La Fiesta Mexican Restaurant & Lounge — Restaurant in La Grande

We went to La Grande for lunch, hoping to go to the pizza buffet we have been to in the past, but sadly it was out of business. We did a google search for nearby restaurants, and chose La Fiesta based on the 4.6 stars. I think some customers must not be used to good food, or something, because the only thing we got that we enjoyed was the ice water and the chips. My son could not even cut through the tortilla of his cheese enchilada, and my daughter became grossed out on the slimeyness of her cheese quesadilla and only ate half. My husband's "sizziling fajitas" did not sizzle, and tasted like they had come from the microwave. Tough and rubbery and zero flavor. He ate his food only because he was starving - and the portion was not enough to fill him. I, on the other hand, could not eat my arroz con pollo. The sauce (which was very heavy) had a very gross overwhelming smoked flavor and my stomach hurt after just a few bites. The cabbage and red salsas were way too sweet and the red one had a gross charred flavor, and combined with the sweet was inedible to us. I did tell our server that my food was not good (Arroz con pollo is usually my favorite dish when we go out to Mexican food). She offered to send it back to the kitchen, but I said based on all of our food I didn't think they could do any better. She did remove my meal from our bill. We now know better than to go into La Grande for a meal. Thankfully, we had spent the day playing in the snowy mountains, so we had snacks to tide us over until we...

We arrived at noon and the place was empty (we should have known). Immediately, we realized this was not one $ pricing like it said on Google. We are from Forest Grove where there are countless Mexican restaurants, and this was very over priced. We stayed because we were on a road trip and trying to keep good time. All of the food was less than desirable. The chips were over cooked, the salsa is weird, beans had a funky flavor. Then the entrees.. my “SUPER” nachos were smothered in so much cheese that you couldn’t see the chips and it tasted like chili underneath. There was nothing else, but a small dollop of sour cream. My kids 9 and 11, could not finish their food (highly unusual). They both ordered enchiladas with rice. The rice is beige in color, not reddish like typical Mexican rice. My husband order the chili Colorado. The sauce was sweet, which was very off putting. We are sure the same sauce was used for Colorado and Enchiladas. All of the meals were like nothing we’ve have ever experienced with Mexican food. We have even travelled to different parts of Mexico many times.

The service was also different. About 7 minutes into our entrees, the waitress brought dessert (single cinnamon chips) and the check. Then, we were charged a processing fee which was surprising considering the prices of the food. We paid $67+$2.50 processing for 4 entrees and we only drank water.

One positive is they gave our kids a free...

If I were to come to La Grande (or Eastern Oregon for that matter) and want to eat at the best place in town, this would be it. I cried on my first visit, they put magic in the food or something. The service is excellent. 5 different people that work there made contact with us throughout the night on two separate occasions. Never have to want for anything. But let me tell you about the food. Authentic. Like make me miss Mexico, even though I've never been, kind of authentic. Tender meats, flavorful beans, bountiful sauce if you so desire. And gluten free options galore! The tortillas were so good, I asked if they sell them alone, they do! Even the red sauce is good. You only get good red sauce if you know how to properly season, and they do. This is the kind of place that no matter what you order, it's going to be delicious. So no need to be picky, just go again! Lol. The decor is stunning. All the mosaics were done by hand by the owner. I could sit for hours and barely scratch the surface of all the beautiful art work there. Colorful, textural, graceful, exuberant. I'd go here on a sad day to feel better for sure. La Fiesta is full of love. Love for their food. Love for the atmosphere. Love for their customers. And it shows...