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    Oaxaca Fresh

    3.0 (206 reviews)
    ModerateMexican

    Oaxaca Fresh Photos

    OAXACA FRESH ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Dogs allowed
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Oaxaca Fresh

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    Soo H.

    We stopped in Carpinteria on our way to Aptos, CA. Carpinteria is a very quiet beach town in May. Located south of Santa Barbara beach crowds should be filling this place up when summer starts. Maggie found Oaxaca Fresh next door to the ice cream shop I was looking for. Place looked like a nice family run restaurant. Chips were warm and crunchy with a light salt flavor. Pretty good. I ordered a taco plate with rice and beans. I don't normally get beans but these beans had a mild flavor that I liked. Rice was soft and moist with a light tomato flavor. Carne asada taco came with a flour tortilla with a mild flavor. Carne asada was tender with a delicious sweet and savory flavor. Carnitas taco had great tasting fried pork that wasn't dry. 2nd visit. Halibut fish taco was tender, juicy, and had a nice flavor. Al pastor taco was well spiced and had a bit of heat. The two taco plate made for a good lunch but wasn't filling enough for dinner. My favorite was the carne asada with the carnitas a close second. Oaxaca Fresh Mexican Grill was a nice relaxing restaurant to visit in the off season.

    Margaret A.

    May 2019 Super genuinely friendly people greet you as you walk in and make the whole dining experience very relaxing. The interior decorating reminded me of Akumal Mexico. Years ago I tasted authentic Mexican food in Akumal, Coba and Chichen Itza I was hooked. Quickly I found out just how hard it is to find in the states. Particularly certain dishes, like mole. Well look no further authentic Mexican food fans, this is the place! The mole is just as I remembered all those years ago. Everything is super fresh and full of flavor. Definitely will not go thirsty here as the cups are huge. I ordered a soda and did not need a refill. We managed to stop twice here on our trip to San Francisco and back. So I tried out their breakfast burrito. Great flavors and super filling. Took a peek of the back patio area, nicely arranged and decorated with pretty plants. For you lucky people who live close by they do cater for events. I'm really looking forward to visiting again soon!

    Chili Verde Wet Burrido

    We rediscovered this restaurant when we decided to go out for dinner on a Friday night and didn't want to wait for a late reservation. The restaurant has a new menu and ownership as of January 2024. This is our 4th time back this summer. My favorite is the Carpinteria Tostada with choice of protein. My other fave is the Chile Verde with rice, beans, etc. There is something on the menu to please everyone in your party including pasta and burgers. The service is great and the staff is friendly.

    A chili verde enchilada, carnitas taco and banana leaf wrapped pork tamale with fresh guacamole- A Ok!
    Jackie W.

    Being familiar with southern Mexico cuisine this food is very good! On the milder side as it should be. I would say the dishes served here are not only generous in size, but also delicious! We weren't super hungry but stopped in out of curiosity. The hubs and I shared a combo plate that had a tamale, carnitas hard shell taco and a chili verde enchilada accompanied by rice, beans and fresh guacamole. Not the best we ever had but better than most spots we've tried. They offer a full bar as well so if you're ever strolling through the village stop by and enjoy a Paloma or a cold cerveza!

    Veggie Nachos

    The service was... questionable. The man who took our order was very quiet and seemed not used to talking to people despite being family owned. The vibes were super interesting and I didn't know how to feel but not in a good way. The food was super bland. We ordered the veggie nachos and it was less than satisfactory. Maybe because there wasn't meat on it there was a lack of flavor... ? Either way wouldn't want to come back if nothing was fixed.

    Crispy beef tacos!
    Edward S.

    First warning should have been that the place was empty while there was so much foot traffic. I say that because 3 out of the 4 entrees we decided on were not available. We almost left, but decided to give what was available a try. We weren't told why until after the order. After no drink order was taken post entree order, we asked for our drinks and chips and salsa. We were then told that the deep fryer was being cleaned and chips were unavailable. On such a busy street with smart and final across the street, buy some chips for the guests to enjoy. The food was okay, other than the crispy taco shell was stale meaning it wasn't "Oaxaca Fresh". The others enjoyed the food as it wasn't crispy or fried. Next, the cook handed me the restroom key while prepping food barehanded. The restroom had no seat covers or towels and flies were all over the restaurant. I'm an optimistic person, but this was not a pleasant meal with family like we expected as we were craving local Mexican food. Probably won't be back.

    Hubby eating the chicken breast burrito

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    5 years ago

    Great outdoor eatery Fresh Made food that you can add the desired heat you enjoy. The staff are so nice and hospitable.

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    4 years ago

    Really enjoyed the food. Had the halibut and it was excellent. My daughter enjoyed the fish tacos. Service could be a little faster

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    5 years ago

    Poor service, food is low average, weather is amazing. Better to choose somewhere else if you can.

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    Page 2 of 6

    Ask the Community - Oaxaca Fresh

    Padaro Beach Grill - Tuna melt + Sweet Potato Fries

    Padaro Beach Grill

    4.4(1.3k reviews)
    1.7 mi
    •$$

    My boyfriend and I stopped at Padaro Beach Grill during an afternoon drive up the coast…read more Immediate impression: it reminded me of Hawaii in the best way. The outdoor seating area, the architecture, the sounds and smell of the ocean right there. Immaculate vibes. We went on a Friday around 3:30pm, so it wasn't crazy busy. We found a table without issue and there were always at least a few others available. However, I imagine this place gets extremely popular during peak hours. We ordered the Baja Fish Tacos and a side of French Fries. All were delicious - no complaints! Although the tacos are so loaded, they can be a challenge to eat! Would definitely return the next time I'm in the area.

    Dear Hubby and I have been long-time fans of Padaro Beach Grill. As such, we wanted to introduce…read more(maybe re-introduce?) Sweet Granddaughter to the place on a Saturday as summer is winding down. Am not sure if there's been a change of ownership, but there did seem to be a change of results of the experience of visiting. Noting that in a previous review I mentioned live music. Several other reviewers did, too. When we were there this past weekend in the early afternoon, there was no music to be found. We caught the ordering line at the right time; it wasn't too long and it didn't take but a few minutes to get to the counter. After that, it went downhill to some extent. The main disappointment was the food. I mean, it's a restaurant, right? That's kind of the point. The ambiance is still fun - beachy casual, like you're a guest at a private beach club. But the food used to be much, much better. I made the mistake of ordering the tri-tip sandwich. It was served with grilled onions and smothered in BBQ sauce. It would normally also come with cheese, but I had that left off as cows' milk cheese and I do not get along. I would have much preferred to leave out the BBQ sauce and have au jus on the side instead to let the flavor of the beef come out. Alas, that's not an option. There wasn't anything else on the menu speaking to me at the time, or I could have / should have ordered something else. I thought about the fish tacos, but I'm not a huge fan of cabbage. In any event, the tri-tip was cut too thick. That made it tough to bite / and overly chewy. To the point where it wasn't a happy eating experience. I only finished half the sandwich and gave the rest to DH to eat later. I didn't choose to add any fries or onion rings as I wanted to give fried foods a rest. So I had half a sandwich, and half a very overpriced and underwhelming chocolate chip cookie for dessert. For me, the food was bordering on a failing grade. Barely a "C". DH, on the other hand, really enjoyed the fish and chips he'd ordered. I had a bite, and while the fish was really fresh, the batter coating was undercooked, which made for a mushy exterior texture. It was also extremely greasy. SG ordered her favorite meal of chicken nuggets and fries. She'll never turn down fries, so that made her happy. The chicken pieces were not that flavorful, and not that great a texture, either. We also spent the meal dodging ants which were running over the picnic tabletop. A tabletop which looked like it hadn't been cleaned by human hands in a very, very long time. Which likely explains why the ants thought it was fair game - they were on the hunt for missed crumbs. I can bet good money that when we ask SG if she remembers eating at Padaro Beach Grill, she will recall that it's the outdoor place where the ants were trying to eat our food. There aren't enough umbrellas for all the picnic tables, and there's not really any other source of shade on a warm, sunny afternoon. We were lucky enough to get one of the lawn-area tables with an umbrella, but we ended up feeling crowded when mid-way through our meal, a group of seven people took over the adjacent table. By then, we were ready to finish up and go. In past visits, lingering and enjoying the tropical vibe was part of the experience. Not during this last visit. A shame.

    Photos
    Padaro Beach Grill - Lots of seating nooks

    Lots of seating nooks

    Padaro Beach Grill - Maui Burger

    Maui Burger

    Padaro Beach Grill - Entrance

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    Entrance

    Teddy's By The Sea - Linguine Pomodoro

    Teddy's By The Sea

    4.3(941 reviews)
    0.2 mi
    •$$

    We visited Carpinteria for the first time as a little summer escape from the heat in Simi Valley,…read moreand after arriving hungry, we came across this place. What a great find! The restaurant was busy, with tables pretty much full both inside and outside, but luckily we were able to get seated without a wait. I ordered the fish tacos, my son had the linguini pomodoro, and my wife ordered the cioppino. Everything was delicious. The seafood tasted incredibly fresh, and the fish in the cioppino was so tender it practically melted in your mouth. The broth was rich and savory--maybe a little on the salty side, but we still really enjoyed it. The service was another highlight. Everyone was kind, friendly, and welcoming, and you could tell the staff was working hard to make sure everyone had a good experience. I also really liked how diverse the menu is. There are plenty of choices for different tastes, whether you're in the mood for seafood, pasta, tacos, or something else. Overall, this was an awesome first experience and a great discovery during our trip to Carpinteria. We'll definitely be back next time we're in town, and we're looking forward to trying more dishes from the menu!

    This used to be one of our favorite spots in Carpinteria, which makes it especially disappointing…read moreto leave a 1-star review. Unfortunately, after giving Teddy's by the Sea multiple chances, the problems have become too consistent to overlook. We've had repeated issues with online orders--food mixed up or not prepared the way we ordered it. On one occasion, we even found a piece of plastic in our lobster mac and cheese. But the most frustrating issue has been the completely inconsistent closing time. They advertise that they're open until 8:30 PM, yet we've shown up as early as 7:40 PM and been told they're already closed. This hasn't happened just once--it's happened to us multiple times. We really used to enjoy coming here, but between the order mistakes, the plastic in the food, and never knowing whether they'll actually be open during their posted hours, we've finally given up. If you advertise that you're open until 8:30, customers should reasonably be able to expect you to be open at 7:40.

    Photos
    Teddy's By The Sea
    Teddy's By The Sea - Fish Tacos

    Fish Tacos

    Teddy's By The Sea - Ceviche

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    Ceviche

    Oaxaca Fresh - mexican - Updated September 2026

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