Xclusive Mexican Kitchen — Restaurant in Mission Viejo

11/6/2024 Had a fantastic dinner at Xclusive this evening. Enrique and Nacho were professional, friendly and provided top shelf customer service. I ordered a mango margatia which I enjoyed with the chips, salsa and bean dip. Enrique stopped by and I ordered a nice dinner salad with ranch which was perfect. After the salad I ordered the tampiquena entree with an enchilada, rice and beans which was well prepared and presented. Nacho was also terrific and we spoke of our mother as his just turned 101 and we spoke of the wonders of Mexico and my recent trip and his as well. Nice ambiance and very welcoming staff. Highly recommended.

11/30/2022 Stopped in for lunch today and was greeted by Ivan and Polo both very professional and personable staff members. Soon I had chips and Salsa with bean dip and the menus to review and select my desired choice. Polo brought over water and napkins and I ordered steak Tampequena with a seafood enchilada and a Mexican coca cola which was awesome. I had a great time watching Mexico and Saudi Arabia play for the World Cup series while chatting with Jose, one of the managers whom I met for the first time. Jose was quite knowledgeable about the cup games and a pleasure to talk with. Back to the food which was simply amazing. Ivan was very attentive and we also talked about several things and I enjoyed his professionalism and personable demeanor. Eddie, the owner, also stopped by to say hello and welcome me back. The people here at Xclusive are part of the overall experience and the foodnis certainly over the top good! I am very thankful for this new dining establishment in our home town. They have mariachi bands on weekends, breakfast on Saturday and Sunday and also kareoke nights. Just a great place with great food and people as well as many big screens for the sports enthusiasts. Highly recommended!!!!

Previous visit Beyond words as this new restaurant has the best authentic Mexican cuisine this side of the border. A must try. I had dinner at thos wonderful new restaurant yesterday and had the Tampequena with a seafood enchilada, rice and beans...simply amazing. The staff are friendly, attentive and professional. You can also tell that the Chefs take pride in their masterpieces as the presentation of each dish is perfectly prepared. The chips are fresh and salsa is tasty as well as the bean dip. Today I stopped by for lunch and once again spoke with the owner who is quite humble and you can tell very excited to launch this new location as they also have a smaller location in Ladera Ranch and also have top shelf food trucks for special events. I had a Chile relleno and chicken enchilada with rice and beans for lunch and one again it was a home run. Eddie also brought me some ceviche to enjoy and it was awesome. What a great place and one that I highly recommend. Please stop by and grab a drink and some delicious Mexican dishes. They also have breakfast and a Mariachi band on the weekends. You will be glad...

My wife and I visited on the Friday evening kicking off Memorial Day weekend and were seated immediately. All staff were friendly and genuinely happy to have us there. The decor is nice but not fancy. So far so good.

When I first looked at the menu I was a little concerned about the prices being on the high side. Most of the dishes were priced in the $22-28 region. Some dishes were as high as $40 and there was one shared item at an eye-popping $160. My wife ordered the Al Pastor skillet, which I think was $22, and I ordered the Molcajete de Carne which was $32.

Out came the food and we were immediately thrilled. The Al Pastor was a nice-sized portion of the famed Mexican pork dish, served in a cast-iron skillet with a nice bit of Mexican cheese and a slice of pineapple on top. Alongside came tortillas and a portion of black beans and red rice. The quality, taste, heat level, and presentation were excellent.

The Molcajete de Carne was a show-stopper. Other diners were staring and asking what we ordered. A molcajete is a traditional Mexican food prep mortar used to grind things like chiles. The dish is served in what was the biggest molcajete I have ever seen. They obviously heated the molcajete, as the dish was served steaming and bubbling. Inside were generous portions of chicken, steak, chorizo, carnitas, avocado, nopales, and a roasted jalapeno. It was served with tortillas, black beans, and red rice. All of the food was very high quality, seasoned and cooked perfectly, and delicious. The chorizo seemed to be homemade and was perfect. The carnitas were the most tender and delicious I have ever had. Two people could share this and still have plenty of leftovers.

Our waiter, Salvador, was attentive and always seemed to be available when we wanted him there. Fernando, the General Manager, came by to say hello. This is a nice, hard-working man, who I found very likeable.

Some have commented that the restaurant is pricey. When I first saw the menu prices I felt that way as well. But after experiencing what we were served, I now think this restaurant gives you very good value. These folks use good ingredients and put love into what they are doing.

One or more reviewers noted that the prices have changed from the menu pictured on Google. This is true. Xclusive should update this.

My wife and I walked away from Xclusive with two large to-go boxes of leftovers and a feeling we had found our new favorite Mexican restaurant in Orange County. I hope the Mission Viejo community gets out and supports these nice people who serve tasty food with smiles on...

I went last week and had a great time. The food was excellent especially the tres leches cake. I was there at 8pm and was able to be seated right away, there was a good amount of other guests both at the tables and at the bar. I didn't try any alcohol this time but the drinks also looked good and I will be bringing more of my family next time. Also attention to our table was great Enrique was our waiter and he was awesome. It was also nice to see the cook/chef come out and speak to me in Spanish when he helped bring out the food. I know that's not a requirement or necessary for good reviews but I'll be honest and say that added element made me feel good about the food because he wanted to make sure what we got was good and looked presentable. Ordered items: I had the chilli verde (pork green sauce) it was very good and very juicy plus it came with rice and tortillas (I had flour but you can also choose corn). We also ordered fajitas and my lady said they were great. The chips come with salsa and beans the salsa was not spicy and was very delicious. For dessert we had the tres leches cake and it was fantastic. Also ordered the guacamole and highly recommend. 100% coming back and telling my friend and family. Pricing is very competitive with other restaurants of similar fashion but the food, service and atmosphere made...