Cocina Real — Restaurant in Lawrenceburg

I've been here twice now. The first time, I gave it the benefit of the doubt. After the second time I see that this is an awful place. It seems clean, but that's about where the positives end. The staff is very rude and inattentive. We had to flag down a waiter that was standing right next to our table watching the TV mounted on the wall. The food is even worse. I had the carnitas on my first visit. I've had carnitas at dozens of resteraunts, and never before have I found a rendition that was so bland and overcooked. Carnitas is roast pork, for those who don't know, and it's usually well seasoned and very tender. This was not seasoned at all and so tough that it was hard to chew. On my second visit, I ordered the chimichanga. This is another favorite of mine, and again I've had it in a lot of places from Florida to New York. This was the smallest chimichanga that I've ever seen. It looked like they took a frozen burrito from the grocery store and fried it. It didn't taste any better, either. It was filled with chopped steak and nothing else. The steak was bland, dry, and I'm confident that it was boiled instead of grilled or roasted. My girlfriend got the fajitas both times, two different versions. Both of those dishes would have been okay if they had not been overcooked, dry, and so covered in salt that you couldn't taste anything else. I've never been to a Mexican restaurant that I wouldn't be willing to return...

IF YOU ARE A FOODIE & LIKE MEXICAN FOOD .... AVOID THIS PLACE 👎👎👎

ORDERED SHRIMP DIABLO

BASED ON ALL MY EXPERIENCE IN THE LAST 8 YRS ABOUT MEXICAN FOOD.. PICO , SOUR CREAM, GUACAMOLE, AVOCADO... THESE ARE ALWAYS THERE ON THEIR FOOD PLATTERS..

THIS IS TGE ONLY RESTAURANT THAT DOES NOT SERVE... I M SURPRISED 😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳

I READ THE REVIEWS OF OTHERS ..NOW I AM WONDERING WHY THEY HAVE GIVEN 5 STAR... COZ MOST OF THE PEOPLE VISIT HERE FOR ALCOHOL...

THIS IS MORE OF A BAR .. PEOPLE ENJOY THEIR MARTINIS, VODKA , BEER AND OTHER ALCOHOLIC DRINKS...

I BELEIVE THERE ARE VERY FEW PUBS AND BARS AROUND THIS TOWN TO ENJOY ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILIES...

THE RESTAURANT FOCUSES MORE ON DRINKS AND BEVERAGES THEN FOOD... FOOD IS JUST A SUBSTITUTE FOR DRINKERS WHICH REALLY DOES NOT MATTER HOW THE TASTE IS WHEN U R HIGH ON DRINKS...(PUN INTENT 😁)

WHY WOULD SOMEONE VISIT A RESTAURANT JUST TO HAVE STEAMED SHRIMP COVERED IN RED SAUCE AND RICE... CORN TORTILLAS TASTED MORE OF FLOUR TORTILLAS OF WALMART.

NOT A PLACE TO REVISIT FOR ME... WASTE OF MONEY.. NOT GOOD TASTE ... NOT...

I had high hopes for this place. There are so many positive reviews and lots of people have told me how great it was. I was unimpressed. I'll start with the good. It's clean, pricing is pretty standard, staff is friendly, and the service was good. The tortilla chips were tasty and they have a house made hot sauce that I liked. Which was fortunate because I had to put it on everything. Everything else was in one word "bland". Not gross, just not good. The salsa tasted like it was made with ketchup and disappointment. The cheese dip was also subpar and had an odd sharpness that I didn't care for. The rice and beans were dull and the chile verde was probably the worst I've ever eaten. This may be the only time I've left food on my plate in a Mexican restaurant. I'm sure that something on the menu may be good, but I would only go back if someone else is paying. If this was my only option for Mexican food in town I'd be inconsolable. The name is ironic because at Cocina Real, la cocina es realmente...