Doesn't Recommend

Lyndi C.

Joined 1 year ago

This place is a sh#t hole... stay away. Wow... what a bitter disappointment. La Fonda used to be the bomb back in the '80's. We stopped by this Sunday after the Ponce festival. It was a bust from start to finish. The waiter was surly and unpleasant. The restaurant was filthy inside and out. The waiter poured our margarita into a glass that already had about an 1" of standing liquid in it?? Like he didn't see it when he grabbed the glasses OR before pouring the first margarita? New pitcher of margaritas had zero alcohol. We drank it on an empty stomach and not even the slightest buzz. The chicken reuben had about 3 oz total of chicken and a slice of swiss cheese. They should call it a grilled swiss cheese sandwich, because that's all we tasted. The rice and beans... definitely not fresh, tasteless, and barely room temperature. The chicken and rice... definitely reheated. Awful, Awful, Awful. DO NOT GO HERE. We paid $50 for the worst lunch we've ever had! This La Fonda is unsanitary and needs a total make over from management to fix the depressingly dismal wait & kitchen staff.

Doesn't Recommend

ampf1025

Joined 2 years ago

Not really Cuban. I am a Cuban-American moving to the Roswell area from Miami, next month. I was researching Cuban restaurants, when I came upon this review. I was very disappointed to find this chosen as one of the best Cuban Restaurants in Atlanta.

To begin with, Cubans do not cook spicy. We use flavorful species like cumin, oregano, bijol and the standards like garlic, onions and black pepper. We use green and red peppers, NOT jalapenos. Cubans do not have Chips and Salsa. A tortilla for Cubans is an egg omelet. Our finger foods are Croquettes, Stuffed mash potatoes filled with grouped beef rolled into balls breaded and fried, plantain chips or friend casaba. Cuban food was influenced by the Spanish and the Africans. Being an island our food shares similarities with Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and in some part with the other Caribbean Islands. But our food is mainly Spanish.

The only authentic Cuban dish described was the Cuban sandwich and just to clarify, the true Cuban is only made one way. It requires pork, ham, Swiss cheese sweet pickles, mustard on Cuban bread; you put it in a press and toast. Avocados are eaten by Cubans as a side vegetable dish cut in slides or chucks with salt and/or olive oil and vinegar, Not as a guacamole. The chicken and rise doesn

Recommends

caribbeangirl

Joined 5 years ago

Fresh salsa and chips. Love the fresh salsa and chips. Diverse menu with variety of Latin favorites. The atmosphere is relaxed and breezy if you are able to get a table outside. Love it.

Recommends

Contributor

Joined 10 years ago

Look for low-stakes, low-priced Latin-American fare at this colorful neighborhood cantina. In Short
La Fonda's Buckhead location evokes the usual carnival mood with their brightly painted walls and breezy top floor patio. Spanish tunes are suitably bouncy and loud, but you needn't shout to be heard. Service is almost always friendly, and dishes arrive quickly. This reliable cantina serves toned-down American takes on popular Mexican, Latin American and Caribbean dishes. Don't miss the sopa de pollo, a bracing soup loaded with white-meat chicken, yellow rice and diced green onions, jalapenos and tomatoes. If you are a sandwich fan, an array of Cubans comes layered on soft-but-toasted bread. The arroz con pollo, a moist half-chicken spiked with paprika, comes nestled in yellow rice with onions and peppers. It pairs nicely with a side of smoky black beans. Fresh cilantro gives the fire-engine red salsa a nice kick, but the chunky guacamole is under-spiced. A sangria full of fresh chopped fruit far outshines the anemic margaritas.

Recommends

trailmonkey

Joined 8 years ago

Fun and reasonable. I thought this place was great fun for an after work quick bite to eat and drinks. I had a great quesadilla and my husband liked his burrito. Very relaxed and cute upstairs in what we called the "boat"!

Recommends

laurannn

Joined 7 years ago

Yummy food!. The waitors are very friendly and the food is great (and isn't pricey at all)! It's perfect for the summer because they have a nice balcony.

Recommends

nmavromatis

Joined 11 years ago

Friendly and funky. Well honestly the food wasnt very good, but great atmosphere and at $28 for 2 including a number of fine margaritas, good value. The perfect spot for a weeknight when you can just chill up on the balcony. The cheese dip came out of a can, but the chorizo quesadilla was great/

Recommends

BuckheadBroad

Joined 11 years ago

Underappreciated Jewel. Best of the best. Not a fancy atmosphere. Some people will find it TOO downmarket. But the food is delicious!

Recommends

ebergman_citysearch

Joined 11 years ago

Lunch on the Patio. Several notches above your friendly-neighborhood-Tex-Mex-joint, La Fonda's well-prepared Latin American dishes make for cheap, filling meals. The fish tacos, stuffed with pieces of grilled, not fried, fish, and the veggie burrito are fabulous for lunch.

Recommends

erinbehan_citysearch

Joined 11 years ago

Munch, crunch, enjoy lunch. Like its sister locations, this La Fonda has reasonably good food at very reasonable prices. Try not to fill up on the fresh salsa the wait staff continuously refills, as your fish taco, veggie burrito or paella will finish the meal off nicely. For $5-$7 a plate, it's a winning Buckhead deal. Especially refreshing is the deck or patio seating.