Taco Mesa

Veggie tacos… nuff said. Fresh, delicious, and you can make 1 taco into 2 cuz they’re chock full of stuff and served on 2 tortillas. Great chips, salsa and guacamole too. What more do you need? Now I’m hungry.

Don’t come starving; they take a while (10 – 15 mins) to call your name if you’re dining in. Friendly service and good tacos. I had 2 Fritos tacos, one steak and one chicken. Both were good!

The food was so good and the staff was incredible. Free chips and guacamole. We will for sure be back. That Lobster burrito was amazing!!!

Lobster burrito is the thing to get. Nice and buttery sauce yum. Drink fountain is superb! Staff is super friendly. Salsa bar was taste. Portions were good. Can’t go wrong with this place.

Frustrating to come in for a quick lunch and see your order sit on the counter ready and the «worker» let’s it sit for 10 minutes while other orders are called out. When I asked him about it, his response was «oh».
Nice to find another lazy idiot in the service industry.

Great food, you can’t except 5star hotel service here ! As fast food their doing great job

Not. Good. Food.
If you’re a Mexican restaurant and I won’t even pay $ 1.50 for your tacos on Taco Tuesday, you’re doing something wrong.

Don’t come here as often anymore as I don’t live in the area but when I’m around here for work I like to stop in for lunch. The service is always friendly and the food is good for the price. I like their steak and chicken as it is always well seasoned.
Not the most ideal location as it is not super convenient but worth stopping in if you are in the area.

Beware of the Horchata. You will be getting plenty of fiber along with your rice water. There are chunks of cinnamon stick that you will inhale. Food was mediocre at best.

I like this place. Tacos on Tuesdays are $ 1.50 — I really like the al pastor and chile verde tacos. The pork posole is delicious too. My standard order is either the blackened chicken burrito or the Mesa burrito and chips. Their salsa bar has a lot of variety and really adds to the meal. I’ve always encountered great customer service here. Leo usually works at phones and cash register. Yes, it can get very busy on Tuesdays, but that is to be expected. I always call in my take out order if it is a Tuesday!

I love Taco Mesa. I have never been on a Tuesday but have been on a Friday and Saturday and have never had to wait too long for the food.
The carne asada is excellent. It’s a great, casual spot. Perfect for kiddos and take out.
My favorite thing on the menu has to be the churros. Best I’ve ever had.

Absolutely adore the nachos here. They come with a lot on it and they don’t skimp. The food comes out quickly and the service is friendly. The place is clean (though it might be a good idea if they got rid of the dirty looking trash bin inside and replaced it with one that looked a bit cleaner).

Coming back home today from a soccer tournament in Escondido we stopped off here for some Mexican food as we all were craving cheese enchiladas. Went in not sure as to we should eat here or not. Decided to give it a try as the kids n wife were pretty hungry.
Pretty disappointed. Ordered 4 enchilada Combos that come with rice and beans plus 2 tacos de carnitas and 4 regular fountain drinks. Total was 53.00 plus dollars. Not bad but not cheap either. Anyway went to the salsa bar and got the different salsas they have plus the guacamole one too. Was expecting at least a basket of chips to eat before our meal arrived. Didn’t happen. Finally got our order. They serve you on paper plates !!! Really??? The 4 enchilada plates were cold and it just seemed like the dipped the tortillas in a sauce filled them with cheese and brought them out. Most places run the plate through a small oven where they come out hot and the cheese melted. The cheese on these was not melted. The rice was ok but the beans were also cold and they were not refried as they should be. The salsas lacked any flavor whatsoever and made the meal that much worse. No kick whatsoever. After this lack luster meal I went to the bathroom and read the reviews posted on the wall.
Turns out that the owner was a cook at El Torito for 22 plus years and that’s exactly what I tasted. El Torito bland style mex food lacking any flavor.
Perhaps because of the slim pickings in this area with good Mexican food places, the locals think this is awesome Grubb. I disagree

Went here last night for the first time in a while to see if it’s gotten any better and it’s actually gotten worse (and that’s saying something!).
I ordered 4 tacos and it took them 35 minutes to make them — how is that even possible?!
What’s worse, when I got the tacos they were cold (not moderately warm, flat out Cold).
But wait, it gets worse… One of my tacos had literally only a pinch of meat (see photo).
Service was terrible (as usual), they’re extremely understaffed all the time, and I actually felt like they stole my money this time.

It breaks my heart to say this, but here goes:
I don’t think I’ll be coming back to this one. I’ll stick with the Costa Mesa and Orange locations. Customer service is nom-​existent. If it’s slow or busy, expect to wait 20 mins to give your order. To that end, I started calling ahead for pick up. The general attitude on the phone is «yeah…talk all you want. You will be getting what we feel you should get.» I’ve repeatedly asked to have rice & beans for my sides and EVERY single time they give me double rice.
Final straw was yesterday. Not only was my order wrong AGAIN (double rice) but the guy told me I was «late» for my pick up. Uh, I drove from RSM as fast as possible. So, you are giving me attitude AND my order was wrong?
Nope.
Stick with Costa Mesa or Orange. They are nice, quick, and never get the order wrong.

Artful design, clean and fresh cooking. To me it’s comfort food, Mexican style. One of the first Mexican cuisine places I hit when I came to CA. Almost 15 years later it’s still consistent and great.
Blacked chicken burrito with the red sauce is my fav but I also love the Mesa burrito.
My fav breakfast is their chilaquiles con pollo y huevo.
Protip — add chorizo!

It was Tuesday so what’s better than stopping off for a little Taco Tuesday action! Parking here is no problema!
On Tuesdays they have a variety of tacos for $ 1.45 each.
Shredded Beef, Shredded Chicken and Vegetarian that all come with pico de gallo, sour cream, cheese and lettuce.
Carnitas, Al Pastor and Chile Colorado all come with cilantro and an onion mix.
Lastly, you have fish tacos that come with pico de gallo and cabbage.
I had the carnitas and fish tacos that came in small street like tortillas which were very tasty. Nice and tender carnitas. Fish was deep fried yet not greasy. The shredded beef taco was ok. I don’t care for the hard shells except at Taco Bell. What??. Yeah, I know.
They have a self serve drink station for sodas which is all touch screen. Nice because there are many choices. Yet, annoying that it takes people a while to figure out how to use it!
Would recommend tacos here!

We have mixed feelings about this place: D My husband doesn’t like it at all but the girls and I quite enjoy it. It’s pretty standard SoCal Mexican food in terms of what’s on offer — burritos, enchiladas, burritos enchilada-​style, tacos, taquitos, and so on.
But there’s salmon enchiladas. Beet salad. Steak and bacon tacos. You get the idea!
They source organic ingredients and cook only small batches to keep food fresh. No canned food. No preservatives. And the default for tacos is corn tortilla! My daughter says those are the best! They also cater.
The restaurant is clean, the kitchen even cleaner. The staff are friendly and helpful if you can’t choose. They have daily specials as well.
We have our favourites, of course. Bean and cheese burritos with a side of rice for 2 of the girls. Steak tacos, no cheese or tomatoes, for the other. Mesa burrito with steak, enchilada-​style, no guac, for me.
The burrito has lots of steak, no gristle or fatty pieces, fresh spinach, large and identifiable chunks of tomato, mushroom, and red onion. I like to add coriander and a spicy salsa (this has no heat but it has a lot of flavour). It’s also big but not massive.
Price wise it’s actually pretty cheap. I can feed the four of us to stuffed for under $ 35 (including drinks).

I’ve seen the line practically out the door on Taco Tuesday and now I know why!
I finally had to try this place for myself. It is a very casual, quick restaurant. Their tacos are delicious and flavorful. Definitely worth the wait on a crowded Taco Tuesday!
Out of all three of the casual Mexican food joints in Ladera Ranch, Taco Mesa is the best.

Taco Mesa is semi healthy, a bargain, family friendly and just darn good!
Their chips are a chili corn chip. (Orange) and they taste great. They offer seconds with a smile. Their salsa bar is pretty good, although I have to say I was disappointed when they pulled their green salsa. It was one of the best IMO.
My go to meal is Enchiladas Mexico City. At $ 9, this is a deal. Their chicken enchiladas with a roasted tomatillo sauce, melted cheese and topped with marinated onions and serranos. The tomaillo sauce and the marinated onions really make this dish. The chicken is well seasoned as well.
If I’m really hungry, I add an order of beef taquitos. They do a great job on them as they come out crunchy (not soggy like so many other places) and with a good amount of tasty guacamole and sour cream. The perfect combo.