La Sirena — Restaurant in Lubbock

Good food but overpriced. I think a lot of effort goes into making these dishes look fancy, the ingredients are likely high quality, and the flavor is good if not great. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t justify the high cost.

We started with the Salsa Trio, a tasty tomatillo salsa and two nondescript red salsas — the waiter had to go ask what they were.

The Double Bone-In Pork Chops were cooked unevenly — parts juicy, parts dry. The accompanying polenta “flatbread” was not accurately named and essentially flavorless, despite being “guajiro brined.” What saved the plate was the amazing “cold-smoked” cherries and mezcal pan sauce, which elevated the dish from objectionable to genuinely tasty.

We also had the Peruvian Spiced Chicken, which was blackened but juicy and very flavorful. The duck fat fried potatoes were just fine, nothing to distinguish them from any other thick cut French fries at a thousand diners. The two dipping sauces were OK, but despite being labeled “aji” they would have been completely unrecognizable to any of my Peruvian friends. I’m unaware of green aji but have cooked hundreds of times with yellow aji and it was undetectable in the sauce. If they are using it, they should know that aji amarillo should be roasted to bring out its flavor, otherwise you get what I got — yellow mayo.

The lemonade was interesting, exceedingly tart and could have used a little sugar, but seemed made from fresh lemon juice. Refreshing if a bit too much pucker factor.

The service was adequate but not especially attentive or friendly.

If I was a bit wordy it’s because I want to be fair to the place. The food was good on the whole but not good enough for the price. I should add of course that we don’t drink and perhaps the bar experience is vastly superior, I’ll never know.

We will return of course, as I always believe in second chances, and I hope we change our minds with other dishes. A lot of effort clearly went into this place and I want to give it every...

I was very excited to try this restaurant when a friend told me about all the gluten-free options on their menu. Being gluten sensitive, there are not many options available to us. A place, where almost every dish is labeled gluten free, is hard to find. Unfortunately, many of the options labeled gluten-free are not truly so. If you are eating gluten-free as a choice or because it’s trendy, you will be fine but anyone with an allergy or sensitivity needs to beware. After asking a hand full of questions, I was informed that many of the items are fired in a fryer where other gluten containing items are fried. This is a huge cross-contamination issue for people who cannot tolerate gluten. This was not initially stated! It took the waiter two trips to the kitchen to figure out that the first two “gluten-free” items that I order were not, in fact, truly gluten-free. The menu is very misleading and this can make some people very ill. When I finally found something I liked and could eat, the portions were so small that I left as hungry as I had arrived. A $29 plate had a piece of fish roughly 2 inches by 1 ½ inches and some mashed potatoes. Maybe, I wouldn’t have been so hungry if I could have eaten the appetizer that I order. It seems very over priced for the small amount of food that I received. Keep in mind, I am a small person and usually take home half of what I order other places and am accustomed to paying premium prices for gluten free food. Needless to say, we won’t be going back. At least, the waiter was diligent enough that I did not get something that could have...

I really want to love La Sirena but I just can’t. It is the most overpriced, mediocre food in town. After spending over $65 per person for dinner, we got home last night and had to make dinner because we didn’t eat our food at the restaurant. Don’t get me wrong, they make fabulous cocktails and their chips and trio of salsas are great, hence the two stars. After drinks and appetizers it went downhill fast. We ordered gazpacho that was flat out inedible. The amount of vinegar was so overpowering we couldn’t even eat it. Gazpacho is such an easy soup to make I don’t understand how it could taste so awful. Next was the venison with chimichurri. The venison was raw, not undercooked, but raw. Had to be sent back. The chimichurri tasted awful and pretty much ruined the entire dish. Chef - it would be so easy to just google a proper chimichurri recipe and make one that is really delicious. Next was the 3 scallops for $38 which were “ok” and the red snapper plate that was mostly rice. Our waiter never asked if there was anything wrong with the uneaten soup. Didn’t apologize for the raw venison. Never came back to the table to ask if we wanted to order more drinks or have dessert. It was a very disappointing experience. If we ever go back it will be strictly for cocktails and chips and salsa. If that. Oh, and bring back the Queso please. It was by far the best thing...