The employees work so hard to cook great food. I am grateful the business has a customer restroom for hand washing prior eating. The indoor and outdoor dining options have flatscreen TVs and musicwith a happy vibe. It has come to my attention with inflation many working people need to supplement with EBT calfresh food assistance and if private restaurants like Vallarta could do that and get properly reimbursed by the state that would help human beings who need to fuel up on someone else's better cooking so they can use their spiritual gifts to contribute another job. Nearby fast food places take EBT but I have found Valletta's to have more fresh vegetables available on their diverse menu. Thank you Valletta's! I owe 700 on my phone so if you all can take EBT please many well mannered people like me are applying for EBT. Holly read more

Nice. Read the response from Vallarta Express about how I obviously dialed the wrong number. Funny how that "wrong number" had an automated message of "Thank you for calling Vallarta Express, at the tone please leave..........." . Oh, and since you "can assure me".....let me assure you - if the voice mail message stated "thanks for calling Bob's Tire Shop", I think I would have figured out that I had dialed a wrong number. But the tone of your response is you KNOW you're absolutely correct, and I'm absolutely wrong, what's the point here? Instead of starting off with a "sorry we messed up your order" I get an admonition that I am the one who messed up. After I had been fully chastised for what they are sure is me making a dialing error, then the VE representative go on about fixing things. Sort of confirms the level of "customer service" I spoke of in my initial review. Vallarta Express: Keep my money. You are NOT worth me spending another moment trying to get satisfaction. Needless to say, when any discussion with others involves your business, you can just imagine what I'm going to say. Business tip: Customer service should not begin with pointing out how the customer is wrong. read more

Super bummed found the longest hair deep in my carne asada fries. I feel like for $20 carne fries you should maybe wear a hair net. read more

Vallarta Express - Hair in my food - Mexican Near Me - Carlsbad, California

I don't blame the cooks. All they can do is read what is presented to them. But when you clearly state what you don't want and they put it on anyway, then I'm done with you. If you are too busy dealing with the window, other employees or anything else, slow down so you get it right. But do what you want I'll never eat there again. $21 down the drain. read more

When I'm REALLY hungry, I can put up with rudeness from the ladies behind the counter. Now, the food at Vallarta is so 'hit & miss' that it's just not worth it. They are expensive, rude and the food goes into the trash after a couple of bites half of the time. If you want a really good taco, try Guanatos City in Oceanside off Mission! It might be a bit of a drive but it's delicious, authentic and friendly! https://viewer.joomag.com/ec-0110-1821/0860583001619645835?short& read more

That old lady that works there named Cheli is a real piece of work. I work in San Diego on Thursdays, coming from Riverside and stopping by to order the same thing, carne asada fries with everything on the side and messed up my order... fine, we are all human making mistakes. And call up to tell them I can not eat it. And letting them know that I'm already in La Jolla, so I can not come back. Cheli said, "Come next week, and I'll take care of you."... so I did. When placing the order, I asked for the same thing, carne asada fries with everything on the side. When coming into the store, she told me that I should have told her over the phone that I had credit. So there was no way of giving me my order she wanted me to pay for her mistake. So I asked why couldn't you just void the receipt and give me the order that you messed up on last week. She said, "I can't do that. It is impossible." Making sure that other customers and Cooks could hear what's going on to embarrass me in front of everyone while she's giving me a smirk and an attitude. How the hell is she a manager? Who is she related to to get this position? How the hell can you give somebody an attitude when you mess up on the other. I don't care how good food is. It's about common sense in treating people with respect. I'm not asking for free food. I'm just asking to give me what I paid for. Try to call corporate three times and leave a message about what happened. No phone call back. I never post anything on Yelp because I've never had a problem with other places. But she embarrassed me so much and made me feel so ashamed of myself. I feel like I have to step up and let management and people know what type of people they have behind the counter. Lazy!.... I see why this place is barely making three stars. read more

Place constantly is actually horrible. Insane wait times for simple things, food is always cold and the meat is always burnt. I have given this place chance after chance but after waiting FORTY MINUTES FOR CHICKEN SOUP I am done with this place. Wouldn't even eat here if I was blacked out and jack in the box was closed. Pure garbage. read more

The taco meat was burnt and the drive thru person was rude. I paid $22 for three tacos that were basically inedible.

there was bacon in my veggie burrito this morning and I ended up ingesting some. ate. Unfortunately this can't be made right, I haven't had meat for 3 years and Vallarta has ended this streak. This was my go to Mexican spot but now my business with them has concluded read more

Vallarta is a San Diego staple for yummy Mexican food at all hours of the day and all days of the week! What I love most about Vallarta is how affordable, quick, and yummy it is. The menu is incredibly extensive, so you will surely find something for everyone. FOOD We ordered the Carne Asada Quesadilla and the Chicken Fajita Plate. Both entrees were very reasonably priced and the portions were generous allowing us to have plenty for another meal! Carne Asada Quesadilla - We loved that the Carne Asada Quesadilla came loaded with meat and was served with salsa and guacamole on the side. The food came hot and fresh, which you can see from the sick cheese pull. Chicken Fajita Plate - I was looking for a low-carb option for my meal, so I opted for the chicken fajita plate. The only real complaint I had was that the chicken was a little dry, but it otherwise was a yummy dish with some tortillas, salad, and rice on the side. I would definitely order this again when I'm looking for something a little lighter to eat. SERVICE I have always been served with a smile at this location, and the staff is very quick and efficient in giving us our food. PARKING There is plenty of parking in the lot at this location, and the drive thru has never made it a problem for us to park. SEATING There is plenty of outdoor seating that is reasonably spaced out to allow you to enjoy your meals onsite while safely social distancing. read more

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Great as always - love the fish tacos and burritos. It is our go to place for authentic Mexican food.

They have a really good fish burrito, the meat was well cooked and had good flavoring. They got our food out quick even though they were busy. The placed looked clean and their staff was friendly, I would definitely recommend this place. read more

Keep coming back! Okay, I use to come here back in the early 90's when I was a teenage & it was Alberto's. Good go to taco shop... I've moved back to Carlsbad & was craving Mexican and was a little "iffy" ordering from the new name & not so much little taco shop prices. I tip toed at first with a breakfast burrito.; Good! Then eventually explored the menu to my go to fav lunch rolled tacos- Good! All the fixings you hope they would not skimp on. Thank you! Then I started ordering dinner- SUPER AMAZING! I've been a creature of habit with the Chile Rellenos and chicken or cheese enchiladas. Really outstanding flavor I must say, living in this area (Mexican culture/food) for over 30 years. I HAD to give them a proper Especially bc I'm going through the drive through! Please I hope this business continues to uphold the integrity in taking this from a previous Alberto's taco shop to a really good Mexican restaurant with delicious entrees. Yum!!! Also, i think they use quality ingredients as my tummy will tell me otherwise. Just a side note that makes me an even more satisfying customer. read more

We grabbed some grub for dinner and our two burritos tasted like nothing. We had the surf and turf and the Christian and they tasted like over used frying oil. The fries were stale and tasted like over used oil as well. Bummer, the ingredients look and were prepared well. Price did not meet value. read more

Delicious!! Fast and friendly service. Casual place with parking! Also has a drive thru! The burritos are huge!! Highly recommend the super fries. Has seating in and outside. read more

Vallarta Express - Super fries - Mexican Near Me - Carlsbad, California

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3 pieces of chicken in my soup. What a joke. Never going back. This is the 2nd time they do this. I had to pour it in a bowl just to see how much chicken was in it. Just call it Veggie soup . read more

Vallarta Express - Where's the chicken in the chicken soup? - Mexican Near Me - Carlsbad, California

Service and food SUCKED!! I should have trusted the prior negative reviews. As I received my food the lady just handed it to me - didn't bother to say thank you, have a great day - she didn't say anything just walked away. Also, when I ordered I asked for NO guacamole in my California burrito - they put guacamole in the burrito. The meat in the burrito wasn't even warm when I bit into it. Steer clear of this place of even if you don't mind "not so good Mexican food". read more

Vallarta Express - Receipt - Mexican Near Me - Carlsbad, California

This place used to be so good and they have gone down hill fast. Half the time our order is either wrong or it's just very lack luster. Tonight for example I got a carnitas burrito, it's supposed to have salsa and guacamole in it. It was all just meat, nothing else which made it so dry and it wasn't even good meat, they burned the crap out of it so every bite tasted like charcoal. There was no saving it. It's such a shame because this place used to be super good. I feel like the people who work here are also too busy talking to one another and farting around to actually make decent food. We will have to drive down to SD now if we ever wanna eat at vallartas. That location is so much better and I'd rather give my money to people who wanna work. read more

Horrible service, rude employees, terrible vibes, RIDICULOUS pricing, do NOT recommend.

My Wife and I have something from Vallarta Express at least once a week. We LOVE their Carne Asada Quesadillas!! Sometimes the wait is a little long, but definitely worth it! read more

We found a metal screw looking object on our food. Thankfully my friend sandwich is falling apart and had the to check it out and glad that it happened because that is crazy. read more

Vallarta Express - Mexican Near Me - Carlsbad, California

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The California burrito I had *sub pollo asada* was really good. I do think that the burrito was smaller than most places but I was still very full after eating here. It was my first time so definitely satisfied by the food, customer service I will leave out. Drive thru was busy the time of day I went. read more

I've been sick for a few days and got the flu yesterday, I thought I wouldn't be able to eat anything the next day but wow this chicken soup revived me! Best chicken soup I've ever had honestly read more

Vallarta Express - Chicken soup - Mexican Near Me - Carlsbad, California

Let me count the ways in which I did not like this Mexican restaurant. I ordered a fish burrito with Verde enchilada sauce. By the the looks of it, I thought wow. The burrito was huge. But, that is where it ended. They only have soda drinks, not even iced tea. So, I drank water. I was served the burrito with red sauce, not green sauce. But, I like both, so big deal so far. The sauce was not even warm let alone hot and lacked flavor. The tortilla shell was ever so slightly warm. The inside of the burrito was stuffed with loads of cabbage and very little fish. No wonder it looked so big. The fish was barely warm. The seasoning inside the burrito was lack luster at best. The fish was tasteless. You had to search to even find a piece of fish. Mostly it was amaller pieces of the deep fried coating. I told one of my friends, "this is singled hand-idly the worst burrito I have ever eaten". I think I have covered most of my complaints. I won't ever go back. read more

Vallarta Express - Fish Burrito: Looks delish, but looks were deceiving it turned out. - Mexican Near Me - Carlsbad, California

Dear Francisco, I noticed you do respond to some reviews and I am hopeful you will respond to this one. Yesterday early evening, 10/24/24, I ordered a burrito, chips with salsa to go and I went home. At home I saw I didn't receive the salsa. So, today after work, I went back to Vallarta, Carlsbad, at 1:50 p.m. and "explained". The woman at the counter said something I couldn't understand, not politely, and turned her back on me. She brought a man from the rear who questioned me about what time this happened, I took a guess 5 or 6 p.m. They couldn't help me. They didn't utter any words about their customer's (My) inconvenience or offer the salsa that I paid for. It would appear they either don't trust their co-workers or their customers, which is insulting. This salsa comes with the chips but can be purchased for about 50 cents. This was not a big deal and should have been easily fixed. read more

Truly disgusting I ordered a California burrito with the meat cheese french fries and guacamole. Pretty simple paid for extra cheese. There was absolutely no cheese on my burrito. The meat was hard and dry. The entire thing was cold just disgusting I'm so pissed off that I wasted my $15 on this nasty food.!! I should've saved my damn money. read more

I think I've explained how much I like their steak n egg breakfast burritos??? yes, I have! They so good and def a good way to start your hangover day!! or a long drive! or... whatev, after a bake off. read more

Vallarta Express - Mexican Near Me - Carlsbad, California

I will always be a loyal fan to Vallartas, so when my friend and I found a location in Carlsbad... approximately 15 or 20 mins away from my house (versus almost an hour from the OG shack), I knew I was in trouble. Fries here are super good (as always). Just wish they put more cheese or something. All Vallartas seem to have started skimping a little on the toppings lately, but ah well. Still my favorite carne asada fries ever! read more

Vallarta Express - Mexican Near Me - Carlsbad, California

The typical small Mexican food joint. I'll be honest I've only tried a few things. My go to is always the bean, rice, and cheese burrito. It's amazing. A big burrito, we usually share it. Their rice is delicious, and their house sauce/salsa is to die for. I always ask for extra so I can take a few home. My husband didn't like the crunchy taco, I did. A little greasy but yummy. Side of chips and salsa is a very large portion for sharing. Plenty of seating inside and more outside. Parking lot is small but we've always been able to get a spot there or close by in the neighborhood. read more

If I could give this place 10 stars I would! The huevos rancheros burrito is my all time fav and red sauce makes me feel so good. I'm never not hungry for this place, 10/10. read more

Vallarta Express - Mexican Near Me - Carlsbad, California

I got a Chile Relleno at Vallarta Express today. This small chain serves it home-style with an orange sauce like I remember my favorite 3-pound burrito place at a SoCal ski resort serving up. Every aspect of the dish is centerline: nicely blanched pepper, slightly eggy battered soft shell, proper melted cheese inside with a stringy goodness, and Kotija on top. There were still seeds enough to bring some heat. Subtle seasonings accompanied by plenty of salinity. My only complaint is somebody took the top off for me which I usually enjoy chewing on as I leave. Now I'm not going to lie that in my long wait to find one this style, I became addicted to Chile Relleno at Leucadia's Cancun where they use a Molé sauce, that is somehow perfectly executed (had a few elsewhere where they should have just used enchilada sauce). Call me greedy, but I want one of each next time. read more

Vallarta Express - use to be an a(de)lbertos if I recall - Mexican Near Me - Carlsbad, California

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Went here for tacos on a Tuesday (no taco Tuesday special) but got tacos anyway. Happy I did the tacos are between $5 &$6 but they are huge. One taco is the size of two. Taste was good and hits the spot when you are really hungry. read more

This place is open 24/7. Has a huge selection to choose from. Got the egg sandwich. It had a great taste to it. Has outdoor seating

Our burrito was not even wrapped, the meat was drying and there was no surf to our surf and turf burrito...

This women named Norma she didn't want me to get a chicken and beef rolled tacos which I can normally get here for the past year. This lady has an attitude and shouldn't be working here. She needs get fired. She doesn't not belong in food service. Poor service. Never coming here again. read more

We love this place. We stay in Carlsbad every year for a week and we make sure we eat here at least once. I love their beans, rice and chicken burrito. Great hot sauce too! read more

I purchased a breakfast burrito two days ago and midway through eating it I found a small black piece of plastic. I've since called them multiple times to ask for a refund, but they just told me there was no manager present and to call a customer service number. I've called and left messages with no reply. It's frustrating because I really liked this place, but now in the wake of handling (or not handling) a simple refund I'm left feeling frustrated. I don't recommend giving this place your business. read more

If I could give this place zero stars I would. I ordered soup and surf n turf burrito to go. I could feel the container of soup super hot through the bag, it took me 30 minutes to drive home. The burrito was uncooked, the shrimp and rice were not cooked all the way and the sour cream was spoiled. (This is not the first time my burritos were awful or uncooked) When I got home I took the container out of the bag, immediately the styrofoam container warped (melted) and it spilled on top of my leg causing second degree burns. When I called to bring the attention of double cupping their soups, they told me it was my fault for ordering soup. I stopped going to the Encinitas location before they closed due to poor customer service and the food quality was poor. When this location opened I was bummed because I loved Alejandro's. However I wanted to give this place a second chance. The beginning was good, but their salads and burritos were getting crappier and crappier each time. read more

Vallarta Express - Burns from the container - Mexican Near Me - Carlsbad, California

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vallarta express has been soo hit or miss for the past year or so. I went in today and wanted to get a california burrito. The employee serving me at the drive thru was soo short and acted like my existence was a inconvenience. I get my burrito it was small, cold and almost 13$!! it was burnt over cooked carne asada that tasted like well done burger meat. The pico tastes kinda funky and was definitely old. Also, the burrito was half cold guacamole that had a weird alcohol taste to it. The cheese wasn't even melted. I've been going to Vallarta Express for years in the past few times I've gone it has gotten worse and worse and the customer service has gone downhill. 10/10 don't recommend there are way better taco shops that are better! Cheaper! And the employees actually give you a smile read more

Food is excellent, innovative and delicious, Drive thru service was quick and you got all the extra, napkins, sauces and utensils without asking. Speaking of the sauces both the red and green are excellent and I even save them for other items such as eggs. Potato taco is fab. The only think I'd say which was a little negative is the pricing. I little high but I guess you pay for what you get. read more