On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.

Mama Loco

3_half star rating
15 reviews

Cuisine: Mexican

219 Don McKinnon Drive
(Westfield Mall)
Albany
North Shore City
09 444 1076
 

Hours:

  • Mon-Sun 12pm – late
  • Price Range: Moderate, $15 - $25
  • Dress Code: Smart casual
  • Alcohol: Beer, Wine, Spirits, Cocktails
  • Good For Groups: Yes
  • Takes Reservations: No
  • Dietary Restrictions: Vegetarian
  • Meals: Lunch, Dinner

Mama Loco is a modern Mexican theme bar and restaurant based on the exterior of Albany Westfield Shopping Mall, North Shore, Auckland.

At Mamas we pride ourselves on a casual yet top quality experience. An experience which has been created through our culture, food and most importantly….the team who make Mamas a success.

Get down here and try Mama Loco out. The food is like no other offering in the country. The deck is the best spot on the North Shore with all day sun. Perfect to sit back and enjoy some plates and a chilled Sangria.

We do welcome children along for dining, as long as the parent or legal guardian of each child is in tow!

You Might Also Consider MenuMania Ad
Totara Restaurant
4_half star rating
 20 reviews

Fiona said: "Fantastic service and devine meal bursting with flavours I had never experienced before. Lovely intimate setting (indoors and outdoors)…"   read more »

15 Reviews for Mama Loco

23rd May 2012
5 star rating
Absolutely brilliant. The staff were great, the surroundings awesome and the food really good. Would definitely go again, well worth it. Also really good if you sit outside for dinner, the sunset would be great on a clear day.

Bookmark    Send to a Friend

30th January 2012
4 star rating
I have just had an awesome time at Mama Locos! The staff are incredibly friendly and helpful – when I commented that I had enjoyed a particular salsa the last time I was there, the waitress bought out some different ones for me to try. The food was delicious – and I love Mexican food and have tried it in many places. The jugs of sangria are a hoot with long straws so you don’t have to keep asking for refills! I will make this one of my favourite places to sit and squander a few hours with friends, it’s so nice to be served with a smile! highly recommended for a fun time!

Bookmark    Send to a Friend

14th January 2012
1 star rating
Well I am still sitting here at Mama Loco and although the decor is colourful, the music is funky, the service is just OK and the meal is absolutely under average.

Mexican?! You’re kidding me. We came here specifically for a Mexican meal because we LOVE it and Menu Mania boasted that Mama Loco had food like non other.

Honestly, not worth the trip! I chose the vege taco with extra hot and medium spice, received fried Aubergine as the vege choice (seriously?!) and only the MILD sauce! Expected MUCH MORE!

My partner who can EAT struggles thru his burrito and left half on the plate it was so poor quality!

I don’t know what sort of patronage you have but it certainly is of the lower level who don’t care about food quality.

Bookmark    Send to a Friend

Comment from Gareth H. of Mama Loco 9/04/2012   
Thats a shame…we have lots of people who love our food. Thanks for trying us out anyway Kitty Kat

Akdy

1

5th November 2011
2 star rating
Hello everyone. I went to Mama’s last night for dinner and I’m afraid to say that I was highly dissapointed. I’m Mexican myself and even when I was recommended by a friend to try the place, I couldn’t find anything Mexican in the restaurant besides the description “Mexican food”. The atmosphere is nice (although, I was sitting inside and the music was too loud, I couldn’t hear the person talking in front of me) and the waiters/resses are really nice too, they have a very positive attitude and great service.
I know is hard to get real Mexican ingredients in NZ but I’ve seen other places do it better. Don’t take me wrong, the food is tasty and I’m sure you’d enjoy. But if you’re looking for a real Mexican experience, you are in the wrong place. The corn chips (what we call totopos) are weird tasting “doritos” and my fajitas weren’t even fajitas… just a piece of steak (I know the menu mentions “steak” but it also mentions “fajitas”, so it was just confusing and dissapointing).
Prices aren’t worth for what you get. Too expensive for my taste. Sorry!

So in conclusion: nice place with nice vibe and staff, too noisy to talk, quite expensive and is NOT MEXICAN. But if you’re looking for a more “european/kiwi” style of food with heaps of “salsa” and avocado all over. Enjoy! this is your place.

Bookmark    Send to a Friend

Comment from Gareth H. of Mama Loco 9/04/2012   
Hi Akdy, The menu states that the food is ‘Mamas’ twist on Mexican. We don’t say we are Mexican or that we are leaders in Mexican cuisine. However we do sell a lot of food and have a great following of patrons. They come here for fresh and healthy food (and…    More »
12th October 2011
1 star rating
My partner and myself came to have dinner at Mama Loco last night with his 13 year old daughter and her friend only to be turned down. We were informed that Mama Loco could not serve FOOD to minors. We arrived at 6:30pm (a reasonable hour) and were told that Mama Loco was a club not a restaurant and minors were not even allowed to eat here. This seems ridiculous as we have dined there before with our family, once being on a busy Saturday night with my partners 10 year old son. You advertise on your website as a restaurant and I even see above people comment on the meals their children have had. Even if Mama Loco was a “bar/club” it was a Tuesday night at 6:30 and you were basically empty with only one other table being filled. Not exactly “club mode”. Being attached to the mall should make you family friendly. To make things worse, the last time we ate there the food was below average with soggy, half empty tacos but we thought we would give you another try. Way to blow your second chance! We will no longer be bringing our 25 staff to Mama Loco for our Christmas drinks!

Bookmark    Send to a Friend

Comment from Gareth H. of Mama Loco 14/10/2011   
Hi Christine, Thank you for the comments and I apologise for the delay in response. I just wanted to check some details with the team that worked on that evening. I totally understand where you are coming from on this situation. The unfortunate thing is…    More »
10th October 2011
5 star rating
WOW!! First time going to Mama Loco’s last night and it was awesome. We had a table of 14 people who all ordered different things. The waitress was fantastic and explained anything that we wanted to understand and checked with the chef regarding a couple of allergies that some had. The food was healthy and tasty and the jugs of sangria rocked! Not really sure what the apple juice jug was but it was really good also. We are already making plans to come back as a group and I know I am looking forward to it getting warmer and spending an afternoon lazing back in the big deck chairs in the sun with a jug and a really big straw.

Bookmark    Send to a Friend

Comment from Gareth H. of Mama Loco 10/10/2011   
Wooohooo i love this review. Thank you so much Keri-Anne. Please ask for me when you are next in and I will happily shout you a drink. I have posted this review for the team to see….you will make there day! Thanks again for trying Mama Loco and thanks for the…    More »

Vicki

1

23rd September 2011
2 star rating
We’ve eaten at Mama Loco recently and whilst I’m not a regular food review type person, I felt I had to give feedback in this case.

The decor is fantastic (kitch and colourful) and the staff are generally very friendly but unfortunately I found the manageress herself to be quite patronising when we were reviewing our order.

Following the fact that we double checked the order, I was disappointed when the hard tacos we requested came out as soft tacos and having stressed the fact that we didn’t need salsa (because they were for kids and the chili would have been inappropriate) the manager herself (who was taking the order) failed to mention that the mince is heavily laced with chilli too. A young lady behind the bar was super efficient in addressing this problem and had the right order sent to our table pronto.

Not only were our kids meals crammed with chilli beyond the point of distinguishing any other flavours but so were pretty much all the meals.

The staff – great!!
The manageress – ok.
The prices – unfortunately not worth the food.
The food – if you like chilli on a plate, go for it.

Hopefully mama can sort those few things out in which case, we’d be happy to return.

Bookmark    Send to a Friend

Comment from Gareth H. of Mama Loco 23/09/2011   
:( Hi Vicki. This is a real shame. I will address with the team at next weeks meeting. There is no excuse for bad service so I am really sorry. It is something we have never had a comment on before. Yes the food is spicy but we do try make it with a bit of…    More »
19th September 2011
5 star rating
My Girlfriend and I just had lunch there today and it was fantastic. The waitress that was serving us was genuinely friendly and very onto it. The atmosphere of the place as a whole has a very friendly welcoming vibe to it and the food wow. Probably one of the best Burritos I’ve ever had and my girlfriends Steak Fajitas where cooked to perfection and arrived on a sizzling hot plate, another thing was there wasn’t any part of the dish that was bland, from the rice to the tortillas everything was packed with flavour. All in all I’d recommend Mama Loco to anyone looking for excellent Mexican for either Lunch or Dinner.

Bookmark    Send to a Friend

Comment from Gareth H. of Mama Loco 19/09/2011   
Hi Scott, I think you just made me cry a little. That was a really nice review…thank you sooo much! As you can see we take the feedback from these reviews very seriously and try act on any points. Thanks again Scott. This is a very rewarding job when we…    More »
5th September 2011
5 star rating
I LOVE the service here, always so friendly, fun and unobtrusive, even when I’ve dined whilst a big party has also been dining.

I am obsessed with the jalapeño poppers, so delicious.

Really good food, but I could handle slightly more exciting/traditional/spicy fillings for the tortillas, burritos and tacos. They are good, don’t get me wrong, but the entrées and main meals seem to outshine the burritos, etc.

I’ve been three times in the last six weeks and will definitely be back to work my way through the entire menu!

Bookmark    Send to a Friend

Comment from Gareth H. of Mama Loco 5/09/2011   
Hi Jessica, Great to hear you LOVE the service because we LOVE you! Especially now that you have given us 5 stars!!! Thanks a million for the great feedback and review. Try the Loco meat next time you are in. We are looking at doing a spiced NZ Lamb Shank…    More »

Luci

2

24th August 2011
2 star rating
Was a Thursday night i found the decor really great love the colors and the outdoor seating & Mexican paper flowers very cool and the service was also very good. If only you put as much energy in to your food!! ;0(. I have lived in LA many years and have had lots of Mexican. The burrito was more like a wrap with a few small strips of chicken not much flavor i could not find the beans? for $20 i would of expected a nice big tasteful burrito with a side of beans and salsa i was still hungry. The Taco bowl was not fresh must be boxed brought? it was tasteless and hard and was full of shredded lettuce no flavor and a few strips of tasteless chicken on the top and could still not find the beans?. You should make your bowls and chips fresh. The salsa was more like a relish much to sweet. How do you get Mexican wrong? Sorry guys i would of loved to of come back as there is no good Mexican on the North Shore……

Bookmark    Send to a Friend

Comment from Gareth H. of Mama Loco 5/09/2011   
Hi there, I am so sorry to hear of your dissapointing experience. As you can see from other reviews we take these comments very serious and will action any points made that we think need attention. I will private message you my contact details as I will love to…    More »
18th August 2011
4 star rating
Cool new bar/rest close to my home. The prawn popcorn was yummy however found food portions quite small,didn’t like the ‘build your own’ tortillas found them abit tasteless. Loved the decor of the place!!

Bookmark    Send to a Friend

Comment from Gareth H. of Mama Loco 18/08/2011   
Hi Foodie J, Thanks for the review and thanks for the 4 stars! I’m glad you like the decor of the place. We were just nominated for ‘The Best’ NZ Design Awards…fingers crossed. I will discuss with the chef re the tastless tortilla. We pride ourselves…    More »

Jo D.

2

21st July 2011
5 star rating
Fun, reasonably priced, great food. We happened to be there on a Wednesday and delighted to be offered free desserts with each main. Delicious, lightest-ever churros and also an amazing chocolate bombe with a lil bit of chilli. Mains were generous and on the healthy side (no piles of cheese and sour cream on top) – Yum! We will be back and my city-side friends are suitably jealous it’s on the shore. And one of my friends enjoyed an awesome margarhita on the rocks.

Bookmark    Send to a Friend

Comment from Gareth H. of Mama Loco 5/09/2011   
Hi Jo D, Oops i forgot to reply to this review. Thanks for the 5 stars. If I could I would give you 5 stars!!! Glad you liked the Margarita on the rocks…haha. Catch ya soon!

Amy L.

5

18th July 2011
5 star rating
Really loved this place. It looks very cool and stylish and the staff are super nice and helpful. The food is good and the most authentic Ive tried in NZ. Really, Really enjoyed and will be going back

Bookmark    Send to a Friend

Comment from Gareth H. of Mama Loco 5/09/2011   
Hi Amy, Thanks for the great feedback. We really try hard with all areas of Mama Loco. We have made some mistakes but always learn from them. Please say hi when you next pop in so I can join you for a Sangria!

Ken C.

1

16th July 2011
1 star rating
Went to Mama Loco this evening after the movies for a Margharita. What a disappointment. Besides the fact that we paid an arm and a leg for a third of a Martini glass of sickly sweet syryp, it was clear that the staff working there had no idea of how to make a Margharita. Ice is an integral ingredient of a Margharita. Pity there was no ice in ours. A big letdown. You’ll never see us again guys!

Bookmark    Send to a Friend

Comment from Gareth H. of Mama Loco 18/08/2011   
Hi Ken, That is a real shame. We try offer a twist on classics. The flavours are designed to be a we bit different to the normal. Thats what Mama is all about…a wee bit different. A traditionbal Margarita is not frozen and fact it is shaken. If you do pop…    More »
9th July 2011
4 star rating
Had a brilliant time here, the staff know about the wines and recommended a great Pinot Gris and helped with the food selection. Chris our server was brilliant and knew when to come and assist and when to leave us alone. So all up a great experience- the food was impressive and a great experience. Just a shame we live so far from here or it would be our local for sure.

Bookmark    Send to a Friend

Comment from Gareth H. of Mama Loco 18/08/2011   
Well you may have to move your house closer to Mama. Or Maybe we can start doing some deliveries all over Auckland….hmmmmm this could be dangerous when most of the team ride scooters to work. Thanks for the great review.
1 to 15 of 15 (2 Filtered)

Did you eat at this restaurant? Have an opinion to share?

Write a Review

Map of Restaurant

Share: