El Unico — Restaurant in Lake Elsinore

First time visiting. Red chilaquiles were delicious, came with rice and beans. The beans and chilaquiles were almost like my moms, the only thing missing were the freshly diced onions on the chilaquiles. The rice was okay. No refills on drinks, served canned soda. No indoor seating and it was cold and damp today. Sat outdoors in patio area which was very nice. In the summer I'm sure it's lovely but today, not so much. The restaurant shares bathrooms with the park that is right behind it. There's no hot water and air blower to try and dry your hands. I thought that was a little strange but oh well. I'm going to visit again and try something different from off of the menu. I would recommend this place to anyone who likes Mexican food. The prices were reasonable too. 6/1/2023 Second time here. I was fortunate enough to meet two of the daughters of the founder of the restaurant. It's a family business. This location has been here since 1983 (40 years) and Gloria is running the show. She told me that La Unica, was the original spot and it started as a tortilla factory and has grown into what it is today. Another sister runs that spot. But I digressed. So I stopped in and ran into Martha, another sister but, she doesn't work here. Without knowing she was related, I asked what was good, she replied, "Everything." I liked her immediately. They were super nice Gloria was awesome. I ordered Taquitos. One chicken one beef. The beans were good the rice was a little dry. The chicken tortilla soup was very flavorful. It was a lot of food. I'm stuffed. The patio is lovelier than the last time I saw it. Photos don't do it justice. My initial review was pre-Covid. Do yourself a favor, if in this part of town, visit this Mexican Restaurant. I do believe Martha, I think "everything" is good. Thank you El Unico for a wonderful experience and an even better...

I used to love this place, and would have given it a 5 star review. It would seem that rising costs have affected this establishment as well. The increase in price was expected due to the inflation of the economy, unfortunately the quality has dramatically dropped. I was saddened by this. The local food truck that serves many of the same items excels greatly over the product I purchased, and is less expensive. A food truck should not be better. The Carnita burrito lacked in flavor and tasted more liked boiled pork, there was hardly any add ons like cilantro, onions, the guacamole was almost completely absent, for $9.98 you would expect more, I would have fared better at Del Taco, the Horchata was served warm, and on a hot day a cold drink is greatly desired. Had to request Salsa Roja. Salsa Roja, or Verde used to be offered without asking, and could be declined if not desired. Overall the quality of food is below expectations, and the customer service, although pleasant, was below...

First time here & my wife and I enjoyed the beautiful patio! Only negative about the atmosphere was the lack of bug zappers. Be prepared to share your meal with swarms of flies!

The food was OUTSTANDING! Hands-down the best chicken tortilla soup we've ever tasted!

Carne asada burrito was great & the shrimp taco blew us away!!! The chips& salsa were amazing, too. I wasn't expecting much, since I normally don't care for green salsa, but it tasted almost magical. So good, in fact, we bought more to take home.

Only negative about the food was that the "bowl" of soup wasn't served in a bowl, but rather, in a tall deli-like plastic container which would be fine if the spoons had longer handles. Be prepared to get your fingers wet on your way to the chicken at the bottom of the container!

Great service & wonderful people....