Casa Carlos Restaurant & Cantina — Restaurant in Marysville

On this day I ordered two tacos a la carte; a chicken taco in a fried flour tortilla and a steak taco in a fried corn tortilla.

FOOD: This is that "safe" (for white folks) Mexican Food that your grandma took you to for a sit down Mexican Food experience. Better than Chevy's, but similar in taste and composition, the portions were generous and the value was good. Chips and salsa were always on tap. The salsa reminds me slightly of the deli salsa you get at Trader Joes: good, serviceable, but not "autentico". If you are looking for "authentic" Mexican Food, this probably ain't gonna be your jam. If you're looking to grab some cocktails or take grandma out, this probably IS your jam.

SERVICE: Super friendly, super fast and the pay by QR Code was a great idea. It was super simple. The service was excellent.

ATMOSPHERE: The different rooms/zones of the restaurant are cool. Despite the remodel, it still does evoke memories of restaurants you went to with grandma in years past (specifically the booths).

This probably would have been a 4/5 but I am bumping up to a 6/5 for the unique men's restroom experience. The "buddy system" urinal set up recalls many famous historical urinations. I immediately recalled the story of Winston Churchill getting out of the tub and telling FDR, "See, I have nothing to hide from you Mr. President" or the famous urination of James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich telling each other that Jason Newsted's going to be their next bassist. I'm really looking for someone to take with me so that I can make that big business decision over a p*ss. Fantastic!

CONCLUSION: Great, safe Mexican Food Restaurant that recalls Americanized Mex from a bygone era with generous portions and a restroom where you and colleague can easily make a...

To start with I want to say that the customer service was great here. We had a table of 7 people and all of us were seated in a timely manner, had our orders taken, and our food was brought out fast. That is quite a feat in an of itself. The inside is nice as well. Prices are reasonable. I am not quite sure whether or not to be surprised at the lack of authentic Mexican food in this area. On one hand, there is a large influence in the area, and on the other hand, it is a random old farm town. Really, when picking cuisine, you gotta consider the source, the area, etc. Deep down I didn't expect the traditional small tacos. I live in Los Angeles currently, and am quite spoiled when it comes to Mexican food, and I have access to some of the most authentic Carne Asada and fried pork tacos imaginable (without having an Abuela make it for me). That being said, I was disappointed to see "ground beef" as an option for meats, as I know this isn't standard. I chose "shredded beef" tacos with the hopes that this was another way of saying "carne asada." Nope! It was literally shredded beef, but with lettuce, cheese, and tomato. The flour tortilla was fried and crunchy. It was good, but the kind of good that I know either I could make or that is good because it is fatty. I'm just more into the small street tacos. I would have loved some more authenticity, spice and something I know I can't do myself. I wanted to like the place, but I just wasn't a fan of the food. There is something on the menu for everyone and the food is relatively safe, so if you have people who want "Mexican," food but can't handle the spice, then this place fits the bill.

Service- 5/5 Interior-...

I've been coming here forever, and was never treated as rudely as I was a month ago. I came in alone for lunch, was treated very much like I was not a valued customer when ordering, then was completely ignored by anyone, and I was seated with a full view of the back area where all the servers were!

They were standing around doing nothing but gossiping, even the supervisor. My food was not up to Casa Carlos standards as if I was there during the fashionable dinner hour, and the waitress did things I did not want nor asked to be done. She reluctantly refilled my drink once, talking with her coworkers who were all in the far back area grouped up while doing so.

Then when I was finished she plopped a to-go cup of my soda in front of me and when I got up to leave looked offended when I didn't take it. She asked if I wanted it and I pointedly said no. She looked embarased, but then looked furious when she looked down at the table and saw no tip, ringing my bill up with a scowl.

I have never in my life not tipped anyone, but the service I got was far below par from my lifetime of eating at this estableshment.

Help me change my mind...