Carmelita's — Restaurant in Dana Point

tl;dr: takeout order took over an hour past it was supposed to be ready, and staff was rude.

Ordered online for takeout as I've done a lot in the past. Saw a 6:20 estimate for the order being ready which with an order completed at 6:05 I thought was probably inaccurate. Held back on arriving until 6:45 to pick up my order. Showed up and went inside to pickup at the only place there seemed to be to do that. Never got acknowledged for 10 minutes despite staff passing by me constantly; in some cases pushing me aside despite standing as far away from the main path as I could. Got asked my name and after replying got no further comments after that as the person that asked just disappeared. Found out that there were four other people that were also waiting on pickup orders that barely got acknowledged, and another party waiting for dine-in that had not been acknowledged for at least 15 minutes.

All the staff seemed to do their best to completely ignore all of us as I waited over the course of ANOTHER HOUR PAST MY ARRIVAL (WHICH WAS 15 MINUTES AFTER IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE READY) to pick up my food. Literally everyone that was waiting, including people that got sat at tables received food before I did. Finally 75 minutes after my order was due I was asked my name and when I did had a bag of food shoved at me with no apology or acknowledgement of how late the order was.

I love the food from here and as a Dana Point local have ordered many times in the past, but was never treated the way I was tonight. I tried to contact them directly over this, but their website is broken and the "Feedback" link simply links directly to their main site with no form or e-mail address. I am incredibly frustrated with Carmelita's and how I...

I give this place 3 stars mainly to based on the cosmetics of the place. I think they did a fantastic job in making it stylish regardless of the fact that it's by the side of a road and small. You can tell they put an effort to make it look the part and I think the style is beautiful. There is free parking and there is an elevator to go straight to the restaurant. No kids menu. I liked to receive the chips with salsa and beans , although they did not refill the chips even though we were still waiting for our food. I think the margarita tasted great. Food was really average. I personally think that when a place can't have a view as a selling point it needs even more to have amazing food. I ordered something that was supposed to be a chef plate with a mix of things that did not really taste of much , it was very oily and bland, most of it was nachos and not something that would make me go back for. Check your receipt! When we were there it was not busy and they still added us an extra drink to the charges, a service fee and at the bottom it said that if you use a credit card you will be charged extra 3 % too. On the top of that there was a request of tip of course. Considering how pricey everything was and again for a small place on the side of the road with not remarkable food it did not feel like the best approach to have all of these fees . It doesn't make a person...

​We stumbled upon what feels like a fantastic hidden gem in Dana Point with Carmelita's. For anyone looking for fresh, authentic Mexican food, this is a spot you have to try. We really enjoyed our dinner here and will absolutely be back. ​The quality of the food is evident from the moment you sit down. The chips they bring out are fresh and warm, served with a good salsa and a delicious bean dip which was a welcome surprise. That commitment to freshness carries through the entire menu. I ordered the chicken fajitas, and the difference that their fresh, handmade tortillas make is incredible—it elevates the entire dish. My wife ordered the chicken tortilla soup, and her reaction was, "This is amazing! It's a whole bowl!" The portion was so generous and flavorful that she happily took some home for leftovers. A big plus was how quickly our food came out from the kitchen. ​You can tell the front-end staff works incredibly hard. They were efficient and hustling all evening. It seemed like they might have been a little understaffed for how busy it was, as it took a bit to get a table cleared for us, but this was a minor point in an otherwise great experience. The effort from the team was clear and appreciated. ​Carmelita's is a standout place for delicious, high-quality Mexican food. We left very impressed and are already looking forward to...