I have since been back to Lena's for lunch and breakfast several times and I am happier each time I go. Lena is delightful and I enjoy myself every time I go in. The food is good. It is mainly mexican fare at lunch but there are a few mainstay lunch items that go off the traditional mexican route. There is a full bar and the drinks are good. read more

Love the margaritas on the rocks ! Burrito bowl is good! Haven't had anything we didn't like ! Very nice people working there!

""update to my review below""" After eating the wonderful food, my boyfriend and I were SO SICK with food poisoning I dont think we will be back. We think it might of been the Prawns. :(( This was our first time eating here. The young lady that served us was a sweetheart. We received the food right away. I ordered Beer Battered Prawns with soup of the day, Clam Chowder. It was really good. I felt the food should of been alot hotter. My husband had Chili Relleno w/ an enchilada and said it was good. We well be back to try something else on the large menu selection. read more

Went for lunch a short time back. Can't even remember what I had. It was forgettable. My lunch mate had a chicken dish. About halfway through, she detected a fishy taste. Totally killed her appetite. The margaritas were good, though. read more

I've been to a million Mexican food places in the middle of nowhere, and didn't have high hopes. This place earned two more stars than I thought it would based on those experiences and a few menu similarities. Good salsa, good prices, better atmosphere than I expected, and friendly staff. I had three tamales a la carte, not homemade but pretty decent, presented well and priced right. My companion had a taco salad that seemed to me not to have enough variety in toppings, but she was fine with it. If this place was in downtown Oakland or SF, it would get three stars, but it earns the extra one considering the location and the homemade and more traditional Mexican items on the menu. I hear the asada's good? In between $ and $$. Second in town to Jimmie's Roadhouse, based only on one meal at each place - head and shoulders above the other options. It's too bad Bonta St. Bistro is closing and Gold Lake Lodge is so far away. Thanks Lena! read more

We enjoyed our dinners here after fishing. Nice and helpful staff too! Plus they told me they are open until 9pm on Saturdays. read more

My family loves to eat at Lena's Cantina. The food is fresh and delicious, the service is prompt and friendly, and the atmosphere is cozy and inviting. The owner, Lena, really knows how to run a business right. read more

This place was pretty good. I had the nachos and I would def order them again. Our wait staff was really friendly but I had to ask three times for my water and didn't get it until the end of the meal. They did have a large party they were both tending to. Also it was my birthday and my husband asked if they did anything like dessert and the waiter said oh ya we have fried ice cream or flan. I chose the fried ice cream. While waiting for it the other waitress brought our check. When the dessert was delivered there was no candle he just kind of placed it the. I don't think that was what my husband had had in mind. After eating a bit of the ice cream the waitress came back and said she was going to add the ice cream to our bill. We were kind of puzzled as we thought it was on the house for my birthday but we didn't argue or say anything we just thought it was pretty petty. read more

Carnitas plate was solid. Margaritas were excellent with Mi Campo tequila. Inside was clean done up nicely. We'll be back again.

We love this place! We just moved to the area and have been here numerous times already. It's the perfect balance of yummy food with a creative presentation, tasty margaritas, pleasant service, comfortable atmosphere, good prices and we'll keep coming back! read more

Great food and great service. Lena is opening for breakfast now! Wednesday through Sunday breakfast is served from 8am till 11am. The food is so good! read more

I eat here on a weekly basis. I love it! The staff is very friendly and always willing to do whatsoever you need. My go-to favorite is the chicken tacos. Although they are unlike most tacos, with cucumbers and avocado, they are great tasting and affordable! Chips and salsa are served at the beginning of every meal. You may also get sour cream and guacamole with your chips and salsa at request. I absolutely love that Lina's has the call-in option so you can get it to go or ready when you show up. This definitely comes in handy when I'm in a hurry to grab it and go, or have limited time for a sit down meal (thank you short high school lunch break). The fried ice cream is amazing, but be aware when you order it that one order serves 2+ people. I'd recommend Lina's to anyone who is looking for a nice, sit-down environment to enjoy a tasty meal. read more

I went to Lena's Cantina with my grandson to try it out while he was visiting. I had high hopes as my husband and I moved to Portola in May and we both love Mexican food. The food was ok but the service was so bad that I probably won't go back... It was unusually poor... They really should figure this out because they could be pretty good if they could train their servers better. However, with that said, I could see that they were busy but not enough that the service should be this bad. The Management should start paying attention to the negative Yelp reviews... read more

We were in the area & stopped by not knowing what to expect. We were very surprised by the taste & quality of food. I'm very picky & don't like my food too salty & they came through! Both of our shrimp dishes were very good. I would have given them 5 stars but, I opted for beans in place of the salad that was to accompany my dish, and they up charged me $4.95!! Really!? The waitress NEVER mentioned that & my husband, who paid the bill didn't say anything until later. I didn't think I'd be charged almost $5 for refried beans with a bit of cheese especially since I substituted the mashed potatoes for rice & there wasn't a cost change for that. I'd eat here again but ask if there are any substitution charges. read more

The ambiance was decent, the service was nothing special (our waitress almost smiled once, but it could have been gas) but the food was terrible. To be fair, any "Mexican" restaurant that also serves American food can't really have much invested in either. My kid's tamale was bone dry (no corn husk) and my wife's fish and chips left her feeling ill. My quesadilla was decent, but it's hard to screw-up 2 tortillas and a handful of cheese. My biggest gripe is that the food is waaaaay overpriced for the quality. If this were some Mexican/Asian fusion place with downtempo club music and ambient lighting, then their prices would be more fitting. This however is nothing more than bad food at ridiculous prices that apparently they can get since they're in the middle of nowhere. Skip Lena's and head for the local pizza joint. It was much better. read more

Do NOT eat at this place! Tried it once in 2014. Waited 1 1/2 hours for our food to come out with no drink refills. Food was tasteless. Thinking maybe it was a fluke, and given portola is a small town and not many options to eat overall, we went for a second try today. Waitress not very happy to be at work. Ordered chicken fajitas and they brought me flautas. Waitress insisted I ordered flautas. Really... I didn't. 20 minutes later my fajitas came out, yuck! I shouldve just taken the flautas though they looked like they came out of a box from Walmart. The chicken, questionable if chicken or human meat, was more rubbery than rubber. No seasoning. Couldn't even eat it at all. Pepper and onions were cold with No. seasoning. Corn tortillas weren't bad. Pros: parents said the tea was good. And the burrito my dad got was gigantic, but just a tasteless filler. If looking for good Mexican American food in the portola/graeagle area check out coyotes bar and grill. Great homemade chips and salsa and enchiladas are very yummy! Full course meal for a good price. Also service and ambiance is much better than Lenas. read more

I wanted to leave an updated review and add a star. This is primarily a Mexican restaurant however we've discovered that one of the best things to have here is a Rib Eye steak. It's tender and huge, and served with a baked potato, which might not sound that exciting but you just can't get a potato with your steak in this county anymore! It also comes with salad. You can't beat the price either! No need to leave town to get a great steak n potato meal in a comfortable relaxed setting. Well done Lena! Thx!=) read more

Cute place- Service was pretty quick and friendly - Yummy Salsa & Chips - I ordered the shrimp tacos combo, w/ beans and rice, all were pretty good, although they double up on the tortillas , which is good, but gets you full fast - To drink, I ordered the house margarita , which tasted (to me) just like a mixer - (bleh!) - so i ordered a Corona instead and enjoyed my dinner. read more

Pork tacos were yummy. Beans and rice tasty. Service friendly and efficient. Will definitely go back again!

I run an auto repair shop across the street next to another Mexican restaurant. I will gladly walk across the street to grab my lunch at Lena's. Enough said. read more

On a visit to lovely Portola, my husband and I, along with his friend stopped in to have lunch as we were told the food was quite good. There was only one other table with customers when we got there. It became evident when the 'locals' starting arriving, that the 'locals' were catered to and their orders were taken before ours, and their food came before we were able to order. To top it off, there was a table set up right next to our booth where a large group came in who were evidently sampling the menu and writing a review for something. They were quite loud and we were unable to even carry on a conversation at our table without trying to talk over them. I'm not sure why this large group wasn't put in the back room where no one else was. Any way, we won't go back there on any other visit. Oh, and the food was just 'ok'. Not anything to get excited about. read more

Have had Lunch and Dinner here many times. Chicken Enchiladas, and Fajitas are great, try the Asada Steak. Nice to have a restaurant that is open, and consistent in town. Lena and her staff are always friendly, Mandy is always fun as are the rest. read more

We had dinner at Lena's this week. Everyone in our party of 4 had a different entree. And all of us were pleased! The other three enjoyed the great Mexican cuisine. I had the Beer Battered Prawns. Excellent. And they were also very accommodating to me switching up my side dishes. Definitely try it if you are in the area. read more

Great food and the price was right. We were in Portola recently to fish but it was windy and wet. Ordered the shrimp burrito with a salad (included) and the presentation was outstanding and the burrito excellent. It was so good that we went back a few nights later and I ordered it again. Both times the serving was so large, I took the rest for lunch the next day. Will be back to Lena's when we return to fly fish Lake Davis. read more

My wife and i spent the night in Portola before heading up to Lake Davis. Our expectaions were not real high, condidering. We went to Len's about 6:30 hoping to just get a burger and fries. The place was packed and our waitress (sorry, didn't get her name) was extremely busy. None-the-less she seated us quickly, took our drinks order, then our meal order, was VERY friendly and helpful, where she could have been (and in a lot of places would have been) a b-itch, The burgers were big and juicy, exactly what we needed, All in all a very satisfactory experience, and next time i'm in Portola, i'm going to try some of their Mexican fare. read more

I think the food is as good as it gets for Portola. Its even better than some places in Reno and Sacramento respectively. ...and @ sierra D. You normally both do not get sick if you have different food. Also food born illnesses can take up to 6 days to hit you so you could have got sick from something else. If it was from Lena's more than likely half of the tiny town of portola would have been wiped out. If you are passing through, give it a go. You will not be disappointed. read more

Very good guacamole - very good shredded beef tacos. very nice/friendly staff - reasonable prices - good happy hour. Portola doesn't have a lot of eating options, but this is worth stopping in. read more

The food is good but not worth rude waitresses and skimpy dinner plates prepared by the owner herself. Plus, I'm not sure she will be in business much longer with such a terrible attitude toward her customers complaints. read more

Really bad service, we were here 2 hours before closing time and were only served prior closing time

Ate here today and did enjoy our burritos and tacos. However, upon entering the restaurant most of the empty tables still had dishes and food to be cleared away even though there were only 2 people left finishing their meal. The drinks came pretty fast as did the food but the server did not bring us chips and salsa. Instead she was hanging out at the bar looking at her cell phone. Once she started cleaning some of the tables I decided to ask for the chips and salsa. If it weren't for the fact that the food was pretty good we would probably never come back. Hopefully the other servers are more aware of the shape that the restaurant is in and pay closer attention to those they are serving. read more

I would give zero stars but its not an option. My family ate at Lena's on our way through town and thought it sounded good. It was not clean and we were ignored upon entering. The floor was sticky around our table and the seats were dirty. It took about 40 mins to get cold food, and when we asked for the manager, she was very rude and dismissive. Not a great first impression. The food had congealed grease - I really think they forgot about us for a while, then had the gall to be nasty when we politely inquired if there was a problem. Will never go back. Stay away! read more

This place doesn't even earn one star !! First of all I saw a cockroach run across the floor!!!!!! The health dept needs to be called, absolutely discusting! The owner Lena was extremely rude, the food was cold, absolutely horrible, do not waste your hard earned money on this place! Horrible horrible! !! Even the ice tea wasn't ice tea, it was water and lemon! When you see bugs, it's time to take action, because after roaches comes rat's! ! read more

Someone better call Restaurant Impossible. Cheese Wiz and boiled carne asada with zero flavor on my $12 steak nachos? Server forgot our side of guacamole (3.95) and then argued that it was included on the nachos when it clearly wasn't. We won't be back. read more

So underwhelming it was unbelievable. Uninspired sloppy mexican in an atmosphere that is cheap and depressing. Somhow my friend enjoyed it, but she also has ordered the same dish for years as she is a local and has had better experiences, I hear those happened before ownership was passed to the waitress, No longer happening as it used to be apparently used to have live music & be a fun bar, but no one seems to feel that way anymore nor does it feel fun inside. I will never spend my money here again, waste of $50. read more

I love this place! They have excellent service, great food, good prices and an extensive food selection. Every time I go through Portola I make a stop at Lena's Cantina! read more

Very disappointed in the service, came in very hungry and sense there was only two others eating I thought it would not take long. But then another booth filled up (2) and there order was taken first (must have been friends) so instead of being quick it was 40 minutes before we were served our meal, only three at our booth. Then if things could not get worse, a lady at the bar was reseated to a table three feet away from us and others came to her table all being very load. Turns out the cook was making meal plates for this person to try and get suggesting from the woman as to what they could do with the meal. Save money and still have it taste good. This went on and on it did not stop while we were trying to eat our meal. We had a very hard time even talking to each other at our booth. I got a kick out of a old couple were seated in a booth across from us, because it was so load in there they keep raising the voices at each other because they had a hard time hearing what each was saying. That just added to the circus that was already going on. Now I'm sure that doesn't happen every day but there was a back room and no body from the restaurant wanted to seat this very load woman there to be courteous to the people in the restaurant trying to eat a meal. I've been back in town but will not go there again. There is a nice Pizza place and the food is good. I can say that the restaurant is more interested in money and ways to from the food then they are about building customer relations. Find some place to eat with some peace and quite. read more

Food was good but way over priced especially for lunch; it was dirty!! Menus were dirty, bench was dirty. The waitress made me feel like she was doing us a favor to wait on us..... read more

Had Lunch & Dinner at this restaurant. I had ground beef enchiladas & rice, very good. Restaurant is nice, clean & friendly. For a small town, this is a really good place to eat, would highly recommend. read more

It's by far the best place to eat in Portola, the food is great and the waitress is one hot chile rellno!!!

Great place! Played The Dragon in Nakoma then ate at Lena's. Great chips, great food & great service. Ya gotta try it; you'll love it!