Excellent, authentic and welcoming. What a wonderful discovery! The food was delicious! Do stop and try it out!

Best Mexican I've had in years! We will definitely be adding this place to our regular stop list on the way back and forth from Seattle to Vancouver! read more

Superb cuisine. Ordering off the a la carte menu allows you to fully savor the universe of subtle flavors and textures of these truly marvelous regional dishes from central Mexico. The adabado tacos and the flan are to die for! Mercedes was a welcoming, gracious, and personable host, volunteering information about the recipes and their history. You will feel as if you snuck in a quick trip to the REAL Mexico with a dining experience at this little hole-in-the-wall restaurant. Well worth a detour or special trip. Highly recommended! read more

I love this restraunt soo much!!! So rarely in Washington can you find good and authentic mexican food. Sooo sooo yummy! The house specialty, carnitas is amazing. My personal favorite: enchiladas filled with potato and served with steak and cabbage. MAKE SURE TO SAVE ROOM FOR THE FLAN! read more

Came by on a Friday @ lunch time. Closed! Chairs on top of tables. Did not expect that. Now seated at Los Agaves.

This is the real deal. You know right away because they bring a little dish of spicy pickled carrots. Only the best of the best taco trucks ever have those! Everything tastes homemade. There is not that overwhelming salt and cumin flavor that most Mexican restaurants have. I will make a special stop here when traveling between Seattle and SW washington/Portland. read more

Authentic Mexican food served with happy smiles. No chips and salsa. Everyone seems to love this place - I found it average. Need more meat in those tacos! read more

Best Mexican food I've ever had! It's a nice touch to say what part your food comes from and it adds some history to it! We both enjoyed our meal, the restaurants charm, and what made it the most enjoyable was the friendliness of the entire staff! We will be back! read more

Had the carnitas tonight, and it was soooo dry! Couldn't even get flavor, it tasted like bland pork with no flavoring. Since that was really the only thing I got, I can't say it was great. Service was fast, so assume that everything's pre-made and they just throw it on a plate. Would really appreciate some time taken to prepare my dish. Might try it again if I'm driving down from Seattle to Portland, but definitely not what I had ordered earlier today. read more

This restaurant has home made everything. The food is decadent and the atmosphere is welcoming. If your in Centralia and want a unique Mexican food experience, this IS the place. read more

"If mac & cheese were salsa drenched, tortilla wrapped, you'd give it five stars" Don't listen to this idiot, but rather every other 5 star reviewer. Best Mexican in the PNW, bar none. read more

What a great find. Great carnitas, tamales and pork tacos. Very fast, friendly and accommodating service.

Extremely authentic. Great staff. Unique menu. Just loved this place. Will definitely come here again.

Probably became one of my favorite Mexican restaurants off the bat. The carnitas plate ($13) was worth the price of admission. I was a little hesitant in ordering it but the popularity on Yelp sold me on it. The carnitas were perfectly seasoned and and the rice and beans were as good as they get and a nice amount. I would be a regular if I were from the area. read more

Terrific, authentic Regional Mexican food. Love the 'we don't serve chips' sign on the door. None of that Americanized fluff. But they do serve wonderful pickled carrots instead. Tamales were light and delicious tacos were great. read more

I loved my visit to La Tarasca. The food, ambience and staff were terrific. Such a pleasant experience. My understanding is that this is AUTHENTIC Mexican food. I am used to TexMex style and can't speak to authenticity. But wow! Such great flavors. As a vegetarian, I was concerned that there would not be many choices. But not so! I had a tostada with whole beans, a cheese quesadilla and rice and beans. Such a nice chance from too many tortilla chips (they don't even serve them) and food drowning in cheese. And the hand made tortillas were incredible. We finished with flan. And oh, my...so delicious! I'll be driving from Olympia to Centralia again for this great restaurant. read more

Co-worker brought me here, and the service and food was great. Homemade tortillas and tamales made this restaurant a 5-star for me.

This is probably one of my top-three Mexican restaurants! Totally authentic food and great staff. The owner waited our table and was super informative and nice. A lot of the recipes were her mother's. I highly recommend the pickled carrots and tamils. If you're looking for greasy, cheesy, American-Mexican food...stick to Azteca!!! read more

I've been on the hunt for chorizo that is closer to the kind I'm used to from my 3 month stay in Oaxaca, MX and so far this is the closest I've gotten! I ordered a la carte a chorizo and cabbage sope, pork tamale and a chicken tostada. All were great, affordable and very filling. As I said, the chorizo was great, dry and crumbly like I'm used to and not the greasy wet pile of chorizo that you typically find here. My boyfriend ordered the carnitas as recommended by our waitress and was super happy with them, although he said he wished he would have ordered a la carte like I had. To me, a la carte is the way to go as you can have a bigger variety of food for a very affordable price per person. The atmosphere is homey, albeit a little cramped due to how busy it's gotten over the years, definitely prefer this restaurant in the quieter hours. Be that as it may, even with the restaurant packed to capacity the service is just as attentive to your needs as during the slower hours. Would definitely recommend a trip here for people who are looking for something different then the typical American Mexican food found in the area, you won't be disappointed! read more

Incredibly freaking yum. Great food great service. I am a vegetarian and the options there are few but what they do have is soooooo delicious. I could eat there every single day and never get tired of it. Love this place. read more

Lovely little restaurant just off the freeway. The rumors are true - no chips - but the salsa is good and the menu very authentic. The service was incredibly friendly, helpful and fast. Cute decor and pleasant. Only complaint was my food was a bit cold - had the tostada with rice and beans and it was a bit cold - especially on a cold day! Not sure if that was on purpose or not, but my personal preference would have been warmer. However, would be worth a try if you are looking for a quick Mexican place, with nice staff and healthy choices (no fast food here!). read more

Yummy!! Have had mexican in S. Cal and this tops it! All homemade it's obvious by the taste and texture of the warm tortillas. We will be back FOR SURE! THE SERVICE IS GREAT TOO! read more

Great restaurant! Food was amazing. The family/staff was wonderful and welcoming. The space is bright and comfortable. Really wonderful folks and delicious homemade, legit Michoacán food. Heck yes. read more

We love Mexican food and leaving the big city for rural, farm life had us hungering for burritos and asadas, but the search for good, authentic Mexican became a repetitive and disappointing chore. The search has ended with La Tarasca! Fantastic food, great atmosphere. The only server we've ever had there is the owner/cook's daughter and she's extremely helpful and friendly. The corn tortillas are hand made and that makes all the difference (at least that's what she tells me). I normally prefer flour tortillas because I think the strong corn flavor can often overpower what they're meant to accompany, but these are great! Their Chile Relleno is so good as are all their pork specialties. Yum, yum, yum! The restaurant is a bit small/cozy, so if going with a large group you'll want to skip the lunch and dinner rush. Definitely the best authentic Mexican we've found. read more

The food was fantastic! And indeed there are no gluten ingredients in the kitchen.

Best Mexican food in Washington state but please don't go because we don't want to have to wait in line for these fabulous tamales that are served by outstanding staff. But it's not just the tamales; it's everything we have tried here. Seriously, we've been here several times and make it a point to eat here whenever we are driving from Portland back to Seattle. You should too. read more

Excellent food, good service and love the carrots! I love the horchata! Come here often, when ever I'm in town...

I'm still dreaming about how amazing this meal was and it was months ago. Please bring this restaurant to Seattle.

I am starting to miss tortilla chips. Think they'd be put out if I brought some? It is a point of pride with them. The food is still tasty. read more

Amazing. Pork taco, cheese quesadilla, pork tamale, chicken tamale. All phenomenal. Horcata was milkier and less cinnamony than most I've had. Quick tip: pour the juice from the free carrot and onion appetizer onto your tamale. Flavor party in your mouth. read more

This place was jam packed and I understand why. I felt like I was in a small Mexican town served up with warm hospitality by the waitresses dressed in authentic Mexican attire. Yummy pickled carrots came before the meal, though I would have liked to see some tortilla chips and red salsa with it. Either way, the carnitas were yummy and I'd go back here if I wanted some authentic Mexican food. read more

I've been all over Mexico and lived there too. If you're looking for the real deal this is it. The pork tamales are crazy good.

We would not have ended up here without the help of Yelp & were delighted we went here. The carnitas was excellent, as was the flan.

This is one of my favorite places to eat in all of North America! It's unpretentious and the good is genuine. The family that own this are nice people. read more

Hours posted as open are incorrect. We arrived at 5:30 and the chairs were on the table and they were cleaning up. Sign and online posting said open till 8. Disappointed since it gets good reviews and we wanted to try it out. read more

This place is fantastic. Completely authentic, great service and a must stop for us every time we pass thru Centralia on the Seattle to Portland slog. read more

It is true what the vast majority of reviewers conclude about this terrific family restaurant. This place provides a delicious, authentic experience of the tastes of Michoacan, Mexico. What needs to be emphasized, like no other review, is the quality of the flan. It is simply the best in the world. If you don't believe me, ask Salma Hayak who came here a few years back to sample the dish. Wait, if you KNOW Salma Hayak, introduce me, and let me ask her. But I digress. Try the flan. read more

Great food, good prices, excellent service. Bright & clean, cheerful atmosphere. Probably the best chile relleno I've ever tasted. Very pleased we stopped here. read more

Authentic and amazing this place knows how to cook good food! I had the chicken Mole and it was outstanding! I was bummed I couldn't order a margarita though! read more

We were at the Great Wolf Lodge around the corner and were looking for a great place to eat. We found it at La Tarasca. This hole in the wall met every one of my expectations. It really showed that this was a family run business with their care to detail and awesome service. The atmosphere was comfortable and inviting and the food was super good, the best tortillas in the PNW hands down. I can't wait for another trip to the Lodge just so that I can hit La Tarasca again. Save me a seat! read more