Las Palapas Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Livonia

My four friend's and I chose to come to this restaurant yesterday. I heard wonderful things about the food and also was told that the Margaritas were Margaritaing! So we were excited. There was a 30 minute wait if you are a walk-in on a busy Sunday night and for us it was expected. They took our name and number and texted us when our table was ready so most people wait in their car due to there not being a waiting area inside the restaurant. We were showed our seat by a hostess who walks like she was trying to lose us on purpose. I remember how fast she was walking because my friend and I couldn't help but laugh at how we basically had to jog after her on the way to the table. We were sat and given chips and salsa right away. We were soon greeted by our waitress and when we decided to order our Margaritas, she asked to see our ID's (which was no problem) the program came when she decided to take her time reviewing the front AND back of each one of our ID's. Literally she stood there and read every single detail on each of ours as if we were hiding something. The waitress than brought out our queso, salsa and guacamole but NO CHIPS. We ran through the tables chips and Salas from when we first arrived so we couldn't even use those old chips for our appetizers but she did not come back after we waited for about 15 minutes... just us picking at our dips...with nothing to eat them with.... just waiting... Finally I got the attention of another waitress and asked if she would go find ours which she did. Our waitress came immediately from the kitchen as if she had been waiting around the corner the entire time. We asked for chips, napkins, salt and pepper and serving portion bowls.. and silverware. She brougut us two baskets of chips finally and sent some guy out with two more baskets of chips and he started to take the basket of chips we were just given by our waitress but my friend told him to please leave it and he got angry and slammed down both chip baskets on the table and walked away. We all sat shocked by his blatant outburst. Finally our food arrived all at once. Every bite was delicious that I tried. Everything was seasoned to perfection and the portions are amazing! The chef back there knew what he or she was doing. Food score 10 out of 10! After everyone was full and ready to go, we had just as much of a problem of getting carry out boxes for our leftovers as we did getting chips for our appetizers! We ended up just asking someone else to help us so that we could get out of there finally after waiting 30 more minutes for our waitress to...

Quick service... food served hot shortly after your seated... unlike many traditional Mexican restaurants... unless noted... you don't automatically get beans and rice. Food was delicious first visit I had the enchiladas... you can get chicken, ground beef, veggies, beans/ rice, chopped/ shredded beef... mix and match... portions are VERY nice. My friend had the barria (sp?) tacos... this was popular item on our visit... delicious! The prices are very fair for the portion size. My second visit (it was that good I had to make sure it wasn't a fluke, so I went during the week, within two weeks) I had the chicken quesadilla... grilled chicken... delicious! I prefer my veggies inside but they only have the meat and cheese with Pico, guacamole and sour cream on the side... looks small... but was very filling. Happy hour drink specials 11-6... featured beers and drinks appear to change. I had a peach margarita my first visit...magnificent! Second visit I had the Pina colada... delicious! They have a top shelf margarita that seems to be very popular (and potent) it was delicious... if I order that I'd prefer to be a passenger rather than a driver... again the prices are very decent for the strength and flavor of the drinks for two people, food and drinks it was about 55$ and both of us weren't able to finish our food (I have a very healthy appetite so this is rare). On my solo visit, my bill was about 25$. Some servers at the bar were attentive to some customers, but not all of us. At the tables, several servers checked in often. There is limited outdoor seating. Great place for the family, date night, or solo. This place seems pretty popular, we had over an hour wait the first visit and the bar was pretty much open due to the time of day I got there... but began to fill up around 6 and people that were waiting to be seated also sat at the bar. I usually go to southwest Detroit for my love of Mexican food... I'm glad I have this as an option in the opposite direction. I've heard the carryout is just as delicious as dining in... my reheated food definitely was still delicious. You may be able to reserve a seat going to their website... if you do... keep an eye on your wait time... it can change...

The food is great, I would give them a 4-5 if not for their rigid dine in menu. If you're picking up take out I'd give them close to a 5, as there is more flexibility with ordering options online. However, the frustration of nonsensically not being able to order what you can online when dinning in, I have to give them a 3. There are entire dishes and a multitude of options available online, that just aren't available in restaurant which is absolutely insane. I've experienced this twice with 2 different servers, so it just is what it is.

I'm an enchilada guy, online you can order the enchiladas with any meat option they offer. You can get steak, ground beef, shredded beef, chicken, shrimp, pork, chorizo, and whatever else they offer... Pretty cool. On the contrary when you actually sit at a table they only offer mushroom enchiladas, all chicken enchiladas, or an enchilada dish that contains 5 different enchiladas, 2 of which are vegetarian. An enchilada sampler if you will. There are no substitutions, I've been told this multiple times because I always ask. The customer is always right ordering pick up, but dinning in you will eat what they offer and that's it lol. If you just want beef, or steak enchiladas... Doesn't matter.

They also have a steak and shrimp taco option available online called: TACOS MAR Y TIERRA. It's steak, shrimp, tomatoes, onion, avocado, and cheese. This as well as other entree's online are just not available in the restaurant. I asked the waitress about this last night and she just pointed at the taco section on the menu that didn't include this. Even when I showed it to her on my phone... Nothing. So you can order steak and shrimp tacos online... But at the restaurant you can only order steak or shrimp tacos. So not only have they not updated their menu, they haven't even informed their wait staff of these options because they have no idea they exist.

It might seem like me nitpicking, but I just cannot wrap my head around it. If you really want to experience what the restaurant fully offers, you have to...