Puerto Vallarta - Federal Way

We arrived at 11am on Sunday after a trip to Costco and were hungry but did not want to eat a Chicken Bake. We were seated immediately in a nice booth. Music reminded us of Puerto Vallarta. The food was generous starting with corn chips with salsa, refried beans, and an onion/cilantro relish (this is an addition that other restaurants don't provide). Our meal came Just the right temperature and the fajita meat was done perfectly. Lots of shrimp and mushrooms. We had black beans and corn tortillas to emulate true Mexican fare. Ernesto was super attentive but not overly.

I'm pretty sure that these guys used to be in Bellevue a couple decades ago and the food was amazing. However, Franchising has not done this chain any favors and whoever owns them does not care as many local locations have really bad reviews. 15 years ago, I dated someone who lived in Twin Lakes and we ate at that location and it was really good, however, I have not been back in more than a decade. Covington is the location closest to me and it's 100% horrible, so much so, I wonder how they stay in business. This Federal Way location has the best reviews of all local locations, so I decided to give them a try. We came on a Sunday and the place was dead, the entire row of parking in front of the restaurant was empty. Service was ok, but we had to ask for refills on drinks and that's a bad sign when you are slow. I decided to try the carnitas and had the same issues I had my last time out. The meat was dry and tasted day old. You cannot reheat carnitas, they have to be fresh to be juicy. It was pretty terrible. That said, the portion was massive and had the meal been good we'd be talking about more stars, but this plate was the opposite of good. You can't whip carnitas up on the spot, so maybe the answer is smaller batches cooked fresh throughout the day, but when you have a fair price, a large portion and decent service, you undermine it all by serving food that should be thrown out. I'm sure I've eaten at all of the locations locally except for Yelm. I knew someone that lived there, and they told me they refused to return after a horrible meal. Ownership needs to demand consistency and quality otherwise this place is going to shutter just like Azteca. Once great, not regrettable.

Great food, friendly service and great background music. I recommend this restaurant to anyone that is interested in a quality meal in a clean environment.

Recently I took my mother here for her silver sneakers group gathering, I stayed and ate with the group. The service was exemplary, and from all the dishes I saw coming to the table it looked delicious and the servings looked large. Before you get your order you get nachos and dips, salsa and cabbage salsa, which was delicious and they served refried beans as dip with that! Much better than just a standard salsa. I had the loaded Nacho's, which were so much better than Aztec's, the portion larger, and it tasted way better. Super cheesey. In fact they were so good I went back a week later to grab some to take home! I want to also note the ambiance, the Mexican decor was pleasant, welcoming and relaxing. Great place to eat, and you definitely get more for your money!

I really like this place. Friendly staff, good food and just an overall good place to hangout with friends and have a couple beers.