The smell walking in here was not good. It smelled like strong cleaning chemicals & stale food. We asked to sit outside. Outside our waiter greeted us and insisted we do the table side guac so we agreed. It was pretty average but not bad. My mom ordered shrimp tacos but didn't like it so she shared my burrito. It was big enough for 2-4 people to share one burrito. The portions are gigantic so I suggest sharing with your party. The waiter himself was ok. He was pushy & almost refused to serve me water. The first time I asked for just water and not a cocktail he brought cocktails for the table and for me nothing. He asked me again what I wanted to drink and again I asked for water & he finally brought it - so weird! I don't think I will be back. Between the strong chemical odor and the vibe our waiter gave off was enough to keep me away. Too bad because the food wasn't terrible. read more

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Went with a party of seven for a birthday. Was seated right away (they don't take reservations), service was great!! Get the table side guacamole. Food was excellent and fast . I had the Texas fajita really good. Highly recommend!!!! read more

La Tolteca - Birthday celebration - Mexican Near Me - Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania

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Probably the best Mexican food you will find in Wilkes Barre. I've tried most of the big ones and it is the best hands down. Consistent, mostly authentic and a good space for groups. Service is not the fastest but it is good. read more

I was in town this week visiting family for thanksgiving. We stopped here for dinner and it was overall an incredible experience. We ordered guacamole which was made on a cart brought right to the side of our table with ingredients added to our preferences. To add to the overall atmosphere they had a live band which went table to table taking song requests. Everything was very authentic to Mexican cuisine and culture. I recommend this place for anyone looking for high quality and authentic Mexican fare. read more

La Tolteca - Live mariachi band - Mexican Near Me - Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania

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If I could put no stars I would. My friend and I went here on a Tuesday morning at opening. We were greeted and sat for 25 minutes without a server coming up to us. No drinks. No food. Nothing. So we got up and left. We called asking for a manager and they said no manager was there. read more

Salsa and chips good Fajita meat good Rice taste wear Pico de gallo amazing very good Frozen lime margarita- worst I have ever- just taste like preservatives Service- bland- our first time ever in this restaurant and the last. He just took the order, had no time to look at the menu, no suggestions, no words The restaurant place is pretty, need to improve attitudes and service. Even the ladies at the front desk/entrance had faces like they did not want to be there. We left no thank you, no eye contact... nothing Check on my list, will no go back This was the one in wilkes barre, PA read more

I went to La Tolteca with my family hoping for a solid Mexican meal. What I got instead was a rollercoaster experience that started with hope, dipped into confusion, and ended with me questioning every life choice that brought me there. Let's start at the top: Queso: $7 for a bowl so small I thought it was a free sample. I've seen bigger portions in Lunchables. It tasted fine, but for seven bucks, I expected at least a second scoop. Chips: Honestly? Fantastic. Whoever's in charge of the chips deserves a raise. Light, crunchy, salty -- the MVP of the whole night. Diet Coke: Shockingly elite. Crisp. Ice cold. And they hit it with a lemon slice like they were trying to impress me on a first date. Best part of the meal, no question. My Burrito Hawaino: Shrimp, pineapple, mango salsa, queso -- it actually started off delicious. I was ready to forgive the miniature queso bowl. ...Then I found a black hair. And another black hair. At that point my appetite clocked out and left the building. Nothing ruins tropical flavors like unexpected garnish from someone's head. Service: The waiter was nice, polite, and not the problem. He did his job. But no amount of friendliness can cancel out surprise hair in your entrée. Final Thoughts: La Tolteca has potential -- good chips, great Diet Coke, friendly staff. But charging $7 for fun-sized queso and seasoning my burrito with bonus human hair? That's gonna be a no from me. Would I go back? Probably only for the chips and a Diet Coke with that lemon slice. And next time, I'm inspecting every plate like I'm in CSI: Wilkes-Barre. read more

The moment you walk in you are transported into a Central American decorated restaurant. Their home style chips and salsa are absolutely delicious. Their salsa has some kick to it but it doesn't completely over power. Our waitress Maricela, was fabulous. Very attentive and friendly. The fish tacos were excellent and fresh! The poblano creamy chicken enchiladas were decent. No spice level at all, which I would have preferred some kick to it but would be perfect for someone who can't tolerate heat. The chicken quesadilla was good. Lots of grease however, and the cheese was very runny. Not the best I've ever had but definitely not the worst. They have a decent size menu and you could say I'll definitely be back to try something new! read more

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Our family met up for Mother's Day at this restaurant for Mother's Day. Wr ordered our drinks and appetizers and enjoying each others compan. We all ordered our meals and they came out. Unfortunately, mine did not. The other individuals were waiting for my food to come out, but it never cane. After five minute, I told them to please start eating. I am one of the Mothers that this meal was arranged for. I ended up not getting a meal at all. I sat there and watched everyone else eat. I asked them to remove my meal from the bill. To make things "better", I was given a carnation. I was looking forward to this meal. It was upsetting, but I am grateful that my family all came in from all over the place and we were able to share time together. read more

My husband chose this restaurant for his Birthday. Where do I start? The waiter was extremely rude and inattentive. He spent most of his time sitting and speaking with the manager. We both ordered fajitas (mixed with chicken, shrimp and beef). The steak was hard and rubbery; the chicken was dry. The rice was bland and cold; the beans had an overly pasty texture. My lettuce had too much sour cream, while my husband's had hardly any. The tortillas came wrapped in aluminum foil. While attempting to unroll them, they fell apart, the ends were extremely hard, and they were stuck together. We could not salvage a single tortilla. All the food was somewhat cold. The price for the food was outrageous, considering the quality we received. Not once did our waiter come to the table to ask us if we needed anything else. We will never go here again, and we do not recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for a nice authentic meal served by friendly wait staff. read more

What an amazing meal. Fresh table side guacamole, chicken quesadilla, Sizzling Fajitas for 2 and great drinks. Wonderful atmosphere, attentive staff and a terrific experience. For an amazing South of the border Adventure, come to La Tolteca! read more

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Had a large house margarita $14 and was ALL ICE! Only an ounce of drink! Complained and was told that's it! Too bad! Not the only show in town!! Bye Bye! If I could give a zero I would! read more

The only think I like about Wilkes pa is the opportunity to visit la tolteca. The food is amazing. We have been to many Mexican restaurants, but this one is one of my favs. The portions are huge and authentic. Thank u read more

Good service, good food! The table side guacamole was fantastic and the mains were all very good. It has become a tradition to go here after dropping our daughter off at school. read more

I used to love this restaurant. I've been here dozens of times over the past decade or so. However, it really seems like they are just coasting on their past success at this point. We arrived a few minutes before 4:00. We didn't get our food until after 5:15. The service was a little slow in getting our order, but over an hour of the delay was the kitchen. I really can't fault the waitress, because to be fair she did take our order within 5 minutes of the guac cart leaving. The food, however, was a massive disappointment. The ranchero sauce on the enchiladas used to be one of my favorites in the area. This time, it was awful - it tasted more like a pizza sauce than a ranchero sauce! That isn't even the worst part, though. Rotten spinach in the chicken and spinach enchiladas wasn't the worst part either. No, the worst part were the raw chicken wings served to my 10 year old daughter. I have great memories of this restaurant, with friends and family, but I can't live in the past. This place is now on my "Never again" list. I prefer to not get my family food poisoning when I eat out. read more

La Tolteca - Raw chicken wings - Mexican Near Me - Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania

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It was decided that Mexican food was the dinner of choice for last night. I highly recommend it, we were greeted by the host/hostess very friendly btw she seated us. We had to wait a few minutes for our waiter to come to the table and take our order. He did however come with Salsa & chips both were very fresh and delicious. The mariachi band came to our table and played us a happy song, very authentic and appreciated. Then we had to wait a bit for our drinks (unsweetened iced tea). We opted in for the fresh Guacamole appetizer, it was made fresh in front of us. Which was very cool and that too was delicious. And after not too long of a wait we got our dinners. I ordered the Veggie Fajita very large portion of veggies which came out sizzling hot and was also very tasty with a variety of different veggies. It came with white rice, lettuce & sour cream, salsa and black beans. I ate about 1/4 of it. But I have no complaints everyone was super friendly and I would patronize this establishment again. read more

Dunno how anyone could say anything bad about this place. The staff is friendly and the food is fantastic. Get the fajitas and some guac and you wont be let down. read more

Server was very abrupt. The tacos carne asada were a disaster. Cold, the tortillas very dry. Quesadillas rellenas were soupy. Don't recommend this place . read more

I recently went to La Tolteca on Monday street and wasn't impressed. I love Mexican food! I ordered the steak tacos for $17.25. They were skimpy. Most authentic places double up the corn tortillas, these were not. The steak was overcooked and almost crunchy. The order came with three tacos. It came with an option of beans OR rice.. I like both! How can you not have refried beans AND rice? I ordered rice with them and a side of refried beans. The rice was dried out. The beans were delish! If you really want a treat, try Italo's in Scranton and order the Tacos Clari with Cesina! I guarantee you will be full after two tacos (order comes with 4) and they are not only tastier, they are less pricey. read more

Food used to be excellent before, now it's too salted my family and I stop eating there.

We find this to be a consistently decent Mexican spot in Wilkes-Barre. It's not the finest but certainly far from the worst Mexican we have ever had. We have been many times and find the service reasonably consistent and decent. They have huge booths so it's very private. They have over the top decor that is entertaining if you have kids along. read more

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On May 8, my family and I went to eat at this location as we are loyal customers that live 45 minutes away we never had a major issue until yesterday. This is what happened our waiter by the name of Fernando did a poor job and I say that lightly because I've been in the serving industry for a long time, but he didn't come to our table to check on us. He forgot meals. He screwed up meals most importantly, he never apologized and had his other workers do his work for himThat said our bill was $70. I felt that he did not live up to the 20% at the very least, so I left him less than that. Honestly, he's lucky we left him anything at all. My family consist of myself my fiancé, my two teenage daughters and our eight month old baby daughter. We are always courteous when we go out we clean after ourselves. We're always polite fast-forward to tonight as I usually do each night, a check our account just to for security purposes, and I noticed that our bill to this location was far more than what I know I signed my signature to. I tried to call the location. The manager was not there and I was asked to call back. This is fraudulent. This is theft and this is unjust. I will come back tomorrow and fix my review if Fernando Admits his wrongdoing and my bill is refunded. read more

Margarita were great ! Nice atmosphere! The waiter was very pleasant needless to say I'll be going back read more

La Tolteca - Pitcher of their House margarita .. Great!! - Mexican Near Me - Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania

From out of town. Great food. Fantastic service. One of the best Mexican restaurants I have eaten at. If back in town I would Definitely go back. read more

I ordered El Paisano- Your choice of a 12 oz T-bone steak or a grilled chicken breast topped with shrimp, mushroom, onions and peppers. Drizzled with cheese sauce, served with a side of rice and beans. Steak wasn't great quality but portion size and flavor certainly made up it. Great atmosphere and our waitress was sweet and very attentive. read more

La Tolteca - El Paisano - Mexican Near Me - Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania

Amazing food! Fajitas are an absolute favorite. They have the best chips and salsa. They'll give you the red salsa but make sure to ask for the white salsa as well. It's the best! Margaritas are also great. Especially the champagne margarita that comes with a mini bottle of champagne in it. read more

La Tolteca - Mexican Near Me - Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania

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If you love a Mexican restaurant with a lot of food, then this is your place. The Service was fast and huge place. In being from out of town, I was impressed with no wait and server was quickly at table asking us for drinks or appetizers. The food was very good, but unfortunately I was driving and had only a soda. Oh, reasonable priced. I will attempt to visit here again when I don't have to drive. 5 thumbs up. read more

Delicious! Portions are very generous, we saw so many people walking out with boxes on our way in lol. Fast service, a bit inattentive, but overall would return. Food was great! read more

La Tolteca - Mexican Near Me - Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania

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Our first time, and will definitely not be our last! Delicious dinner, fajitas for two! The Cucumber Jalepeno Margarita was yum too. The staff was pleasant and efficient. Our server, Leslie, was an attentive gem. Highly recommend! read more

Fast service with a smile! We had a late lunch here on Dec. 28. Ordered the Enchiladas chipotle and The Carnitas Burrito. So much food we took half of it home for the next day. Washed it all down with a Modelo. What stood out was the creamy sauce on top of each-nice variation to the red and green sauces you normally find. Nice touch of heat in both dishes as well. Decor is kitchy Mexican and its a big place with plenty of tables. Definately would go again when in the area. read more

Sadly, a restaurant we've loved for almost twenty years - I remember going there when they'd first opened in spring of 2004 - appears to have changed dramatically, and not for the better. I've many memories of quick weekday lunches and long lingering dinners with friends, of taking family there when they visited from out of state and of celebrating Cinco de Mayo. We watched impatiently for them to reopen a decade ago after the fire, and were among the first customers to return when they opened. But everything is different now, and not just in a "we had one off night" kind of way. First, we'd called ahead to ask if the patio would be open for a gathering with a group of friends, twelve people total, and were told, "Weather permitting." So, we were surprised when we arrived on a sunny late afternoon to find that the patio was under construction, with no possibility of opening for at least another month. That by itself was just a weird bit of misinformation from a single phone call, though, and we'd have thought little of it except that when we mentioned it in passing, the manager acted like my wife was lying about having called. What a weird thing - and no, she'd called, and that's what they said. Still, the patio misinformation was just a trivial thing, and we were looking forward to an awesome gathering. While we waited for the restaurant to get a table ready, I kept looking over at a sign advertising tempting new drinks - a coconut margarita and a blueberry mojito - and began to rethink my plan to order just water or tea with my meal. They showed us our table, and I'd decided to try the coconut margarita after all. It took rather a long time for the server to come for our drink orders, but we were still waiting for others in our group to show up, so that wasn't a problem. When she finally returned, we were very surprised to hear she couldn't (wouldn't?) split the checks; we needed five checks for our twelve people, or could easily handle all individual ones if that was easier, but the server said the computer system couldn't do that. She finally agreed to give us as many as three checks total, but we'd have to split it from there. I looked at the two tables put together to accommodate us, and wondered if we could get five checks if we pushed them a couple inches apart; clearly the other tables in the restaurant weren't all on one check. But I said nothing. We figured out how we could make that work and ordered our drinks. Others of our group showed up, and after everyone had finished with the menus and set them down on the table, we were hungry and long past ready to order - but the server didn't come back for a while. Then she came back and talked to the two people who'd just sat down at one end of the table for a moment, leaving again before we could catch her attention for anything else. A little later, she returned with food for just those two people. All the rest of us - ten more people now - were still waiting even to order, menus still on the table, appetites growing. This was definitely weird, and more than a little awkward. How was it possible that she'd take orders from two out of twelve people, but not even glance at the rest of us, while also saying she couldn't split the checks fully? We eventually managed to signal her, though, and were finally able to place our food orders. When it arrived, the food was definitely not up to its previous high standard. My wife and I had ordered the "fajitas for two," which promised a mix of beef, chicken, shrimp, and pork with peppers and onions. Unfortunately, it was mostly beef, with very little of anything else - and only three shrimp in the entire plate meant for two people to share. Another person among us took one bite of her meal, a spinach and chicken burrito, and said it tasted like fish and she couldn't eat it. She has little familiarity with Mexican seasonings, so it's possible she just doesn't like cilantro; a lot of people don't, and I'd never hold that against a restaurant. But she still didn't have food she'd like, so we gave her some of our fajita mix since she was hungry. Also, I have a milk allergy, and I know I can't eat this restaurant's rice. I'd mentioned that when we ordered, but my food arrived with the rice, and the server disappeared. It was plated separately from most of the food, so I just left a margin around it and didn't eat or touch anything bordering it, but I'd typically have sent that back. (Not that it matters, but about half the people at our table speak fluent/native Spanish, so there was no language barrier at all in communicating with our server.) Then, the server brought fresh margaritas, one for a person who'd asked for one, and one for me - who hadn't. It was an awkward moment, since the drink was made but I'd never ordered it, and another friend told the server to leave it and he'd pay for it; someone would drink it, and he didn't want to stick her with having brought it and needing to take it back read more

The front hostesses suck , multiple girls just looked ... didn't greet , made me and my son feel unwanted; like we were bothering them !( the date was 11/12/2022) But my son really wanted Mexican food so we ate there! The food was delicious and the waiter was awesome! read more

My go-to spot when in the area. Have never been disappointed here and I've been a patron for over a decade. Staff is very friendly and service is super fast. Portions are big, so you won't leave hungry, and prices won't punch you in the wallet. Make sure you get a side of rice because it's seriously the best! Chips and salsa are complimentary and always hit the spot! I recommend getting the table side made guacamole and a michelada or margarita. The soup is an excellent start as well, especially in colder months. You can't go wrong ordering here. read more

La Tolteca - Michelada - Mexican Near Me - Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania

I've been here a number of times over the years. At one time it was the only restaurant that offered anything that could be considered Mexican food. I think this was my first time here in several years as there are so many Mexican restaurants which are much more authentic. Basically, La Tolteca offers an Americanized version of Mexican food. It tastes fine but the flavors aren't as bold as you would expect and would typically find in authentic Mexican restaurant. It's not a bad place to eat by any means and the people working there are very nice and efficient. read more

La Tolteca - Lunch fajitas - Mexican Near Me - Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania

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I used to love this place, especially their chorizo burrito, but not anymore after I found out they withhold a percentage of servers' tips. Scummy! read more

When you are on the road it is difficult to land at a good restaurant. La Tolteca is a good restaurant and I am glad that I decided to dine here. This is my second visit to La Tolteca and my experience has been great. The staff are extremely friendly and helpful in recommending and giving you suggestions. The restaurant has plenty of seating, both indoor and outdoor. The food menu is pretty standard and inline with any other Mexican restaurant. The drink menu is elaborate and has some good choices, my favorite has been the Zorro Margarita which has a mix of sangria and tequila. Table side guacamole is good and the additional ingredient is smoked pineapple that I have not seen before. The portions are good and a good place to dine. I recommend La Tolteca. read more

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It's my go to in Wilkes-barre. Food is good, salsa for chips is outstanding. Not the best, best is quite good for Wilkes barre

Standard plaza-style Mexican with the regular offerings. The chicken chimichanga was unremarkable. The wife had the vegetarian fajitas which were generous. Service was crisp and the food arrived quickly. Like many similar establishments, would benefit from a deep clean. read more

Not bad ! Chimichangas were pretty tiny though ! I remember going here years ago when they were huge ;) Anyways the guacamole needs a bit of work I had part of a seed in mine for 12 bucks its atom of quac though it's worth it ( needs salt) The chips were fresh and tasty but really greasy--- The margarita on the rocks was tasty but expensive during - happy hour would be better to go read more

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The updated renovations to the outside seating area are great! I didn't have the best experience with service tonight, but the manager came over to help out and resolved our forgotten entree. Food was good, love the queso!! Extremely upset the Pama margarita is no longer on the menu- it was my favorite drink!!! Really hoping they bring it back, it was the menu item that always had me coming back. #BringBackThePamaMargarita read more

La Tolteca - Drink menu - Mexican Near Me - Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania