Manny's Cocina — Restaurant in Onalaska

Big nope from me. TLDR; skip this place until they get more waitstaff, waitstaff who actually care, or the managers wisen up and only open part of the restaurant. The service was terrible.

We had reservations to celebrate a birthday last night here. It was my first time and a repeat favorite of the birthday person.

All I can say is that the service was horrible. 100% horrible. Especially for the prices on the menu, you'd expect to have a little more attentive wait staff.

We had reservations, arrived maybe 15 minutes early and were sat immediately in a fairly empty restaurant. Despite that, it took us 30 minutes to get our drinks (just water) and chips/salsa and to have our order taken... Keep in mind it wasn't even busy yet. It was an hour and twenty minutes (1:20) from the time we got there until we got our meals. By the time our meals were delivered, the restaurant was full, and it's a huge restaurant. In the whole time we were waiting, our waitress never stopped by to check on us, get refills, refill our chips, etc. All said and done, it took us 2 hours to from the time we got walked in until the time we left. I'm all for a leisurely dinner out, but that would be for something with several courses. Not chips/salsa and Mexican food.

I understand that restaurants are often short staffed these days, but the owners/managers then need to consider opening only smaller portion of the restaurant. The guest experience shouldn't suffer so you can keep raking it in.

Reply to the owner questions: Hampton Ct location on Saturday night. I should have clarified, the restaurant was completely full by the time we got our food. It was fairly empty when we got there which is why there was no good explanation for why it took so long to get our order taken, get water, chips, etc. You do not have the staff to have the huge restaurant open at full capacity without sacrificing the quality of experience for the customers. I get that it's tough but you will ruin your restaurant's reputation and hurt your long term propects for...

I’m from Los Angeles, and grew up with high quality Mexican restaurants locally. So since moving to the Midwest good, authentic Mexican has been hard to find. We came with our 2 year old for dinner on a Friday a little before 6pm and were impressed with the detailed decor and ambiance upon walking in, which is exactly what we wanted. We were not looking for a Chipotle or Burrachos style dinner. We were seated inside, in an alcove, near the kitchen (but not right on top of the kitchen) by a very friendly server (Kiara) who was so accommodating and gracious! What a perfect spot. Our toddler was mesmerized by the wall sconces, the paintings, the pottery, the fish, the parrots, and especially the busy kitchen! The gluten free menu held a number of options (not just salads), and our Apacalupo nacho appetizer (pictured) was able to be modified for a gluten free meal as well. I was so thankful Kiara did not seem unsure or uninformed about gluten free eating. She was confident, attentive, very genuinely helpful, and unfazed by my requests. We ordered the gluten free Mahi Mahi fish tacos, gluten free Enchilada Ranchera with barbacoa beef, red wine, and flan for dessert. The desserts are not gf, so I didn’t have any, but my husband and toddler were quite pleased with it. The flavors were wonderful, the food arrived quickly, and the salsa that came with our chips was some of the best I’ve ever had. Our dinner entrees were between $12-16, which we found reasonable, especially considering the generous portions, gluten free status, and ambiance. Our toddler even danced to the music, and kept commenting “Good food! Good food!”. We did not feel rushed or ostracized for bringing a small child. He was quite happy with the booster seat and smaller water glass and plates they had for him. We left very satisfied and thankful for such a fun place to eat out. There were not many fellow diners when we arrived, but the restaurant was filling up by the time we left after 7. We will...

When you go out to eat, you're expecting an equal mix of food, atmosphere, and service. Manny's was different than this in many ways from walking in the door and the atmosphere being amazing, to the server who was one of the best I've had in the 10 plus states I've lived and dined out in. However this stuff could not make up for the utterly disappointing food. The menu reads like something you'd find in a high end restaurant on the coast, with the prices to match. I ordered the fish tacos, and my wife ordered ground beef nachos. Once ordered the server brought chip and salsa. This wasn't terrible but salsa was on the flavorless side, with a kick. Food comes out, and everything was plated to perfection. Unfortunately that's the best thing I can say about the food. The fish tacos had so much fish per taco I had to pull out the fish just to eat the tortilla and other ingredients. The other ingredients were about 6 tomatoes per taco and too much red cabbage. The rice was very bland, and beans were just meh. Wife's nachos were worse. The "ground beef" tasted like the meatballs that come in Chef Boyardee canned pasta, not like something you'd expect from a restaurant. There was an over abundance of lettuce, a few higher than normal acidity tomatoes, and very little cheese. If you're in the La Crosse looking for Mexican food, stick with Señor Villa, or Hacienda Vieja in Holmen, the food is...