2.5 stars
This place came highly recommended. We have one person from our hotel, the cab driver, and three different men around the mall recommend La Parilla. Two other people said this was the best Mexican Restaurant in Cancun, and they had the best tacos around, so we gave it a try. It's far from the best. We weren't thrilled with our food. The staff was friendly, attentive, and accommodating when it came to the shrimp issue. We did appreciate the smiling and friendly faces with our service.
To start, you get a small bag of chips and very little salsa. The chips came in a plastic bag, and the salsa was the size of those itty bitty ramekins that you put a side of ketchup in when getting fries...super small. The chips were a tad hard and didn't seem fresh, though editable.
The coconut shrimp came out tough and with black specs fried throughout the shrimp. The shrimp also had several darks spots on them (not sure if you can see it in the pics, but they were definitely there). A black spot occurs when the shell on the shrimp begins turning black within hours or days after harvesting. This darkening is due to an enzyme process causing oxidation in the shrimp, just like in cut apples. It's not harmful or indicative of spoilage, but it's not attractive. The tiny black spots fried throughout, however, were from fried pieces that were coming off the fryer, leftover from previous foods cooked in that fryer, at least that's what the server and cook said. They apologized and took the appetizer away, and asked if we wanted something else. We were happy they took tough coconut shrimp back as they didn't look appetizing, and they were very tough to eat.
We received complimentary margaritas because three separate gentlemen in the mall recommended La Parilla as we headed to the restaurant. They each gave us a business card coupon with their name on it for the complimentary margarita(s). The margaritas were good but small (can't expect much when they are free). It was a nice touch, though.
My daughter ordered the super nachos, and she expected more than chips, meat, and nacho cheese sauce. The look on her face when they arrived was that of genuine dissatisfaction. There was no pico de gallo, onions, cilantro, jalapeno, beans, or anything else you would usually see on super nachos. It was a pile of three types of meat and nacho sauce smothering the chips. She had a few bites, but that was about it. She would have enjoyed them more with some veggies on top.
I ordered chicken fajitas, and they were good but nothing spectacular. The fajitas came with beans and white rice, which the rice had no flavor. Not sure why they offer white rice and not some kind of Mexican rice, but it is what it is. It would have been nice to have some salsa; we asked, but that never came.
Now for the tacos that everyone recommended. We've had better, way better! The taco arrived and looked as expected, but without any garnish's The rice was white rice with a side of beans. We ordered two types of tacos. First was the Mexican Pastor tacos; pork loin tacos marinated in red "adobo" sauce. The flavor was okay, but the tacos didn't come with cilantro and onions and no salsa. The second was the Gringas tacos which were flour tortillas, cheese, and pastor meat. Again they didn't come with any cilantro, onions, or salsa. We also assumed they would be more of a quesabirria style. So that was our fault for not asking. We had to ask twice for green salsa, cilantro, onions, and some limes, which never came, even after asking two waiters. My husband gave up waiting and ate the tacos plain and as is.
People are definitely getting some kickback or benefit for referring La Parilla to people. The business cards being handed out for free margaritas with the person's name on them was a dead giveaway.
During our time at La Parilla, there was a gentleman pushing pictures while you ate. He'd take your family picture, leave, come back later, and then wanted you to pay $25 for a photo and flimsy frame. The guy talked himself down to $5 because we kept saying no thank you. We bought it for $5; why not.
I would not say they were the best tacos in Cancun by far better; they were edible. We had better ones around town; go away from the Cancun strip and into downtown. We didn't get any homemade tortillas, as others have mentioned in previous reviews.
The La Parilla sits off the harbor, and you can see the boats and jet skis come and go. During the evening it is peaceful. The restaurant next door blares their radio which made it hard to hear, but the restaurant's vibe was fun and open. They have mariachi, and beautiful ladies dressed up walking around.
One thing to watch out for is they add the tip automatically but don't tell you. We didn't notice until late, and so the staff received a double tip. read more