La Fiesta

I had passed up La Fiesta for many months despite its close proximity to my house. Why, I could barely tell you. The faded exterior and sign promised mediocrity; then again I’ve eaten at places far more rundown, gone back repeatedly, and reviewed them enthusiastically. Snap judgments are often wrong. So the other night we finally gave the place a try.
Pros: the interior is much nicer than the exterior — more than serviceable in cleanliness and atmosphere for a cheap Mexican place. The staff was friendly and our waitress next-​level nice. And the food looked like exactly the meal we wanted in that moment: standard enchiladas and tacos swimming in a sea of orange rice, brown beans and white melted cheese.
Cons: nothing tasted like anything. I love this kind of interchangeable, inauthentic Mexican food and tend to be superhumanly tolerant of its weaknesses. But the beans, sauces, and chicken were all just kind of flavorless. The mild salsa tasted like canned tomatoes and little else (the hot, happily, was pretty good and I doused my meal in it). My chile relleno was a sadly overcooked and mild poblano in a puddle of cheese. My wife got veggie fajitas; while the vegetables were diverse and perfectly cooked, they too had enjoyed only a brief flirtation with any kind of seasoning.
Sad to say that my grumpy first impression was right. You could do worse, but you could also do much better. Even by generic Mexican restaurant standards, La Fiesta isn’t likely to meet expectations.

I really really enjoy going to La Fiesta. I would say I go for lunch maybe two-​three times a month. We’re always seated right away even during busy lunch hours. I’ve never eaten anything other than a chicken chimichanga, so I can’t speak for other food items, but the chicken chimichanga is sooooo delicious. It’s chock full of gooey cheese and shredded chicken. Never disappoints.
The only reason I was hesitant to give a 5 star review is because sometimes it’s kind of luck of the draw with servers. The majority are outstanding, very sweet and helpful. Every once in a while though, you’ll get a server with a terrible attitude. I’ve been here maybe 20+ times since I’ve been at UGA, and I’d say only maybe four or five of those times have I had a bad server. So not an incredibly big deal. I still love to go when I get a hankering!

The food was pretty mediocre. The salsa is served in a hot cup and a mild cup, but no medium! And surprisingly mixing the two doesn’t make it any better. A true tell of a good Mexican restaurant is the salsa and it was just disappointing. The chips weren’t bad and the meal was ok. Much more expensive than you would expect for a Mexican restaurant but not even half as good as Sr. Sol or Tlaloc.

Eating at LaFiesta!!! AWESOME!!!
AWESOME!!! AWESOME!!!
Ask for Moses. He is amazing. The best Mexician cuisine and the best waiter Ive ever known. I promise you will not be disapointed! Once you try this, you will become a regular!
GO
EAT
HERE!!!
I personally like to sit at the bar!
— Dr Todd

Love the shrimp fajitas here! Depending on the server, they are great or lousy, really no in between. I love the cheese dip here too.

If you need to fulfill a craving of meat, beans and lots of cheese, this is the place to go. I wouldn’t call it authentic Mexican restaurant, but if you’re hungry and you want something filling and heavy, I recommend this place. I’ve had the carnitas and the quesadillas. It’s a great lunch place to go to because it’s not too crowded during the day. Also, the margaritas are good as well.

So my family and I often visit La Fiesta. The food isn’t great by any standards very bland but the portion sizes are big in additional to the food and pricing being decent. Today, however I ordered a chicken fajita and taco by phone for take out, I asked for no cheese & no guacamole and for the taco to be no cheese as well. I get home and my food looks old, cold and its covered in guacamole and cheese. I call back to the restaurant and speak with M***** who I later found out is the owner’s son. After explaining the situation he tells me that on my «NEXT» order he’ll make sure that everything is right. I explain to him that I’m allergic to cheese and will be returning the items for them to be prepared properly and fresh. I also explained how inconvenient it was for me to drive all the way back which was a 20 minute ride at which time he assured me he would «take care of everything» when I arrived. Upon arrival he starts looking through the bag and stated that mistakes happen and the only thing he could do was to prepare the food properly! I stated that I would call corporate as I wasn’t satisfied at which time he stated there was no corporate and his dad owned the restaurant. About 15 minutes later he came out my food stating it was ready and stated as a means of making up for the mistakes he included fresh nachos COVERED in cheese. Clearly he was trying to be funny as I had already explained I was allergic to cheese. Lost a customer or rather family of customers. I like to spend my money where I’m respected and valued. Quite sure I can find another restaurant with bland food that’s reasonably priced… shame on you La Fiesta, customer service has declined throughout the years!!!

Finally got to go to La Fiesta and it was good! Everyone there was nice; the food and the prices were quite good!
I ordered fish tacos and they were really good but I only had one little piece of fish in it. Considering my previous experiences at other places… That was not enough.
The rice and beans there are kind of bad. I ate there two days in a row and both times the rice and beans were tasteless and old so. Don’t order that!
Shrimp enchiladas were delicious as well! Definitely recommend.

God help you if you FALL because of sticky beverages on the floor at this restaurant. My brother, a loyal La Fiesta customer through the rise and fall of this establishment for YEARS, slipped on a wet floor and seriously hurt himself. Not an apology, not any kind of concern over whether he needed medical attention, just a hurried shuffle to get him out the door. REALLY??? This is a gentleman who is already considerably fragile due to serious arthritis. The restaurant staff know this; he uses a cane! If negative stars could be left, I would do so. DO NOT GO HERE – VERY DANGEROUS FOR YOUR HEALTH.

Been coming here for 20 years with the same server Maria. She has watched our daughter grow and knows what we want to drink and always brings cheese dip. Best salsa in town hands down because you can get it hot. Highly recommend

Every time I’ve been I’ve had an excellent server. Maybe it’s the luck of the draw, but I’ve always received great service.
Because it’s family owned, the restaurant seems to be a bit more laid back. My favorites are definitely the fajitas and traditional items like the burritos and enchiladas.
They have some great drink specials and live music on the patio at times. It’s a quintessential Mexican restaurant with the college crowd included. A good place to get rowdy/​pre game before you go out!

Meh. There is SO much better Mexican food in Athens, though the east side of town is still lacking. This place will satisfy an urge but with mediocre food. Staff perfectly pleasant but product is weak.

As always awesome goodness awesome service and a laid back atmosphere love love love drinks will definitely give u a. good buzzzz :-)

Super nice staff. They remebered us from our previous visits. Pretty authentic food. Good prices. Great Enchiladas.

The food is authentic and without all the crap (too much salt & too much cheese) that you would get from other restaurants. And the best part is that the chips are gluten-​free and the flan is housemade! YAY!

I really like this Mexican restaurant. It’s really chill and the food is always pretty good. Fried ice cream for desert is always recommended! Burritos are the best thing on the menu and they have some interesting sauce choices.

Chili Burrito: Hot damn it’s good.

Tuesdays they have a $ 1.50 draft special (miller light? bud light?) which was cool if you are into that.
Fajitas looked great. Unfortunately NOT what I ordered. I got the ham/​beef/​??? torta which came with fries. The sandwich was really gross. I had this weird sauce on it (mayo? too much mayo?) and just overall unappetizing.
Lesson learned: do not order tortas at La Fiesta. Some places aren’t meant to serve sandwiches. Should have ordered the fajita.

We’ve tried this place three times now and it’s just never been up to snuff. I will not be eating here again.
We’ve never gotten hot cheese dip on the first try and the actual food has been at best mediocre, at worst burned. The plating has annoyed me, since what should be crispy ends up laying in cheese or liquid and becomes soggy. My hard taco fell apart as I picked it up last night. Not pleased!
The service has always been hit or miss. I understand busy nights, but a customer should not go through a meal with no drink because their wait person went to refill it, didn’t bring it back and then ignores multiple attempts to get her attention.

This restaurant was closed last school year and it reopened not too long ago so we decided to give it a go.
Unfortunately, the food left us with more to be desired. The chile relleno is a dismal, bastardized version of what it should be. Instead of being stuffed, it’s layered: greasy beef on the bottom, poblano, fried tortilla and melted cheese on the top. It’s a sloppy and greasy mess of foodstuffs for lack of a better word. The steak quesadilla was bland as well and needed proper seasoning.
The prices are similar to those of other Mexican restaurants around campus. The wait staff is mainly composed of college students and it’s just a big hang out.
I recommend visiting one of the other various Mexican restaurants around Athens to get more for your dollar. I may give this place another try but it won’t happen for quite some time.