This place used to be good. Now the food is dry or sent out wrong. The lady who has served us the last few times has gotten our order wrong multiple times throughout each visit. Hope I'm wrong, will change review Updated July 2020: good has gotten better but love their outside patio during the lockdown. That and they require masks. Awesome job at keeping everyone (including staff) safe. read more

So I really do not like doing this but after going to Carnitas Express for over 20 years and in this valley for over 30. I felt compelled to at least warn families to not go there on Friday & Saturday night for you will see on the TV's the most raunchy, spanish MTV that even I was embarrassed to watch with my grown up family. They used to just have sports and news going but maybe they are trying to cater to a different crowd? Nevertheless, we are no prudes but this crowd has left the building and will probably never go back. I also witness many families with kids come in and just leave! What a shame and I hope the owners take this to heart. JT read more

Great local small business. Good food, ok service, great prices! Daily specials. Wish they had happy hour!

My wife ate there on 10/02. I get a fraudulent charge on my wife's card at this establishment, for a different charge, on the same day. Called, they put us on hold, and then hung up on us. Called back, and they said they are too busy to deal with us. This problem is still not resolved. I would NOT use your bank/credit card here. They seem shady. The customer service here is trash. The girl on the phone was very defensive and rude as hell. read more

Been here a few times and was hoping that the experience would be better each time, seriously a waste of time. SERVICE SUCKS! Don't waste your money. No one is ever at the front counter. We signed in and sat at the booth to wait. A couple walks in and gets seated before us. WTF?! We were never acknowledge or asked if we've been helped. Don't waste your time and money at this place. Owner seriously needs to re-train their staff. Poor business. read more

Service was horrible. Waitress was rude and had a bad attitude. She should maybe take a break and take a deep breath or go home for the day. Asked for lemon for our water when we ordered it, it was brought out without lemon, no problem, we asked again as a reminder, she forgot again. When we reminded her again, that's when the attitude came out, and after that she became very rude and the service sucked. Food was ok. Lacking flavor, but they do give you a lot of food for the price, I do give them credit for that. We'll try another location. read more

Not what they used to be Food good C/s horrid. Ordered tacos. Hello it's taco Tuesday. Guess she didn't like the small fact it was a 10 dinner what her bad attitude missed was we wanted drink and when we get good service I don't tip based on amount esp when ordering tacos. We were out of there in under 20 minutes and never checked on even when she sat bill down on table Guess she forgot many people still tip based on service No service no tip Sad as it had been a bad day Saw her treat others same way Train your people read more

Me and my family love this place, have been coming for years... HOWEVER, today I was glad my kids were not with me. There were 2 new waitresses that I have never seen before and they kept getting lost in gossiping with each other at the bar. They were cursing throughout their conversation and talking about people they know that were pill addicts.... Really hope this isn't going to be the normal atmosphere. If my kids were with me I would have said something to a manager... I honestly just wanted to leave as soon as I could.... read more

We love Carnitas Express! The food is always good, service is good too, and great margaritas! We really appreciated the patio being open when there weren't many restaurants open at times over the past few years. read more

Thank you to the sweet younger gal that offered to bring ice cream for my nephew's 2nd birthday! It was a sweet gesture and made our day :) Sunshine was very kind too! read more

Ordered a wet burrito and camarones a la diabla a coke and an orange juice with tip almost $60.00. It is not cheap and I definitely felt jipped. Service was not the best and the food was just okay a little bland. Probably wont go back. read more

Why is no manager working on the busiest day of the year???? I phoned in my order knowing they would be pack for the holiday. They said it would take about an hour because it was large. Get to restaurant and can see my order behind the counter. Wait 10 min for someone to help. Pay and leave. Even left a tip for the person who packs the food. Go to car to check the order. Missing two burritos and a combo order. Go back inside. They come out with the burritos after checking the kitchen but I have to stand there and wait for the combo order. After ten minutes I ask for the manager because I want a refund. All my food is cold. It was made at least 30 minutes ago. I am told there is no manager. I get home with all my cold food that I spent $120 for and of course I have and Avocado cheeseburger with no avocado. Two Cali burritos with guac, which I order on the side. Making them inedible. No side of beans and rice that I paid for. Chips with no salsa and Yummy soggy tacos. THERE WAS NO MANAGER. This is the last time I will be eating here. I miss Don Jose's read more

We stopped by last Saturday evening and decided on something different and tried the hamburger with french fries. The burger was very good and the fries were some of the best I've had at any restaurant. We would definitely order it again. Our server, Maria, was very personable and did a great job taking care of us! read more

We love Carnitas Express, we eat there at least once a week. The food is always good and we love to support local. The best part of this location is the service, Maria and Sunshine always treat us like family. read more

A solid good old timey Mexican restaurant. Chicken enchiladas and chili rellanos are great. Also their house margaritas and tap beers are served in frosty cold glasses, yum. Maria is the best server there, we ask for her! read more

Very authentic, Nice people, good service. First place we tried the menudo here in menifee and it was good. We now go for our daily cocktail hour. read more

First I will say that I've been eating at this restaurant for over 20 years, at the Menifee location. The food has always been delicious, making this one of my favorite Mexican restaurants. Yesterday my wife and daughter in law had breakfast at this location on Madison in Murrieta. They asked to share a breakfast burrito, eggs, beans cheese NO MEAT. THEY WERE CHARGED EXTRA FOR BEANS, RICE AND CHEESE!!! So the $7.95 breakfast burrito WITHOUT MEAT cost $4.50 extra???? They paid over $12 for a basic burrito! WHAT A RIP OFF !! WILL NEVER SET FOOT IN THIS RIP OFF CHAIN OF STORES AGAIN!! NO, I'm not after a free ANYTHING from the management. STOP STEALING From customers!! read more

Delicious!!! I've only had breakfast here but it's really yummy food for a great price! I usually get the $5.99 special with eggs and pancakes and sausage... highly recommended read more

We've been coming to the restaurant on Madison for quite some time, once or twice a week. The food is always very good and the people who work there are excellent and always personable; part of the reason we enjoy coming here. Unfortunately, as the weather started heating up a few weeks ago, we noticed the air conditioning wasn't working that good and the environment inside was rather warm, but not unbearable. But now that the outside temps have been in the 90s to 100 range, the situation has worsened and sitting inside is very uncomfortable. I feel bad for the staff for having to work in these conditions, as I have noticed their faces shine with perspiration. I can only imagine how hot it must be in the kitchen. I've been told the owners know of the problem, but don't understand why the A/C hasn't been fixed. I would recommend calling the restaurant beforehand to see if the A/C is wrorking properly before going. Hopefully. I won't have to wait until winter to go back. read more

I love this place. Taco Tuesday is a staple with my family. Maria is an amazing server. Always gets it right and makes me feel welcome. I met a new server tonight; Darion. He is an awesome young man. He could see that I needed to eat and go he got my meal fast and I made it to my meeting. The food is always great, and even though they're busy they get the job done right. read more

Carnitas Express - Mexican Near Me - Murrieta, California

Food tasted like mexican tv dinner! Actually tv dinners have more flavor... My family is from Michoacan so I know what carnitas is supposed to taste like. This is definitely not it!! read more

Had this food delivered...Is this how you guys serve people? With avocados like that what else do you guys do to the food. read more

Carnitas Express - Black Avocados - Mexican Near Me - Murrieta, California

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My favorite new Mexican restaurant. The food here is the bomb, the service friendly and fast. Drinks are good as well. Sometimes I find discount coupons in the local paper/magazine. I'm lucky we have this restaurant so close to us. Also, they have the largest menu I have ever seen for a Mexican restaurant. So if someone in your party wants a burger, breakfast, etc., this is the place to go!!!! Definitely give this place 5 stars. A great find for me being new to the area. read more

Very slow service. Horrible patty melt. Thin dried piece of steak. I use to like this place but it's really gone down.

Food and service are excellent! Have tried several Mexican restaurants in the area and Carnitas Express is by far the best!!

One of my favorite spots to go eat. The service has always been great every single time, me and my husband are always grateful for Rosario and her wonderful customer service. The food is phenomenal every time and their home made ranch is to die for. Their tacos are always to a perfect crisp and their food is delicious every time. Check this place out ! read more

This was the second time I was at this restaurant in two weeks. The first time I ordered eggs Benedict and the ham was inedible.. the English muffin was not toasted. My friend wanted to take me out to lunch today. I ordered a taco salad which was disgusting.... The meat and the beans were cold and how can you possibly mess up a taco salad? My friend ordered a Carnitas breakfast burrito which had no eggs in it. She actually is sick tonight. I will never be back read more

I just went there and ordered their soups! My was beef w/ veggie and it' was okay! But my wife ordered a bowl of albondigas was terrible! The balls were like the ones that you buy at the store, all prep-up in packaging units!! The tortilla's tasted like they were old had funny taste. We been there before and never had this kind of food before! read more

Great food with a great staff. Maria makes the best Cadillac margaritas! Love the festive music they play!

Been months since we've been here. I can't recall a better dining experience. Our servers were incredibly efficient! We are making this a regular routine again! The Chefs should be honored in public! read more

Carnitas Express - Mexican Near Me - Murrieta, California

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Horrible service. Horrible margaritas. First and last time ever come here. Waited 40 minutes for a watered down flavorless drink. read more

Definately a return spot! In the area relaxing, house hunting, wine tasting and checking out all Pechanga has to offer. Looking for some good mexican food and decided to try this place. There was a pancake special! Yea, american food at a Mexican restaurant. Changed my mind after looking at the menu. Ordered the Huevos Rancheros. Not the traditional red sauce but the chili verde. OMG talk about delicious Yummmy!! My BF ordered chorizo with egg, he was pleased! Everything was good! Exceptional coffee! Great friendly service! read more

I have been eating here for 12 years! Great food and staff! As close to East L. A. Food as you are going to Get . My Brother & Sister -in-Law Travel from Palm Springs, to eat/ drink here! Watch out for Taco Tuesday' s , it gets jammed, but So Good. read more

Love this place! Great friendly staff (most of the time) and the food is good! I LOVE their spicy salsa, it's to die for. Literally, your mouth is on fire but you can't stop eating it because it's so delicious. read more

We went on Tuesday of course to get some taco Tuesday specials. Which they had...$1.99 for shredded beef, ground beef or carnitas tacos and $5.95 margaritas. I thought the meat was ok, the size was average but the margaritas were definitely yummy. The waitress was friendly and very attentive which we appreciated since we ate outside. The place is clean and they have a good size patio area. read more

Carnitas Express - Tacos - Mexican Near Me - Murrieta, California

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****Review based on increase of menu prices. This place used to be a good place for a decent meal. The prices were comparable to the service but now the prices did not only increase by 3% - 5% but more like 15% - 20%. The prices increased and the portion sizes decreased. Not a good look to management. Now instead of coming here weekly I will have to rethink how I choose to spend my hard earn money. read more

Carnitas Express - $15.95 for less than 2 ounces of meat. Shame. Steak and eggs. - Mexican Near Me - Murrieta, California

This place was at one time my favorite Mexican Restaurant in the Temecula Murrieta Valley but it's gone downhill. The service is bad. I waited at the table out on the patio for 25 minutes with my family before someone came to take our order. By then I was already full off chips and soda. Then when she brought out my menudo, she didn't bring any of the fixings that go with it like lemon, chiles, onions and oregano. The food was not hot either. Just a bad experience and it was the 2nd time in a row we experienced bad service and less than stellar meals there. I'm done coming here. read more

We've been coming here for many years.. The food used to be good. The chips now come out as if they poured them out from the bottom of the barrel. They are broken, and stale tasting. We happened to have Millie as our waitress. I'm sorry to say, but she is the worst. We won't be coming back there again. read more

Wanted to celebrate 2 of my best friends birthday last night. One a retired murrieta PD SGT and another a well respected business owner in murrieta. We decided to go here. We had a table of 20 people outside. I understand that you all haven't had that many people but to have my friends ask multiple times for silverware and etc. what happened to the customer service ?! Our server was patty. She said something in Spanish very rude comment about our party to the bartender and to have my friend pearl who speaks very fluent in Spanish confront her and patty said it's just Spanish was ridiculous! To have a server talk crap about paying customers , my friends, absolutely WRONG AND NOT THE TYPE OF RESTAURANT you should ever go too. Yet, we still tipped. Customer service is everything !! Carnita express you can do better! read more

Worst $25 I have ever spent, ordered 6 taco Tuesday tacos and an $8 quesadilla, no flavor, taco meat cold and unflavored, Service was horrible. I should have took my order back but I was late for an appointment and couldn't make my group late we were very disappointed and dissatisfied. We threw our order away. read more