Three Roots has the most authentic tasting Mexican food around here. From enchiladas to tacos to barbacoa to fish to everything else, their chef is top notch. We love their Albondigas soup and mole too. Service is great. When they first opened it was a little slow but now they're up to speed. The bar drinks are tasty and inventive and they'll mix up whatever you want. Ambiance is nice and spacious. Very good for families and business parties. Great brunch on Sundays too. It's far from our house but we try to drive up every chance we get. read more

Place was empty, not the most reassuring or pleasant but who cares maybe its a hidden gem. Service was friendly but slow, much slower than you'd hope for an empty restaurant. Not much ambiance, feels like the old Olive Garden, I'm not sure if there was any music playing. Margaritas were fine, flautas were good, mole enchiladas were fine/ok, rice and beans were not good, sopes were there. It was Friday evening, so they began setting up a dance floor. There is us and one other table, and all of a sudden the music starts blaring, to a level where you can't speak. I get that that's what you're going for at night but at that time there were two tables and no one on or near or there for the dance floor, read the room and turn it down. For the prices and atmosphere I do not think I'd be back. read more

Three Roots Mexican Cocina - Sopes - Mexican Near Me - Santa Ana, California

See all

I give it one star just because no stars or negative stars is not possible. My family and I came here to eat today. It looked like a good place, but the first red flag and sign to leave should have been that it was empty. The lady greeted us nicely and so we decided to give it a try. Bad mistake. There was a lot of small flies, everywhere. Even in the restrooms! The horchata my husband ordered tasted and smelled like murky water. My coke was flat and tasted like it was from a 2liter bottle The food. The beans were old and watered down. The rice was cold and old as well just reheated and then cold when served. Meat was old and therefore overcooked. Service was questionable. For what we paid, it was a major let down. If you want good food, please don't come here. read more

Met a friend for lunch here. Pink Cadillac margaritas, flautas, Guacamole, and chips for appetizers, enchiladas and a carnitas burrito for the main course. The restaurant was almost empty so we had it virtually to ourselves. Service was good and the pace was fine. Without many other patrons the restaurant was nearly silent, making for an ideal quiet conversation. I'll be coming back again. read more

Three Roots Mexican Cocina - Flautas, Guacamole, and pink Cadillac margaritas - Mexican Near Me - Santa Ana, California

See all

First time here for some Sunday breakfast. Saw them at A Taste of Santa Ana a couple months back and was looking forward to coming here. As I site here writing this review, I'm getting the feeling I'm at Mocha Joe's (Curb your Enthusiasm) because this table is so wobbly! Thankfully, there is no Joe here so I can honestly say that service has been excellent. The chips were ok, wasn't too impressed, but I did like the salsa. I ordered a veggie omelette and it was amazing. Very unique presentation and full of flavor. I absolutely loved it! No full liquor license yet so I'll be back to try their Cadillac margaritas once they have it. I'll make sure to find a non-wobbly table next time. read more

Three Roots Mexican Cocina - Chips and salsa - Mexican Near Me - Santa Ana, California

See all

First time here and the service was okay but the food was nothing like I ever had before. The way the food is prepped and looks is crazy compared to places I've been to which is great because that makes it pretty unique. The food overall was pretty good. The seating and ambience inside is really spaced out and huge so it's a good place to sit and have dinner or lunch with someone! read more

See all

Do not go here when they open or for lunch. Half the food is unavailable and the food you do get looks like it is soggy. Nothing tasted good. I personally won't be back. They got pieces of tortilla to try to form a tortilla underneath. Probably the worst taco I have ever had. Meat was honestly not chewable. $60 for this.?? Yikes, shut down already read more

Three Roots Mexican Cocina - Taco - Mexican Near Me - Santa Ana, California

Saw this restaurant at Main Place (AKA Westfield Mall) in Danta Ana. Not sure about it so we came in. It's 1 pm and we are the only ones in here. It looked like it was closed when we got here cus there was no one at the reception station. All tables were empty when we got here. 20 minutes later there was 2 more table that came in. The waitress is friendly and on top of things, just worried cus she didn't write our order down and that usually opens up for mistakes. Best thing so far is that instead of chips and salsa they brought us churritos dorados with some Balentina to dip them in. Yum :). Guest service from 1-10 is a 4.0.... Only 1 waitress, she had to serve all 3 tables with orders and drinks. A cook had to bring out our food. Cleanliness from 1-10 is a 3.... Usually restaurant when they are slow it's extra cleaned. A 5 would be a clean restaurant and a 10 would be spotless. This restaurant was dusty on the corners, the restrooms were clean but one of the urinals was out of order and it might have been for a while cus it was taped up and closed with visible signs of being like that for a couple of days. When I was walking to my table I saw a cake plate with a fork on a ledge and dusty edges. Orders: my wife is very picky but she likes her fajitas de al pastor. Usually does not like restaurant white rice cus they put canned veggie, on this occasion it looks they put fresh veggies. Guac was good and fresh. Her Horchatas was not the best and her rice wand bean were like warm. She ordered corn tortillas and got flower. My food was good. I had 2 item plate. I had a shrimp taco that I asked on a soft tortilla and it was crunchy. It was still good but it was nothing special. I had the angus steak enchilada, the red sauce was good and tasted home made but they out mozzarella or some white cheese inside that nade it more American than authentic Mexican food. The beans tasted home made and the rice was also home made and toasted great but again they were lukewarm. I asked for a Modelo but it didn't taste like a modelo, tasted more like a XX amber. This could be a great spot if there was more focus on their cleanliness and attention to guest. They didn't check up on us till we were done with our food but it's understandable since there was only one server. All things said we will come back and give them a second chance. This was just 1 experience and we did come in a slow time at 1 on a Monday. All and all the food had a good flavor and the ambiance with music and decore was great. read more

Three Roots Mexican Cocina - Happy hour menu - Mexican Near Me - Santa Ana, California

See all

Yesterday evening, I went there for the first time at the Main Place mall. I went through Macys store. The interior decor is very attractive with Mexican themed motifs etc. The restaurant is very spacious to host small to medium sized parties and wedding receptions. I ordered and enjoyed the Large Chicken Tortilla Soup which was thick because tortillas are used to thicken the soup. I also ordered mine without cheese because I am lactose intolerant. I had a house Margarita for $5.00 My friend ordered the 3 Roots Special Salad with chicken and the Chori - Quezo which is Oaxaca cheese, jack cheese, chorizo, roasted tomatillo, guacamole, pico de gallo. I also enjoyed the chips and salsa. There was a band which performed well by playing famous songs from Los Angeles Azules and cumbia music from the early to mid '2000s etc. On the Specials section of their website, they have events like dance classes, Happy Hour or Taco Tuesdays specials etc. read more

See all

Olive Gardens was replaced by 3 roots. They were extremely short staffed. The bathrooms were hideous. I waited for over two hours to see if anyone will clean it up and they left it as is. I thought they just opened but I was told that they have been in business for over 2 years. There are wires hanging everywhere and the chairs look warn and some chairs were ripped. The portions were very small for the price. Everything was very very salty. I drank a lot of water to kill the saltiness. I was told that they have dancing after 8:30 pm. They didn't have enough servers and people were waiting for their food. I heard a lot of I'm sorry for the wait and some people who wanted to pay had no one to give money to. Please clean the bathrooms, hire more people to cook and serve. Service wasn't horrible but if it's like this for much longer they will have a difficult time keeping customers. read more

See all

I read the reviews and now i can see why people complain about this restaurant. Upon walking in the walkway is all broken up and uneven with mold and cigarette butts strewn about. The restaurant inside was weird as to i was looking for a person to seat me and when a girl finally walked up to me and asked could she help me I said, i would like a seat for 1 please. And she responded "what" so again i said, can i get a seat for just me? She responded again "what"? So i pointed to the seats and said i want to eat and she said oh ok! Upon sitting at my table in the bar cause there were no seats available cause of a party on one side and a singles shin dig dance lessons on the other i was put in a corner of the bar area in which the floor was dirty looking like it hadn't been mopped in years. 15 minutes later i get a water. 10 minutes after that I finally get my guacamole i ordered but still no chips and salsa and then she asked me if i needed anything else! I said i cant eat my guacamole without the chips. 10 minutes later out comes chips but still no salsa. She then returns and i ordered 2 tacos only and specifically asked ala cart no rice or beans but i got rice and beans anyway and the salsa finally arrived with my meal. Tacos were small for the money and the salsa was the worst tasting salsa ive ever had in my life. It tasted like cold dish water with onions. No tomatoes or tomato sauce to be found within. The tacos were good though and the guacamole was excellent. My water was filtered and tasted good snd im very picky over how my water tastes cause allot of restaurants dont filter their water. I asked for my bill and she never came back to pick it up so i walked up to the bar and handed it to her so i could finally leave. I used the restroom on my way out and it was disgusting with urine all over the floor with trash. I didn't let the door hit me in the rear leaving so dont bother going here if you are someone who likes cleanliness and good food with tentative table service. 2 stars only for the good tasting guacamole. read more

Three Roots Mexican Cocina - Mexican Near Me - Santa Ana, California

See all

Took my parents here Friday evening because there was a mariachi 7-9pm. Turned out to be a teenage mariachi and they were ok lol. Upon arriving, there was no host at the station. To add to the confusion, besides the mariachi playing and the restaurant background music still on, there was a cumbia/bachata class going on at the bar area of the restaurant; there was a mess of musical sounds. They seemed short staffed as a couple of servers saw us as they ran from one table to another, but we were seated in less than 10 mins. The rest of the evening, the service was just that, busy. When we had someone attending us, they were very friendly and accommodating but we had to flag them down several times. This is what lost them a star. The food was the 4 stars. We had the seafood chimichanga, lobster shrimp Chiles rellenos and the camarones endiablados. Everything was tasty and flavorful though portions could have been a little bit bigger. The chimichanga had a tasty creamy sauce but I couldn't find much lobster pieces, it was mostly shrimp, much like the Chiles rellenos. The camarones were also tasty but not very spicy. Oh and they give you pinwheel chicharrones which was cool but instead of salsa they give you a little bowl of Cholula! I asked for homemade salsa and they brought my a tiny little silver container, but that salsa was pretty good I just wish they gave that instead of Cholula. The rice and beans on the side were also good. For dessert we shared a banana chimichanga which came with a mint ice cream side. You really have to eat the ice cream with it to bring out all the flavors because eating them separately wasn't the same. We would try this place again but hope they hire more staff and really switch out the Cholula for salsa! read more

See all

Came in on Thursday evening not busy seemed quiet (4 people total inside ,1 waitress.) Our waitress sat us by a part of the restaurant they occasionally use as a dance floor, it can get quite disruptive if you're speaking to one another while dining. We got some chicharrones and drinks 15mins later she takes our appetizer order and comes back another 15mins later with said appetizer, a choriqueso that was hard to pull even with a fork so we set that aside no biggie. Once we finally get our entree the chicken chile relleno cheese was still hard and lukewarm while the rest of it was hot. The camarones diablados were decent up until I got to a shrimp that was black rotten looking not burnt or part of the sauce. Disgusted and upset we decided to get the check. Our waitress was very nice and professional despite being new ZERO stars for the cook on duty! One and done. read more

Three Roots Mexican Cocina - CHORI-QUEZO - Mexican Near Me - Santa Ana, California

See all

I'm not sure where to start to describe this delicious magnificent place. The food was full of so much flavor from dinner plate to dessert plates. We order "asada plate"as well as a "asador" (plate for 2ppl). Truly I believe the 2 ppl" asador" platter can be enough for 3. The platter had a variety of meats; asada, pollo asado, carnitas, al pastor, garlic shrimp, rice, with a side of salad and tortillas. OMG this was truly heaven on earth/ my mouth. As a Hispanic I can say this was definitely very authentic Mexican food w. An exquisite savory taste Trees leches cake and churros had the perfect sweetness. Our server Angel was very attentive to our needs and made my son really happy by adding an extra bread to his asada plate. Angel everyone in here where friendly and courteous to our needs. Truly will come back. read more

Three Roots Mexican Cocina - Churros - Mexican Near Me - Santa Ana, California

See all

I absolutely recommend this place to everyone that wants to have the true taste of Mexican food, the environment is friendly, delicious food, lots of parking, they have taco Tuesday, which by the way they are delicious ! Friday mariachi night and Saturday salsa and bachata night ... come eat dinner and dance the night away ! By the way no fee for the salsa and bachata! Invite your family and friends to come and have fun !!! Love this place. read more

See all

Great place hidden in the main place mall but really good service and food was great will make this the new hot spot

The beans were cold and the rice smelled and tasted like freezer burn. Portion size was quite small.

So... the place was empty on a Friday night for dinner. Service was very slow (really bad slow and they didn't get it right) and the food was ok. I do not recommend. Place needs a deep clean and some paint. These 5 star reviews are sus. read more

Three Roots Mexican Cocina - 2 item combo - Mexican Near Me - Santa Ana, California

I wanted to feel sorry for them as I went last Friday night at 7p and there was 1 server and I'm guessing the cook and NO other patrons and we were just a party of 4 but it still took us about 45 minutes to even order! There's no chips and salsa that I was looking forward to, my husband ordered what was called seafood chile rejeano that was supposed to have lobster and the reason he ordered it, the rest of us ordered salads and an order of chicken flautas. after 30 minutes 2 salads came another 10 minutes my husbands order came out he noticed there was no lobster and when the undercooked looking flautas came we advised the server and she said oh there's no lobster today, which she should have said when we ordered! Somehow a small side salad came another 20 minutes later with a different dressing that was ordered and she also said we don't have pepita dressing either! In the meantime another party of 4 was seated ordered and served and leaving when we would have liked to but the server disappeared for another 20 minutes she finally came and as we're all standing and asked if I wanted another margarita? I said no we want the check! She brought it and my husband still tipped 20%! To top it off I've had continuous stomach cramps for 2 days! I wish we could get our money back? read more

Great service and delicious food! I have been going to three roots for about a year now and the service is always great! read more

This place was so good!the food was great for the price. HAPPY HOUR Def made us happy, the choices are a lil. Slim but F it just order the tuna mmm tacos are so meaty and flavorful as well. read more

See all

La comida está rica !! Pero un poco fría !! El servicio bueno !! El lugar bonito !! Felicidades

Steak sopes are delicious. The bread is handmade. The beef is light and well seasoned. The sauce is just the right level of spicy. Maracuya is tight amount of tropical and sweet read more

Three Roots Mexican Cocina - Steak sopes are delicious. The bread is handmade. The beef is light and well seasoned. The sauce is just the right level of spicy - Mexican Near Me - Santa Ana, California

Sat at the bar today, bartender was great. Unfortunately he could not deviate from the menu, it was almost like the drinks were pre-made. I was so excited for an authentic Mexican spot, and delicious margaritas but when I asked for a Cadillac it wasn't possible, then I asked for a spicy margarita and was pushed into a spicy cucumber margarita and I do not like cucumber. Drinks seemed very light (almost virgin) and when a shot was requested that too wasn't possible. I will say the coconut margarita was delicious but virgin. We left after 2 margaritas each and went to a restaurant down the street for a Cadillacs. We didn't have any food but the menu looked good. read more

Three Roots Mexican Cocina - Tamarindo - Mexican Near Me - Santa Ana, California

This is my first time here, and I loveeee it The flavors are authentic from the the rice, main dish to the dessert I had a little bit of everything from these pictures and I can't wait to go back. We always go for something authentic and we finally found it! The food isn't greasy at all, every flavor is perfect I love the carne asada and al pastor tacos, I also had the choriqueso it was delicious. The service was amazing they made us feel like home. Finally an authentic Mexican Restaurant close to home Thank you to all team members at Three Roots Mexican Cocina read more

See all

5:35 pm Sat 14 Oct. Pretty quiet, sat at bar. Bartender said it was happy hour until 6 pm so i lucked out. House margarita was $10 - $3 HH discount = $7 and it was reasonably strong read more

See all

So my teenager and I walked into this place wondering what restaurant replaced the old Olive Garden. It had just opened for business and it was almost time for the mall to close. Despite the fact that it was late the manager came over to personally seat us and tally to us about the menu. The tacos were delicious and so were the taqueria. There were some free snacks on the table that were a little odd, kind of like fried pig skins only they were more like crackers. But if it's for free, it's for me and I'll take three if you catch my drift. We were surprised by the quality of the food given the more reasonable price point. We will definitely go back. read more

See all

We have been to this new Restaurant twice. It's at Mainplace Mall. It took over the old Olive Garden location. We have tried the Shrimp Taquitos, Enchiladas de Mariscos, taco de Carnitas, lobster chile rellenos and Carne Asada. Everything was delicious. More upscale Mexican food but still tastes authentic. Drinks have also been great. Best of all, service was fantastic both times we went. Very friendly staff. Also, staff wears masks and try to seat everyone allowing for social distancing so everyone feel read more

See all

Stopped by while holiday shopping and though our expectations weren't high we were blown away by the great customer service and the quality of the food. The chef presents the dishes crafted to be artistically pleasing to the eye (everything we had was visually stunning). The flavors were beyond fresh, the portions were perfect. This restaurant is a bit tricky to find, we parked in the upper level next to Macy's and walked across the bridge (not far at all), and walked right in. From inside the mall, the entrance is right next to Crocs on the upper level. read more

See all

This place is just what the Main Place Mall and general Santa Area needed. The food was authentic and delicious in an environment with salsa playing in the background. I had the huevos rancheros and my wife had the enchiladas tampiquenas. Our server was attentive and provided us with refills and check ups before we noticed we needed them. They have live mariachi in Friday nights and have live salsa dancing on Saturdays. read more

See all

Great new place! They have most of the famous Mexican dishes some that they reinvent like the "seafood chimichanga" it was really good! I would come back soon to try other plates, so far I do recommend this new restaurant. read more

Three Roots Mexican Cocina - Seafood chimichanga! - Mexican Near Me - Santa Ana, California

Jorge and Chef Juan are the best here at Three Roots. We enjoyed some great Cadillac Margaritas here and the beef taquitos were to die for, I opted for Monterey cheese instead of the Cotija... would also steer clear of the Chori-Queso didn't enjoy it that much, and will try and review another appetizer next time. The location is the old Olive Garden spot on the 2nd floor at Main Place. It's pretty wild that people still walk directly through the restaurant to access the mall without purchasing anything but I guess it comes with the territory. The service was great, we hung out in the bar, and really enjoyed meeting Chef Juan who has a crazy resume from all the biggest PCH restaurants down by the beach. We'll definitely be back for more fun at Three Roots, can't wait to try their Lobster Enchiladas next visit! Our new favorite restaurant at Main Place!! Thanks Jorge + Chef Juan!! read more

See all

This is a hidden gem! We loved everything we ordered: seafood burrito and the shrimp chile relleno. So good! We ordered a spicy margarita and that too was great. We were surprised that the place was slow. I think it's ran by a family because when we got there the waitress a little kid and the cook were together once we got there they disperse. The baby went with the guy in the back and the waitress served us. The place was very chill and empty. Great for introverts. read more

Food was pretty good! I had the sopes and they were honestly really flavorful. The salsa was super spicy though! I also tried the Ahi tostadas and they were also really flavorful! Service was good, they were really nice and helpful to all our questions. Place was also really big and so cute! Would definitely come again and i would recommend! read more

See all

Food: Bland...Blah! Service: Very Lacking Ambience: Close to empty and yet it took them for ever to serve us. Very disappointed...Never again read more

Three Roots Mexican Cocina - Seriously it was close to empty. - Mexican Near Me - Santa Ana, California

This place needs a visit from the health department. I will preface this and say I did NOT even eat here. Walked in and walked right back out. Place was dead (maybe two people dining), it looked dirty and extremely old. After looking at the menu, photos online, and the prices/portions it was comical! Much better off going to Red O or Javier's and paying almost the same price for an extremely better ambience. Hard to justify the price considering the location and size of the plates. Come on, you're just ripping off people in Santa Ana at this point. Maybe your prices are so steep to make up for the fact nobody is eating there or for paying a DJ who's playing music for zero audience? I can't make sense of it. read more

Cool spot to have drinks and have lunch with co workers and even after work get together read more

See all

So gross !! Flies literally everywhere! Would not recommend :(((((( food wasn't awful but the flies ruined it

The enchiladas were full of flavor. I asked if they were spicy being that the salsa is habanero cream and I eat zero spicy food but they were perfect. I wish we knew about the salsa classes starting at 8:30 Fridays and Saturdays or else we would've stayed. Overall, I was more impressed with the food than anything else so I'll be dining here again. read more

Three Roots Mexican Cocina - Lobster Enchiladas - Mexican Near Me - Santa Ana, California

See all

this place was actually really authentic with great food. This used to be the old Olive Garden restaurant so there is a lot of space and available seating. I will definitely return back to this place. Every item we had was delicious. Do not skip the desert on the churros. read more