PURALIMA Cantina — Restaurant in Minneapolis

This was a nice place, good atmosphere overall and the guy helping me was friendly when I was ordering. When I said I hadn’t been there he said it was like Chipotle with more ingredients, but what it really was is a boutique Mexican spot with a ordering area like Chipotle but with smaller portions and the price is a good 50% more. That being said I don’t mind paying more for good food in general.

I ordered a chicken bowl with white rice (asked for a little more rice due to the small scoop) chicken and no beans, which was all included.

Since I didn’t get beans I had 4 toppings he told me instead of the 3, but he didn’t mention I was already at one topping from the extra rice scoop.

So I added Pickled onions (instead of beans), Fajita Veggies (#1) Pineapple salsa (#2), Queso fresco (#3), Pico de gallo (#4) and Medium salsa (one salsa included). He then charged me for 3 extra toppings and I paid it a little confused at how I’d added 3 when in my head I was at 1 extra.

$10.25 for a Chicken Bowl turned out to be $14. The price isn’t all that high, especially for downtown but to create a hearty bowl it feels like they nickel & dime you and it can add up fast. To make what I really wanted I would have added sour cream, a dash of cilantro, etc but I wanted something filling not just tasty. I left hungry and a little underwhelmed. I asked about why I’d been charged for 3 to which he then told me the rice was one so I was at 5 and offered me $0.65 back to which I said no thanks. I mentioned my thoughts but should have just kept it to myself since he might just work there vs being the owner.

I get it good ingredients cost money but the servings size of each were so small that you can end up spending a lot for very little food. I likely wouldn’t come back, didn’t leave feeling like they care much about the customer here. He did let me try the salsa so I guess...

My wife found a piece of plastic in her food. I asked to speak to a manger and the manager sent a cook to speak with me. I told him what happened and he didn’t apologize or show any concern. The piece of plastic was at least three inches long and a major choking hazard. We thought it was a piece of onion that was a little tough. NOPE. I tried to tear it with my hands and nothing happened. I tugged on it as hard as I could to verify it was plastic and it definitely was. The cook even touched it and knew it wasn’t an onion. After speaking with him for a few minutes and not getting anywhere, I asked him to comp our food. After conferring with the manager they agreed to but it took way longer than it should’ve and I don’t recall him or the manager who processed the refund ever apologizing. I believe it was a simple mistake and humans make mistakes. I wasn’t looking for anything besides some empathy for the situation, an apology and a refund. I only got one of those things and I had to ask for it.

Anyway, chew your food slowly and if you bite down on something tough, make sure it’s...

To be honest, the only thing I can say is that it's an improved version of Tex-Mex food like the Chipotle franchise (sorry to mention it). The decoration, the music, the flower bar, the margarita drinks and some more additions to the menu are some aspects that makes it different. When we arrived there was only one employee doing everything from taking your order, preparing it and collecting money (I hope they paid her very well because she did a good job) which took longer compared to going to Chipotle (by the way they don't take cash) I ordered some corn tortilla tacos and the truth is they were a total disappointment, when I ate them the tortilla fell apart and sadly I couldn't eat them, I had to ask for a container and make a kind of "chilaquiles" (anyone who knows about authentic Mexican food knows what I'm talking about) I was dying of shame because I felt like some people, were watching me eat my tacos with a fork (no Mexican does that...ever!) but I was hungry, the food tasted good and I had to eat it no matter what. The truth is I don't know if I'll...