I had dinner here New Year's day evening. The chips and salsa were very fresh and obviously homemade. The guacamole was tasty but possibly a little under salted. Better under salted and oversalted... I just added a little bit of my own salt to taste. I ordered two tacos and a tamale. The first taco was shredded chicken and the second was steak. Both were delicious. The service was fast and excellent.
(4)
Bill A.
Great food and great prices. Working class neighborhood in south Naples. Found this place after driving by the taqueria after visiting the botanical gardens. Came in after two large groups so the wait was a little long but the chips, salsa and sodas kept coming. Wife had the Mexican Lasagna, I had three El Pastor tacos and our daughter tried one chicken, one shredded beef and one ground beef taco. The chicken was a little dry but everything else was great. Will definitely be our go to Mexican place in the future.
(4)
George T.
This is a favorite of a few friends of mine who are regulars. So we stopped in for lunch had some time to blow so we were quickly offered choice of seating so we chose a booth near the front. casually looked over the menu and got a few specials for lunch. The portion were good service included frequent checks for chips and salsa and drink refills. I enjoyed the habanero sauce mixed into the tacos they had a good amount of heat that grew slowly with a medium diminishing after heat. The green hot sauce mixed with the red gave better flavor for chip dipping. It's enjoyable enough to return from this guy. Food 4 Amb 5 newly updated bar Service 5 Location 3 bay shore is improved from when I first moved here. So trust my word, it was way worse than it is now. avg parking could be a challenge during peak hours. Value 4 great specials and for lunch .7.99 combo meals with rice and beans. The tamale looked larger than average while the enchilada looked smaller than average. They have happy hour drinks. See pics for details. 19/2015
(4)
Aya G.
Came in for lunch with 3 other people. The chips were warm and delicious , and every one of the salsas was fantastic. They were very generous with drink and chips refills. Two of us had the taco salad which was fresh and delicious!! Our friends had the rice bowls which tasted great as well. Service was warm and friendly and allover a great experience! Bathrooms were spotless as well!
(5)
Martin G.
Went there for an early dinner as we hadn't eaten lunch. The food was ok. Not bad, but nothing extraordinary. Not much ambiance either but that was to be expected since it was pretty early. I had the burrito al pastor with the green sauce and my girlfriend had the chicken burrito with the mole sauce. The green sauce was supposed to be medium spicy, there was a small amount of heat but I wouldn't call it medium. The mole sauce was good tasting but it was fairly simple tasting compared to some of the other moles I've had in the past. We wanted to order mojitos but didn't have mint. We had daiquiris instead, the tropical flavored one was really good, the cherry flavored one was more ordinary. Overall, I don't think I'd go back if I ever was in the area again.
(2)
Amy T.
Got a great deal on groupon. Had a margarita, ceviche, al pastor burrito, and sopapilla for dessert. All the food was good, nothing spectacular, but tasty. The food without the groupon seemed a little overpriced but with the groupon it was a steal. My biggest complaint was that the margarita was very watery but the green tomatillo salsa was fantastic.
(3)
Eileen S.
Came across this place while exploring South Naples. Decided to try it for dinner. What a great find. Clean atmosphere, small but quaint. Had chicken fajitas and a margarita was delicious. The chicken was perfectly cooked with red and green peppers and onions. Chiice of 2 rice and beans dishes. We will be back.
(4)
Al A.
All the food is fresh and prepared on the premises. Hector, the owner does most of the serving. He's great - very friendly very helpful. We just happened to his place, looking for another restaurant. Fortunate for us. It was terrific. I had the best chili relleno I've had in 20 years. We stopped twice, to and from the keys. We also had steak tacos, enchiladas, tamale and a taco salad. Everything was superior.
(5)
Christopher R.
Friendly staff, clean, with great prices. The civiche is excellent. They even have a good selection of mexican beers.
(5)
Tom W.
Went there for lunch about 11:30 am. There was only one other table occupied. The menu describes the enchilada as chicken or beef with different sauces. I asked the waitress if they had sour cream sauce for the chicken enchilada and she had no idea what sour cream sauce was. Also did not have chili sauce. The waitress took our order and brought us some salsa and chips. . The salsa was good but the chips were very tough not the warm crispy ones that I love. Took a while for us to get our food and by that time several other customers had come in and our waitress was the only one there. After getting our food we did not see our waitress again and had to ask for the check. We would have liked to have had some more salsa to try to drown the bad taste of the food, but no luck. I would never go back here.
Just all around great place. I moved here about a year ago and have been to this restaurant more than anywhere else. Definitely worth your time. Hector the owner knows everyone who visits regularly and treats everyone well
(5)
Rob L.
Awesome, authentic Mexican food. The area is a little sketchy, but don't let that deter you - it's well worth it. We had homemade sangria, fantastic by the way, with chicken fajitas, avocado salad with 16/20 count shrimp grilled to perfection, and homemade corn tortillas. Rock on La Piñata!!!
(5)
Betsy N.
Three of us had dinner at LaPinata tonight. We had a groupon for two and ordered a taco salad in addition. All of the food was absolutely delicious! Our server, Rico, was very pleasant and the service was excellent. We highly recommend this casual eatery!
(5)
Greg D.
Drove by and decided to check it out, glad I did! Great tacos! The el Pastor (al Pastor?) tacos were amazing, not only cooked with pineapple, but these actually had chunks of grilled pineapple mixed in, incredible! The tamales were huge and very, very good, I would go back for that! Staff and the owner were very nice. The bottles of hot sauces on the table are a bit boring but a place like this always has a 'kitchen hot sauce' and they did, and it packed quite a flavorful and spicy punch. It's a bit pricier than St Julian a couple blocks away, but La Pinta offers a lot more than just tacos, and I look foward to trying more from this place. Deserves a look! Ole!
(4)
M S.
We had dinner there last night. The first time this season. The food was delecious, freshly prepared and nicely presented. We are going to La Pinata for a couple of years and their food has been consistently outstanding, authentic and freshly prepared. Although off beaten path, it is definitely worth a little detour to their Bayshore location.
(5)
Allison L.
I'm really torn about this review, because the food was very good but big differences in pricing on their online menu vs in the store makes the give just two stars. I went to their website to check out the menu before I placed my takeout order. The order that I called in should have been $20.99 (+tax), based on the prices on their online menu. However, my check was for $33.49 (+tax). According to the online menu: Chicken burrito dinner plus SIDE of guac- $10.99 + $2 2 carne asada tacos- $2 each 2 al pastor tacos- $2 each I was charged: Chicken burrito plus APPETIZER of guac- $11.99 + $7.50 2 carne asada tacos- $3 each 2 al pastor tacos- $4 each I'm not sure why they have such differences, but they definitely need to update their online menu. Unfortunately, I didn't realize the discrepancy until after I'd left. Like I said, the food was good but not nearly the value I thought it was. Plus, the mistake of charging me (and I assume giving me the larger portion) for the guac app instead of the side was significant. I should note, the guac app is priced differently on the website as well.
(2)
Richjan S.
I know good Mexican food and this exceeds that. Everything we had, from the chips and salsa, the carne asada, the Mexican shrimp cocktail ( not on the menu, you have to ask), to the tres leche cake, it was GREAT! And that includes the bill. Wonderful find, wonderful hole in the wall. Now, four months later, we have been here three more times and always great food, pleasant surroundings and very friendly service, especially from Jaime and Jennifer.
(5)
Sherry K.
We stopped here as a referral from a friend who said 'the tacos are amazing!' From the beginning I was not impressed. We walked in, no host/ess to tell us to seat ourselves or to wait to be seated; therefore we were stumbling around trying to figure out where we belonged. We went to the restroom, came out, still no host/ess, decided to seat ourselves at a booth. I ordered a margarita on the rocks and water; for a meal I ordered a ground beef taco with cheese, onion, tomato, guacamole and sour cream, with a side of yellow rice and black beans. Our food came out before our drinks: no side of guacamole or sour cream, nor was it on my taco. I was a quarter of the way done eating my meal by the time a (different) waitress came to ask us how we were doing, only then did she bring our drinks. The food was FLAVORLESS! Even salt, pepper and hot sauce did not help the taco. The yellow rice was dry and tasted like paper. The black beans no better. The person i was dining with ordered steak quesadillas with refried beans and rice. They also thought the rice and beans were flavorless, however, the steak quesadillas tasted appropriately as they should, which was a pleasant surprise. The margaritas did not taste like they were made correctly; found out later THEY DON'T EVEN USE TEQUILA; They use a wine based liquor that 'tastes like tequila'. Now this may be an ignorant assumption, but how are you going to be at a restaurant that claims they brought the 'taste of Mexico to Naples' and not have tequila or decent tasting stereotypical Mexican food? Our waitress was friendly, but she was new and did not check in on us regularly, nor provide us with service I felt was adequate for the amount of servers vs quantity of customers present. Also, we could hear another server bossing the other servers around, and that was fairly comical considering she didn't at all seem like she gave a damn about her clients. One positive about the restaurant is that it was clean; no dust about the decorations and the bathroom was tended to; but overall I see no reason why this place should get a rating higher than 1 star. I will not go back, even if someone paid for my meal.
(1)
Ben T.
Was in Naples for the first time this past weekend, and wanted a "low key" meal on Thursday night... some research led us to Bayshore Dr. We headed to the Taqueria down the street, but it looked a bit too casual for us (more of a lunch spot and no alcohol?), so we continued on and went to La Pinata. It was good, authentic mexican food, which I love, and is not easy to find back home in MI. The margarita was ok, but the tacos and sopes' were very good. Service was great, too- I will go back and also recommend to my relatives who go to Naples much more frequently!
(5)
j c.
Friendly staff, clean restaurant & great food! Highly recommend!
(5)
Paul W.
Very good food. Nice smaller restaurant atmosphere. Best Mexican food in town. Prices are great - I have spent much more in this town for much lower quality Mexican. Coming back for more....
(5)
p b.
Great atmosphere, friendly staff. Try the guacamole and margaritas, exceptional. Also a happy hour on drinks and some food items. Worth a stop.
Sorry, Store hours have not been updated. If you are the owner of this restaurants. Please update the store hours.
Specialities
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Bike Parking : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Noise Level : Average Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : Yes Has TV : Yes Waiter Service : Yes
If you enjoy Taco Tuesday, then you have officially fallen in love with the Mexican Food. The main grain of Mexican cuisine is maize. Also known as corn, maize is grown for the past 9000 years after the crop was discovered by the people in Mayan civilization. Mexican empire flourished when they started growing beans, tomatoes, chili pepper, sweet potato and cactus. Till this date these ingredients are used in cooking authentic Mexican dishes and drinks.
Great use of spices, fresh chili pepper dishes like fajitas, tortilla chips, corn chips, salsa, chimichangas, burritos, nachos and quesadillas are invented in America. But when you are looking for authentic Mexican food then you must find a restaurant in the city that serves Rajas con Queso, Garbanzo in a Guajillo Chile Sauce, Pork Filled Chiles Rellenos, Chiles en Nogada, Molcajete Salsa, Pico de Gallo and Frijoles de la Olla. An eye-opening fact – Mexican don't like their food hot. They use fresh chili and other spices to create a flavor that lingers in your mouth.
Mexican food is great for those who are Gluten Intolerant as they use Corn instead of wheat in most of their dishes. Also, you can easily find many beans based Mexican dishes. Another dish which didn't get similar glory as tacos or nachos is the Mexican hot chocolate. If you love something hot on a chilly day, then go for Mexican Hot Chocolate. On merry days, you can enjoy the authentic Mexican Drinks like Tequila, Mezcal, Tecuí, Sotol, Bacanora, Charanda, Posh O Pox, Puebla and Pulque. Mexican Cuisine is for people who enjoy strong drinks and hearty meals.
Gary A.
I had dinner here New Year's day evening. The chips and salsa were very fresh and obviously homemade. The guacamole was tasty but possibly a little under salted. Better under salted and oversalted... I just added a little bit of my own salt to taste. I ordered two tacos and a tamale. The first taco was shredded chicken and the second was steak. Both were delicious. The service was fast and excellent.
(4)Bill A.
Great food and great prices. Working class neighborhood in south Naples. Found this place after driving by the taqueria after visiting the botanical gardens. Came in after two large groups so the wait was a little long but the chips, salsa and sodas kept coming. Wife had the Mexican Lasagna, I had three El Pastor tacos and our daughter tried one chicken, one shredded beef and one ground beef taco. The chicken was a little dry but everything else was great. Will definitely be our go to Mexican place in the future.
(4)George T.
This is a favorite of a few friends of mine who are regulars. So we stopped in for lunch had some time to blow so we were quickly offered choice of seating so we chose a booth near the front. casually looked over the menu and got a few specials for lunch. The portion were good service included frequent checks for chips and salsa and drink refills. I enjoyed the habanero sauce mixed into the tacos they had a good amount of heat that grew slowly with a medium diminishing after heat. The green hot sauce mixed with the red gave better flavor for chip dipping. It's enjoyable enough to return from this guy. Food 4 Amb 5 newly updated bar Service 5 Location 3 bay shore is improved from when I first moved here. So trust my word, it was way worse than it is now. avg parking could be a challenge during peak hours. Value 4 great specials and for lunch .7.99 combo meals with rice and beans. The tamale looked larger than average while the enchilada looked smaller than average. They have happy hour drinks. See pics for details. 19/2015
(4)Aya G.
Came in for lunch with 3 other people. The chips were warm and delicious , and every one of the salsas was fantastic. They were very generous with drink and chips refills. Two of us had the taco salad which was fresh and delicious!! Our friends had the rice bowls which tasted great as well. Service was warm and friendly and allover a great experience! Bathrooms were spotless as well!
(5)Martin G.
Went there for an early dinner as we hadn't eaten lunch. The food was ok. Not bad, but nothing extraordinary. Not much ambiance either but that was to be expected since it was pretty early. I had the burrito al pastor with the green sauce and my girlfriend had the chicken burrito with the mole sauce. The green sauce was supposed to be medium spicy, there was a small amount of heat but I wouldn't call it medium. The mole sauce was good tasting but it was fairly simple tasting compared to some of the other moles I've had in the past. We wanted to order mojitos but didn't have mint. We had daiquiris instead, the tropical flavored one was really good, the cherry flavored one was more ordinary. Overall, I don't think I'd go back if I ever was in the area again.
(2)Amy T.
Got a great deal on groupon. Had a margarita, ceviche, al pastor burrito, and sopapilla for dessert. All the food was good, nothing spectacular, but tasty. The food without the groupon seemed a little overpriced but with the groupon it was a steal. My biggest complaint was that the margarita was very watery but the green tomatillo salsa was fantastic.
(3)Eileen S.
Came across this place while exploring South Naples. Decided to try it for dinner. What a great find. Clean atmosphere, small but quaint. Had chicken fajitas and a margarita was delicious. The chicken was perfectly cooked with red and green peppers and onions. Chiice of 2 rice and beans dishes. We will be back.
(4)Al A.
All the food is fresh and prepared on the premises. Hector, the owner does most of the serving. He's great - very friendly very helpful. We just happened to his place, looking for another restaurant. Fortunate for us. It was terrific. I had the best chili relleno I've had in 20 years. We stopped twice, to and from the keys. We also had steak tacos, enchiladas, tamale and a taco salad. Everything was superior.
(5)Christopher R.
Friendly staff, clean, with great prices. The civiche is excellent. They even have a good selection of mexican beers.
(5)Tom W.
Went there for lunch about 11:30 am. There was only one other table occupied. The menu describes the enchilada as chicken or beef with different sauces. I asked the waitress if they had sour cream sauce for the chicken enchilada and she had no idea what sour cream sauce was. Also did not have chili sauce. The waitress took our order and brought us some salsa and chips. . The salsa was good but the chips were very tough not the warm crispy ones that I love. Took a while for us to get our food and by that time several other customers had come in and our waitress was the only one there. After getting our food we did not see our waitress again and had to ask for the check. We would have liked to have had some more salsa to try to drown the bad taste of the food, but no luck. I would never go back here.
(1)Lewie D.
Aside from the wait staff...Jennifer, this was just really bad. The drinks were mediocre and mine was totally undrinkable. The food, which she said was bountiful, was appetizer size at best. There is potential, but for $15 on a Mexican entrée, I would expect more than appetizer size food. I would go somewhere else, this one is going to flop soon.
(2)Brandon W.
Just all around great place. I moved here about a year ago and have been to this restaurant more than anywhere else. Definitely worth your time. Hector the owner knows everyone who visits regularly and treats everyone well
(5)Rob L.
Awesome, authentic Mexican food. The area is a little sketchy, but don't let that deter you - it's well worth it. We had homemade sangria, fantastic by the way, with chicken fajitas, avocado salad with 16/20 count shrimp grilled to perfection, and homemade corn tortillas. Rock on La Piñata!!!
(5)Betsy N.
Three of us had dinner at LaPinata tonight. We had a groupon for two and ordered a taco salad in addition. All of the food was absolutely delicious! Our server, Rico, was very pleasant and the service was excellent. We highly recommend this casual eatery!
(5)Greg D.
Drove by and decided to check it out, glad I did! Great tacos! The el Pastor (al Pastor?) tacos were amazing, not only cooked with pineapple, but these actually had chunks of grilled pineapple mixed in, incredible! The tamales were huge and very, very good, I would go back for that! Staff and the owner were very nice. The bottles of hot sauces on the table are a bit boring but a place like this always has a 'kitchen hot sauce' and they did, and it packed quite a flavorful and spicy punch. It's a bit pricier than St Julian a couple blocks away, but La Pinta offers a lot more than just tacos, and I look foward to trying more from this place. Deserves a look! Ole!
(4)M S.
We had dinner there last night. The first time this season. The food was delecious, freshly prepared and nicely presented. We are going to La Pinata for a couple of years and their food has been consistently outstanding, authentic and freshly prepared. Although off beaten path, it is definitely worth a little detour to their Bayshore location.
(5)Allison L.
I'm really torn about this review, because the food was very good but big differences in pricing on their online menu vs in the store makes the give just two stars. I went to their website to check out the menu before I placed my takeout order. The order that I called in should have been $20.99 (+tax), based on the prices on their online menu. However, my check was for $33.49 (+tax). According to the online menu: Chicken burrito dinner plus SIDE of guac- $10.99 + $2 2 carne asada tacos- $2 each 2 al pastor tacos- $2 each I was charged: Chicken burrito plus APPETIZER of guac- $11.99 + $7.50 2 carne asada tacos- $3 each 2 al pastor tacos- $4 each I'm not sure why they have such differences, but they definitely need to update their online menu. Unfortunately, I didn't realize the discrepancy until after I'd left. Like I said, the food was good but not nearly the value I thought it was. Plus, the mistake of charging me (and I assume giving me the larger portion) for the guac app instead of the side was significant. I should note, the guac app is priced differently on the website as well.
(2)Richjan S.
I know good Mexican food and this exceeds that. Everything we had, from the chips and salsa, the carne asada, the Mexican shrimp cocktail ( not on the menu, you have to ask), to the tres leche cake, it was GREAT! And that includes the bill. Wonderful find, wonderful hole in the wall. Now, four months later, we have been here three more times and always great food, pleasant surroundings and very friendly service, especially from Jaime and Jennifer.
(5)Sherry K.
We stopped here as a referral from a friend who said 'the tacos are amazing!' From the beginning I was not impressed. We walked in, no host/ess to tell us to seat ourselves or to wait to be seated; therefore we were stumbling around trying to figure out where we belonged. We went to the restroom, came out, still no host/ess, decided to seat ourselves at a booth. I ordered a margarita on the rocks and water; for a meal I ordered a ground beef taco with cheese, onion, tomato, guacamole and sour cream, with a side of yellow rice and black beans. Our food came out before our drinks: no side of guacamole or sour cream, nor was it on my taco. I was a quarter of the way done eating my meal by the time a (different) waitress came to ask us how we were doing, only then did she bring our drinks. The food was FLAVORLESS! Even salt, pepper and hot sauce did not help the taco. The yellow rice was dry and tasted like paper. The black beans no better. The person i was dining with ordered steak quesadillas with refried beans and rice. They also thought the rice and beans were flavorless, however, the steak quesadillas tasted appropriately as they should, which was a pleasant surprise. The margaritas did not taste like they were made correctly; found out later THEY DON'T EVEN USE TEQUILA; They use a wine based liquor that 'tastes like tequila'. Now this may be an ignorant assumption, but how are you going to be at a restaurant that claims they brought the 'taste of Mexico to Naples' and not have tequila or decent tasting stereotypical Mexican food? Our waitress was friendly, but she was new and did not check in on us regularly, nor provide us with service I felt was adequate for the amount of servers vs quantity of customers present. Also, we could hear another server bossing the other servers around, and that was fairly comical considering she didn't at all seem like she gave a damn about her clients. One positive about the restaurant is that it was clean; no dust about the decorations and the bathroom was tended to; but overall I see no reason why this place should get a rating higher than 1 star. I will not go back, even if someone paid for my meal.
(1)Ben T.
Was in Naples for the first time this past weekend, and wanted a "low key" meal on Thursday night... some research led us to Bayshore Dr. We headed to the Taqueria down the street, but it looked a bit too casual for us (more of a lunch spot and no alcohol?), so we continued on and went to La Pinata. It was good, authentic mexican food, which I love, and is not easy to find back home in MI. The margarita was ok, but the tacos and sopes' were very good. Service was great, too- I will go back and also recommend to my relatives who go to Naples much more frequently!
(5)j c.
Friendly staff, clean restaurant & great food! Highly recommend!
(5)Paul W.
Very good food. Nice smaller restaurant atmosphere. Best Mexican food in town. Prices are great - I have spent much more in this town for much lower quality Mexican. Coming back for more....
(5)p b.
Great atmosphere, friendly staff. Try the guacamole and margaritas, exceptional. Also a happy hour on drinks and some food items. Worth a stop.
(4)