Mi Hacienda Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Carmel

Let's first talk about the positive, the patio with the large pond view is beautiful. The staff are wonderful and very friendly however, the food is a different story. First off. The waiter placed down a hot plate in front of my husband with out any warning and then almost placed the other hot plate in my mother in laws hands which thankfully she didn't touch. No warning that the plates were very hot.

Secondly, the food arrived and given that we eat with our eyes I was already unimpressed and not excited about what was going to be consumed. The only slightly palatable food item was the chicken taco and even that was mediocre at best. The ground beef enchilada lacked any flavor as well as their ground beef tostada. Instead, those two items were riddled with sodium! So much that just taking one bite forced you to guzzle down water (and no I'm not over exaggerating).

Needless to say, both my husband and I didn't finish our other food. I requested their hottest salsa and it wasn't even that spicy. I wouldn't have minded if the flavor was good. Instead it was a green gelatinous flavorless sauce.

I hardly ever write food reviews but felt compelled because this restaurant has a 4.6 star rating on Google hence why we went there and for the life of me I cannot figure out why? If you cannot make simple Mexican cuisine palatable, I'm not sure what people order to give this place a 5 star rating. Please enlighten me because I'm...

Sadly this restaurant needs to have a visit from the local board of health again. The last visit showed six critical violation, I’m assuming there might now be more. Service leaves a lot to be desired but it’s the actual preparation and deliverance of food that is of utmost concern. During our recent visit nachos were ordered & they came out incorrectly. When the “new” nachos came back to the table it seemed somewhat odd they were half the size. Upon later inspection it was discovered the kitchen staff decided it was acceptable to take off the top portion of the nachos, reheat and have the server return them to our table while said kitchen staff member peaked at us from the back kitchen door. Unfortunately we noticed half the order was gone, some of the original green peppers that were originally on the order and were unwanted had still made it to the bottom of the plate, and the chips were not fresh but reheated. This is shameful. If you can’t trust what’s happening in the kitchen, you shouldn’t eat there. When I ask Maria, our server who the kitchen staff was that did this she said he was “new” and didn’t know his name, I requested she go ask him. She came back with “Simon.” Eat it and order out at your own risk. Not...

FAT PEOPLE SEATING FRIENDLY!! They have tables and booths but the booths can move. The waiter was gracious enough to move it back for me so I could seat comfortably. For reference I’m a 3x/4x.

The food: Got a side of queso an appetizer to go with chips and salsa. Best queso dip I’ve ever had. Wasn’t just flavorless cheese and milk. Could taste the peppers and seasoning. But they were also obliterated so no problem for picky eaters like myself.

Entree was Texas Nachos. It cost less than $14 for a massive plate of food. The cheese dip was the biggest I’ve seen in a restaurant as well. The meat was seasoned to perfection and chips were fresh.

Did I mention how courteous the staff was? Google said they close at 10:30 but they close at 10. They still sat us even though it was 9:45. They made sure we didn’t need anything else before they closed the kitchen completely. We were checked on many times and they were kind to my autistic brother in law & didn’t mind the mess (I offered to clean up after him but they wouldn’t let me)

10/10 recommendation and will definitely be back. This is a wonderful family owned business so go support local...