Mitla Cafe — Restaurant in San Bernardino

Mitla Café's tacos are the foundation of the Taco Bell empire. It was at this restaurant that Glen Bell decided to sell tacos, and he sweet-talked his way into Mitla Café's kitchen to see how they were made.

As you first bite into one of Mitla Café's Beef Tacos (labeled as just "Taco" on the menu), you can't help but think of a Taco Bell's taco, except done 100 times better. As grease and juices fall out of the house-made misshapen fried tortilla, you'll taste the heavily-browned and spiced ground beef covered with shredded cheddar cheese, refreshing lettuce, and bright red tomatoes, and you will understand why someone would start a fast food company around this. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good, because for as many billions of dollars that the Taco Bell brand is worth, Glen Bell ultimately failed to capture what makes this taco work.

Mitla Café's "Shredded Beef Taco" is probably a better taco than their regular "Taco," but it doesn't channel the same kind of nostalgia. The "Shredded Beef Taco" does, however, have a cleaner flavor and truer purity of purpose. Either taco greatly benefits from the red sauce (you need to ask for a side of it when you order), a fiery salsa that puts Taco Bell's little spicy ketchup packets to shame.

During my visit, I also ordered the Pozole, which is served white (i.e. Pozole Blanco), with minimal garnishes (no oregano, for example), and pork that was over-cooked. My advice is to pass on the Pozole and eat more tacos. In fact, always eat more tacos.

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I recall that a few years back that Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails was horrified and saddened to learn that the U.S. CIA was blasting songs off of his 1994 album, "The Downward Spiral," at the highest possible volume during brutal interrogations of sleep-deprived enemy combatants as a way to further intimidate and disorient them. I suspect that every time someone like me writes about the connection Mitla Café has to Taco Bell, the present-day owners, descendants of Mrs. Rodriguez, have a similar reaction as Mr. Reznor had to his art being used so abusively. Or perhaps they understand things as I do: Glen Bell himself confesses to have stolen their recipe but, given the chasm between what they serve and what Taco Bell serves, there's little evidence he actually used it.

If you live anywhere in Southern California, a trip to Mitla Café is worthwhile, and likely to be illuminating, shocking, infuriating, and satisfying...

I am giving a 1 star rating on the food and speed of service. I will add the fact that after we were done eating and were paying I saw a waitress clean a table and then the chairs with the same rag, however the worse part was when she moved on to clean the next table. Below you will find my review of everything prior to seeing this.

It was a beautiful scene inside however the speed of service was lacking. I went at a time where most tables were empty however it took so long to order and receive our food.

Now to the review of the food. I had a combo plate with 1 crunchy taco, 1 enchilada, 1 chile relleno. Crunchy taco had absolutely no flavor in it beside the big bite of oil it had hidden inside. The meat had absolutely no seasoning in it I can't imagine people actually like it, it tasted like a glob of flavorless hamburger meat. Now on to the enchilada, the sauce tasted like it came straight from a can, very bitter and not so pleasant. Now for the final item the chile relleno that one was the last item I tried and it was surprisingly good I mean how can you mess up a chile relleno. The salsa from the chips and salsa needed a little more seasoning. It was a little bland for me however once I added a little more slat and pepper, it was good. My spouse also ordered huevos rancheros and they were not good at all but I am not here to rate his food, which I also tried.

Over all I was so disappointed. I went because of all the good reviews however regretted everything specially after seeing the waitress clean the table and chairs and move onto the next table using the same dirty rag. We will never...

I have really wanted to try this restaraunt due to the history of being a San Bernardino legend and the Taco Bell story. Today we has the opportunity and I really enjoyed our food. The enchiladas had a good authentic taste and it wasn't too bold despite its rich color. The taco had great crunch and it reminded me of the tacos my mom would make growing up. The cocido soup was fantastic and very hearty. The ac in the restaraunt was set to a comfortable temperature. They had an online jukebox where people were playing the firme oldies and some mariachi music.

Cons

I didn't really look at the menu prior to coming in because I figured it's a mexican restaraunt and they have the staples of the cuisine. What bothered me is that the combinations didn't come with Rice and/ or beans, you had to order the dinner to get those with your order.

The prices, I couldn't believe that it cost us over $60 for two people at lunch time. We did get a lot of food for the price but factoring the city we were eating in and the fact that mexican food ingredients are relatively inexpensive it came a little of a shock.

Credit card charge: I saw a sign on the door to the bathrooms that they charge a 4% card charge.

Service: I felt the service could have been a little better and more attentive, there seemed to be enough people working the floor for...