La Mixteca Restaurant — Restaurant in Urbana

The food here was fine, but that's about where the positive part of the experience ended. We waited over an hour, were charged for food we didn't order, and the owner, Mauricio (pretending to be the manager, saying the owner was in Indiana), outright lied to us. I have elaborated on everything below. My wife and I went to La Mixteca, ordered, and were told to have a seat while we waited, that our margarita would be out soon to start. The first sign that something was off was that our receipt was charged for more than it seemed we should've been paying (the receipt is not itemized). My wife asked about this, and was assured it was correct. We were brought our margarita and waited... and waited. We saw reviews that said service was slow, so we waited about 45 minutes before asking the young woman who worked there if there was any estimate for how long until our food would be ready. She said the man in front should've advised us that there would be a wait, but that she'd check. An hour passed. We went to the front, at this point pretty bothered and quite hungry. We asked for a refund for the food, and said we'd be leaving. It was at this time that the man at the front told us they had our food ready and sitting there--packaged to go. We had never asked for carryout, and it was never indicated to us that our order was being prepared to-go. In fact, our asking when our food would arrive at the table should've been a pretty strong indicator that we were expecting to receive food. We asked for the manager, but he was frankly of no help whatsoever. The other employees were not rude, but the "manager" said it was just "logical" that our order was to-go, because we ordered at the front. There was no signage, the man who took our order didn't tell us the policy when we began by telling him we had never been to La Mixteca before, and the young woman (as well as the rest of the staff) didn't tell us that our food was sitting waiting to be taken when we were at our table asking about it. We asked for the owner, but the "manager" said the owner was off visiting another restaurant he owns in Indiana. We asked for the owner's contact information, and instead the "manager" gave us his own phone number, claiming it was the owner's. We called the number, a phone started ringing, he rushed off, and it was silenced. But his WhatsApp photo still appears with the number, showing the "manager". At first we thought he was just lying about whose number he had given us, but a quick look online showed that we were in fact interacting with the owner himself! In the end, La Mixteca would not return our money, so we took the food. It was fine. Nothing special compared to what you'll get even in Chicago, but fine. Unfortunately, we were in fact given and charged for an extra item that we didn't order, which explains the bill being too high... Based on being overcharged, the lack of communication from the staff, the owner's conduct, and the food frankly not justifying the hassle, I cannot recommend La Mixteca to others. While some of this situation was likely a combination of honest mistakes, the owner's reaction to the situation was by choice, and it was...

Best food I've ever had and unfortunately not going back.

I've had Mixteca 3 times now. The first time I was there, the service was sparse and pretty slow but I looked past it because I ate what I consider to be my absolute favorite meal I've ever had -- the Choripollo Burrito. Fantastic. The grilled chicken is very flavorful and perfectly cooked. The queso sauce is the best touch. It was fantastic, and such a large portion that I got 2 meals out of it...and I'm a BIG guy. My whole family enjoyed their meal but commented that the wait was a bit longer than expected or at similar restaurants in our area.

The 2nd time was a to-go order of the same meal, that took over an hour to pick up. My son and I waited 45 minutes at the restaurant to pick it up before we got it. No apologies or explanations, just paid full price for a far-too-long wait and were sent on our way. I'm not one to kick up a fuss so, I guess that's on me.

The 3rd visit was just yesterday. I took my parents and my 4 kids to enjoy what I told them was some of the best food I've had. Everything started well but again the wait was over an hour. People who had arrived half an hour after us were served before us. When we finally asked another waitress to check on our meal, magically it was all ready. The waiter who had taken our order hadn't allowed me to get further than saying "Choripollo" and nodded and wrote down my order. Well, he got it wrong, sending me a Choripollo taco rather than a burrito. My mother asked for no beans and got a lot. My kids were restless and tired after waiting an hour and eating chips that we just asked for a box, paid the check and left.

I want to like this place, the food is so incredibly good. But having slow service 3 times in a row has convinced me it's not worth it. There are a number of small Mexican and Tex-Mex restaurants in the area. I'll get by, and I suggest you look elsewhere unless you are ok waiting for an inotdinatr...

Edit2: this is still our favorite place in town after dozens of visits. You're missing out if you don't at least try it.

We came on a busy weekend night, dinner for 2. Our server was super busy (I think it was just her plus some bussers) but kept up with us and several other tables (including some extra large parties) and made sure we were happy. We were very pleased and impressed with her service.

The food was phenomenal. I got an El Diablo Burrito and boy did it deliver! The salsa was hot and flavorful, the steak was tender and the greens kept the whole thing fresh. It came with rice and a salad topped with cilantro, tomatoes, and a dollop of sour cream. Both were very tasty. I cleaned my plate! Absolutely loved the food. Great work in the kitchen.

My girlfriend got the American style beef taco dinner. She said she loved the toppings and the sides were also delicious. "Yum!"

Try the salsas! We got 4 with the chips. Green and orange are both very hot. The green was really interesting, please give it a go if you can handle some heat.

Lastly, we got house margaritas (large!). The drinks themselves were great, tasty margs. You definitely get a big portion with the large and its a good value. I love that they include the drink prices on the menu. It's a pet peeve when I have to play a guessing game with my bill, so thanks management!

(Sorry everything is half eaten/drank in the photos, I wasn't planning on reviewing the place but I was just so darn impressed!)

Edit: After 3 more visits I can safely say this place rocks! It's now our go-to Mexican in town and comfortably seated in our main rotation. I've polished off every dish they give me,...