La Chula Tex-Mex — Restaurant in Rahway

After much anticipation and a 45 minute wait, my two friends and I were so excited to try La Chula for the first time. Our excitement quickly diminished once we were seated and observed the hustle and not so much bustle of the restaurant’s operations. Upon being seated, we waited a good 20-25 minutes before WE flagged down a server to bring us water and take our drink order. When we finally got a server’s attention, we ordered two appetizers & a round of cocktails. After a few minutes, the appetizers appeared—corn on a clothesline (literally the ears of corn are hanging on a doll- size clothesline) and queso con chorizo aka velveeta and Vienna sausages. If I wanted to fill my body with fake cheese and canned meat, I would have gone to my nearest bodega for a quarter of the price. After making some jokes about the appetizers, we realized about 30 minutes had gone by since we ordered our apps and cocktails. When the cocktails finally arrived, they were watered down and room temperature. Fast forward another however many minutes it took for us to flag down the server again to take our order for our entrees. Surprise, the entrees were nothing to write home about, but definitely worthy of mentioning in this review. I ordered the veracruzanos (fish tacos) and I’m pretty sure the fish had been thawed, microwaved, and thrown onto a tortilla. Once again, if I had wanted a meal from the frozen section or snack aisle, I would have gone to my bodega. My friends ordered the el volcajete (a combination of meats and veggies). I’ll save you the time of reading another entree description by saying don’t order it. Additionally, in fine print at the bottom of one of the menu pages, there’s a statement about 18% gratuity included for parties of 6 or more. As a party of 3, we were still charged the 18% for abysmal service and inedible food. I’m sure we could have fought the up-charge, but we were so ready to leave that we signed the check and ran out. Finally, I will leave you with this— La Chula is nothing but a hustle and a scam. Save your time...

What a great little Mexican restaurant right in downtown Rahway. I had just come down after a long 5-hour drive for work, and just wanted some comfort food and a drink or two before heading to bed. I personally love Mexican food as I lived in Mexico for many years, and thought I would give this restaurant a try.

Upon entering, I was immediately greeted by my server, Michelle, and took a nice table for one right in front of the bar. The ambience was comfortable - the music wasn't too loud but was upbeat, and the lighting wasn't too bright. It allowed me to relax and unwind after a long day. I ordered Tacos al Pastor and Cilantro Lime Rice as a side. I was impressed by the quality of both. I got four tacos, well-portioned, and a large dish or rice, also very well-portioned. There were a couple salsas to choose from - green and red, the green being more spicy, so I used that for my rice and the more smokey red salsa on my tacos. I also had a mixed drink called the Yucatan and the bartender made it perfectly.

I would have gotten another Yucatan but always like to try a classic margarita when I visit a Mexican restaurant, so that's what I did. The margarita was smaller than the Yucatan, but still very good and had a good balance of flavor. It could have used a little more tequila in the mix, to better balance the ratio of ingredients, but overall I was pleased with it. I inhaled the tacos, which were very flavorful and delicious, as well as the rice.

Michelle took good care of me and ensured I had everything I needed. When I left without taking the correct receipt (I needed an itemized one for work expensing), I ran back in and she was able to quickly print me out another one that I could use for submitting to work. Overall, I was very happy with me experience here, and I wish I lived closer because I would be here at least once a week if so. Awesome food, great drinks, reasonably priced and kind, friendly, helpful service. For me, five stars...

I think it was my fault because I went there with high expectations and truly excited about spending one of my birthday dinners there. Hosts were friendly, service was extremely slow, drinks were received after our appetizer my drink was wrong and when I told the server I wanted taking on the rim this is what she did... I got a plate with taking in it, like I was supposed to do it by myself or dump the tajin inside idk very confusing situation.Our drinks were not even received and our server wanted us to order dinner, so we started with appetizer once we got drinks after our appetizer, we ordered the volcajete that allegedly feed 2 people, this is what we got with only 3 tortillas, we had to have 1 and 1/2 each LOL. The dish did not come with rice and beans. And the "chorizo" was not Mexican. We did not get chips and salsa so I truly don't know if they are complementary or you have to order them. Water was not refilled even though I made it clear I needed one. My bar drink was empty for 5 minutes and I jocked telling my boyfriend "if in 2 min more they don't come to ask me if I want another one, we will ask for the check" and so we did because the server came to ask if we were OK after 10 min. It was my birthday celebration with my boyfriend and I only could have 1 drink! I came in looking to have at least 4 of the different good looking cocktails advertised on Instagram but I couldn't. Not recommended at all. Music did not match the atmosphere. Did you know that there is nice modern Mexican music you could play in that restaurant that would match the atmosphere? Did...