La Hacienda Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Little Rock

I previously enjoyed the food at La Hacienda on Cantrell. However, since the remodeling of the building, it is not my favorite Mexican restaurant. The reason is the noise, cramped dining room, and inattentive staff. After our experience Tuesday evening, it remains on my list of restaurants to avoid.

It is almost impossible to have a conversation with dining companions without raising your voice to be heard. With fifty or so other people in the dining room talking, hard surfaces in the dining room seem to amplify the noise level. The oversized chairs and booth furnishings make moving through the restaurant awkward.

Tuesday evening, I reluctantly agreed to meet a friend at the restaurant out of convenience for both of us. When I arrived, the restaurant was quite full, with maybe a half-dozen empty tables. The lady who seated me took my drink order and immediately brought it with chips and dip. My dining companion arrived less than 5-minutes later.

We sat and talked for about 10 minutes before another waiter took my friend’s drink order. The server brought the drink quickly and disappeared just as quickly.

After making dinner selections, we placed the closed menus where they were easily visible on the table. I did not see the server who seated me for several minutes and counted at least four servers working the dining room, in addition to the one who seated me.

I finally spotted our server and was able to get her attention. She immediately took our order. The food arrived hot and delicious. The only mistake with the meal was getting flour tortillas with the fajita dinner instead of the requested corn tortillas. Also, the fajita dinner did not include guacamole, sour cream, and Pico de Gallo, which other Mexican restaurants include with their fajita dinners. Surprisingly, these items are not listed on the La Hacienda online menu!

Despite this, the food was hot and delicious, and we ended up having a satisfying meal, even if we didn’t get the requested corn tortillas and waited an unusually long time to order. Three stars is the best I can offer after...

Sadly I didn't think to get photos while I was there as it began to pour rain when we arrived. The temps outside plummeted from high 90s to mid 70s in minutes so the A/C inside was a mite chilly on wet clothes. In any case, we arrived, were told to pick a seat and got drinks ordered within 3 minutes of arrival. The staff was quick to respond, pretty quiet overall but diligent and helpful. Mom had the enchilada plate with beans and rice and for once, she ate the whole thing AND (you really have to know her to know why this is a big deal but) she LOVED the coffee..."it was normal coffee, not that weird stuff." I had beef and chicken fajitas, no rice, with refried beans and extra salad fixins. Everything was great. There was a LOT of food. I asked for and received the "extra spicy" salsa which I mixed with the mild for a good zing. (Keeps my hair red!) Also tried the queso with jalapenos and chorizo sausage. Didn't care for the chorizo flavor but the cheese was real not cheese food. There was a lot of it. Everything was great. Fast. Hot. We got our ticket and paid and got out in under 40 minutes. I was exceptionally pleased to find a place mom loved with coffee she'd drink. We'll definitely be returning soon!...

I'm from California and this is a pretty good substitute for your typical Mexican eatery. Of course they cater to the Caucasian community that are used to their caso dip and fruit punch, but overall their food is pretty good, albeit a bit overpriced for basic beans and rice. I got the two fish taco lunch special that was somewhere around 9 dollars. I was charged for the dinner version instead for 13 dollars. I'm not that picky when it comes to portion sizes, but man, they either ran out of fish, or they need to reevaluate their business plan. It looked like a quarter of one piece of fish per taco. Beans were scarce and the rice was okay. I honestly thought they'd brought me a child's plate and once you see me, I appear to clearly not a child. We were in a hurry so I didn't contest the price or portion.

Also, after the remodel, the authentic Mexican charm went with it. It seems much more Americanized which saddens me. I really liked the decor. It made it feel like I was eating at my mom's with the faint smell of fabulouso hanging in the air.

But, their beans are really, really good and they serve up a...