La Pelusa Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Statesville

I went to this place today with my husband & father in law, and typically I have little to no issue with food or service. Today was a different story. Of the 50+ times I've been here, this was the worst. I ordered water with no ice & the waitress brought it with ice. I asked her to replace it & she came back with tea, so I had to send it back again. My husband ordered a diet Pepsi & received regular, so we had to send that back as well. Then, he couldnt even drink it because it tasted like cleaning liquid. My husband and father in law ordered the lunch taco loco salad, and had a film of grease in their mouths for hours after eating. I ordered the lunch combo #4 (one enchilada, rice, and beans), and my rice & beans were both severely overcooked. My enchilada sauce was bitter, as though it was overcooked or had added chemicals to it. When I gave it to the waitress to ask her to take it off my ticket, she refused. At the register, she rang us up. She then argued with me for 15 minutes about taking off my meal, which I ate one bite of, claiming it was fine, that I ate half of it, and that I must just not like Mexican food. Again, I've eaten this meal here over 50 times, and in general well over 100, and never had a single problem. She finally took $3 off the ticket, but refused to take the rest of the meal off, or my husbands drink, which he did not drink. I will NEVER be back here after the service I received. The waitress refused to get a manager and claimed she was the manager. She served everyone else in the restaurant with a smile except for us. I've had bad service before, but rarely on this level. There was no offer to even replace my food, and she still demanded we pay full price for a meal I...

I’ve been a loyal customer at La Palusa for a long time, but after last night, I will never return.

When my wife and I placed a to-go order, the man at the counter was rude and dismissive from the start. I asked for 4 tacos with rice and no cilantro (something I’ve ordered here before) and he told me “everything comes how it is” and refused. My wife asked for salsa or pico on the side and was told they “don’t have those things.” Later, a waitress confirmed they do. When I politely asked again, he became confrontational, denied I had asked, and escalated the situation instead of fixing it.

It was clear we were not welcome. My wife was the only African American in the restaurant, and we were the only gay couple there. The treatment we received felt discriminatory — both racist and homophobic. Instead of providing basic customer service, he chose to antagonize us and even called the police to make it seem like we were the problem.

What used to be one of my favorite Mexican spots is now a place I can’t support. La Palusa needs to do better with who they hire. No customer should ever feel unsafe, disrespected, or discriminated...

I literally ordered a simple steak taco salad (no veggies) on Sunday with lettuce, diced tomatoes, sour cream and cheese. I called after I got home( around 8:45)due to me having to go inside to order, mind you they close at 9pm but for some reason their phone was "off the hook" when I arrived to place my order in person (around 8:10pm) I was told they didn't know their phone was off the hook😒 Needles to say, I returned today for my replacement and had to go back and forth for 15 minutes about the mixup on Sunday, once I returned today, they literally had to remake my order over 3 different times!!! I'm so angry about my food as well as the poor customer service. The girl with the red hair was very impolite and had a very nasty attitude after they messed up my food 3 different times🫤 I frequent this restaurant a lot and I always order the same thing, a simple steak taco salad with sour cream, diced tomatoes, cheese and lettuce! Once again no veggies! I will be taking the order back tomorrow as well as speaking with...