Tortilla Mia Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Carlsbad

Unfortunately this place did not do it for us. We came here on a saturday night and it started off strong with wonderful decor and they actually fit us in very quickly for a busy night. Once we sat down I asked if the margarita flavors were made with fresh fruits or with syrup. The server answered syrup and then said “wait let me ask”, and came back and said actually theyre all fresh in house. I ordered a watermelon margarita, my partner ordered a flight (tamarind, jamaica, mango, strawberry), our friends also got a flight and the jamaica margarita. We also ordered chips and guac and chips and salsa. The chips and guac and salsa were actually really good, very crispy and perfectly salted. The atmosphere was very nice with live music. When the drinks arrived the flight was actually very good but we couldnt figure out which was which in the flight because there were 3 yellow ones and one red one which we assumed was the strawberry (and tasted like strawberry). But the jamaica that our friends also ordered was also red so we figured one of the flight must have been switched out. So we asked the waiter which flavors were which and she asked to see the menu and started trying to name them. She ended up calling over someone else who named off all the flavors and pointed to the red one and said watermelon. We asked are you sure? It doesnt taste like the watermelon and there was supposed to be a strawberry in the flight and jamaica… and he said yes it is. Regardless, the flight was actually really good and the tamarind did taste like a real mix. As far as the watermelon that I ordered - it tasted suuuper sweet, like it was almost definitely syrup. We ended up asking to switch for the strawberry since according to the waiter we didnt get one. The strawberry one was even worse, it tasted like more syrup and it tasted like a lot of tequila. The whole table tried it and hated it. We didnt end up sending it back again since we were finished with our meal. I didnt get to try the jamaica since it didnt seem to be in our flight and the one ordered was our friends. As far as the mains - we got the pork chiliverde, shrimp taco, and mahi mahi taco. I felt like across the board they were bland - both in flavor, and presentation. Overall I felt there are a lot of improvements that could be made but if you are looking for a flight and some chips in a vibe-y spot maybe it will...

So my husband was told to seek out a taco truck of any kind around this area for good and authentic Mexican food. We did look but didn't see many options. My husband did some looking and found this restaurant. We went and were so happy we did. If you are looking for good Mexican food, this is a great choice. The ambiance was quaint, and our waiter was so friendly and helpful. Such a pleasure to be around. As for the food, we started with the queso that had chorizo. It was a good portion, not greasy, super flavorful. The chorizo was crumbled on top and added a great smokey, Spanish paprika kinda flavour. My husband ordered the special, mole enchiladas, which he thoroughly enjoyed. It was smokey and sweet and filled with a good amount of shredded chicken. It came with refried beans and rice. I've never seen my husband eat refried beans, but he ate everything on that plate. I ordered the chimichanga but couldn't decide between the Carne Asada or the carnitas. I ended up going with the Carne Asada per the waiters suggestion but he said it was a tough decision as both are delicious. The chimichanga didn't come with sides, but I found it didn't need anything else. It was perfect. It came topped with guacamole, sour cream, and Pico. The meat was so tasty and was cut in bigger chunks. The flavors weren't overwhelmed by any of the toppings either. We ended on the churros, which, to be honest, I feel should be almost mandatory as they were amazing. They give you 4 large churros, coated in a delicious blend of cinnamon and sugar that are fried to perfection. It's served with a caramely/ dutchess de Leche style sauce on the side, but my husband and I enjoyed them enough by themselves. We liked them so much that we ordered another set to go for breakfast the next morning. Overall, we both HIGHLY recommend this place. And for anyone concerned with parking, there is a lot behind it that has parking. Thank you to the restaurant and our kind waiter for such a...

My wife and I went to TM last night 2/7 at about 5:45. The restaurant just had a few people in it, we expected it t be packed at that time but not so. We sat in the front booth at the north corner. It took a few minutes for our server to see us. We had to tell her our drink order (we were not asked). It took a few minutes for her to return. We then had to ask for chips and salsa which usually comes right away. My wife ordered a fish taco and a salad and I ordered a fish taco, chile relleno and B&R. This would usually be a standard combo plate but was price out ala cart which was expensive ($15 for a Chile relleno?). The food was brought and it seemed our server lost interest in us as we finally had to ask another server to get her attention for more margaritas. My wife like her food but mine was not good at all. The Chile relleno looked like it had sat in a warmer for a while with the brown sauce looking like caked, dried on mud. My fish taco was just okay to me but just ... okay. The B&R were buried under the two entrees and the beans were very marginal. We had to track down our server again for a glass of water which took a few minutes. For all of this we got a bill of ~$95 which we thought was very expensive for what we got. We paid and left.

I also notice the next tables server looked like he was straight out of rehab with worn out, torn denims and tattoos on his neck and arms.

My takeaway? This restaurant looks like it is in trouble. Low food quality and poorly trained servers coupled with high prices are not a good combination and were just what I saw so no telling what else is going on. The wait staff seems poorly trained and their attire is not appropriate for the type of establishment.

Lot's of potential but the ownership looks to either be uninterested or overwhelmed and needs to get in the game. Really sad...