La Playa Mexican Cafe

for years whenever i go to harlingen to see my grandma we always eat here.the food is amazing.they have clean bathrooms, quick wait times and a cool fish tank.love this place

What a great family Mexican restaurant. Nothing super special. The service was great. The menu had plenty of standard options and the food tasted good. I had the Enchiladas Mole (my standard). The menu stated a "spicy" mole sauce. It was more sweet than spicy. Good, but thick. The refried beans were the star of the plate. Great flavor and a little kick. The best I've ever tasted.

Service was great - very attentive. Food was just ok - not good enough for me to return. The fried avacado was inedible. I thought the fajita taco would have peppers and onions. The tortilla soup was flavorful, but I missed the chicken. Loved the saltwater fish tank.

One of my favorite spots here in Harlingen from the day doors opened. Good service, polite and respectful staff, quiet spaces with availability for larger crowds . Prices are slightly higher than surrounding Mexican/Tex-Mex restaurants. The food, ambiance & drinks never disappoint. The staff & managers aim to make your meal an enjoyable experience so everyone leaves happy. ....with a full belly lol. House margaritas are no joke

Service could have been better. The food was so good. I had the chicken fajitas. They were excellent flavor and taste. Chicken was tender overall 10 out of 10.

Food was very tasty. Ordered La Reina plate and the meat was very good. The beef was seasoned very well. The rice was just ok. The beans were good. Salsa has a bit of a kick to it but not too spicy - I can't handle a lot of spicy food. The ambience was very casual. Service was quick and friendly. The bathrooms are decorated really nice. Surprisingly nice for a restaurant. There was plenty of parking.I would come back here again.

I was in town on a business trip and asked a local where to get some great Mexican food, and they suggested La Playa. It is a modest restaurant with a variety of street tacos, fajitas, seafood, enchiladas and botanas platters. I chose the stuffed avocado, and it was the best one I've ever eaten. I got mine stuffed with beef fajita meat and covered with chile con queso. The thing that made this entree so good was the breading on the avocado. It was lightly breaded and fried to perfection. The entree included a fajita taco, rice and tortilla soup. The soup was perfectly seasoned chicken broth with mushrooms, topped with Monterrey jack cheese, rice, and tortilla strips. The mushrooms were an odd combination for tortillas soup, but delightful. The beef fajita held tender, juicy meat, wrapped around n a homemade flour tortilla. I would love to come back to this quaint little restaurant the next time I am in town. This

Took my mother-in-law for her 89th birthday this past weekend, and was told these guys might be the best option for food, service and ambiance. Really love the feel of the interior and their wait staff, but wasn't impressed by the food. Wife had a fish filet that seemed to have more grilled veggies in the sauce than actual flavor to the fish. Everyone's rice was cold and the beans didn't have much taste either. I love trying the flour tortillas at every "mexican" restaurant I go to so you know I had to order them with my Fajitas guisada plate and they were a definite 3 out of 10 for me. I would never order them again, so that pretty much tells you I'd never eat there again. At least three of our party members said that their food was either lukewarm or cold.....ya'll need to do better guys!!Honestly would have given them a two but their model negra Michelada was top notch, so that has to be a star in and of itself.I'm used to higher plate prices in larger cities, but for an establishment in the valley, you could definitely say this place is definitely over-rated!

Delicious, hot, and good portions. Very fresh ingredients, not too spicy, would recommend the stuffed avacado, and grilled chicken. All 8 of us enjoyed the live music, great service and Ambience!!

We tried La Playa for the first time Sunday 1/26/25. We ordered to go. I placed the order online and was given a time of 20-25 minutes for the food to be ready. I got there in 15 minutes. The food was already ready so I was pleasantly surprised. It took me about 10-12 minutes to get home. This was where the problem started. First of all charging almost $9 for 6oz of Queso and a bag of chips that had maybe 20 chips in it was ridiculous. Plus the chips were flour fried and not corn fried. Odd. The Queso also lacked much spice to it. It was really just melted cheese. It needed more flavor. Second all of our food was cold. I don't mean had cooled down but was COLD. How is that possible when I was at the restaurant before my estimated time of it being ready and then it get cold within 10-12 minutes? Well we went ahead and went about heating up our food. The refried beans were watery. The "Charro" beans tasted like it was franks and beans out of a can. The fajita chicken was over-cooked, tough, and lacked much flavor. The seafood enchiladas were decent.I'm wondering if our experience would have been better if we had gone and sat down for dinner but with this experience I do not think I would ever order to go from them again. The reviews looked good and I would like to give in house dining a shot but this particular experience was bad.