Laredo's Finally Open

[keving]

Laredo's is located on Classen next to IHOP was open for yesterday.

Lunch was really good and it is beautiful inside. As you can see from the outside, it's a lot bigger. I'll add a better review when I have time.

[ddavidson8]

Was the food the same? Please tell me it hasn't changed.

[Froyocraze]

I will definitely give a try next time I am near by there.

[kevinpate]

hmmm, I wasn't planning on going to okc today, but now .....

[Midtowner]

Went yesterday. Same food. Very limited menu. It's all very basic right now. Building is beautiful though.

[PennyQuilts]

Great!

[metro]

Went yesterday. Same food. Very limited menu. It's all very basic right now. Building is beautiful though.

Would you mind expanding on your review? It would be appreciated.

[SoonerQueen]

We ate there Thursday night. It opened Wednesday. Thursday they had just the lunch menu available and the food was the same as I remembered. We went late in the evening and there was plenty of wait staff there and the service was pretty good. The inside of the restaurant is beautiful, and there is more seating than in the old place. I'll be interested to know if they will have specials like Pepe's or the old Laredo's.

[Midtowner]

Would you mind expanding on your review? It would be appreciated.

Sure. I'm pretty familiar with the menu at the old Laredo's and current Pepe's (in Edmond) as I've been dining at each location regularly for 20+ years. I was eating with my father and a friend.

First, the pre-game goodies. What a lot of folks don't know about the Edmond Pepe's location is that out back is a tortilla/chip making facility. All of the tortillas and chips for these restaurants are locally made and excellent. I think their chips are the perfect texture for corn tortilla chips. I'm a big fan. But back to the service itself -- what a lot of folks probably don't know about local Mexican food is that usually, queso, relish and tortillas are gratis upon request. I do recommend you request all of the above as they're all good free appetizers.

On to the entrees. First as to the basics, the rice and beans, they are no frills, just plain 'ol good. The default is refried beans, but I believe you can also get barracho (sp?) beans upon request (I don't do this). The spanish rice is what it is, a good staple side dish.

As to the entrees themselves, the menu at this point (a few days ago) was pretty limited. Just the old Laredo's lunch specials were available. I decided to try something new, so I ordered a Chimichanga (again, sp?) -- a flour tortilla packed with ground beef and deep fried. It was decent. Remember, we're not talking about the Iguana here, these Mexican restaurants are traditional tex-mex, so don't expect any frills. Just simple, good food.

The folks next to me ordered enchiladas. Their meals appeared to be fine and exactly the same as what they would have had at either the Edmond Pepe's or the old Laredos.

I'm very much looking forward to the new full menu as I understand it will be greatly expanded.

As for the decor? Fantastic. The restaurant, while being pretty cavernous is broken up into a lot of smaller spaces, so noise isn't a big deal unless you (like us) happen to be next to a table full of cackling harpies. The floors had hand-laid mosaic tile. Lots of fine details as to the furniture and even the doors. The structure itself is truly a one-of-a-kind. It's definitely the Taj-mahal of Mexican restaurants we've come to expect after all these years.

The service was great and the food was out to us in less than five minutes.

[JohnDenver]

I went last night with my wife. I won't say we won't go back, but I can't imagine a situation where we will. I got the "Numero 2" and it had three enchiladas and only three enchiladas. No Beans. No Rice. No flavor. Way over priced and under-flavored. On Urbanspoon.com they have a low "like" rating, I should have heeded the warning.

[SoonerQueen]

I thought all the lunches had rice and beans. I think they just forgot to give you yours. I agree that the food wasn't all that great. I wasn't impressed. I like Ted's a lot better. I even like On the Border now. After all the time we waited for Laredo's to finally get open, I was hoping for better food. I'll go again in a few weeks and see if it's better.

[ddavidson8]

So, is the food the same just not what you like in comparison to Ted's and On the Border? Or has the quality of the food actually deteriorated?

[JerzeeGrlinOKC]

<JerzeeGrl turns up nose>

I dunno...how comparatively good can Mexican food really be? Its like a mix-and-match of the same 5 dishes, over and over again. Ted's tastes decent, and yes the service is great, but it bores me to death. Guess we'll go to Laredo's just out of principle, to look at the inside mostly and see if all the hoopla about the new building was worth it. Sounds like from these posts that it is. I do think restaurant ambiance (and service) is half the experience.

Now on the other hand, I do loves me some Zarate's - they serve Peruvian dishes (and other South American cuisine that's hard to find), which are amazingly tasty and something totally different.

[JerzeeGrlinOKC]

Let me qualify...I don't really like "Tex-mex". I can't say I know what real Mexican food tastes like, I don't even know what it is.

[RealJimbo]

<JerzeeGrl turns up nose>

I dunno...how comparatively good can Mexican food really be? Its like a mix-and-match of the same 5 dishes, over and over again. Ted's tastes decent, and yes the service is great, but it bores me to death. Guess we'll go to Laredo's just out of principle, to look at the inside mostly and see if all the hoopla about the new building was worth it. Sounds like from these posts that it is. I do think restaurant ambiance (and service) is half the experience.

Now on the other hand, I do loves me some Zarate's - they serve Peruvian dishes (and other South American cuisine that's hard to find), which are amazingly tasty and something totally different.

Let me qualify...I don't really like "Tex-mex". I can't say I know what real Mexican food tastes like, I don't even know what it is.
__________________________

Ah don't thank Jerzigirl is from around here.... Ah luv me some Ted's...

[JohnDenver]

I figured that such an experienced restaurateur would be able to throw out more dishes than just their piddly lunch menu. Also, lunch prices are in line with what I would pay for the same EXACT dinner dish. Normally, lunch portions are smaller and the price is lower. Laredos just charges more for the dinner portion. It is *way* overpriced. The quality is no better than some buffet that would charge $6 for unlimited portions (see Panchos in Dallas).

I am from Dallas and grew up with "Tex-Mex" (people here put that in quotes, so I will too ). This, is Tex-Mex for sure, but the price is the main tipping point. You end up paying what you would at a place that actually cooks your meal, versus what Laredos does,which is scoops up from mass offerings and onto your plate.

I can make their menu with a simple permutation, combination program.

I just made 24 dishes at Laredos!

crispy,soft,echilada,tostada crispy,soft,tostada,echilada crispy,echilada,soft,tostada crispy,echilada,tostada,soft crispy,tostada,soft,echilada crispy,tostada,echilada,soft soft,crispy,echilada,tostada soft,crispy,tostada,echilada soft,echilada,crispy,tostada soft,echilada,tostada,crispy soft,tostada,crispy,echilada soft,tostada,echilada,crispy echilada,crispy,soft,tostada echilada,crispy,tostada,soft echilada,soft,crispy,tostada echilada,soft,tostada,crispy echilada,tostada,crispy,soft echilada,tostada,soft,crispy tostada,crispy,soft,echilada tostada,crispy,echilada,soft tostada,soft,crispy,echilada tostada,soft,echilada,crispy tostada,echilada,crispy,soft tostada,echilada,soft,crispy

[Caboose]

<JerzeeGrl turns up nose>

I dunno...how comparatively good can Mexican food really be? Its like a mix-and-match of the same 5 dishes, over and over again. Ted's tastes decent, and yes the service is great, but it bores me to death. Guess we'll go to Laredo's just out of principle, to look at the inside mostly and see if all the hoopla about the new building was worth it. Sounds like from these posts that it is. I do think restaurant ambiance (and service) is half the experience.

Now on the other hand, I do loves me some Zarate's - they serve Peruvian dishes (and other South American cuisine that's hard to find), which are amazingly tasty and something totally different.

*high five*

Tex-Mex sucks. When people around here get into pissing matches about which local Tex-Mex place is the best it just blows my mind. Every one of them tastes exactly the same.

[soonerguru]

Ted's blows, and has for some time.

[PennyQuilts]

*high five*

Tex-Mex sucks. When people around here get into pissing matches about which local Tex-Mex place is the best it just blows my mind. Every one of them tastes exactly the same.

Oh Caboose. Take that back!

[SoonerQueen]

I'm thinking once they are open for a few days the food will be better. I'm not saying it was bad, but what I got wasn't hot at all, and the wait staff while there were plenty of people working, my ice tea glass was empty most of the time.I am hoping they have an enchilada dinner night or a fajitas night like Pepe's does. I'll be going back again in a few weeks and I'll report back again.

[OKCMallen]

Ted's blows, and has for some time.

[metro]

Ate there at lunch. Reviews seem to be spot on. Food okay, nothing bad, nothing spectacular. I too had the Numero Dos. Food temperate was warm, but not hot like most places bring it out. Queso was average and salsa, less than impressed. I was impressed with the flour tortillas, however I'm on a big authentic Mexican kick here lately and prefer corn. My wife's chicken burrito was excellent, she thought it was just okay. Service started off good, but became lacking. We went at 11am to avoid the main lunch rush. Didn't bring my food out correct and several orders came about 10 minutes after the rest of our party. Building was fantastic. We'll be back, but will wait a month or two.

[ddavidson8]

I too had the Numero Dos.

Was that before or after eating?

[JerzeeGrlinOKC]

Was that before or after eating?

[OKCMallen]

Was that before or after eating?

Nice.


I live very close to the new Laredo's, but given the reviews in this thread, I'm in no hurry.