Always five stars, an absolute favorite! Will travel to have a meal here and always top notch staff, food, and atmosphere. The best of the best authentic Mexican for in the states as far as I'm concerned...and I've just returned from Mexico. read more

Great authentic Mexican food and not too heavy. We had the carnitas and tamales very fresh and tasty. Great half way stop to/from Seattle-Portland road trips. Very friendly service as well. read more

Really, really great, authentic Mexican food. No Tex-mex BS. Had the carnitas and it was tasty and flavorful. The tortillas were just fantastic. Would come here again and again, too bad it's a little out of the way. read more

Delicious and authentic Mexican food! We ordered the enchiladas and carnitas - both were well portioned and super tasty! We will definitely be back the next time we find ourselves passing by Centralia. read more

New to the area and decided to find a small Mexican restaurant. Passed this one by when doing errands. Decided to try it. Immediately we were greeted. The waitress was very friendly. When we got our food it was amazing! The pork was cooked perfect. Not overflowing with flavor but enough. Loved the homemade tortillas. Will definitely be going back again! read more

Owner greeted and welcomed us with a huge smile and cheer to introduce us to authentic food from her home town. Her photo is on the cover of the menu. They serve slightly pickled carrots with your menu. Carnitas were amazing and the homemade corn tortillas flavorful. They served a sweet pineapple tamale that was worth the order to taste its unique flavor. Trip off I5 worth it and prices fair. read more

Great food, good prices, excellent service. Bright & clean, cheerful atmosphere. Probably the best chile relleno I've ever tasted. Very pleased we stopped here. read more

This place is fantastic. Completely authentic, great service and a must stop for us every time we pass thru Centralia on the Seattle to Portland slog. read more

Authentic and amazing this place knows how to cook good food! I had the chicken Mole and it was outstanding! I was bummed I couldn't order a margarita though! read more

Best Mexican around for sure. Authentic and delicious! Try the house special which is the Carnitas.

The chili Colorado was delish! The tamales and the chili rellano were both fantastic! Service was fast and very friendly. 5 stars all around. Definitely a must if you're in Centralia! read more

Friendly service, very reasonable prices, authentic food served in a very clean and bright setting.

Amazing find! The carnitas and chicken w/ mole were incredible, very authentic. Great service- the owner brought our girls a horchata drink to try. They loved it! We will be back on our way next time heading to Seattle. read more

We yelped Mexican food while visiting The Great Wolf Lodge with our kids and were pleasantly surprised by La Tarasca. What a find in Centralia! I had the mole which was enough to feed two and my husband had the carnitas. Both excellent, but the mole wins--hands down. Real mole is difficult to pull off outside of Mexico, but they do it awesomely. Fresh, light tortillas and pickled carrots were standout differences from other Mexican joints. Our kids missed the chips and salsa of other places and the carrots were a bit too spicy for a 5 and 3 year old, so parents of small ones bring something for them to do while they wait or something to snack on. The reinvented drive-in works and the decor is expected. The staff was very friendly, helpful, and fast. The waitress snuck over to take our order before a table of 12 so we wouldn't be there all night waiting--very thoughtful--but the service is so quick, we wouldn't have waited long. Visit this place when you pass Centralia. You won't be disappointed! read more

Like may other we're staying at the Great Wolf lodge and didnt feel like paying $80 for a family of four to eat so we started searching YELP. Read the reviews and glad we trusted them. Great little family owned and operated authentic Mexican restuarant. We were greeted by a very friendly lady that told us she was from the Michoacan area of Mexico and the food the prepare is from that area. Carnitas is the signature dish and I highly recommend it. My kids had the tostado, quesadilla and chicken soft taco and loved them. Best homemade tortillas I've ever had. Complimentary pickled carrots are also I really nice treat and a good break from the traditional chips and salsa you get at most places. Horchata, Jamaica and Tamarindo drinks were also very good and homemade. Wish we had a place like this in Portland. read more

Great beans, carnitas real good, tortilla yummy. Update: beans and tortilla not as good the second time. The Pozole not as good as my friend said it is. read more

We were traveling thru the area and stopped by on a Friday night at about 5:30. The restaurant was fairly busy. We ordered quickly and were pleasantly surprised when our dinner arrived a few minutes later. Had chicken tamale, chicken taco and a chile relleno. Great food, great service. Only wish I lived closer, they would know me by name! read more

Amazing , succulent mouth watering carnitas. And I love their flan as well. No chips and salsa, but instead the pickled caps are so yummy! It is a small restaurant, but beautiful and. Authentic Mexican place. Our second visit here and it is worth it! :-) read more

Love this place! If we lived in the area we would eat here often. Very friendly and helpful staff. Fresh made horchata that was so good. I had the house specialty and it was very flavorful and just the right amount. The flan for dessert was some of the best we have ever had. Would definitely eat here again...and again! read more

Having lived in Mexico for a number of years, I can assure you this place is authentic and delicious. Pass on the soda and get a Jamaica or Tamarindo agua fresca! read more

Never been there, yelp had great reviews listed so I thought I would give it a try, excellent very authentic Mexican food! Mom and pop shop, Everyone was very nice, great selection of food! Pricing , food portions were comparable. Highly recommend this place! read more

We often drive the i5 corridor and wonder where we are going to get our next meal. The next time we go by Centralia, we're going out of our way to visit here again. so yummy. read more

Lady who waited on was wonderful. I believe she was the owner. AMAZING. Passionate about her restaurant. Food was SO QUICK!! So so quick!! And delicious. Not the normal Mexican place but that was another reason we loved it. Very authentic. Homemade family recipes. Stories behind all that they do and why. SO SO COOL. Come check this place out! read more

Awesome carnitas. This place is legit authentic Mexican food. Dont let the handful of poor reviews deter you from eating here.

Excellent and authentic. Tacos de Bistek for me. Carnitas plate for husband. Kids quesadilla for my boy. Everyone cleaned their plate. Only surprise was no chips. Warm and friendly service as well. read more

Hands down the best Mexican food I've ever had. Super authentic. It's very obvious that the food is fresh and homemade. The owner is really funny and sassy too. She knows the food is good. We really enjoyed the chicken enchilada plate, the red sauce was rich and the chile sauce was definitely authentic, the chile verde was delicious, and their rice and beans could not get any better. Yum!!!! read more

Delicious authentic Mexican food. Friendly staff. We picked the restaurant just passing through. We will make a point to go back. Everything was so good!! Fresh corn toritillas! Yes please! read more

Stopped here when we stayed at Great Wolf Lodge and brought it back to our room. It was incredible!! The owner was super open about how they prepare the food, told us about the authenticity to the region of Mexico, and was really helpful in ordering some amazing stuff even though I wasn't familiar with the menu. This is the best Mexican food I've had in the area. read more

Most authentic Mexican food I've had in the US. I recommend the carnitas. You will not be disappointed. Friendly people and amazing food!

Food was delicious and the service FAST! Being a family of five, we tried almost everything in the menu. Best was pork soft taco. Beans and rice awesome! read more

The food and service here were both very good. Definitely worth stopping by if you are passing by. Had a line when we went but it went quick. Family run place and they were on it. We ordered a few different items and they were all good. The Sopes were the best I have ever had. Tamales and Tostadas were very good as well. I liked the pickeled carrots they served as well. This place would be a hit in any city read more

Food is great! I had a tamale, chile relleno, beans and rice, and flan. Very good! Tomatillo salsa is also tasty and spicy.

We cannot say enough amazing things about this restaurant! Our first visit was PERFECTION. Food, service, and atmosphere was fantastic.

Oh my! Delicious food and great service. LOVE the marinated carrots they give you. Will make a point of stopping in again.

Absolutely fantastic! Hubbie and I had the carnitas and the bifsfek tacos. Authentic and wonderful flan too!!

Goosh I love this place. Been here a few times, good food, good atmosphere, small space is my only complaint. Kind staff.

Absolutely great, authentic Mexican food. Pork sopes and tortillas were terrific. Service was super fast. A must stop if u are cruising up and down I-5 read more

We found this spot thanks to our fellow Yelpers and I thank you all from the bottom of my... stomach. We were looking for a place to grab something hot on our way to the Howl In at Wolf Haven near Tenino. Although I thought this place was closer (need to learn how to read a map one of these days), I am glad that we took the detour. We had a party of seven (four adults, three kids) and we ordered as if the world was about to end, or an ice age were about to set in. The kids stuck with the simple cheese quesadilla (as our waitress said, "no colors") but the adults ordered more widely. I had the chicken mole tamale and chile verde pork. The tamale was excellent and tender (not health food!) and the pork was delicious. The verde sauce was zippy but not hot - enough flavor to be very enjoyable but not too much heat for most anyone. I wouldn't have minded it a little hotter, but I know that the regional Michoacan cuisine is not dedicated to fire-eaters. The absolute pinnacle of dinner, though, was the little stack of fresh homemade corn tortillas. We make corn tortillas at home and I have always thought they were REALLY good... until last night. Last night I learned that we are really just poseurs with our Maseca and our wax paper and our cast aluminum tortilla press. La Tarasca's tortillas make me want to hunt down some fresh masa and try again. I've been schooled! Also have to mention the chile relleno, which I tasted. It was really delicious even though not like the rellenos I had in New Mexico back when I lived there. Pasilla pepper, queso cotija, egg batter, carefully prepared. Yum! Even though we all ate as though the world was about to end, ice age, etc... we also followed a general Yelp recommendation and ordered the flan. Wow, it was the best flan I have ever had, and even though I'm not sure how I found space for it, I didn't think about leaving any on the plate. Absolutely delicious. Opinion in our group was more mixed on the bread pudding which a tablemate ordered - it was very rich and unusual, not at all dry like a bad bread pudding, but possibly had some tamarind in it - or anyway, some flavor which not everyone liked (2 of the adults liked it, one was more interested in the flan, and one didn't like it). Given that the fabulous flan is also available, I would only order the bread pudding if you're sharing several desserts. Otherwise, stick with the flan. We did not have a chance to try the rice pudding; it was sold out. We plan to stop here whenever our travels take us south of Seattle, and I would seriously consider an hour detour just to eat here. It's wonderful. read more

Amazing hand made tortillas. Really good carnitas. Its not your typical Mexican-American restaurant where they smother everything with cheddar cheese... you can really taste the authenticity and home made quality of the food. Que sabroso!!!!! read more

Awesome food and environment. Best corn tortillas we have had. This place deserves the reputation it has on yelp.