We drove to Hearst Castle on a Saturday, stopped here for lunch. It was perfect. Relaxed, kind staff, our daughter was able to stretch her legs, and the food was tremendous. Great burrito al pastor, my wife had the carne asada burrito. She only finished half. Sunday morning, I ate the second half of her burrito, because that is how I live. We do Hearst Castle, head back home about 4, and on the way back, boom, we are back at San Ardo Cafe. Wife had the menudo, I got a burger. Great food again. I like everything about this place. Home cooked food, great prices, nice staff. read more

This is a quaint little place with pretty good Mexican food and excellent service. I had the carne asada Tacos and was pleased with the freshness, the meat could have been flavored a little more but I have pretty high standards, since my husband and I are carne asada aficionados. The chips were a little bland but the salsa was great. read more

Wonderful place for the whole family reasonable prices Authentic Mexican Food and its open on weekends

All of these 4 and 5 star reviews must be the owners or friends of same. This place is disgusting and if you pay with a CC they take it across the street to process it. I do not recommend eating here. read more

Awesome McDonald's Even though they are under Construction,the Service was Great from the Cashier taking our Order to The Girl Serving our food , Very nice People Smiling at all time Really Genuine....Very Nice And Comfortable Atmosphere... I Definitely Recommend this Place.. Our Family is Big and we always Order Big.. They Got our Orders Right the First Time.. And the Management was super the Hispanic Gentalman in the Blue shirt Supervising was Smiling while Helping his Employees... read more

In the last week of September. 2017 and trying in vain to find a place to live somewhere near by Fort Hunter Liggett because of my new job..... I found this little place. I have to say that for a little Dusty town, this little Cafe was not all that bad. With a limited menu that they had, I decided to try out the bacon cheeseburger. It wasn't that bad..... a little greasy but tasty. The fries that were served with the burger were super hot. So after eating and talking with the cook / owner / server, I made my decision to come back and give this place another try. Not exactly fine dining but for a midday lunch counter that serves the local populace including the nearby oil field, it seems to fit just right. read more

Heading north or south on the 101, this is a convenient stop for lunch, bathroom, and gas across the street. Seemingly out of the way, it actually only adds 4 minutes drivetime to your destination to cut across to Cattleman's road, which is parallel to the 101. Waze GPS for 1 Cattlemen Rd put us about 1 minute north of the restaurant (middle of nowhere), but we found it using Apple Maps and Google maps has it right. Order your food via phone call about five minutes before you get there, to get you back on the road fastest. (we found the phone number on the photograph of the menu here on Yelp). We ordered a burger with fries, 2 carnitas tacos, and 2 chicken tacos. The chicken was a little dry but satisfying, and they give you a lot of meat for very inexpensive. Carnitas was moist, as should be, delicious, and they give you nice large portion. The burger delicious, fresh, as were the fries. I wish I had ordered a chocolate shake to go with the fries! Yummy! The three of us had a full taco leftover. The bill was $24. Nice! The place looks like an old small diner. It reminded me a little of an old western scene in Mexico or something. I half expected a dog to be asleep on the porch (there wasn't). They have to run across the dirt parking lot and street to run credit cards, so have some cash handy for quickest service. Friendly chit chat and smiles from the cashier. read more

Great little cafe with terrific Mexican food just off the 101. Friendly service! We had nachos and street taco generously filled with chicken breast and grilled onions. They also have burgers and sandwiches. Bring cash or use their atm to pay. read more

Small town, yes. Good food, yes. Friendly and fast service. Ordered chicken and carnitas tacos, and they were delicious. Perfectly cooked tortillas, not too oily. Simple food that tastes good. read more

We found this place on Yelp on a trip to Aptos. The place was clean and the food was good basic Mexican but low on flavors. At the end when we got our bill instead of $8.50 an entree as listed on the menu it was $9.22 instead. No big deal. To take credit cards our waitress had to take our card across the street to the store to run it. Then no place on the slip to add a tip. If you are hungry on the road, this place is ok but quirky. read more

What a treat! Just what we were hoping to find - some GOOD authentic mexican food. And - clean, clean, clean! Artwork on the walls is pleasantly strange. Employees were very friendly and didn't stare at us as though were extraterrestrials (they do that in some small towns if you're an unfamiliar face). The salsa was so good we had to buy a container to take along (the secret, they said, is all roasted ingredients. Awesome. Try it! read more

Stopped in to grab lunch and had one of the best burritos ever!! Skip the fast food and head into San Ardo to the cafe

10 minutes got menu, from a customer-30 minutes later got my avacado burger and fries (not worth the wait) as I drank my hot as soup bottled coke. Went to pay and was skipped for two walk ins to take order. 1 HR ordeal for my 1/2 hour lunch. If this is a stop on a road trip, keep going. read more

The Mexican food is delicious, highly recommended. Love those tacos. They definitely need to start taking credit cards, since i never carry cash. The food is great and there is something for everyone. Breakfast is served late so that is a plus as well for picky little kids. read more

We were taking the PCH from San Francisco to Southern California had to detour inland because of mudslides around Big Sur. We needed and stop pulled off. This cafe was all we saw. The Tuesday special looked good so we ordered. The food was fresh and delicious, clearly home cooking. The owners and staff were friendly and accommodating. I would recommend this place highly. read more

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Great surprise. Had to take detour due to road closures along coast. Delicious tacos, pico and guac. Friendly service. Looks a bit old west but don't be fooled. read more

Great place, cool unique town! Clean, friendly, and AWESOME, authentic Mexican food. Daniel waits on you and serves you (really nice young man) & his Mom is cooking in the kitchen. Great pit stop while traveling down the highway. read more

Very good Mexican food (they also have burgers) and super friendly staff. A great stop along an empty stretch of 101. Beware that if you hit "get directions" out of Yelp, it will take you to the middle of nowhere. This is in San Ardo proper, on the curve on the right before you leave town. It is hard to see when headed from 101. The map on Yelp is accurate. read more

We needed gas and restroom , so we took the first exit , so glad we did, we found this restaurant across the street from the gas station, nice people, very hospital, the food is amazing and authentic, we had super tacos, the best taco we tried in CA so far, nice ending for our short trip to Monterey County read more

I have driven this stretch of the 101 hundreds of times in the last twenty years and decided to take cattlemans road, the old 101, for a change. It was lunch time when I spotted San Ardo Cafe. Thursdays special was chile verde. Obviously home made and delicious. The cook was friendly and very polite. A few Interesting locals came and went while I ate and everyone had a smile. I'm going back the next time I drive south for huervo rancheros. It's not on the menu but the cook said he could make any Mexican breakfast I wanted. read more

Ordered four Carne Asada tacos, it was delicious and satisfying after hours of driving. Having to stumbled, to this amazing cafe was just right. My kids enjoyed their quesadillas and chips. The prices are reasonable and bathroom were clean. read more

This place has fantastic food, but the last few times we stopped they weren't open! That's the ONLY reason for 4 stars instead of 5, as the hours appear inconsistent, but their menu and their food is really extremely good, and I've bought tamales there during the holidays too. It's worth the trip, if they're open. read more

I'm sure some people had a good experience and good food here some time, however, to say I was disappointed is an understatement. Prices are high for the quality, portions, ambiance, and definitely for the area. Also, don't know if this is always the case here, but they only accept cash. read more

Great food. The bean burrito for the kids was great. They loved it. The other child got the chicken tostada and loved it. The kids burger was very good with a juicy hamburger patty. The street tacos we had 1 each were very authentic and not dry. Lastly try the coffee and hot cocoa. They don't skimp on serving size and service. 5 stars all the way. Stop and eat here. read more

Great breakfast burrito. A little while on the wall but don't let the look discourage you from this place. Really good food and great hospitality. I would definitely stop by on my way back home. read more

My husband and I enjoyed this family run business! The food is home style good! Not fancy, but the company and food was very enjoyable!

Awesome food!!! The best Mexican food I've had in a long long time !!! Don't let the looks fool you !!

Bad food, bad service, expensive. The taco truck down the street has way better food. And it doesn't give you a heart attack after you eat there like San ardo cafe... read more

My brother and I were driving up to Santa Rosa and we were desperate for something to eat. This place was the highest rated along the stretch of the 101 where we were and I decided to stop by. Pulling up to the cafe there's not a whole lot of curb appeal but I trusted in my fellow Yelpers. When we walked in we were greeted by a very nice guy who took our orders. We decided to keep it safe and order a staple, carne asada tacos and cold tamarind Jarritos sodas. The food arrived pretty fast looking fresh and it was clear it was cooked to order. The tortillas were cooked perfectly with just a little bit of oil on the flat-top so that they have a nice texture - not soggy or burned. The meat was flavorful and it was topped off with fresh lettuce and sliced tomatoes along with some Mexican cheese. We inhaled our tacos and chugged the cold Mexican soda down and headed out to beat traffic. Before we left, our waiter told us this is a family business, his mom cooked our food and she came out to wish us well on our way. Overall this was a nice little family restaurant with good, honest food. The food was made with care and it really did taste home-cooked. I'm definitely going to pay them a visit next time I'm passing through. read more

really good food. don't let the location fool you.. good home made food. service was a little slow since it's one person but very friendly and food made up for it. read more

Stopped for the bathroom, stayed for the birria!!! So yummy!! Worth getting off the road for. We will be back!

Wonderful Mexican food. My BLT and Daniel said no problem, even though it was not on the menu. The fries that cam with it were very good. Super Friendly and informative. A lot of their business is to go so do not worry if there are not a lot of cars in the parking lot. Was looking for something different than fast food on the road, so glad we found it!!! read more

Stopped for lunch on a trip to San Diego. Clean, reasonable prices, and good standard Mexican Fare. Burrito was fresh, large, and tasty. Likewise the Tostada. read more

The place sucks only place to eat so they charge you an arm and a leg for food the service is very slow so if you're hungry King City is about 20 more miles away north and if you're going south stopped in San Miguel do not stop in San Ardo cafe too expensive read more