Amorelia Mexican Cafe — Restaurant in Costa Mesa

Oh my, what a find! Was googling for a decent shrimp cocktail and stumbled upon this place. Walking in I was surprised how charming and cozy it felt. By myself, I sat at the bar for a quick dinner that wouldn't blow my diet. Ha! There would be no diet tonight. The enchiladas mariscos looked to be medium harmless, so I ordered them. Wasn't a big fan of the salsa, so I stayed away from the chips. And BTW, the salsa was very authentic, I just like more of a Pico de Gallo style. Really hungry I looked at this shrimp appetizer and before I knew it, I had a plate of these amazing jumbo butterflied and grilled shrimp and they came laying in a bed of this indescribably delicious pepper-creme-based sauce with capers and a melted butter dipping cup. Diet now completely out of mind, I chowed them all down and honestly considered licking the plate. Just amazing. Enchiladas came next. A generous portion of tender enchiladas with a medly of chopped crab,shrimp, and scallops covered in a light Verde cream sauce. Not too heavy. Very tasty. They came with unique tasting frijoles. They seemed somewhere in between pinto beans and black beans. Mashed and possibly refried they had a really nice spice mixture. I could only taste the beans and white rice because I was kind of stuffed at this point. That is when the owner came by and asked how my meal was. She offered that I need to try the pozole Verde. At this point I decided to go into full enjoyment mode and asked my server if the flan was as special as the rest of the meal. Yep I ordered the flan. Suddenly I had a complementary bowl of pozole in front of me. The soup was rich in taste and texture, she assured me that it did not have crema in it but you could have fooled me it was so silky tasting. What was also great about it was the corn [hominy) was cooked to perfection, not al dente as you usually get it. It all ended with one of the best flans I ever ate, and that is saying alot. I wanted to know how they got the texture so smooth and thick but at this point I was entering a food coma state and felt the need to get home and rest. This was one of those once a year meals that everything I ate was top level delicious. I very...

Amorelia Mexican Cafe makes a strong effort at providing a fine dining experience. But when the headlights of cars parking right outside the all glass front wall come glaring in, it leaves something to be desired. I travel a lot for business and am always looking for unique dining experiences. Amorelia was a generally good one.

The host/bartender was a little too eager, calling me "my friend" at least three times in the first few minutes. But I'd much rather have too friendly than brusque or non-existent.

They have a full bar and their drinks looked good. I had a draft beer.

For dinner I opted for the Enchiladas Suizas - shredded chicken enchiladas with a tomatillo sauce. Two hazards here - the chicken can be overcooked and dry and the tomatillo can be too sour. Neither was the case tonight. The chicken was moist and flavorful and the tomatillo was among the best I've had. Really nice. The rice that came with it was much better than average, but the refried beans did their best to counter that. Had they served properly made frijoles de la olla (beans in a pot) they might have earned that fifth star.

There are plenty of taco shops within easy driving range where the same meal could be had for half the price. Let's face it, some dive taco shops (of which there are many in Southern California), are very good. Many entrees at Amorelia run in the mid- to high-$20 range. And it's small, but more cramped than cozy. Put up some screens to make it less strip mall, and up your bean game and I...

I want to love this place because it’s so close to home and they have some really great items! Their prices on taco Tuesday are a rip off though, and they constantly change their story. Sometimes you can get the tacos to go, sometimes they say no. It really depends on who answers the phone. They recently raised their prices from $6 for three tacos to $10!!! Sometimes they throw in rice and beans, but sometimes they charge extra, It totally depends on their mood and is taking your order. One thing that really bothers me is how they respond to complaints. Last time I ordered potato tacos they brought me chicken, and when I told the waiter he just said, “Are you SURE that’s what we gave you?” Another time our chips were soggy, which I understand it sometimes happens…I even showed the waiter how I could fold a chip in half without it breaking and asked for fresh. All he said was “Those are fresh! We just made them.” They will still charge you for food you send back if it doesn’t taste right It’s elementary cafeteria level customer service here, you pretty much get what you get so don’t throw a fit. I keep trying because its close and sometimes its good but it totally depends on the day. Also the waiters are sometimes rude to disable people, one waiter just stoped serving my mother who was in a wheelchair, and I had to get help from the hostess instead. He straight up ignored us. I will never bring her there again.Wish they would get their...