Absolutely delish!!!! BUT way too much food! Surely enjoyed my Bloody Maria ...... service was great too!

As a traveler I was in the mood for some tacos. The front desk of my hotel mentioned stopping by this place since it seems to be a local favorite. Appetizer: Free chips, salsa, and refried beans. These were a good start. The salsa was good the chips were good and the beans were ok, a little watery buy still worth eating. Main course: shredded pork tacos and taco dinner. My friend I was eating with highly recommends them as he will get them the next time he is here. Corn tortillas with pork and cilantro were pretty good. The taco dinner is an unusual change on the normal taco since they deep fried the entire taco which in my mind made it similar to a chimichanga but I was willing to give it a go. It was ok, didn't exactly meet my taco needs. The ground beef lacked serious seasoning. The tortilla had no flavor so the ground beef needed to step it up. Fix the ground beef and you have a meal that could be a hidden gem. But for now its just a local taco joint you go to, to sit down and chat with friends. Dessert: Sopapilla. Both me and my friend got it and it was good. Althought dipping any friend thing in honey is probably amazing. Worth the 1.49 per person I feel. Overall the service was a little slow but this place was packed with locals. The free chips was good and made uo for it but the taco meal was a bit if a let down. However this is a place I'd try again. read more

La Cocina - Taco diner. Deep fried tacos - Mexican Near Me - Casper, Wyoming

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My wife and I were traveling through town so we thought we'd give it a try. Initially, the service was great. But I have to admit, the default free salsa they give you before the meal was WAY too hot. My wife asked for another option but they couldn't offer anything. I've been to more Mexican restaurants in my lifetime (including in Mexico) than I can even remember, and I've never had to stop eating the free chips and salsa because it's too freakin hot. We ordered a couple signature drinks, which did not have any prices listed. Ended up being $10 each!!! Great drinks, but certainly NOT worth 10 bucks each. So I guess my fault for not asking the price first. Then, finally the meals came. I ordered the carne asada street tacos, which I normally love. My wife ordered an enchilada. Again, WAY too hot. I love spicy food, but this stuff was beyond. My wife took a couple bites and just stopped eating. I could only finish one of my three tacos. We conveyed our concerns to the server and she didn't even offer an apology or alternative. Maybe the chef was just having an off night, or maybe my palate was more sensitive than normal. But just a warning to those that enjoy "tasting" their food and not following each bite chugging ice water just to get it down. P.S. I had to buy some Takis Fuego at the next gas station just to make sure I wasn't a complete wuss. Now those were awesome! read more

Our group of 24 on a Friday night experienced great service and tasty food. I was impressed that on a busy Friday night, that they were able to handle our group so well! Most dishes came out within seconds of others, so meal service was very smooth. Hot sauce and bean dip served with chips was spicy (not bean dip) but good. So if you don't like spicy, be careful. The green chili sauce on my enchiladas was good (not green) but it too was on the spicy side. I like spicy, so not a problem for me. My compliments to the cooks and staff at La Cocina! Our group enjoyed meeting and eating there! Good job all around! read more

Visit #: 1 Will be back if in the area I was with a rowdy, hungry group after spending the day at Riverfest where we liberally let the hops flow. One vegan member of the group drunkenly asked our waiter what vegan options there were, and our poor waiter--a fellow vegan--tried his darn hardest to accomodate us. The two of us ordered a bean burrito with a side of rice and avocado. A little overwhelmed, the waiter ended up bringing us the meal that he usually eats: refried beans (which are cooked in lard, heads up if you are vegan), a tortilla, and a fajita type mix of SO MANY jalapeños, bell peppers, and crispy fried potatoes. The potatoes were winners!! Not at all what we ordered...but delish. I think everybody else enjoyed their meal. We also ordered a pitcher of margarita which ended up being $32 which we thought was strange, and it wasn't great so I wouldn't recommend it. Overall, this is not a bad place to eat--good portions, non-pretentious, and you might get to try something you didn't even ask for. And again, sorry to the poor kid that had to wait on us. Food/drinks: 4/5 Ambiance: 4/5 Service: 5/5 Wait time: 5/5 Total: 18/20 read more

Traveling through the area and searched for grub within a short walk from our hotel. I really enjoyed the shrimp fajitas. My wife says the combo fajitas were the best she's ever tasted. Great job La Cocina! read more

First of all, I want to temper my review with the information that I am not writing it for people who want to eat at La Cocina, but rather with the audience of it's manager in mind. That aside, I hope you understand that I've been a customer and fan of La Cocina for as long as I've been going to restaurants in Casper. La Cocina is, and has always been my favorite mexican-style restaurant. Among my favorites, the fajitas, rellenos and sopapilas are a staple of my visits. You've got a great restaurant, and I feel like you genuinely care about your customers, and perhaps more importantly, your restaurant and your grand vision. I should add that I have been unable to visit since November because of a work injury, and it was shocking to me when I walked in today and saw the renovations. It looks "classier," I suppose, but at the sacrifice of the more comfortable warmth it seemed to have before. Whoever told you to get rid of your original design? I think you should have defended your "hang loose" chili, the sun design feels based mexican restaurant, sacrificing a bit of your personality to avoid feeling "immature." Aside from my new first impressions today, I should mention that I did see you, and was happy that you spent a minute to explain your decision- that you are no longer a young man and that other decisions factor into your design changes. I don't agree. My wife ordered a cheese quesadilia, which was, in her opinion, "Excellent, but $11 for a quesadilla with no meat in it." I ordered a steak fajita, and was disappointed to see that since we had last come in, the 1/2 appetite fajitas were now gone, and in their stead was a fajita that cost roughly $19. I didn't mind that, good steak costs money. I just wish that I had gotten a better one. Staff attention at 3 o' clock on a weekday was great. You showed up personally with chips when you noticed that your waiter was taking a little time. I'm sure that your time as a manager is constantly stretched thin, but you still make time to assure that your customers are watched. It's one of the reasons I respect you, and also why I bothered to leave a review in the first place; I am interested in the success of La Cocina. My fajita steak arrived before the rest of my fajita, sizzling on a cast iron skillet plate, already slightly overcooked and underseasoned, but still cooking while I waited for the rest of my fajita to arrive. I miss the days when peopled didn't have to get full on presentation. My fajita arrived on a crammed plate, shortly afterward and the waiter did not bring an empty plate on which to prepare my food. This is a small inconvenience, but heaped on the others, only served to degrade the overall experience. The beef, either through overcooking (or a change that I can't be sure happened, a possible change in meat that went to a cheaper, less lean beef) was chewy. I cooked for 10 years, and maybe that makes me more critical of how my meat is cooked, but I should also add that I paid nearly 20$ for what is basically a glorified beef burrito: If it's chewy or overcooked, I'm disappointed. Which brings me to the bottom line here: I was disappointed. I'll still eat at La Cocina again, because it's still a favorite, but after visiting today, I can only look at the changes over the last several months and lament. It seems like a couple of things have probably been changed because the market is volatile. It's hard to make money. People aren't eating out as often. Moreover, people want to experience something fun when they eat out. I hope that you can read this and take a few things away from my review, and not see it as a scathing attempt at burning a restaurant, but rather an attempt to provide useful criticism to a restaurant that I am interested in- You guys should succeed. It also seems like, at face value, La Cocina is trying to rebrand as a more expensive restaurant, which might just alienate your customers and may not bring in the extra revenue, but this entire review is simply an editorial. If things are more expensive because they need to be, then simply don't make me feel like quality is lacking. The beef I ate in november wasn't dry, overcooked, or underseasoned. It was delicious and cooked just right. I don't care about the presentation of meat if it's cooked well. Cast iron plates? Not neccesary, just give me room to pile ingredients on a tortilla. A small point? I missed the mints at the register when paying for my ticket. It's a small thing, but I noticed it. Things you guys did right? Attention to customers, your server was great, I gave him a decent tip. Our drink glasses were full, he checked back often and did everything right. Overall, I gave you 4/5 stars. I can't be sure that the meat was really anyone's fault or if anything really even has changed. Maybe I'm just turning into an old man and I hate seeing something familiar change into something that feels cookie-cutter. Hang loose, man. Don't let people change you. read more

I don't know how this restaurant gets any good reviews. The service was fine but the food was terrible. The chips were very thick and tasted somewhat stale. The salsa might have been good if it wasn't so salty it could dessicate a slug. That with the salty chips was a nightmare. I ordered a vegetable chimichanga which was supposed to be potato, corn and black beans. It was more like a potato chimichanga with a few corn kernels and overcooked black beans stuck in as an afterthought. My husband's green chili was not what he expected and did not taste good. He loves Mexican food but barely ate any of this dish. We know good Mexican cuisine. This isn't it. Go down the road to Salt Lake City's Red Iguana. They know how to do it right. read more

Horrible experience... Service was horrible, he was busy so he sent someone out to help him, bad mistake, he must of been a dishwasher because he couldn't even get anything right, not even a refill of tea, let alone the right beer.... Prices are outrageous. $18 for 3 carna asada tacos, which would of been fine if they were good, they had a red sauce on them, I've never had came asada with sauce, never want to again. Also the green chili and the chilies in the rellanos were so hot they couldn't be eaten.... Then there was the desert disaster, ordered a fried ice cream, waited 30 min, decided to leave and head to the register, then was told they couldn't take it off so said we would take it to go, then it was wrong...had chocolate on it and didn't order it that way. Will never go back read more

Service was great , waitress shaney was so kind and polite . I ordered flautas and they were super crunchy and tasted as if they were pre made they just fried them .. everything else was great , so just maybe I ordered the wrong thing. read more

Great Service!!!!! Large portions and great food. Try the Black Beans and Corn instead of the Refried beans.... read more

La Cosina is our #1 stop in town on our North or Southbound trips between Colorado and Alberta. The Veggie Fajitas are delicious; the crispy potato slices add a unique texture. We request corn tortillas and extra onions and peppers. Service is quick and friendly. Our server remembered us today from our visit a week previously, even remembered where we sat and my "no cheese" request! read more

Took a couple guys here for lunch today.. The food was horrible, I had the smothered chicken enchiladas, and they shouldn't have even been classified as food. I have had better Mexican food at 7eleven. The chicken was worse than that cafeteria chicken breast that has been sitting under the heat lamp all dried out and lacking any sort of flavor at all.. The chili smother was even worse, and enchiladas anywhere else on the planet are in corn tortillas, but oh no! Not at this establishment! These are slimy flower tortillas.. I waited to flag someone down to be seated, I flagged someone down to pay, both of which were unreasonable amounts of time... To top everything off, I paid close to $55, for 3 entree's, and 3 sodas, and I'm home tonight sick from this lovely lunch.. Unbelievable, I will never, ever, be back to this "mexican" resteraunt. read more

La Cocina has been making Tex-mex style food at two locations now. There newest location features a bar and a combination of booths, tables and high top tables in the bar area. The chips are hand made and fried, the salsa average. While I consider their food non tradition Mexican style there are some good dishes. The rice and beans are awful so I like to order items a la carte. The carne Asada is amazing, but not traditional. The chimichangas are good and the fried tacos as well. Both greasy and satisfying. The ideal protein salads are good if your trying to watch calories. They do get very busy for lunch so I recommended getting there by 11:45 if you don't want to wait for a spot. Service is pretty good unless it's packed and then getting a refill can be challenging. Well decorated and clean. read more

I had no expectations for this place being I'm from the southwest and have consistent excellent Mexican food. I was pleasantly surprised at the great taste and portions at La Cocina. Chicken was great, beans were excellent, rice was nice....well done. read more

This place has fantastic pork chili, tacos and carne asada. It is a relaxing fun atmosphere and the salsa is the bomb! Use Google maps to assist your navigating it is on a weired one way stree. read more

This restaurant is one of our favorite experiences with Mexican food to date. Our servers were attentive, checking on us every few minutes to make sure we were topped off on drinks and chips. The restaurant was very, very clean, bathrooms included. The food was outstanding, with the chicken egg rolls (substituted steak) being a shockingly good dish. I wish I lived here, I would visit often. read more

Not to good. Facility is old and in need of repair. Food is bland and unappetizing. I could not taste any seasonings in the burrito or taco I had. Both were stuffed with hamburger and not much else. There was a red sauce on the burrito, but again it did nothing to add to the flavor of the meal. Chips are very thick and taste "old". It might help if the warm them up. Salsa was okay, but looked and tasted a lot like tomato sauce. Staff is quick and efficient. But they don't pay attention to to detail. I had to find my own eating utensils. I doubt that I will return for a second try. read more

The food here is totally 5 stars - homemade chips and the best salsa ever. But the margaritas leave a lot to be desired. I had a top shelf margarita on the rocks (with Petron), but it was with sickly sweet sweet 'n sour mix. I can't give you 5 stars if you don't make the effort to whip up real margaritas. I almost always have the taco dinner, it is divine. Two large tacos with seasoned ground beef tucked into flour tortillas and deep-fried. It's paradise! The rice and beans are quite tasty, as well. Service here is very friendly, and the food is spectacular. read more

This place is decent. The food is hit or miss, I've had awesome meals and poor meals here. The staff is very friendly, and the atmosphere is very nice. The menu is well laid out, but they should have more warning on heat levels for people. My mother had a dish that the wait staff said wasn't hot, and she could not eat it as it was too spicy. I also tried it, (liking hot foods), and it got my attention a bit. I would advise asking the staff and fellow friends or customers how things taste and how things are. I recommend giving this place a try, start out with what you know in Hispanic foods, and branch out from there. read more

I should have known when entering the old, converted Denny's that this was a mistake. The area behind the host stand, where you can see all down the kitchen line, was a mess. But we were hungry and needed a margarita. The chips were the only good part of the meal. I would eat Taco Bell any day over this food. There was not a drop of flavor or seasoning in anything. The ground beef was just fried up and slapped on a crappy taco shell. The soupy refried beans were for sure out of a can with some generic shredded cheese on top...and I had half a bag of shredded lettuce on my plate...which I now understand to be the terrible food's cover up. The margaritas were too sweet and we took a few bites and paid the bill and left. Sad. Do not eat here if you want good Mexican food. Do not eat here if you want semi-okay Mexican food. Just do not eat here. read more

The fajitas were delicious, they have you plenty of tortillas but I could have used a bit more rice and beans than I got (that's more of a personal preference). My wife ordered the Taco and a Frozen Strawberry Margarita. The Taco was very good, although a bit greasy due to being fried. No complaints about the Strawberry Margarita. The service was great and the value for the price was spot on. For dinners and drinks, we ended up spending $36 which we felt was a really great deal. Good food, good service, and not overpriced - although nothing knocked our socks off. I'd give La Cocina a solid 4/5 stars. Definitely recommended!! read more

We rolled in 30 minutes before close, with six friends who were 40 minutes behind us. Not only did they set up a table for eight, they let us order for everyone before the kitchen closed and kept assuring is that there was no need to hurry. Food arrived a minute after our friends did. And that's only talking about the service. (Andrew was awesome, as was the owner, Jim, who came over and introduced himself.) Food was exactly what we were in the mood for - except it was even better than we expected. I had the chicken lime soup and a beef taco (the giant fried shell was awesome) and my on-time friend had the enchiladas. All top notch. As were the margaritas. (Everyone else's food was good, but since they can't be on time, they don't get an opinion.) So yeah. Ignore complaints about wheat and margaritas from people who don't know how to spell Patron and come here. read more

Another great find thanks to help! Right off interstate 25, great food. Quick, friendly srevice. Highly recommend if traveling through.

My whole family went here for dinner, there were 8 plus two small children. We did not have a reservation and they were able to accommodate us quickly. The service was very good considering the place was amply busy at that time. They promptly brought chips, salsa and drinks out. Our waiter, (I forgot his name sorry!) did a great job and everyone seemed to get everything exactly as they ordered even though he did not write anything down. - I was impressed! The only thing we were not really prepared for was the fact that they deep fry the tacos, kinda struck me as odd and my son didn't really care for it but other that that it was great. I would be happy to return on another visit if I come back to the Casper area! read more

There sign where friends and family eat and the staff is awesome all very friendly service is amazing . owners are always visible ... If you want good food friendly service this is the place to be read more

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My friend and I ordered carne Asada tacos. As we ate the food we both said it wasn't good. The only good thing was the chips. Within hours we both had upset stomachs. Our upset stomachs turned to nasty bowel movements. Never ever would I go there again or recommending this place to anyone!!! read more

GoodMexican food. I had the steak fajitas which was flavorful. Salsa was a bit too spicy. Be careful on some dishes as some of my friends had other dishes that has some spicy bean sauce. But still a great place to eat read more

My wife and I ate dinner there on 3/23/19. The waiter, Andrew, was good, the service really slow, and the food was terrible. I'll never eat there again. They were out of red sauce for the enchilada. The substitute was so spicy that you could not eat it. The food is expensive and a waste of money compared to what you get. If you want Mexican food, find another place to eat. read more

Very mixed bag. Service was great, daughters meal was fine, mine was horrendous. Carne Asada is supposed to be steak, this was shredded hamburger with a sauce on it that tasted like the Old El Paso powdered packet. read more

I only gave one star because you don't have a zero. The food has always been bland but they had decent lunch specials at a reasonable price. This has all changed with a new menu and omg prices. If we would have eaten lunch with a beer for two, with taxes, the bill would have been around $50.00 for lunch. Went to another Mexican place, much better food at half the price for the same meal. Get a bank loan to eat their food and drink. read more

do not go here this place is very over priced and will make you sick. my stomach has been hurting since left there and my son woke up throwing up. their service is an absolute joke and the kitchen sent 3 out 5 of our plates out wrong. read more

Food was good. One of my favorite places to eat. But it took forever to get our food ~over a hour ~ as well as a 30 minute wait to be seated... will never come here again during typical dining hours. read more

I used to love going here, but now it's very pricey. The staff and food are still very wonderful but wont eat here that much now because of the cost. read more

If I could give this place no stars I would, service was horrible, we got our drinks 20 minutes later after being sat down, but we got chips and salsa before our drinks were ordered, chips were undercooked, we went through 3 rounds of chips and dip before someone took our orders, FINALLY! Our server looked lost, my father in laws beer was warm! Only two napkins and forks, our food came out 30 minutes later, and they got our orders wrong! My husband got a Chile relleno plate, the Chile's were 2 little jalapeño peppers, they were not the right peppers! I got a beef chimichanga with red sauce, I cut into it and it was just regular hamburger meat, I expected carne asada, I bit into it, it was the worst chimichanga I've ever tasted, meat was tasteless and food was not hot it was cold, no red sauce on my chimichanga and no enchilada sauce on my sons chicken enchilada, how are you about to have an enchilada with out the sauce! Like really?!!, their food is pricey too, for horrible food, like 3 street tacos for 16 bucks, c'mon now, I can buy 3 street tacos from a real Mexican place for less than that and I'll be satisfied. This was our first and LAST time I'm coming to La Cocina, I do not recommend it at all, I've been to bad restaurants but this place is by far the worst. Definitely not going back! read more

Burritos get burnt and they are horrible at fixing it. Service is hit or miss and it could be anywhere from the best you've ever had to the worst. Food is generally great though. I love the sizzling fajitas and their blond chips while you wait is my favorite. The smothered burritos are very good besides the burnt burrito part. Their bean dip is good and their salsa has a little bite to it. Their queso is delicious. The best part is they have fried ice cream! And it is so good! Price isn't too bad all in all. I usually have problems with the drinks not being filled or there being something in the glass. Despite the problems, they're my favorite restaurant because of their food. read more

Generous portions and variety. Recommended by hotel desk. Group of 7 all ordered different items and all were great and reasonably priced. Restaurant had good staff and clean. read more

The locals call this a Mexican restaurant. I don't know what it is... but if that is Mexican food its the worst I've ever had. Yuck.

Good food, great prompt service and a nice place to eat. Nothing fancy but a easy family lunch.

I concur with some of the previous posts, in other words this isn't the real enchilada, not even close. I didn't have high expectations, as it looked a bit sketchy with a dated coffee shop decor. The beef taco I was served was like no other taco I've ever had, the shell was fried and puffed out, while the beef was simply ground beef, with a pile of lettuce, cheese and salsa. The Chile relleno was hidden under a pile of cheese and sauce, there was far more sauce, it was hideous. The service was fine. The problem is the quality of the food, as well as the recipes seem to evoke the kind of Mexican food only found today in carnivals or at some random cafeteria. Taco John's (apparently a regional fast food chain) actually has far better cuisine than La Cocina could dream of. C'mon guys you can do better. read more