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La Palmera is your standard Mexican fare with just *a little* better service and location.
The food comes quickly, the waitstaff is friendly, the prices are about what you'd expect (although some specialty dishes seem a little more spendy than they should be...), but the thing about La Palmera is that you always know what you are going to get. Nothing fancy, but always good and consistent.
Overall, it's a nice Mill Creek staple if you are in the mood for some basic Mexican grub without any frills.
If you're looking for authentic Mexican food, this is probably not the place to go. The food is more along the lines of Azteca.
With that being said, the quality of food is ok. I usually get the carne asada or the taco salad with shredded beef. Again, they're ok, nothing spectacular. The one thing that keeps me coming back is their ceviche. If you ever visit, definitely give it a try. It's served on large corn chips, but I usually do away with the chip all together and dive right into the ceviche with my fork.
The service has always been friendly every time I visit. Sometimes they even play little jokes on the guests. For instance, one of the servers "accidentally" squirted a bottle of ketchup in someones face, but not to worry... the only thing that came out was a red piece of yarn.... let me tell you, that'll scared the bejeezus out of anyone. But I admit was was pretty funny.
Of the two, this is the better La Palmera restaurant. The food is quite good and the atmosphere is a lot more laid back than the one on Highway 99.
If the weather is nice, the patio seating on the second story is very pleasant.
I didn't see fish tacos on the menu so I almost decided on another dish when I saw fish tacos listed on the little menu on the table. I'm not sure why they would keep a dish like this off the main menu.
The fish tacos are a good choice for the health conscious. They get bonus health points for the steamed vegetable side and not drowing the dish in cheese, though they lose points due to the large portion size.
Solid, run-of-the-Mil Mexican food. Not the best in the world, but not bad.
Fun location on the second floor, great outdoor seating options for sunny days. Fun atmosphere.
Service was good, very polite and quick. Food came out fast, looked good too. EXTENSIVE drink selection, 40+ marguaritas(sp?)!
Pricing was also very competitive, just about $10/person.
Haven't been back in almost 18 months because of a huge screw-up with seating the last time, but went back a few nights ago. Went on a Monday about 5:15 to avoid any seating issues, so that went well. Service was fine, beer was cold, sangria was tasty. Didn't like the salsa, prefer to have some tomatoes and onions, no just watery hot sauce. Pricing is ridiculous for food so basic! Looking at chicken fajitas as a point of reference:
La Palmera - $16.95
Azteca - $13.95
Applebees - $11.95
Baja Fresh - $6.95
Virtually no difference taste wise between all four. Major, major increase in peppers and onions between the top two and bottom two, but does that justify a $10 difference? I understand that rents and overhead are different, but this is unbelievable. Won't be going back because if I want to pay $16.95 for fajitas, I'll do it at Jimmy Buffett's on the strip in Vegas, and get entertainment along with it!
Not worth the $$. Fajitas were mediocre, cheese dip was terrible and the margaritas were weak. The only saving grace was the chips and spicy salsa with bean dip. The service was rushed or slow depending on the moment and way too focused on up-selling. AND they were seriously lacking in the hot sauce department. We had fajitas and an a la carte enchilada, 2 margaritas and 1 draft beer and our tab was over $60 - worth it? I think not.
Being originally from Southern California, I find that I am a bit picky about my Mexican food. The places in the U-district don't excite me and Azteca is just a gross chain. This place is pretty tasty.
Who would have thought that a Mexican restaurant at the top of a business complex building would be so delicious. My first thought when my boyfriend brought me was, you're kidding right? There's no way. I stand corrected. I have been there a total of 4 times now and have been satisfied every time. Not only is the food really good but it's fast! I went on a Saturday night with family and even with it being crowded, our food was still delivered just as quickly as usual and piping hot.
The service is excellent and the margaritas are a hit as well. Try it out! I will drive all the way from Seattle to go here, it's THAT GOOD.
I am from California, so I grew up on good mexican food. Since moving up to Seattle, I haven't tried a lot of mexican restaurants, but I would have to say this is the best. I really like the beans and rice, and the chips and salsa. For Mill Creek Town Center... pretty good mexican. But definitely not the best I have ever had. I have been there 3 times in the last year, and I would go there again sometime.
The food is great, the waitresses (atleast when me and my family went) were very rude it was as if we werent even there, the price is not very affordabla around 20-25 dollers per person (some menu items are lower priced but im saying the average) but the inside of this place is nice and maybe to much of a party atmosphere but some people love that (including me) overall if you go youre going to go back.
I don't know why La Palmera is in Town Center. I really don't. Sub-par americanized-Mexican food with horrible service. I gave them 2 stars simply based on a convienent location in Mill Creek, and the fact that in Summer, their outdoor patio seating off the bar is a great place to sip a margarita and people watch.
The food is awful, although it's about what I suppose you would expect from any Mexican restaurant of it's type. Margaritas are weak, although they have like 30 flavors to choose from, if that's your thing.
I have no desire to return here, ever.
Huge fan of the towncenter, unfortunately not of La Palmera. Nice atmoshpere though!
Service = decent
Ambiance = Nice place for some drinks and hanging out
Food = Ok
Price = $$
Crowd = Family
Favorite = Location
Worst = Food value
Meal for two = 45
Final Say = El Paraiso baby!
I was looking for a quick meal within walking distance from the library, and was very pleasantly surprised by this place. From the outside, it seems unpromising...a Mexican restaurant in the second floor of a business type building in a mall area? But once inside, you could almost forget you are in Mill Creek. Hot chips came to the table immediately with a decent salsa. Service was quick and brought water refills quickly. I had a shrimp enchilada with beans and rice that was tasty and came out pretty fast. Better than any other chain Mexican family restaurant I've been to. I would totally consider eating here again!
Free chips!!! Great place for group nachoes. Well decorated inside.
Good service, friendly people......food is okay. It is nice to sit outside on a sunny day.......it doesn't make me do back flips, but it doesn't make me frown either.
Food here is okay, but the selection of booze is great!! If you are fan of tequila, then you must partake of the 80+ selections here. It doesn't matter your price range, if tequila is your drink, you wont be disappointed with the selection here. If you aren't sure what exactly you like, most of the bartenders will let you sample to help you make up your mind.
Great setting, the food is mediocre. TOO MUCH DAMN CHEESE. I swear, when are these restaurants going to learn. But sometimes I think it's really not their fault, but the people that eat there. The try to accommodate people's americanized taste for fake mexican food. Sadly, 95 % of Mexican Restaurants are americanized.
Like I said the atmosphere is nice, and they have plenty of plasma t.vs to watch the football games.
I went here once and I don't ever need to go back.
First, the location of this place is weird. It's upstairs in what feels like an office building. I felt like I was walking up to a dentist's office, not a restaurant.
Second, the entire place seemed dirty and sticky. It was also cramped and had a bizarre layout. The atmosphere sucked.
The food was, well, crap on a plate. My mother-in-law is a tiny little Mexican lady who can cook like no body's business. To call what we got "Mexican" is a stretch. It's nasty Anglo-Mexi food, heavy on the cheese, lard, grease, and fat. Just thinking about it makes me feel queasy.
Finally, the couple who sat near us was scary. I thought for sure they were going to get in a full-on fist fight in their booth. Plus there were bratty little kids running all over the place. And nothing goes better with crappy food than other people's out of control children.
This place is a disaster.
First visited this place on a recent weekend after living just up the street from it for nearly two years. I was pleased, a huge selection of tequilas and cocktails (the margaritas looked insane) and a large menu offering a range of selections to fit nearly every appetite.
They have a lot of deck space that would be wonderful for looking out over Mill Creek's Town Center area on a warm summer evening, and the kitchen is open until midnight every night for late-night eats.
OK, I get it. Finding a decent Mexican meal in this town is quite the hit or miss adventure. So I went to Mill Creek.
The service was quick and friendly and we sat in the lounge which had a decent atmosphere. Overall, the food was good but when I order a taco, I don't expect the shell to be the kind I could pick up from the grocery store. If you're in the area I'd still recommend checking them out.
Last week a group of meetup'er's met for our Monthly Margarita Mixer in Mill Creek.. Say that 3 times fast!
I had a pretty bad experiance there last summer - Quick recap, I'm quite fair, and I wanted to sit on the balcony, they put us in Direct sunlight! I know it might sound silly, I'm not a Vampire, but we kept asking them to move us, over and over, and they wouldn't let us move 2 little table away to the shade, So I got burned on my right side, but not my left, I suppose we could've gotten up and walked away, but we already had ordered, and I was already downing my EXTREMELY bitter margarita!
Anyways I thought I'd give it a try again, in the company of friends!
I was lucky there was plenty of available parking at 5:45pm on a Friday. And thankfully people's were already there, in fact more and more and more people came, about 45 total! Needless to say, some of us were left outside and standing! That is ALOT of people for just a hey come meet us!
But once again, my $5.00 Margarita's were watery, obviously bottom shelf, and not enough salt was on the rim. I love salt.
My friend Stacy and I decided to split a $10 Dollar Chicken Quesadilla, it was bad.. No make that TERRIBLE! Really awful!
It was...... Microwaved! FTW?? (BTW, I use FTW instead of WTF)
A so called Tex/Mexican Restaurant serving microwaved food? How is that possible? And it wasn't even 2 flour tortillas, it was 1 with the queso and pollo and onions in it, folded over!
I could've gotten something better in the frozen food sector of Target!
I could've done a better job if I shoved my way to the Kitchen and created my own miracle recipe!
- Let's see ACTUALLY grill the chicken, and saute the onions, definitely some cilantro and a nice white monteray jack or spicy pepper jack cheese, oh and red peppers and Cotija, of course!
And pan searing it and carmelizing the tortilla's!
I think our waitress hated us, by her tone. But she did have to yell because the noise level was OUT of Control!
Bottom line, no deal!
I may be forced to drink here for monthly Margaritas, but I will only be drinking the beer!
I'm sure they will find some way of screwing that up too!
( I think this is my worst review yet!)
Yummy food, but the other location is better.
This is the typical gringo food, no authenticity whatsoever. I can't believe anyone who could mistake it for real Mexican food. I lived in SoCal for 25 years and I've bought burritos from ladies working the counter there with bushier mustaches than my own. THAT'S when you know it's authentic (lol)!
This is greasy, cheesy glop you can find at any chain restaurant and, one review is right; if the taco shell seems off the shelf, it probably is! Just like fortune cookies to Chinese food, real Mexican tacos are served on grilled soft tortillas. It's unfortunate, too, because the service is not bad, but they are just trying too hard for their gringo clientele.
Oh well, I will say this. Just because I don't think it is great doesn't mean you won't. Just be prepared for the same-old stuff like the Aztecas and whatnot. Just a step or two above Taco Bell. Uninspired.
It has a tendency to be loud, crowded and tough to get around in as the space between the tables are probably not-ADA (Wheelchair) friendly.
I understand a lot of the reviews, maybe it's just that I always get the same thing and it's super good (not your standard combo meal at a Mexican joint). We always eat in the bar area and get great service. The salsa is tasty and they rarely let it go empty.
I admit that we ate in the restaurant once (dining with a child) and the experience wasn't as good.
If you want to drink a lot for cheap, order hard alcohol there. The bartenders give a good pour and the prices are cheap. However they did do away with a happy hour which sucks...but I guess they are busy enough as is. Good luck getting a seat at 6pm on a Friday night.
Standard American-ized Mexican food, definitely a step up from Azteca but nothing really to write home about. There are a couple managers that are quite friendly and always are coming around saying hello to people and asking how you're doing. I went there weekly for about 4 or 5 months straight and they were very, very nice and remembered our names, where we worked, etc. Waiters and Waitresses are hit or miss. Some are great, others are terrible. Some are very pushy about trying to get you to buy drinks, another said that we couldn't order two mixed drinks in such a short period of time. Weird.
I highly recommend sitting in the bar during lunch hours as it is a lot quieter in there.
Been going to La Palmera since it opened in the new Mill Creek location. Always consistent - great food, service, atmosphere, and people! Highly recommend. Oh, and the balcony seating is awesome, especially in the summer. Margarita's anyone?
Not bad, not great either. Kinda loud, kind cramped, but the food is decent. For Mill Creek, you could do a lot worse
I have been here a total of 5 times. The food is ok, salsa is good. Service tends to be either really good or bad. The last time I was there with my friend a total of 45 mins. drinks & dinner. We were rushed out of our seats by the waitress who asked us 5 times if we were finished. I think this place needs to get there timing and service ironed out.
I'm grew up in California so I'm pretty picky about my Mexican food. It's been difficult to find any place I like up here in the northwest. La Palmera does a very decent job of it and is somewhat reminiscent of Mexican dining from my younger days. I still haven't found what I'm looking for up here (though the Burrito joint in Crossroads Mall is pretty close) this at least satisfies my Mexican cravings when I want something close to home.
My only complaint is that the seats at the booths are too close to the table. I'm 6'5" and have a very hard time sitting at the booths.
We moved here about the same time this location of La Palmera opened. It was always busy, but the service was incredibly fast and the food was very good. We ate here every week. But the popularity made them get too big for their britches. We kept getting the same waiter who would sneer at us for using a coupon, or not ordering alcoholic beverages or dessert (to boost his tip, presumably). We put up with it for awhile because the food was so good, but eventually we'd had enough. We stayed away for several months then decided to give it another try. Unfortunately, we found that the food quality had declined greatly during our absence (and that surly waiter was still there). We have no reason to return anymore.
As a rule all Mexican restaurants in the Northwest suck...except this one. My husband and I go on Monday or Tuesday nights when they have two for one dinners (if you have the coupon, it's in the back of the receipt at Central Market), we can both get Cokes and dinner with tip for $20. The booths are really small and sometimes there are a lot of kids running around, but the food makes up for it. The chinichanga is fantastic! The only gripe I have is that the salsa is a little on the hot side, I like salsa to be hot but that's kind of extreme. Definitely give this place a try!
Everett, WA
Category: Restaurants
Mill Creek, WA
Category: Mexican
Mill Creek, WA
Category: Mexican
Mill Creek, WA
Category: Indian
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