La Fonda El Taquito

Good margaritas. Terrible chips and salsa. The chips were burnt. Fried tacos were burnt. Chips and salsa are an up charge. Hubby said the tamales were good. But, that’s about it. Won’t come back, wouldn’t recommend it to others.

I have been coming here for nearly 30 years and it is my favorite Mexican place in KC.

SW Boulevard is loaded with many good Hispanic restaurants. Here you will find a good fried corn taco. Actually one of the beat fried tacos I have found.
One salsa has a good bite of heat and the other has good flavor. Mixed together they make a great salsa. Beware though, the chips and salsa are not complimentary like most places. The charge is minimal, but not explained when the waitress asks if you want them while handing you menus.
The all pastor is not my favorite. Actually, I wouldn’t order it again. I found it interesting that it was very similar to a food truck I recently tried. Instead if a marinated pork, it was more a pork with sauce added as it was grilled. Not cool and not that great.
Service was OK. Nothing special, nothing bad. Prices are good.
Their are really good things and not so good things. Give the fried tacos a try.

Love this place! Have been coming here for years. Food is always delicious, margaritas are perfect! Waitstaff is always friendly. Yes, sometimes you have to wait a little while for food but it is worth it! Reasonable prices, remarkable food. My top pick for authentic Mexican food in Kansas City!

I’m not an easy 5-​star giver but this joint always tops itself and I love the staff. I came here a few Sundays ago with my aunts and uncles and cousin to have menudo and breakfast. The menudo is some of the best in town and the huevos con chorizo is just like when I was a kid. Love the atmosphere on Sundays too with the elderly Mexcian-​American families having menudo and Mexican breakfast. Reminds of me of when I was a boy.

I’m surprised to see so many bad reviews here. El Taquito has been a staple in my diet since I was able to eat solid food and I’ve actually been coming here since before I could do that. It’s the favorite Mexican restaurant of everyone in my family.
My parents actually had their Rehearsal Dinner here in 1990. They also like to joke about one visit, a couple years later, when I gave them their first dose of the reality of parenthood when I was an infant and apparently did not care for the live Mariachi band playing that night and screamed my head off, forcing them to take their food to go. Luckily they decided to go back when I was a bit older.
The owners are the nicest people and truly love what they do and that shows in the quality of the food. I love their specialty: the chicken fried tacos, which are flour tortillas stuffed with shredded chicken that are then deep fried to make the tortillas crisp and puffy. Then they put lettuce, salsa, and grated cotija cheese on top and serve them with rice and beans. Their regular fried tacos, flautas, tamales, carnitas, taquitos, and chicken soup are also great. And the majority of their dishes are less than ten dollars, so you really can’t go wrong here.
If you’re craving some authentic Mexican or even some great Tex-​Mex, head down to the Boulevard and give them a shot.

Chorizo and huevos my favorite. Small but very busy place. Also has a great brunch. Saturday’s they have a live band many times and the music is real good. Wifey has the soup with extra avocado. Real avocado not some packaged green mush. Like soccer? Chances are there is a game on the tube. FRIED TACOS.

This is a review of my first visit to this spot, despite living in KC my entire life, so forgive the brevity and ignorance.
I’m a soup-​addict. I spend probably 30 dollars a week on it.
The chicken soup on La Fonda’s menu is worth the visit alone.
Rich broth, chicken, rice, avocado. Add a squeeze of lime, some chiles toreados and some corn tortillas and you’ve got some pretty incredible comfort/​hangover food.
Service was friendly and not overly attentive. 20 oz. draft beers for ~4 bucks.
I’ll definitely be back to try more of the menu and «try» more of the really great soup.

Good cheap food, had the special today $ 1 tacos & $ 1 street tacos while royals are playing

Okay, first: I cannot understand why there are only 25 reviews of this place, it’s been here for like 25 years. Second: tex mex of the lovely owners-​have-​been-​in-​MO-​a-​long-​time comfort food. I have been here many, many times, as I worked for a firm which had a group lunch every Friday, usually here. I like it.
Here’s what I like: The fried tacos are pretty good, ground beef crimped in a tortilla and fried somehow, pried open and lettuce stuffed in. Sprinkled with cotija, the dry parmesan-​type sort. But you should try some of the other things. The chicken soup is great, as is the soupy-​bean, cilantro and onion. Good carnitas, and that platter is like three meals. They often have a chile verde enchilada special and that’s also worthwhile. Plus an extremely cheap lunch special menu with three or four combo choices, the taco and etc. And if you must, the burrito spread is a good ol fashioned midwest tex mex classic, smothered in cheese and draped in a pretty good mild chile-​tomato sauce.
There’s a salsa bar, and the sauces are good, but simple. Try the extra hot for a really nice, hot and slightly chile bitter burn. Good guacamole on the menu too, can get a half order. And the staff are really, really nice.

Love the atmosphere. Very warm and welcoming and there is parking just for the customers out back. This was our first time eating at La Fonda, it was myself and my 24 year old son. The owner came out, greeted us and visited for a bit.
The chips and salsa were okay. Just okay. they give you two different salsas. One of them is not spicy and the other is slightly spicy. I’m one of who those people who likes chunky salsa and this is not so much. So I guess it’s a matter of preference. I also ordered the guac as an appetizer and it was pretty good. They don’t give you a whole lot but the taste was very good and it tasted pretty fresh.
My son ordered an enchilada platter and I ordered the tostadas. Both were pretty darned good. I really liked the crispiness of the shells and the toppings were nice too. My son polished off the enchiladas in no time flat, so I took that as a good thing. The sides were rice and beans and both were fine.
I think we’ll return. She said they have lots of specials during the week and I love a good deal. Overall it was a nice meal. Best Mexican food I’ve ever had? No. But good enough to go again? I do believe so. And it does seem like one of those places that will get better with repeat visits. I would like to try some of their other menu choices.

the soup that’s always on the kettle is the best thing in the world on a cold winter day. The help are colorful and the space is good. the prices are also good.

The menu is small but just the right size. You get a meal with out an obscene amount of left overs. You ever eat left over tortillas and how grossly mushy they are? No left overs because the serving size is just right. Pauly is a great host. On weekends they serve breakfast brunch that is very good. Joes special is wonderful. Real chorizo and eggs!

With it’s prime location, you’d hope for some great Mexican food like the rest of the Boulevard has to offer. Unfortunately, this place is about on par with a hospital cafeteria. I had chicken fajitas, and the meat looked like the pre-​cooked chicken that comes in a plastic box that you microwave. Absolutely flavorless, the entire meal. They also charge for chips and salsa which are pretty subpar. The place was a zoo and we were rushed out of there. No me gusta.

Had this place recommended to us for our «Eat Local & New to Us» Weekend in KC. Quite the hidden gem on Southwest Blvd. I definitely prefer more authentic Mexican and this place did not disappoint. Complimentary warm chips & salsa were brought to the table immediately. We tried the guacamole and it was some of the best I’ve had in the KC area.
Anna was our waitress, she was quite helpful with recommendations and getting our questions answered. I had the flauta platter and Anna suggested splitting them ½ chicken ½ pork. I am so glad she did. I always order chicken and they were fine but the pork was definitely a notch above. Being a newbie to KC I am trying to find some good tamales so we ordered a single one. A bit too much masa for me and I prefer mine without the chile and cheese but this was the only disappointment. I’m already plotting my next visit.

Has a hole in the wall restaurant feel. Had the fried tacos and they we’re pretty good. Chips and salsa aren’t free. If you like hot salsa you’ll like the salsa here. Food reasonably priced.

first off, i think i’ve been here before, i don’t remember. second off, margaritas are pretty bad. they’re definitely made with a mix and i’m not a fan of the mixes. we were here on fried taco night and so i had one and it was pretty tasty. i also had what they call soft taquitto, but everyone else would call a street taco. pastor was pretty tasty and asada was as well. chips and salsa were devine, if you go for that sort of thing, a serious hot salsa and pretty good chips. i also had a little guacamole, and it was bit salty, but good. all in all, i had a decent experience, the place wasn’t too divey, and the service was top notch. i may come back to try other things on the menu, since this was a taco heavy night.

I can’t understand the negative reviews. I really can’t.
La Fonda is small place that is gets pretty busy around lunch time. The feel inside is very «authentic» including the colors, décor and music. It feels more like a bar than a restaurant, but the atmosphere is very lively. The owner’s husband seated us promptly when we arrived and fresh, hot chips arrive quickly at our table as well. One unique thing about this place is the fact that you visit the salsa bar to get your own salsa. I love it because it gives the freedom to combine hot and mild to suit your taste.
Everyone in our party order a la carte. The food comes out fast and it’s very tasty. I was a fan of the deep fried tacos that were topped with lettuce, sauce and some parmesan cheese. I also had a chicken flauta that was very good and a bean tostada as well. No one had bad food, in fact we all wish we would have ordered more.
Ignore the bad reviews on this place and hit it up for lunch sometime.
My only complaint is regarding the specials listed on the table. We assumed the specials were lunch (that’s what most places do, right?), but when the bill arrived we learned that the special was for after 4pm. I guess you are rewarded for venturing into that part of town after dark. But still, 4 of us had lunch for around $ 20…you can’t beat it!

Win some, lose some. This was a definite loss. Alan’s brother Bob isn’t fond of Mexican food, so we decided to take Lois out for lunch to a Mexican restaurant as a treat. Alan and I both researched restaurants and I came up w/​one and he came up w/​another. Unfortunately, while we were at the Nelson, Lois’s niece called w/​her Realtor’s recommendation of this place. He seemed knowledgeable, so we discarded the fruits of our research and came here. When we saw on the front of the menu that the surname of the family that runs the restaurant is the same as the Realtor, I felt scammed. I don’t know that it *is* the same family, but there’s a high index of suspicion and I’m sorry we didn’t just leave at that point.
We ordered chips and salsa. The chips smelled stale when they were served but tasted fine. The salsa (we ordered mild) was pureed and tasted mostly of tomatoes. I got a container of hot salsa, which improved it some, but it remained unimpressive. Alan ordered chicken fajitas, Lois ordered a beef tostada and I ordered pork flautas, which came w/​rice and refried beans. The pork was dry and I ate 3 of the 4 flautas and some of the rice and beans. None of us was impressed w/​our food, although Lois and Alan agreed the guacamole was good. I didn’t have any. All in all, Alan and I have had much better Mexican food in Berkeley, whether it be an old school place like Juan’s or a newer one like Picante. This food struck us as lackluster and w/​o care and we regretted being steered away from places that might have given a better representation of Kansas City Mexican food.

I’m a little surprised to see a lot of negative reviews here. Now I won’t say it’s the best place to have Mexican in KC, but it certainly is better than two star.
You have to know what to get here to really appreciate it. The bean dip is good if you like refried beans. Deep fried tacos aren’t the most common thing to come by, at least good ones in KC. They do have good tacos here. The taquitos served with guacamole and sour cream are also good. Chalupas and tostadas are also recommended.
This is a regulars place, they will cater to you if they know you. Now, that’s not what first time diners want to hear, so just go with a regular and they can guide you through the experience.
When ordering margaritas, make sure to order them «special». That is with Gran Marnier and Triple Sec in them along with a good tequila like Cazadores or Conmemorativo.