La Costa Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Fortuna

Yet another GREAT alternative to eating in Eureka.

The place was very busy and, I'll admit it, the food took awhile to arrive at our table (but maybe I was just really hungry). However, the chips and salsa made up for it because they were really good. The atmosphere contained plenty of noise so we did not have to worry about the kids throwing the occasional fit or tapping on the table (parents: you know what I mean). There is even a jukebox.

I ordered the chicken mole. In my opinion the sauce was the perfect blend between sticky and runny: it clung to but also dripped off the chicken. About the chicken: I have never had mole served on the bone before. It took me awhile to slow down and not devour a bone, but ended up working out fine. Just a little unexpected. The sauce was a little more on the chili side than the chocolate side, but not so far as to be unforgivable...in fact, it is one reason to eat out (to try new things or the same thing in new ways).

The flour tortilla I got with my meal is unlike any that I have gotten at any other restaurant. It came as one, single gigantic tortilla and could have only been hand-made, from scratch at the restaurant. It was a real treat. Cooked to perfection and thick. More Mexican restaurants should serve their tortillas like this.

The parking is extremely limited in the back. Just plan on parking along the sidewalk a little ways up or down from the restaurant. The food was reasonably priced: not too expensive or a steal-of-a-deal. I think I ended up paying about $38 (including the tip) to feed a family of four (two little kids that split a dish)

Although it is not the best Mexican food I have ever eaten, like I said at the beginning: it is a good alternative to anything I have found in Eureka and would recommend stopping here if you're getting hungry and need...

The reviews on Google must be broken or artificially inflated, because this place was not it.

Poor service included answering the phone while taking our order at the table instead of offering suggestions and explanations about the menu, not listening when pointing out empty water cups, taking the full ones instead to refill, and not bringing drinks until just before we had our food. Overall not hospitable.

The food ranked really low as well; we had the choriqueso which was not in fact, queso, but seemingly a block of cheese that was melted in the microwave topped with a little bit of meat that solidified almost as soon as it hit our table and was impossible to dip in. My two-year-old also managed to find a hair in her rice which we pulled out right in front of the staff and they did nothing about it. How are things were burned or obviously made in the microwave rather than being cooked fresh. Rice and beans were devoid of flavor. My friend had barria sauce with a quesadilla and somehow half of the sauce came out of the cup and under the plate. We discovered that the cup had a big hole in the bottom (pictured here) which we surmised came from microwaving the cup because how would they have moved a cup full of sauce with a big hole in the bottom? Also, one of the few Mexican restaurants where I would’ve had to pay for additional baskets of chips and salsa, and those chips were stale and old for sure.

Atmosphere is nothing to write about either, there was virtually nothing appealing about this place. Save your money and go...

Some years back, this was a great Mexican restaurant.

Sadly, it is now among the worst restaurants in Humboldt County.

I make FAR superior Mexican food at home, for about 1/8 the cost, without any real investment of time or skill.

First, their "florn" tortillas - I call them florn because they are DEFINITELY NOT corn tortillas, but they are not quite flour either - and they are flaccid in texture. Thus, "florn".

Literally soupy, liquid beans filled 2/3 of the plate. They tasted like they were slow cooked in an old boot. (Even Safeway's nearly-inedible refrieds at their "everyday low price" of $.89/can are WAY better.)

But the 3 tablespoons of rice were OK, I guess - slightly better than Uncle Ben's Spanish Style Ready Rice. I think they added a little salt, maybe.

The service was good, in that the waitress actually brought our food within 45 - 50 mins, with a near-empty front house. So they are "obviously" trying - but what can you REALLY do to make unseasoned, straight-out-of-the-can microwaved SOGGY Kirkland Canned Chicken Tacos anything close to edible?

Not a damn thing.

See for yourself... (Photo taken about one hour...