La Limeña Grill — Restaurant in Rockville

We went on 01.06.23 , with my husband and my two year old son, the place had like 7 tables occupied With couples and families, very clean and quite nice, on the table there was a glass candle holder and inside a small battery operated little candle (like the ones they sell in dollar stores) when we sat down my son tried to take the centerpiece, I didn't give it to him, but I did give him the little candle so he could see it, my son started playing with the candle and the silverware, basically pretending to eat, and exploring like a toddler, I brought him some of his plastic vegetables that he was also playing with, while he was sitting on my lap, after a few minutes a fork fell to the floor, I took the rest of the forks I had nearby, a waitress came over to pick it and give me some plastic forks, I thought it was weird, but thought it was so my son wouldn't cut himself, he took them and continued playing, a second fork fell down and the waitress came again to pick it up, I asked her to please wait and I told her, “when we finish eating I will pick it up”, she tried to take the candle and I told her, “Ms if my son breaks I will pay for it, he is just playing and in a moment and will lose interest, shortly (as it usually happens) she took the glass container. The waiter who took our order told me, when I repeated to him, that if we ruined something we would pay for it, "don't worry, he’s just a child", not two minutes passed and a lady approached our table, she did not identify herself but told us that she wanted to let us know that the centerpieces and candles were complete sets, in case they were broken, I do not remember exactly what else she said, because at this point, I was crying with frustration and embarrassment to see our family in that situation. We have visited many restaurants, fancy, not fancy, Asian, Mexican, American, any kind and never, ever, no one had ever treated us this way or made us feel unwelcome for our two year old son playing while his food arrived, we decided to leave, upon asking, for the bill the Restaurant Manager came over to ask what was going on, indicating that he was not aware (as if the 4 people who approached us could not inform him) he apologized, offered not to pay for the drinks, but nothing, justifies such behavior towards a family, nowhere did I see that they made it known that it was not a kids friendly restaurant, or that they reserved the right of admission, it seems incredible to me, that we have visited restaurants of higher category in which when waitress saw our toddler playing they have offered him things to distract him, they have asked us not to worry about cleaning (because we always look for the place where he sits to be left as clean as when we arrived) and here they have had such a degrading way to treat us, I know that as parents we have to take care of the behavior of our children, but we are talking about a child who sometimes does not even know why he cries, obviously I was not going to leave him the cutlery to play during the whole meal, nor the candle, not even 15 minutes passed while all this happened, normally we let him play with whatever he is curious about and then we take it away, always supervising that he does not break or ruin something! I can only write this review, and hope that no one else experiences something like this. Thanks for reading! Attaching a picture of the glass container...

I’ve been coming to this restaurant at least once or twice a month, and there’s a very clear reason for that: the food is absolutely delicious. Every dish I’ve tried has been full of flavor and consistently high quality, which keeps me coming back again and again.

The service is generally very good—the staff is attentive and clearly committed to ensuring a good dining experience. That said, there are times when the attentiveness can feel a bit overdone. While I’m enjoying my meal, I’ve experienced multiple check-ins or attempts to clear my plate before I’m finished, which can disrupt the experience. A little more space during the meal would go a long way in enhancing the comfort of the visit.

Another area of improvement is pricing. While I understand the value of great food and service, I’ve noticed some small charges—like for lemon or hot sauce—that I believe should be complimentary. These little add-ons can feel excessive and could be reconsidered as part of the overall hospitality.

Additionally, I’ve experienced some visits where the temperature inside the restaurant has been uncomfortably warm. A more consistently regulated environment would really make the space more enjoyable, especially during the hotter months.

On a positive note, the manager personally came over to speak with me during my last visit and was extremely open and receptive to my feedback, which I really appreciated. It speaks to the quality of leadership and the care they have for their customers’ experiences.

Overall, I will continue to support this place because the food is that good. I hope these small areas of improvement are helpful and taken in the same spirit in which they are offered—with appreciation...

The food is wonderful. My 1 star review is due to a horrible service issue. My 13 year old daughter, adopted from Peru at age 8, is very sick with a cold. She wanted Peruvian soup. I called La Limena and was disconnected so decided to order for pick up from the internet instead. My order for 2 soups was $32. Postmates sent a text saying it would take 45 min to be ready. I called La Limena after waiting 20 minutes to see if it was ready and was told it would be another 20 minutes. I told the man who answered the phone that I’d go grocery shopping and then pick it up, which I did at the exact time it was supposed to be ready (Since I was killing time and eager to get home).

The order was supposed to be ready at 4:03pm on a Sunday, - so not prime time but the restaurant was very busy. I waited a bit for someone to help me and was then told that a guy had grabbed my order 10 min earlier. I was disappointed since I had been waiting so long but said I would wait while they made it again. The hostess then said they would make it again only if I PAID AGAIN. I then spoke to the manager, a woman, who was very rude to me and was much more worried about (1) customers hearing our disagreement and (2) the loss of $32 than she was in trying to make things right for her customer who had paid for food that the restaurant mistakingly gave to someone else and was being asked to wait another 30 minutes AND pay for the food again. Eventually, she agreed to give me the soup without charging me twice but no apologies and just general rudeness. I’m so...