Frida

Sad Frida’s closed, but you can get the same «Frida’s» margaritas across the street at Moe’s. That’s really the only reason my friends and I went here.

I’ve been to Frida’s about 5 – 6 times in the past three years and it seems every trip I enjoy it less and less. It’s not because of the service. There was only one time where we received lackluster service… and the place was nearly dead. The host seated my husband and I, and then we sat for 15 – 20 minutes, watching another couple be seated and have their drink order taken by an attentive server. We try not to be dicks. We’re reasonable people. So we kept amused by betting each other if our server was smoking out back or shooting heroin out back. The host finally came by to take our drink order, and then a sheepish & stoned looking waif of a server wandered over to take our dinner order. Your guess is as good as mine whatever he was doing «out back».
If the margaritas weren’t so strong, I’d be giving this 1 star. I used to live a ten minute drive from the Mexican border, so I understand the logic of lowering expectations so far north of the border. But I think they could try just a little harder. I like their complimentary chips & salsa, but Frida’s guac tastes like it’s pre-​packaged. The food is ok as long as it’s hot, but the flavors aren’t memorable. The last time I ate here, I sat in a broken booth with springs poking my rear, which caused me to slouch over toward the wall with the huge mural on it. From this viewing advantage, I was able to notice that this place hasn’t been dusted or thoroughly cleaned in ages. There are large cobwebs and a thick layer of fuzzy grime coating the fake plants and the side wall where the broken booths rest against. The mural of Frida has reflective drips where some clearish liquid spattered her face and was never wiped off. Being an artist, it is sad to see Frida Kahlo’s face disrespected that way. And if the dining area is this neglected, I’m not too hopeful about the cleanliness of the kitchen. I’d like to add that I’m not one of those people who carries hand sanitizer everywhere or bleaches her kitchen and bathroom, so for me to say something’s icky may put it in perspective. Maybe I didn’t notice how dirty it was in the past because I was too busy sucking down their yummy margaritas.
Here’s the kicker: On my last visit, I was finishing the last of my margarita at the end of our meal when I saw a small roach scurry across the table. It practically fell into my lap, and brought back unpleasant memories of my infested apartment in college. I didn’t do the «girl thing» and scream or jump out of the booth, but I might be done eating food here. However, I remain open-​minded to having margaritas out on the sidewalk when the weather’s nice. We’ll see.

There’s a large, beautiful painting on the inside of Frida’s if you sit to the left of the hostess station. Only, the painting is too big for the wall and it was hung sideways. This is a good metaphor for Frida’s.
The food is so-​so. The carnitas quesedilla is typically smothered in cheddar cheese and grease, so it’s tasty. But there’s no spice and it’s soggy. The chips and salsa are average, unless you ask for the hot salsa which is actually hot. The service is below average, even if you go when it’s not busy. Even though I go there probably twice a month because it’s close to work, I’ve never had the same server twice which leads me to believe the turnover is high, even for a restaurant.
Frida’s has potential. The inside is beautiful, the menu has enough variety. But everything is a little sideways.

The margaritas are good and priced right if you go during happy hour. The food, however, is awful. Nothing here is remotely authentic and, compared to the great places like Los Gemelos, Tacqueria Guadalajara and Francisco’s Cantina, this place has nothing on any of them.
Frida’s can be summed up with two words: overpriced and mediocre.

I initially went because they served under-​agers, the margaritas were good. The food was decent nothing outstanding.
The reason it is given a bad rating though is because of its reputation of the management towards the employees. The first time I heard it I thought someone was bitter at the management. Within my 5 years at Frida’s I heard many times at how the owner didn’t treat his waitresses with respect or dignity. This is why I don’t go to this place or recommend it.

My friends were roped into having their rehearsal dinner at Frida’s when their original venue closed unexpectedly. It was unfortunate.
We pre-​ordered, but it took an hour and a half from the time we arrived to the time we got our inauthentic Mexican food. I got the carne asada, and the steak was tough and overcooked. The refried beans had that been-​sitting-​under-​a-​lamp crust to them. One of the servers started yelling out the names of the plates across the whole room, even though we had little stickers marking what we ordered. It was a hot mess.
Dinner was still fun (of course — it was a pre-​hitchin’ dinner!), but the margaritas and the sangria were the only high points for which Frida’s can actually claim credit. Still, I’d never come here again.

1^st– I’d give 3.5 stars.
2^nd _​I love their Happy hour deals. Always worth another visit due to that but the food isn’t the greatest TEX-​MEX or Mexican. And I’m from the Tex-​Mex (TX/​LA border) and appreciate a good salsa. At least the salsa is better than La Hacienda on Park but it’s no El Chico’s (google ‘em).
Mon/​Wed/​Thur HH specials.

I went in, was seated and told, «A nice young lady will be with you in a minute.» I sat, closed my menu, stared out the window, read from my book, sent some texts. I then watched a couple next to me get seated, and receive drinks and menus.
I got up and walked out.

The fish taco (1.50 each) on Friday specials should be avoided. It’s a battered piece of fish wrapped in a flour tortilla with lettuce, tomatoes, & sour cream. Gross and bad. Steak tacos were wrapped in corn tortillas, my friend was not impressed with paying $ 10 (?) for 3 tacos, rice, & beans. The chorizo pasta wasn’t too bad. Overpriced and mediocre food.
Guess this is what I get when having a soft spot for anything Frida – huge painting of Frida beckoning you to come in.

The sangria is pretty good, and is more reasonable by the pitcher than by the glass. There’s also a happy hour special of ½ price apps, so that’s Ok too.
I’ve been to Frida a few times over the last few years, always at someone else’s suggestion but would not go out of my way to eat there. The service is OK, and appears to have improved since my last visit.
Food value is fair, so while I’m not in love with the place, I don’t leave feeling completely ripped off either.

The food at Frida’s is LAME. Not so bad in the sense that you’ll want to vomit, but certainly bad enough that you won’t even think twice about throwing away your leftovers instead of taking them home. I’m not exaggerating when I say that it really is some of the most mediocre Mexican food I’ve ever had, and that you honestly can get more flavorful Latin cuisine at Taco Bell.
To start, the meat is dry and totally free of any significant spices or marinade, leaving you with a stringy and uninspired base for the dish. The tortillas are tough to bite through, even when soaked in the flavorless liquids that adorn your plate. The beans taste like they came straight from a can bought at the dollar store, and the vegetables aren’t all that fresh. And because every dish they make is incredibly tasteless, Frida’s will load up on obscene amounts of cheese to compensate. The cheese is equally as hopeless, tasting like nothing but chewy grease.
Frida’s only redeeming quality is the atmosphere — a large, well-​decorated 2-​story loft — unless you’re not a fan of looking at a giant picture of woman with a unibrow while you eat, I suppose. All in all, dining here is a horrendous, underwhelming experience. Don’t waste your money. Casa de Lara is 2 blocks away.

Frida’s is mediocre, at best.
The tacos are generally dry as the desert and the beans are like eating sand; and I’ve had their steak tacos twice (I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume it was a fluke – not the case.) Their cheese quesadillas are just as lifeless and lacking in flavor.
I’ve never had bad service here, but I can safely say that there’s only two reasons to come to Frida’s: one, their margaritas are excellent – especially if you’re stupid like me and don’t mind trying to down a 28 oz. one (they have larger ones as well) in about an hour and a half time frame or more. Two, their desserts. The Tres Leches is to die for: it is rich and decadent with sweetness that makes you sit back in your chair and get a food coma.
If there is one reason I will return to Frida’s, it’s for the margarita and Tres Leches.

Pretty bad food but a nice ambiance sitting outside. Standard chips and salsa to start: chips overly greasy, salsa with no «kick» (and very little flavor besides pureed tomatoes.) We both ordered tacos: fish, and chicken. Chicken tacos come in corn tortillas: a little healthier was my goal but no: the tortillas were brushed in oil before being used to form my tacos so picking them up was more of a greasy mess. Also absolutely loaded with cheese and very little meat. My wife had the fish version. Deep fried tilapia in flour tortillas. Decent tasting, but again, very greasy. Standard sides of refried beans and rice came with both.
A nice day drove us to this place; a margarita outside sounded appealing, unfortunately we should have stuck with the drinks and no lunch.

Within a stones throw of the beautiful WI capitol building this place is where I had my first margarita ever. I really hope there is more to them than salt and tequila taste…
The food was average mexican fare, drinks were ok, staff was really cool and the pictures of Frida Kahlo made me go into the bathroom every 5 minutes to make sure I didn’t have a uni brow also…
If you are in town and want to pick up some college girls go here because unless it was some anomaly it seemed like every table was filled with young ladies. And either I am getting really old or young girls are looking much younger than when I was that age.
Nice place, I’d go again.

I’m not entirely sure what all this «bad service» nonsense is about. I’ve generally been pleased with the servers here. I’ve also found that the food is served fast and fresh.
Regarding the quality of that food: questionable. The food is hardcore mediocre mexican. It’s nothing to write home about, but it’s fast, hot and tastes fresh. Just not that great.
The margaritas were really the reason that I dragged my ex to this place so much. The margaritas were pretty decent and came in many different flavors. Plus, they come in insane novelty sizes.
If you want good Mexican food, I suggest you try Casa De Lara, down the street. This place is mostly for the drinking and the nightlife.

To say I was disappointed with Frida would be an understatement.
We went here to that we could hear Jazz in the Square while enjoying some sangria. The sangria mostly just tasted like watered down franzia. There was no fruit or anything in it at all.
After getting our pitcher of «sangria,» we thought we should order something even though we weren’t hungry just because we were taking the waitresses table for an unknown period of time. We ordered some type of cheese appetizer that was so bland I can’t remember anything about it besides that it was gross.
The service was quite friendly and they weren’t pushy trying to get us to leave so that is the only reason they are getting 2 stars instead of 1.

Possibly the worst service I’ve ever had in Madison. A hostess once tried to take away the table we’d just been seated at because some friend of hers wandered by and wanted to be seated immediately. I’ve often had to wait quite awhile for waitstaff.
The food is nothing special – not BAD, but definitely overpriced. The half-​price margaritas, the only reason I ever go there, are pretty good, but they recently instituted a requirement that you purchase like $ 10 worth of their overpriced food in order to get a table rather than being confined to the bar. Not worth it.

Food=Bad. Service=Ok.
Ugh. If given 20 minutes in the kitchen I could concoct tastier chicken tacos from old tires and sweaty socks. Even the tortilla chips were bland. Hands down worst «Mexican» food ever.
The single redeeming thing about the restaurant was the nice outdoor seating; the sun was nice.
I ate one of 3 chicken tacos and resorted to filling myself with the mediocre nachos and salsa. The re-​fried beans were bland and the rice lifeless (I think it was Uncle Ben’s).
I left my with my tacos in a to-​go box. As I made my way down State Street a guy on a bench asked if I could spare my left overs. I offered them over with the explanation of how bad the food was. He didn’t seem to mind.
Bottom line=Save your money. Go to Taco Bell.

Is the food good? No. Is the service good? Actually, yes. On Monday night my 3 friends and I had several margaritas (because they’re ½ off!!) and dinner there. The bartender was very nice and the drink was appropriately strong, and the table waiter was also very pleasant to 4 of us. The place was not that happening on this particular night — I think it’s partly because of the holiday emptiness the college town experiences + ultra cold night — so no body was kicking us out of the door in hurry. We stayed and chatted long after taking care of the bills, and they didn’t seem to care.
Has the food been authentic or anything close to that, the dining experience would have been a bit more pleasurable on palate, but over all, not too much to complain about.

Spent a while walking around trying to decide where to eat, and ended up stopping here.
The food was fine. I liked my dish, but it wasn;t spectacular.
The service was really terrible. We were sitting outside and saw our waitress three times. When the order was taken and when the food was ready and when she brought the check. There was no asking if we wanted more booze (even though she had already upsold us on the original margarita), and getting her attention when she was walking by to service the other table was impossible. After she left the check we waited about 20 minutes for her to come and run the card, but that never happened. Had to ask the hostess to take care of it. She gave it to the server who, annoyed, returned it with a simple «there you go».
Hopefully she was just having a bad night but that wasn’t the impression that I got.