La Tolteca

We love eating at La Tolteca! The food is always super yummy and the service is fast and pleasant. Enough said.

Just average Mexican food which is really disappointing. The service was just average and it was far to easy to get a table. It you want authentic La Tolteca is certainly not the place to go.

Not impressed. I went there for a political event and sat at the bar with a friend. We weren’t told about any specials, but had to ask. Chips and salsa were brought out, but you could tell it wasn’t fresh. The chips were bland and the salsa watery. We ordered the special margaritas and were not jumping to get another one. We ordered the seafood nachos and some tacos. Our food took forever and came out cold. We had to ask that our food get reheated which was done quickly. One bartender was super slow, while the other was on top of everything. Nothing impressed me about this place to try it again.

Wasn’t impressed with the service here. The waiter didn’t know the menu very well and didn’t know the wifi password. The food was just ok.
We got the table side guac and it wasn’t seasoned enough. The chips and salsa were just ok.
I ordered the burrito de camarone and the sauce was really good. The only reason for the three star rating was my meal.
My husband didn’t care for his chimichanga. My daughters kids meal was terrible. She ordered hot dog and fries and none of it was good. Soggy limp fries and really bad hot dog.

Rumor on the street is this place isnt doin well. Support sloppy cheap mexican food and drink a pre mixed maragarita!

Two friends and I came here around 7 last night for drinks and dinner… if only we could get someone to serve us. The restaurant was fairly empty, but we waited 10 minutes for waters, another 10 to make orders, 20 for the food, and then we couldn’t flag someone down to pay our check. I ended up standing at the bar while two bartenders straight up IGNORED me, to the point where someone watching from the kitchen window and a server started to laugh. One of the servers finally asked what she could do, and then had to sort through various checks to find ours.
The food was mediocre; my cilantro lime chicken breast was tender and juicy, but the black beans were not rinsed before cooking, so they were extra starchy and had a texture like tar. The margaritas were large, but not strong, and there was too much sour mix. We didn’t get a drink menu, so I assume they are the only margaritas on the menu. You would think on National Margarita day there would have been some sort of special, but it didn’t seem like anyone wanted to be at the restaurant at all.
Seeing as I couldn’t even get the check or my water refilled, I won’t be back and I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone.

I don’t usually do this but service sucks
They took forever to take my drink order and when I was done eating they never took my plates away.
Food was good
except for the guacamole it was old …

My fiancé and I have been going to the Canton location for about a year now and we really like the food. Most of their entrees are large enough that we can split them which makes it feel like a family style meal. My favorite is the pollo loco with the grilled chicken and sides. It tastes home cooked. They also have meals with lots of melted cheese if you prefer that.
It’s a fantastic restaurant and I suggest you try it out. They definitely deserve better than the 3 stars Unilocal currently rates them.

This restaurant is average; nothing special. Their margaritas are quite sweet in my opinion. The food is okay, serves the purpose of Mexican. It would be nice if their happy hour margaritas included the regular or traditional one. The special includes banana and passion fruit — way too sweet. Try a sample and see if you like it first before committing to a full size. The chips they give you with the salsa and white sauce is quite good. Overall, it’s an okay place.

I have a group of friends that really enjoys Mexican Food. To the point where I think whenever we get together, it is for tacos, burritos, or something of the like. I had heard mixed reviews about La Tolteca in Canton but it was a friends birthday and that’s where she really wanted to go.
When we entered, the interior was the same tacky Mexican-​inspired décor that they have inside of Don Pablos, or any other Mexican chain restaurant. But design isn’t an indicator of the food, and sometimes restaurants like the authentic vibe.
When we were seated, we were given complimentary Chips and Salsa. The chips and salsa were free, so they weren’t much better than the bagged supermarket variety, but they weren’t bad to munch on before the meal.
My friends and I decided to share the Tableside Guacamole, this was fresh avocados, diced tomatoes, jalapeño, onion, and spices. The guac was really flavorful and fortunately the jalapenos didn’t overpower the avocados and create too much spice.
One of my friends ordered the Fajitas Taco Salad. The salad was a crispy flour tortilla with fried beans, grilled shrimp, onions, tomatoes and bell peppers topped with lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream and cheese. My friend really enjoyed the top part of this salad, but the bottom of the dish was incredibly soggy and greasy from the dressing so she was unable to finish it.
My other two friends shared the Steak and Chicken Fajitas. They both said the chicken was cooked well and this was their favorite of the two proteins.
My friends were less impressed with the Steak Fajitas saying they were a little overcooked/​dry.
The fajitas also came with guac, sour cream, tomatoes, rice, and lettuce. These were your standard fajita stuffers, but nothing particularly special.
For my meal, I went with the Carne Asada Street Tacos. The tacos were very low fuss and served with salsa verde, chopped onions, cilantro, and lime. I really enjoyed my tacos and I think they were the highlight of the meal. The steak was cooked and seasoned well, and overflowing out of my tortilla.
While I really enjoyed my meal, my friends weren’t overly pleased with theirs. La Tolteca reminded us of some of the large chain Mexican restaurants and I’m in no rush to return anytime soon.

We went to La Tolteca on a Friday night and were astounded how bad the service was. After arriving and being seated we waited for almost half an hour before we were able to flag down a waiter and place our order. We ordered food and a couple of beers, and a few minutes later they bring my girlfriend the wrong kind of beer (Modello Especial rather than the Negra Modello that she ordered.)
Once our food arrived it was decent Americanized tex-​mex. Nothing to write home about, but fine for the price. Unfortunately it was not at all worth the horrendously slow service. As I mentioned earlier we had to wait for over thirty minutes before we could get a waiter to take our order. The only redeeming point was that when our bill arrived the beers we ordered weren’t on it. I’m going to be generous and assume that they decided to comp the beers to make up for their horribly slow service, but it’s entirely possible that they simply forgot to add them to our tab. Regardless of what the reason was we won’t be coming back. Average tex-​mex is easy enough to find at restaurants where you can expect to order your food without a half hour wait.

Ok, I really wanted to give it 2.5 stars, but I’ll round up. I agree with a lot of the other reviews. I wanted to like this place SO badly, but I just couldn’t do it.
The Pros (because you have to start with the good):
1) The «At-​your-​table guacamole» was FABULOUS! DEFINITELY get this. The regular guacamole is terrible (that comes with the fajitas). I actually don’t even think it was on the menu, but for less than $ 10, I would come back just for that.
2) The chips were great. I like crunchy chips that aren’t too thin.
3) The portions were HUGE and the service was FAST.
4) The staff is super friendly.
The Cons:
1) The food is NOT very good. The chicken is low quality. I couldn’t get it down after my hunger subsided. The guacamole that comes with the fajitas is not so good.
2) The margarita (original) was not good at all. It was too sweet, and lacked pretty much everything redeeming– except it was in a big glass. I’m glad I opted for tequila and club soda.
3) They had no idea the Women’s World Cup was on – or that the US Women’s team was playing (OK that’s not food related, but I still listed it here).
It’s pretty and I’d go back for guac and chips and a few drinks (not margaritas of course), but if I didn’t live 5 minutes away, I wouldn’t make a trip here.

So here we go. I give this place 2 ½ stars rounded up to 3.
Man, you have no idea how badly I want to like a Mexican restaurant here in MD, but sadly this ain’t it.
Last Saturday evening a couple of friends and I (including the sometimes baroness of Canton) were on our way to our favorite diner in the area and we saw that a new Mexican place opened up. We all know good Mexican food so we entered with all the hopes and dreams of a young child entering a candy factory.
On the good side, it’s a really good location for Canton. And I know it’s hard to bring people into the area with Fells Pt just a stone’s throw away. The staff was very accommodating, with 3 adults and 2 infants, so kudos there.
But the food is the thing and the food here was just not very good.
Apparently, I’m an idiot because I thought I’d be adventurous and get the crab quesadilla. It was really awful. It was basically a full-​on crab cake smashed into a tortilla. Too thick to be tasty and the cheese had the mouth feel of warm snot… I swear to god. Please don’t ask me how I know.
One of my friends ordered chicken and beef. In his words, the chicken was great, but beef was okay.
The baroness (who’s review is probably pretty close to this one) said her shrimp fajitas were good, but the presentation sucks. Tons of veggies, but few and small shrimp.
Basically, we were all rooting for these guys and we were all disappointed. We may give them a shot again in the future, but I’d probably have to be inebriated. There are other restaurants in the area who have been batting 1.000 for years.
Sorry guys :(

My friends and I stopped in on a Tuesday evening and were seated right away. We were very excited to visit the new location, as we have been fans of the Bel Air location for years.
The service was very friendly and attentive. I loved the bright and colorful décor. It felt more upscale than there other locations.
You absolutely must get the guacamole. It’s enough to be two meals and made fresh at your table with love and care. After eating so many chips and guac I got the cilantro lime grilled chicken salad and was very pleased.
My friend got the fish tacos, but was not a fan of the coleslaw. It looked very mayonnaisey, but I did not taste it.
Overall, it was a great experience and I will definitely be back!!!

Really really over-​hyped and really really average. It’s a shame because the owner seems like a nice guy from everything I see him write online. I have no clue why people are so fanatical about this place.
I’ve come in twice now. The first time my experience was «meh» but because I came on their opening week, I decided to hold off on reviewing until they had more time to calibrate themselves. My second experience really wasn’t much better.
On both occasions, I’ve walked in on weekdays after work during happy hour times to grab dinner. On both occasions, I walked in to see an empty podium where a host would normally be and a crowd of waiters on my immediate left having a loud group personal conversation. The waitstaff appeared to be waiting for a shift change or something — they weren’t working. Both times I stood near the podium waiting for someone to seat me and both times I stood there for a minute or two like a dolt while the group of employees on the left continued their conversation. Both times I asked if I seat myself and both times I got this shoulder shrugging expression with a «sure.» Both times I sat at the bar.
Experience 1: I got the stuffed jalapenos as an appetizer (see photo attached). It was plated like absolute crap. It looked like they were just dropped onto the plate with absolutely zero consideration for the look of the dish. The taste of the dish was not much better than the look. Each stuffed jalapeño was stuffed with a heavy cream cheese and after struggling through two I had to stop eating them — it was pretty much like eating straight cream cheese. Very underwhelmed.
For dinner I got the «Grande Special.» I went with this because it sounded like a mixture of everything and I wanted to sample. It’s one chalupa, one chile relleno, one burrito one beef enchilada, one beef taco etc. See photo.
Again, it was plated awful. Everything was just randomly thrown onto the dish. Items were mixing with each other — you couldn’t tell what was what and IMO everything was pretty bland and tasteless. Again, I finished less than half the dish.
Experience 2: I’m sitting at the bar, the bartender takes my order while he’s chewing gum. I order a beef taco for an appetizer (doesn’t get any simpler?) and the cilantro and lime chicken. Photos for both shown. The beef on the beef taco had minimal to zero seasoning and the taco had minimal sauce/​garnishing. The taco shell appeared to be store bought? Very bland and very underwhelming — total miss.
The cilantro and lime chicken, which you would expect to be pretty flavorful as those are both dominating flavors — again bland. It also came with a guacamole salad — I don’t know why — but I expected an avocado salad. Instead, I got two spoonfuls of guacamole over shredded iceberg lettuce.
Sitting at the bar was a bizarre experience. Typically bartenders will hang around the customers and chat and it usually takes an outgoing personality. Here, the bartender and bar-​back were standing on the opposite side of the bar from all customers engaged in a casual conversation. I had to physically walk over to get their attention to get the check.
Food: ²⁄₅ stars
Décor: ²⁄₅ stars (thought the inside was pretty tacky looking
Customer Service: (²⁄₅ stars)
Pricing: (⁴⁄₅) stars.
Advice for improvement:
1. Give your staff a place to stand when they’re on break/​not working. They shouldn’t be hanging out chatting, laughing, and having non work related conversations in the dining room. They also shouldn’t crowd near the door and not help seat guests who walk in.
2. Use salt and some seasonings in your dishes.
3. Care more about the appearance of the food that comes out of the kitchen. Every single dish i’ve had there so far (of the 4) was just thrown onto the plate. Nobody wants to feel like they’re eating a troff of food or like they’re eating high school cafeteria sloppy joes.
4. Teach your staff basic customer service/​waiting skills. Don’t chew gum and take my order, don’t disappear to the other end of the bar in conversation with your friend, you’re on the clock and you’re working. Even a lot of the employees who aren’t working are standing behind the bar staring out into the main dining area through that island, which is kind of awkward.
I might be willing to give this another crack in the distant future, but for now, there’s better options available IMO.

My friends and I stopped in on a Saturday night. The place was packed but we were kept happy at the bar area with house margaritas. Once we sat down for dinner, we ordered chips and queso. The guacamole was made fresh as it should be in an authentic mexican restaurant. The guac, salsa and queso were all delicious. Despite filling up on appetizers, I still chose to order the Grande Special. This meal was massive — 1 chalupa, 1 chile relleno, 1 burrito, 1 beef enchilada and 1 beef taco. Served with Spanish rice and fried beans. Can you say «leftovers»? The entire meal was delicious and well worth it. Our waitress was pretty busy, but still was very attentive to our table. When an order got messed up for my friend, she fixed the situation immediately even though he said it was ok which I think is above and beyond, but greatly appreciated. I will definitely come back.

La Tolteca is exactly what the area was missing: mostly authentic spanish dishes, with a large menu, large bar, happy hour margarita specials, with enough space to host parties, and just the right prices for the delicious food. I can say that I’ve been here twice since the opening and both times, although the service was a bit lacking… the establishment is still in the «Transitional» period. So I’m going to give the place some time to get adjusted, because they’ve been slammed every time I walk by the doors at 6pm each night.
I’ve been to all 3 of the La Tolteca’s in the Baltimore are and they are so much better than a «South on the Border» or «Don Pablos». I am impressed that they are doing so well with the South of the Border at Canton Crossing but I am so ecstastic to have this addition to my neighborhood! YASSSSSSS!

La Tolteca just opened in my neighborhood. While the décor and atmosphere were cozy and felt authentic, I was not thoroughly impressed by the food. Since they are still new, I’m not rating the staff.
Came in on a Sunday evening with my spouse, before 7pm. No wait! The maître d was a little terse but I’m not holding it against him, I’m sure it is hectic there right now, inside of seven days being opened.
Chips and salsa + white queso (?) were delivered immediately to the table, a comfy booth with what looks like hand painted inlays of Mexican scenes. The colors of the décor, art and furniture are quite bold and warming. Above us hung a new TV (with shrink wrap still applied), tuned to a Spanish language sports network, muted.
Neither the man that dropped of the chips nor the waiter gave any indication about what the chips were about, like, «these are our handmade chips and salsa.» Just silence. The waiter was not particularly memorable, a quiet man that asked simple one word questions, «Drinks?», «Ready?» etc.
We ordered guacamole «dip» and two entrees, the next time he came by. The guac took a while, and I thought it would be the kind they make tableside, but that must have been something different. It only came after we reminded the staff about it, and then it was instant. As far as guacamole goes, the «dip» reminded me of the guacamole Wegman’s stocks in the vacuum sealed bags, nothing to write home about.
Dinner for me was #102 (pictured). It was quite a feast, a chili rennelo, an enchilada, burrito and beef taco (ranked in order of goodness). The dish is served with refried beans Mexican rice, and some of that guacamole dip. While the chili rennelo was good, the other items contained a very mediocre ground beef which I felt was very dry. I tried to use the beans and the leftover salsa to make it a little more moist.
I suppose I could be a bit spoiled on Mexican, having recently visited. Nonetheless, even for the typical American fare Mexican, I was a bit underwhelmed with La Tolteca. However, the chain’s other locations have received high praise from some other folks I know, so I will definitely try it again to see if it lives up to those expectations.
Cheers!

Came here because my girlfriend won a trivia contest on Canton Neighbors Facebook page and we got to attend the soft opening the day before the grand opening. We were both pretty pumped to try this new place, and get to try the food for free too!
Our waiter was pretty blah… I figured that this was the soft opening, they would have been more excited, but we didn’t get any specials, or any advice on what was good, or any information about the place. Eventually a woman came around and asked if we wanted Guacamole. She made it by the table, which was fun to watch, but she had her back to us. The guac was delicious as were the chips. I was pretty stuffed after I shoved chips in my mouth. We ordered the street tacos. Even though the menu said beef, the waiter asked us what kind we wanted, so we got 2 beef and 2 carnitas. They were flavorful and delicious. I would get these again.
Entrees were just fine as well. Had the Texas Fajitas (shrimp, beef, and chicken), and the crab and shrimp enchiladas. These were tasty.
For dessert we got the fried ice cream. The ice cream wasn’t fried though… it was rolled in cereal (maybe) and then sat in a fried bowl. Tasty, but I wouldn’t call this fried ice cream.
The margaritas were tasty, but inconsistent from one order to the next.

Hopefully it was new restaurant issues and that I can change my review if I go back and have a better experience.
We had a short wait for a table which was fine. Once we were seated no one approached us for 30 minutes. We asked a busboy if he could find us a waiter because no one had helped us. Someone eventually came over and took our drink order but didn’t say anything to apologize for the wait. Another 20 minutes waiting for our drinks and we got up and left. 50 minutes seated without even drinks is crazy. We told the hostess we were leaving because of this and while she said sorry, she didn’t grab a manager or try to make it better in any way. The table next to us also got up and walked out.