El Adobe

Went here with hubby. We walked around the historic district and decided we wanted Mexican food. Food was okay. I wouldn’t say it was anything great or even special. To be honest I’ve had better elsewhere.
We went in for a late lunch about 2:30 or so. Place was dead. Only a handful of people inside. No one was at hostess/​host counter. Bartender kept looking at us but offered no assistance. We waited for a good 15 minutes at least until someone came out. The only reason we got seated was because another gentlemen walked in, walked straight to the back and called for someone. Then asked us if we were waiting to eating. We said yes. Waiter or whoever finally came out went straight to the other gentleman. Who in return told him that we were there first and would like to be seated to eat. Don’t know who he was but was thankful he told waiter. From there we were hurried to a table. Waiter wasn’t rude, but wasn’t friendly either. We only saw him when he took our order and brought our food and drinks. That was pretty much it. My husband and I both had the enchiladas, spanish rice, and refried beans. I am Mexican my husband is white. I know what enchiladas should taste like. Sauce was nothing special. Rice had no flavor, very bland. Beans were good.
I gave 3 stars becuz customer service in my opinion was bad. Food wasn’t anything great but to one who doesn’t know what authentic Mexican food should taste like probably wouldn’t know the difference. Food wasn’t bad, it wasn’t good either.
I may give this place another try if I’m ever in the area again. Maybe we just went in on a bad day. Don’t know. I don’t not recommended it, but I don’t recommend it either. It does have a nice atmosphere. I give it that. And outside seating which is always favorite for me, although we were not given an option to sit outside.

Hubby and I decided to finally try this restaurant that we always see packed. It was a Wednesday night. The bar was hopping and the dining area was pretty busy as well.
We thoroughly enjoyed their chips and salsa while we waited for our meal. My hubby always judge a Mexican restaurant by their cheese enchilada so he ordered a two item combo of cheese and chicken taco. He said that the enchilada was great but the taco was just okay. I ordered a beef dish (can’t remember the name) it was served an enchilada, guacamole, rice, and beans. I enjoyed my meal very much. The portion was pretty big for the price. I had some beef and the whole enchilada left over to take home. The service is very attentive (5 stars) and the food was really good but what I enjoyed the most what their churro. Yes, the churro (5 stars). It’s pretty sweet… decadent but AMAZING! I don’t really like churros but this one was just awesome… it had cinnamon filling and was served with ice cream and whip cream (I will have to remember to have them hold the whip cream next time).
This place can host a large gathering, they also have an area to the left that you can have a more intimate gathering at. As we were walking to our car we saw that they have a large patio area that can hold an actual wedding. Aside from this place being historic (which is pretty cool), the food is worth the visit.

Well, as a previous review said, I hate to do this, but I need to to be honest.
We’ve lived in Mission Viejo for over 40 years, and used to eat at El Adobe often. I don’t know why we stopped, but we haven’t been there in years. Lately, we’ve been on a search for good Mexican food, and have been disappointed. Some restaurants will have menu items that I like and others will offer choices my husband likes. We can’t find one we both agree on…
…until today, unfortunately.
We both agree that we will never go back to El Adobe.
The chips and salsa were brought immediately, and they were great. The service was prompt and our server Jonathan P was gracious, helpful and attentive, but that’s where it ends.
We had the steak fajitas and the chicken sandwich. The first thing I saw was my husband reaching for the salt. He can tend to salt his food, sometimes even before he tries it. I don’t. Never. Ever. Ever. The next thing was my attempt to pick up a delicious looking piece of steak. I couldn’t get my fork in. I thought maybe it was a dull fork, so I tried again. Stabbed it. Still no luck. Finally, I managed to impale the steak on the fork, but when it reached my mouth, there was no taste. None. Nothing. I tried the lemons that came on the plate, and then some limes that came with my drink. Still nothing. No savory steak sautéed in some kind of marinade or spices or sauce, nothing but the tough meet with no flavor, no spices, no flavor. Then I reached for the salt and sprinkled and tried again. Still nothing. I salted it again and perhaps maybe three or four more times as I ate it, but it still didn’t help much at all. My husband, who tends not to notice things like I do, never remarked that I was using the saltshaker. Instead, at least half done with his sandwich, he posed a question to me, and the question was this, «How can a Mexican restaurant serve food that is tasteless?» Evidently, neither of us knows the answer.
Maybe they are assuming that tourists might not like spicy food.
Maybe they,…actually, I don’t know. I’m disappointed. I was looking forward to a good meal, but this one left my tastebuds yearning for some excitement. Come to think of it, I don’t remember any enticing aromas as we entered the restaurant or when the food was brought to our table. I wish it were different, but it wasn’t.

El Adobe de Capistrano was our selection for the yearly Christmas Eve dinner with the mother-​in-​law in tow. Laina and I had not eaten here in years and we thought her mother would enjoy the historical aspect of this restaurant.
El Adobe was built in 1797 and was home to Miguel Yorba Adobe. In 1812, a southern section was established as the Juzgado (court and jails). The ground underneath the foyer was a passageway for the Seeley & Wright stagecoaches until 1888 when the Santa Fe Railroad arrived. Clarence Brown bought the property and opened El Adobe restaurant on July 8, 1948 and its first guests were the wedding and reception parties of the First Commandant of Camp Pendleton General Fagan. The garden wedding chapel still hosts hundreds of couples a year that come to tie the knot (or noose depending on how you look at it). El Adobe’s biggest claim to fame is being the favorite restaurant of President Richard Nixon and wife Pat. At the time, El Adobe was serving continental cuisine, but President Nixon preferred Mexican dishes made exclusively for him by El Adobe’s chefs.
Rohlinism: When a President frequents your establishment, but doesn’t order off the menu, it is time to change the menu!
The President’s Choice Combination is a tribute to President Nixon and his wife and reflect their favorite items. This eventually convinced the restaurant to change from continental to Mexican cuisine. In 2003, the restaurant was remodeled, but the new décor was chosen to compliment the California-​Mexican ambience. The kitchen was also overhauled so steaks and seafood could be incorporated into the menu.
We had made reservations in advance, so we were seated within a few minutes of arrival. However, we didn’t realize a festive Germanicure (
) would be joining us for the evening. In addition to the festive décor, there was a mariachi band (
) singing Feliz Cumpleaños to patrons as well as Navidad favorites throughout the evening.
Once seated, we ordered drinks and a table side (
) order of guacamole. We were also served warm chips (
) with a flavorful salsa. The guacamole (
) was ordered medium spicy which was a good call, any hotter and my lovely wife would have found the spice unbearable. The portion size was very reasonable for the price and the quality was better than most Mexican restaurants we have visited. The margarita my mother-​in-​law ordered was a run of the mill version, especially for a Mexican restaurant.
Once the guacamole was served, we were ready to order. The better half ordered the Steak Fajitas (
) with flour tortillas and a double order of beans on the side, I selected the One Item Combo (
) and a cup of the Albondigas Soup (
) and Laina’s mother chose the Carnitas Plate with corn tortillas, Spanish rice and black beans.
I think everyone was really pleased with the food, but my better half’s fajitas could have used some more beef and less peppers. My mother-​in-​law seemed to really enjoy the carnitas and I thought there was plenty of cheese in the enchilada, though it could have been melted a little more. The server forgot the soup though and apologized when I brought it to her attention.
This reminded me of the joke Eddie Murphy’s Jewish character tells at the end of Coming to America, which is a dialogue between a customer and a waiter with the customer asking the waiter to taste the soup and the waiter eventually discovering there is no spoon. In my case, I not only didn’t have my spoon, I didn’t have my soup. A-​ha!
The server returned a short time later with a cup of soup and I was impressed with the amount of meatballs and the seasoning. She also removed the soup from the bill to further apologize for forgetting the order.
Outside of the soup issue, service was attentive and helpful. The server even allowed us to go down into the private room (
) which was converted from the old jail. You could still see etchings in the walls from previous prisoners. We also never felt rushed even though we stayed past closing time and most of the restaurant was empty by the time we left.

El Adobe is a San Juan Capistrano insituation. It’s been here for evah. The restaurant was a favorite of President Nixon when he was at the Western White House, check out the front lobby for the pictures of the Prez & Pat greeting the staff.
The food is good Americanized Mexican. I’ve eaten here many times over the years and tonight was the first time I was disappointed. I ordered the Presidents platter which consists of a taco, chili relleno and an enchilada. No, I didn’t eat it all, hubs ate most but I still wanted to taste everything LOL. Everything was delish except for the taco. Yikes, it was horrible and DRY. So El Adobe gets four stars instead of three.
The service was quick, the chips and salsa were delish and the wait for a table without a reservation was not too bad. I will always return here but please quality control the tacos El Adobe!

+
Service was great! Everyone who walked by the table checked on us.
We have a 2-​year-​old and they put all the kids in the same room which is very smart. The guitarist was just above the room and played a few kids songs. Best version of «Twinkle twinkle little star» you’ve ever heard is played at El Adobe.
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The food was very plain and bland. While the food came out hot and fresh the flavor a were lacking. We had to add salt to most items just to get a little flavor.
Price was a little high considering the food was so plain. There are other sit down Mexican restaurants with better food for the same cost or better food for cheap.

I really, really wanted to like El Adobe a lot more than I did. We took the family for an early dinner on a Friday night and were seated quickly. They seated us in a back section that was definitely where they were intentionally putting families with little kids — which personally I think is smart. I’m sure the other patrons appreciate it too. We were near the live mariachi singer who was great. Our toddler loved the music. The service was phenomenal. My water glass never hit half-​full before someone refilled it.
We ordered the President ‘s special (chile rellano, chicken enchilada, beef taco, rice, & beans), table side guacamole, and the cilantro pepita salad. Everything was totally bland and flavorless. Terribly under seasoned. I bit into something super hard in my salad — glass or a tiny pebble or something. I’m just thankful that I didn’t break a tooth. The portions are huge, but I’m not sure that’s something to be excited about since the food is so blah.
The restaurant itself is beautiful.
I hope they get their act together in the kitchen. It’s a shame that a place that was once great and has such potential is so gross now.

Came here with one of my fellow Unilocal friends after a local Unilocal event. The restaurant is huge and we happen to walk in on taco Tuesday night so we had the option of doing taco Tuesday at the bar or order from the regular menu at a table.
I decided on their combination plate ($ 15), you get two sides with either tacos or enchiladas, I got both. The portions are pretty huge so I was stuffed by the end of the night. The taco was ok, the meat was kind of dry and greasy but it was huge so I liked that. The sauce on the enchilada was not that spicy at all but usually enchilada sauces aren’t. I really enjoyed their black beans they were really good.
I found out after dining here that this place is pretty historic so that was interesting to know. This place is great for huge groups and I think they even do weddings out back in their patio.

Charming atmosphere in historic building. Chips are served fresh and warm. Food was very filling and good. We especially enjoyed the Adobe Burrito. Place needs a good cleaning though. Fruit flies take away from the dining experience inside. Host and hostess were not very warm or inviting but we didn’t let it interfere with the experience as service was very good.