Vaporware on a Plate

La Rondalla Claims It'll Reopen Next Week

La Rondalla’s sign illuminated, as seen in February of last year.

La Rondalla has been threatening to reopen ever since they closed—which was so damn long ago, no one really remembers when that was (was Bush still in office?  Had Google Buses been invented yet?  Was PBR still a “thing”?).  At this point, they’ve claimed they’d be opening “soon” so many times, their perpetual opening impotency has become something of a neighborhood joke.

But here we go again: La Rondalla says they’re opening next week.  According to Inside Scoop, the restaurant is back in business starting next Thursday, May 1st.  They’re even taking reservations!  Is it actually true this time?

We swung by this afternoon and, yes, the place looks like they’re getting things together ahead of a opening—tables being setup, a kitchen being prepped, a half dozen employees milling about… their neon signs were even blinking and buzzing.  Of course, we’ve been hoodwinked before.

Here’s what Inside Scoop says we can (might?) expect:

For the most part, the new La Rondalla will feature a similar menu as the last incarnation of La Rondalla, albeit with a few new dishes like chicharrones appetizers, shrimp cocktails, corn on the cob with cheese, and something that was never on the menu before: carnitas. Many of the favorites — botanas, enchiladas and margaritas — will be returning to 901 Valencia.

There are some tweaks. The kitsch has been dialed down, with only “some” Christmas lights lining the walls. There won’t be a full mariachi band either; citing space constrictions, the Barrios family opted instead to have a trio of musicians play on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Dialing down the kitsch is a bummer sitch, but with the rest of Valencia embracing the maddenimg sameness of Edison-lit wood, any place that even imitates campy weirdness is welcome.

Comments (22)

they may have missed their chance already. unless they’re serving artisan overpriced crap, i’m not so sure they will have a customer base. the base of the old La Rondalla moved out a longtime ago. The only reason most people went was to eat cheap mexican food after a night out drinking, it was not a destination place.

Puerto Alegre still has a line every night. Velvet Cantina is usually packed. La Rondalla will do fine.

Time will tell. Plenty of foot traffic there to prove you wrong.

NJudah does post good stuff usually, but in this case, I think he didn’t get out of the Sunset often enough.

 La Rondalla was definitiely a destination place, but that was back when there were very few destinations on Valencia.

A best thing  about it was the Mariachis and music.   Carlos the dad, would most often buy drinks for customers who sang with the Mariachis, and there were regulars, who on good nights when the music really flowed, The singers went back and forth between strong male and female voices of different styles.    Also, of course the Chrismas lights, and that the temperature was set at like 79 degrees inside.

They always supported neighborhood events.  Would donate big trays of food for events of good stuff.  It was great.

Bite my shiny metal ass :-)

I went there mainly for the insanely strong margaritas, which REALLY tells me how long it’s been closed, since I stopped drinking years ago. 

I moved here after La Rondalla closed, so I can’t speak to what the vibe was like with authority, but everything I read makes it seem like the ideal pre-game spot.

Not sure why I’d go there after a night out - I can go to a Tacqueria for that.

YES.

The owners are so incredibly incompetent it baffles the mind. What, it’s been at least 8 years?  And 3 years of “we’ll open soon.”  I don’t drink so never cared for the place, but they may have missed the boat with the demographic switch. 

You are still dumb and wrong.

Your schtick is played out - just like this blog and The Rhondaya.

And yet here you are, on this blog, and responding to Herr. Says a lot more about you, methinks.

Banned = Meh

Banned = Methinks

Banned  = Me

You = Dumb

You = Wrong

You are also dumb and wrong.

We used to go to La Rondalla when the wait at Puerto was over an hour, which was always. Sucks that they took the bar out. It was a classic. 

IMO, the bar was the best thing about it. One of the more dive-ily attractive places in the neighborhood. Now it just looks like any other low-end restaurant anywhere in the country. The remodel really was just a way to deep-clean. There’s no style to be seen (at least through the windows).

I hope the food is better this go around or they won’t last. 13 years ago, the only reason to go was the magaritas, pinatas and red booths. I ate there once and got the squirts. 

I love the opinions on a yet-to-open bar… apparently run by crazy people.

Don’t hold your breath people.

they better have the old b&w family hunting trip photos.

oh it was definitely a destination place- Xmas kitsch up the wazoo, hunting photos, red booths and margaritas that could peel paint.

Cockroach tacos for everyone!  Bon appetit