Laura writes:
My family walked up the street on Friday night hoping to get some great Mexican food at Casa Azul, only to be met with a darkened building and locked doors! Are they leaving? Kaput? What’s the deal? Do you know or can you find out? I’m feeling very sad. They serve really delicious food – much better than the cheese fest that was there before them…
Thanks!
Wallyhood res.
I also noticed the darkened space and yesterday, I saw a rather perplexed soda distributor standing out front, attempting to make a delivery. So, I called the Greenwood location and was told that the Wallingford location had been sold. The gentleman on the phone told me he couldn’t disclose anything further. We’ll keep you posted when we learn more.
La Casa Azul Wallingford location opened last October 11 at 1715 N. 45th St. (between Wallingford Avenue N. and Densmore).
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Very mixed feelings… on the one hand, I really enjoyed the food – and a good Mexican restaurant within walking distance! On the other hand, we went four separate weekend mornings for breakfast, and they got our orders wrong every single time. We stopped going for breakfast after that, and haven’t had many opportunities to go to dinner. (Dinner tended to be correct, but they messed those up a few times, too.)
I was saying last night I wanted to go there for my upcoming birthday dinner. Sad.
Sad. Always had a good time there. The food was great and we always had excellent service.
It figures: the food was less than mediocre at best, and the decoration was out of the seventies, and the service was not at all attentive. How do places serve you something and not check back after the second bite.
+1 to what Anthony said… my wife and I had a very similar experience there.
+1 to Anthony as well. It looks like the whole building is for sale, from a sign on the second floor.
I heard the Greenwood location was great, but sadly I was one-and-done when I got chicken that was literally unseasoned — just wet and flavorless — and terrible margaritas from a drunk bartender. When Taco Time is more authentic, your restaurant has a problem.
(And, confidential to TNT Taqueria: When Taco Time is a better quality/value proposition, your restaurant has a problem.)
why does Wallingford have such a hard time with Mexican restaurants? Come on…. bring in a Cactus or Matador and call it done!
Also…. how come the taco truck doesn’t do something with the Winchells building??? That intersection is starting to look super ghetto with the food trucks, all the garbage piling up next to Rancho’s truck (which is why I don’t eat there). Add in the homeless camp setup at the 45th offramp…. I probably wouldn’t come into Wallingford to eat either if I didn’t live here.
I would like a Senor Moose, location #2. The food was not great at this location I’m afraid. The margaritas however, that’s a different story.
This is so disappointing! The food was really, really good and the staff there was great. I hope the Greenwood location stays open.
Was never very impressed with La Casa Azul. The food was okay and the service barely rated a “C”. Have been going to Rosita’s up at Greenlake for our Mexican food. Hope something better comes into the space (as well as the Tully’s and Joule).
Even if things weren’t always right at the Wallingford Casa Azul, I’d sure have gone back there rather than the Rosita’s I remember from 20 years ago. Changed a lot since then?
Rosita’s #2 !!!!
That would be awesome!!!!
I LOVED the place. Great food and great people. Very sad.
I agree Brooke! We always had good times and good food. My daughter is sad to lose Tullys and now Casa Azul.
Does anyone go to Chile Pepper? Always seems empty…..
Steve: we went to Chile Pepper once about a year ago. The service was really good but the food was just okay. Not bad, but not worth a return visit, either. We were the only ones in the restaurant for most of our visit.
We went to La Casa Azul once for breakfast and left disappointed. Food was mediocre. Service was ehhh. We never went back. I 100% agree with Enrique. We used to go to the Taco Truck quite a bit, but are discusted with what they do with the property. It looks like they are shoving their junk in the Winchell’s Building. It would be a different story if the whole building wasn’t all windows! Also, Cactus would be ideal. I love that place!!
I had some o.k meals here, and then once ordered fish tacos that were unforgivably bad. TnT is great though- they make their sauces from scratch.
I had a not great meal there.
i always like Taco Time.
The taco truck and winchells look horrible. About a year ago there was an article on here about promises about cleaning Winchells up. Does anyone recall this/
The state of the Winchell’s buidling is a big reason why I won’t patronize the taco truck. It just doesn’t bode well for food handling.
Just walk a couple of blocks west to the Chile Pepper. Very good food at moderate prices.
At least TNT invested in a real building and is not an eye sore. I hate reading the reviews dissing on TNT and saying “i’ll go to the taco truck instead.” The taco truck has far fewer expenses. Of course it’s going to be a better value. You can’t compare the two. I think it’s weird to encourage food trucks in a city with a lot of vacant real estate. And that plastic tent at the food truck is ugly.
Good food is so rarely the reason why a restuarant is able to stay open. Those who say “go figure – it was terrible food and service anyway” are probably rather confused as to how the Rusty Pelican is still open.
I think we’re seeing an overall economic issue peeking out through the cracks. Wallingford just can’t economically sustain the entire 45th Street lined with food joints and local boutiques. That should be pretty obvious with the turnover.
This is not a a personal attack – but if you believe a meal should cost less than $30 and compare prices at your local boutique to what’s sold on Amazon then you are the very reason this area attracts the increasingly ghetto establishments that manage to stick around for years.
@ countingpigs. I think the family that runs the Rusty Pelican owns the building.
I only went to La Casa Azul once, but had an amazing avocado margarita! The thought of it was horrible, but it turned out to be really good. It’s the only place I’ve ever heard of making one, so I will really miss that.
Went to the taco truck once — never again. Went to Taco Azul with hopes and expectations only to have them dashed by mediocre food, poor service and alll their dips served in plastic containers even when I requested a refill — they just gave me another pre-filled plastic container. A good Mexican restaurant would do great in Wallingford. In the meantime, we just go to Kozue at least a couple times a week. Best Japanese food and service at ridiculously reasonable prices.
TnT’s food quality is so much better than the taco truck (the well-sourced meat, the homemade sauces) that I will happily pay the price difference.
all great comments…. and I agree with most. What can we do about the ghetto experience with the Taco Truck???? The trash is piling up and the Winchells building is an eyesore and ringing down the value of our neighborhood.
If the owners of Rancho Bravo (and the BBQ place) are reading this… I hope you listen to your community. Please do something with the Winchells building and your massive overflowing dumpsters! Take some pride in the community you are a part of… we certainly do!
I am going to change my 5 star Yelp review of Rancho bravo and refuse to eat there til trash cleaned up. I am also going to call the Health Dept of King County with info re potential health hazards. i will not picket them however. You?
I went to Rancho Bravo on Saturday and there was no trash pile near the truck or the dumpsters. It’s possible that there was a huge amount of it between when I was there mid-day and when the last two comments were posted, but I mostly think people will take any excuse to make anonymous complaints on the internet. Facts are irrelevant when you can slander a business.
Oh, and I also looked inside the former Winchell’s building. While I agree that the building itself is an eyesore & I hope he at least replaces the windows, it’s clearly being used to store supplies for both Rancho Bravo & Pinky’s. That’s what’s inside – food supplies, not bags of trash. For a quick taco, I have no complaints. If I want a huge amount of food made with a bit more care, I can go to TNT.
I have been to Rancho Bravo many times and never encountered trash. I am not someone who price shops my food. I go where I feel the food is the best. IMO, the flavors at Rancho Bravo are much, much better than TNT. The things I tried at TNT tasted flat.
I will miss their runny salsa and sickly sweet margaritas, I will miss their fake Mole. I will miss the cavernous high school gym -ike atmosphere.