Cocina Real Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Roanoke

I love the store location in historic downtown Roanoke, AL. The dinning room is located on a peninsula that overlooks the junction of Main and Louina Streets.

A special word of caution to pedestrians (especially children) accessing the store. Use extreme caution as there are many blind spots for oncoming traffic to negotiate at this location. You need to be prepared to walk a little ways if your visit is planed during the dinner hour or on the weekend.

Service is fast and polite with Food Servers who will work to make your dining experience pleasant. The ambiance complements the menu and contributes to a 'dining classics' experience.

The food is tasty with vegetarian options, but could use some finishing touches. Sprinkling some crumbly Queso Cheese here and there on greens and entrees could go a long way toward creating that authentic flavor diners will love at a minimum of expense. Too much cheese or the wrong cheese flavors detracts from the dish and authenticity. Modest usage of Queso Fresco, Oaxaca, Cotija, Manchego and Panela are pleasing to the pallet without requiring 'cheesy overkill.' Fresh radish slices and a slice of lime as a garnish are a nice touch with any taco plate that introduces diners to the authentic Mexican flavor and accent. Use of a Poblano Pepper for the chili relleno may be too hot for many tastes and dietary limitations, depending on how pungent the harvest is. It might be nice to provide a warning or a second pepper option with a lower Scoville rating if the Pablano is Cocina Real's mainstay for this dish. If available, a mild Pasilla variety is a good bet. Whatever the pepper, it's broadest appeal is at the low end of Scoville's scale.

The store isn't stingy, please don't get me wrong. In fact, a generous portion of chips and salsa is provided with more upon request. Please try the Chunky Guacamole or Mexican Elote sides; they will surely delight! When serving fajitas, it's always good to provide at least three tortillas as two are often not enough. If serving just (2) and a customer requests another (1) or (2) tortillas, please provide these without adding to the customer's bill to continue a welcoming atmosphere and to further the spirit of good will for mere pennies. Serving the tortillas in a warmer, wrapped in a clean kitchen towel or cloth napkin is classy and says, "quality" and attention to detail.

Use of styrene products to package food to go is an abuse of our local environment that is difficult to overlook.

The salsa bar is a very nice touch!

If you've saved room for dessert, try the Flan (when available)! You'll be back for more on your very next visit, promise!

Thank you for bringing Cocina Real to Roanoke's local cuisine. The store was an immediate addition to the city's local charms; a highly valued and much...

I was there for late lunch. My table was horrible because I was facing the wall & I was in a corner; but since I was dining alone, I didn’t want to complain. I felt rushed to make an order even though the restaurant continued to empty as I sat there; but I had literally just clocked out, so I was ready to slow down. I received my birria tacos very quickly after ordering them, however that’s kind of where service slowed nearly to a stop. I was asked by various staff members early in my visit how everything was & received refills adequately. Dessert was not available even though they have several to choose from on the menu. My ticket sat on the table with payment ready long enough for me to empty my glass again. There is an additional 4% charge for all payments unless you pay with cash and apparently you have to pay by the door although I stood waiting for my payment to be accepted… a to go order came in had their payment taken & all 5 of the wait staff just looked at me several times before my waitress who was busy cleaning tables broke away from that task baffled, saying I’ll check you out. I believe service will improve as they work out the new business kinks because everyone was nice & the food...

The food was really good. & the wait staff was really sweet, but our waitress added two things to our order that we didn't order. We just kept it & took it home for later instead of making a fuss about it bc thats just who i am, but it added about $15/$20 extra to our order. & even after leaving a reasonable tip, we were still charged an extra $20 for gratuity. Which I understand bc I used to wait tables, but if a larger table (we had 3 adults & 4 kids) tipped well we'd usually knock off gratuity. Or at least let those customers know that it was added so they weren't tipping twice. I also noticed that certain customers were getting checked on a lot more than others. 3 waitresses were walking back & forth periodically to check on this one person while us & a couple of other tables were having to flag someone down for whatever it is we needed. In our case, silverware. I just got up & got it myself in the end. The tables are pretty small too, we didn't have much elbow room to eat. & the salsa bar was pretty cool. I feel like some of these things will get better with time, but I'm not sure if we will be going back. Between the extra food that was added to our order & the extra tip, we could've...