Los Portales — Restaurant in Town of Minoqua

My mother was really looking forward to taking me and my husband to this restaurant based on the excellent reviews. I’m sorry to say, it is unlikely any of us will return. The staff were very friendly. However, there are a couple of things that just can’t be overcome even with excellent, friendly staff. I found a hair in my rice and beans. Revolting, yes, but … OK. I suppose it can happen. After bringing this to management’s attention (something I’d think they’d want to know about) a replacement plate of rice and beans was given to me. That is the bare minimum (and certainly not the best way) to try and fix the situation. I’m sorry but more could/should have been done. Management could have at least offered 50% off my meal. After all, my appetite was greatly impacted by finding that. Then, regarding the additional fee for using a credit card - While we can debate whether that should be a cost of doing business or passed on to customers, I was very surprised to see 4% added. Some other establishments charge 3% but … 4%? For example, a $2.99 soda cost $3.11 with the credit card surcharge. When you get the bill, it is assumed a credit card will be used so, unlike other establishments that add the charge, the surcharge is essentially deducted if you pay cash. This is very clearly written at the bottom — cash vs. credit price. Overall, compared to other Mexican restaurants in the area, we would rank this last place. It’s a shame as one critical ‘ingredient’ of good dining experiences is good/friendly staff. This place has that. Unfortunately, the food does not live up to that...

I recently had a very odd experience and feel someone at this restaurant takes advantage of tourists. I was there this past week and had a great time up until after I had paid, I’m quite certain I paid the bill in full with a tip and I’m really not one to place blame and get upset and I’m a server myself… however, I paid my bill and as I was walking away my waiter stopped me and said I must have mixed up a $20 with a $1. I know I didn’t do this and believe they swapped it themselves and then wanted me to pay even more to have a complete bill. In the moment I didn’t want to start any problems and I guess I gave them the benefit of the doubt in me maybe getting mixed up. But I’ve been thinking of this and I actually double checked what I put down before giving it to them and it was the full bill plus a 20% tip. This made me feel super uncomfortable and I did end up giving them the money they said I still owed but again, I feel I was scammed and taken advantage of my kindness. This is just to advise anyone else who goes there to maybe even take a photo of the cash you put down or pay in card, I’m kicking myself now for letting...

First time here; we've never been to ANY Mexican restaurant with lunch specials that included just ONE of the main menu items, i.e. ONE taco or ONE enchilada. I had a Poblano pepper "stuffed" with cheese, it came with beans and rice. The taste was okay, it didn't have a lot inside of it, small amounts of beans and rice. My husband had a burrito lunch special--it looked much more like an enchilada, open on the ends, with a creamy white sauce. He always prefers pork, which they didn't offer, so he had ground beef--taste was OK, but far less food than you'd expect with a lunch special. He had a soft drink, I had water--the bill was about $26-$27, before tip. Service was fine, but not asked if we'd like more chips and salsa. We are from the Chicago area, we've been going to a fabulous Mexican restaurant for 35+ years, which has actually been in businessfor 53 years. Los Portales restaurant is just OK, we will be trying other Mexican restaurants on our next trip. I hope they stay in business, but they need to give more food and their prices are just too high for...