I’ll start by saying I have been here multiple times, usually for some beer and their free chips and dip in the bar and those outings are usually fairly enjoyable. I also want to apologize and say that this 2 star rating is about a year late, so if they’ve made changes to improve, then kudos to them. My first mistake was ordering a fish plate at a Mexican restaurant. All of my friends warned me about it, but my girlfriend wanted fish and we weren’t hungry enough to order separately so I ordered the fish. It was was a grilled tilapia with rice and beans, but the fish had the strongest, muddiest flavor about it. To be clear, I’ve noticed a muddy flavor with some tilapia in the past 10 – 15 years so it’s not the first time to hit my taste buds, but this was unmistakable. I had my friends try it as well just to prove I wasn’t crazy and they all said it tasted disgusting, one remarking that it tasted like«the bottom of Lake Washington». Now mistakes can be made, but usually a server will come by to ask how the food is and this time no one did. In fact I don’t think anyone came by until the rest of the group was finished with their food. To add insult to injury, they didn’t ask any questions when almost the ENTIRE portion of fish remained uneaten and we did not want any boxes(we did eat the rice and beans which were good). I would think it to be out of the ordinary to not want to bring back the most important part of a plate, while the rest was eaten. Maybe I should have been more proactive and flagged a server down immediately, or maybe the server was new that night(though she didn’t seem to be new), but I can’t recommend the food here in general and certainly not that night. While my other experiences here might be closer to 2.5−3 stars, that night was definitely 2 stars or less.
Lance M.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Kirkland, WA
We went on a Saturday night and it was busy. We got in after a wait. The Chili verde was very good as was the Chili relleno. Service was quick despite the business they were doing. They need more dark beers on tap.
Sue B.
Rating des Ortes: 3 San Diego, CA
It’s a looooooong drive from Seattle to either La Palmera but S was insistent I must try this place before I consider moving away from Seattle. Unlike other reviewers there was no shortage of service. We were greeted, seated and promptly served. I had Arroz con Pollo and he had Carne Asada which he enjoyed immensely completely as expected. Circo Circo does a great version of AcP so I figured I could use that as a baseline comparison. It’s served piping hot with plenty of bell peppers, mushrooms, onions and strips of chicken breast over Spanish rice covered with cheese and red sauce. It’s a rich dish and Palmera’s version is a worthy one. BUT, this is an incredibly expensive Mexican experience thanks to its Mill Creek context. Almost $ 50 for two lunches without any drinks? You get the same amount of food for half the price down south of equal quality. It’s a quality restaurant but way too costly!
Eldridge M.
Rating des Ortes: 5 North Andover, MA
I had an enjoyable lunch and drink. Great atmosphere and was well taken care of. The chips and salsa is amazing. I had the chimichanga and it was very delicious. Menu has a great selection and music is not overbearing.
Jason E.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Kent, WA
Service is quick and food is great! It seems a bit louder than I remember… maybe they are just getting more popular? Seems a bit more sports bar ish which isn’t necessarily a good thing!
Adil Y.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Bothell, WA
this is my first time here. It is Friday evening around 7:30 and seating for three took less than a minute. Clean table and booth. Chips and salsa arrive instantly and taste fresh. Server comes by in 2 min to take drink order and drinks take another 5 min. We order sizzling chicken fajitas and a carne asada camarones combo. Ambiance is authentic. Noise level acceptable. Fajitas arrive sizzling hot, not so the combo which promptly goes back to the kitchen and comes back right away at the right temperature. Overall good service and good food. I found the spices a bit bland but then again I used to live close to our southern border for most of the last 20 years. I will definitely come back. And maybe next time I will try the bar which looks really inviting.
Donna S.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Mill Creek, WA
Always super friendly service. Great atmosphere, fast food service, excellent delicious chow. What more could you ask for? If only I could beat my husband to the warm chips…
Lois C.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Bothell, WA
Other than the fact that the staff up front never smiles or greets you nicely the food is great. The price is higher than expected but the portion of the food makes up for it it. I wouldn’t recommend the enchiladas as much but the house salsa sauce is awesome. I recommend using the salsa sauce as a hot sauce as well.
Cicely L.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Bothell, WA
This is the BEST Mexican place around. Before my son was GF we came here every couple months as a family to have fresh chips with salsa and some of the best enchiladas and tacos around. I still come a couple times a year with my husband for a date day and we have yet to have anything we haven’t liked. The food is always fresh and hot and the serving are very generous.
Brooke B.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Bothell, WA
Pros: festive atmosphere & strong margaritas & good burritos. Cons: high prices, bad service, tacos were just ok Service was so bad we tipped $ 1. We gave the busser a $ 5 because she was working her butt off and had to get us all the stuff our server didnt. Also for the food you get, it is way over priced.
Kinda Invisible S.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Snohomish, WA
I always see Groupon deals for this place and since it’s nearby we decided to purchase a deal and check it out. It’s okay… not great, not bad. The service began with a friendly greeting at the door and cheerful server approaching the table, but then kind of disappeared into thin air. The food is way better than Azteca but I’m not sure it warrants the price. $ 18 for chicken mole that’s spread out on an over-sized plate to make it look like more is a bit off. The other entrees were okay; nothing to complain about but none of us walked away talking about good our meal was. I’m glad we had the discount.
Michael J.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Oak Harbor, WA
I’m pretty sure they tried to pass off warm ketchup with hot sauce as salsa. This is the worst mexican food I’ve ever had. Es Mierda.
Evan F.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Mill Creek, WA
If it comes down to an epic battle between La Palmera & Azteca… LP wins with overwhelming force. In general the LP in Mill Creek is very well maintained, great lighting & seating(Sit outside if it’s nice out), and the menu options are abundant. Not to mention if you want to get your drink on, they’ve got you covered.
AlyxandraMonique S.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Seattle, WA
La Palmera is one of my FAVORITE Mexican restaurants in all of Washington State. Starting from location, to employees and food– it all around is an excellent place. It’s conveniently located in the Mill Creek Town Center, so for all you North Enders this should be a place to check out. As for the pricing, it isn’t too expensive and for what it’s worth; the portions come in huge amounts so you never leave without an empty stomach. Their Mojito’s are a little too strong(but that isn’t always a bad thing) and it isn’t too expensive. I recommend ordering Sopa de Camarones and the Camarones La Palmera! The chips and salsa are amazing as well, but note that the salsa is VERY spicy. A fun fact about La Palmera is that the owner of this restaurant also owns Frost Doughnuts– so if you’re a fan of doughnuts let alone Frost itself then I suggest you walk across the street to grab some for dessert on your way out :)
Tammy Y.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Seattle, WA
Any Mexican restaurant that offers chimichangas has my heart. That being said, the seafood chimichanga I ordered was everything I could have wanted and more. I was at first intimidated by the sort of high prices — especially for Mill Creek! Luckily their dinner platters section offered many options for $ 12.75. That was doable. The chips and salsa were decent, though I found their pico de gallo wanting. My friends ordered beer and wine — I was glad I didn’t have a drink as the chimi was pretty filling! Would definitely come back again but I would hope they would lower prices on some of their regular menu items. I’m just unwilling to pay more than $ 14 for enchiladas — sorry! It’s the Californian in me.
Chelsea Ellen A.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Bothell, WA
My girlfriend and I had a REALLY awkward experience here. We came in at 10pm on a Friday(closing time is 1am) and our waitress didn’t want to give us the time of day at all. She said two words to us the entire time. I have worked in restaurants before and I’m always as polite as possible to any staff I encounter. Waiting tables is not always easy or fun, but it helps when the customers are courteous… so I do my part. I don’t know if it’s because we are gay, or why, but from the moment we sat down, our waitress never smiled or talked to us at first. We ordered drinks and she was basically robotic. She was laughing and talking with other tables around us. I’m just perplexed because I don’t know what we did? We had to flag down another waitress(who was super sweet!) just to have her come over and take our order, because after we had put the menus down, she walked right past our table twice while checking on other patrons. It was clear something was wrong. We did not feel welcome! We debated leaving after finishing the drink we ordered, but decided to stay because we were hungry. The food was alright, but I will never come back! Not to mention, the sour cream tasted soapy with a horrible consistency. I definitely think it was spoiled. I’ve never felt so embarrassed to be at a restaurant. I was still nice to the waitress, because I don’t know what she was going through and I always try not to pick fights, but I felt upset.
Glenda J.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Seattle, WA
Saturday night 7 pm: greeted with a smile as we walked in. We wanted bar seating and we were seated right away. This is my first time here and the bar has got to be the noisiest bar I’ve EVER been to. Typical in a noisy place, everyone raises their voice to be heard and the whole thing snowballs from there. We were served immediately with warm chips, salsa and bean dip. Bar has TVs throughout. Décor includes neon beer signs. Tables don’t come out far enough so to reach my plate, I have to sit with my knees right up against the table and I still have about 6 inches gap. Deluxe asada burrito: skirt steak with pico de gallo. Steak was a little overdone and chewy. Lacked flavor and not worth $ 14.95 for this burrito. Sopa de albondigas: pork meatballs and vegetables. I usually have my favorite at Mi Tierra and it seems 3 is the magical number for meatballs. Vegetables included 2 carrot chunks, 1 zucchini chunk and 1 small red potato. Served with chopped yellow onion and chopped cilantro. Broth was OK but not particularly flavorful. Mojito: not strong as a reviewer had experienced. Margaritas(house): just OK. Chips, salsa and bean dip: chips overcooked, salsa: meh, bean dip was bean dip. Service: exceptional. It really was. That’s too bad because the food is not flavorful.
Todd K.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Snohomish, WA
This place is fast and great food and being the second floor makes for a great view, and can go shopping afterwords to work off all that food. I remember when they only had 10 tables and across the street. Great job …
Cassie N.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Seattle, WA
Eh. Not the most authentic Mexican food but that’s not why you come here. You come here for the Margaritas and pretty decent Americanized Mexican food. The Carne Asada is always good and so are the Tacos Al Carbon. The chips and salsa are really good too, goes perfectly with their strong ass drinks. The tamales are really nasty, that’s the only thing I would really avoid. Service is always friendly and fast. Okay food, good drinks nothing more nothing less…
Trista H.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Everett, WA
It’s hard for me to write this review since the Everett La Palmera is my favorite mexican restaurant, but it needs to be done. I purchased an Amazon Local deal for this place quite awhile back. Because I didn’t pay attention the the fine details of this particular voucher, I knowingly lost the promotional value which I’m ok with. Sine the paid value($ 10 in this case) never expires, my wife and I stopped here for lunch yesterday. The top of the voucher(I’ve attached) states $ 20 to spend on food and drink at Breakfast or lunch($ 10 for us since I let the promotional amount expire). When I attempted to order my meal off of the lunch menu, I was told that wasn’t allowed since lunch items were considered«food specials»($ 6.75) and that I needed to order the exact same menu option from the dinner menu for $ 10.75. Needless to say, I was quite irritated. To top the experience off, the wait staff seemed put out by the voucher. I ordered a pounder of Dos Equis and was brought a 22oz, and charged the 22oz price $ 6. My wife ordered a pounder of Negro Modelo and was served a pounder of Negro Especial(wrong beer). I will never again purchase any type of voucher for this Mill Creek location, nor will I ever dine here again. I will stick to my tried and true Everett location and their awesome staff. I do not appreciate nor will I tolerate the condescending staff or the misleading word play used on their vouchers.