La Playita — Restaurant in San Jose

Before you read this review, please keep in mind that I'm not a huge fan of Mexican food (my daughter is). Add half a star (for a total of 3.5) if you're a real fan of Mexican food.

The place is a little mom's & pop's place, hidden at the very corner of a street mall. They had a few tables outside, but since we were close to sunset, we decided to sit inside to avoid bugs.

Inside, it's the typical hole-in-the-wall place: Clean, but with a homely look & feel to it. If you expect "ambiance" and "atmosphere," this is not the place for you. Service was incredibly quick. The server was always available and never rushed us to anything.

The food is good. Not great, but good. They didn't have the chicken I ordered, so I converted to some beef fajitas. The rice was tasty, and so were as the veggies and the refried beans. The meat was a bit on the hard side (they could have used a better meat for this). My major complaint was that the food was intensely hot (as in temperature.) Even holding the tortillas was difficult and it took a long time for them to cool off to a reasonable temperature; it's amazing how something so thin can hold so much heat. Maybe I should bring an oven mitten next time. :)

Overall, a good place to eat, but don't expect anything incredible. Recommended if you like...

I’m a white person and married to a Mexican man that I’ve been with most of my adult life. As such, I’ve learned how to cook and serve authentic Mexican food. My husband and I have looked long and hard for an authentic and consistently good Mexican restaurant in Santa Clara county and haven’t found one. Granted, we know they’re out there, but we haven’t had the good fortune of finding one. We chose this place because the reviews. Sadly, it’s been the same story. I feel like the reviews are coming from mostly white people that have no idea what real down to earth traditional Mexican food tastes like. Our food here was not seasoned, very watered down, not sizzling, and portion sizes were not consistent with traditional Mexican cooking. The guacamole was so watered down, the beans so watered down that they had to be soaked in the rice to pick up with a fork, and the chili Colorado was like eating tender beef chunks with no flavor and a runny red sauce. I can’t say the food tasted bad, because it didn’t. It was fresh, and presented nicely, but not for Mexican diners. This food would be appreciated by white people who do not like traditional...

Came here after a hike to fill my belly with delicious Mexican food on a Saturday late afternoon. Unfortunately we were highly disappointed with the flavorless, lackluster food. I am traditionally a proponent of local ethnic food but this one was a let down. I was anticipating a great meal as I walked up to pick up our phone order, admiring the entryway and beautiful cultural visualization presented. Very flat and little flavor in the tamal, enchiladas and floutas we ordered. Paradoxically, the simple chicken soup actually had more flavor and was delicious. Also, need to prudently eat from the to-go boxes (I even tore the top lid to place it under the bottom portion of the container to bolster the softened support). No utensils provided either. Perhaps the food would be better if able to eat it hot at a table there but would have given the review a 1 star if it wasn't for the amicable staff and first impression I received of...