3.5-ish For starters, the name of this restaurant (according…read moreto its own sign) is Taqueria Carnales, not Carnales Taqueria (as listed on Yelp). Anyway, this is a place for people who enjoy highly flavored and spicy food. Seriously, ask them to go easy on the jalapenos if you aren't up for spicy. I ordered everything as is for my first visit for takeout and enjoyed it but it was on the edge of too spicy for me, (chicken grande burrito) without actually crossing the line.Very much crossed the line with the shrimp tacos, imo. I ordered the following: Menudo Soup (made from cow's stomach); Shrimp Tacos and a Chicken Burrito Grande. The estimated prep time was 15 minutes and the food was ready on time. It's a cute, small restaurant that is very clean. While you could choose to dine in, I didn't see anyone eating there and it appears that most of their business is carryout. Upon arriving home, I found that the Menudo Soup had spilled inside the plastic bag. Not too big a deal. The other entrees were packed in styrofoam containers. The burrito was wrapped in paper and foil. My mom had the Menudo Soup and said it was good. She had one of the three shrimp tacos and said it was okay but that she wouldn't crave them. The avocado slices looked very fresh. My mom loves spicy food but she commented that the soup and tacos were very spicy. As for my chicken burrito, it was unexpectedly spicy in a mostly good way. The burrito was stuffed with everything inside - guacamole, rice, chicken, refried beans (very little), cheese and jalapeno peppers. It was a delicious combo but I would have preferred the individual ingredients to be separate. The biggest problem, however, was that the foil wrap made it difficult to cut into the burrito without also cutting into the foil. I think it's more of a "me" issue that might not bother anyone else. Overall, I would order from this restaurant again. The quality is definitely way above Taco Bell, but it's not quite fast food even though it's next to a Subway. Also, I asked if their refried beans were made with lard and I was assured they were vegetarian. If I hadn't seen so many positive reviews on Yelp, I wouldn't have known to check out this spot, but would encourage you to try it too for high quality, authentic Mexican cuisine! EDIT/UPDATE: I tried one of the shrimp tacos that my mom left in the fridge. OMG, it was super spicy to the point of giving me hiccups. Plus, the spiciness seemed to come from a creamy cheese sauce added to the shrimp tacos after they were cooked. I can understand why my mom wouldn't crave them and I would never order them myself. Based on your personal preference for spiciness, let this give you an idea of the level of spiciness that could be added to your food unless you request your dish to be less spicy. Recommend with caveat re spiciness.

The Pizzabirria is delicious. It is huge and so filling. It's served with several different…read moresauces in addition to the dipping sauce. they also include Cucumbers and Radishes. Queso is great but the Guacamole is to DIE for!

I'm giving a one star for the margarita that was strong. Other than that, I ordered 2 tacos, they…read moretasted like dog food and they came on a hard shell. The music is so blasted up in this place I can't even hear the person sitting next to me. My friends rice was colder than room temp and the salsa tasted like it was from aldis. I don't recommend coming here. I also asked if they had margaronas here, my server said yes and brought me back a margarita.. she probably couldn't hear me over the overly loud music. I will not be returning.

Garbage food. Shouldn't even be called a Mexican restaurant. Really tiny and bland inside. Don't…read morewaste your time.

Let me say, the portions are enormous! When I saw they wanted four dollars for a taco I was a bit…read moreoutraged, then the taco came to the table and it was not your average street taco. My sister-in-law and I shared a fried burrito with Al Pastor in it. The shit was fire! They make their own hot sauces in house. The waitress brought a creamy habanero sauce to the table that was still warm. Mad respect for that. It was delicious, but hot as hell. This place is a 12 year-old boys dream. It has such a cool nacho Libre vibe. I would've given it five stars except for a few small details. I really wish you could give 4.5. It just wasn't quite at that five star level. For me a five star level means all the food is executed. Well, the service is impeccable, the place is clean, and it's a good overall experience. There was nothing bad about this by any means. But it just wasn't quite five stars. The queso is not good. It has a decent flavor, but it is super watery. I also don't like that none of their giant burritos come automatically with rice and beans. If I am ordering a $14 burrito even if it's huge, it should really come with rice and beans. Also, I wish they had a few more appetizer options like Mexican street corn. While they did have some nachos, a few basic dips and some Ramen, I just feel like they could do a little more on the appetizer front. My sister-in-law and I split a burrito and usually what I would do is get an appetizer for us to share as well and there just wasn't anything. I will argue to the death. That queso is not an appetizer. It is a condiment. A delicious condiment. Like I said... 4.5 stars for this place the waitress was very helpful. I also wish you could mix and match three tacos for $12 or something like that and I also wish they had some happy hour drink specials.

We always go to Los Agaves but sometimes we feel like we should broaden our Mexican food horizons…read more We stopped in here one morning in search of huevos con chorizo and figured any Mexican restaurant open before noon should offer it. Wrong! While El Arena DOES have a breakfast menu, they do not offer huevos con chorizo. We asked if we could order it off and there seemed to be confusion. I ordered the Breakfast Burrito instead. It was delicious and something I would definitely order again. The decor inside was fantastic and I loved looking at all the luchador art work. The restaurant wasn't busy at all. I was a little annoyed because I asked for coffee - it's on the menu - and I was told they didn't have any. My only complaint. Well that and the paper lined trays to serve food. That always irritates me because it never fails to cut into your food and cut paper with it.

Great food and service. The tamales with the chili sauce were amazing and I love the cheese and…read moreonion enchiladas!

Food was below average and the service was even worse. Don't expect to enjoy yourself here. Service…read morewas inexperienced, slow, and rude.

A true hidden GEM! This is some of THE best authentic Mexican food I have ever eaten. We had the…read moreChorizo con Queso, traditional tacos, and Enchiladas Supremas. The food was fresh and flavorful. Don't be scared by the location or how it looks from the outside. It was amazing and I cannot wait to go back!

Insanely good food. I was so pleasantly surprised to find this place, kinda out of the way, but…read moreworth the voyage. The ambience is simple and no-frills but comfortable. Not a very large building so you may want to get it to go if you're in a group. I got my usual boring takeout order: a large side of rice and refried beans with no cheese, side of flour tortillas, pico de gallo, and chips and salsa. At home, I added sour cream and shredded lettuce and dug in. Rice and beans are the building blocks of great Mexican food and these had just the flavor I was hoping for. Easily equal to any of the California taquerias I'm used to. My only tiny complaint was that the beans did come with cheese on them, but they still get 5 stars cause it was an easy fix. I'll def go back next time we're in Toledo.

Guess this is more of a check-in, as I ended up here again yesterday because it is so close to my…read moredog's groomer and I was hungry. Common theme for me. Ambiance was festive as always and the restaurant seemed very clean. Service was excellent. The food is decent with huge portions. Prices are typical and a good value due to the generous portions. Here's what continues to bother me: All of their beans contain lard -which I choose not to eat - and yet the "Vegetarian" portion of the menu lists various entrees with the same beans that contain lard. It would be nice to offer a lard-free option of black beans, as other Mexican restaurants do. I mention this to my server each time. I realize it's insanity to come back here expecting a different result, but it would make me so happy to enjoy lard-free beans with my burrito! End of rant. This place was busy mid-afternoon on a Friday, so apparently most people are perfectly happy with the status quo.

Margaritas were phenomenal! Food was amazing! We had fajitas and fajitas nachos and they were…read moregreat!! Great patio space! Highly recommend!

Very good service. We thought the food was priced very reasonable. It was a bit loud with several…read moreTVs playing the FiFa game but we were ok with that. Second time here and plan to return.

My boyfriend and I had a taste for Mexican while in the Toledo area. Cinco de Mayo had good reviews…read moreand did not disappoint. The food was amazing and we had a great waiter. Everything came out so fast, fresh, and hot.. I'd definitely recommend this place for some tasty Mexican food.

I came to this restaurant to order and pick up carryout dinner for two. I had been here a few years…read moreago. The parking lot was very crowded and of course that meant it was also crowded inside. A good sign! Ambiance is typical festive and colorful Mexican decor. I went to the host stand to get a menu and grabbed a seat at the bar, hoping to get a small margarita while I perused the menu and ordered. I didn't see a dedicated bartender and it seemed like wait staff grabbed drinks on their own for their tables. When I was finally able to flag down someone in the bar area, she was friendly and served me a basic margarita- pretty sure they are pre-mixed but not totally sure because I was still studying the menu. Solid margarita though. Ordered two chicken burritos, a chicken quesadilla and tortilla chicken soup. The wait time was reasonable and staff members were very nice despite how busy they were at prime dinner time. Upon arriving home, I ate half of the chicken quesadilla. It was delicious with lots of quality seasoned chicken I also cut off a piece of my mom's chicken burrito to try. Also delicious. My mom definitely enjoyed her chicken tortilla soup, which was loaded with shredded chicken and pico de gallo. We had lots of leftovers even though we ordered à la carte. Everything was delicious and I highly recommend this restaurant! I'm sure the experience would have been better dining inside. Also, next time will order dinner portions for more well rounded meals (e.g., quacemole and other sides). You may want to stop by for an early dinner because this restaurant has quite the following!! P.S. If you care about whether the refried beans contain lard, they do. And they don't have black beans as an option for those who don't want lard in their beans. Guess the lard is more authentic Mexican but not what I had hoped for...

Stopped for a carryout after work. I ordered the #22 combo, consisting of a burrito, Chile relleno…read moreand a taco. My protein of choice was carne asada (which the waitress needed clarification that I wanted steak). Not promising. I guess part of this is my fault for ordering carryout Mexican food. Unless you're under the influence at a taco bell, with no better sense of judgement, it's just not a good idea. That said, I couldn't help myself because I REALLY wanted Mexican food for dinner and I didn't want to deal with San Marcos (see my prior review) and I didn't feel like driving to Waterville (Cocina de Carlos because I live in West Toledo and work downtown). El Nuevo Vallarta is really close to home and it was a really long day. Anyway, I digress... I go to the place and it's starting to get busy. Not a problem. I place my order and grab a seat at the bar. Food is in my hands in under 10 minutes! Homeward bound to and adult beverage and Mexican food!!! Oy... I finish my cocktail, feed the cat and grab my carryout. I sit down and open the container. Again, OY... It looked like they put the 3 items in the aluminum pan and liberally doused everything with salsa rojo. Maybe I should have used the word excessively? I had to look at the carryout menu I grabbed to remember what I ordered because one couldn't tell by appearance. The chili relleno tasted good, but it wasn't like any I'd had in the past. The ones I've had are stuffed with cheese then dredge in fluffy, beaten egg, then fried. I'm thinking this was maybe fried (or baked?) And was then covered with cheese and red salsa and some kind of cut up beef was placed on top. If it was steak, it was round steak. Really tough and no flavor. They did the burrito the same way. The taco was a repeat of the first 2 items. So, I ate all of the chili relleno (except for the really stringy stem end they didn't cut off) , half of the taco and a quarter of the burrito. The dinner came with chips that they made, but they didn't seem very fresh. The salsa was really good! So, I owe it to the place to go back and right another review. When that happens, I'll be sure to eat it there and get ground beef or chicken. It might be a while though...

I CANNOT fathom how our favorite restaurant has such a low rating on Yelp?! We come here 1-2x/wk…read moreand NEVER have a bad experience. I think one time I had an issue with my meal because it was too salty and I attribute a lot of that to the queso. I'm from MI and most of the Mexican restaurants there don't use queso on their dishes, but in OH that seems to be the norm. Aside from that, we've never had a bad experience. We've ordered take out for our housewarming party last year and my husband ordered take out for my surprise 40th birthday last month. Their rice is delicious! Perfection! They always have great daily specials and I can never pass up a margarita. One is really all you need or maybe I'm just a lightweight. The quesadilla ranchera is probably one of my favorite dishes. The portions are plenty! They might take longer than normal to bring the bill, but I think it's done more out of not wanting to rush you an allowing you to enjoy your meal. So you might have to wave someone down for the bill, but that's not horrible is it? I think it can easily be overlooked when everything else is on point.

Food is always hot and comes out quick! I LOVE coming here on my lunch break and I can not BLESS…read moreTHE HANDS THAT PREPARED my food enough! Come hungry and leave ready for a food coma induced nap! The food is always 10/10! I just wish the place was bigger.

I hadn't been here in years and had forgotten why. Now it's clear... This place needs a full-blown…read moreupgrade. The decor is dated and feels tired. The restroom was clean but very worn out, to say it nicely. The service, however,was excellent. I was promptly greeted, seated and asked for my drink order. Chips and salsa were delicious. The salsa was perfectly balanced between mild and hot, with the right amount of zest. I ordered a chicken burrito with vegetarian refried beans and a side of guacamole. The menu stated that it would be shredded chicken, but it was random pieces of chicken, of varying quality, with lots of rice. The burrito was topped with a cheese sauce that was pretty thin and didn't really add any flavor to the burrito. Guacamole was okay and refried beans were fine. Nothing was really amazing aside from the attentive service. The restaurant has a patio, but it's on a busy street and I don't think it would be enjoyable. Overall, this would not be a restaurant I would make an effort to return to; nothing horrible but nothing outstanding either, aside from the service and salsa. I was waiting for my dog to be groomed and it served my purpose.

Taco Tuesday!!! They have a taco Tuesday here that includes steak tacos and birria tacos! Oh yea,…read morehard and soft regular tacos as well but those aren't as good as the steak and birria tacos. You have to stop in for the birria tacos. At least get 2 of these and one of the steak tacos. You will not be disappointed. The birria tacos are some of the best I have tried. I wasn't disappointed and don't think you will either. On Taco Tuesday they are only $3.50 each, well worth it. Give it a shot. Don't forget to have a XX amber draft with it. My wife had the spinach and chicken enchiladas and loved hers as well. Almost forgot, our service was incredible. Way to go Gaspar!