Playa Mesa — Restaurant in Costa Mesa

I just happened to be driving by on 17th street and noticed that the new mexican restaurant, Playa Mesa, was finally open. I stopped by to check things out and found that it was opening night. I waited for a seat at the beautiful new bar while I took in the sights and sounds of this new establishment. There is so much character to the design of this new restaurant. Everywhere you look there are interesting details to be found. From the impressive central bar, displaying their assortment of specialty tequilas, to the show kitchen window that allows guests a peek at the action, including fresh, house made tortillas.

After about 10 minutes a spot opened up at the bar and I took a seat, greeted by the friendly bartender. After browsing the menu I ordered the Playa Plata Margarita, which was delicious and hit the spot. Chips and salsa arrived. The chips had the perfect crunch and the salsa was just the way I like it, blended and not overly chunky. For dinner I ordered the Carne Asada platter... which I forgot to photograph ...by the time I realized I missed doing that, the plate was empty! Delicious! The carne asada was perfect and it came with another house made salsa that was different than what came with the chips. The two were perfectly paired. Accompanying it were avocado slices and probably the most surprising element to my taste buds, black beans that seemed to be pureed. I expected the steak to be tasty (and it was), but the beans were the surprise of the plate. The smooth texture and bold flavor of them, really was impressive, considering beans are usually in the background of culinary attention.

To conclude, I decided to go ahead and sample a dessert and I'm glad I did. I got the Bunuelos con Nieve. Basically, it's fried tortillas covered in cinnamon and sugar, drizzled with honey and arranged around ice cream. No, this is not just some chip they put cinnamon and sugar on as a little after dinner treat, this was a dessert worth telling people about. You MUST try this if you come. I told everyone around me about it and those that had it, we were united in our excitement over it. It's actually hard to explain how or why it was so good. It was like magic. If nothing else, this is definitely something I'm coming back for. However... I'm coming back again for EVERYTHING else. It was all delicious. The building is beautiful. The servers were on their toes the whole time I was there, making sure the guests were well treated on this special evening. I had a wonderful time and felt part of the Playa Mesa familia during my stay tonight.

A++ experience. Keep it up. I look forward to...

Disappointing Experience at Playa – Not Worth the Hype

We were on the hunt for a solid Mexican restaurant for lunch in Costa Mesa, and Playa caught our eye with its decent amount of reviews on Yelp. So, we thought, why not give it a try? Unfortunately, we left wondering how it got those stars in the first place.

First Impressions: Upon arriving, we were greeted by a valet service, which felt unnecessary given the size of the parking lot. It just seemed like an extra step when there was plenty of space to park on our own. But hey, that’s not a dealbreaker—what came next, however, was.

The Food: We started with chips and salsa, which, I’ll admit, was the high point of the meal. The salsa was flavorful and fresh, giving us hope for the rest of the dishes. But sadly, that was the only highlight.

Shrimp & Octopus Ceviche – This dish was a cold disappointment, literally. It tasted like it had been frozen, and when I brought this up to the staff, they casually confirmed it wasn't fresh and had been kept in the fridge. Yikes. The texture was icy, and we could feel it under our teeth. Serving ceviche like this is a huge red flag. Birria Tacos – These were just okay. Not bad, but certainly not memorable. The meat inside was fine, but the dish lacked that "wow" factor you'd expect from a place that promises authentic Mexican flavors. Grilled Shrimp – Once again, not fresh. It tasted like it had been reheated, lacking any real flavor or tenderness. It was a forgettable, uninspired dish. Carne Asada Tacos – Easily the worst item we ordered. The meat tasted funny, wasn’t fresh, and was served cold. It was borderline inedible. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if this dish had been sitting around for a while before it hit our table. Service: Our server, Alejandra, was friendly and attentive, and after witnessing our dissatisfaction with the ceviche and carne asada, she didn’t charge us for those items. I appreciated her gesture, but it didn’t make up for the poor quality of the food. The only item we paid for was the Birria Tacos, which, at that point, felt like a minor consolation.

Overall: This place is seriously overrated. The fresh, vibrant flavors we were hoping for were nowhere to be found. Don't be fooled by the stars or glowing reviews. The food was not fresh, and frankly, some dishes were downright bad. If you’re looking for a great Mexican dining experience in Costa Mesa, keep...

If you are wanting Thee PERFECT mexican dinning & eating experience look no further. First of all the design & layout are exceptional feeling spacious & open air & patio seating. Everything was Wonderful from the moment my friend & I sat down. Our waitress was Scarlett! She did not miss one beat. Our drinks were always cold & the food was hot. But this is the first time in many years that I had a zperfect meal. And I mean Perfect. At seating the chips, salsa & Magnificent guacamole which is a poem of flavor color & happy yumness & colorful toppers that make it a meal of its own. But what was so wonderful was that the Meat was full of flavor! We wach ordered two taco combination. I ordered Carnitas, and my friend ordered carne asada tacos. And I can't stop gushing over how beautiful in presentation and flavor and color and generous portions oh, I could go on and on! This is one place you must go to if you're going to only have one Mexican dinner lunch, whatever out? This is the place to come. Our food server Scarlet was so perfect in paying attention to our table we had everything without even asking before it was empty or depleted. This was really a wonderful eating experience I'm going to attach pictures of the guacamole which is talk with the Peter's O oxygen Sheen Red Onion it is unbelievably delicious. You can't stop eating because it's that good! Whoever put on your thinking cap when they put this restaurant together had it fitting perfectly because this is the perfect place whether you want intimacy or you're going to have a fun Gathering the bar is magnificent huge and space is warm and friendly. It was like a trip to Mexico the only thing that was missing was the blue-green water. And one more thing, it is a must for I must have and will always come back for drink oh, you want to have the Hibiscus margarita! So I give them five stars I would give them 50 stars this is one of the best kept secrets and if it's not a secret it would be no secret at all to me why this was really one of the best Mexican meals I have ever had. And I should know I come from a long line of chefs and restaurant Harris. Very impressed very happy I...