SHORT ANSWER: Just an update, but Casa Mendoza seems to be just getting better. Some new staff but…read morefood quality and people here are very welcoming. LOCATION: In Old Town La Quinta, OTLQ easy to find, tons of parking but at times it gets busy so you may have to walk a bit. FACILITY: very traditional inside and out, clean, and lots of space between tables. MENU: rather massive, we usually order the same things so all the other options makes my head hurt so we just go with what we know. FOOD PREP: excellent, always looks the same which is a good things. FOOD QUALITY: some of the best in the valley. LIBATIONS: lots of choices and not too expensive, wish they had a locals city of LQ discount like some of the other options in OTLQ.. WAITSTAFF: very nice, everyone. OVERALL VALUE: if you order the right things, it is a great value but you can go nuts and spend a lot, tourist dollars spend well, upselling happens for those who want it and deserve it! TIP: Sitting outside is great most all year, we don't go out when it is crazy hot, but have dined outside in 100+ temps, we prefer the front outdoor space.

*Mi Casa es Su Casa*…read more My buddy had a small casual bday get-together with his family and invited me to join the celebration. I saw all the favorable reviews on Yelp and was looking forward to my first visit at Casa Mendoza. Very chill & lively family owned Mexican joint in Old Town LQ. The place was kinda busy @6:30pm on Hump Night ~~ always a great sign when I see this. Felt more like a Sunday Evening. It took an hour to receive our meals. Ordered @6:45 arrived @7:45pm. Good thing the Chimichanga & Gauc apps arrived pretty quickly. The Gauc was Excellente. All their food was very good. But all our meals arrived cold/lukewarm. Took forever to receive our food and we knew for a fact it's because all our plates sat a while until we were served. The actual plates weren't even warm and the sizzling fajitas had sizzled out and lost its dazzle. Because it was still 95 degrees when dinner was finally served, our lukewarm meals were doable on a hot night. Everyone did enjoy their meals tho. I was very pleased with my Mahi Mahi in Garlic Butter Sauce. The refried beans were outstanding. The rice very good...and I made tacos with the 3 corn tortillas. But would have enjoyed it even more had all the food been a little warmer. I stuck with H2O but all margarita drinkers said their drinks were good and hit the spot on a warm night. The service in general was also inconsistent for our small party of 8. The Birthday Boy was a little frustrated and got up a few times from his throne seeking assistance -- such as missing tortillas for meals, water refills, extra napkins. We even had to wait longer than anticipated for them to acknowledge the bday boy with a celebratory bday song & sombrero...and the fried ice cream, which didn't include a candle. Tho we all enjoyed ourselves and time together...a 2 hour dinner at a Mexican joint on a Wednesday night wasn't what we anticipated. Especially with one restless 7 year old ;-) But everyone working at Casa Mendoza is very friendly with great attitudes. Hostess team, waiters, servers & runners too. So that made up for the spotty service, just a little bit. Since I'm closer to the other Casa Mendoza in Palm Desert, I'd go there in the future with my wife, and order the exact same thing. But hope for much better service and warmer food.

We usually come to old town once or twice a year to visit my mother in-law…read more They simplified their menu from last year and it's more tacos, quesadillas, and enchiladas - the food is a lot better than last year so this was a good change. The service was also great. I think we would definitely visit again when we are back in town. Recommend visiting the icecream shop across the street after dinner!

Overall this was a good dining experience, w/ a few hiccups. We were a Party of 8 for a birthday…read morecelebration. It appeared this place was short-staffed, and the Manager said her bartender got slammed. That explains why our drinks were slow, and why our 2nd round of drinks never even arrived at all! Manager of course took the drinks off our tab, and gave us a discount on our overall dinner bill. As for the food, my ceviche was amazing, and hubby's burrito was good. Everyone else in our party complained & was disappointed in their food. The highlight was the complimentary dessert of Mud Pie. I'm not a 'sweets person' yet after we all shared that one huge piece, I had to restrain myself to not order another piece!

I've seen this place on my commute. Stopped after my Bike Ride…read more Ordered a Margarita, it is made with Agave Wine! Delicious! Not too sweet and not bitter! It's a must visit when going to the LQ Cove! Family owned and sometimes they have tacos and the tortillas are made by hand.

I really don't like to give bad reviews, but, it's necessary. Margarita's weren't good at all, sent…read morethe skinny margarita back, Trio Fajitas were basic and small (Kids meal size). Coors Light bottle $7.00? I'll just stick to Casa Mendoza, better value and food for sure.

Our server Jorge was amazing. He provided excellent service with a positive attitude. The food was…read moredelicious too. Definitely worth a visit!

Jorge you're awesome! We just moved to the area and you were very warm and welcoming. Thank you for…read moreand awesome time :)

We discovered Primos several years ago after they had just opened, and it has been one of our…read morefavorites in Palm Desert ever since. I normally do breakfast, but this time I got the fish tacos. They were grilled and served with chips and roasted salsa, which is my favorite. Hubby loves their chilaquiles and won't order them anywhere else because he doesn't want to spoil the memory. They serve Diet Coke kept it nice and full. We came at 11 on a Wednesday and were seated right away.

Sunday morning Huevos Rancheros at Los Primos were good, served with avocado, beans in a crispy…read moretaco shell, tangy green salsa, crispy potatoes and over easy eggs on top of a corn tortilla with medium spicy red sauce. Delicious!! The inside is comfortable with a few booths, tables of various sizes, and some outdoor seating as well. Service was friendly, efficient, and fast.

Had a fantastic dinner date here on a Sunday night! Super friendly staff made us feel right at…read morehome, the place is adorably cute, spotless clean, and lively mariachi tunes set the perfect vibe. Chips + salsa hit the table instantly, food arrived fast, piping hot, and absolutely delicious. Great portions, killer flavors, and prices that won't break the bank. Loved every bite--definitely coming back!

Was stopping at World Market then saw this restaurant randomly, love mariachis, and then stopped in…read moreunplanned. Wow! This place is a gem, great service, great drinks, however the Pina Plate with Al Pastor is one of the best things you will ever eat ever at any Mexican restaurant. I am so happy I walked in here. I will be back again and again!

One of the best places in La Quinta they have excellent burritos and the menudos on the weekends,…read morevery delicious

Coo lil meat market with everything you need but the food is insane. It's to go only but they have…read morea few out food seating. Got an asada buritto which was hefty in size and asada quesadilla loaded with cheese. 10/10 will return No pics of food because i inhaled it

The food was amazing. The monte cristo was a perfect combination of sweet and savory. We also…read moretried the chilaquiles with turkey chorizo. Amazing.

The food was pretty good. The servers were generally a bit slow to respond. Was sat for about five…read moreminutes before being greeted by our server. We saw another guest flagging down a busser to ask menu questions after they had been seated for a few minutes. The ice tea wasn't a very large glass and I had to request each refill. The really disappointment came from three guests next to us that had a speaker phone FaceTime going for over 10 minutes. We asked them to stop, as did another guest. They asked why and continued. We asked the server, who just apologized to us and the other guest. We didn't want an apology, we wanted them to stop. My feeling is that the owner's skill is the food but not managing the environment. Additional focus in the dining room would raise the level of the experience. I've had better experiences elsewhere, so not sure I'd return.

Pueblo Viejo is my absolute favorite Mexican restaurant in the area! I've been coming here for…read moreYEARS! The staff is so friendly and takes care of you like family. Their chips and salsa are very yummy as well as their wide array of menu options! My favorite will forever be the chicken enchiladas with salsa verde! I can't recommend this place enough and can't wait to come back soon!

Outstanding Mexican food. I had the shredded beef enchilada…read moreand beef tamale. They were both outstanding! The wife had the steak burrito and loved it! Can't go wrong with this place! The help is great!

The vibes of this restaurant are amazing. There's live music and the outdoor seating here is…read moregorgeous with nature and fountains. I ordered fajitas and a tamale. The food was decent, not the best but definitely worth it overall for the experience. I also highly recommend the passionate sangria. It was flavorful and refreshing.

Adobe Grill wants desperately to be the kind of place people remember forever. The setting…read morecertainly tries hard enough. A warm La Quinta evening, desert air finally cooling off, a solid live duet working the patio with the kind of soundtrack that should make mediocre food taste better than it is. For a few minutes, you think maybe this place is going to deliver on the promise. Then the flamingo arrived. Or at least that's what the bright pink polo shirt on our server suggested. Somewhere between Palm Springs golf tournament and poolside timeshare mixer, the uniform choice set the tone immediately: completely off-brand for a resort carrying the La Quinta name. To her credit, the server herself was pleasant enough. But pleasant is table stakes at a resort property. Competence, polish, awareness, that's what people are paying for. The twenty-ounce margaritas landed with all the sophistication of a fraternity mixer. Sweet, forgettable, and somehow both weak and aggressive at the same time. I've had better drinks poured into Solo cups at parties where the furniture was stolen from somebody's dorm room. Then came the food. The chips tasted stale, like they'd spent the afternoon losing a slow battle with desert air. The ceviche? Rubbery and tired. Seafood should taste alive. This tasted like it had already accepted its fate hours earlier. Sylvia ordered the Caesar salad, and it looked exactly like what it was: something assembled without care, without attention, without anybody stopping for even a moment to ask whether it represented the standards of a resort restaurant. She barely made it halfway through. Oddly enough, the lone bright spot was my chicken enchiladas verde. Solid. Comforting. Not life-changing, but at least prepared by someone who appeared interested in their job that evening. But the real problem at Adobe Grill isn't the food. Restaurants recover from mediocre dishes all the time. The real problem is culture. Or more accurately, the complete absence of one. The food runner couldn't answer even the simplest questions. The service staff moved with that unmistakable energy of people who were never properly trained because nobody above them really cared enough to train them. Empty plates sat on the table for what felt like half the night. Nobody cleared them. Nobody reset or groomed the table. Crumbs, empty glasses, dirty dishes, they just accumulated while the evening slowly unraveled. At a place carrying the La Quinta name, that level of inattentiveness is stunning. And then the manager arrived, or more accurately, drifted by. No eye contact. No engagement. No sincerity. Just a quick pit stop at the table to perform the illusion of management before immediately turning away and loudly shouting to another group thirty feet off as though we had already ceased to exist. That moment explained the entire restaurant. Because once you start looking closer, you see it everywhere. Bird droppings baked into chairs and railings long enough to become part of the décor. Neglected details. Deferred maintenance. Staff operating without direction. A restaurant surviving almost entirely on atmosphere and location while slowly forgetting hospitality itself. And that's the frustrating part. The bones are there. The patio. The music. The desert night. This place should be magical. Instead, it feels like a resort coasting on reputation while the little things, the things that actually matter,quietly fall apart in plain sight. And honestly, the restaurant may not even be the biggest issue. But that's a whole separate review.