Mitla Cafe - San Bernardino

Went on Sunday afternoon. the staff was friendly and prompt. I ordered a combination plate with a side taquito and mango margarita.. I throughly enjoyed my meal. I tried topping it off with a churro for dessert but it tasted off, so I knocked one star off. my server went to the kitchen as he mentioned I wasn't the first client who said a similar thing about the churros. but to no avail and they didn't credit for the bad tasting churros (no I didn't finish it) but they looked pretty.

Heard great things about this restaurant from word and mouth and reviews. Went in for a Sunday lunch and the place was packed. Took about 20-30 min to get seated for two. I ordered a combo plate of Chile relleno, enchilada and beef taco. About 20 min after we ordered the waiter tells us they ran out of rellenos. Not a big deal, I replaced it with a chicken taco. Another 20 minutes later we received our meal (it was busy I get it). First bite was into the beef taco, my thought was not much taste in the beef. So I added some hot sauce but it just didn't help. Seemed like it wasn't seasoned at all. Next I tried the cheese enchilada, and as I took my first bite I found myself having to chew and chew. It was the chewiest cheese I've ever had. Pretty disgusting. Now for the third item, chicken taco which I selected since they ran out of rellenos... absolutely the driest chicken ever. No marinade, no seasoning, no nothing but dryness. Awful. I don't know why this place is so popular. Totally poor experience, bad food and it's expensive. Hope they fix it but I won't go back.

I'd give 10 stars if I could. The original crispy beef tacos brought me back home to mom's kitchen. The chiles rellenos to grandma's. The staff was wonderful. Friendly and smiling faces. I felt like a guest in their home. If you haven't visited the only question is why?

Mitla Cafe is a classic, a Southern California original. It's the birthplace of the hardshell taco, and they're as good today as they ever were. Get the shredded beef taco, and cover it with their fresh salsa and red chilli sauce. The enchiladas are great as well, and the chicken is tender and juicy, a perfect choice to top the Sharon salad. Whatever you get, you can't go wrong.

I was excited to experience the restaurant that inspired Taco Bell. The first thing you'll notice is the parking is away from the restaurant itself, which wasn't much of a problem. We went at lunch and that may explain why we had to wait a bit to get a table, despite many being unoccupied. Chips and salsa were delivered quickly after we sat. The salsa, both hot and mild, were lack luster. Both were watery and devoid of strong substance. The chips themselves were great.. The prices were high as well. I ordered a 3 taco plate. It didn't come with beans or rice. They were available a-la-carte but at 6.50 for beans and rice, 4.00 for beans or rice. The drinks were expensive as well. The free refill Dr. Pepper I ordered was 4.00. The glass size was a good size, but even so, was still expensive. Now to the excellent part: the tacos. I had two shredded beef and one ground beef. They were large tacos, full of beef, cheese and additional toppings. The shells were fried perfectly, the beef seasoned nicely and were satisfying. I would go with ground beef in the future but the shredded beef was tasty as well, if that's what you're in the mood for. In summation, I'd go back to try their other offerings, but I think some things could be priced a bit better.