We order from the Taco Mesa in Mission Viejo almost weekly but wanted to give this one a try since it's closer to us. Had to order in person because they weren't accepting online orders and they still got our order wrong and unfortunately we didn't realize this until getting home. They gave us a bean and cheese burrito instead of a quesadilla. Their kids Mexican rice did not seem Mexican at all and had fruit in it. Overall not a great experience and will be sticking to their Mission Viejo location. read more

Taco Tuesday was great.. I don't think the food is worth it on any other day though. Patio is a nice option to sit with a great view of the sunset. read more

Reliable preparation time, nice salsa bar. Burritos and tacos are good. Disappointed by lack of freshness of some foods including shrimp which smelled bad. read more

I'm pretty sure this is one of the most underrated Mexican places in OC! Best Shrimp Tacos on the face of the earth as far as I'm concerned! The zonhorias (carrots) are amazing. Great job on keeping the food quality so consistently good! Love the artwork on the walls too! read more

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Mid food. Over priced. 18% tip starting on their screen? Lol. There's another taco shop down the street, go there instead. read more

I love the salsas at Taco Mesa, 4 different options. My fav dish is the Salmon rustica salad and the rolled tacos rock here!!! . We love taco Tuesday, the beef taco has the perfect amount of crunch and the pastor soft taco is so flavorful. They are so friendly Andrew wait is never long. Plus they have margaritas and sangria. read more

I love taco Mesa! I know this sounds strange, but it is somewhat healthy eating... Especially considering it is Mexican food! There's street tacos are incredible. I am a fan of their lobster tacos and their blackened chicken tacos. Both are very unique for Mexican food. read more

First off they want a tip for ordering food at the counter. I think it's a shitty thing to force tip but was hoping for good service. Btw minumum tip is 18%. Ok Food order comes up and I'm seated at the table. He says "here's your food" but couldn't be bothered to bring it to me. What am I tipping for? You taking my order? Then I get the plate and no fork or napkin. Had to do it myself. Should have tipped myself!! Burrito had so little meat in it is was laughable. Finished what I could quickly and walked out. I would avoid folks. Not worth the hassle and the service was completely absent. read more

Very good food. Been coming here for years and still consistently good. Always excellent service too. I highly recommend this place. Lobster bisque soup is amazing. Alambre tacos And pretty much everything thing on the menu is tasty. read more

Excellent breakfast burritos! We have enjoyed their Machaca breakfast burrito for about 15 years. Today, hubby had the Huevos, chorizo and tater tot burrito and it was great too. Love the outdoor seating option and soft music while enjoying the fountain. Had Guacamole and chips which was fresh and didn't last. Ha! No burrito pics because we woofed them down. Also nice that Starbucks and Brueggers are next door so you can please everyone and meetup outside. read more

Taco Mesa - Outdoor area and fountain next to covered patio for Taco Mesa. - Mexican Near Me - Ladera Ranch, California

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We were regular customers here. Twice a week at a minimum. For a family of 4 that means we spent some cash here. Sadly the quality has suffered. Prices are higher which I understand. But every time we order now it's incorrect. So tired of calling or returning to the store for a fix. Just not worth the trouble anymore which is disappointing. read more

This is my first time here. I happen to be staying in the neighborhood for the weekend... I was disappointed with my visit. My partner I ordered 2 gorditas and I ordered a burrito with beans, rice, pico de gallo and guac with a side of guac and tortilla chips. My partner had no complaints. Unfortunately the burrito was not good at all. The pinto beans were very watery. I asked for rice but it was a very tiny bit as if they ran out of rice and gave me the scraps from the bottom. Wasn't desirable at all. The guacamole was very bland for a Mexican restaurant. No salt, no onions. Literally just avocado smashed. I had to add salt to it. Maybe it was a bad day but Unfortunately, I will not be back. read more

I love Taco Mesa! The best healthy homade tortillas. Great salsa bar WITH YUMMA SALSA. The best of the west chicken taco is my go to. But they have great daily specials too. read more

Yum, yum, yum! Have been eating at different Taco Mesa locations for 20 years now, and I still love it! Food still the same taste and quality through the years. Favorite of all is the machaca burrito, all their soups and many of their rotating specials. I lovvvve their green avocado salsa, habanero salsa and fire roasted salsa. Always a pleasure to eat here! read more

Why doesn't this place have more stars??? The tacos are pretty good for the location and they have huge containers for their free sauces and pickled vegetables. Vegetarian: This was pretty good. I believe it had black beans and a good amount of tomatoes and veggies. Pastor: This was pretty good. Has more flavor but is a bit dry. Baja fish taco: This was alright. The fried wish was more dry and nothing spectacular. Potato: The potato taco is my favorite. The taco shell is toasted so it's crunchy and the potatoes are lightly mashed and really refreshing. Chili verde: This was good. Has that refreshing verde limey flavor but the meat was more dry. Orange sauce: Slightly spicy version of green sauce with a slight cheesy flavor Green sauce: Light refreshing flavor. I can't describe it. It's so good though. Salsa: It has some roasted peppers in it which gives it a Smokey flavor but it isn't very spicy. Good! Pickled vegetables: Try these! Very good in between tacos. read more

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They gave my dish to the wrong guest, that guest poked at the food and realized it was not what she ordered. She took it back to the cashier, cashier put it on the metal warming table. My order then came up and she realized that dish should have been put on my tray so she picked it up, put it on my tray and gave it to me. Fortunately I saw what happened and asked them to make a new dish as that one was given to another guest and then given to me. She agreed to remake it but didn't offer an apology. Too bad for me I had to wait for a dish to be remade while my other guests food was getting cold as they wanted to wait for me to get my food. Also, I gave a generous tip at checkout and now realize that tipping should be done after the meal service is done. read more

Authentic fresh tasting delicious tacos cooked to order. I had the al pastor and shrimp tacos, both very good. Floors, tables, and kitchen were dirty. Self-service salsa bar was a mess with several empty containers where toppings had not been refilled. None of the sauces were labeled, creating a "hot or not" guessing game. Service was "meh". Several containers of food (chips, slaw) were visibly open in the kitchen. read more

I'm a huge Taco Tuesday fan! Savory bite from start to finish with the vegetarian and Baja fish tacos, especially with their spicy yet flavorful jalapeño salsa. They quickly have my tacos cooked and in a tin container. Option to have it dairy-free, too! If you haven't tried it, Tuesdays are the best time to be bold. You can have different taco combos every time! You can always see the nice employees' smiles behind their masks. Hand sanitizer is available. Outside sitting can be difficult to find. The best thing is you can order online for pickup! Just go to the "Tuesday" menu. Live a little and try it! read more

We had a carnitas taco with rice and beans and tacos el pastor and rice and beans. Note beans are pinto not black beans. We should have asked as we much prefer black. It was made fairly quickly but wasn't super hot. Flavor of carnitas was ok but not great. The carrot and cauliflower salad on the salsa bar was very good. We smelled sewer gas over by the beverage station after we ordered. We told the man at the front desk who checked it out. He said it was carbon dioxide which didn't make sense since it is odorless?? We wouldn't have eaten here if we smelled this when we walked in because it could mean they have sewage backing up or clogged drains, etc. They have a nice outside patio. Overall, likely won't eat here again. read more

I tried this restaurant out with my coworkers about a week ago when we were working a job in Mission Viejo. I actually found Taco Mesa on yelp and it had great reviews. That's usually how I start my search for any restaurant. The food at this place was amazing! I'm still thinking about it obviously if I'm writing about it a week later! They offer super fresh and authentic Mexican food that your mama doesn't make! Everything is local, sustainable and organic. They feature GMO-free corn for their green tortillas which is a huge plus in my book! OK let's get to the food. The GMO-free poblano and spinach tortillas are very unique. They're green and add a great flavor profile to your taco. You can even buy a dozen tortillas to take home for only $3+ and I couldn't pass that up! I had the shredded beef tacos with rice and beans. Wow. Delicious. I consider myself a Connoisseur of Mexican food because I grew up on it, hence, I'm very critical. If you are on a budget get your favorite tacos on Tuesdays for only $1.75 each! They offer a variety of tacos to choose from like steak, pork, chicken, salmon, lobster and fish. I also ordered a large homemade horchata which is the best this side of the border! Seriously, it's hard to find authentic horchata if you're not in Mexico. Most places here in the states serve that cheap dispenser mix that's loaded with sugar and chemicals. What's great about Taco Mesa's horchata is that you can get it different ways besides the original that usually contains cinnamon. Like the Golden which has turmeric, ginger and pepper, or the Mayan with Mexican chocolate, maca and ashwagandha and more. If you were thinking of trying this healthy and authentic restaurant, go. You won't be sorry. I'm only sorry we don't have a Taco Mesa in the desert. read more

I do not understand some of the weak reviews for Taco Mesa - this place is great! Not overcooked. Not greasy. Fresh and light with very good ingredients and portions basically big enough to share. The fresh salsa, which they make there, is superb with a big variety of different heats and flavors. Crispy tacos are really good! You cannot go wrong if you like fresh and light authentic Mexican fare. If you like heavy greasy tasteless Gringo combo plates, it might not be your place. But fresh flavors coming through- grilling meats with nice char marks - Taco Mesa is worth a try people! Great stuff! read more

Blackened chicken taco/burrito is just so good. This place is very underrated. So many good things on the menu, and great salsas too. But the blackened chicken with the cabbage slaw is just so unique and just fantastic. read more

This place is literally fabulous in every way! My kids and I were blown away with how delicious the food is, the freshness, the flavor, the value and the staff goes above and beyond in patience and friendliness. Cannot recommend dining here enough!!! Wow! read more

Really good Mexican food High push for premium quality non-gmo tortillas. Their "horchata" is vegan non-rice based which is the supposedly original version Either way, it's fantastic! read more

Really great location! Ordered the "Langosta", the lobster enchiladas. Extremely flavorful and not too heavy. I also really love the look of this restaurant. The art adorning the walls and ceiling is so cool. read more

Taco Mesa - Blackened chicken/salad/nachos - Mexican Near Me - Ladera Ranch, California

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This location should have received many more 5-star reviews. Told myself that I would go to Yelp to write about this restaurant several burritos ago. Whenever I am down south for business, I usually stop by for a steak burrito. And I can only talk about their steak burrito, since that is all I have ordered from this Ladera location. The size of the burrito is not big, and they don't give you chips on the side. To me this is great; so that I don't get fat from calorie overload. read more

Such nice employees- my order didn't go thru online and when I got there they said I'd have to wait.. They only had me waiting for 5 min and my food was ready! Totally worth it and MORE. Food is SO nomnom!!! read more

Went here 2 days ago and got a combo plate. BF got a asada or something steak torta. Baja fish taco and chicken enchilada combo ($7): lots of tasty, deep meaty chicken in the enchilada. Nice green sauce over it. Delicious, not greasy beans. Light yet tasty Mexican rice. Little grilled zucchini spear. Baja fish taco has a big piece of breaded fish; tasty but could have been a little crunchier and Rubio's is still better I think. Steak, bacon, grilled peppers torta ($7.5): my BF liked it. Very large sandwich. Lots of dark tasty-looking steak chunks and crispy dark bacon. Dijon mustard doesn't match the torta though. I recommend getting everything on the torta without the mustard. Love the escabeche, especially the cauliflower (escabeche=Mexican pickled vegetables). The mild and hot salsa are tasty, nearly drinkable. I have to say I enjoy this place. Good, not too greasy food. Good Mexican for this area. Daily gourmet specialty dishes and daily specials (ie, $1.25 taco Tues, $6.50 burrito combo Wednes). They havea variety of agua fresca, horchata, an "agua vampiro" drink that sounds tasty (carrot, beet, orange), sangria and margaritas $3.95, and cerveza. Like the big open space and outdoor seating, the paintings, the big screen tvs, and cleanliness. Nice servers too. A good Mexican establishment for Ladera Ranch area. When I want Mexican nearby again, I'll go here. read more

Taco Mesa - Baja fish taco and chicken enchilada plate $7 - Mexican Near Me - Ladera Ranch, California

Been coming to taco Mesa for years and have never had an issue but today I went in and ended up paying a over $145 and my food being cold not even one bit warm. Went in the first time paid 75. The money was taking out of my account was already driving home about to get on the freeway. Got a call saying that my card was declined when I got the notification. The money went through drive back just for them to tell me that my car got declined when it's saying on my app that it didn't get declined. Somehow they ended avoiding my payment and made me come back wasted however, long Time ended up paying again another $70 for the same food I had just paid for and once again it was taken out of my account so now I have two charges on my account. And by the time I got home, my food was cold. This is so unfortunate and all she could say is I'm sorry. I really hope you guys take care of the situation And on top of that the got my order wrong! Aracely does a horrible job as a general a manger. read more

First time trying Taco Mesa. Last time eating here. Very expensive and not very good food. Ordered chicken taquitos. Got 4 thumb size pieces of taquitos, overcooked and filled with lots of peppers and very little chicken. Also got the kids cheese quesadilla with rice and beans. The rice had pieces of I think cranberries? and beans had some sort of shredded vegetables. The child did not eat. And I got the Gordita. So not really sure what a Gordita is but found it was a think slab of some type of corn cake that held a small bit of chicken as well as lots of tasteless filling. And doesn't Mexican food usually come with a side of rice and beans? For the price you pay, it should. All in all, not what we expected and very unsatisfying. Just a suggestion. Sometimes less is more. read more

Because the food is really,really good.!!! Been a patron since they opened, late 90's. It's always consistent ( quality. I had a knee replacement recently. I can't drive. I am using Doordarshan. Please be on Doordarshan site soon. Please? read more

Ok so let's set aside the slow line to order and focus on the food...this is really good Mexican food! The salsa bar is fantastic despite the numerous el cheapo customers loading up on to go salsa to take home. The beans are fantastic with a slight kick and taste way better than they look. Do get the carnita or chicken tacos as they are great! read more

Taco Mesa - Carnitas plate - Mexican Near Me - Ladera Ranch, California

I love this place. Their food is always fresh and delicious. The salsa bar as always full, Plenty of options. Great food , Great quality and good prices. Friendly staff. read more

Solid taco place in ladera, will definitely come back, quick service decent food it's a good place to keep in the lunch option rotation 4 stars for food 5 stars for location 4 stars for cleanliness read more

Taco Mesa - Mexican Near Me - Ladera Ranch, California

Horrible - stale taco shells, cold bland meat, bad service. Stick to the other Taco Mesas... this one sucks!

This is not a taco Mesa that I used to go to in Costa Mesa I don't know if they've branched out or if they've done franchise but are used to be when you get a strip steak from them it was a strip steak now it's some kind of crappy meat off and no flavor read more

Just ordered taquitos about 20 minutes ago from this location to go. As soon as I got in the car my passenger said "what's that smell...it smells like poop." I thought it might have been a sewage line or something and with frozen foods in my truck in a 100+ degree weather I took off. I'm going to be as factual as possible with no exaggerations: I live 5 minutes up the street I unloaded my freezer goods first I then returned to the food I just got The taquitos literally reeked of foul, spoiled chicken Not just a little spoiled but past it's freshness date by a few days spoiled The smell in the car was from 2 chicken taquitos and not a sewage line They are charging $10+ dollars for only 2 spoiled chicken taquitos Not ok! This is in serious violation of health codes and I will not be returning HOWEVER, THE TACO MESA ON TRABUCO AND LOS ALISOS IS AMAZING! I will be going there from now on even though this location is way more convenient read more

First time eating here and I won't be back. Chicken Quesadillas were like rubber - made me sick. Steak Burrito was all beans and couldn't recognize the steak, and my kids taco had tomato's and asked for just cheese and lettuce. Wow - just bad Mexican food that clearly was fresh then frozen and most likely past the expiration date - $60 buck wasted. read more

Prett disappointed to bite into a taquitos and get stabbed by a chicken bone. My tin was also full of a water liquid and my tortillas became very soggy. Yuck read more

Taco Mesa - Mexican Near Me - Ladera Ranch, California

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We newly moved into the area & were thrilled to see Taco Mesa after visiting the Orange location for more than 25 years. The middle age to slightly older male hispanic cashier was smug cold fish. Ordered two carne asada burritos one to have there for lunch and the other to take that was presented bagged to go. When at home, my husband started eating his carne asada burrito that was nothing but rice and beans, not even a single piece of meat in the burrito. Thought it was a mistake, however many reviews discuss the same sentiment of poor quality and poor food, which appears to be intentional. We visited Ladera Ranch location about a month later for lunch, same unwelcoming cashier. We ordered and I reminded him of my first visit and advised the burrito prepared to take didn't have any carne asada meat in it at all. Again, smugly replies with the worst attitude 'want your meat now'? No apology, no replacement, no nothing, this guy is a total turd! From the little taco shop in Orange I loved for many years as, its extremely disturbing to see all the hard work & dedication that went into making this a wonderful business in the Orange community, only to have a complete creep being the first and last impression you see and sadly have to deal with at Ladera Ranch. Taco Mesa, you have a problem in Ladera Ranch that does not represent your company in the positive, accomplished light that it should be. There's no pride, no integrity and this cashier who seems to be a supervisor/ manager/owner doesn't even like people. We will not be walking in the door of Taco Mesa Ladera Ranch again!!! CLOSE THIS AWFUL PLACE literally stealing from anyone who walks in the door and has the nerve to treat customers like s**t. read more