Loved starting off with the salsa and bean dip! Ordered the Pineapple Jalapeño and it was 'chefs kiss'. Went at 2:00 on a Saturday so it wasn't too busy. Great service read more

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Great outdoor seating area to enjoy a beautiful day out. The beach is across the street so you get a good view. The food is delicious. I got the shrimp taquitos and they were absolutely delicious. My bf got the chicken fajitas and he liked them. He also loved the steak from the fajitas. The price is a bit higher but the foods good. The service is great as well. It's a good place to try. read more

Carmelita's - Shrimp Taquitos - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Laguna Beach, California

Our family came in as a party of 9. I had wanted to pay for 4 of us, at which point, I went to the kitchen window and asked one of the employees to take my card and ensure she didn't take payment from anyone in the specific group that I had desired to cover. This happened in front of another employee. Later in our service, I asked if my request could be met. The worker responded yes, and that she gave the card to my waitress. This is where I decided I'm not likely coming to Carmelita's again. When the bill came, our waitress then informed us that we could not split the bill in the manner I desired. I explained how her coworker had already told me I could do this, to which our waitress presumptuously responded "well she's not a server. So, it's not her fault she didn't know," seemingly shifting the blame on me. Again, another employee saw the exchange I had initially, I asked again to confirm I was good to go, and this news came right at the end. After I accepted there was no changing this, the waitress told me there was a service fee included (20%). Being that her service wasn't bad, but definitely wasn't great by any means, I politely asked if I could leave my own tip. At that point, the waitress abruptly told me I couldn't and that it was a mandatory service charge for parties of 6 or more. I was never properly notified of this in accordance with California's Senate Bill 478 (SB 478), which states there must be transparency in applied service charges, not simply thrown in on the bill at the end of the service. Although I'd rate the food a 7/10, due to how we felt after, I principally found this experience with our waitress reason enough to not desire to come back to Carmelita's, at least any time soon, and leave a one star review. I'd like to think that maybe our waitress was just having a bad day, but all too often I've found that when there's a mandatory service fee, the quality of service also diminishes. read more

This restaurant is ok - I wouldn't say outstanding by any means. Pros are that we've never had a wait and have eaten here a few times. It's located right off Main Beach in Laguna which is super convenient. The servers are not the friendliest but food comes out pretty quick. Some dishes are good, some not so great. It is a decent meal with affordable options but no real WOW factor. read more

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Imaginative menu, fresh ingredients, outstanding service and beautiful presentation. Returned after an unforgettable meal years ago and it delivered again. Highly recommended. read more

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Rounded up from a 3.5. We were seated right away for our large party out in the patio, which was spacious. A few in our party ordered the special family meal, which came with four proteins, a chorizo dip, and tortillas. Presentation of that was great. The rest in our party had the seafood enchiladas, which were good, but was hoping they'd be on the Javier's level. The classic margarita made me want to drink more (I didn't though), and bear in mind that this place doesn't have lemonade...nor does it have coffee in the evening, which is only served during brunch. Service was very friendly. However, the downer was the restroom. At the least the ladies one didn't have good upkeep. Paper towels and toilet paper were strewn about. Not sure how often someone goes in to make sure it's clean. read more

Enjoyed lunch yesterday with my daughter here. It was such a nice day, we decided to sit out on the patio. I had the sautéed spinach enchiladas and my daughter had cheese enchiladas, both with a tomatillo green sauce which was delicious! Food was pretty good but not quite as hot and melty as it should have been. That's the reason for my 4 star review. Overall, nice place and would come back for sure. read more

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Amazing service Mario was very helpful and respectful! Will definitely be back! I highly recommend the carne asada tacos and the fresh guacamole. read more

RODI is the GOAT!!! Best Mexican food ever -- steak fajitas were to die for! The orange margarita was amazing and rumor has it the short rib was fabulous too. read more

Carmelita's - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Laguna Beach, California

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Prices are the same as Las Brisas with an ocean view. This was my favorite Mexican place but prices are too expensive. House margarita $17

Food always great! Server was excellent but somehow the bartender last Saturday night(9/27) was a bit off. We ordered drinks and she was so busy chatting she never made nor served them. We waited 15 minutes then wound up ordering f them from our waiter. This wasn't happened to us before. Still, the food is awesome and it won't stop us from returning. We have been regulars at the laguna beach location since it opened. read more

My wife and I come here every time we come to Newport Beach and if this was our first time, we would never come back. We had reservations for 6:15 and arrived at 6:00. Thye sat us immediately, as the restaurant wasn't crowded at all, probably due to the stormy weather. When our waiter came over, he asked immediately if we were ready to order, having only been there for about 2 mins - just enough time for chips to be brought to our table. The waiter returned to the table about a minute or so later and asked we were now ready. We ordered our food, he never asked if we wanted any drinks or appetizers. I finally had to ask another staff member to get our waiter so I could order a drink. Just before bringing our food, two staff members brought in a table from the patio and placed it next to our small two-seat table. They put chairs around the table leaving our side open. Food came, which for the first time ever, was just alright, nothing spectacular. We didn't see our waiter again at our table till he came over to take our plates and at the same time give us our check. Didn't ask about dessert or if we needed anything else. My wife and I felt very rushed with the service and thought our waiters attitude and service was terrible. Keep in mind the restaurant was still not crowed with one couple at a table next to us which could have sat at least five people, a foursome at another table and two other couples sitting in booths. Plenty of empty tables and to be honest our waiter seemed more interested in talking with fellow staff members than to servicing his tables. We have already decided that we will not be back. Sad that one waiter and one experience with very bad service can ruin it for a restaurant. read more

Good food - there are share plates and large plates Accommodating service - all staff were extremely friendly and wanted to accommodate as much as possible Nice indoor and outdoor seating - not all outdoor seating is shaded! Pro tip: we came with a young kiddo and there were no high chairs available, just FYI :) read more

Carmelita's - Seared ahi salad - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Laguna Beach, California

Amazing drinks and food. Service great. Very cute inside with awesome music. 10/10 on the specialty Margs read more

Customer service slow on serving meals. Took a while. Wet burrito was good as well as dips for chips. Also ribs had a good taste to it Location right near ocean. Good views read more

Absolutely floored by the customer service here tonight. We came in for a birthday after a long day of hiking and biking and had a dog with us. Their patio is very dog friendly with two other tables with dogs as well. Tatum and Pedro went above and beyond. Had a short negative encounter with a a runner but chalking it up to her halving a bad day. Both of the parties in our group are from Laguna and live in Laguna and have been long time fans of Carmelita's. I usually come for the bean dip (yes, I crave it and it's a thing) because it's bar none and get enchiladas but went for the fajitas this time! The steak and chicken was so incredible and tender. I can't think of a time I've ever had fajitas so tender and well done and we do Javier's and South of Nicks a lot! They also have a killer skinny Margarita! Pro tip, get Tajin on the rim instead of salt! read more

Such a great spot and our server Rodi was so kind and helpful! Highly recommend! The food was delicious

The location here can't be beat! Service was friendly and fast. Their chips and salsa is addictive! I enjoyed their crispy tacos immensely, the chicken as well as the beef. Prices and portions are fair, considering the area and you can taste the caring quality they put into each dish. Great option for the area! read more

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Great food, great service, and great location! Would definitely come back next time I'm in the area.

carmelitasrestaurants does not disappoint. Stellar service.... Great spicy habanero mango margaritas, addictive guac and chips. The chicken tostada salad was fresh and delish with the famous refried black beans. The fish tacos were fresh and spicy. The star of the night was the carnitas- some of the best I've had! Crispy, juicy and flavorful. A popular place for a reason. read more

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I cannot believe it took me so long to finally try this restaurant It had one of the best Mexican dishes, i've tried in a while. I ordered the cheese enchilada with the Carne Asada on top. It was absolutely delicious. Highly recommend. read more

Carmelita's - Tampiquena Champagne Salad Grilled Steak Fajitas (Serves Up To 3) - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Laguna Beach, California

The food was so good. Great Mexican flavors but in ways we wouldn't normally have them. The bean dip and salsa were great, I should've bought some to take home. Our waitress was very nice and quick. We sat outside while the weather was nice, but the inside looked great too. Will come back for the potato taquitos. read more

Carmelita's - Patio and sign - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Laguna Beach, California

We came here on a Saturday morning after a long hike (hey we worked off the calories!!) so we were pretty hungry. We ordered a breakfast burrito to share and thought we'd order a side of guacamole and a "small plate" beef flauta as we saw online it was highly recommended. First of all, the reviews don't lie! This place is awesome! The flautas were crispy, yet not cut your mouth crunchy, we're soft inside and had a bunch of meat and cheese. The meat was flavorful and the sides were excellent. Only gripe- the plate was HUGE! So beware. It says small plate but it was nowhere near small. Only thing upsetting about that is that we could barely finish them! Next is the burrito. I didn't realize it has potatoes in it and I usually don't like potatoes in my burrito but these were sooo good! They were small pieces and had a nice texture to them and added to the burrito very well. The meat was well cooked (we subbed out the bacon and sausage for carne asada) and the tortilla was perfectly soft yet toasted and crispy. The guacamole was another level. It was a huge portion- good for about 4 people at least and it was very well balanced and was a great addition to our food. I noticed they were extremely short staffed but the people who were there really did their best and j could tell they were trying to still upkeep the restaurant experience while running around. I would definitely come back and try some of those margaritas next time! read more

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We ordered the paradilla which is an off menu order. I would recommend it. It's a lot of food and delicious. We also had a couple of pineapple jalapeno drinks which were also wonderful! We will be back soon! read more

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Great lunch, very good margaritas and drink selections. Friendly service and attentive server. With chips and salsa brought out fast and warm and super tasty . Nice music to chill and socialize with. We'll definitely be back read more

Carmelita's - Awesome chicken enchiladas - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Laguna Beach, California

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I've been here a few times and the food has always been excellent. This time I can on a Tuesday around 11:30 and there were spots open on the patio with a view of the ocean. Our food was delish as always and the service was fantastic. read more

Carmelita's - The view from the patio. - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Laguna Beach, California

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Our waitress was super helpful. I'm vegetarian, and she listed off all of the options and even asked the kitchen to make us an off-menu bean and cheese quesadilla. We got chips and guacamole which came with a nice smoky sauce and mexican city corn which was so warm and buttery. I got a jalapeño mango margarita which was yummy and very strong. We ate really early, so it wasn't busy at all and the food came quickly. read more

Carmelita's - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Laguna Beach, California

Headed in to Carmelita's with the family to enjoy a pre-mother's day dinner.There was 11 of us and the restaurant was pretty busy, but with plenty of staff to accommodate which is why 4stars instead of 5 because our server was great and friendly, but after our drink orders when it was time for our food everything unfortunately came out separately from others...meaning two came almost 10 min before 2-3 of the others, then the rest came so we felt bad eating before their food arrived, but our family wanted us to go ahead and eat so our's wasn't cold. The food was really good and actually a lot better than a few years ago when we first tried it. The restaurant was clean and we really loved the decor especially the beautiful dinner & salad plates! It was kinda warm inside, but when the wind and ocean breeze kicked in it was great. read more

We had dinner here recently and the restaurant is small-ish inside. We started with Queso Fundido and Mexican corn and it turns out that those were the highlights of the meal. Both were yummy and worthy of ordering again. Their chips and salsa were also pretty good. For entrees we had Carnitas and Short rib enchiladas - I'd say those were ok. read more

Carmelita's - Queso Fundido - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Laguna Beach, California

Food was great, tacos are worth going all the way here for. Service was fast and polite. The restaurant was very warm perfect for a nice night out. read more

This food was talked about for the entirety of our trip! So if you're up in the air look no further this food was immaculate. Loved the chips and salsa that were complimentary and the margaritas maybe small and expensive but a good one! I got the original one but definitely would have wanted to try the other sweeter flavor they offer. The corn was grilled and my gosh worth it! By the time food came around we were so glad and yes already splurging a ton for just lunch but this place is worth it . Lunch plates or carnitas and steak was shareable but so glad we each got to try each other's. read more

Carmelita's - Menu - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Laguna Beach, California

Eating at Carmelits's is an incredibly tasty experience. We have been coming here for about ten years. The location is perfect, it's next to the beach and yet... Carmelita's avoids being a beach area tourist trap. The food is fabulous and reasonably priced too. At this point, you really don't need to read any further, but... On our most recent visit, we were window shopping in the downtown area. We had started up in Fashion Island, stopping along PCH for some surf and beach pictures. As it started to get closer to dinner time, we made reservations for five, three adults and our two pups. Yes, fur babies are welcome. One of Carmelita's short comings however, is there are no frozen margaritas or sangria, hmmm. No matter, there's always Mexican Coke. LOL. We started out with their incredibly tasty Roasted Queso Fundido for $14.00. Besides the Oaxaca cheese, it has some crunchy bacon. Enough said. For our entrées, we each went in different directions. We ordered the Steak Quesadilla ($18.00), Chicken Chimichanga ($19.00) and the Short Rib Enchiladas and Chicken Taco ($17.00), see photos. These weren't your run of the mill Tex-Mex items either. There were some careful thought and delicious considerations given to these entrées. All were delicious and our pups, who had their own chairs btw, would agree. Our tab ran us $86 in change, including taxes but before gratuities. Our server Idalia was great. Four and a Half Stars. Enjoy! read more

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Food - A+ Staff - A+ Drinks - B Came on a Monday night and was sat right away. I was way too excited to order the Seafood Enchiladas and absolutely was not disappointed. Hubster ordered the famous carnitas....I'm still convinced he licked the plate. FAMOUS CARNITAS $22 - Slow braised pork, caramelized & crispy.  Grilled green onions, pico de gallo accompanied with Fresh Tortillas SEAFOOD ENCHILADAS $23 - Shrimp & Crap - Wine roasted - Avocado The first round of margaritas tasted like straight tequila.  I'm never usually one to complain about being gifted with additional booze in my bev, but this one was straight. My hubster exchanged his marg for a mezcal sour or something i forgot and he loved it, so perhaps this was a one off? Wouldn't even hesitate for a second, to go back and sip and stuff again!!! read more

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Excellent food and service. The chips, salsa, and bean dip (complimentary) at the beginning of the meal are always enjoyed by my family. The seafood enchiladas are especially delicious. Seating options indoor and outside. read more

Well deserved 5 star review. Granted we're from New York and visited in January and we're able to sit outside on a bright sunny day and enjoy brunch, so this review maybe a little biased;) servers were attentive and nice, food came in as ordered and was very tasty. read more

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One of the best restaurants in Laguna Beach! My fiancé came here for a day trip and we absolutely loved it! The amazing reviews caught our eye but the food and amazing service fed our souls! We look forward to coming here more often. It was amazing and we can't wait to go back! read more

Carmelita's - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Laguna Beach, California

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Great food and an amazing scenery right next to the beach. Dillon was our waiter and he did a great job. Don't forget to try the guac and Coffee read more

The short rib enchiladas are soooo goood! Service was great. Definitely would go back.

Service here was amazing. We were happily welcomed and got a table almost right away. The ambiance of the restaurant perfectly captured the view of the sea ahead. It was busy when we went so the food took a while to come, but it was well worth the wait. The appetisers, main courses, and desserts were all great. I can't wait to return and will definitely be recommending this gem to friends. read more

Carmelita's - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Laguna Beach, California

The service was impeccable and the food was fantastic! We had dinner at another establishment that the food was good and 4 times the price, but had we found Carmelitas, we would have eaten here every night. The food was absolutely amazing. The Chef visited our table and we expressed our appreciation of the deliciousness of our meals. We never had to ask for more water, chips, salsa. The staff was very aware of their tables. I do wish more restaurants paid the attention to their customers needs as this staff was on their game. There was not one bad meal in the bunch. We will definitely be back. Keep doing the awesome job on the menu and the staff. read more

Carmelita's - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Laguna Beach, California

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