Came here for lunch to enjoy some Mexican food. Can be difficult to find as it sits on the hill in fair Oaks and is not easily spotted from Sunrise Boulevard Parking is a little tough only a couple places in front of the restaurant, but there is plenty of street parking. As you enter the restaurant, it has the Mexican feel with dark wood accents tile floor, Mexican paintings, the staff had nice looking black uniforms with red ties looking very professional. We ate outside on the patio, which is beautiful and was much quieter. They started us off with chips, salsa, and a bean dip, which is fabulous. It was so good that was almost lunch itself. I ordered a Carnitas burrito. The flavor was good. I will say it had a different flavor than other Carnitas that I've had at different Mexican restaurants. I also had it wet so it was smothered with enchilada sauce. The enchilada sauce was also different as it was chunky. All very good. The burrito is quite large. I was able to take it home and got two more meals out of it. Brunch is still going on while we were there so my wife ended up getting the French toast which came with three huge slices and looked and taste delicious as well. Pricing was fair for the two of us two meals no cocktails was about $50. I'd be back again. read more

Carmelita's Mexican Restaurant - The front - Mexican Near Me - Fair Oaks, California

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Food is good! And so many options Got Carmelita's margarita y huevos rancheros. Will come back again to try more brunch as I've only had lunch previous times Great service as well read more

Carmelita's Mexican Restaurant - Carmelita's classic margarita blended - Mexican Near Me - Fair Oaks, California

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Party of 4 came for lunch on Memorial Day and had no wait. We ordered the sweet corn cakes and shrimp taquitos to share. The corn cakes were a nice crumbly texture and the shrimp in the taquitos was juicy. I got the steak salad as an entree and it was massive! I enjoyed the abundance of steak pieces. The shrimp in the fajitas were plump. I tried their specialty mezcalita and it was quite strong. Would definitely come back to try their other dishes since portions are so sizable and good for sharing. read more

Carmelita's Mexican Restaurant - Shrimp fajitas - Mexican Near Me - Fair Oaks, California

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Great Mexican food! Very well appointed and decorated restaurant! You may even see a live chicken at the front door! Excellent Queso Fundido with Chorizo! Great quality food with great service! Clean and pleasant and beautiful restaurant. read more

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Food - ok Ambiance -b+ SERVICE- Poor We had a party for six for lunch(not busy at all on a WEDNESDAY). Our waiter, took forever to tell us they don't have non alcoholic beer. My friend decided to order a lite beer instead. And it took forever to get to us as well. It did not come until our entire order was served. That's another thing- The waiter forgot to come back to take our order! So, unfortunately, he does not get a high rating for us. Our friends who are from out of town will not go back or recommend this place. We certainly wont be coming back. Food was only ok. read more

We came in on a Sunday (Labor Day weekend) to celebrate my daughter's birthday. We didn't know they take reservations, (I went to their website and it says no reservations or call ahead)!!! I screenshotted this and showed them. So they wanted to know if we would sit outside-but it was 101° and that wasn't going to happen with my parents in their 80's. We were told it would be a 30-45 minute wait, but it was like 15-20. After that everything was okay, the food was good and the service was okay because it was so busy. It was loud in there, it was hard to talk to people down the table-only next to us or directly across. She always wants to go here for her birthday since she has every year since she was about 5. If it was me, meh, take it or leave it. read more

Carmelita's Mexican Restaurant - It clearly says "No Reservations", so either you DO or you DON'T - Mexican Near Me - Fair Oaks, California

That restaurant on the hill in Fair Oaks as you drive on Sunrise! This was me convincing my husband to go. Nothing like seeing a restaurant for years as you drive on a street but you never go. Alas, I finally did it! Queso, margs, chips, and a chili relleno. The queso fondido gave definitely the cheese stretch. It was okay but when cooled down it was a battle to eat. Marg on point and so was the chili relleno. It can get busy and parking is limited. I'd go back and my husband said he would too! Side note: rice was on point! read more

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Our steak dishes are super salty and service was unacceptable and lack thereof. Don't get me wrong but I fully support local business but don't get why or how this place has such high ratings. The steak dishes are not edible. The so called pickled carrots doesn't have that vinegar tang pickled veggies usually does and again super salted. As for service, we have requested multiple times for utensils yet nothing so we had to go get them ourselves. Beyond disappointed. Spend your hard earned money elsewhere. Have a gut feeling there is a possibility management might have changed since friends have raved about this place in the past. Imo, skip this establishment. read more

Solid Mexican spot with a nice ambiance. Good salsa and bean dip to start. No frills Mexican food, good combo platters. Came during the holidays and it was busy but service was very nice. read more

Carmelita's Mexican Restaurant - One of the dining areas - Mexican Near Me - Fair Oaks, California

The ambiance was beautiful but the food--not so much. My husband ordered a shredded beef quesadilla but it arrived with just the cheese. We sent it back and they added the beef, but it tasted strange-kind of greasy and weird spices. I had a chicken enchilada. It also tasted "off." We decided to return to Lorenzo's in Roseville from now on. read more

I would never have found this gem if the couple we were with hadn't suggested it. It turned out to be really good. The portions are huge and the steak on my fajita platter was simply melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Now, we will bring others! read more

Carmelita's Mexican Restaurant - Double Date Night! - Mexican Near Me - Fair Oaks, California

No wait on a Saturday! Super friendly! Quick with waters, chips and delicious bean dip and salsa! Good food and refreshing margaritas!

Great traditional Mexican food. Great indoor classic booth, and outdoor seating. Staff are personable. Always enjoy the carnitas, although they are a little dry this time. The green chili is amazing and moist. The steak is tender. It can be busy on weekends and weekday; the individual staff can be hit, miss, or amazing read more

Carmelita's Mexican Restaurant - Devoured the table snacks. - Mexican Near Me - Fair Oaks, California

Enjoyed the food! Love their lil' outdoor patio. Love their chicken theme. My carnitas were very good. Chips n salsa were standard fare. Rice & beans also okay. My carnitas plate came out sizzlin'! Service was good. Parking can be sus/ iffy but you should be okay. Wife and I had our wedding reception here 5 years ago so Carmelita's will always have a special place in our corazons! read more

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Here is the positive: the place is beautiful! Full of colorful Mexican art and decor. The service is extremely sloooowwwww. Every time I am here, it is this way, whether they are busy or not. The food is ok not great. Best dish: mole enchiladas There are definitely better Mexican restaurants read more

Carmelita's Mexican Restaurant - Huevos Rancheros - Mexican Near Me - Fair Oaks, California

We stopped there on the way home from an appointment and really enjoyed everything from ease of parking, being greeted and seated quickly to the ambiance and food.. I loved it so much we are having my Birthday dinner there next week.. I just made my reservation at the table we dined at and cannot wait to try the Tres Leches Pistachio again! read more

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Came in tonight to have date night with my husband I got the shrimp ceviche it was god but it need some more salt but our service was good and our food was good, my husband got the pulled beef enchiladas with rice and beans and I got a blended classic margarita with no salt and he got a large beer. We also sat on the patio area in one of the high tables. And I love how the restaurant was also all decorated for the day of the dead. We will continue to come back here the food is so good an the service the last few times has been great read more

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The food was well seasoned and delicious, with very generous portions. Plus you start with chips and salsa and bean dip. The service was fast and friendly. The inside is very cute with decorations and plenty of tables. There's also an outdoor dog-friendly patio read more

Carmelita's Mexican Restaurant - Fajita burrito and chicken Quesadilla - Mexican Near Me - Fair Oaks, California

We stopped into Carmelita's Mexican Restaurant one evening and were told there would be about a 30-minute wait for indoor seating, but they did have spots available on the patio. Even though it was 102 degrees outside, the patio was comfortable enough to sit and enjoy the meal. Our waitress was very friendly and upfront, letting us know they were switching systems and food was taking a little longer than usual. She came by a few times to apologize for the delay, which we really appreciated. The menu isn't very large and was missing a few of my personal favorites, but there were still some solid options. We ordered nachos, the fajita burrito, and a combination plate with a taco, enchilada, and chile relleno. Everything was hot, fresh, and full of flavor. The fajita burrito stood out -- great portion size and absolutely delicious. Overall, the service and food made up for the longer wait. A good spot if you're looking for quality Mexican food. read more

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Wonderful ambiance. The restaurant is located in a great, elevated spot and filled with beautiful decor inside and out. Rosa was our server and was so friendly and efficient. She made us feel like family. The food was delicious and was a nice, large portion. I ended up taking some home for tomorrow. I, also, got a slice of tres leches cake. The slice was giant and so fresh and delicious. I saved half of that to take home, too. Now, I can enjoy another Carmelita's meal tomorrow. My best friend got flan for dessert and said it was on point. A+ all the way!! read more

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I have come here at least 15 years for the best quesadillas around, there were big chicken bites good amount of cheese, a full meal quesadilla... NOW it looks like a Taco Bell quesadilla.. The price raised and the amount decreased, this is happening too often these days. Can't spend $20 for a mini quesadilla, please do better read more

Carmelita's Mexican Restaurant - Chicken quesadilla w/ jalapeños - Mexican Near Me - Fair Oaks, California

My family and I had a wonderful experience at Carmelita's! Sunday lunch on the patio was amazing. Rosa took good care of our party of seven. We look forward to coming back sometime soon! read more

Amazing chips and salsa. We ordered the steak fajitas - nothing amazing - and was definitely surprised to see such little steak at that price point with in ordinate amount of onions and bell peppers. I love supporting locals but definitely wouldn't order fajitas in the future. Nice staff with old school vibe read more

In the mood for a nice sit-down restaurant? Carmelita's has a few things in the ambiance category, view, music and a pleasant environment. Parking was a breeze with a large parking lot next door. Lunch specials were really delish and well portioned. Price point was on point too. Service was done with a smile and definitely want to try some of their other food offerings. Thanks! read more

WHY? Why waste your time and money at a watered-down, overly commercialized Mexican restaurant when the Sacramento area has so many more, BETTER options? The greeter was lost, despite having reservations she struggled to seat our party and set us up with waters and chips. Waitresses repeatedly attempted to rush us and failed to accommodate simple requests. The food was sub-standard. Taco salad consisted of pre-cooked chicken fajitas tossed in a stale tortilla shell with some lettuce. Shrimp "ceviche" was two conspicuously dry scoops of mostly onion and cucumber chopped together with a few flecks of rubbery shrimp- meh. We were charged for EVERYTHING- more chips, bean dip, sour cream, a couple jalapeño rings. During our meal, a singer came out with a little kid going table to table trying to guilt people into giving tips. The singer just added noise to the cacophony. Then the "photographer" showed up haranguing us for $25 dollar pics (SPECIAL DEAL, 2 for $50). It was more like the state fair than a relaxing dining experience. I realize this place has been an F.O. fixture for decades. Truth is, just because it's old, doesn't make it good. I'll not be back to Carmelita's because their history has been erased by the present. read more

We arrived at 5:30 andWaited 30 min for a table. Didn't realize they now accept reservations. Once seated, we received chips and salsa right away. Asked for water but did not receive so went to the bar and asked again. 20 min before we saw our waitress and another hour before we received our food. Chick taco dry, avocado taco inedible, no grilled onions on street tacos. Chimichanga and birra quesadilla with beans and rice good. Were told they were short staffed bc they sent staff home early due to weather? Shouldn't you wait to see if you have a dinner rush first? Used to be one of my family's go to restaurant read more

So sad because this is one of our favorite spots, but the service tonight was really disappointing. We arrived and waited 30 minutes for our table, and the host was very kind, so we were happy to be seated. We got chips quickly from another staff member, but then waited about 45 minutes before our server, Elizabeth, came to introduce herself and take drink orders, which then took another 15 minutes. She did apologize and mentioned that management had sent people home early, which we understand, but it would have gone a long way to have even a quick acknowledgment while we were waiting. She walked past us so many times we didn't even know who our server was for the first 45 minutes. We saw her pass by our table multiple times while we were trying to get assistance, and a simple check-in would have made a big difference. The food was great, but unfortunately the service experience took away from the night for our whole family. read more

January 30, 2025 - Fair Oaks, CA Birthday Celebration for my son, and Carmelita's was his suggestion. It is located about halfway between his home and our home, so it seemed like a fine idea. They do not take reservations, so it is first come, first served. But on this Thursday night, we were able to get a table immediately. It was 6:30 pm, and there were a few tables available. We were seated at a table that, really, is located in the walkway between the entrance/hostess stand and the bar/restaurant area. So immediately, as we are taking off our coats and trying to get seated, we get an irritated look from a server with drinks on a tray as she tried to make her way past us to another table. Then, as my husband takes off his jacket, he bumps another server carrying margaritas, which then spilled a bit on the floor and the server. One of the lime wedges landed on the floor, and there it stayed throughout dinner. That pretty much set the tone for the evening. It took a while, but the a server came and took our drink order. My husband ordered a margarita. Then we ordered an appetizer, the "Sweet Corn Tamale Cakes". The server wasn't sure how many servings were included, so we asked him just to make sure there was one for each of us (4). It would have been nice if the menu stated how many tamale cakes in the appetizer. The server came back a while later and said they had to add $4.00 to the price, which was fine with us. And then we waited, and waited and waited. The server came back again later, and stated he would check on our appetizer; and left quickly before we could ask him to take our dinner orders. And then we waited, and waited, and waited some more. Another server eventually walked by, and saw that we still had our menus, and asked if we wanted to order. Well, that would be great, yes, please! And we still hadn't received our appetizer. During this time, another group had been seated, and ordered, and before we were given an opportunity to order, they received their meals. What is the deal??? We speculated that there must be an issue with the appetizer. No word from the server though, that anything was amiss. Finally!, we received our appetizer. I have to say that the sweet corn tamale cakes were really good. When our food FINALLY arrived, it was not hot. The beans and rice were lukewarm. At that point, we just ate what we were served...we had been there over an hour and a half, had filled up on chips, and just wanted to leave. By the way, I ordered the chicken Mole' enchiladas, which I have had once before here. I didn't think they were very good when I had tried them before, but after reading the reviews, I decided to give them another try. I LOVE a good Mole' sauce, but, again, I was disappointed. I am not a fan Carmelita's Mole' sauce. Besides the bland, slightly grainy sauce, the chicken in the enchilada was dry and a bit tough, and again, the enchiladas were lukewarm. I know this restaurant seems to get fairly good reviews, but I never seem to have a good experience here. Each time I have been here, there is always a problem with the food, with the service, or with both. read more

I recently discovered this wonderful restaurant. By far the best Mexican Restaurant, I have been to since I moved to this area. The food was delicious, the margaritas were the best I ever had, the patio was so comfortable and the service was outstanding. I highly recommend this place. read more

I'm so disappointed beautiful restaurant, service was extremely slow. They only gave us two water glasses at first we had to ask multiple times for two more water glasses. Had the chile relleno and it was so disappointing and the red rice was not that great. We were ignored majority of the time with everyone there but the host. This was our second time there and will be our last. read more

Carmelita's is a good place to eat Mexican food. I'd give it a solid 4 stars. Service is good also read more

I had a great experience at Carmelita's. Not only were the surrounding area and the building itself absolutely beautiful, the service, environment, and the meals were all amazing. The chips and salsa were for sure some of the best I've had in a while. I'm from Los Angeles, so I've tried a lot of Mexican cuisine in my time. With that being said, I'd definitely recommend Carmelita's to anyone who loves the comfort of home cooked Mexican dishes. I'm a vegetarian, so I opted for the cheese enchiladas, which were delectable. The spinach enchiladas w/ green salsa were also incredible, as was the house salad. As far as service goes, the servers were very kind, patient, and attentive! Cesar was our server and he was great. He checked in on us, got us our boxes/check in a timely manner, refilled our drinks, and was overall just very pleasant to have as a server. 5/5 experience, we had a great dinner! read more

Decor is nice but what has happened to the food? Specifically the mole enchiladas. Awful tangy sauce that didn't taste like mole!

This restaurant is decorated very nice and we were greeted right away. We decided to sit in the bar which is setup a little odd. The tables were right up against the barstools at the bar top. We ordered a Blackberry and Cadillac Margarita which were both excellent!! We shared the Steak Tampiqueno which was really good but pricey. I didn't think it was $28 worth of food. The service started off great but we did have a couple misses on our order preferences and frequency at which our table was checked on. In the end, we had a good experience and would come back. read more

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I really love this place. The interior, the staff, the food, everything is great! I go there regularly once a month! read more

Carmelita's Mexican Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Fair Oaks, California

My hubby and I have lived in the area for 20+ years and love Mexican food, and had never been to Carmelita's in Fair Oaks until last night when we celebrated our anniversary! Highlights: Bomb Fajitas!!! Delicious homemade tortillas and buttery Jack cheese. Same-day reservations! Nice outdoor patio! We had fajitas-for-two and they were bomb! Seems like a specialty of theirs since they have many fajita options for meats/portions available. We enjoyed perfectly grilled & seasoned/marinated chicken and the BEST, tender, juicy fajita steak I've ever had; no dry shoe leather like some places!! Already can't wait to go back. Know before you go: It's on a hilly street right in the middle of a suburban neighborhood, behind/above the Players karaoke at the Fair Oaks Blvd/Sunrise intersection bar. Small-ish parking lot and many people parked on the street. I'd imagine weekends get packed. We got occasional wafts of cleaning spray fragrance when the restaurant door opened to the patio, but not overwhelming at all as others shared. I also love that they're keeping a clean kitchen! read more

We loved this place but to start charging for chips is crazy. Any other Mexican restaurant in town it is unlimited & just as good. This place was already expensive & this was the cherry on top to stop coming here. Go to El Tapatio up the street instead read more

Not being from the area, you rely on Yelp reviews when finding a new place to dine. We recently chose Carmelita's to celebrate our 24 Year Wedding Anniversary. We loved it! I had the steak salad and my husband had the shrimp fajitas! They both were amazing! Our service was excellent!!! Everything came in a timely fashion. Our waitress was so friendly! We will definitely go back! read more

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I grew up in Carmichael, and some of my best food memories as a kid came from dining at Carmelita's--it was always a favorite, and the food never disappointed. That love has absolutely carried into adulthood. Now living in Fair Oaks with Carmelita's practically in my backyard, I'm happy to say the quality is just as great as it's always been. The atmosphere inside is warm and inviting, the staff are consistently friendly, and the food is outstanding. The Roseville location is just as solid, and I've never had a bad meal at either one. Carmelita's continues to be a go-to spot I can count on! read more

DO NOT OREDER Queso dip !!!!! Cost almost 16 dollars and it isn't even a dip, how can a Mexican restaurant screw this up so bad. As soon as it gets to your table it has cooled to a almost solid piece of cheese with very little taste. In order to eat it you need a fork and knife, not good. Other than that staff was very helpful and friendly food was fine. read more