La Mesa Mexican Kitchen — Restaurant in Stockton

Went for lunch, just before noon. We were given the menu which didn't show any lunch specials and we're not offered or told they had lunch specials. Ordered cheese, potato with chorizo empanadas which were 2 per order as app first. They were tasty, but a bit greasy. Were given chips with green salsa. Chips were very good, salsa was mild but good taste. Didn't see or taste any cheese though. My son had the birria quesadilla, 2 in order with consomé, looked delicious and I had the menudo.... I had never seen or had menudo as thick as this. It was served in a shallow bowl. The picture shows the amount before I started eating. It was pretty spicy which I normally wouldn't mind but I like adding the amount of spice to my own bowl normally. For the price, I expected more. Not much hominy or tripe, although the tripe was at least decent in that it was cooked well and not too chewy. Still I couldn't finish it for fear of having heartburn issues later on from so much spices in the broth. It came with 2 hand made corn tortillas but when I tried rolling one up in my hand, it didn't roll...it broke. They were a bit too thick and not flavorful like a fresh hand made tortilla should be and they were served without a napkin or tortilla holder with cover to keep them warm. The staff was friendly and attentive and the restaurant very clean. Food was fresh. Party of 2 was $40, no drinks, just water. Was a bit disappointed bc we had their family pack or specials to go earlier in the year during restaurant week and everything then...

Small, clean restaurant with nice decor in Lincoln Village Plaza. We were happy to find something like this in Stockton. The cilantro rice and beans were good, not too much seasoning just like what I liked. We got the beef enchiladas, the beef was tender, not much seasoning but again I personally preferred. We also got the “veggie” plate but sadly with MOSTLY onion, 4-5 thin slices of mushroom plus some small leaves of lettuce at the bottom, I wished there were some additional broccoli, carrots or fresh corns. Lastly, we ordered 1 Coco y pina, the highlight of our disappointment. I guessed our waitress decided to create her own version, there was no “organic pineapple”, no “fresh lime”, but instead with a beautiful fresh orchid. We only tasted coconut flavor blended with very thick “house made whip”, it was like drinking a heavy whip drink, the amount of rum/blanco was light. I had to add some ice and tiny salt to it. For $11, it was a total disappointment. Besides, after taking our order, our waitress/bartender, standing on the other side of the bar, spoke quite loudly to our table to ask if we wanted 1 or 2, I had to signal to her with my fingers. Well, I wish to come back with...

The food here is absolutely fantastic! They have a very simple menu which means they are experts at the foods they make. Every plate that left the kitchen looked delicious. I plan on going back and trying everything on the menu. The prices are very reasonable and the food is definitely worth more than they charge. If they switched to white plates, they could charge $10 more per dinner and still would be acceptable. The atmosphere is cozy and comfortable even though the establishment itself is small. I wouldn't mind seeing them upgrade to a larger place. There was constant chatter but not enough to disturb our own conversations or causing us to raise our voices. The staff was courteous and friendly. They were quick to start us and were very attentive to our needs. We never felt that we had to wait for anything too long or ever felt that we were being ignored. Their Specials constantly change so that keeps it fresh even with the small menu. I can't complain about one aspect of our visit and plan on making this a regular destination for "date night". We didn't get the deserts. That will...