Las Olas — Restaurant in Encinitas

Las Olas in Cardiff, CA, is a bit different than your typical sit-down Mexican restaurant, but despite these quirks, you can't go wrong with the food here.

You can order a small bowl of tortilla chips, for $1, or a large bowl, for $2. After you've ordered, an employee will bring them out to your table. The salsa, filled into small cups, as well as your cutlery, will require you grabbing, at their salsa bar. The soda fountain & tea will be found toward the back wall of the restaurant.

You order, & pay just inside the front doors here. There are menu signs on the wall, along the walkway, as you proceed to the entrance, plus one inside, directly above cashier.

It's self-seating here, so if possible, I suggest getting one of the front tables, where you can see the edge of Cardiff State Beach, directly across the highway. The rest of the beach is hidden, due to a sand berm, which obscures the blue ocean water from your view. The windows are open, so you can enjoy the cool ocean breeze, too. It felt so soothing, on 8/9/23. It was a Photo Shop-type day in Cardiff, with lovely blue skies, and majestic white clouds overhead. If you're seated along the south side of the restaurant, you'll be treated to views of San Elijo Lagoon.

Our food arrived just in time. We'd just polished off our chips & salsa, when our lunches were delivered. My wife ordered a Cheese Crisp, which was a feathery light, crisp tortilla, topped with loads of tasty cheese. She loved it!👍

I got 2 tacos- a Fried Shrimp Taco, & Carne Asada Taco. Both were good, but the steak taco I liked best. It was loaded with a symphony of delicious flavors, from all the tasty steak, & accompanying ingredients inside this one.

We loved the food here, & the setting, right by Cardiff State Beach was ideal. The tortilla chips were super crispy. The bus boys were quick & friendly, too. I gave Las Olas 3 stars for service, since you must do some of the work here yourself, ie...grab your silverware, drinks & salsa, plus whichever refills you need.

There's a small paved parking lot in front, a large dirt parking lot on your right, just past the front lot, & more parking behind...

Such a shame. This place used to be good, but has become a disappointment with a "new" menu and awful management. Let me preface this review by saying my family and I have been coming here for years, and order the same thing every time. We spend $250 minimum every time we come between drinks and food. Our most recent visit we ordered and received "a la crate" items as opposed to the typical combination plates with rice and beans that we usually order. Surprised, we asked our server where the rest of the combination was, to which she sharply replied "oh well we changed our menu on Tuesday, so you're going to have to pay for the rice and beans." I don't mind paying an extra $5 for rice and beans, but if your menu suddenly changed that week, tell me before I order. We asked to speak with the manager to express our disappointment of not being informed of the changed menu before we ordered, and all she wanted to do was argue with us and put the blame on the owners. She ultimately said "that's just how it is now." As somebody who works in customer service, I was appalled at the lack of customer appreciation and combative nature that's become of this establishment. Here's the reality, this place has at best average, over priced Mexican food. The novelty is the location of the beach is across the street. Without the location, this place is trash. As an encinitas resident, my family and I will never come back here again after our...

I’ve been to Las Olas many many times. The food is OK and it’s certainly not an expensive. On more than one occasion they don’t give you very much and tonight was another one of those occasions. I ordered two chicken tacos and they give you a small tortilla with barely 2 forks of food in it which certainly doesn’t fill the taco by any stretch of the imagination. So I took the unusual step of going and complaining and their response was they weigh it. Well this is ridiculous. it’s like you got a drink and they only put half of the soda in the glass. I also order margaritas and these are quite expensive. So all in a couple entrées and two margaritas will cost you close to $60 plus tip. Considering this isn’t really so much a restaurant as it is a taco stand, After all you are eating in an outside tent at a picnic table on their old parking lot. You’re looking out the sides of the tent at traffic 10 feet away on the Coast Highway. Lol which they described as your dining dreams lol on their website. It may be a classic southern California taco stand but at these prices they shouldn’t quibble with you about a fair portion for your money. You can go to Fairbanks Ranch and spend the same amount of money and get four times as much food. So Las Olas may be a kitschy place to eat but don’t expect too much

1/25/2025. The city made them take the outside tent away. I really...