La Paz - Goldsboro

Love Lapaz. Go's place to share memories with family and friends

I used to favor La Paz Family Restaurant when they first opened (some years ago) because the food was tasty, plentiful, and not salty like you’ll find at other Mexican food restaurants in the area. But I bought 2 takeout combo meals last night and was quite disappointed with them and the meals were quite pricey for what we got. The beef burrito filling was bland, the four tortilla wrap was soggy and the burrito was quite small. Same with the beef enchilada, but the sauce poured over it was flavorful enough to compensate somewhat. The rice was orange, giving the illusion of Spanish style, but was soggy and plain. The refried beans were like you would find in any store-bought can and the cup of black beans had more juice than beans. The tamales were wrapped in a mushy, flavorless, bleached corn masa flour smothered in some sort of white sauce. I suppose this is one way of making tamales, but you can buy better, more authentic and satisfying tamales at Walmart in the frozen food section. The chicken enchiladas were likewise underwhelming in terms of size, flavor and texture. The sautéed spinach was drenched in cooking oil which we had to sop up with paper towels. They did something to degrade the quality of their salsa, which I used to like. It was watery, lacked body and with only a mild salsa flavor. I usually use salsa to pour over my meal, but thought I better not because the food was already waterlogged. They might make their own tortilla chips, but it’s hard to tell. The restaurant seating area seemed clean and well-lit, but seemed sort of sterile and the décor only moderately captures the feel of what you might expect from a Mexican food restaurant. It seemed like there were at least a couple of work staff members who lacked something productive to do. Honestly, how many people does it take to greet people and run the cash register? Maybe La Paz could reduce their staff by a little and direct those funds towards improving the food quality. My experience there was underwhelming and can be summed up as mushy, bland and pricey for what you get.

LaPaz is one of my favorite restaurants in the city. I've never ordered anything I didn't enjoy, and the staff is always extremely friendly.

The service was good, but the dinner didn't meet my expectations. I ordered a full Chimichanga dinner from Steak but received a half order and was charged the full price. The staff didn't seem concerned about it. Given their slow service, I imagine they really need the money. I won't be returning; I'll be going to El Torro instead.

Our family is a huge fan of La Paz. The atmosphere is wonderful, and the food is outstanding.