LALO's Tacos & Cantina — Restaurant in Watkinsville

My wife and I were looking forward to dining here and did on 3/22/23. To sum up the restaurant is pretentious. I have dined in upscale Mexican food restaurants in Mexico and in a number of SW states. LALO’s offered few selections and I hoped they would be prepared well and taste good. Was I wrong? The guacamole dip had absolutely no taste. Which was the same with the rest of the food. I had a shredded chicken enchilada which was tasteless. The sauce around the edge of the plate so so. Every good chef has some spices which puts his mark on the food. My wife had a veggie taco dish that used a rice “nest” instead of traditional tortilla to hold the veggies. When picked up the nests broke. The veggies were oily. Her side was roasted veggies. They were very oily for being roasted.

Each table has a shelf rising up from the middle of the table. It was just the right height to obscure the view of your dinner partner except for the top of their head. I could not see my wife’s food selections when placed on the table. The servers put chips and dip on the shelf. The three bowls of dip were in a wire holder. And the holder was deformed. Every time you dipped a chip in any of the three bowls the holder rocked. So we took the bowls out and put them on the table top. Which meant we had to reach under the shelf to get dips. I also moved the chip bowl under the shelf after almost knocking it off the shelf.

The shelf in the middle of the table created a feeling of being crammed into a cubicle. It was an annoying way to enjoy a meal. It made interaction difficult.

Our server was ok but the kitchen had problems. The dish my wife ordered was canceled because they ran out of the noodles. We did not learn of this for about 10 minutes after we ordered. No problem, my wife ordered something else. BUT about one minute after they took her new order they brought my food. Common sense would dictate do not start preparing the other food dishes until all dishes are ready to prepare. They prepared mine and then realized no ingredients for my wife’s food! Kitchen management needs work.

The beer menu was on a ~ 4x4 inch square of paper that came from a computer printer. No prices listed! Same for cocktails no prices listed! Shameful because they could easily print a new list if prices changed. My wife got a drink and I passed. During the meal I was asked twice more did I want a beer now. My wife had not drank a fourth of her drink when she was asked if it was time for another. Ease up.

All in all my experience was uncomfortable. I was looking forward to Mexican that is not traditional Tex-Mex. I did not find it here. Instead I found bland tasteless overpriced food that could have been something remarkable with a...

This group owns multiple Mexican restruants. They have La Cabana in Bogart and Watkinsville. The food is fantastic and priced accordingly at those locations.

Lalo's is trying to be something different and it's missing the mark. The food is not bad, but it's overpriced. We visited on Friday night. It's a very loud atmosphere where you can barely hear the other people at your table. My big issues with my experience is regarding communication and pricing.

Problem #1, I asked for a slice of lime. I was brought three slices and didn't think anything about it. When the bill arrived, I was charged $2.50 for those 3 slices. Who in the world would have ever thought that they would be charged for a slice of lime at a Mexican restruant. When I questioned a lady that I think was a member of management about the charge, her response was simply "sorry but things are more expensive these days, how was your service." I told her had I known I was being charged for the lime I would have told her to keep it. No one even thinks to ask about something like that because no other restaurants I am aware of charges for a lime slice. You sure don't charge for a slice of lime at your other restaurants so this makes no sense. My suggestion to other customers is to bring a lime with you.

Problem #2, although it is becoming more increasingly common for a business to charge a surcharge or card fee, most restaurants/businesses tell you this up front. I did not see this posted anywhere and was not aware until AFTER my card was charged. When I asked where this was posted and made the suggestion that this should be communicated better, I was told again that "they were sorry but the cost of everything is going up and asked how my service was."

My service from my waitress does not make your lack of communication better. They are not the same.

Needless to say I will stick to your other restruants where the food is good, half the price and I can get a lime slice without...

Edit 10/22/23: They updated their menu which apparently also meant updating their chips and salsa/dips. They now charge $5/dip when the guacamole dip used to be free with the chips. The new salsa is mediocre at best. The chips, as well as the tortillas, had a plastic/chemical after taste. We couldn’t even finish our meal. Not to mention, the entire menu is extremely pricey ($30 for 2 people and that was with ordering waters and no dips/appetizers). They also now have an 84 food score (down from 100 when I originally left my first review a few months ago). Unfortunately, today will probably be our last visit to Lalo’s. Very disappointing.

April 2023: Really not sure why there are so many negative reviews here. Mainly people complaining about a wait time (which is standard at good restaurants) or food pricing- these are not “real” complaints. My husband and I had a wonderful experience here! We arrived at 6pm on a Friday, walked in with no wait. There were SO many staff members, never had an issue with getting anything we needed (drinks, appetizer, bill, etc). Pricing seemed fair compared to other restaurants in the area. The vibe was really fun and swanky. Very clean, and they had a 100 food score which made me very comfortable knowing the food and kitchen were safe and clean! I ordered the chicken fajitas and it was such a huge portion, I had plenty to take home for leftovers. So good! We will definitely be back and will be bringing more people with us next time to enjoy the experience. We love supporting local! Also, check out that sunset that’s visible from the restaurant outdoor eating area! Can’t beat the views and location...