La Morena Restaurant & Cantina, El Paso TX

I moved to the east side in January and found this place in May and since that day it has become part of our Sunday routine. We will not miss the Buffet 9-2 Sundays. I thought it was amazing before but recently they added the mini pancakes and my mind is just blown how awesome these are guys.

Superb service, delicious food & very courteous staff, & I'm amazed with their impeccable packaging on orders to go!

I've been here multiple times, usually hits the spot. Nine times out of ten, the food is great, the one exception was the carnitas on my last visit. They smelled like old meat. Tasted similar. I couldn't eat them, I had my wife verify without telling her my suspicion. She said the same. I will go again, I will stray from the carnitas though.

Heed The Bad Reviews!
When we first came to “La Morena” formerly “La Terraza”, over 7 years ago, we were introduced to their weekend buffet by a family member. It Was Awesome! They had a wonderful array of very tasty and freshly made foods. The gentleman at the omelette bar was excellent. He always cooked my over medium eggs *chef's kiss* perfectly. They were always packed with a seating wait of no less than 45 mins. Unfortunately when they changed name things started going downhill fast and only picked up speed when they moved location. First, when they moved there was no warning or announcement. We went one Sunday then went back the next and all of a sudden there were signs on the door posting their move. It was a windy day and the one sign that managed to stay taped to the door was just barely hanging on. It was during the height of COVID but they were still pretty busy. Despite moving to a much larger location, we still waited over ½ hour to be seated. No problem, we were used to the wait plus we knew the food would be great. Right off the bat the service was extremely slow. The buffet was pretty much what we were used to but by that time the quality of the food had already begun to decline. The only thing that hadn't changed was the barbacoa, menudo and pozole. However the quality of the food and attention to detail on their buffet kept declining and the service just never recovered to what it used to be when they were “La Terraza”
Almost 4 yrs later, we don't frequent their weekend buffet as much as we used to because it just isn't worth the money.
A month or so ago I bought two tickets for a fundraiser from The Ladies’ Oriental Shrine of North America, they work with The El Maida Shriners. The tickets were $15.00 for The Enchilada Plate (red or green) not including the drink and gratuity (we paid an additional $7.00 for two glasses of iced tea plus tip). We thought it was pricey since we could pay about the same for the weekend buffet. But considering it was for a good cause, I bought the tickets.
We've always gone for the buffet.
Today was the worst. It took them 15 minutes to get us our drinks and tostadas. We waited ½ an hour before we got our food, but before we did we asked the waitress to please make them to-go because my husband had to get back to work. Then, after another wait, she brought out our plates and said, “They just put them out. But I'll bring you some boxes if you still want them? ” We said yes. My husband ate a few bites of his enchiladas and I ate the gordita while we waited for the boxes. When she came back I remembered the sopaipillas so I asked if she thought she could get them quickly cause we had to leave. She asked if we still wanted them, I said yes cause they're included in the meal we paid for. Then she said, “If they're already made, yes. ” So I asked her to please get them. She went back to the station where they serve the drinks. In the time it took us to transfer the food to the boxes and quickly finish our 1 glass of tea each, she finally managed to start walking to the kitchen. We left, sans sopaipillas. My husband got back to work with 3 minutes to spare. He works 5 minutes away from the restaurant! The food was barely warm and not tasty at all. They've severely declined in quality and service.
So Sad, They Used To Be Excellent.
BTW, It's clear that management and the ownership doesn't care to read these reviews otherwise they would make an effort to improve from the negative reviews. However, I'm writing this for the savvy consumer who reads reviews before they spend their hard earned money.

When you enter the restaurant you are always greeted with a friendly "hello". The restaurant is always clean and the atmosphere is pleasant and the food is excellent. Once a month my friends have a nice and enjoyable breakfast. The waiters and waitresses never rush us and are very accommodating. We love LaMorena. You must try!

I didn’t eat at the restaurant but ordered to go. I called in my order and an Annabel helped me. Awesome phone etiquette. I could tell she was happy to help. She answered any questions I had regarding my order and was very nice. For her I give 5 stars.
For the food l have to give a 3 unfortunately. Serving sizes are small and the food was okay. My go to is Tortilla soup and I can say it fell flat of flavor. Potato tacos were more greasy than crunchy. Burritos were flat and small. Shrimp cocktail was okay also. This is all feedback from the family. Spending 85+ on food can be disappointing if it’s not good.

Nice and friendly staff. We got the quesadilla for appetizers and they were very flavorful. I got cheese Chile rellenos with Spanish sauce, they were very good.

Wented enchiladas but could not have enchiladas. I was informed by the waiter that they use flour in all of their sauces except for the salsa. Disappointing because that's literally all I wanted but there were other options. Ended up having the arachetta steak. It was good but lacked a little flavor. A little salt solved that problem. I couldn't eat the beans, hash browns are phenomenal and they weren't even that crispy and we all know I love everything extra crispy. Flan was phenomenal! I think it's the best I've ever had! Service was fantastic and the waiter was very informative. If you don't have a gluten intolerance I highly recommend!

La Morena Restaurant & Cantina, food is delicious. They have daily specials, and a huge selection of different Mexican & American dishes. The atmosphere is very relaxing and spacious. Their waiters and waitresses are very friendly, and very efficient. Their prices are great and very reasonable. I really enjoy eating there!

Our waiter, Joaquin, was incredibly sweet, respectful, accommodating and attentive! My Chicken Tampiquena was excellent! Grilled veggies to perfection! And super delicious Horchata. We have always loved their salsa, so we always get an extra pint to go.

They have lousy service the food is horrible the chilaquiles look like tortillas soaked in water with no flavor I came to the lunch buffet and wooo nothing I served was tasty

Service was extremely slow, it took at least an hour for the food to come ojt and the restaurant was not busy at all on a Sunday morning at 9: 30 when we arrived. Coffee was refilled once during the meal. The beans were soup like with the consistency.

Ricky has always served us.since we have known him since la Terraza. He has never stopped being an excellent server.

I’ve been coming here forever, since it was known as La Terraza, and it never disappoints. This is my go to place for enchiladas. But I also love the tortilla soup. It’s huge and full of flavor. The best in El Paso. I’ve also had the tampiquena steak. So good! Today I settled on sour cream enchiladas, my all time favorite. They were awesome as ever. The refried beans and rice were delectable. The restaurant suffered through Covid, and is short staffed but my server was so attentive. This is a treasure for El Paso and I hope they will be here for years to come.

Finally, La Morena is getting back to where it was pre Covid. The food is much better lately.

The prices aren’t that bad for the amount of food on plates, but the food isn’t real Mexican flavor. Couldn’t continue eating: (asked for a tortilla & they said I had to get an order of tortillas not just one.

Very tasty food and very attentive service from the moment they receive you at the entrance.
I recommend it

Couldn’t cut my enchiladas. Was not the Mexican flavor I was looking for. Was not satisfied. Very disappointed.