La Casa de la Abuela McAllen — Restaurant in McAllen

Breaking this review down into three categories:

SERVICE Kicking off with the bad. I don't know what the deal is with this place, but the service is noticeably bad. Actually, hold on, let me clarify: the waitress is phenomenal. She tended to us as best she could considering she was the only waitress tending to all the tables. She was apologetic, held fun and short conversation, and provided samples of their sauces. So why was the service bad? The host. The entire time, the host had a "I don't care" expression, from the moment we arrived to the moment we left. Not one smile. You're the face of the restaurant and you can't even give me a half-attempt at a smile? Come on, now. At least wear a nice ball cap if you're going to wear one, not the one you've worn for the past decade. Heck, McDonald's has better headwear standards than this. Also, if the waitress is hustling and there's nobody waiting to be seated, it'd be nice to see the host tending to the customers and helping out. Instead, I had to walk over to a different table to grab silverware and napkins because the host couldn't be bothered with that. I'd expect this kind of poor service from a corner taco shop, not a nice venue like this. It's the third time we've visited and all three times it's been the same clueless host not lending a helping hand. Here's to hoping the Trenton location doesn't suffer from this.

FOOD Incredible. No doubt about it. I've had the queso and chorizo appetizer, the enchiladas mexicanas, and the concha preparada, and all three things have been nothing short of incredible. The queso and chorizo tasted fresh and were perfectly toasted on top. The sauce in the enchiladas mexicanas tasted nothing short of old-fashioned, homemade guajillo sauce (believe me, I know, I help my wife make the concentrate for her menudo). The rice is perfectly cooked, has absolutely no industrial flavors, and I love that it's made with carrots and peas. At first glance, the rice looks a bit pale but once you taste it, you know the quality is there. The black beans the dish is served with are also on point - no canned or preservative flavors at all, perfectly seasoned, and perfectly compliment the dish. As for the concha preparada, one thing's for sure: you cannot visit this place without trying it. It is by far one of my favorite desserts of all time. They offer three different drizzles (cajeta, Nutella, and chocolate). I recommend getting all three. You won't be disappointed. Quite honestly, if it wasn't for the concha preparada, we wouldn't visit again and suffer the bad service. Oh, I almost forgot the lemonade. Opt for the cucumber lemonade. Refreshing, authentic, and large.

ATMOSPHERE We love, love, love the atmosphere here. The music is a perfect blend of romantic/classical and modern. I don't know what soundtrack or streaming service they use, but it's perfect. The lighting and the decor, it all comes together to form a perfectly casual dining area that's also fit for a cute date night. The restroom could use some work, though. All three visits I've found the restroom without paper towels and sometimes smelling of used mop water. Not that big of a deal, but as I mentioned before, if the restaurant wants us to consider it as a fine (or better than average) dining place, then the restaurant needs to step it up.

Overall, this place would be an easy 4 or maybe even nearing the 5 star mark, but that host negatively affected our three visits. Maybe consider hiring a second waitress so one single waitress isn't juggling over 40 customers at once if all the host wants to do is stand outside and count stars. Or - bear with me here - or maybe work as a team and help your crew out. In any case, we won't be visiting this location a fourth time. Instead, we're going to patiently wait for the Trenton location to open. We'll see what...

The setting is great, it’s super pretty inside and somewhat aesthetically pleasing. As soon as you go in the first thing that hits you is the smell of sewage unfortunately. I would recommend a sanitation chemical company for that. Eating with the constant smell was not great. Unfortunately I stood at the door for 10 minutes, there were other people already waiting and someone arrived after me, they left. There was no one at the front of the house, no hostess, manager only people I could see were behind the bar looking area and one waiter running like crazy. This was a Thursday at 11:00 am, for reference. When the waiter finally saw me he was very friendly sat me down and left me for another 10 minutes. Servers would pass me, what I assumed was the manager would pass me no greeting, no drink offers, and they seemed like avoiding contact. When the same waiter/hostess finally came they asked if I was ready for my drink order and I took the liberty of ordering my food in order not to waist their time. Even though they looked very hard working and you could tell they were hustling their hospitality was was a bit poor and forced. I am not sure if they need more staffing or if it was unusually busy but my experience was meh… My waiter then brought me my coffee and a while later some chips. He was nice. I had no napkins or utensils the table was still dirty from the previous customers. I think this location has been open for at least a year. Observed some hygiene concerns also but nothing too crazy. I still ate. I tried to order water for 30 minutes. The staff was so busy and I didn’t want to yell, it was a bit frustrating, although again they were either super busy or short staffed. After sometime I realized my water was aware of my missing utensils he was just goin 100 M/hr. And he brought them to me without me having to ask. With that being said the portions were great I went for brunch and the option of building you le chillaquiles was awesome, the presentation as well. My migas norteñas were delicious and alot was on my plate. I wanted to order their decadent looking chocolate cake but it was out in the open and too many flies had landed as well as the smell complementing the air deterred me. I also wasn’t able to order their bread because their table touching was lacking. Overall it was ok I would not comeback but I recommend to try at least once and maybe I just went...

I like to wait a day or so before posting a review...as it makes me really think carefully about my experience.......i let my thoughts simmer a bit.. Here it goes.... If u need to have food in your stomach "a la quick"..ur outta luck... cause wait time is about an hour....then after you are seated...its another half hour till coffee is on table and your order is dispatched...that's a taddd too much time for a 5 star review.... The place is small...cause its gourmet...but that makes it hot af inside when its full of customers...and its always full of customers 😄😄 Ok...thats the ugly...

The good. The food is carefully crafted...tastes very good...and is too pretty to disturb!! I would put any of these dishes in a museum..they are that pretty! The portions are very generous..i couldn't finish my plate..(i almost never do) every dish was exquisite in taste n detail...nuff said... The highlight of this breakfast was that concha dish....if u have ever tasted HEAVEN...it tastes EXACTLY like this!! I almost pooped my pants in disbelief!! IT'S JUST WONDERFUL! THE other major eye opener is the coffee. Most restaurants just don't believe that coffee is perhaps the best way to keep customers coming back...yet they just don't serve quality coffee!! Well...this place DOES! Since ima coffee aficionado...i notice these things!! Food you see here will set u back 60 smacs. I think thats proper. So if u wanna impress a hot date...or are celebrating an anniversary..this is the place to wine n dine!! Just remember...check in...and go see half of the movie Titanic..because it will be a while before they call u...But its worth the...