My husband is a tequila enthusiast. We love to get together for a date night at a spot that offers all of our favorite high-end tequilas. Unfortunately, the bartender Regina, likes to argue and debate whether or not we should order our favorite tequilas. She, instead, brings us samples of tequilas she has been instructed to push. This feels cheap and salesy. Tampico has a fantastic selection, Regina is not a fantastic bartender. Give the people what they want. read more

I love this place so much they catered my wedding! Thats not just some metaphor or something I really had little tampico as my wedding food. I absolutely love their enchilladas, and their beasn and rice are always amazing! Salsa can vary from mild-hot depending on who makes it but its always delicious! They are very quick with drink and chip refills. Hands down my favorite restaurant. And since they remodeled and got bigger I have not been disappointed once by long wait times, or orders gone wrong. I can't wait to go back! The owner is a great guy and always checking in on customers to make sure they are enjoying the food/drinks and happy with their service. I always am! read more

Little Tampico - Buffet line of food from Tamico - Mexican Near Me - Soquel, California

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We discovered Little Tampico 20 years ago when we first moved to the Soquel area. No matter what other Mexican style restaurants we have visited, we always think of Little Tampico as our first choice. It has been consistently great, and we have our favorite dishes. Often the staff just say "same as usual", and the excellent chicken fajitas are on the table in a few moments. The addition of the new bar / toilets a couple of years ago gave the place a nice facelift read more

Finally, a Mexi spot more similar to those I remember from So Cal. It's a good old fashioned grease fest! Let's be honest, sometimes that is what I am craving. We started out at the newly added tequila bar. It was pretty hectic. A regular at the bar was helpful to inform us that even the well tequila is good here. So, we opted for the House pitcher. The staff seemed overwhelmed by what we were told was a typical Friday night. On top of that they squeeze fresh limes for each marg. (They may be helped by a little prep help.) The house margaritas were smooth and had a great bite with the fresh lime. By, the time we finished our margs we were ready to be seated. I had the chicken flautas. They were pan fried and not overly greasy. I was secretly disappointed until I tired them. The flavor was spot on and just what I was craving. I am excited to come back. I think I have a new fav Mexi restaurant. read more

4 stars for the M-F lunchtime burrito bar. It used to be around 6$, but I haven't been in over a year, and it's good quality and excellent value for the price. For dinner I would give it 3 stars. The food is fine but nothing special, and definitely over-priced for what it is. They do have a good tequila selection and make good margaritas, so stop in for nachos and a drink, but if you're looking for top quality sit-down Mexican, I would hit up Tortilla Flats (just a couple of blocks down on Soquel Dr.), or El Palomar in downtown Santa Cruz. This place does have a nice location and ambience, but the food at those other places is much more distinctive and original. For lunch though, this place is an excellent choice. read more

One star for the service and one star for the drinks but the food is mediocre and the acoustics are terrible - the decibel levels were off the charts. I was constantly having to shout "WHAT?" to the person sitting right next to me. I was stressed out and had a raging headache by the end of the meal. As for the food, nothing to write home about. read more

Never going back. Service was not good. Waitress didn't even know the menu, plus she spilled our margarita which was not even that great. Mango margarita was water down once served. The food was gross.Ribeye steak with soggy enchiladas and a side taco. (Taco Bell tacos are better) for $21 not even worth it at all! Left most of it on the plate could not even finish my food. One bite and I was done with it. read more

Highly recommend the Flatland vegetarian enchilada filling. Killer with the red bell pepper sauce

We always have a great meal here and tonight is no different. We got here late and they still let us in and order. Food was still very yummy! read more

Stopped here for the first time ... food was awesome ordered the green enchiladas with fajita chicken inside and they were delicious... few places with great food definitely will be back really recommend it five stars . read more

Food is okay. The quesadilla is very tasty to me. Most of the stars I'm giving are for the bar. This is the only real tequila bar I know of in the area. Scott the bartender is like a sommolier for tequilas. He knows everything there is to know about every bottle on the shelf. His margaritas are top notch, perfect for a hot summer afternoon. read more

Great chips and salsa! The Prawn Tostadas are my favorite and the Killer Chicken Quesadillas are great! Service is always good.

We were looking for a last-minute dinner, and stumbled upon Little Tampico. The food, service and creekside view were all great. I think we have a new Mexican joint! read more

This place serves up some fun and flavor. The food is fresh and authentic, and with over 80 tequilas, the tequila bar is fantastic. Become a tequila black belt master! This little romantic casual restaurant is a hidden gem in Soquel. Lots of local attitude without the tourists. The service was flawless. This place doesn't burn a hole in your pocket either, it's affordable. read more

5 stars for me, the Chicken Steak & shrimp fajitas are incredible! Rice and beans are Awesome! Good eating great scenery- the bottom line is - everything about Little Tampico Mucho Tasty - atmosphere, staff, Food. #Yum read more

Good food, sometimes can be crowded during peak times. Best Nachos in town bar none add the Steak for a Huge Meal. #5 on the Menu is Enchilada w/ Chile Relleno and it really good. you can get 2 items or 3 items on Plattios Mexicano . while you wait the chips n salsa are good, add a sour cream to spice it up. sitting by the creek is very cool too. read more

Last Saturday (June 25) we picked up food for my 60th bday bash. We had about 30 people at my house and everyone without exception loved the food from Little Tampico. We served beef and chicken enchiladas and tacos. The meal came with rice, refried beans, salsa, hot sauce, salad and chips. Have been taking friends and family to Little Tampico since the 80s' and we keep coming back for more great Mexican food! read more

I haven't been to Little Tampico in quite a few years despite living in Soquel. It had gotten so mediocre that I kind of vowed to stop going there. My mom invited the kids and I out for dinner tonight and suggested Little Tampico. When we arrived the place was packed. That is supposed to be a good sign isn't it? The menu looked ok, a lot of blue corn tortillas and fajita meat on the menu. I stuck with a combo plate, enchilada verde and a Chile Relleno, rice and beans on the side, my mom and daughter both got nachos con todo and my son got a chicken burrito also with rice and beans on the side. I should mention that it took a long time to get our order in. Arrived at 6:30 and at 6:50 I finally had to flag down our waitress. One of those scenarios where I couldn't help but notice all the people who came in after us getting their orders taken. Food came out fast. That's not quite right: food got to the window for our server to bring it to us fast. After that it sat getting fried under a hot light for a while. Finally our server made her way over to it. To be fair she had way too many tables to give decent service to in my opinion. Also this seems to be a place for regulars which meant she would spend quite some time laughing and joking with certain tables and time neglecting other tables. I'm not going to be becoming a regular here so I guess I miss out on great service. Obviously something was wrong with our order because she spent another few long minutes at the window before she came over with three (burning hot plates) and explained mine was just not "quite ready yet." No problem, I mean it's a bummer not to have all the food at once but I get it. The kitchen obviously got my order wrong but she caught it and they were making me the correct thing- great! But when mine came they had totally thrown it together. There was a complete lack of care given to my meal. The "relleno" wasn't a puffy, egg coated pepper stuffed with cheese. It was a sad mess: cold inside and stuffed with cold unmelted cheese and covered with red enchilada sauce. The plate was too small for the portion on it and the food was literally falling off the plate. The two orders of nachos were fine: uninspired but tasty. My son said he was happy with his burrito. The buss person was working really hard. He kept our waters full and kept our sodas flowing. My mom finally got up to ask our server for the check. It was time to go. I didn't eat my dinner nor did I take it home but nobody noticed. Nobody asked if we were happy with our dinners. I won't be going back but it won't matter- for some crazy reason they have more customers than they can cook delicious food for or give good service to. Oh and the poor people next to us got there only a few minutes after us and we're still waiting for their food when we left!! read more

Terrible food. On the drive home, both my husband and I were nauseous and had stomach cramps. Will definitely not be returning. Literally tasted like canned chicken and old produce. read more

It's local and we keep giving this place a chance, but no matter what day or what time we show up, they NEVER have Fresh Chips - always stale with a slight, burnt taste from sitting under the hot lights.... Margaritas are mixed bag too - sometimes great and sometimes unrecognizable... The New Bar is nice, the staff is cool and their old standby dishes are solid, but Chips and Margaritas are EASY, but drag this place down.......... read more

This is for the owner: I don't write many reviews but I'm compelled to because I think you guys could be great. I went there yesterday for the very 1st time I sat at the bar. I love Mexican restaurants, I am Latin, love the culture, the festive and welcoming nature of Latin cultures. I have been looking for a good Mexican restaurant and tequila bar. So I was excited to be there The main bartender (there were two gentleman there) was brusque, not a hello, not a welcome to our restaurant. Basically he wanted to make me a drink right away, literally I was sitting down when he was asking. I told him it'd be a minute since I was new there. He handed a menu and walked away. I asked the other bartender to make me a straight up margarita with herradura añejo. He pour stuff as I watch. The bottle didn't have enough for the shot. He went outback to look for another bottle. When he came back (did not find another bottle), the main bartender had already finished the drink. They talked and then both looked at me, it looked like they were seriously considering giving me the drink even though it wasn't correctly done. I said, you couldn't find another bottle eh? The bartender said yeah so I asked for a different tequila. The bartender made a decent drink. He looked insured so I am assuming he is quite new. The main bartender seem chummy with some customers but couldn't care much about me and my friend. We left after that drink I said that this is for the owner because I know other owners of restaurants. The staff reflects the owners philosophy about customer service. So I hope that's not the case in this instance. Likely would never ever go back there read more

I love this restaurant..I have been here soo many times over many years and it has been a family fav forever..Great food great drinks love the creek that is right below the restaurant....Try the molly margarita it is served in a mason jar and is so yummy read more

Ive been coming here for years and recently more often now that they have a great looking tequila bar that has expanded their restaurant. I usually sit in the bar area now its a great atmosphere not to mention the "moly's" that drink is so delicious gotta love all the fresh limes they use in the margaritas rather then the usual sweet & sour mix that most restaurants use. The bar tending staff are friendly and knowledgeable about the tequilas they sell. The wait staff are all great, super nice and friendly staff goes along way with me! I can always count on a great experience when I come here. The food is fantastic the chips and salsa are great! I usually order the killer quesadilla the steak that they use is juicy and flavored just right! If you are looking for a nice low key place to hang out and watch a game the bar area is a great place to do that with the FRIENDLY staff and the DRINKS and GREAT FOOD you really cant go wrong! By far the best place in the area to grab a nice meal and a drink and watch a game on the couple of flat screens they have! So for great food/drinks and great atmosphere and friendly staff Id say look no further this little hidden gem has it all! Kudos to the owner for creating a great addition to your already nice restaurant the new tequila bar has really made this place into not only a dinner spot but a great drinks/dinner and game watching spot! Congrats to you and your staff on a job very well done!! read more

It's way overpriced canned Mexican food. Some people like that kind of thing. I don't. The bartender is friendly and it is kind of fun to get the taco all you can eat bar. 7.99$ if it hasn't gone up. But really? You could just as easily buy a frozen mexican tv dinner at the store and save yourself the money. The margaritas are super expensive too. They do taste pretty good though. read more

My friend and I came in today around 4:30pm for a drink. The female bartender was incredibly rude. After waiting 15 minutes for her to take our order, we left. It wasn't busy. She decided changing the channel on the tv was more important than helping us. Use to love coming in. We will never be back. read more

Many years ago this and the downtown Tampico were great. They were owned by the family that started them. Downtown, or Big Tams as we called it has closed down and Little Tams has gone through at least 2 different owners over the years. We went there last week after not going for many years. It wasn't bad, but not as good as it once was. We won't be going back and we will stick to Casa Rositas. The chips aren't as good at Casa Rositas, but I don't need to eat a bunch of chips to be happy. And Casa Rositas won't charge extra for green sauce. read more

Very slow, horrible service. Our waitress forgot things and took her forever (she could have apologized and she did not...once! We sat at our table for at least 15 minutes when we first sat down and nothing from her, not even an acknowledgement. The place wasn't even packed. So disappointing. The food was great, but I wish I would have seriously picked somewhere else to have Mothers Day dinner with my family!! read more

Seems to be a great place for people to party for a few hours and get loud and drunk. But we went there for a nice dinner. Even an employee agreed with our wonder at the rudeness of a nearby table of loud drunk 30 somethings. She rolled her eyes with our noting the intermittent yelling and said they's been there for hours. Profit over integrity means polite and friendly diners are replaced by loud and drunk parties. Very limited parking, too. read more

i love that they have two types of vegetarian enchiladas, they're not smothered in cheese, and that one involves tofu. thanks!!! their salad is great too, with jicama, oranges, pine nuts. awesome!!! but something always annoys me when i'm there. this time it was the party next to us. totally loud and obnoxious with kids - but the adults were worse. "is that your last life line!!!!" give me break. the margaritas were weak and the tequila shots were like half shots. so that was lame. but overall the food is great and they can't control who is annoying. ...it's better in the summer when it's warm and you can see the creek. read more

I travel into town for work every 4 months and this is always a must-stop for me. This is absolutely my favorite Mexican food restaurant ever! Best salsa, you must get the guacamole (yum!) and margaritas that are made perfectly. Yummy food and comfortable atmosphere. read more

Service was HORRIBLE. It was not a busy evening. It was a Tuesday around 7:15. We were forced to sit on the patio althought it was dark and cold (we were assured it would be "heated"). Our heater was never lit, even though we made a second request as we were freezing. Everything we ordered took at least 20 minutes to receive. My daughter and I were trying to enjoy a girl's night out and all we wanted was couple of drinks and dinner. No appetizers or anything fancy. We were there for OVER 1 1/2 hours. We only received one drink each (even though we ordered a second). We tipped nothing and will NEVER return. I will tell my friends to never eat at this establishment. Obviously, the customers are not cared for in any way. I think we saw our waitress twice in over an hour. The "chips and water" gentleman was WAY nicer. That waitress is lucky we did not simply walk out. FYI: It's rare for me to not tip...I know what that means to the worker, but she truly did not care about our experience, so I did not care about her tip. The restaurant also lost out on extra drinks and dessert as we just wanted to get the heck out of there. Also, food is nowhere as good as it used to be. Again, we will never return. We used to eat here frequently years ago when we lived closer and they hadn't "expanded"...I guess it's changed for the worse. DON'T EAT HERE unless you have LOTS of time to kill. ; ) read more

Grossssssssss ! The salsas are not hot at all just feels like you're putting tomato juice on your food .. the chips were the best part . I got two burritos to go with two cokes and I'm sure they include the chips for 36$! Wayyyy too dam pricey if you ask me .the burritos had no flavor . No salt no sauce .. basic as hell for 14$ a burrito . Please if you're gonna charge that much for food let alone a skimpy burrito please but flavor , sour cream and salsa with flavor would've been nice. . first time and last time . . read more

Usually LOVE this place, but if you're s large party(11 people) trying to go on a Friday or Saturday, Don't. They won't take your reservations, and you get there and have to wait for specific tables to leave. They will seat every other party while you sit for more than an hour. Do yourself a favor and make reservations at a restaurant and go elsewhere. read more

My wife and I revisited here after a really nice experience a few weeks ago in the creek side room. We were shocked when we sat at the bar just yesterday and the Server was rude to us when we made two simple requests. First we asked if the second tv could be tuned to the Warriors playoff game. No one was watching the early season A's game, not one. She refused. Fine, but could we turn off one of the Coors Light signs on the wall that was causing a huge glare for us on the Warriors game? Nope. "The owners want them all on". When we tried to explain that we couldn't see the game well at all, she cut us off and walked away while we were politely talking to her. Gave us the cold treatment when our food came, yet was "Susie Sunshine" for everyone else that came in to watch the Warriors game. We felt really uncomfortable and it felt like that was done on purpose. We left shortly thereafter and were kinda upset for some time after. read more

Little Tampico USED To BE our favorite place to go eat out. Great service great food, fast. But lately we have been leaving unsatisfied. The portions seem to be getting smaller and smaller. one long time server told us it was because the owner didnt think we needed to be eating so much! What?! Even the kids burrito got smaller. Even the service has gotten sub par. The servers seem to be under presure from the new owner. I've seen him just standing around mulling about , watching everything, but never interacting with patrons. I recently had to send my food back. If you're the owner and you see this happening , you should personally come address the situation apologize and make it right. instead he instructed our server to come back and argue with me! Really? I asked for no jalepenos and it had jalepenos in it. Clear as day . I uncovered one and left it on top of the rest of the food. After taking my plate , our server returned and told me they had in fact NOT put jalepenos in my food! since she had already taken my plate, i had no proof. Later she told us that the black beans in the dish had jalepenos mixed in them already, and that is why my mouth was on fire . and next time i should order it with refried beans instead. ok. but as a server shouldnt you already know that? and when i ordered my food without jalepenos , shouldnt you warn me and make the bean suggestion then? Whats up Little Tampico? read more

Not sure about all the bad reviews. The carpet guy at Home Depot who was super helpful at getting a rug for us highly recommended this place. After a miserable experience at "THE" Mexican place in Aptos/Seacliff, I need something to restore myfaith in Norcal mexican food. This place was actually very good. I went by myself at night and the staff was very attentive, polite and helpful. The chips were hot, fresh and light and two types of salsa were served. The Pico de Galo version was very tasty and the smooth style had a nice kick to it. The busboy made sure the bowl stayed full. I orered the Fajita Beef Burrito. The food was served pretty quickly, proably could have been a little warmer on the outside, but the center was perfect. I also was surprised by how tender the meet was. The burrito was served wet, but was not overly drowned in ranchero sauce and cheese like so many other places do. The rice was moist and the refried beans were very tender. The raw jalapenos on top also provided a nice kick. The Dos equis was not too expensive and served with a frosted glass. The inside ambiance was a little drab and there was no bar to sit at.However the noise level was low and there was ample space between tables so it wasn't crazy cramped like the other place. The bar did make blended margaritas. Menu looked good, it didn't appear to have pork dishes, but there are a few veggie ones as well as flan and Mexican chocolate ice dream for desert. Nice, casual low key place. I will be back. read more

I have been coming to Little Tampico for 5 years. I used to love this place. However, the new bartender, Regina, has completely ruined Little Tampico. She was the 2nd worst bartender I have ever been served by. I am 33! She was rude, careless, and acted like she could not believe we were there to spend $. As soon as she is gone I might consider returning here. read more

If I could give less than one star I would. The place is filthy, bathrooms disgusting. I saw mold and water leakage. The cubby hole where they kept the salsa was gross, the salsa was in a plastic bucket...I had a non-meat tostada ( which was COLD ) and I am paying for it today. I would never return unless the entire place was steam cleaned. Stuff was sticky, and service was S L O W...The lighting in the downstairs area was SO dim...crazy... read more

This used to be me and my bfs go to place for awesome margarita and good food for lunch. It was always really fun and everything tasted fresh. the bartenders were great until about 2ish months ago they got a new bartender. She is generally rude to people unless she's on your "favorites" list. She will ignore what you say even though you are in front on her and she is doing busy work such as wiping the bar down then when you repeat yourself she says "i heard you" so, you heard me but chose to ignore me even though your not busy? That's even worse. Her drinks aren't even good she either over pours to the point where you drinking tequila or under pours so your just drinking juice. We used to come here literally 2+ times a week but ever since she became the regular bartender we haven't stepped foot inside here, even though we would like too!! She's a shorter dark hair Latino looking woman. Writing reviews like this makes me feel guilty but this place went from being our favorite spot to our never go again to spot Which is why I'm giving a 3 star. My previous review actually had 5 stars- read more

I was so disappointed in the food we ate. Yes, the setting is kinda cool where the dining rooms are tiered. It's nice to see the creek and the ducks. We were warmly greeted and immediately brought chips and salsa. That was a good start, as there were two salsas. One was more of a pico de gallo, and quite good. I ordered a beef enchilada, with all beans and a side order of flour tortillas. My husband ordered a tamale and a chicken taco. The food came super fast. One look at my husband's plate and I saw trouble. The tamale was DROWNED in a Tex-Mex Chili gravy. I'm a good cook (and was taking a night off from the kitchen), and I make Tex-Mex Chili gravy. It was brown, thick and way too much. The chili gravy tasted okay, but there was way too much of it. The taco was made with pre-fab taco shells. Really? My enchilada had Tex-Mex Chili gravy. Being part Mexican, I'm more of a red enchilada sauce kinda gal. The enchilada was greasy and tasted terrible. My heart sank. The beans were the worst ever. I mean, bad. If they weren't canned, then they sure tasted like it. They were pureed, like baby food. There was a thick layer of cheese covering them. I ate a very small portion and felt like it was a waste of time and money...though the dinner wasn't outrageously expensive. The tab came to $20.00, with tip. I was so disappointed, that I'm going to make my own enchiladas and refried beans, just like my "Nana" taught me to. That's what I get for not making my own Mexican recipes. It's a Taco Bell with table service... actually, the new Cantina tacos at Taco Bell taste better than here. If you don't know much about Mexican food, you might like this place. I'm much more appreciative of the Mexican restaurants that I have in my hometown of Monterey. Sorry, I definitely wouldn't eat here again as much as I love coming to the Santa Cruz area. read more