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    Fonda Moderna

    4.3 (167 reviews)
    ModerateSeafood, Mexican
    Closed 11:00 am - 8:00 pm
    Updated a few days ago

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    FONDA MODERNA ATMOSPHERE

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    5 Guisado Taco Sampler
    Lauren C.

    The tacos are OK here. Flour tortillas are quite thin. I found the tacos to be a little too salty. The tacos are a lot smaller than you'd expect (bite-sized). I can see the tacos hitting hard after several drinks at the bar nearby. I think this place has potential and hope they can work out the details of their food.

    Cecina Taco
    Lauren L.

    Lovee their tacos, their flour tortilla is firee it's the kind that's like kinda flaky pastry, reminiscent of roti. Definitely elevates the taco. The tacos are also decently large so even one is pretty filling considering it's a single taco, not that I stop at one. My favorite one so far is the cecina taco. I've tried other ones too (from my memory the al pastor, Baja fish, and one of the chicken ones) and enjoyed em all so I feel safe trying new ones cuz they seem pretty consistently good across. I didn't love the steak burrito tho, i think I got filet? I don't remember the specifics about it except that the meat wasn't tender and the other components didn't make up for the disappointing meat, was underwhelming as a whole. Will def stick to the tacos. I also don't get how they don't have limes to squeeze:(. They do provide lime juice but not having limes feels like a crime for a Mexican spot. I love also getting a drink at the bar right across, conveniently next to each other

    Frank P.

    The food here is really good. I had the Cocina burrito. This is made with Hanger Steak. Each burrito is loaded with lots of tender yummy steak. It came with a small side of chips. I also got a bottle of Coke. They have a salsa bar on the right side of the counter. I went with the spicy which was really good. Everything here is fresh and made to order.

    Cecina Bowl
    Annie L.

    Food here is fire!! It's amazing!! I've had the Cecina street taco and the cauliflower-mushroom street taco before, and it was amazing! When eating the vegan tacos, it doesn't feel like it's vegan because of the great flavors. Recently had the Cecina bowl for $18. It was super filling. Flank steak is great quality and quantity. Comes with so many side dishes from guac, rice, beans, cabbage, onions and chips!! Favorite salsa is the mild avocado, which has a bit of a spicy kick! Service counter is small and very clean. You get a buzzer and come back to get your food. I enjoy the flight area where there's lots of food options for others and they have lots of seats and water station. There is 90 mins free parking. You must know your license plate to enter in the kiosk

    Baja Fish Taco - without salsa
    Brian V.

    Mexican food stand located in the Mess Hall Market. The vibe/decor of the Mess Hall itself is meticulous, clean, large airport hangar turned food hall. As for Fonda, I would say that the food seems very traditional with a modern punch up in ingredients and presentation. The service style is you come up and order at the counter and you pick up your food when it's ready (fast casual). The person at the counter was really friendly. I came here specifically to try their Baja style fried fish taco. The fish was perfectly fried with a nice crisp on the outside with not too much batter and the ingredients and salsa all tasted really fresh. All held together by a delicious, chewy flour tortilla. Just a really great fish taco all around. Parking was easy to find because there is a dedicated lot to this area. You get some validation when you dine at the Mess Hall. Which is a scan and app process which might be a slight inconvenience the first time, but if you come here often, I would imagine it getting easier.

    Dave L.

    If you love homemade Mexican food, you will love this place. The food is made from homemade recipes and served in Hand Made tortillas. It is kind of tricky to find this place and the parking is with an automated service that requires your credit card. One suggestion I need to make is they serve their tacos on a tray with paper under them. The issue is these tacos are very juicy and some of the filling spills out onto the tray. There is no way to avoid this. I would like to suggest they serve their tacos on a paper plate or cardboard tray to retain the juice and filling. We tried the steak and pork tacos and like others have said, they were excellent. I loved the pork with pits of pineapple in them. Crunchy, sweet, and tangy. This place is a new discovery in OC.

    Taco combo with Al Pastor Taco, Cecina Taco, Pacific Shrimp Taco!! Tortillas were delicious and absolutely tasted home-made.
    Alexis J.

    A hidden gem!!! Had a lovely outing today and split four tacos in between myself and my mom. We ordered a taco combo with Al Pastor Taco, Cecina Taco, Pacific Shrimp Taco!! Tortillas were delicious and absolutely tasted home-made. Was enough between us and was totally delicious. Honestly some of the best tacos we've had in awhile and we are Very Picky about our tacos! Service was quick and the front cashier person was kind enough to give us a second tray so we could split! Definitely making this our to-go spot for tacos!

    Bertha V.

    Wow! So glad I finally had the chance to come and check out this place. The place is inside the Mess Hall located at the Tustin Legacy. Inside you will find various other food places but we came to try this place. We ordered the Guisado taco sampler and the quesabirria. I can honestly say that all the food was so delicious! The tacos were small but filling my husband tried some and I had a few. We couldn't say which one we liked better because they were all good. The quesabirria was also delicious, the birria was tasty and it was not overly greasy. Let me also tell you about the delicious salsas. One of them tasted like the one my mom makes, so good!!!! We will come back to try some of their other food options because I am sure they are delicious! Also inside there is a bar that is owned by the same company as this place and I had a passion fruit margarita and a hibiscus margarita and both were so good. Miguel the bartender was very nice. Definitely be back for some more margaritas!

    Cauliflower Mushroom Taco and Mexican Squash Taco
    Jessica R.

    If you're in the Tustin area and looking for a great spot for lunch, I highly recommend checking out the Mess Hall. I stopped by for the first time today, and I'm so glad I did! A coworker suggested I try the Mexican restaurant there, and it definitely did not disappoint. What I liked most was that they offer vegan options, which is always a plus. I decided to try the Cauliflower Mushroom Taco and the Mexican Squash Taco. Both were cooked fresh to order and served on warm flour tortillas with fresh, high-quality ingredients. The flavors were vibrant, and the tacos were packed with deliciousness. While both tacos were fantastic, my absolute favorite was the Mexican Squash taco - it had the perfect balance of flavors and was just incredibly satisfying. I'll definitely be back to try more from their menu, and I'm looking forward to making this a regular spot for lunch!

    All beans and white rice, hardly any meat
    Jessica S.

    My son was hooked by a picture he saw online for this place, so we came by to try it out for dinner. The place is inside of the Tustin food hall, amongst a few different spots for food and drinks. It's cute, but definitely needs more businesses. The ordering process was easy, the cashier was friendly. The food was okay, and not worth the price. I bit into my chorizo burrito and it was mainly beans and rice, and it was regular white rice, which was strange. Hardly any cheese. My son ordered the chicken tinga burrito, which lacked flavor and was not juicy.

    Front of the restaurant
    Andrew L.

    I tried Fonda Moderna a couple of weeks ago. It is located inside the Mess Hall food court in Tustin. We ordered a few tacos, the al pastor and the beef. I enjoyed the al pastor tacos the most. They were extremely juicy and had a pineapple salsa in it. The decor inside the food court is nice.

    Menu
    Tina N.

    A taco shop tucked away inside the Mess Hall at FLIGHT. Lots of seating area inside and there are ping pong tables that you can use outside. Extra bonus is the bar right across from here. Counter service was quick and their staff was friendly/helpful. I loved that there's a self serve salsa bar. All of them were delicious and had a slightly different level of spice. Was hoping their extra caliente salsa would pack a punch but sadly it under delivered. Birria Taco - 3.5/5 the meat tasted good but a little under seasoned Al Pastor Taco - 5/5 loved that there was pineapple on top Carne Asada Hanger Santa Carota - 3/5 had very little hanger steak and mostly fillers Overall, it was not bad. Burrito was disappointing since there was barely any meat inside but the tacos were solid. I want to come back and try their vegetarian tacos. The cauliflower tacos looks amazing.

    Birra Birria De Mushroom Taco

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    2 months ago

    The food and services were great! Cool place to hang out. The fish tacos were unique and tasty.

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    2 months ago

    Best steak taco. Perfectly cooked, insanely tender with the right toppings. Worth every bite.

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    8 months ago

    Try the guisados taco sampler. You won't be disappointed. Phenomenal. Brb, off to order another one.

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    Fonda Moderna Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Fonda Moderna

    Is this place still in business? We call every day and no one picks up.

    Still open, I ate here maybe a week ago. Not sure why they wouldn't pick up. Sometimes the food court it's located in closes early or on random days and doesn't update their hours on Google or Yelp.

    Says they're open until 10 here but went at 7pm and nothing in the complex is open. When is the grand opening?

    Saturday the 20th

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    Hook & Anchor

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    Finally was able to try this place. Kept driving by it when we have water polo tournaments in…read moreNewport. Outdoor seating is nice, especially when the weather is sunny and it's not too hot. Inside is spacious. Loved the Aqua colored glass chandelier. They have a great cocktail menu! I wish I had time to enjoy a drink because they looked good when I saw a waiter delivering drinks to other tables. Our server, Abbie, was gracious and friendly. She was attentive to us and to all her other tables. Never skipped a beat on what part of the meal her customers were at (ordering, mid-meal, refills, dessert, paying, etc.) We ordered: A bowl of clam chowder - creamy and flavorful. Good amount of clams. A side salad - my hubby and I couldn't agree on dressing so Abbie brought both for us on the side. 3-piece fish and chips - crispy fish batter, not too thick. It's mahi-mahi so it's meatier than the typical cod. Fries were perfectly cooked and seasoned. Doused all of this goodness with their malt vinegar. We recommended this place to the other water polo families. Hopefully they stopped by too. I will definitely return! Thank you.

    My friends and I were craving lobster roll, so we decided to pick Hook and Anchor since it has been…read moreon our bucket list to try! We got the lobster mac & cheese, fish & chips, and 4oz lobster roll. The Mac & Cheese was good, but I didn't like the choice of the noodle. The pasta was a bit undercooked, but the lobster was good. The batter for the fish and chips is so good, but the fish was a bit dry. I would def come back for the lobster roll. Lobster was fresh and the brioche bun was buttery! The lobster roll was def the high light! The ambiance was nice! Def a cute date spot for couple to go on a night out. Service was a bit slow for how empty the restaurant was.

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    Came here for date night at Water Grill, and once again, it did not disappoint. We've been here…read morebefore and have always had a great experience. Unfortunately, we were already running late to our reservation when we got pulled over by CHP. I called the restaurant to let them know, and the hostess was so kind and understanding. She told us not to worry and held our reservation. When we arrived, they had a booth ready for us just as requested, which I really appreciated. The bread was absolutely delicious, the steak was cooked perfectly, and the fish was excellent. I've also had the oysters here before, and they are some of my favorites, even though we didn't order them this time. The restaurant is beautiful, the service was outstanding, and the food was delicious. Even with the stressful start to our evening, they made our date night special. I will definitely be back and highly recommend Water Grill!

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    Totally agree with Gene H's review on the recent menu changes. I am a regular here and called it my…read morehappy place, but the recent menu changes have me looking for another happy place. Like Gene, the serrano ahi poke bowl with wontons was the "go to" for every visit. Another fan favorite was the guac-poke with wontons. Well, wontons were removed from the menu altogether, and the serving size of the ahi is half of what it used to be. Not sure if this was a local decision or corporate decision, but it was a bad one! Second faux pas on the new menu is the removal of black beans with the taco plate. Now your options are fries or a salad. Who orders fries or salad with tacos? Black beans are so cheap. Even if you charge $1 for them, you're making money. Doesn't make sense to remove them. Oh, and the 3 taco plate is no longer an option. You can only get 2 tacos now. Third questionable decision ... eliminating the miso salad. The bartender told me that the house salad on the menu is the same as the miso salad. They mean the same thing. When the runner delivered what I thought was the miso salad, it looked different. So I asked her if this was the miso salad. She said no, that is no longer on the menu. So .... ya. Another big change for me was the removal of my favorite wine, the chenin blanc. The other whites are subpar IMO and not worth the drive over there ... especially with all these really poor menu changes. So now you know why I'm looking for a new happy place. If you know of any open air, fresh fish places, please DM me. Thanks! P.S. I went back and forth between giving 2 stars and 3 stars. The employees here are really exceptional. And I didn't think it was fair to give the whole restaurant 2 stars because their culinary executive is absolutely clueless.

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    Fonda Moderna - seafood - Updated July 2026

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