Tortas de Fuego Village of Oak Creek — Restaurant in Sedona

We almost didn't eat here because of the name. Torta, in Mexican food lingo, means Sandwich and we were in the mood for more dinner fare. We decided to go in and give it a try anyway and we are glad we did. Tortas de Fuego is a full blown Mexican restaurant, not just a sandwich shop. Be aware!

First things first, we were greeted seconds after entering and seated immediately. Menus dropped upon seating and 2 young muchachos dropped chips and salsa instantly. Nice. The chips were good as was the salsa, not spicy. A

Carmen took drink orders and we decided to ask for a Chile Relleno "a la carte" as an appetizer. Cold Dos XX Lager for me, 24oz, and a Jalapeño Cilantro Margarita for my wife. Dos XX was standard, Margarita was fresh, crisp, herby and had a touch of spice. Also, it was HUGE. Lots of ice which IMHO watered it down too quickly, Be warned. Nonetheless, A.

The Chile relleno was excellent. Fluffy egg coating with a light tomato sauce and filled with Panela Cheese. Nice deviation from the typical super melty cheese most places use. Think, farmers cheese. We were happy. We could have eaten 10 of these Chile Relleno. A+

Next up was the Huarache de Chicharon Prensado. A large, sizable, handmade corn tortilla topped with Pressed Pork Cracklings/Rinds. Chewy with little bits of crunchy, salty, pork. Yum! It comes slathered with refried beans, topped with crumbly queso blanco, sautéed onions and nopales. It was missing the sour cream that is listed on the menu which I asked Carmen for and it was brought out promptly. The huarache itself was tender and flavor filled. $18 but a generous portion. A+

We didn't need anymore food but ordered a Quesadilla de Carne Asada because I wanted lunch for the next day. ;) Another sizable portion. Copious amounts of well seasoned, flavorful beef done asada "Style".

*Time for my diatribe: Asada is supposed to be cooked grilled over wood or coals. This wasn't. In Mexican cuisine there are many, varied styles of cooking methods, each with its own specific and special end result. Since Gringos are mostly unaware of this detail they will accept flat top cooked beef as Carne Asada, (it's not) as well as other various bastardizations, i.e. shortcuts. IMHO this is a grave "injusticia". Mexican cuisine is world-class because of the nuance. The different ways meats are prepared and especially cooked is very important but for convenience restaurants take shortcuts. This is such a shame. It has completely degraded Mexican food in the U.S.A. and that makes me sad. Restaurants can prepare Mexican food properly and they should, especially if they want to be authentic and tradicional.

Enough said.

The quesadilla was great but could have been better. Scant on the queso but rich on the beef. My wife didn't mind as she prefers little cheese. Next time I'll ask for more cheese. The tortilla was flour and toasted nicely. A

The next review will include dessert. There was simply no room left this go 'round.

Overall while I'm happy we have a delicious, well serviced Mexican Food joint in VOC that is doing many things right, I would love to see some tradicional cooking methods represented, especially Carne Asada and al Pastor. One can dream.

I will add we loved the music! Super varied but all Latin. A++

Ambience is festive, loud and vibrant. A+

I'll stick with 5 Stars as they aren't really doing anything wrong as far as American Mexican food standards go but would really appreciate Tortas de Fuegos efforts to perhaps head in that direction. It will be noticed.

Nos vemos pronto y...

My wife and I have been loyal customers of Tortas in VOC for several years. We live locally and have eaten here once or twice a week on a regular basis. Until now, we have always had consistently good food and warm, friendly service — which is why this experience was so disappointing that I feel compelled to share it directly.

We ordered steak fajitas, a dish we’ve enjoyed many times in the past. In previous visits, we were always given the option of both flour and corn tortillas (my wife prefers corn, I prefer flour). This time, we were told we could only have one or the other, which was unexpected, but we agreed to flour. When the dish arrived, it came with only three small 5" tortillas. For a full plate of fajitas — usually enough for two people — this was surprising. When we asked, we were told we’d need to pay extra for more tortillas.

We agreed to order additional tortillas, but when we began making the fajitas, we realized the much larger problem: there were only about 5-6 small strips of steak on top of a large pile of vegetables. This was a dramatic difference from our prior experiences. Even another couple sitting at the bar commented that they had more meat on their sandwich than we did on our fajita plate. At that point, we no longer wanted the extra tortillas we had just ordered, as there wasn’t enough steak to use them.

When we expressed our concern, the bartender, Moises, responded dismissively, saying only, “They measure everything in the kitchen.” He showed no interest in checking whether the kitchen had made a mistake or in finding a way to make the situation right. When we asked him to remove the tortillas from the bill, he refused, saying the order was already “in the system.” He also told us there was no manager on duty. When we explained that this experience was disappointing enough that we would not be coming back, his reply was a smug, “Oh, ok. That’s too bad.”

I want to emphasize: if this had simply been a kitchen error, we would have understood. Mistakes happen. What turned the situation into a deal-breaker was the way it was handled. We’ve always appreciated the service and rapport we’ve had at Tortas, which makes this dismissiveness all the more disheartening.

We truly hope this feedback reaches management. Tortas has been one of our go-to restaurants for years, and it’s unfortunate to walk away after such a poor experience — not because of the food alone, but because of how little effort was made to address a loyal...

The food was decent but the reason I’m giving this a 1 star which should truly be a 0 star is because of the service I received last night. Our server was fine but the problem arose from another server. Usually at many Mexican restaurants if I ask for a side of pico its complimentary and even if it is not then the server informs me that it’s extra. So I asked another server for pico and he said ok and brought it out. After our meal we went to the front counter to pay because our original server was busy and the server who brought the pico out was there. We asked why there was a $5 charge for a side of pico and said nothings free you ordered it. I said “I understand but when I ordered it you didn’t tell me it was going to be extra otherwise I would not have ordered it. Our server informed me that handmade tortillas were extra and I said ok that’s fine we will still take the handmade tortillas” he then said “what Mexican restaurant gives free pico. And you saw on the menu” I said “plenty do or atleast they inform me it’s extra. When I asked u for the pico I didn’t have the menu, our server had taken it” He then proceeds to continue to give me A LOT of attitude and yell in front of other customers until our original server came. Our server was understanding and said “yeah I’m sorry he should have told you.” Still left a tip for our server but to be honest the amount of disrespect and embarrassment I received from dining at that restaurant was something I’ll never forget. I caution everyone to go to this restaurant because this server ruined the entire experience. I hope the owner knows that his servers are bringing down. HORRIBLE...