La Tolteca

Came in for a quick lunch with coworkers. Not a huge Mexican food fan, but I love tacos, so I got an order of al pastor tacos. Now, I’ve had some amazing authentic Mexican tacos all over DC and northern VA, but I wasn’t expecting too much here in downtown LaPlata. I was wrong. The tacos were great with amazing flavored meat and seasoned with just cilantro and onion. Right up there with District Taco and other tiny taco joints. Well done. Wish I had known for past visits because I’m always underwhelmed by the normal enchiladas or taquitos (at every Mexican place, not just this one).

La Tolteca was always an «ok» Mexican restaurant. But now it’s just gross. I don’t know who has been seasoning the beef, but it tastes like dirt. And it’s incredibly greasy. The food comes out lukewarm and the taco shells and chips are stale. The salsa isn’t authentic either. I’ve frequented this place quite a bit. But for the last 3 – 4 months the food has been awful, sad to say. I’ll give them one last try before I quit going for good.

Ate here on this past Mother’s Day. We were seated quickly and the first gentleman that greeted us seemed like he was having a bad day, he took our drink orders then left, about a few short minutes later another gentleman came over to ask about drinks, we told him another guy came and took the orders, he was much more pleasant than the first guy. From there it was the second guy who took our food orders and assisted with our meal the rest of the evening, which was fine. The second guy was really pleasant and the stars earned here was because of him. On to the food, I had a special named after the restaurant, tolteca ultimate or something like that. Steak, shrimp and chicken, salad, guacamole rice and retried beans. The was was just ok. My daughter whose nine ordered chimichanga but she wished it was Taco Bell, my husband got T-​bone steak, he was unimpressed. I really wanted to like this place, but sadly it just didn’t make the mark.
P.s the first guy who took our drink order, wished the guests at the booth right next to us Happy Mother’s Day, but never said it to me. That wasn’t a welcoming feeling.

My wife and I have eaten at many Mexican restaurants in the area — over the bridge in Virginia and elsewhere in Charles County, and many other places. Frankly, I do not see how anybody gives this restaurant a rating lower than four or five stars. Their portions are amazing, everything is delicious and their prices are great. Service has always been good. I saw one travel site that rated their price as $$$$. Absolutely false! They rate at the most $$ in price, but 4 to 5 star in terms of food — taste and quality. We’ve got some pretty good Mexican restaurants in the region but this one is great and we recommend it heartily.

Ok so I am biased and I will admit that right up front. I eat at the La Tolteca in Baltimore all the time… Mainly because I live across from it…
But having said that this location is still worth five stars. And I give them five stars for what they are; a local texmex chain. Don’t come here looking for high end cuisine. But also don’t come here expecting a Taco Bell! They do a great job with every dish I have ever tried here at this location, and the food is hearty and healthy.
Portion sizes are generous and the food comes out quick! The chips and salsa are decent (I like salsa that is much spicier but I like my food spicier than most people).
The style is set up so that they can make consistently good food quickly. So if you like being able to pick and choose the major components of your meal then you will love this menu. You can combo almost any three items together… Tacos, enchiladas, chimichangas, quesadillas, etc etc etc. and the menu has lots of ala carte options as well.
If you want higher end Spanish-​Mexican food; go to El Dorado up the street. If you want fast food, go elsewhere. If you want decent texmex with great service, hearty portions, and variety; then La Tolteca is the place for you!

Love this place, consistently good food and service! Great place to take the Family!

Carne Asada Fries!!! Thank you for adding this to your menu.

I was heading back to the DC area after a business meeting across the Nice bridge, was starving, so I stopped here for a bite and to rest up a bit before driving back. The food was OK, not great, but there was no wait and the staff were friendly so it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. I would recommend that they pay more attention to drinks and try to refill them. I realize that I was a single person dining alone and only drinking water with my meal, but I’d have tipped a little better if they’d come back even once to refill my drink. Next time through, I think I’ll go elsewhere.

The 411: this is a decent restaurant where la plata locals eat semi-​authentic Mexican food. Portions are big, and they serve alcohol.
The staff are ethnically Mexican, and they are very friendly. The place is big too, so there’s never a wait (unless it’s cinco de mayo).
The menu is big and they have a bunch of combo meals you can order.
They give unlimited chips and salsa soon as you get there. It lacks cilantro, but their chips are alright.
I recommend the fish tacos, the burrito grande, or the Texas fajitas. Those are my favorite meals there
Their verdes are very good too. If you like that sour, tangy verde sauce, get it with enchiladas. You won’t regret it.
Bottom line: this place is good. It’s better than the outback next door, and there’s never a wait. Give this place your monetary support, and they’ll give you a respectable meal.

I hate to say it but I was unimpressed with my meal. I ordered a combination plate that consisted of a chicken chile relleno, chicken enchilada and a beef chalupa. Not being really familiar with the names of Mexican dishes, I looked up the chile relleno. I became very interested in the dish as described by a quick web search…“chile pepper stuffed with chicken and cheese, rolled in a egg mixture with bread crumbs and fried”. What I received was a barely cooked pepper sliced open with chicken laid on top with melted cheese. Totally different. The chicken enchilada was un-​remarkable and the chalupa was «trippy». At first I was about to ask the waiter where my third item was but soon found out what I thought was garnish was actually my chalupa. A soggy fried tortilla with a pile of refried beans with gobs of lettuce and guac on top with a huge slice of tomato… not diced but just slapped on top! Overall, the raspberry Margarita and cheese dip with beef were the highlight of the meal. Probably won’t return unless it is just for drinks and dip.

Restaurant was very nice. Wait staff wasn’t overly friendly. Food was good. Great find in La Plata.

It seems like a local mom & pop place. Food is not authentic-​Americanized. Poor service. Generic food that I can make at home. Prices were decent. Good place for the local high school kids to hang out.

Large portions for reasonable priced and equally delicious food. Décor is a bit updated but once you look past that the food and drinks will keep you coming back.
On my last visit I had the arroz con pollo with a side of margarita. I was hungry that day but I didn’t even finish the whole portion. Pieces of chicken, onions, and bell peppers mixed throughout the rice with melted cheese tying everything together. The margarita I had was good. A little on the stronger side than what I would expect from a $ 4 margarita, but I wasn’t complaining.
My boyfriend had the chicken fajitas which I had enjoyed the last time we were there. They come with all the fixings’ and about 3 tortillas (which are too few for the amount of food served)
Overall a good sit down place to wind down with friends or family over some good food.

Great food! Great service! Great margaritas! This is by far my favorite place to eat!

Authentic Mexican restaurant in la plata. Quality, classic Mexican food at reasonable prices. The chicken quesadilla is my favorite as well as the queso dip and frozen margaritas!

2÷27÷14
La Tolteca in La Plata, Maryland… has not improved in all this time. the food continues to go down hill and not sure why. I had the Fajita Taco Salad with Shrimp. The grilled vegetables were soft and mealy, and the shrimp were colorless and fishy.unedible.even the once amazingly good salsa was mushy and not fresh. it reminded me of something poured from a jar, and the chips were stale not fresh. I dont know what to say. how many more chances should a restaurant get? I still say they have the best margaritas anywhere, and once the food started to go downhill you could still go for them and the chips and salsa… but, now even that has gone the way of Bad Food Alley. I suggest you go to El Dorado instead, which is only a stones throw from La Tolteca for the most amazing Mexican and or Spanish cuisine. The staff as well has become zombie like, unenthused, and nonchalant. Leaving La Tolteca, is like leaving a bad movie, with stale popcorn… blah…

Food is better than average, prices are excellent, wait staff is authentic, never a long wait, drinks are great, best margarita around, family friendly

(4) ~ overall very good food & service
MY MENU:
* Burrito w. Brown Rice; Black Beans; ½ Steak & ½ Barbacoa; Cheese; Guacamole; Sour Cream; ALL 3 Sauces (Mild; Medium; Hot) & Corn.
* Organic Valley Chocolate Milk
***My only wish is that they get some dessert options? I’m always left craving something sweet to finish the meal;)lol

I was in town, needed a quick dinner, I love Mexican food, and this place was near my hotel. Even for someone who is pretty uncritical when it comes to Mexican food, I found this place to be pretty lacking when it came to the food.
I walked in, and the place was hopping for a Wednesday night. I was alone, so I went to the back and sat alone at the bar (bar was unattended; I was the only one there). Service was pretty efficient; never really felt forgotten back there.
Food was pretty lackluster, in my experience. I got a combination plate of tacos and enchiladas. Meat options were limited to ground beef or chicken; no shredded beef, pastor, etc. The taco was ground beef, and OK, but with a-​too-​perfect-​to-​be-​homemade shell. Enchiladas were pretty bad. Shredded chicken wrapped in a plainly unfried (it was kind of dry) tortilla, covered in sauce. Having made enchiladas many times at home, I can tell you the tortilla should be lightly fried, and then the whole concoction should be baked… or at least heated up together. This was not, and could not have been, as my food came out about 5 minutes after I ordered it. I get that this shoddy enchilada work is a widespread crime-​against-​food, and in the grand order of things is not a high-​ranking problem in our society, but personally it drives me crazy.
Not recommended, but being from out-​of-​town I don’t have a better local option to recommend.

Chicken Mole here!
We ate here with our family on our first night in town. I ordered the combo with a beef enchilada and a taco. My dish was good but my husband’s was great. Not many Mexican restaurants have a mole dish and it is my husband’s weakness so he ordered the chicken mole. Their version was shredded chicken with a mole sauce.
The restaurant was comfortable and festive. Our waitress was great and our glasses were always full.