La Cocina Bar and Grill

taco Tuesday is the best! 2 dollars a taco, tortillas are made fresh and you get to choose from carnitas, carne asada, and chicken! carne asada is the BEST

Last minute visit welcomed our 9:45 arrival with friendliness and service. Delicious entrees, fresh and flavorful. Great décor and sweet spot.

My good friend was in from KY visiting. This was our first time eating here. I’ve met Jerry, the owner, at Baja Catch, and I told him I would visit this restaurant as well. They did not disappoint.
We began with guacamole made fresh at our table, it was delicious! My kids ate tacos and fries, they loved them. I can’t remember the dish my wife ordered but she absolutely loved it. My friend ordered the grilled chicken chipotle salad, it looked fantastic. I had 2 shrimp enchiladas with rice and beans. It was VERY fresh and packed with flavor! The service was great and the restaurant was very clean. We will visit again for sure!

I had always heard of this restaurant from a friend, but I never made it out until my wife recently had a VYP event here where we came for breakfast buffet to support Rancho Damacitas. The owner greeted us right as we walked in and was super friendly.
The interior of this place is amazing! You can tell they really put in a lot of detail and it shows.
Our breakfast buffet only had eggs, potatoes, and pancakes but they were all delicious! Judging by how great the food was, we’re hoping it’s the same when we come back for dinner soon.
I’m sure having dinner here won’t be a problem, but I’ll save the last star until we come back again!

Awesome brunch, lots of food to choose from, handmade tortillas, amazing micheladas, and churroooooos! Definitely coming back!

I’ve tried quite a few menu items here over the years but what really keeps me returning when I’m in town? Definitely the chicken tortilla soup! It’s probably the best I’ve ever had at a restaurant. Everything else I’ve tried is pretty good also. The guacamole that’s made tableside is a must-​try as is the taco bar on Taco Tuesdays. The staff is always friendly and on top of things. There really isn’t much to complain about. It may not be the best Mexican food I’ve ever tasted but it’s definitely above average and worth a stop, especially after a day of wine tasting.

We went for the first time on Cinco De Mayo after being recommended by friends. We were not disappointed! They were so packed you could barely walk, but the service was top notch. Our server Eric was fantastic and very helpful describing the menu items. He got us our drinks in a timely manner and all the little things we needed like extra salsa, napkins etc. We ordered the shrimp ceviche, it was delicious especially when you add tapatio. My husband loved the albondigas soup and his chimichanga. Delicious food and stellar service, especially on holiday when they were packed. We will be back!

Good food, but felt EXTREMELY rushed through our meal, With a party of 6 We spent more time waiting for our table than we did eating our meal. When the waiter is pulling plates while half are still eating — no bueno.

I love this place. I come here often for the burrito de chile colorado. Great service and excellent food. The prices are reasonable as well.

This is a restaurant in a strip center mall. Ambiance inside is pretty and clean though the bar is very small. Service was decent. I ordered fish tacos and my husband ordered beef tacos. Simple. His beef tacos were very small. My grilled fish tacos were decent not particularly flavorful. We asked for a side of guacamole which was probably a tablespoonful, tasty but no freebie. The margaritas were good. We paid more for this meal with tip than we did on the coast with an oceanview.

My sister had her wedding rehearsal dinner at La Cocina. The staff was friendly and accommodating. The food was good, except their rice and beans were a bit dry. The enchiladas are very tasty
La Cocina is one of the better full service Mexican restaurants in Temecula.

This restaurant and bar in Temecula is one of the more popular Mexican restaurants in town. The multicolored chips and salsa are okay, but the sauce needs more heat. Having been here several times, I find it’s inconsistent. The last two times I’ve been here for Taco Tuesday, I was really pissed! They were late getting it started, and had no onions and cilantro chopped. Then they asked us before we made our own tacos, how many we planned on eating? It’s set up buffet style! Then, before we were finished, they gave us a bill. The tacos were really good with the homemade tortillas, so I went back to get a couple more, the waiter acted like I just robbed the place! They need to come up with a better system. Either serve them to the customers table, and keep track, or if it’s buffet style, have the lady making the tortillas count. I guess they don’t trust their customers here to be honest.

Tonight was our first time coming to LA cocina. We waited like 25 minutes for our table which is to be expected on a Friday night. Once the hostess seated us we were greeted with a very friendly waiter. He brought our drinks and chips n salsa out right away. Kinda rushed us to order. But not too pushy. Our food came out really fast. …our food was pretty good not bad. My kids were happy with their taquito plates, and my enchilada plate was good too. The only complaint I have is that this place is kinda pricey. But we’ll definitely be back

This review is for their Sunday Brunch, which goes from 9am-​2pm. We’ve been here several times (only for those brunch) and overall the food is a lot better than what other Mexican food brunch places offer (i.e. El Torito). It’s about $ 18.99 for just the Sunday Brunch, and I think it’s a few dollars more if you want the unlimited champagne option, however we did come one time with some friends and the waitress cut one of our friends off after 5 mimosas and told us it was a few dollars even more, I think $ 22.95, for truly unlimited champagne, so I’m not sure what all their options are in that regards, but as we paid $ 18.99 today with no champagne, the cost ranges between $ 18.99-$ 23 a person.
If we’re not with a big group, and don’t have our kids with us, my girlfriend and I try to sit in the bar area as the wait for a table in the regular dining area can be long. The brunch has an omelet station, salad section with also a selection of fruit, a dessert table that has typical options like flan/​carrot cake/​chocolate cake/​sweet bread, and also a hot bar section with some other typical breakfast options (waffles, eggs, bacon, sausage) along with chopped carne asada, chicken, sweet corn, chicken verde, rice, refried beans, and a few other prepared dishes. I always opt to make a salad with a mass amount of the chopped chicken/​carne asada on top, with a lot of the diced veggies/​salsas from the omelet station to finish it off. The ceviche is pretty good as well.
The brunch is good for kids as well, I believe the discounted price for kids under 10 was around $ 7. It comes with a drink and there are glasses and a self-​service station where you can get horchata, orange juice, and I think jamaica. Overall a solid place to get brunch on a Sunday, along with mimosas if that’s your thing (would be nice if they offered a substitution for unlimited bloody Mary’s)!

Everything was great from the second we walked in. Made a reservation and it was ready for us by the time we got there, we were seated right away. Mario was our waiter, let me tell you… he is OUTSTANDING. He has great energy and great customer service. We had a pretty big party and he handled us very well. Super fast and cracking jokes. He was handling well over five tables and you wouldn’t even know it. I would come back just because of him.

I ordered the enchiladas 3 amigos. It was great! I love the atmosphere, everyone was super nice and said hi as we walked through the restaurant. Definitely will be back!

Authentic Mexican food and drink and a always festive atmosphere! for Taco-​Tuesday this is the place to be!

We drove past La Cocina over the Christmas Holidays and decided to stop in for an early dinner. Great decision, since it became packed pretty quickly. Always a good sign.
We found La Cocina to be a great local Mexican restaurant and watering hole. The bar is to the right as you enter and has plenty of room, with multiple HDTVs to watch whatever game is on.
But for us, we found the food to be very good, bordering on four stars. And La Cocina would probably be our second home if we lived nearby. Mind you, this isn’t gourmet Mex, or Tex-​Mex; it’s just good comfort food that is priced right and hits the spot. That Strawberry Margarita I took a picture of wasn’t bad either. LOL
We started off with tableside Guacamole which was okay, but really liked their five alarm salsa better. An absolute must btw. For our entrée (photos), we had the Carne Asada Burrito and Steak Encinitas. Both were very good and filling.
So Three and a half Stars, and a «A-​Okay» after our first visit. Expect to pay $ 20-​$ 25 each for a three course meal, excluding gratuities and taxes.

We went here on a recommendation and we are so happy we did. The place has a very cool vibe and a good bar area. Service was great and food came out fast.
Our meals were great. Chili verde burrito was yummy and their chips were addictive

HIGHLIGHTS: flavorful food, friendly service, spicy salsa
This newer location in Temecula (original one is in Santa Clarita) is very nicely decorated with dark wood and ornate lighting. It’s small inside, but you don’t feel cramped. The wait staff is friendly and they were prompt about refilling drinks. I really liked their salsa, but it was just a tad too spicy. Spicy where if you stop eating it, you will feel your mouth burn, so you keep shoveling it in your mouth. They have more mild options if you prefer to not have a scalded tongue ;)
I ordered the Enchiladas 3 Amigos, which is basically a sampler of chicken, beef, and cheese enchiladas each with a different sauce. Their crema sauce is delicious (my friends always order their enchiladas with that such) but I also enjoyed the green sauce. Beans and rice are served with the dish, and they are good too.
I think La Cocina serves great authentic Mexican food and I’m so happy there is a location closer to Carlsbad!

We aren’t sure why it took us almost a year of living in town to try to La Cocina, but better late than never! This has become our go to Mexican in town. The service is good, they have fresh table side guacamole, and the enchilada sauce is the best we have ever had!
Beware of sitting in the bar for dinner as it gets quite loud with the flooring they have down. We had a party of 6, with a 2 kids, and they put us in there. It was horrific! Luckily the food was really good to make up for it.