Las Olas

Biking through Carlsbad, looking for a place to stop for lunch. There are lots of options, but none of them smell as good as Las Olas, so we park the bikes out front and sit on the patio. Fresh chips, spicy tomato based salsa, and an amazing Margarita flight… that’s 4 small Marg’s including a mango and a spicy Chile one. For lunch, the Chile relleno was amazing, with smoky beans and cabbage salad. The servers don’t rush rush you, perfect beach feel!

Three stars for food, 3 stars on service, 2.5 stars on parking (but it’s Carlsbad), 4 stars décor. I had the chile relleno/​fish taco plate, husband had the steak tacos, margaritas and chips and guacamole. We finished our little basket of chips, sorry we’re pigs, they charge for additional chips, wow ok. Place gets crowded, so does the Las Olas in Cardiff, but more parking in the dirt in Cardiff. They must have been busy, I guess, because the service was a bit slow. Fish tacos you can get San Felipe style or grilled– both tasty, chile relleno was swimming in red sauce so the taco was really soggy, but portions are large so come hungry. Husband said his steak tacos were ok, nothing special, sides of rice and beans, typical flavors. I liked their cabbage slaw, crunchy fresh and a vinegar tang.

If I could rate things separately…
Fresh chips– 5! They were tasty.
Food-​3 my ceviche was good my husbands Aztec tacos he said was okay.
Service– 0 Our server was terrible! (Blue shirt-​blond) Ordered a drink that never came. The hostess had to even ask if we had been helped since nothing was on the table for awhile. A cute younger blond girl brought us waters and refilled our chips 2x (Busser?).
Had to ask to place our order. She didn’t bring a side dish we ordered, drink never came, never checked on us, and we had to ask a Busser for our Check. All in all we gave our servers tip the the Busser who actually helped us.

I really enjoyed the vibes and authenticity of this restaurant. Great placement and service. Margaritas are a must. The pricing was excellent. I definitely want to give it another go since my taste buds are refined. Very tasty and portion dense.

Excellent! The real winner was the vegetarian enchiladas which had generous fresh vegetables that were wrapped & cooked without going to mush. Also the salsa flight offered a delicious variety of tastes. Whole wheat tortillas were available with excellent texture. One in our party was vegan and the waiter made it very clear which menu items had chicken stock & milk products. Service was excellent at the front end especially. The wrap up was brief yet satisfactory.

I was actually surprised how much I liked this place. For me, there are few mexican places that stand out, but this is one of them. It’s in the heart of the touristy area of the village but this is a great place for locals.
We actually didn’t order authentic items (disclosure– we had nachos and a salad!) But these were done well. The nachos were very hearty with fresh ingredients and no fake cheese!
I had a mojito which was nice and light. Hubby had a beer and it all worked well together. We hope to be back soon.

A change in plans works out great. Las Olas is a great Mexican restaurant with great service. The food was awesome. Fast servers that are smart and knowledgable is always a plus!
We will be back.

Service: Excellent!!!
Food: NOT authentic. Far from it. Too many gringos in this place… Should have been my first sign. No Mexican staple foods… Pasole, Menudo, Flan, homemade tortillas, etc.
Final word: Let me think on this one until I leave the restaurant.

Eat here!
This is a cute little place tucked away on Carlsbad Blvd. It’s got indoor /​outdoor seating and just a cozy feel.
They have very very reasonably priced food. look around for coupons. We found one for 50% off and paid $ 12 for two lunches.
The food was delicious and abundant. My fish taco, Baja style had a little more Pico than necessary but was very good.
The Carne taco I chose to eat second… Noooooooo… I was too full to eat it and the meat was delectable and there was a lovely guacamole mixed in with the meat. Carne first next time!
In addition, rice and beans on the side even with lunch specials… Now back to snoring at my desk!
Sweet little place with great food, great service, great ambiance… GO HERE!

This place seems to be popular among the small town. The people are nice the food and drinks are great! The only problem is when they are really busy it’s hard to get the attention of the servers because there are not many of them.

2.75 to be exact.
Las Olas has a great interior, as it is very vibrant and colorful. This creates a good eating experience inside. However, The food I ordered was very average at best.
I can here visiting the area with a few friends and we decided to come by here. Our meal was not bad as we started with some complementary chips where we then got some guacamole. The guacamole here was average and due to that, I could have lived without getting it.
For my main course, I got the shredded beef chimichanga. This was not a bad dish and I got it with rice and beans. Even though the chimichanga was not bad, at the same time, it was not anything special. The beef inside tasted a little dry so I put more sauce on it as I ate it which made it taste better. However, you do get a generous portion of food so if you like the food enough, you shall get stuff!

Olas only had 3.5 star Unilocal rating (at this time), and I normally only eat at resturants with 4 and 5 star Unilocal ratings. I gave them a shot today because I’ve dined here before and everthing was great.
This time:
Parking = Ok. Not enough spaces in the front but plenty located just behind the resturant.
Service = Great. From the Hostess to our Server. Can’t complain there.
Food = Meh. Being that it didn’t too long, I would have expected the food to at minimum be hot. But at best is it was tepid.
Normally, I would rate this experience a 3 or 4 star rating. However, my first fork-​ful of food, that I put in my mouth, I noticed something on the fork as I pulled it out.
Yup…, it had dried on «Crusties» on it from the previous patron. :/​
I was having a very nice time with my wife, and I didn’t want to ruin it, so I politely asked for new fork and proceeded to finish some of the food. Well, at least the warm parts.
Needless to say, I probably will not be returning to Olas anytime soon.

Very good Mexican food made from great ingredients at a good price. Pair that with excellent margaritas, and a fun environment you have a great restaurant!
I really like Las Olas, and will definitely go back! All the standard Mexican fare with a plethora of options for the margarita to suit your mood!
This restaurant is big enough to give groups room, and the perfect noise level to talk, but also to have a good time!

My boyfriend and I were craving fish tacos, best fish tacos ever! Our Server was Robbie, very friendly. As soon as we sat down we were given chips and salsa. As soon as we finished our chips he brought us more. By the time we were done with that our food came! Very fast service :)
We did the combination plate of two grilled mahi tacos with the rice and beans as our side ($ 12.50 a plate). Everything tasted great and there’s a great atmosphere.
There’s plenty of parking with a parking code so you don’t have to pay for the first 2 hours.

As a native Texan and So Cal former resident I have to say this place is just ok. With so many options out there in San Diego area this will do if you don’t want to drive far from your location. I ordered Baja tacos to compare to my other favorite places and this were just average. Not enough fish per taco. Flavor a bit bland. Sour cream and chicken enchilada was pretty good but flavor profile not enough oomph. Staff was friendly and accommodating which is always good.

I’ve been coming here since college. It was always our go to spot for sit down Mexican food. I’ve been here with big and small groups, its good for both! Came here last night for my going away dinner, 17 friends showed up and they were more than accommodating!
I ordered:
— mango marg, make it a tall for $ 1.00 more.
— shrimp tacos
The marg was alright, not the best I’ve had. The tacos were good. I feel like it’s a locals spot.
Parking in the back is free if you validate!

Went here for a birthday celebration and it was a definite hit. The service was outstanding. We all got the flight of margaritas which was a mistake as we only liked 2 of them. They don’t allow substitutions and the spicy one and top shelf ones were not drinkable. All 4 of us left them full. The cheese crisp was fabulous followed by great dinners. My son had a lobster taco special and he loved it-​said he would order it again. The cabbage slaw is tasty and all the combo dinners we had were delicious. Can’t wait to go back. Beautiful atmosphere.

Above average Mexican fare that falls somewhere between El Torito and Casa Guadalajara in their Mexican food plates.
We were looking for a family friendly restaurant in the Village on a Saturday evening and came across Las Olas. What a find. We were greeted by the hostess up front who shuttled us to the Family area of the restaurant. We settled down with the menus and a couple of cold drinks. There were two items that stood out to me on the menu.
— Nachos De Salva
A generous plate of chips, meat, refried beans, sour cream, salsa fresca, and guacamole. When this landed on the table I dove right into these nachos. Great sharing appetizer or just eat the whole damn thing by yourself for dinner. Mmmm
— Plato De La Casa
A roasted Poblano Chile stuffed with white cheeses, covered in green sauce with a side chicken and sour cream enchilada. This is not a deep fried Chile Relleno, simply a fired and stuffed one. If you like this, you gotta try the same thing at Cenote Grill in Escondido. That one is full of hominy and meat.
Tips
— For reference, this place (food) reminds me of Su Casa in La Jolla.
— Great Post LEGOLAND destination (The whole Carlsbad village area in fact)
— Passion Iced Tea
— Cabbage is a side offering in lieu of beans or rice.

Came here for a late afternoon snack with my family before they left. Cool environment, both temperature wise and ambiance! Everyone smiling and welcoming. Casual for sure, no need to bust out the stilettos for this joint.
Our server Tyler was prompt and attentive. Very funny too! My mother decided to be a brat and put him in the middle of deciding which money to take so I commend him for his humor.
Baja fish taco was great. Fish cooked to perfection, crema and added toppings made this the perfectos day snack. Not to full for dinner, not left wanting more.
My sister and her boyfriend split the PLATTER of nachos. I refuse to call that a plate because it was huge! Overall, good nachos. Chicken was tender and well flavored, worth the extra for meat. Could’ve used more beans and cheese. Lots of chips left without toppings and kind of skimped on the guacamole.
I will definitely be coming here over Norte’s. Left there with food poisoning after having a fish taco and shrimp taco last Taco Tuesday. Good job Las Olas for holding it down!

Wanted tacos near the beach… exceeded my expectations!
Service was fantastic and food was spot on!
I ordered the group 2 combo with the pick 3. I had a baja fish taco, a chicken taco, and a carne asada taco. The fish taco was the best, carne asada second! My girlfriend had the chicken flautas and the ceviche, her lunch was better than mine and mine was great!
Great prices too!