La Fonda de Ocoee — Restaurant in Ocoee

We went with our friends for dinner on a Wednesday night.

Every dish we had was great. We went through 2 baskets of chips and 2 bowls of salsa with our drinks. We started with casa fries covered with cheese, bacon and jalapenos. A very generous portion came out and it was piping hot and loaded with cheese and bacon. There was enough on the plate for the four of us to share the appetizer.

I had Tres Amigos quesadilla. It was a flour tortilla stuffed with cheese, bacon, grilled chicken, and grilled steak. I managed to eat it all, but I shared about ¼ of it will our friends. It was hands-down the best quesadilla I have ever had--anywhere. Awesome. It was served with great guac and sour cream.

The rest of the table ordered shredded beef chimichanga, taco special and shredded chicken chimichanga. We all shared, and everything was great. Large portions—great value.

The “awesomeness” continued to dessert. We ordered fried ice cream, churros, and cheesecake chimichanga. They were even presented with ice cream, whipped cream, and drizzles of chocolate and strawberry sauce.

Seating is limited. There are only four 3-tops, four elevated 4/6 tops and a 2-top at the front. Our waiter said they do a lot of take-out. I know why. This is not fancy. Solid plates, metal forks, but plastic (disposable) knives and one-use tubs of salsa. However, they have rolls of paper towels on the table and how can you not love that.

We are planning to make this a weekly visit.

What...

I really wish I could give this place 5 stars - La Fonda has the best service I’ve found at any Mexican restaurant in the Orlando area. The lady who took our order was super nice and friendly, the chef went up to everyone to check how the food tasted, and food came out fast, but unfortunately…it just wasn’t very good. We came for lunch and got a couple of their Mexican-style taco platters as well as a passion fruit drink and a few extra tacos on the side. The drink was great and the chips and salsa were good, but the tacos themselves left much to be desired. We tried the asada, carnitas, chicken, pastor, chorizo, and birria, and not one of them stood out. Maybe the chorizo…the meat itself was decent…but that was it. The tortillas didn’t taste good at all and basically all of the meats were very disappointing - even the birria. I hope it was just an off day, but I just don’t know if I’m willing to go back after such an experience the first time.

As I said, I wish I could give this place 5 stars - if they could fix the food, it absolutely would be deserving of it considering the great service and atmosphere, but for now I would recommend going elsewhere for...

I stopped by to give them a try since they popped on a Google search for food around the area.

They are a small business in a plaza with inside seating. They offered various lunch specials or dinner entrees that you can see up on the wall to give you an idea of what you may like to try. The 2 people in the restaurant are attentive and preparing the order did not take long.

I ordered the shredded chicken tacos special and came with rice and beans. I got chips and salsa as well since I dined in. The salsas were good, the tortillas a bit greasy and it needed a bit more protein per taco, just an observation.

It is a good choice if you are looking for a restaurant around the area. Keep in mind the charge a minimal credit card fee that I caught while checking out. It did not bother me, since I was there to...