La Bamba de Kent — Restaurant in Kent

So real quick, the waitress: real nice lady.

So I've been going to this restaurant for 15+ years, I knew the previous owner and their family for a very long time. Their food used to be really really good, and the prices weren't that bad either. But let me tell you about my experiences ever since the ownership has changed. So, I had to actually explain to the waitress over here what a Roy Rodgers was, as she did not know what it was. I have never had to explain what that was before, because that should just be known. But my biggest problem right now, is the quality of food compared to what it was before the owners have changed. Now, I went over there to get a burrito with ground beef. However, they don't have ground beef anymore ever since the ownership has changed. So I had to settle for shredded beef, which I thought well, it should be fine right? Well, when my food arrived, it honestly was the worst burrito that I have ever had at a Mexican restaurant. And don't get me started about the rice and beans, it felt like I was eating food from a can that was heated in the microwave. The Roy Rodgers that they brought back to me, had way too much syrup, but it honestly was way better than the food that they brought back to me. The chips and salsa are about the same as they used to be, really good and I have no complaints about that. But here comes the next point, the price change between the old owner to this one. I feel like I'm eating something that is easily 10 times worse than what it used to be, yet it costs about 30% more than it used to be.

I'm sad to say that I will never come to La Bamba ever again. At least not until they make their food better, because in the last 3 or 4 times that I have come here, the food was absolutely revolting. The only reason I'm not giving this 1 star, is out of respect for the old owners and because the waitress is really kind. Do not reply to this and tell me that you ensure that your ingredients and food are at top form, because if that is the case you need to go a form higher than that.

As for why the food isn't good? The blame could only be placed on the new ownership, because it's not the chef's fault that the ingredients are so cheap. If you are paying so much for food, why does it feel like I'm eating a Banquet dinner?

Anyways, I apologize for my harsh criticism. Might come back and order your chips and salsa to take home,...

I get the sense from older reviews that this place is under new ownership. The old La Bamba is marketed as a family restaurant, while the new place is this nightlife bar experience. Most of the pictures online are of the old place, so we were a little surprised when we showed up. It felt like a completely different restaurant!

The website tells you to prepare to be seduced by a meal that "transcends elegance," but you're greeted by this inflatable tube man in the parking lot and a paper tray of salsa at your table. The menu is also has this salacious callout for "aphrodisiac seafood," which is disturbingly close to the kid's menu. There's a surprising amount of neon and an elevated platform for a DJ.

The food had its ups and downs. We shared a plate of the fajitas. The grill items were great, but the refried beans were a little wet and the rice could have been better. The flour tortillas it came with were huge—I'm guessing they are used for burritos most of the time. On the flip side, the margarita was great! Again, this place feels like it wants to be a bar.

Service was okay if a little slow, but that's forgivable given that toward the end of our meal, a guest who had a little too much to drink tried to fight the barbers next door in the parking lot. Some of the staff stepped in and kept things mostly under control.

I know running a business is tough, and management changes happen, but I think this place needs to decide whether it's a club or a restaurant. Right now, it's...

If you are looking for good Mexican food, just go somewhere else. It's hard to find a good place, for me I look for homemade style and authentic and this place is almost like azteca but worse.

We looked up their menu online and picked it up, of course if you want to know that a place is good, order simple so we got their tacos de asada and some camarones al ajo. The meat on the tacos was dry and the tortillas were also pretty dry and cold. The meat lacked a lot of flavor, the salsa was ok. The camarones were super fishy, overcooked. Nothing special about the rice and beans that came with the camarones. We tried their aguas frescas and the water tasted a bit dirty like sink water with some flavor (pineapple) and the horchata was the fake horchata that you make from a package, I don't think it was homemade at all.

The woman that greeted us seemed friendly at first but we felt rushed to pay when she wanted to pick up the phone, and in my years of food service experience we help the customers with hot food first, and we were just double...