and asks. Then says “do you want to substitute the rice for fries?” THATS WHAT I SAID IN THE BEGINNING!!! SMH. Okay, I order 4 street tacos with corn tortillas, onions, cilantro, and green sauce.”

Our food comes out and she hands my son a bottle of ketchup for his fries. I’m like…. He cannot eat that. He’s allergic to tomatoes. I turned to ask him if he wanted ranch & she walks off. I look at my food, my tacos are flour and there’s no green sauce….. I have to stop someone else to try to get my food fixed. They tried to find my waitress… she was nowhere to be found so they asked if they could bring out new tacos for me. I just stated “no, just bring the tortillas I can just switch it over myself.” They bring the tortillas and sauce for me ….. guess what…… WE NEVER GOT SILVERWARE!!!!

The waitress finally shows her face and sticks her thumbs up asking if the food is okay… I just asked for my check. Y’all, she charged me $4 for the 32oz drink she brought my son in the beginning and the drink that was included with the kids meal. WHAT A DISASTER.

I’m contemplating on whether or not to go back. But last night was a waste of...

Review of La Napolera: Absolute Garbage Service ★☆☆☆☆

Hands down one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had at a restaurant. I walked in about 10 minutes before closing, just looking to grab something simple—like a quesadilla. Should’ve been easy, right? Nope. Enter Gabriella, who I’m not even sure was a waitress or what her deal was, but she was absolutely useless.

She handed me a menu, stared at me like a deer in headlights, and told me a quesadilla wasn’t available and wasn’t on the menu. Which is wild, because… it’s a quesadilla. You’re telling me a Mexican restaurant doesn’t have tortillas and cheese? Make it make sense. I tried to clarify, but she just kept looking at me like I was speaking a foreign language. So I switched to Spanish, because I do speak Spanish. Still nothing. Just the same blank, clueless expression like I asked her to solve a math equation.

Then, without a word, she walked away. A few minutes later, she came back and just said, “We’re closed.” That’s it. No explanation, no “Hey, sorry, kitchen’s shutting down soon,” nothing. Just straight-up didn’t care.

And the funniest part? I had to sit there and watch them walk in and out for another 10 minutes after supposedly “closing.” So they were still moving around, still doing stuff, just not serving me.

At this point, I wasn’t sure if Gabriella didn’t understand the menu, didn’t understand me, or was just straight-up dumb. If standing around looking lost paid well, she’d be rich. If her job is to talk to customers, she should probably learn how to say literally anything useful.

There was another lady there who at least acted like she worked at a restaurant, but between the unmotivated attitude, the horrible customer service, and the rush to lock the doors, it was clear Gabriella was leading the “We Don’t Care” team at this place.

I gave food, service, and atmosphere one star each—because I never even got to try the food, and the experience itself was trash. La Napolera needs to train their staff—starting with Gambriella—on how to talk to customers, how to read a menu, and maybe how to pretend like they give a damn....

We have a nearly 6-month-old Lab, and as part of our dog training class, we needed to take her with us to a restaurant of some kind (preferably with an outdoor patio) and at least stay long enough for a drink. My wife had been to the waffle place next door, and remembered the very nice outdoor patio area shared by about three restaurants, all next to each other in the "strip mall" building.

We came in from the parking lot behind the building, and were seated very quickly. Chips and salsa showed up fast, as well. And then our waiter, Jose, appeared with a bowl and a large cup of cold water...for the dog, without even being asked.

We split an order of the steak fajitas, and we were very impressed. It was enough food that the two of us couldn't finish the plate, so we had leftovers to take home. Very, very good. Well-seasoned, perfectly cooked, even the green peppers (which I don't normally like.) The only complaint would be not enough tortillas, and an upcharge for extra. Three is just not enough! Other than that, excellent.

I once lived in Costa Rica, near a local restaurant. There was an old lady who would sit out back and make tortillas. And they were amazing. The tortillas at La Nopalera were almost as good as I remember.

When we got the check, I noticed that there was a line on it that said "Con el Perro. Woof Woof!" I thought it was very nice of them to acknowledge the dog. Also, the price was very...