La Carreta Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Winston-Salem

Restaurant was recommended by a coworker so my husband and I tried it. Our visit was on June 7, 2024 and from the moment we went in the feeling wasn't good. Two people at the entrance desk, man and a young lady. She greeted us, not the man looked at us and then back down at his phone. We were late diners (place closing in an hour) but knew we would order quickly so as not to keep the staff late. We were given menus and 5 mins or so our waiter came. He said hello, no name given, asked if we wanted a drink.I asked if they had any drink specials, shook his head and said we don't do that but we have beer and margaritas. Really, well that's new, I asked which tequila they used as the house brand, he had no idea and was not interested in finding out for me. My husband ordered a pina colada, I declined for now waiting to see how his tasted. It arrived very, very white, in a super large heavy glass with whipped cream on top, ok. One sip and he passed it to me to taste. Absolutely no liquor in the drink. When the waiter came back I mentioned it to him, he said I couldn't taste it because the drink was large and frozen??? What, I used to bartend, not working. I said we won't drink it or buy it, please return it to the bar. He kept trying to push the frozen issue. I refused any excuse and said this maybe your receipe but we don't want it. He finally said, ok let me see if i can bring you a shot of tequila for it. He came back with what was about 3 shots of blanco tequila(no idea which brand). we poured it in and voila' a pina colada! Our dinner was ok but nothing extra special. Unfortunately I ordered the wrong quesadilla, no fault of the waiter. It was too spicy for me so I removed the pico de gallo. Had to wait quite some time to see the waiter since he never came back to see if everything was alright with the meal. I asked for some cilantro, tomatoes and sour cream(already had the guacamole from my nachos) and he looked at me like something was wrong with me for scrapping all of the toppings off. I did tell him I ordered the wrong dish. Returned with my request, then we didn't see him again until he gave us the check. Such a poor dining experience, we won't ever come here again. And yes my husband still left a tip, over 15%(I would not have left more than 10%) When we left, there were at least 4 people at the entrance desk, not one of them said good night, thanks for coming or anything. Really sad service, waste of our time and money. Check # 209- date of service 6/7/24 -...

Update: After a brief break following my last La Carreta review, we decided to try their takeout again. I am very pleased to report the restaurant is back to providing excellent food and customer service. They have made noticeable improvements that I greatly appreciate. We're ordering from them regularly again.

We have been loyal customers of this location ever since it opened many years ago, typically placing a takeout order at least once a month. Over the past few months, we have been disappointed to see a noticeable decline in La Carreta's service. Staff are not as friendly or helpful as they have been in the past and takeout food orders are frequently inaccurate. Picking up my takeout order today, I had to stand at the front counter for over 10 minutes before a staff member eventually appeared. There was absolutely no one managing or keeping an eye on the front of the restaurant during this entire time. The employee who finally showed up to help me was curt. There was no apology for the wait and no thanks for my order. The food was adequate but not up to usual La Carreta standards. I'm not sure what's wrong at this location, but it will need to improve for us to continue...

I really hate to talk badly about a business, but sometimes it needs to be said. The past three times I've ordered from this location through DoorDash and directly for pickup, they have forgotten to include the extra sauces and side items I requested. They've essentially been ripping me off and I let it go because I didn't want to seem like a difficult customer. Today I called the restaurant in advance before I put in my order to explain that they keep forgetting the extra sauces I paid for with my order and the manager kept cutting me off and saying he added them to the order already even though I hadn't even ordered yet? He was basically trying to shut me up and get off the phone as quickly as possible. No apology. No offer to make things right. I could've demanded refunds but all I wanted from them was to not screw up my order again. I always tip well when I dine in and carryout. I've been going to this place for years. Not anymore after the manager's crappy and dismissive attitude and the staff's inability to correctly fulfill orders that aren't made in the restaurant. Adios, La Caretta. Don't know what happened, but...