La Fiesta
Mountain View, CA 94041 (650) 968-1364
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Private Lot
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Full Bar
22 reviews
Mountain View, CA
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77 Reviews for La Fiesta
Mmmmm mmmm mmm this is some good mexican foodz. I went here for the first time about 4 years ago when I was a lowly intern at NASA-Ames when my boss took us for a retirement party. I have been here about 5 times since then and it has always been fantastic. The prices are a bit high(15 dollar chicken with rice and beans dishes :() but the food is so good that it is all completely justified. Plus their little selection of salsas they bring to you is very classy and delicious. They have a lot of interesting not standard fare mexican dishes. Fantastic menu, food and of course great lemonade gives it my elusive 5th star.
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This is the kind of place you would NEVER happen to end up in unless somebody took you to. It's in the weirdest location! Its way off Castro in a residential neighborhood. I even almost missed it while my friend was in the passenger seat giving me directions!
It's so cute inside and the food is really good! I had the "Grandma's Special Enchiladas" with salad substituted for the rice and beans. It had just enough kick for me to have to blow my nose a few times... but wasn't too spicy for my spice intolerant taste buds.
I cleaned off my ENTIRE plate! My friend and I also split the flan for dessert. Yummmm - it tasted like there was liquor in it! I like liquor!
The parking there is like a one-way trap. Don't drive a big car if you are going there.
AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL service.
GOOD food.
NOT cheap.
Yep. That pretty much sums it up. I wanted to love this place bc of what I saw on Yelp but I am positive my expectations were not too high...
It took a very long time to get waited on and we were in a central table not hidden in a corner. Once waited on it took a long time to get our Dr. Agave $8 Herradura Silver Margaritas (which were good and strong and deal compared to most mex places).
We waited FOREVER for our food. We waited FOREVER for more chips (I think 10 people walked by our empty chip basket and water glasses - which we placed on the edge of table) Finally we flagged someone down and got more of both.
The food was good. My BF got the Mexicanas Enchiladas w/pork and I had the beef fajitas. I was only given 2 tiny corn tortillas so had to wait FOREVER and ask for more. I was also given no sides for my fajitas - no cheese, guac, etc. It didn't really need it but those items would have been yummy on it too.
Their beans were oddly good - or maybe bc we were starving by that point. Our dinner plates were each about $17 (!!!) which I personally thought was $5 too much - especially with shitty service.
They have a big list of Mexican beer and 2 small tables outside you can sit at. The inside was very cute and I wonder what that room with the pink pepto bismol walls is like when you have to eat in it.
I would definitely go back for the food and to re-evaluate this review - in other words, I hope the service we had was just a fluke but man was it horrible.
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I've had a large sample size of Mexican food across the States and the experience at La Fiesta was one of my favorites. The ambiance of the restaurant was pleasant, the service was very attentive and the food was home-style delicious (that doesn't read authentic). I'm not sure what this place is like during Winter, but it's great for summertime heat, especially when it begins to cool off into the evening.
First off, Grandma Sauce is delicious. Definitely recommend the enchiladas there; their tacos aren't that special. The salsa is also a nice twist of variety; serving four types (pico, verde, etc.) in small containers. I checked around to see what others were ordering, but everyone's got Grandma's Enchiladas. One time, I'll have to try something else. Service was good, as they're always refilling and asking if everything's alright. Maybe I caught them on an especially good evening. Probably not the most authentic of the mexican restaurants, but if you're looking to step outside of the Tex-Mex zone, this would be a nice place to start.
i really like this place! i got the grandma enchiladas with chicken and it was so good!! they were smothered in some kind of sour cream and chipotle sauce.. yummy! the chicken tortilla soup is also good but not the kind of tortilla soup you would normally have. for one, it's huge!! it also tastes a bit smokier than the norm and they give you a huge dried pepper in it.. prices here are pretty high but the food is good! you also get four kinds of salsa with chips which is nice and a soup which is really tasty and something i have never had before! la fiesta is not authentic mexican food but it is definitely worth trying if you want to try something different!
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I live within walking distance and its great. The staff is friendly and the food is very tasty. The building and surrounding buildings could use some work, but otherwise this place is fantastic.
It's a cheap hole-in-the-wall Mexican place that is a bit cleaned up. As a native Texan, who loves TexMex, they have great food for the type of place. A solid 4 stars, and I'll definitely be back.
The frozen margaritas didn't have the best crushed ice, but the margaritas on the rocks were great.
Good service, but they close down a bit before the actual closing time and kick you out with loud obnoxious music and non-subtle gestures.
Not cheap prices, but fair.
This is certainly a toned down Mexican restaurant. It is one step above Chilis but no where near authentic. The flavors are definitely toned down and more bland, probably because the clients might complain if they are made too spicy. I went and had the enchilada dish, my husband had the burrito dish. The portions are a very good size, and the food is overall good. The margaritas pack a punch. Overall its a good place for a quick mexican fix, but probably wouldn't bring my Mexican relatives here.
We were looking for a new Mexican place to eat that wasn't too far away from Milpitas where we worked, as South of the Border at McCarthy ranch definitely has lost its' luster... and behold: La Fiesta.
From the outside it looked like a boring 1980's office building, with only the sign bearing a picture of a bull biting the pants off of a bare-assed gaucho giving it away.
The inside is totally a different story: vibrant colors, mexican artwork, full bar. A nice place to drink, as it has a dark ambiance.
Points for chips and 4 different kinds of salsa+ some sort of soup (chicken broth+cilantro+lime). Soup was ok, but a bit sour for my taste.
Simple menu, so I opted for the Burrito de Mole. My coworker said it was just as good as the kind he had in GDL Mexico. That already made me skeptical before we got to the restaurant, but dam was he right. Portions were right size and the Mole sauce smelled fresh and tasted great.
Pretty impressed, as it is hard to find authentic Mole around here despite the plethera of Mexican restaurants.
The restaurants also claim to have the best Margarita's ever, so we bought a round and substituted with Patron. The rita's were good - the Patron was better.
So, 5 stars for a surprising little find in Mtview. Apparently it's been around forever, but new to me. And according to my friend, a good place to get phone numbers in the evenings.... I'll have to test that one out.
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I discovered this place about 10 years ago, but moved out of the area and lost touch. Now that I'm working back in the area, I remember what I was missing all these years - "grandma's special sauce" at La Fiesta. They call it "Enjococado", but it's got to be some kind of secret magic potion that keeps you coming back for more - for me, that usually means a dinner or lunch every week. I order "grandma's special" on enchiladas, either beef or chicken, and the dish has never failed me. The creamy, savory sauce is too good! Muchas gracias a la Abuelita de La Fiesta! Throw in some of their yummy chips & salsa (4 kinds)...and more chips & salsa...and more...well, you get what I mean. Good food here, folks!
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Yes. Best Margarita Ever.
And it's hard to not stuff yourself with the cripsy chips & fresh salsa (several kinds) before your main food gets to the table. Love the burritos, grilled chicken salad, and you can have a lot fun with the comination plates.
Oh, what the heck -- I'm giving it all 5 stars, because we just moved back to Cali and really missed good Mexican food!
The atmosphere is great. A little cramped, but fun. But the place gets crowded, especially at lunchtime, so leave your office/home early! (with a designated driver if you're going for a real fiesta time.)
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I have to thank my friend Ana for introducing me to La Fiesta. We ordered take-out on a rainy Saturday afternoon. This place, she claims, is a perennial lunch and take-out favorite of her co-workers. The chicken enchilada de mole was simply divine! The mole sauce had a velvety chocolate consistency and flavor, with just the right smattering of sesame. Next time I will try Grandma's Special. With this little neighbor gem around the corner, I too will be ordering take-out from here more often!
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Great food and drinks, horrible horrible service. Every time I go, I promise not to return, but I do. I guess that says something about the food, or me.
This place is wonderful in every way possible if you are in the mood for really delicious food and drink.
Grandma's Guajillo Chicken and also the traditional Mole are two of the sauces that set this place apart from the masses.
I am not sure if the recipes aren't a little bit less authentic (there is a French bent to pick bones out of soup in the caldo, for instance)
-but every time that I have been there I was served a minted consume' before my meal.
Best place on earth to cool a sunburn with a margarita.
NOT a good first date unless there is a large group of people with you -this place gets LOUD! :-)
La Fiesta is off the beaten path in an industrial area. Parking is minimal at lunch you need to arrive early.
I ate here for a work lunch with 15+ people. A small group of us arrived late we had a separate table from our group. That did take away from the experience but that is not the fault of La Fiesta. The service was very efficient but not friendly. The green salsa and chips were really good. I ordered the Chile Verde it was bland. I've defiantly had better. This was the lunch that kept on giving all night. I was so sick the most sick I've ever been. It goes without saying that I will NEVER eat here again.
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This place is a regular spot for my coworkers and I. It's in a hidden spot among a bunch of business/auto shop buildings, but once you find it you'll definitely leave full. I like to try something new everytime I go there and, so far, I've liked everything I've tasted. The decor is kind of loud and crazy but somehow you still feel comfortable eating there. It's a good place to go if you are craving some good authentic mexican food.
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Pretty nice place. Good food lots of flavor. Great lunch menu. New to Mountain View so I was pleasantly surprise by the quality and taste. If they didn't mess up my order I would have given 4 stars. But since they didn't seem to care, I just kept the order. Judging from what others order, looks like I will return and try the other menu items.
Excellent food - Veggie enchiladas in grandma's special sauce make me want to go here again and again. 3 salsas are great, so is the margarita. Good to take kids.
Downside: expensive, always crowded so need to wait
My vote for best mexican restaurant in downtown mountain view. I am a huge fan.
I'm not a mexican food expert, though, so I won't try to elaborate.
I'm sorry, is this a margarita or did I just sip from a glass of liquid fire?
I am usually with my well above average looking friend Laura when I roll into La Fiesta, and for some reason the bartender must equate my ability to handle tequila with the chest size of the company I bring along. Nonetheless, I've never had a bad margarita here - it's just that i'm hammered after two...thanks?
Being as how im usually hammered, I think the food is good. Traditionally its been used mainly as an instrument to soak up the tequila so I can drive home but I do vaguely remember something about the salsa dispenser having four different types, the tortillas being really good and the bathroom being unisex.
Best Margarita in the country -- travel a lot for business, and they consistently nail good, fresh margaritas.
Love the Mole, Grandma's Special, Verde & soups. Chips & salsa are good.
They've kept the quality & consistency up for the 12+ years I've been going here, and we still find it to be better than any other local joint.
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OMG! FUN!
Obviously, we got our margaritas by the liter. :-)
I got the carne asada, which was pretty good. I didn't care for my date's Grandmas Special, I prefer lighter sauces.
But I LOVED this restaurant! I like the decorations, the fact that it's a little hidden, that we were able to sit right next to each other at one of their round tables... I really want to come back and try their other entrees!
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A cut above your typical Bay Area Mexican, with some wonderful house specials. The Grandma's Especial, a creamy orange sauce is excellent, as is the Pollo Mole. Chips and salsa were wonderfully refreshing, with very "corny" chips and an excellent red sauce. Off the beaten path away from Castro street, so it's a very nice change. Lunch entrees were a bit on the pricey side -- $15+ seems high.
It's been hard to find good, traditional Mexican food since I have relocated back to the bay area, but La Fiesta has become a new found haven for me. Their Grandma's special sauce is quite possible the most unique thing I have found in Mexican food (and being that it is sour cream based, it's no wonder I loved it!) and everything else proved to amaze. Good solid margaritas, a great selection of salsas served with chips (this girl's other favorite combo in this world). I'm planning on going back to try the mole asap!
PS all the waiters are fab. But that's probably because a few are gay and always give girls the best service!
I have never been a big fan of Mexican food. I do not like sour cream or any form of beans. I was extremely skeptical when my brother brought us here. To avoid sour cream and beans, my brother suggested I try their Chicken Mole. This place changed my opinion about Mexican food.
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Food was ok. Service really sucked. Margaritas were too sweet.
This place is great.
Food Quality = excellent
Service = excellent
Wine Select = never ordered wine, just margaritas and they good
try the lime ones.
My favorite are:
Grandma's special - Yum Yum
Tortilla Soup - best soup ever!
Great food...the complimentary soup is amazing. The salsa is good, and the dishes are flavorful... i.e. Grandma special and the Cameron empanaizio with chipolte is to die for!!!
Would give 5 stars but margaritas are tiny for the price, especially the pitchers, but taste great. And the service is so/so.
Love going back though!!
Was a fun experience with the team. We had pitchers of Margarita and the menu was interesting. One of us did not know what 'mui picante' meant and ordered something that was 'mui picante'. : ) No wonder he had a hard time eating it later. That was funny. I had some fish entree which was pretty good. Saw some interesting Mexican dolls on the side. Might go there again. Luckily it wasn't crowded so there was space to park. Its quite difficult to get out of the parking space because you have to back up very skilfully and onto Villa street. Would rather park on the street..
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After a summer in Mexico, I was moaning to a professor about how sweet American mole is. I had not found good mole--yet. Sometimes we gripe and complain to the right people. This was the case back in the late 1980's, when my professor took me here for dinner. Ever since that evening, La Fiesta is still my all-time favorite mexican restaurant.
I estimate that I have had dinner here more than thirty times. The service has been good. They tend to leave you alone to talk and visit. I have had to flag them down a few times for my bill--just like in Mexico. The culture is like that. This is a Latin American family owned place. The food is gourmet style authentic mexican. There are other places that have good food, but I have not yet found one as true to gourmet Mexican cooking as this place--most have American adaptations. It's still my favorite. Each visit is like the first, and they have not yet disappointed me with food or service.
I first went to this restaurant during the dot com days. I loved the Mexican food here! It was so yummy! Sadly, this place has gone down hill. :( I went there with a group of friends for the first time in over a year, and was really disappointed.
I ordered the chile verde that was like $15 for the plate. The refried beans were really salty, the rice ok, and now to the chile verde. It was maybe at max, 8-10 small pieces of the pork in a small little dish to the side. The meal came with tortillas, and they brought it out in the little warmer thing like they usually do, but to my disappointment, they only included TWO, yes, TWO whole small corn tortillas. What the hell? Give me at least two more.
The host when I walked in was really nice, and was quite gracious for showing up a little early without a reservation. Our server, however, wasn't all that nice, and I found that kind of disappointing.
Pricing-wise, for the service and the quality of the food, it seemed a little expensive. It worked out to be $23/head (that was everyone's meal, plus two small glasses of margaritas). I hope the sister restaurants are still what I remember them as. I hope that this was just an off day for the restaurant ... cause I really used to love the food here!
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When a friend told me her favorite mexican restaurant was in Mountain View and called "La Fiesta", this mission district residing food snob couldn't help but scoff. But I finally checked it out and can only hope to return soon. I couldn't get enough of their hot salsa - it's unique, tangy, and tastier than Papalote's. Enchiladas with Mole sauce - a religious experience, as is the grandma's sauce. Enchilada heaven!
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If your grandma made Mexican food, and she knew what she was doing, it might have tasted like this. Nothing here is fancy, tex mex, no huge chunks of meat, but the flavor is right, and I'd pick this over many other Mexican places. Heck, I'd go just for the beans!
It's not el cheapo, but I wouldn't say it's over priced. Go down the street if you want over priced. The grandma's special enchiladas are super yummy, though I don't make it through both enchiladas. I'm a fan of their green sauce too. Their chile relleno, which is what I judge the base quality of all Mexican restaurants by... is just the right ratio of batter, cheese, and pepper. Their Chile Verde is excellent, and it makes for a great breakfast burrito the next morning too!
Did I mention the margaritas? I finally got a margarita there (you must get the fresh lime juice ones, becuase they are head and shoulders above the normal), and it's worth it. Possibly the best balanced margarita I've ever had.
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Delicious food, excellent margaritas, bright and fun atmosphere. (I love the brightly colored walls and Mexican artwork!)
You can split which types of enchiladas you want (just ask), so I got the Grandma's Special and De Mole to go with my Alberto's Margarita (I think I have that name right, but may be mistaken). The complexity of the mole sauce was SUPERB -- definitely one of my favorite versions, and I tend to use mole as the baseline for judging the local Mexican places. Grandma's Special was very creamy (quite yummy), though maybe a little heavier than I wanted that evening. My boyfriend's enchiladas suizas were definitely worth going back for.
This one got a definite stamp of approval from the Mexicano from el D.F., as well as his guerita girlfriend. We'll be going back to try more dishes (they have much more than enchiladas) and more of their margaritas -- they have one for every state in Mexico, and we haven't been disappointed so far!
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This is not a burrito hole in the wall or a tasty taqueria find. This is a mexican restaurant and a DAMN good one. It is gonna cost a little more then a hole in the wall mexican joint, but remember it is a restaurant and it is priced like one. The Mole is spectacular, the grandma's special is as special as a grandma, the combo platter are all great and the margaritas are perfect. This place was built up to me by a mexican friend of mine as what real mexican food should taste like and I generally end up let down if some place is built up too high, but this time La Fiesta delivered. Man this place is good!
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This place is a little harder to find since it's a bit off Castro, but it's worth it. Their chips and salsas are excellent...nice and fresh, with four kinds of salsa! I always use chips/salsa as my initial benchmark of the quality of a mexican restaurant.
Their chicken mole is wonderful, comparable to ones I've had in Mexico. I've tried the Grandma's special and a couple other dishes, but I always go back to the chicken mole...yum!
They've got good good margaritas too.
Yummy food. I loved the salsa. This review probably isn't much help, but that's because I am so full and lazy now!
If you go for lunch go early, even on a weekday it gets packed by 12. I thought it was in a weird place, but apparently that's just me. GO THERE!
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I dont care what anyone says this place is GOOD dammit! Yea it's a chain mexican restaurant but hey they make their own corn tortillas fresh on site and they make the guacamole fresh right in front of you. The carnitas is perfect, tender and crispy. Not the best fried ice cream Ive had but good. Their fresh pineapple juice is canned so minus points for that.
I like the atmosphere and the left overs were just as good. I had the 3 tacos with chicken, steak and carnitas. Very cravable.
I was looking through the reviews for a Mexican place that's open for lunch on Sundays and found this one. I thought it was good but I wouldn't give it 5 stars. The decor is beautiful, the chairs are hand-carved with colorful designs. We ordered the guacamole for the appetizer and it tasted very fresh. We also ordered the house salad which had some lettuce with freezer burn and green peppers that were turning brown. Not very appetizing and I didn't finish it.
For the main entrees we ordered chicken enchilada suiza which we thought was a little watery and also the chicken mole which was pretty good. Overall a bit pricey as you're going to read in these reviews, not sure that I would go back.
This is my favorite Mexican restaurant for 2 dishes they do better than any Mexican place that I've eaten.
Mole - The best mole I've ever had. It's dark ,thick, and rich with the right balance between chocolate, semi-sweet, and spicy.
Grandma's or enjococado - a tomato based cream sauce that's also rich, but not spicy. This is a wonderful sauce.
I had the Enchilada Camarones the other night, and it was just OK. The red sauce was very very picante, and overwhelmed the shrimps. I like my food spicy, but this had me sweating. I wouldn't get it again.
Their rice is good, but their refried and soupy with little flavor.
they used to serve a broth before your meal that was pretty tasty, but it wasn't served that last two times I went.
Atmosphere is very festive. Service is friendly, but a little hit or miss as one server doesn't seem to take responsibility for a table.
This is the orginal. Other family members own Fiesta Del Mar I and II, and Palo Alto Sol. The Grandma's seems to be as good at the others, but the Mole is not.
Margarita's are good too.
It's a little pricey, so don't expect a bargain.
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