La Morenita

I’m a bit confused … I could have sworn this restaurant is called «El Jardin» but Unilocal insists that it’s called La Morenita. Given the photos and the address, I’m pretty sure it’s the same place. Okay, under the premise that I’m reviewing the correct restaurant … here’s my review. We stopped here for dinner on a Presidents Day weekend. Fortunately, we arrived early because the place was fairly packed shortly after our arrival.
Starting with the ambiance … loved it. From the booths to the colorful tiles to the warm and friendly buzz of the whole place. Very family friendly.
Moving onto the food … it was … alright. The recipes stretched beyond the bounds of typical Americanized Mexican food but the flavors fell far short of amazing. The most expensive pitcher of margarita tasted … well, not terribly expensive. My favorite part of our entire meal were the tortilla chips, which appeared to be made fresh on the premises.
Most disappointing was the service. The wait staff was friendly enough but she either didn’t have the capacity to remember much or too scattered to retain anything. How often does one have to ask for soup or condiments or the (correct) bill? The restaurant was packed to the gills with a long wait at the lobby … but the turn-​over would have been a lot quicker if we didn’t have to send our children to hunt her down for our bill. We were relieved to finally leave, only to discover the next day that — while our waitress handed over the credit card charge for us to sign — she never returned the actual credit card itself. This meant we had to retrace our steps the next day to find our card.
In all fairness, I might try it again — on a less busy weekend — and perhaps in a different section of the restaurant served by different wait staff.

Best Mexican food hands down. The chicken tortilla soup is a must try.
Cabbage and salsa my favorite.
Wait staff are super friendly yet due get stressed when busy.

Best Mexican food in the area. I am bummed about the recent price increases. Its kind of expensive for Mexican food. Oh well what can you do out in the middle of nowhere!

Robin K is wrong about the food. Everything in the mountains is not overpriced like she says either. She’s also wrong about this place being Americanized. Please, it’s pretty legit – what the hell does she want? Unsanitary conditions? Little kids selling gum? Menudo? I don’t think so. Lastly, if she thinks this is the boonies, well she’s wrong again. After living in San Jose for 25 years, I’ve been to a fair share of Mexican joints, and this place is better than most. Great flour tortilla chips, good soups, really good chicken fajitas. You don’t leave hungry. Plus, they got their alcohol license recently, so now there’s an option to wine margaritas.

2 and a half, to be exact.
Considering it’s in the butt-f**k boonies, it’s o.k. mexican food. Highly americanized, but WAY better than taco bell.
Chips, Salsa, and an interesting cabbage slaw-​like salad were immediately placed on our table. The chips were fresh, the salsa tasted like it came from a jar, and the cabbage concoction was just wierd.
I ordered the chicken burrito combination. The beans were blanketed in cheese and not very good. The burrito was alright, a little bland, but decently satisfying. The rice was the best thing on the plate. I would have been happier with a big bowl of rice, queso fresco, and some hot corn tortillas.
The wifey didn’t like her enchilada’s, but our friend loved his chile colorado. Prices are a tad high, ($ 11.95 for a chicken torta!!) but to be fair, everything in the mountains is over priced anyway.

Out of all the El Jardins in Tuolumne and Calaveras county I’d have to say Twain Harte and Columbia are the best! It’s one of my favorite Mexican places to eat at. The steak Nachos are bomb and they give you plenty to leave with for leftovers even on a ½ order. Also the chicken Milanesa… it has the best flavor and especially if you like green sauce!!! Margaritas are pretty good as well.

The flour chips were excellent. The food was good.

This place was highly recommended to me by one of my girlfriends
It’s set back in what looks like a magical forest.
As you walk in you are overwhelmed by the cute mexican inspired décor.
I got the lemon chicken taco which was very um lemoney and juicy. Loved it.
The homemade chips that came with the bean dip were quite possibly the best tortilla chips I’ve ever put in my mouth.
My friend ordered chicken fajitas that smelled phenomenal and they sizzled as it came to the table.
We ate churros covered in chocolate sauce for dessert. Mmmm MMMM.

Bland. After several «tries» hoping for a decent Mexican food experince in T-​H, we’ve given up… plus the servers’ level of customer service is very variable. Wish T-​H had a great place for Mexican food — this ain”t it. We end up going to Sonora where it ain’t great, but better than nothing.

We went to Dodge Ridge Ski resort for the weekend and happened to have dinner at this place. The food was excellent, the portions were hugh. The fresh chips and spicy salsa were the perfect combination to start the meal.