La Merenda — Restaurant in Milwaukee

La Merenda ruined my birthday.

PLACE: We arrived and sat in the patio. I announced it was my birthday and this is the place I decided I would spend my day. The plates were already on the table and had been for awhile it seemed as there was ash all of the table. I understand you can't help what blows around with outdoor seating, but don't place plates on the table until the customer is ready. So I used my napkin and wiped down the table and plates myself. FOOD: We did not order the any type of salads because looking around at other plates it was DRENCHED in dressing. It looked like wilty spinach leaves with thick dressing and a handful of nuts. No thanks. We ordered the cheese plate. Which claimed it came with olives, cheese and bread. We got 3 olives and 3 small chunks of cheese. One of the chunks with the corner of the wedge. It was ALL wax. They should be embarrassed to give that to their customers. Please note, I order/enjoy a lot of wine and cheese ... so I understand you get wax sometimes... this was ALL wax. The bread was okay, salted and lots of butter around it.

We noticed a lot of 'CHINA' on the menu so we leaned that way. I should have just gone to Emperor or China on Brady St for actual delicious Chinese food. The white rice was not jasmine rice... it was thick, weird, white rice and the outer layer was crispy. It obviously had been scooped into the bowl and sitting on a table for a long time. The pork was fried, but then you saw burn marks on the breading. Confusing? It was dried out, yet rubbery? I could barely cut through with a fork. The sauce was 95% salt and 5% gelatin goo. It was not authentic. It felt frozen, reheated.

Now I dont think it was my waiter's fault. But once we ordered our food, someone else brought out the food and we were not visited by him once after. It started sprinkling outside... other wait staff went to their tables to see if they wanted to move outside. I was already disappointed in the food so I decided to not speak up, sit in the rain and eat my over salt juice, sorry... food just to see what would happen. Yes, I unfairly tested them. No one came. One set of ladies were asked 3 times if they wanted to go inside but they were under a large umbrella and didn't mind. We were in the open air, just getting sprinkled on. Now I just want to leave. No one still comes. So I get up, walk to the front and ask for my check.

My waiter probably sees me approach the front and I ask for the check and he says, don't you want your birthday desserts? I'm like no, I'd rather just go. He's confused why, I explain the food just wasn't the best and I'm wet and want to go home. He says I'll meet you at your table. I respond, I'm already standing here.. I'm not going in the rain again to wait. We get our bill, pay full price for all our salty food and leave.

The food is not authentic. Not 'home-made' or if it is.. it's made ahead of time and then reheated. They were not busy at all... there was absolutely no reason to not make...

I feel like we could have gone anywhere else and had a much better experience. I am so disappointed with our date. My wife and I came here for a Valentine’s Day lunch, as we have heard good things about the restaurant and wanted to avoid the hustle bustle of dinner on V-Day. When we walked in, the sweet male bartender is the only one who acknowledged us, until we were taken to our seats by the host who looked like he very clearly hated his job or life, not sure. We were very clearly dressed for a date, and were placed at a table that was right next to another that had a party of 6 people which would not have been a problem but their things were on our seats, and they were there to laugh and socialize as they should, but we wanted to have an experience with each other. I politely asked the host if he could move us over to a new table, and he seemed pretty annoyed by that. He asked us “and where would you like to move?” I was confused because I wasn’t sure if there was anything available as it was Valentine’s Day. So, I pointed to a table across the way and he rolled his eyes but did move us, and my wife and I again felt pretty optimistic. When our server came over, she seemed extremely frazzled and flighty. We asked for any recommendations off of the menu as both of us had a gluten allergy. She basically told us that everything gluten free is labeled gluten free. So, my wife and I chose 3 things off of the menu. The beef empanadas were really good. The special tostadas were good as well. The waitress came back to check on us, and I asked her for a dessert menu. When it came to the risotto we ordered, we tried it but that was as far as we got. It stated that it was dressed with gremolata. Dressed is an understatement. It was DRENCHED in garlic olive oil and I mean, it was swimming. My wife nor I could even swallow it as it was just so wet. And we absolutely love risotto. I figured maybe a chef got a little heavy handed with it and maybe they’d bring us a new one or offer to replace it with something of the same value. The waitress ended up not coming back for 30 minutes to bring the dessert menu. When she did, I spoke to her regarding the risotto and she acted super offended and annoyed and told us that it always looks like that. I told her that we did not like it, and she stated that she would “see if she can get them to take it off”. She removed the plate and came back 10 seconds later stating “Yeah that’s the gremolata so they aren’t taking it off sorry but I wish I could do more, they just said that is how it always looks and they aren’t going to do anything about it”. She went on and on before I said ok thank you we are going to skip dessert, can I please have the check? I really was going to order dessert because hello it’s Valentine’s Day but it left such a bad taste in my mouth (literally) that I really don’t think I’ll...

First time here. It was excellent and definitely a place that we would come back to.

Had a 6:00 reservation on a Saturday night. There was a Valet Parking attendant in front, but we found a spot right out front on the street. The place is a little deceiving in size. When you get in, there is a bar area, and several small tables, and then it opens up to a large dining room. The place was already full. We got seated towards the rear, where one side is a long bench, then there are different size tables with chairs on the other size.

Got waters right away, and then met our server. They were friendly and helpful, and took good care of us the entire evening. (thanks Martin). We ordered a couple of Sangrias to get started. Both the white and the red were both good. We told our server that we were not in hurry, and that we would be taking our time. (Tapas restaurants can sometimes feel like they are constantly bringing you the next course, and I find it more relaxing to get some downtime between servings).

Ended up deciding on several items. The Empanadas (we couldn't decide, and the server told us we could get a half (2) of each), the Pistachio Salad, the Pork & Shrimp Tostadas, and the Rabbit Guazzetto.

Both types of Empanadas were amazing. The yellow cornmeal pastry is unique, along with the aji sauce. Great flavor. The Pistachio salad has simple ingredients, yet it was probably one of the best parts of the meal. The Penta Creme Blue Cheese was balanced nicely by the Pistachio vinaigrette. The Rabbit was mostly for me (my spouse doesn't like the "idea" of eating bunnies), and it was so tender. Along with the homemade gnocchi and mushrooms. Another superb combination.

The last pick, the Pork and Shrimp Tostada, was "okay", but not great. Even though the server mentioned it would be spicy, they suggested it would be fine, with the Pineapple-Poblano pico de gallo on the side. It was not. Still too spicy from the salsa verde? Should have picked something else.

We were full, and didn't have room for dessert. Maybe next time. And hoping that there will be a next time. Lots of other excellent menu choices that we would...