A locally owned Family Style Mexican Restaurant bold flavors,fresh ingredients, and real Mexican vibes from sizzling tacos to crave-worthy salsas, every bite brings the fiesta-authentic,vibrant,and made to keep you coming back. Pull up hungry,leave happy.
Address and Contact Information
Address: 531 By-pass 72 NW STE. C, Greenwood, SC 29649
Phone: (864) 223-7740
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La Patrona Mexican Restaurant All Things Greenwood, SC 2h · Public
Reviews
La Patrona opened under the new name and management a few weeks ago, so reviews from before are not really accurate and that is confusing in my opinion. This is just a note for those who may be wondering what is happening in these reviews.
I stopped coming to Ernesto’s because there was a sharp decline in quality and decided to try this place after hearing good things about it. I was once a weekly Ernesto’s patron.
We came for lunch and it wasn’t crowded at all. Barely anyone was there. It struck me that a new restaurant would already be so bare. The table immediately concerned me because the space was so small. We had less than an inch of clearance between our bodies and the table. Southerners are big eaters and I know a lot of people who would not fit well or be very embarrassed being seated where they cannot fit. So, that limits how many people I’d be willing to bring there for comfort reasons before ever considering the food. Ernesto’s was also bad about that so I expected they would’ve changed it. The inside appears totally unchanged so I’m not sure what the alleged renovations were going to be as the decor also seemed basically the same as my last visit.
The service was good but they forgot the tortillas and despite 3 people checking on us immediately after the food arrived, no one noticed it. I didn’t really care to eat them and so didn’t bother mentioning that they were missing; however, in a not-busy restaurant where we were checked on multiple times I think it does speak to a lack of attention to detail for an essential part of the meal to be missing and go unnoticed when only two dishes were ordered (meaning there was a lot of space on the table to notice a missing plate of tortillas).
The food was hot and generally good. I had chicken fajitas and my companion ordered a tortas Mexicanas with grilled chicken. My portion of fajitas was much smaller than the rice and beans and had relatively little chicken compared to fajitas served in other restaurants about town. The salsa was unremarkable but not bad at all, and the chips seemed fresh. We were offered more chips a couple of times which was very nice.
Coming at lunchtime during the week, I expected some lunch specials and lunch prices. The menu had a section of “Dinner Specials” which were around $10 each and I assume that was supposed to replace the typical lunch combo section. It wasn’t clear if it was for lunch-only or for dinner and lunch. They also gave us two different menus. I thought one would be specials and the other the regular full menu but the “specials” menu was so large that I’m not really sure what it was and why it was separate. It was a lot for just specials. The menu was completely different from Ernesto’s menu and has a lot of additions I hadn’t seen at local restaurants. There was some overlap with the OG menu (another new restaurant located in the old O’Charley’s).
The one thing that keeps me from thinking I’ll be back regularly was the price. Very few options aside from the dinner combos were under $15-17. Things I got at Ernesto’s for $10-12 are $17-20 here. I could eat lunch at another comparable local restaurant for $15 and under and that tips the scale for me.
Overall, I think the food and service were good and worth trying. If you really like the offerings on the dinner combos section, you can get a decent price on a meal. If you’re looking for certain menu options they offer, I’d definitely give it a try.
A bit of advice for the restaurant? Focus on under-$15 options and emphasize cheaper lunch portions, advertise some discounted specials. I’d like to see the business succeed.
It was good but I must admit, I was hoping for more depth of flavor in the carnitas (pulled pork) inside. I think I am just picky. It came with a side of rice which was good and red salsa on the side (I believe this comes on it normally) and tortilla chips. Also, it was quite a lot of food for the price, so that was nice.
I liked it well enough, but would probably order something else next time. Jackie at the to-go order counter was very kind and helpful.