The grand opening of La Altena Taqueria in Santa Rosa left customers satisfied with the food but disappointed with the service.
La Altena opened on March 31 with traditional Latino tunes blasting. The restaurant is kid friendly with bright colors of red, blue, yellow and green covering the walls and chairs. The menu is written in chalk with rainbow colors sure to grab a child’s attention and with affordable prices grabbing the parents’ attention. This is a great place to bring a family for lunch on a casual afternoon, but don’t bring the grandparents or those hard of hearing because the volume of the music will turn them off.
The prices of the food are about average for a Mexican restaurant. It is about $7 to $8 for a burrito and $5 to $6 for a quesadilla. This will put a smile on your face if you’re looking for a place with decent food, not looking to break the bank and are tired of stomach-turning Taco Bell. The downside of the pricing is that it is not listed on the company’s Facebook page, which makes it harder for future customers to choose whether to go. The Facebook page does do a good job describing the location, posting a few photos of the look of the restaurant, as well as the fact that La Atena offers to-go orders. However, the lack of prices without so much as a broad overview “nothing more than $10 a plate” is discouraging.
The menu offered a variety of Mexican dishes from quesadillas to menudo, sure to please anyone in the mood for Mexican food. The variety of meats from chicken and beef to chorizo and pescado is different from the typical steak, beef or chicken that gets boring at other restaurants.
Presentation is everything and the beautiful diamond-shaped plate upon which the food was served was marvelous if only to accompany the delectable food.
The roasted chicken quesadilla was certainly unique in the sense of the types of chicken seasonings. The chicken had just enough spiciness to give it a kick but not too much to overpower the taste. The tenderness of the chicken made it easy to eat.
La Altena does not chince on the amount of food given. The burritos are nothing new, but it is encouraging to have a new location where the burritos are stuffed full to ensure that second helpings are not needed. The servings were hearty enough to get full in one sitting and if you are like me, there is still enough for you to take home for leftovers.
Overall the food receives a four out of five stars because it didn’t stand out from any other Mexican restaurant in terms of taste, but it was better than average in seasonings.
The service was displeasing. The waitresses seemed as if they did not want to be there and were nervous. Granted it was probably their first time waiting tables, but waitresses are supposed to make the customer feel welcomed and these waitresses neglected to do that.
For decent prices, kid-friendly ambiance and delectable dishes, La Altena receives four out of five stars, but unfortunately the attitude of the waitresses brings them down to a three-and-a-half. More training, confidence and experience should easily fix this problem.