El Cantarito — Restaurant in Placentia

YUM! Good sized dive in old downtown Placentia. Had TVs with a basketball game on visible from every seat in the place.. I had a bit of trouble hearing my dining companion,, but I have tinnitus and hearing loss and he (85 yrs young) mumbled softly. Most people will not have a problem conversing.

Now for the food..

Delicious! They make their own chips, thicker than any I've ever seen, tasty and light on the salt. We also requested a refill of chips with our food and there was no charge. The salsa is perfection! I had a chili relleno, rice and beans, my companion had a small nacho plate. Serving sizes in both instances was generous with us both taking home leftovers. Nachos used the same thick Tortilla chips already mentioned and my companion raved about the onions. They were sweet and freshly cut. The beans, meat and cheese were all over the top of the chips and there was a big mound of sour cream and guacamole.

Mine came with three piping hot flour tortillas (I chose flour over the corn). Put in some of the relleno, beans and rice and it was wonderful! I wish I could clone this place in Chandler, AZ. As it is, I'll be back and will have to be...

Ordered tamales for Christmas with a very nice young lady that was very Polite, which is the only positive aspect of this restaurant. I ordered pork, beef and chicken and unfortunately all of them were not cooked all the way. The center had a jelly-like texture. Our entire family was disappointed and obviously didn't eat more than a couple of bites of each of their tamales. We had high hopes of finding our new go to restaurant for tamales, this is not the restaurant. I was assured the tamales would be ready upon arrival, and yet I waited about 45 mins for uncooked masa. A couple of customers on their way out mentioned that the service was super slow and one customer even said "I hope you're not hungry". Extremely disappointing and will go back to ordering in East L.A. This definitely ruined our Christmas dinner. So disappointing.

*Update, after speaking to a couple of family members two of them mentioned they actually got food poisoning from eating these tamales. I was so upset and embarrassed. Please be aware. I am letting those I know who live and dine in the area, not to dine here. So...

Good food served fast and served well.

Today was my first visit and I timed it to be after the lunch rush. My waitress, Lupe, quickly brought me chip and salsa and ice tea and took my order for three shredded beef floutas on a lunch plate with double beans and no rice. I ordered a large guacamole which was made for me while I was waiting. Their tortillas are made in the store and their chips are made from their tortillas. They're very crunchy and go well with their salsa which has no chunks of tomato or onion but is very tasty and a bit spicy. The service was excellent I was eating in less than 10 minutes from my arrival. And my waitress packaged up my tea to go after refilling it twice during lunch. The price for all of it was $15.99 which was a bit more than I'm used to paying at $9.99 for the same thing but the guacamole was exceptional and so was Lupe.

I was told that taco Tuesday is a really great deal. I will have to come back to see!

They are open every day from 7 AM to 9 PM. Those are long hours but I'm sure that their customers...