La Fogata Mexican Cuisine — Restaurant in San Antonio

I have been going to La Fogata on Vance Jackson for over thirty years. I think that since the other two locations have opened that this location no longer provides the same dining experience that it used to, from the lack of friendliness of the hostesses to the lack of attentiveness of the wait staff to the taste of the food.

The primary reason for my rating though has to do with a pattern that I have now observed at least three times, two instances of which I have experienced on my own—this restaurant treats guests with mobility disabilities poorly. First, there is no safe and ADA compliant way to get from the handicapped parking spaces to the hostess podium. The only option is to walk through the indoor portion of the restaurant to a flight of stairs that leads to the hostess table that is at the end of the outside patio—a long walk from the stairway. Twice when I have gone w my mom who is wheelchair-bound I have had to leavr her by herself inside the indoor portion of the restaurant and walk to the far end of the outdoor patio. And then I am told that I will have to bring my mom outside somehow and wait an hour to 90 minutes for a table because I didn’t maje a reservation even though there are many tables inside and out that are vacant. I have observed other mobility impaired guests experience the same. Which leads to my next point.

Second, make a reservation because if you walk in they will always tell you there is a wait even when almost all of the indoor tables (about 20 four tops) are vacant and half of the outdoor seating is vacant. I have gone at 2:30 pm and then at 4 pm w my mom and both times was told the wait would be one and a half hours because of reservations but no one is inside or outside. I have friends who manage restaurants and they put aside tables for walk-ins; I find it hard to believe that the restaurant would need 40 four-tops for reservations at 2:30 pm or 4 pm on a Saturday when I am seeking a dining time for two people.

Third, the service is not attentive. So slow. I was at a table of four on Mother’s Day. There was one party of eight who was being served by another waiter. And then a four top behind us who was being served by another waiter. Our waiter had our table and one two-top. There were no other parties in the restaurant. It took ten minute to order our drinks and then another ten minute to order our food. What was good is that the food came out in ten minutes but tasted as it had been premade and microwaved. I understand that w the Mother’s Day holiday and the limited menu you need to have some things pre made but it was disappointing. Not bad tasting but not the same quality it used to be.

I think the root of the problem is management. It can make or break a dining experience; in this instance, it’s broken mine. I have given this location four opportunities in the last 12 months but this weekend was the last. There are many other places in San Antonio to eat better quality food and that are managed better so that you have a better quality experience for what you are paying.

The outside patio remains pretty! The landscaping is beautiful. If only they paid as much attention to the other parts of the...

Hello! My husband and I have been dining at this restaurant together since we met in 2016. We felt that it's always been a safe choice for great margaritas. I've even tried a cosmopolitan this past February and it was great.

My doctor put me on some dietary restrictions back on May 1st so I've been limiting the high fat, high cholesterol, simple carb foods and alcohol consumption.

July 1st was my bloodwork, so we decided we would celebrate a little after all my efforts with dining at a restaurant where we knew we could get quality drinks and good food. We decided we would order the chicken breast fajitas and I would eat them with corn tortillas so that I wouldn't go totally overboard.

When we arrived, there was no hostess at the station so we wandered our way through the restaurant. It didn't even look like there was anyone in the bar area. The outdoor section was closed so we went inside. We were directed by the one server there at the time where we could sit. We found out later that they were in the middle of a shift change.

My husband ordered a margarita on the rocks, nothing on the rim, and I ordered a cosmo. When the drinks arrived the main thing you notice is my cosmo was a very red color (not the normal light pink) and it had a maraschino cherry in it (which you could barely see because the drink was red). I said, "Ok, I'm willing to be open and try it." We said, "Cheers!" and took our first sips.

My husbands first reaction was that his margarita tasted watered down. He asked me about my cosmo and I told him that it was okay. We tasted again and I tasted his margarita and it seems as if the ingredients were disproportioned: too much mix. My cosmo tasted like the maraschino cherry and there was not enough lime.

We thought about leaving, so I told him you better chase down the server to cancel our fajita order. He didn't and we decided instead to kindly voice our dissatisfaction with the drinks and and the server offered we could order something different or not order and stick with water. We decided to order two skinny margaritas because it's hand shaken and there are three simple ingredients. Unfortunately, those came and the taste was also off. For me it seemed as if there was too much tequila and not enough lime. Maybe you all just got a bad batch of limes or were using limes past their prime.

We each ended drinking only half of our skinny margaritas (not worth the calories for me). Later we commented how even though we only drank half our skinnies we still got a buzz, confirming the excess of tequila.

We were quite baffled when we left. What was that? What happened with the drinks La Fogata? We peeked into the bar area as we were leaving and the same person that had been seating people (being the hostess) was the same person in there making the drinks. We were like, "okay, that explains it. The regular bartender is not here and we have someone here running around seating people (when he can) and then running to...

9:00pm Friday night wait time (according to the hostess) was an hour. We were able to order drinks ahead while we waited for our table. Several couples left and our wait time was cut down to 20 minutes. Top shelf tequila was used for my margarita. It was good, a little on the strong side, but it was still ok. The hubs ordered a Michelada with Pacífico beer and said it was good but was too peppery. It looked like they used real pepper corns but were too coarse. I enjoyed the chips and salsa, salsa was tasty and had a lot of flavor and a nice kick to it. My son and I ordered Tacos Norteños and the fajita inside the tacos was very savory. It had beans in the taco as well but nothing excessive. I enjoyed the cabbage and prefer it to lettuce as it complimented the taco with a fresh, crisp texture in every bite. I expected a little more avocado as my two tacos only had a single sliver of avocado in it. The tortilla itself in my tacos were slightly crispy and soft at the same time. I enjoyed the taste as well. I could taste and smell the cast iron skillet they were seared on. I particularly enjoyed the rice as it tasted authentic and none of the seasoning was overpowering. Beans were ok but I've definitely had better. My husband said that my mom makes better beans a la charra from a can, soooo...lol. My husband had Tacos al Pastor and he got 3 tacos and were obviously not authentic because they don't have an actual trompo where they actually slice the meat off of the vertical spinning top with the pineapple on the kebab. Anywho. He gives it a 3, as tortillas were not Homemade and we've had the luxury of eating Tacos Al Pastor from an authentic tacos al pastor place. Lastly, our 6 year old was very satisfied with his cheese enchiladas. He is a big fan of enchilada plates, and was able to eat 2 of the three enchiladas from his adult portioned plate. He enjoyed his rice and beans as well. We enjoyed the atmosphere and our waiter was very attentive, conversational, likeable. He was running on his last fumes but did not slack off or skimp on service. Wonderful night with the fam and the ambiance was one we will...