Wild Rita’s

First time diners at Wild Rita’s and we loved it! We tried three different margaritas and all were amazingly good, but perhaps just a little pricey. Good guacamole, though I’ve had better in town. Chip basket was kept full and salsa was really good. We decided to take a tour of the taco offerings and we were not disappointed. The fish tacos had a nice piece of lightly fried cod but the best were the brisket tacos! The adobo spiced pork shoulder entry was to die for! Tender and falling apart meat… so good! Sides of kale, corn and poblano hominy grits were perfect. Nice to have more options than just beans and rice! Can’t wait to return!

First visit to this restaurant. Food was delicious. Ordered the stuffed pepper with chicken topped with queso, side of black beans and rice. House margarita ordered frozen was short on flavor, but packed a punch. Was charged $ 2 for chips and salsa. Would definitely return for the food which used fresh ingredients and was a welcome change from ordinary Mexican food. Small parking lot is located conveniently across the street. I would have given 4 stars if the margarita had more favor.

I have mixed feelings about this place. The food was definitely good (carne asada taco especially), but my take out order wasn’t handled thoughtfully. Even though they had my phone number, they didn’t think to tell me that one item I ordered was unavailable until I got there. As a result, the rest of my order was cold when I got home. Would probably go back to dine in, but not to do take out

5 star drinks, 3 star service, and 3 star food.
It’s easy to get excited about a restaurant run by the same folks behind the wildly popular breakfast joint Wild Eggs. When I was downtown at dinner time recently, a friend and I decided to give Wild Rita’s a try.
We were seated promptly and put in our drink orders: a Wild for friend and a Barrel-​Aged for me. They must have decided that the Barrel-​Aged needed to age a little longer, because it took probably 10 minute for our drinks to arrive. Once they did, however, the sting of the wait was lessened somewhat by the magic of the Wild margarita, which is lit aflame and allowed to die down before you drink it. Pretty cool stuff!
Of the two drinks, though, friend and I decided that my Barrel-​Aged one was the better. It was very smooth, with a great flavor, and definitely something that I would order again and would recommend to others to order.
We got tacos for dinner and sides of the Coliflor and Elote. The tacos were good, but seemed a little overpriced for just tacos. Still, that didn’t stop me from enjoying my Carne Asada taco. I like cauliflower, and enjoyed the zesty tang of the Coliflor with its chili and lime flavors — I’m hoping that mushy, steamed cauliflower everywhere is going the way of the 8-​track tape in favor of well-​cooked and seasoned cauliflower like the stuff here. The elote was underwhelming — not terrible, just nothing outstanding, and I’ve had better iterations at other places around town.
Overall, Wild Rita’s is definitely worth a visit, and worth a repeat visit for the drinks alone!

I tried the Mini Chimis, which were Braised pork, a Mexican cheese blend and fresh jalapeños wrapped inside mini flour tortillas, deep-​fried and served with chipotle-​raspberry sauce. They were OK, but I felt they were too heavy on the «fried» taste.
Then there were house made chips with a variety of salsas, I was able to try the house salsa, the verde, the rojo, and the pico de gallo. I liked the pico and the rojo the best.
My entrée was enchiladas — I opted for carnitas with rojo sauce. They were stuffed corn tortillas baked with Chihuahua cheese and topped with sour cream. My sides were the papas con chipotle (Idaho and sweet potatoes with chipotle) — really good! And the chili lime colifor (Roasted cauliflower with chile and lime). Mixed drinks were delicious but seemed a bit weak.
Service — A+
Interior — A–
Overall — B+
I would definitely come back.

Good not great. A little high priced but three out of four of us liked it. Tres salsas had one hit out of three, the salsa de maiz. Guacamole was ok. Tacos looked stuffed with meat and our dinner partners liked them all but the carne asada. I had the molcajete. It was bubbling hot which over cooked the meat; especially the shrimp. The sauce did have a good mole flavor. My wife had the steak and chorizo special which she enjoyed but I thought it was a little greasy. One side dish did impress and that was the chipotle sweet potatoes.
Add in a couple of margaritas and dinner came to $ 100 which included tip. Service was good and I liked that management checked on us when we got our meals and he thanked us for coming when we left. The tequila selection is impressive.

In case you’ve ever wondered what would happen if the Wild Eggs owners decided to try their hand at South of the Border cuisine, your question is answered in Wild Rita’s. Bottom line up front – I arrived famished, ate and drank everything in sight and left sated and happy!!!
Deliciously clever menu options, interesting platings and ample portions seemed to be the order of the day. Everyone ate way too many queso and salsa laden chips – but who wouldn’t be tempted to indulge in those delightfully crunchy, salty tortillas hot from the oven with piquant, fresh salsa and über creamy guac? I could’ve eaten just that.
Undeterred by caloric intake, I bravely followed up with the «choose two” – opting for tortilla soup and a salad heaped with avocado and corn. Mmmmm – the broth of the soup was perfectly seasoned with a heavenly balance of savory, refreshing and spicy and plenty of chicken breast pieces. Oh so good! The salad was unfortunately iceberg-​based, so I avoided it entirely. How unfortunate. I should’ve asked before ordering instead of shoving chips in my face… Everything I actually ate was great and I can’t wait to return for more!

So amazing & FUN. Best margaritas EVER. Friendly staff. Food was delicious! Love it! My Pilates studio is just around the corner so I will be dining here OFTEN!!!

It was OK and I guess that is the only way to describe it. I got the burrito and it was not that flavourful. I didn’t pick one of their chef specials but still. I did get the sides of potatoes which I did like them and had a fun slow heat. They were a bit crunchy though. Our waiter said all of the standard polite waiter things but clearly didn’t want to be there. Obviously I was a bit disappointed since Wild Eggs is so good.

Ugh, I wanted so badly to like this place. I love Mexican in general and very much like Wild Eggs, its sister restaurant. It’s in a convenient spot if you’re downtown, the parking situation is manageable and I loved the décor and style.
But, alas, the best I can say about the food is that they had decent chips and salsa. Of course, they make you pay for them — which is weird for a Mexican restaurant. I honestly didn’t really think that much about it until our waiter was weird about it. When we turned down guacamole, he said very prickly, «you know we charge $ 2 if you don’t get the guac.» He also acted ticked off that we didn’t order his recommendations.
I got enchiladas with salsa verde, pulled chicken, black beans and rice. They were ok but boring. It was just cheese on the inside with the chicken piled on top — odd. The beans and rice were fine but nothing special. I did really like the salsa verde.
I’m glad we finally tried this place but it’s not on my list of places I can’t wait to return to.

The following is a compilation of quotes by lovely friends who joined me for dinner–
«Mango sauce? More like manGOD sauce»
«Authentic, but it doesn’t take itself too seriously»
«The verde sauce is nothing short of a miracle» «Delightfully playful, but nothing short of exquisite»
«I’m just sayin these carnitas are the most delicate, moist things I’ve ever tasted»
«Matt was the conductor behind the orchestra that was this meal… The symphony of flavor» (Matt was our wonderful server)
«Let’s start making reservations at the community table»

Last night was the first time A friend of mine and I went into wild Rita’s excited to try it out. Let me first say, the food and drinks are decent. I feel that the margaritas are a little overpriced, but they were good.
After looking at the drink menu, I asked the bartender what he would recommend for first-​time visitors. While we were discussing and ordering drinks a man walks in with an entourage of people, called the bartender by name, and placed an order for his group. The bartender apologized and said he had to run and card everyone (mind you, he never once checked our ID’s, but I digress). After he took their orders (and provided all of their drinks) he returned and told us that he was a «well to do» gentleman that does not like to wait, hence why he had to address his needs immediately.
Seriously? First off, his salary is not my concern. Secondly, treating me like a second-​hand citizen because he snapped his fingers is just plain rude. As a customer, I felt unimportant. I’m not saying I want special treatment, but at least address my needs before the «well to do» person that came in after me with a large group of people.
The food and drinks aren’t good enough for me to return to that type of mistreatment. Louisville is a city with a lot of other culinary options.

You gotta start off dinner with the chips, guacamole and queso and you can never go wrong with the burrito, refried beans and rice. Always a meal that you leave feeling full and wanting to come back

Not terrible… went on a Friday night with a group. We wound up spread across three or four different tables. Had an OK chile relleno, tried the rice, the beans. Eh… kind of bland even with salsa and what not.

Just an update on my visit last night.
Before the Louisville City game last night I wanted a snack. Against the Grain had a hour wait & the game started in a hour! So AtG was out. I decided to walk over to Wild Rita’s.
They gave me a seat at the bar. Crystal took my order of a drink & 3 tacos, delivered my order, had my check, & I was out of there in a matter of 30 minutes. Perfection! The best thing about this visit was the waitress making sure I was taken care of even though I was in a hurry!
I wasn’t rushed at all, but at first I was worried I wouldn’t be finished by game time! With the previous review & this one… I have nothing but great things to say about this place!

I might feel differently about this place at lunch but at 10pm in a place that closes at midnight it was empty and the staff looked eager to close their doors.
I was suprized that the bartender wrote our orders down… there were only 6 of us.
Drinks were NOT worth the money… very sugary and low on alcohol content.
The tacos and elote are what gives this a 3 instead of a 2 and the mini chimis were tasty as well.
There is a large table by the bar where all the staff eats on break and I find that weird.
I really wanted to like this place but El Camino & Guacamole are just WAY BETTER.

My sister and I went here to lunch based on a recommendation from a friend. I was excited to try the food since there were a lot of great reviews on Unilocal as well as from other friends. We started off with guac and salsa which were both delicious. I got the shrimp and chicken tacos with elote and rice. The corn was aboaolutely delicious. Usually with elote at restaurants the mayonnaise/​butter and spices are separate but I loved that it was combined and helped spread the flavor all over. The shrimp taco was really well seasoned and I loved the fried cheese on it as well. The chicken taco was pretty good but not really anything special.
Our waiter was really friendly and attentive. The only reason I’m giving Rita’s 4 stars instead of 5 is due to the fact that I haven’t really been impressed by any Mexican restaurant that I’ve eaten at. They all kind of blend together and I haven’t found anything extremely special or outstanding.

Descent food. I really liked the shrimp taco it was the best. The short steak taco way good but the shrimp was much better. The margarita was good but on the small side for the price. I got the Fresca margarita.

We chose Wild Rita’s for a ladies’ happy hour tonight based on positive word of mouth and on-​line feedback. Was very excited and ready for a great time, but was initially put off by my first impression.
Happy hour runs from 4 –7 pm, but when I arrived (around 4:45 pm) there was no host or hostess at the front desk to welcome or direct me. I went straight to the bar, thankfully I knew in advance that happy hour is in the bar/​lounge only. With two bartenders, it still took almost five minutes before someone helped me despite there only being one other patron at bar (and just a few in the restaurant overall). I totally understand a wait when busy, but not when the place is practically empty.
My bartender was obviously new, but friendly. After being presented with a menu, I asked about happy hour specials. These include several $ 4 drink choices including the casa rita (house marguerita) and a slew of half-​priced tacos and appetizers. I snacked on the complimentary chips and salsa while I pondered my options.
I decided on a veggie quesadilla (HH price is $ 3.50) and a Salty Chihuahua, a delicious concoction of tequila, grapefruit soda and lime. The quesadilla was large and flavorful with two kinds of cheese, black beans, pico, and a fantastic chipotle crema. I was very pleased with my selections which were flavorful and filling.
The food and happy hour prices more than met my expectations, but the service left something to be desired. During our visit, the head bartender and my server had an obvious altercation about smoke breaks (which the latter wanted to take). Front of house staff can make or break a customer’s experience and the first impression today was less than polished and professional — especially at an established downtown eatery.
I’ll definitely give Wild Rita’s another try, but will cross my fingers that the overall experience matches the quality of the food and drink.

This place can get preeetty crowded and noisy during peak hours, especially on weekends. Despite that though, their staff deserves some major credit for being able to manage it all and give good, friendly service.
I’ve only been here a couple times: once during a slam-​packed Saturday night, and once during their late afternoon happy hour. Loved both visits.
Their tequila cocktails are really good. Highly recommended even if you don’t typically enjoy tequila drinks, because they have some pretty creative takes on various styles. Pretty decent beer list as well. Fully stocked bar can accommodate anything else you want, but I haven’t tested their skill with anything outside their menu (yet).
I’ve only eaten tacos from Wild Rita’s, and at happy hour prices they were just over $ 2 each. 2 tacos will satisfy, 3 will stuff you. I had 2 other friends with me, and we all ordered different tacos and we all liked them a lot. We got the handmade corn tortillas (as opposed to flour tortillas) and they were fairly authentic, although not the best I’ve ever had. That’s not to say there’s anything wrong with them, but if you want «real» tacos you go to a street cart in a Latino area, not a chic bar in NuLu.
Would I come back? Definitely. Would I eat tacos and drink insane margaritas again? DUH.
The crowd is worth it, but folks who aren’t fans of crowds or loud restaurants might want to check this out during off-​peak times.