Puesto Los Olivos — Restaurant in Irvine

Came here 03/30 at 5:25 pm-ish with my husband. As we walked in we got an awkward and obvious head to toe sweep from the lady in the front desk. There was a guy with tattoos who completely ignored us and lady “Molly” (asked my server for her name) completely disregarded us, very unwelcoming (no greeting). I said, “hello”. I asked for a table for two, this girl (Molly) stared at her screen (looked like she was debating were to sit us according to our appearance) as if the place was crowded. Place was emptyyyy….. After an awkward silence she proceeded to say “ we have a table but we need it by 7.” She quickly turned around and grabbed menus, I looked at my husband and said “what?!” She then walked us over to our table and just laid the menus. Didn’t say anything.

To me she was profiling us and somewhat very much racist! She really set an uncomfortable vibe.

As far as our server “Shawn” he was amazing! So friendly and attentive, such a nice spirit and vibe. We really appreciate a nice server like yourself. (5 stars rating are for you)

As we left same lady (Molly) was in the front didn’t say “thanks for coming, have a good night.” As a good front desk employee would.

As a business owner - I would never have anyone with that character running my business . First impression is EVERYTHING! 1 obnoxious person is enough to scare clientele away.

Don’t think I’ll come back here. 1st and last time.

Filet mignon taco & passion fruit ceviche is delicious. Coconut Margarita...

I really wanted to love puesto but it truly was just “okay.” A friend and I came here after work on Thursday at 6pm. We didn’t have reservations but we didn’t need it because it wasn’t very busy and it wasn’t full. There was no wait to be seated.

This is located in the Los Olivos marketplace by the Whole Foods so there is plenty of parking. It is a very busy lot though!

I ordered the guava margarita because they ran out of the mango margarita (the only one they can apparently make frozen…) and I was disappointed at the almost minimally present flavor of guava there.

For Taco Tuesday, they have a 50% off deal for all tacos. I ended up ordering the short rib quesabirria, the filet mignon, and the ribeye. The ribeye was fantastic. Incredibly tender and well worth the money. The short rib was just alright. I didn’t see myself wanting to order another one. The filet mignon was an absolute nightmare. Beyond well done. Hard. Was this even a filet mignon? It was so unrecognizably tough that I wish I had said something when I ordered it.

My friend ordered the Baja fish taco, short rib, and tamarindo shrimp. Of the lineup, he said the shrimp was best.

Additionally, for as calm as the restaurant was, it took us almost 20-30 minutes to get our order delivered. What’s that about?

I’m glad I got to try puesto but I’m disappointed I didn’t love it. For the price you’re paying, you should be getting quality meals. At least our server was...

The happiest of happy hours are usually had here. And if you sign up to their newsletter, you get an occasional email for free guac of your choice. What are you waiting for?! Great motivation to drop in when I get the chance to redeem.

My first round usually consists of chips & salsa, some variant of free guac and margs. My fave choices for margs are their puesto perfect, mango and spicy. For guac, I've had the classic (avo, cilantro, onion, lime & orange) and puesto perfect (classic w/ parmigiano-reggiano). They are great starters and I'm looking forward to trying the Nogada version.

For food, I always get the potato taquitos because that sesame black garlic chile oil complements the queso fresco so well. I just know the evening will be positive vibes from here on out. Some new items that I enjoyed recently were the birria nachos - cheese sauce, short rib birria, jalapeno, onions and Jalisco salsa. I wish there was more birria shredded or layered between the chips, but overall a nice mix of flavors. We also tried the chicken flautas, but it wasn't a hit compared to the potato taquitos. The chicken was a lil dry.

Overall, really enjoy this location. Weeknights are great since parking is plenty and there's usually plenty of seating to accommodate small groups or large parties. They even have an outdoor patio with a full bar included. Wonderful place to catch up and I'll...