Lunada Eatery & Cantina

This place is bland. We ordered fajitas, enchiladas, the posole verde and the the quesadilla Cubano and the quesadilla was the only item that had flavor thanks to the smoked pork. My father in law had to add salsa and the habanero green chile in the bottle plus salt to make the posole taste like anything. The fajitas had no seasoning not even salt. I usually use cumin chile powder garlic and salt so it was probably more bland than anything I have ever tasted. The beans taste canned and had too much cumin in them. Stay away. There are much better places to spend $ 11 on a plate.

The atmosphere at Lunada is different. Whether you like it or not, at least it has some personality. But somehow, the place lacked warmth, I can’t figure out why. I might be that you could not smell the aroma of the food cooking, I don’t know, something was missing.
Reading the other reviews, Lunada has a problem with one of its waitresses. My experience was also ruined with incredibly bad service.
Even though the place was not very busy, our waitress kept disappearing and we had to wave to the other one to get anything.
My first cup of coffee was barely warm, second one not drinkable (quite thick, even my husband who does not drink coffee mentioned the strange murky color.) Finally, I asked if they had a freshly brewed pot of coffee but by that time, I was done with my meal and ready to leave.
I like the fact that they serve breakfast all day, being a big breakfast fan for lunch, but the prices are on the higher end and not the least justified in a place where service can be so bad and the atmosphere quite casual.
I had the El Vaquero, 2 eggs served on pulled pork, ranchero beans, red chili, and cheese all of it baked. It was very good with a generous portion of meat soaked in a yummy sauce.
My husband had the El Americano, 2 eggs, a potato cake and a choice of bacon, ham, sausage or chorizo. His plate came without the potatoes, when we asked about them, our waitress replied that the chef said it came without it. Anyway, we ended up with potatoes in the end. I personally prefer regular potatoes, found the potato cake a little dry, my husband also. El Americano is $ 8, and for an extra $ 1 you get toast. I don’t get the extra cost for toast that is not even special bread. It came toasted, but we had to ask for butter, which arrived much, much later.
Then we were given someone else’s check, when ours finally came, our waitress had forgotten about our coupon. Oh, well, so bad we had to laugh about it.

Great food. The guacamole is heavenly. The staff is hit or miss, but generally pretty friendly.

We had a nice waitress but the food wasn’t very good. I wanted a ground beef and bean burrito and they were out of ground beef so I had to get shredded beef. It was chunks of roast beef with a lot of white rice and a few beans. Worst excuse for a burrito that I have ever had.

I’m giving 3 stars because the people there are earnest and the food is okay, but there are clear problems with their systems/​processes. When we were greeted by the host, he did not give us menus. So we sat for a while before we got menus (from the server, who also makes the drinks). Of course, it didn’t help that we were on a tight schedule. We ordered as soon as we could and after we realized everything would be taking a while, ordered chips/​salsa ($ 3 extra). After 35 – 40 minutes, our food was ready. Chips/​salsa forgotten about. Smothered burrito, like others have said, was just okay. Definitely generously portioned, but nothing to write home about. The pork did have a noticeable smoky flavor, but the rest of the items didn’t harmonize very well. Kids meal beverages are served in an open glass — which I thought was unusual and ended up being okay for my 3 y.o., but might’ve been dicey if he were younger. Live music was nice. Too many other options in the area to return, unfortunately. But might work for you if they get their service together.

First time here was for lunch. After trying the smoked pork burrito, all I can say is wow! It did not disappoint! The meat was smoked to perfection, tender and the green chile on top was well balanced, perfect amount of heat. Be hungry when ordering this burrito, could feed two people very easily. This is by far the BEST burrito we have had in Lafayette/​Louisville/​Boulder, I think you’ll agree!
I came back the next day with my girlfriend for dinner. We ended up trying several things on the menu so we could get a full taste of what they offer. We started with the jalapeño poppers and the Cuban quesidilla. The poppers are definitely on the larger size, not fried, and had a good heat. The Cuban quesidilla was something we’ve never had before and was fantastic! It’s orginal, flavorful and really unique to this area. After the apps we shared the enchiladas de crème with shredded beef. Again we were not disappointed. The beef was fresh and extremely flavorful.
We will be making Lunada a regular spot for us, recommending it to everyone who appreciates phenomenal food and local businesses.

Stopped by on a fluke, and with hungry kiddos!
Food = excellent!
Service = friendly and provided great recommendations!
Location & ambiance = comfortable & colorful!
We will be back!

I previously reviewed this restaurant, and i am sure that i gave it a 5 as the food is very good.
However, since that time (and we have gone many times) i have noted that the service has really gone downhill and it is VERY, slow even when we are the only ones in the place.
i also think it is a bit pricey, although you can’t beat the 2.99 margaritas at happy hour.
There is also no choice of a-​la-​carte for those of us who like to mix and match, and/​or don’t care for beans and rice.

Decent food, good chips and salsa, (too) small expensive margaritas. All in all a decent restaurant. The service, however, is horrible. Our waiter had 2 tables which was 2 too many. He forgot beers, chips, tortillas, and acted lost. The other server/​bartender hovered by the front door eating the free mints. If they could tighten up the help, make the cocktails bigger, and watch the prices this place could really succeed. Until then we’ll go back for the chips and 3 dips (which is quite good), beers, and a low expectation for real service.

The food was good but way too expensive. Chips and salsa were not free as is with most establishments. Our kids got root beer drinks that ended up being $ 3.00 each. You must go outside and around the corner to go to the bathroom.

I wanted to love this place – as someone with ties to the Lafayette community, I am always anxious to be wowed by small businesses there – but I only kinda liked it. The food was pretty good, but not amazing. I got the smothered burrito, which the waiter told me was his all time favorite, and I left wanting something more. Not in terms of portion, but in terms of imagination and flavor. The burrito, while good, was pretty bland and is exactly what I would have been able to create at home. My mom got the stuffed poblano and while she liked it, she also wasn’t wowed. The presentation on hers was also a bit funky – she ordered it vegetarian and the dish claimed to come with rice and beans, but on her plate there was a bowl of spinach instead of the rice which felt very out of place and was given without explanation (maybe the rice has meat in it?). Overall, we liked our food and the portions were more than large enough to justify the cost.
If this restaurant’s only problem had been unimaginative food, I would have given this place an enthusiastic 5 stars. However, the service is what really detracted from the experience for me. As a waitress myself, I am unusually understanding of less than stellar service and am more than ready to forgive when circumstances outside of my waitpersons control slow down service. However, this wasn’t the case at La Lunada. We went in around 1:30 in the afternoon and the place was very quiet, just my Mom and I and 2 people at the bar counter, and still it was some of the slowest and least attentive service I’ve received in a while. We ordered chips and salsa shortly after sitting down and it took a good 15 minutes to get it to us; then after finally delivering our chips, it seemed that our waiter forgot about us until about another 15 minutes had passed when he finally returned to take our order.
Overall, we liked it and I would definitely give the place another try, just not if I was in any kind of hurry or if I was in the mood for something special.

Great Food!
Everything was very fresh and perfectly seasoned.
The staff was very professional and polite.
Regretfully, the following issues cost them 1-​star:
— Normal sized glass of apple juice was $ 3.50.
— 12oz. bottle of Dr. Pepper for $ 3.00 and obviously no refills… that’s one way to make extra money
— Very small cup of Ranch Dressing no bigger than 2 tablespoons was $ 1.00
— $ 5.99 for a small piece of Key Lime pie.
I have no problem with a restaurant making money, but the above prices were a plain rip-​off.
The Tacos however were a bargain.
I highly recommend you give this place a shot, just be careful with the drinks and extras.

The food here is fantastic mix of Tex-​mex and southern-​influenced American food. Everything seemed to be made from scratch using very good ingredients. Prices are steep, and $ 6 for a draft beer is on the crazy side. Service is great and very friendly, and I can see coming back here for a date night when I’m slightly richer haha

We had great service. The margaritas were a fantastic price & well mixed. I had carne asada tacos. The corn tortillas were thick and authentic. The cuts of beef were a little thicker than carne asada in Cali but I’m splitting hairs here because it was delicious.

I was starving and craving Mexican, so I Unilocaled places nearby. This one had good ratings and was close. I wouldn’t call this a Mexican place… more Tex Mex.
First, you could get chips and salsa… for an extra $ 2.99. If you are used to the typical free chips, it’s a disappointment.
The menu is a bit different as well. 10 different kinds of taco plates and 5 entrees. No combination plates or a la carte on the menu (I’m not a fan of rice and beans). When I asked if I could get things a la carte, the guy behind the bar said I could order anything a la carte. When I asked him about the price for individual items, he said a taco would be «around $ 4». Around $ 4? For ONE taco? Could you be more vague? Not his fault really, I’m sure he didn’t plan the menu
There was a help wanted sign up, which is generally a red flag. The waiter definitely seemed new, asking the guy behind the bar lots of questions.
I ended up getting the enchiladas de Crema verde. It was lukewarm and comparable to a frozen dinner flavor wise. The frozen dinner would have at least been hot.
The décor is even a bit disjointed. Pictures of planets, day of the dead stuff, a giant TV behind the bar.
My suggestion would be to commit to a style and be great at it. I won’t be back.

Great flavors, awesome eatery. Food somewhat pricey but superior taste to match. Margs really good and $ 4.

Small boutique like Mexican place, the atmosphere was welcoming. The smothered pulled pork burrito was fantastic. Server was friendly, can’t wait to come back again.
Prices where very fair.

Just poking around this plaza Saturday morning and saw the sign and the door to this place. So cute. Roomy, high ceilings, great funky paint job, friendly staff, small tables for 2 and bench tables placed around. Big roomy full bar in the back if interested. Nice vibe.
Had huevos rancheros, (my goto to chk out the kitchens in new places). Very good. Chile sauce was home made. I’ll be back. You should go… cute cute cute.

Stopped by for lunch with a friend on Saturday while out shopping. The place looks like it was set up to be a fast food type place. We walked in and there were only about 3 tables occupied and no one greeted us for a while. We were finally seated at an empty table and by empty table I mean empty, (no eating utensils, no table dressings, no condiments, nothing) .
We were waited on by probably the worst waitress I have ever encountered. They charge for chips (they were okay) and a very small taste of average salsa.
I ordered a glass of water and I wish the glass was bigger because I wouldn’t be offered a refill.
My friend ordered a smothered beef burrito and I ordered the Fiesta Taco plate filled with smoked pork filling. We had to ask for silverware about 5 minutes after
our food arrived. The food was bland and had no heat to it so we had to ask our waitress for a bottle of Cholula to make it palatable.
There were 2 waitresses there the latina waitress who was working hard trying to cover for her zombie like white counterpart. This place had a weird dead space atmosphere to it and except for the 1 waitress there were no personalities working there.
This place looks temporary to me, as though no thought was put into the décor.
Here is the kicker the owner who had been there when we ordered had entered our meal on the POS under his code and left. When I asked for the check I was told by our waitress that our meals were on the house because the owner had the code. Even for free the meal was not worth it to me and I would never eat at this place again.

Fresh home-​made and cut to order tortilla chips and salsa… and wait for it…
99 cent house Margaritas.
Here let me help you back up.
They also serve tap beers from the Front Range Brewing company (practically next door), the Altitude Red Ale and the Bison Peak Brown Ale.
We scooted in here just to check it out and have a cocktail. It turns out, we ended up having a great conversation with one of the owners, met the chef and can’t wait to sample the food.
Of course, we did have the chips and fresh salsa, while sipping on a (few) good house marg and jalepeno marg.