La Tropicana in Lawrence

Traditional Mexican cuisine. Guacamole was exceptional. Dining indoors and outside. Fun decor. Friendly wait staff.

This place was an absolute let down. Started with an appetizer that was literally NACHO CHEESE out of a bag, far from "chile con queso". The chips were bland, stuff you get out of the box and they were cold. I ordered Enchiladas Verdes and they were "OK". My husband ordered the taco Tuesday special, meat and potato tacos. They were gross, and he could barley get through eating one. The taco shell was like the generic store bought boxed shells. The meat and potatoes didn't have any seasoning, or even salt it seemed. The menu wasn't extensive, I had a hard time trying to find something I wanted to try. Taco Bell has more choices and cheaper. I have lived in Lawrence for 26 years and now remember why I don't go there. Best part of my meal was my beer.

Seriously not a good example of Mexican food. The chicken appeared to be cooked in bulk with no seasoning. A folder over totilla is NOT how an enchilada is made. It is a great way to hide that you are skimping on ingredients though. Recommend you stay far away from here if you are looking for something even close to authentic.

Great place to eat.

One of the oldest and still one of the best Mexican restaurants in Lawrence. Good food, friendly staff and a marvelous outside patio.

The place was recommended as "authentic Mexican food." It's not authentic but it was tasty. Everything on the menu is a bit overpriced IMO. Adequate service. Only Mexican restaurant I've ever visited that didn't offer free chips and salsa with meal.

Very friendly and considerate staff. Family style resturant. Quaint decor. Food was very good. Prices are very reasonable. Portion size matched the pricing. House salsa was ok. Wheelchair access is good. Handicap parking available.

The staff was friendly and the place was clean. Personally, I was not a fan of the food.

A very authentic Mexican restaurant. Great food.

Really good food, nice atmosphere.

Having moved here from the Southwest, I was elated to have found that Tropicana restaurant. Excellent excellent authentic Mexican food and excellent wait staff. This has to be one of my favorite places to dine here in Lawrence Kansas.

They're fresh fruit combinations are to die for

Great food, small seating area.

Save your money, go to taco Bell. Chips and salsa aren't complimentary, food is mediocre at best, and service is poor.

Best cheese quesadillas with guacamole ever. Fast and friendly service. Outside seating.

A very pleasant dinning experience. This was our first trip in here and the food was very good. We sat out on the patio and the weather was nice for a summer evening. Would definitely come back here.

One of the best restaurants in town, hands down. Authentic and affordable.

A little salty, but the flavors were good and the fajita steak very tender

When we arrived we were one of 3 tables, we were here over an hour before we were served our food. No white queso, Velveeta melted cheese is what they consider cheese dip. Never refilled our chips. Would not recommend

The Del Campo family has been serving home cooked, authentic Mexican food for decades. Don't miss this Lawrence landmark!

Friendly family resturant with fantastic specials! Has a very nice outdoor seating area.

We have been going to Tropicana for 45 years and never had an experience like we had on Sat...out of seven people at our table three got what they ordered..they screwed up everyone else's order,,,never came back and ask if we needed more drinks or anything else...just a bad experience all the way around!!!! My advice is to go somewhere else!!

Gone down hill recently. Slow and mediocre food.

Not very good Mexican food and pricier than other better places in town. No free chips and salsa--Mexican food sin. They also didn't have hot sauce which was really weird.

Well established North Lawrence favorite. Service is fast and friendly, food is authentic and delicious, prices are very reasonable. Indoor and outdoor seating, generous house margaritas, adequate parking. This place has it all!!

Relaxed atmosphere when dining in, carry-out is available. Excellent food, cooked fresh. This place exudes a particular calm welcoming.

Gross. Highly DO NOT recommend.

Very poor service.... We stood at the front for 5 minutes not knowing if we were to seat ourselves or wait to be seated... Ordered guac.& chips and had to pay $3 for more chips.. The meat was very plain with no seasoning waited 15 minutes for our server to finally stop talking to her coworker to motion for her to come to our table to ask for a side of onions to help flavor the meat, and a refill on drinks... $1 charge for the onions.... will never return!!! by far the worst Mexican restaurant I've ever eaten at!!!!!

I hadn't been here in a while, but we were next door at Kaw Valley Public House for some music, so we thought it'd be simple for dinner. So good. I love their boiled beans, tastes homemade. I had the pan fried chicken tacos. Omgosh, very nice. I wish their salsa was a little fresher, less canned tasting, but it's still good. The guac was great, too!

Good Mexican food and good environment. Service was good.

Good food, poor service! We have been waiting for an hour for tacos! 4 tables including ourselves. Not busy at all !

The food and atmosphere was great.

Food was ok, they should offer complimentary chips and salsa so you don't notice how long the wait is. People that were sitting and ordered when we arrived still didn't get thier food until after we did and ours took forever. Overpriced for the portions and no refills on our drinks as our server went MIA....

Fast and friendly. Food good

Best Mexican food in the world!

Excellent food, great service. Must give it a try. You will be delighted.

La Tropicana has geat food and lovely outdoor seating. This family business has been a Lawrence staple for years. I have been eating there since I was 10, and now not only does my kid eat there, he worked there for awhile too! The specials are always good, and the regular menu stays the same, which as the years go by, you count on - the # 2 is still a # 2. I love the atmosphere, and seeing the trains go by. And eating out on the patio when the weather is nice, under the big sycamore trees, with the fairy lights glowing, can't be beat!

Food had no flavor. Queso is from a nacho cheese can nothing added. Waitress came with Bill asking if we wanted refills. Hadn't seen her but to order an bring our food. Not impressed at all. Can make better Mexican food at home.

Worst Mexican food I've ever had in my entire life. Service was average at best. The queso was essentially Velveeta melted in a bowl with no spices. To top it off the chips and salsa are considered an appetizer that you have to pay for. We will never go back.

Terrible dining experience and dont plan to return. It took an hour and 15 minutes to get our food. We asked the waitress what was taking so long... her answer was we could leave if we wanted...not quite the response we were looking for. Very disappointed.

This is a nice tucked away restaurant. I would have never guessed there was a cute little restaurant there given the surrounding area. The service was pretty good, the food was delicious (especially the guacamole!). It was cold during our visit, so we ate indoors. There is an adorable patio that was reminiscent to me of a restaurant in San Diego. It had lights, stucco, a nice tree for shade, and was just all around cute. I definitely want to come back when the weather is nice!

Excellent food and service. Best Mexican Restaurant in Lawrence.

Such good food. Best Mexican and family owned.

Service was very slow, and when the food arrived they were out of forks! How am I going to eat a salad with just a knife? Worst evening ever.

I've read the other reviews and I can't agree with them. My fiancee and i fell in love with this place the first time we came. The meat is seasoned way better than the other Latino locations in Lawrence. And their drinks are good. I give it 5 stars based on comparison to the other Latino locations.

Very good thank you.👌👍

We loved this restaurant; however, the service and management is dreadful. After 45 minutes of being seated and our waitress (she’s nice) our food never came out. She reassured us several times that it was coming out shortly. Upon talking with the manager, we decided to leave and he wanted us to pay the $5 for a drink even though the wasted nearly an hour of our lives. He said he would rather us never come back and write a poor review than Comp is the drink. Folks this is what a restaurant looks like when they are getting ready to close. Help them out and don’t go there anymore.

Both the website and the restaurant itself has it's hours as closing at 10:00 p.m. Mon-Fri. Unfortunately, I arrived at this location at 9:15 p.m. on Thursday, January 31st, to a locked door. Confused, I called the location, and as I stood outside the door, I witnessed a woman answering the phone to tell me they would not service us, even as a to-go order. I have always been pleased with the quality of the food, as well as the pricing, however the rude service described above is unacceptable. I wonder if the owner is aware that their staff is closing before advertised business hours.

I ended up not eating the food at this restaurant because in the 2+ hours we were there they neglected to tell me what I ordered was not the special and then proceeded to try and charge me the normal price. I did have a glimpse of what the food looked like, and it was not appetizing. The food looked under cooked, and ill prepared.