Olamendi's — Restaurant in Dana Point

What happens when the food is average, but the service is great? That is exactly what happened when we decided to dine at Olamendi's in Capistrano Beach. We did not order elaborate dishes, but mainly what one would assume to be the easiest ones to prepare. Food items: Albondigas Soup $7.99, mexican meatball soup. It would appear that this dish should be a breeze to make, yet it doesn't seem so, very rarely I have gone to a mexican place and be able to try an outstanding rendering of this dish. Soup arrived hot (like it should be), 3 respectable size meatballs, carrots, zucchini, and a silly small piece of potato. Broth was watery and tomato tasting (please note that albondigas soup by definition should have the taste of beef, not water and tomatoes), and the meatballs had barely any salt and pepper, and that could be a good thing for many, they were tasty, vegetables fresh, potato tiny piece a joke. 3 Stars. Pork Tamale with beans and rice $8?, tamale a disaster, dry and unsavory, beans and rice, according to lovely lady eating them, a bland, not very good side order. 2 Stars. Monster Burrito $15, both of us chose this apparently big burrito. We were given the choice of going half and half, with two meats, and we both chose Carnitas (shredded pork) and Carne Asada (beef). This is our grievance: they say is big, and it comes in a nice size, but the actual ratio of meat versus the conventional beans, rice, lettuce, sour cream, etc., is about 10% to 90%, 10% being the actual meat. The Carnitas a little dried but nice, the Carne Asada cut in tiny pieces, a complete disappointment. The rest was the filling, and that is how they make the money. Really unfair practice, really small amount of meats. 2.5 Stars. Service was above average in every aspect of the word. Our lovely waitress went out of her way repeatedly to shower us with attention. Lovely smile, positive attitude, we almost decided to forget all the shortcomings for it is indeed, a rare thing, to have the level of attention she provided. I complained that in my burrito they had only used the tiny bits of Carne Asada, and none of the Carnitas, like we both ordered, and she immediately came back with a nice small plate with Carnitas. Just a willingness to serve us made her our favorite standout of Olamendi's, yes we love nice service and we reward it properly, 5 Stars. There are photos and more photos, of president Nixon, and all kinds of famous people adorning the walls of this legendary mexican eatery. Across the street is the awesome sight of the Pacific Ocean and that is always a good thing. Their salsa was a little hot, but very tasty. Let's suppose one is having a beautiful day out at the beach, and decides to walk to Olamendi's hungry and happy, this place will fill you up to the brim. Total Bill came out to $62 with tip. So special considerations being the great service versus the average at most in quality food, would definitely increase the score to 4 Stars. PS: must say the food came back to haunt us, if someone know what I mean, a few...

This was close to the worst Mexican food and Margarita I've ever had. I was staying at Riviera right next door so I thought this might be a good place to pop in even though the ratings weren't great. It seemed like it was hit and miss depending on when you came and who served you. But in my opinion it doesn't matter when or who because the chef is the one that makes the food and I was not impressed.

When we arrived the place was packed and booming so I thought we couldn't go wrong. So we opted to sit in the back corner next to numerous President Nixon photos. The place is decorated like it's Cinco de Mayo everyday.

Waiter came over pretty quick and I ordered a house margarita with salt on the rocks. It arrived in some thick short water glass. The salt on the rim was not a fine margarita salt like most but a huge chunky rock salt. Not terrible but just kind of weird. The margarita was awful. The glass was filled to the brim with ice, you could not taste the tequila, and the rest of it barely tasted of margarita mix.

I almost left right then and there thinking of the bad reviews that had been posted here. Little did I know it was going to get worse. I ordered the two taco combo and my wife ordered a cheese enchilada. The food came pretty quick and it was hot but neither plate looked exciting. Maybe Mexican food just doesn't look that way? LOL.

My plate had beans and rice with two tacos under a head of lettuce floating in a soupy liquid. After biting into the first taco I realized where all that liquid was coming from. It was the beef inside the taco that had probably been sitting in water all day. Although it was very tender it really had no flavor, I asked for some taco sauce or green salsa to put on top. It was the same mild green salsa that was on my wife's cheese enchilada. For enchilada sauce it's fine but for a taco it just didn't do it for me. The second taco was unremarkable except for the mold on the tortilla! Yup, I had already eaten half of it and I immediately felt that portion coming back up onto the plate! The waiter only offered to bring me a new taco. At that point I was just so disgusted I asked for the check and we were out of there! I really should have gone to the sushi place.

I think the taco combo was $15 the enchilada was $11 and the margarita was $9. Pretty steep for what you get. You'd think the food would be stellar with all the accolades on the wall. I mean, come on ... Nixon ate here! Oh wait, maybe that should have...

I wanted to love this restaurant but I don't.....After a nice walk my husband and I popped in for a late lunch. The atmosphere is traditional Hispanic and beachy vibe however the food is not. The chicken tacos were extremely watery and had minimal flavor. The chicken enchiladas with green sauce was blan and the green sauce was the most sour sauce I've ever tasted. The chicken mole looked like a boiled chicken breast with premade mole sauce. The best part about the meal was the salsa and that is NOT unlimited btw. The chips DONT come warm which is one of my favorite things about Mexican restaurants is the warm chips. The food only took about 5 minutes to prepare which was odd and a little suspicious. The tortillas are store bought and it just was overall not something we enjoyed. The location is prime but the food was not and we will not be returning. I would still recommend lupes or cabanas taco truck in orange. Lupes makes their own corn tortillas and has the best Mexican soup on the planet. I hope this restaurant updates their menu with new flavors and better quality. It was not cheap either. I think adding some things homemade and not having so much premade items would really help. The salsa is 10/10 but I think minimalizing the menu to a few items that are phenomenal would attract more people. I'm also big on things being ethical, locally sourced, and house made. Id pay more and wait longer for a quality meal than have it rushed and leave feeling unsatisfied. The location will have u fooled and draw u in but u will leave wishing u hadn't spent all ur money on flavorless food. We had many left overs but unfortunately did not want to take it home. Not a place I would recommend... P.S. Another reviewer named Candace Brown left a similar review about the flavor and...