California Cocina — Restaurant in Los Alamitos

it was a cold and rainy Sunday Feb 9, 2020 afternoon, when we decided to visit the California Cocina. We live about 3 miles away, and have passed this location many times, but never stopped. This time, as we got out of the car, at the small parking lot, with our umbrella, we closed it before entering the corner restaurant. We walked up to the Public Counter and I ordered the special of the day..Sea Bass and my wife ordered the Shrimp dinner. Both were excellent, the dish included tortillas and two side orders. The order taker was friendly and answered our questions as to what was included in the order. He gave us a number to put on the table, and brought the food to us. We got a visit from the chef , he checked on us to see, if every thing was ok. We told him, it was great ! . We noticed a salsa bar with three different strength salsas and other condiments like onions and Cilantro. We took advantage of the onions and the mild salsa. It was mild for my Albuquerque New Mexico ( a Green Chile eater from birth ) wife, but it was hot for me ( my Mom did not cook with Chile ) . We noticed the tables are cleaned, immediately when the patrons leave the table. Everything was clean. The soda fountain included a couple of extra different drinks...like Agave Vanilla soda...which i got, it was good.

There was a single old timer adjacent to us, who over heard our conversation. He knew it was our first time there. He comes to this restaurant often and advised us to get the business card that get a punch out every time you order a meal, when you order the 10th meal, one of the meals is free. Don't forget that punch out card, if you are going to be a regular at this restaurant, like us.

I gave the casual, order at the counter type Mexican food restaurant a five...in this...

Amicable phone staff for phone orders. Quick service. I've been there 3 times. Their food is really good. However be prepared to pay $17.87 for one burrito. Not the combo but just the burrito. The price went up a dollar in less than 7 days. The second time I was there was not the best customer service experience. Their soda machine was down and someone came to check it out and said it was an issue with it in the back. So I waited. Some other waitress came and left saying the same thing. So I waited. She then helped other people and pretend I wasn't still waiting there. Then I asked her and she came back and tried it again and it was still down. She offered me a bottled soda instead. I had purchased the large drink and said "if I can take as many bottles as it takes to fill this cup then okay." She ignored what I said and tried it again and then walked away. I continued to wait. I then was going to ask for my money back for the soda because I had been waiting for ten minutes and my food was getting cold. She saw and then said "oh it's working now." I said "is it? Because you walked away without saying anything." So I filled up my cup and left. Overall great food but pricey. Oh and depending on when you go, parking can...

We saw this place on Instagram and since it's near our church we decided to stop for lunch after church. It's a very down to earth little restaurant almost like a fast food burger place but they serve Mexican food. The prices are reasonable we paid about $60.00. The food was delicious and very generous portions. My husband and I had plenty left over. We ordered the taquitos, wet burrito and nachos. The cashier could have had a little bit better personality but the rest of the staff are friendly. We even got to see a celebrity eating outside but we didn't bother them It was just cool to see. Definitely looking forward to returning I would like to try the chilaquiles next time somebody ordered them at the table next to us and they looked amazing. They had TVs on with all the games and sports and there is a salsa bar so you can help yourself to different types of salsas and other garnishes. And they even gave us free chips as an appetizer. My husband ordered a mango margarita and a michelada he...