La Penca Azul

Came here after the Tequila Expo. I love their annual Tequila Expo but this was the first time trying their food. I had their burrito with pastor. It was very tasty and the price was pretty affordable for the Bay Area. Unfortunately, my partner ordered a quesadilla with chicken and it was very dry.

What a sad ending.

Be careful, belligerent bartender alert. Been a chef for 20 years, and times like this are a shame.

Was having a nice dinner with my girlfriend, who's been going to this restaurant for decades. Realizing the restaurant was becoming empty, we asked what time they closed and we were told 9 PM. So, we continue to enjoy and even ordered dessert. As we were allowed to.

At about 8:50 a gentleman came over and mentioned that it was time for them to clean up. Me being in the food industry, I felt a little misled and asked for clarification as to what time they closed. He nonchalantly told me that the waitress was wrong, and sometimes they close early, but regardless, it was "time to go, wrap it up". Yelling last call over and over although we were the only two patrons remaining, not even in the bar area.

I went to go pay the bill, and the waitress confirmed they were indeed open until nine and didn't know what his problem was. He continued with an attitude, so I asked his name, and which he replied JC. I then asked for the managers name, and he refused to tell me . By now, even our waitress was baffled, and I explained that his behavior was pretty rude. At which point he explained to me how we were "just sitting there for too long "and even offered a boisterous "Jesus Christ! "

My girlfriend asked me to let it go, and so I did, after politely finishing by mentioning to him that he was embarrassing the restaurant and his coworkers, and he began to sing at the top of his lungs, very obnoxiously, as even the waitresses stood by looking confused & intimidated.

Decent dinner, nice evening, it's a shame how one person can ruin a whole occasion.. Definitely not going back while this guy is in the building. To the manager? You run your restaurant as you see fit. But tonight? Pretty unforgettable, and not in a good way.

JC, hope you enjoy your night because you just costed your restaurant some customers.

We had the worst ordering experience getting the food for a group. First the online order was different from the menu for both items and pricing, plus no kids menu can be ordered online. Then when we called, the staff knew nothing about the online menu discrepancy. We called the next day to place the order, but the staff didn't help at all once knowing that we wanted a different location, and cancelled the order right away after we spent half hour on the phone. At last we went in-person to order, again, the price was different on the computer from the menu. When asked about it, staff just said they had no idea and just went based on the computer which was more expensive. Finally, when we got the food, we asked them to label the 14 boxes of dishes so we can know which is which for our group, the staff just said rudely "just look at the meat and you can tell". Sorry I cannot tell.
Plus the food was so so and way over priced for the value.
After 3 attempts to order and encountering 3 roadblocks, we would not order here ever again.

It'd been a very long time since I've been here.

Our 19th hole was here yesterday party of eleven. We were seated in the overflow room.

As our party drifted in two servers began to take our drink orders. Then our entrees.

Chips and salsa dip were brought to us. Chips were warm and snappy. The dip had a little fire.

My draft beer was nice and cold.

However hubby's and my regular carne asada burritos were a major disappointment.

Nice serving size but filled mostly with rice. Hardly any meat, cheese, or beans. And no guacamole or sour cream to speak of. Might have been pay extra for? We had to lace our burritos with the dip that came with the chips else the burrito very dry.

I'd avoid ordering this again.

No separate checks and automatic 18% gratuity.

We decided to give La Penca another shot this week. In the past, it seemed as though no one who worked there cared if the restaurant succeeded or not. And it almost seemed as though they were trying to drive their customers away. I have herd this from others as well. It could be that with the planned renovation of the landing, they are putting as little into the place as possible. Also things were pretty bad for them during COVID.

This visit was better. They did a good job of accommodating us and our server was very nice. In addition, I asked for a special combination and was told that it wouldn't be a problem. That's the way it should be done. The food was pretty good. I had a Tostada and an Enchilada. My wife had the Camarones al Mojo de Ajo. We thought everything was alright, but are used to a little better. Still, we got what we came for.

It was a warm sunny day. It was good to see the restaurant so full of people and all of the people enjoying dinner on the patio. I hope things continue to improve for them. With the landing in a state of decay, La Penca is one of only a couple of options left in Bay Farm. I hope they stick around.

I haven't been to la penca in a while and esp not to the bayfarm location. We went here instead of the main island because it was a weekend and we didnt want to wait so long. Ended up taking a while to get our order in so we played card games...my little cousin always brings his pokemon cards around and pulls them out at every opportunity. His rules makes no sense but it is what it is. It wasn't too busy when we got there and the tables next to us got their orders first?

The food itself was standard and what we expected. It's located in the plaza next to the water so we went for a stroll afterwards.

Long time Alameda/bay farm resident, so I've been to LA Penca many times over the years. We came here after a walk this weekend. It was so good, we came back again two days later!

I don't know if there has been a major transformation, a new chef, or new ownership, but the food here is upgraded and updated in the best possible way! The menu is all new, everything we ordered was so fresh, beautifully plated, and absolutely delicious.

The service was also perfect. So attentive and kind.

Don't skip the guac.

Ordered a steak super burrito on Sunday 6/9/24 , they are huge but all rice and the guacamole and sour cream is a tiny dollop on the outside of the burrito....

cheap....cheap....just not the price...20 bucks for a rice burrito...I dont think there was a tablespoonful of steak.....thats some BS!! I shared it with my gf and she said the same thing...all rice...

Whole foods has huge burritos packed with the goods for 9 bucks!!! Tried to give this place a chance, but just nothing but disappointment. Other reviews reflect the same.......rice filled burrito's....so chincy

Food was very disappointing: I ordered the Breakfast Burrito which claims to have "Two eggs scrambled with tomatoes, onions, and bell peppers". I got mostly rice with minimal sign of egg and no sign of tomatoes.

Service was also not so good: I walked in and the guy behind the counter looked at me, then looked away and answered the phone. I waited 5m before flagging someone down to ask for help.

We love this place. We usually go over around five and sit at the bar. Great drinks and great food as well as outstanding service. We have the very best time with the bartenders and always make friends up at the bar. We really do have the absolute best time.

We were there recently and sat outside. We sat at the bar, bartender we hadn't seen before, were ignored completely. Noticed there were tables free outside and it was gorgeous out. We decided to go out there. Our service was absolutely awful. Some of the worst we've had anywhere. It took ten minutes for someone to speak to us and my drink came after my food came. We waited so long to get our check and pay I was getting irritates. Food was fantastic like always. It definitely was not what we were used to at all. I won't let that experience mess with this review but I hope we do not experience that again. We walk over here and love spending our money at a local spot.