La Cocina de Doña Esthela

Staying at a nearby camping «glamping» area, we were invited to join our new friends for breakfast at this restaurant. We didn’t know how popular it was until we got here on a Saturday morning and seeing how packed it was. Apparently Andrew Zimmern was here which made this place even more popular than with just the locals.
When we got here, we had to wait about 20 minutes but passed the time by perusing the local ladies selling jewelry, toys, ceramic cups and random trinkets. Once seated inside the restaurant, which by the way, has no A/​C, we were greeted with a basketful of fresh tortilla chips, salsa and cheese!
The menu is in spanish and the ladies working here don’t speak english very well but since we were with friends who spoke spanish, they helped us with ordering. This place is known for their slow cooked lamb (borrego tatemado 150.00 pesos) so the beau ordered the large portion of this dish while I just had the beef machaca con huevo (100.00 pesos). The lamb dish is served with fresh warm tortillas made by a lady who is literally standing behind a counter in the dining area.
The food was super good and the price was just about average for wine country. If it wasn’t so popular, it would probably be slightly cheaper being that its located in the middle of nowhere and hard to find.
Servers are friendly, service is fast, the food is amazing!

Love their café de olla and freshly made tortillas! Sooooo good! Once you get past the VERY bumpy road, its great hone cooked meals, worth the effort to get here.

We had a reservation for 12 people at 10am, but we still waited an hour. The meal was worth the wait though!
First off, the chips & salsa were amazing. The salsa was to die for! The waiter even gave us some to take to go! How sweet of him. I had the chilaquiles especial with chicken, quesataco, & jugo de naranja. OMG, just OMG. I don’t even know what to say, but it was THE best Mexican brunch I’ve ever had. All the ingredients were fresh from their farm. Everything was full of flavors, and cooked to perfection. The dishes were huge, and I couldn’t finish everything. I really wished I wasn’t traveling, or else I would’ve taken the leftovers with me! I’m still salivating as I’m talking about this meal.

Valio la pena la espera! delicioso todo… Necesitan mas personal para movilizar el negocio, eso fue lo unico malo, 1 hora de espera

Esta ves desayune una deliciosa machaca! Como siempre quede más que satisfecho, quería pozole que es de mis platillos favoritos al igual que el borrego tatemado, pero no había por ser navidad jeje el argumento que se supone muchos mexicanos lo comen en navidad… Pues yo soy mexicano y no lo comí… Pero ni hablar no había pero no me fui desilusionado, lleve a toda mi familia y todos quedaron contentos, desde el omelette de espinacas, huevos rancheros y chilaquiles, a pesar de lo común y sencillo de estos platos, doña estela sabe darles un sazón único, tortilla de harina y maiz a mano, ademas de usar ingredientes frescos del valle sin alteraciones hormonales ni antibióticos.

Que Rico!
The food is authentic and delicious
The café de olla is to die for
We had birria and machaca. Staff is friendly and Owner personally greets you. One of the best meals I have had!!!

Amazing! Great food, great prices and the staff are super friendly. It gets very crowded so make sure you get there before 10am

Was in Valle de Guadalupe this weekend to try out new and different things. This place was so good we decided to go a couple of times.
The wait can be a bit long at times, but it’s worth it. I had the Huevos albañil, which were my favorite. Gorditas de chicharron were good. I also had the Omelet de chicharron, it was a bit dry but still really good.
Make sure you finish with pancakes de elote and coffee.
Gracias!

Riquísimo el borrego Tatemado uff lo mejor!!! Riquísimo el borrego en su jugo y las quesadillas riquísimas con tortillita recién hechas de harina. También los hotcakes de elotes están buenísimos.

My husband took me and a few of our friends here for my birthday and it was amazing! We got there around 9am so it wasn’t too crowded, but by the time we left at 10:30am there was a wait to get a seat. We ordered the machaca, corn hot cakes, and the café de olla. It was all delicious, and you could tell they put a lot of heart and soul into their food. We will definitely be coming back!

Beautiful little hidden gem on a working farm. Completely authentic Mexican food, best enchiladas I have ever had. Everyone could not have been nicer and welcoming. Outside they were making pumpkin empanadas. Truly wonderful!

«Machaca, ChaChaka, Chachaka, Chaka!!!» Exactly The feeling right now! All joking aside, absolutely love this place. La Cocina de Doña Esthela isn’t just a catchy name used to lure tourists to the middle of no where. this really is her kitchen, and she really is here cooking every day. Well worth the 4 hour drive from LA. Everything is made fresh daily, including the cheese. Tortillas de Maiz and Harina made to order. The specialty is the Machaca, which did not disappoint. We almost overlooked the Hotcakes de Elote… Had one here and ended up ordering some to go they were so delicious! Made with freshly ground corn.

Borrego tatemado !!! El mejor del Valle.
Tiene unas galletas de elote riquísimas.
Atención buena, hay que llegar temprano o tener paciencia, vale la espera.

what a great little find in the heart of Valle de Guadalupe.
machaca and lamb stew.
what else do you need.
1 less star because didn’t come with juevos like it said.
but made up for it after fresh pan con pumpkin, fresh (hot!) salsa, trio of onions, cilantro, limes.
such an amazing authentic, home cooked experience.
we will always grab a bite here when we’re in mexico!
dirt road a little off the beaten path, drive slow.
goats, pigs, chickens, cows all hanging out on the farm.
fresh clay ovens scattered throughout the property.
loved it.

La Cocina de Dona Esthela is in the heart of Valle de Guadalupe and is not easy to get to. Follow Google maps and you won’t get lost. The roads are unpaved with lots of holes and rocks (some roads have more than others), so make sure you don’t drive your fancy new car or it might take a beating.
This is a super popular breakfast spot that is known for the «best breakfast in the world». There were pictures back from Andrew Zimmern’s visit. We got here early right at opening at 8am, so no wait. By the time we left around 9am, there were still empty tables, but it was definitely more full. Our waiter was really friendly and accommodating with us only speaking English. The food took a while to prepare, but that is expected with good food.
We had:
— Fresh orange juice– super fresh, it was at room temperature, so make sure to request ice if that’s not your thing
— Mexican coffee with cinnamon (in a cute clay cup)
— Machaca con huevos– scrambled eggs with shredded beef, onions, cilantro, and jalapenos. The beef tasted a little bit dried out and it was salty, so it reminded me of bacon. Pretty good, but I would have liked more eggs. The refried beans though were so good, perfectly light and creamy.
— Borrego tatemado– braised lamb. The lamb was really tender and came with the stew that it was cooked in, so you could have it juicier if you wanted. The corn tortillas were piping hot and fluffy. The dish came with lime, cilantro, and onion. The only thing that would have made this dish excellent is maybe a side of beans or cooked veggies to add some variety to just eating lamb. I got the small portion, but it was still a lot of food!
No credit cards, but they take USD.

I came here for breakfast one Sunday morning. It gets really crowded after 11am, so arrive early! The service was super-​sloooow. I ordered the chilaquiles and it wasn’t anything special. The beans that came with the chilaquiles were very watery.
There are not a lot of breakfast/​brunch options in the Valle, but, even still, I’d probably drive down to Ensenada rather than eat here again.

I don’t know how my friend Becky knows about all these places in Valle de Guadalupe but I’m sure glad I’m friends with her! This place was amazing! A group of us came here on a Friday morning for breakfast. The place wasn’t too crowded yet when we got there, but by the time we left, it was super busy!
We ordered:
–fresh orange juice
fresh lemonade
— Mexican coffee with a hint of cinnamon
— machaca con huevo
— chilaquilas
— an omelette
I don’t remember what everyone got, there was lot of us and we mostly ordered off the breakfast menu, but everything we got was amazing! The best part was the fresh corn and flour tortillas. So good! We were so full after this breakfast!
Only downside is they wouldn’t let us keep our dog, who is really well behaved, inside. But besides that the food is amazing here!

This place is really good well at least my first visit even though place was pack when we got there we just had to wait 20min. Not bad for a great lunch reward we had birria de Res and BORREGO really good and the type of like Mexican combination but I forgot what is call :) it had enchilada-​carne and beans yummy at first they give you salsa & cheese to start your appetite :) place is really friendly– we arrive around 2ish on Saturday we meet Dona Esthela she’s really friendly and our waitress Veronica was really nice 2 at of all I would defiantly go back to Esthela’s Only one suggestion would be more out door seating the fresh air would be nice Other then that’s it’s pretty good they have plenty of tables in side bathrooms on the side and inside they have the ladies making fresh tortillas. Yummy. I did notice when it’s full to capacity it gets too hot inside– that’s why more seating outdoors would be great. Hasta la proxima…

Brilliant. Simply brilliant. Yes — every Mexican restaurant serves these classics. But they are just a million times better here. Worth a trip (over rugged terrain).

Off grid eatery that will make your wine trail adventure go from zero to sixty. Locals flock here for there house specialty: Lamb stew cooked to perfection accompanied by a very tasty consumme. Serviced with fresh chopped onions, limes and cilantro. Bowl of freshly made pinto beans and unlimited fresh handmade corn or flour tortillas.
Several breakfast dishes offered too.
Daily specials including short ribs to die for and Soper too.
Fresh lemonade & orange juice made your way by the glass or pitcher too.
Closed Mondays.
They allow you to bring in your on wine other wise fresh coffee and other tasty non adult refreshments served.
A wonderful experience. Like being invited to a private hacienda for meals served with love and care for each ingredient used at this amazing eatery.