This has to be one of the best Mexican Restaurants in OC. Great food and drinks, but the staff are really what makes this place extra special. My wife and I used to eat here weekly when we lived in the area. Now we live 30 miles away but still make the trip on occasion when we have time for a date night.

Found this gem while making a pit stop in Lake Forest. We were craving menudo and found the best spot to have some that morning. We sat at the bar and Don Mario welcomed us with a smile and the best attitude someone can have. He served us a delicious memudo bowl, a michelada and treated us to a shot of Raicilla while having a great conversation about life and adventures. I highly recommend visiting LA Cosina de Ricardo and enjoying some delicious homemade food. Don Mario, thank you for the amazing customer service, the delicious food, the great chat and the delicious Raicilla. We look forward to visiting you again soon.

We have been to this restaurant numerous times over the last five years but probably at least six months since our last. The place was less than half full and we seated ourselves as indicated by the sign in the front. The ambiance is good as other times as I recall. One of the waiters came by promptly to see what we wanted to drink. She brought us some fresh chips and salsa which was good as always. However, I never recall the chips to be so flaky that they break when I tried to spoon salsa into it. They tasted good but the salsa was a little less spicy than I remember. I asked for an order of guacamole which took quite a bit of time to be served. However, it seemed to have been freshly made with a lot less salt and spicy as I was expecting in the past. I am okay with less salt but a little spice would have been nice either in the salsa or the guacamole. So, that was a bit disappointing.

We had to wait for a while to order the entrees as the waiter (switched from the waitress) did not show up what seemed to be a long time. The waiter did not take away the plates we used for the appetizers and I had to prompt them twice to do it. We ordered shrimp fajitas, a beef and a chicken enchilada and a combination plate of chicken enchilada and taco. The shrimp fajitas tasted fine but the waiter took a long pause before brining out the tortillas that went with it. The beef and chicken enchiladas were nice, warm and tasted well. However, the beef and chicken inside the enchiladas tasted way more dry than it should’ve been. The combination plate was nice and warm as well but the tortilla in it seemed to fall apart as picked it up.

We finished up ordering a flan that we shared. This turned out to be totally disappointing as it tasted way watered down. It was not what it should have tasted like.

Overall, my impression was that they must have changed the cook as the food was much inferior in quality as I remembered from my past trips. Starting from the appetizer to the entrees to the desert, all was a bit under par. The biggest disappointment, however, was the service; I don’t know what the issue was but the waiter was not doing the job. He made us unnecessarily wait at every step including when I was paying. I resorted to going to the front to pay!

I recall that I like this restaurant a lot but they really went down in food quality and service. Is that because there is new staff or owner; who knows. I may visit them again in four to six months again to check if things have improved. Stay tuned!