La Parrilla Suiza — Restaurant in Tucson

I would love to love La Parilla more, especially due to my long standing relationship with this place. It is the Mexican restaurant in Tucson I frequent the most. For good reason too, they have some of the best Mexican food that I can seem to find and has a great atmosphere. Let's dive into my major critiques of this place to explain further.

Main course: I will say that I'm not the most adventurous when it comes to my picks, but I know what I like and I will say that the selection here is outstanding. I generally get a Parilladas or chimichanga which are fantastic. The former is great for sharing between two and you can pick different combinations to fit both appetites. The latter is just classic to me and I believe they do very well with the beef. The chicken to me is very dry and sort of falls apart, not in a good way. I generally stay away from their chicken for this reason. I have been going here for 4 years however so it's not a deal breaker for me.

Appetizers/Chips: Hands down, La Parilla has some of the best chips and salsa in Tucson. I'm fairly certain it's why I keep coming back because no other restaurant has matched this display with the same caliber. You get warm chips (most of the time) and three separate salsa. Salsa Verde/Avocado is the first and my personal favorite for the Avocado. It's amazing and I hope they never get rid of it. The salsa Verde is subpar with a bland flavor and when they bring it back (possibly seasonal) I will switch to red. With the red, it has a strong tomato taste with a spicy kick behind it, which I personally enjoy. If you hate tomato, stay away. Finally you have Pico de Gallo which is fresh and full of flavor. As for appetizers, I personally love getting guacamole, though it's pretty big so make sure you have friends to share with. Several others that I have tried are good but not great. Namely the mini chimis and cheese crisp although I did have a minor fling with the La Parilla Quesadilla with steak.

Drinks: Great Mexican beer is always on tap here and they come in large glasses for you to enjoy. Additionally they have some of the best margaritas in Tucson with a variety of different flavors. And if you're a heavy partier, no judgement, they have tequila flights ready to go. The downside to all of this is that they only usually staff 1 bartender which can some times back up orders so be prepared to wait if this happens. Otherwise for non alcoholic they have standard drinks and Mexican coke! Water is from the tap though so if you're paranoid about that, be aware.

Atmosphere: I have very mixed feelings on their decor. On one hand it's very rustic and cozy with a great vibe to hang out and enjoy yourself. On the other hand, this place is in major disrepair from the sunken booth seats to the creaking floor the place feels a bit out of date. That being said, this has never truly dulled my experience here. Also they have a mariachi band that comes in from time to time that is extremely friendly and talented.

Service: This is where I have to give the hard part of my review. The people here are very hit and miss when it comes to how they treat you. Some servers will take care of you constantly and get you what you need whenever you ask while other times it will be the longest and slowest eating experience of your life. You see, all of the above comments are situational. When this place is good, it's fantastic... But go here during slow periods the food will be disappointing and the people will be non-existent. They're the best when they're busy so be prepared if you get there when it's not. I have received the opposite of all of the above good situations on...

My family had eaten here many years ago and so sorry to say it is not what it used to be. As we pulled up (Speedway location) I noticed a sign for early dinner specials and drinks and appetizers. When we asked about it, the waiter handed us a separate sheet (which he did not offer to us until I asked) and said that if we had the dinner specials ($10 so not that cheap) we couldn't have the drink or appetizer specials. In other words it was one or the other. Definitely a misleading sign but oh well. I ordered a special margarita-watermelon and jalapeno which was $11 and I couldn't taste any tequila in it but chalk that one up to a "flavored margarita". We decided to have a cheese crisp from the appetizers. It was the worst cheese crisp ever. The tortilla wasn't crisp. Usually you can pick them up like a thin sliced piece of pizza. No way, had to use a fork to even get it off and on the plate. My chile relleno had a very soggy breading and the chile was so tough, I had trouble cutting it with my knife. My tamale was ok, nothing special. But my mom's taco salad was unbelievable. 1st she asked for it with no cucumbers and after it was made, i watched the waiter talk to the chef, and she took it back and picked out the cucumbers with her hands. I was surprised she didn't use a spoon but decided oh well, it was the chef and her hands must be clean. When it came to the table, all you could see was a huge lump of plain white chicken on top. It wasn't appealing at all and mom had ordered it with shredded beef. So back to the kitchen and I thought she was going to throw it out but just picked off the chicken and replaced it with beef. Honestly it was the most pathetic taco salad I've ever seen. It just wasn't like any she had ever had-of course that doesn't mean it was bad. But it was very plain. Mom expected refried beans, it had kidney beans. Lots of lettuce and big chunks of carrots and a little bit of corn. There were no seasoning, no tomatoes, and all you could see was this big glop of beef on top now. To be fair, I guess it was as described but I hated that my mom was so disappointed. And the waiter never really came to see how it was once it was returned with beef, not chicken. My mom is 83 and uses a walker. There was a note on the menu that they give senior discounts as well so I was surprised when we got the bill and it had not been applied. I quickly mentioned it and he changed the ticket. As I looked more closely when he returned I noticed that the appetizer special price was also not applied. When I asked him about that, he said you can't have 2 discounts so only the senior discount. So you advertise specials, but won't give them together, then say you can't have it if you are a senior. By this time the whole experience of a nice meal with my mom is blown. She's disappointed and I feel bad and trying to not make a scene. So needless to say, after bad food, poor service, and a nice restaurant that refused advertised discounts, we won't return. Very...

This evening my aunt and I decided to dine at La Parrilla Suiza on Speedway. When we arrived we stood for a few minutes at the hostess/host stand until a gentleman behind the bar acknowledged us suggesting he would be with us momentarily. Momentarily took another 10-12 minutes. The manager on duty was the person who sat us at a booth by the window. We sat at our table for well into 20-25 minutes before I finally picked myself up and walked over to the female server on duty. I explained no one had been to the table to take drink order, give chips and salsa or menus. The female server said she would get the attention of the server assigned to our table. Juan Moreno was the server assigned to our table when he arrived he took our drink order my 88 year old aunt orders coffee “hot please” with cream and sugar and Juan brings back the drink orders coffee is luke warm, cream but no sugar. I had to ask Juan for menus, for chips and salsa and got up a second time for flatware and napkins. Juan took our orders and we waited for what seemed like another 30-40 minutes before I got up from my table a 3rd time to inquire about our order. For goodness sakes it’s a Tuesday evening not busy. I went up to the manager a second time describing our dining experience was not proving to be a positive one the first time I spoke with the manager he brushed me off but came to the table to apologize but was not interested in learning the specifics of our experience. The second time I spoke with the manager both Juan and manager were behind the bar and manager looked at Juan like it was completely Juan’s fault. Manager begins to describe the reason it was taking so long for our order was because one of the orders of the (2) entrees had been prepared wrong. I suggested a communication from Juan would have been welcomed. By this time my aunt and I were starved and decided to make our way out because it was clear to us this restaurant did not care to correct their errors. The chips Juan finally brought to the table were wet/soggy and were crumbs. I will NEVER go back to this restaurant ever again. So POOR...and manager and Juan seemed very cavalier about...