taqueria la unica

first things first i'm from los angeles so i know good mexicanfoodand this here is the best mexican restaurant i've had since moving to nc. awesomefoodcarnitas are great. i never order them normally cause nothing compared tony grandpas but these right here are pretty darn good!!

i have eaten at this restaurant almost every week for the last six years!  thefoodis always excellent and in six years, they have rarely given me the wrong order or not preparedfoodexactly as i requested.  they bring four different salsas, a bowl of queso blanco, pico de gallo and tortilla chips for free while you browse the menu.  service is always fast and friendly, even when the restaurant is busy and there is sometimes a line out the door.  i highly recommend this restaurant... my favorite combo dish is the speedy gonzales - muy bueno!

service is terrible. thefoodwas okay. the chips and salsa not so good. pick de gallo delicious. beware if you are in a large group with children. our waitress delivered a horchata to one of the children even though she didn't order it. the child asked the waitress why she was given it and ignored. the child told me. i asked the waitress if it was free and told no. i told the waitress to take it away and she questioned why i would not want the child to have something to drink. 13 of us crammed around three small tables and we all ordered full meals. when we asked for two additional baskets of just chips we were charged. (we had been served only three baskets when we arrived.)

this location is not owned by the folks who own the indian trail la unica. the service andfoodis much better at the la unica on monroe rd & waxhaw-indian trail rd location in indian trail.

being from los angeles. also being mexican and puerto rican, other than mexicanfoodfrom my own kitchen la unica in monroe is the best we have had. so inexpensive also. truely authentic mexican food. the one in indian trail..not so much, even though it is pretty close to my house we drive out of our way to get to the one in monroe. someone earlier wrote they dont have crunchy tacos...ummm so authentic mexican tacos do not come "crunchy" you can go to taco bell for that.

horrible service (at our table)!. was looking on yelp to find a mexican restaurant that was good nearby and found this place.. two tables who arrived after us got their chips & drinks brought out and orders taken before we were even addressed. the menu doesn't have tostadas so i ordered them "off menu" with rice and beans (i wanted tacos, but they don't serve crunchy). the waitress didn't bring the rice and beans and when i told her i didn't get them, she stated "no." my wife had to remind her that i had ordered them and she said nothing, looking lost, so i ordered them a second time.
my wife's enchiladas did not come with sauce so they were dry and the cheese wasn't melted due to them being cold. they only had a green sauce to substitute so she ended up giving them to me and i used salsa on them. when my wife asked for lemons the waitress said "no, we have lime", and picked the bowl of limes up and a little angrily slammed them down on the table in front of her !!! and immediately walked off without saying anything! does she think that my wife is blind and can't see that there are limes at the table? also, my wife did not ask for limes, she asked for lemon! i felt that this was very inappropriate behavior, and for her to do this suggested that she was letting us know that limes were an acceptable substitute.. if we felt otherwise, don't we have that right?
throughout our meal the waitress seemed to have an attitude and was very concerned with going to the corner to check her cell phone and text during our visit.
everyone around us seemed to be getting excellent service,
with one table having two very attentive employees.
so, it's time to go and the bill comes..
there were no prices on the check and the girl at the register needed help ringing up our order (two girls rang in the check). i ended up being charged $12.50 for my meal, because apparently they didn't get the memo that when you order an entrée you don't charge for each individual item. i asked before hand if the meal was available to order as an entrée, but this obviously wasn't communicated to the cashier or written down (both girls seemed confused by the check and had to ask me what i had ordered..!?)
i see that everyone else is a fan, maybe we came on the wrong night (wed.) or maybe we are just far too picky..? the only positive is thefoodcomes out really fast!
we won't be back!

thefoodis great that's why it is so busy all of the time. i like the carne asada tacos.

dont let the outside keep you out. they bring out several salsa's.foodwas fresh and fast at lunch. great place. i had the enchiladas suiza.

does not look like much from outside but it's bigger than it looks and nice enough but not fancy inside.
thefoodwas very good and good portions too. service was fast and friendly.
i wouldn't call thefoodauthentic as other reviews have....but it is very good tex-mex and a pleasant surprise to find in monroe where so many of even the "nicer" restaurants are not very good.

great food. really goodfoodfor the price, getting ready to head that way now!!!

big yum!. absolutely the best mexicanfoodi've had... big portions, great tasting food, and inexpensive.

could be best mex in char area. its out of the way and it looks like nothing from outside but possibly the most authentic mexfoodin the area. every style salsa you could ask for, huge portions and authentic taste. its the real deal.

best salsas. 3 varieties. inexpensive. best value. low key. but thefoodis great.

good food. fantasticfoodgood staff