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Miguel's Cocina - Carlsbad, Carlsbad, CA

Miguel's Cocina - Carlsbad

4.5
4.5
23 Reviews
$30 and under
Mexican
A photo of Miguel's Cocina - Carlsbad restaurant

Miguel's Cocina - Carlsbad

4.5
$30 and under
Mexican
Carlsbad

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 PM
Booked 9 times today
  • Good for groups
  • Great for happy hour
  • Lively
Miguel's Cocina is a Mexican restaurant and cantina. One of the primary tenets of this eatery is authenticity. If it can't be ordered south of the border, it's not on Miguel's menu. The restaurant itself opened in 1982 with a few classic recipes and has been consistently growing and expanding ever since. The kitchen staff at Miguel's cocina make almost everything in the restaurant by hand from scratch, including tortillas, salsas and colorful corn chips.Popular starters, or antijidos as the are known on the menu, include the ahi tuna ceviche, carinta flautas and crispy fried calamari with a house jalapaño white sauce. Entrées are straightforward traditional dishes made with premium ingredients. Diners will find dishes like pork belly quesadillas, steak burritos and even gorditas made with griddled masa and filled with chorizos, potatoes, cilantro, onion, cotija cheese, cabbage and lime crema.

Order delivery or takeout

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    Mexican, Contemporary Mexican, Traditional Mexican
  • Hours of operation
    Mon–Thu, Sun 11:00 am–9:00 pm Sat 11:00 am–9:30 pm
  • Phone number
    (760) 759-1843
  • Dress code
    Formal Attire
  • Neighborhood
    Carlsbad
  • Parking details
    None
  • Additional
    Banquet, Bar/Lounge, Counter Seating, Happy Hour, Indoor Fireplace, Non-Smoking, Private Room, Takeout, Weekend Brunch, Wheelchair Access

What 23 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.5
4.5 based on recent ratings
  • 4.5Food
  • 4.6Service
  • 4.3Ambience
  • 4.2Value

NoiseModerate

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
Miguel's Cocina in Carlsbad offers a delightful dining experience with "delicious Mexican food" and a "casual atmosphere." Guests rave about the "excellent service" from attentive staff, creating memorable occasions. Enjoy their complimentary queso with salsa and chips, and don't miss the Mango Margaritas. Conveniently located, it's a "great place" for gatherings.

23 Reviews
  1. kirk

    San Diego

    256 reviews

    4.0

    256 reviews

    Dined on November 26, 2024

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4
    Enjoyed our lunch - with inflation (wage, CoGs, etc.) paying $25 each for lunch w no alcohol is seemingly the new norm.

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  2. Kathy

    San Diego

    133 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    133 reviews

    Dined on November 9, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Our server was phenomenal. She brought everything we asked for right away. Our order was done as requested. Our server kept our waters filled without being asked.

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  3. Nancy

    San Diego

    17 reviews

    5.0

    17 reviews

    Dined on November 3, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    Great time for a birthday celebration- we got there early and our booth was actually ready- the service was friendly & helpful. They have a very good selection of menu choices and everyone loved what they ordered. We all had a fantastic time and will be back!

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  4. Angie

    San Diego

    20 reviews

    vip
    4.0

    20 reviews

    Dined on October 13, 2024

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 2
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4
    The bartender doesn't know how to make a regular Margarita but spicy watermelon is yummy. L9ve there cheese sauce but our chix fajitas , chix was tough veggies we're over salted as was the enchilada sauce on my cheese enchilada. And my husband loves lots of sauce but even he said it was too much ugh

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  5. Crystal

    San Diego

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on October 7, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Our waiter Katherine was amazing. I the food was delicious and the service was excellent!

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  6. Barbara

    San Diego

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on September 7, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Mini family reunion and Mary, our server, could not have been better! She was attentive, efficient, patient and absolutely the sweetest with our large group. Thank you Miguel's Carlsbad for the wonderful family time!

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  7. Rick

    San Diego

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on August 26, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    The best Mexican food anywhere! Including Mexico.

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  8. OpenTable Diner

    Orange County

    1 review

    vip
    2.0

    1 review

    Dined on August 9, 2024

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 2
    We were seqtwdbin the very back of the restaurant and although our table was clean, others were still loaded with dishes and the floor was filthy. Food was fine, certainly nothing great. I ordered a shredded chicken taco and was surprised that it was a soft taco. I don't know if hard shells are an option as I was not asked. My son ordered a plain chicken quesadilla- only cheese and chicken (kids 🙄). It came full of salsa. When we requested another, it did not arrive until the rest of us had finished eating. Odd, since our initial order was out extremely fast. We ordered a quesadilla a la carte, a taco a la carte, a one item plate and fajitas. Bill was $90. Not a deal, but not outrageous. Overall it was just ok. We will not be returning.

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  9. Jean

    San Francisco

    16 reviews

    vip
    1.0

    16 reviews

    Dined on August 7, 2024

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 1
    The food ranged from unedible to mediocre. Service was OK.

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  10. Mary Anne

    San Diego

    35 reviews

    vip
    4.0

    35 reviews

    Dined on August 6, 2024

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 3
    My friends and I love to meet here because the food and drinks are good and the prices are a good value. It’s convenient because it’s right off the freeway and I meet friends from OC here. I’ve never had an issue before but today seemed to be an especially hard day for a server named Autumn. My friend arrived before me at 11:00 and the restaurant was not busy but the server/hostess acknowledged her and said she’d be right with her and by the time I got there 5 minutes later my friend was still standing alone in front of the restaurant still waiting. Finally Autumn comes back, barely acknowledges us, asks if we have a reservation, I said I did, please let OpenTable know I kept it and without answering me proceeded to seat us… ok. Bad day for her. Whatever . The seat we were in was too bright for my friend so we asked if we could move to another table. Not a problem, or so we thought. Chips, salsa , water were brought to our table and we sat there, and sat there, and sat there, and I watched Autumn walk by us more than several times not once making eye contact. 30 minutes, I finally said rather loudly, “HELLO. ARE YOU ARE WAITRESS?” She didn’t come to the table but she replied back loudly, “ Me? No. But I’ll go get her.” We were only four tables away from the original table we were seated at!! Finally, 5 minutes later Katrina, our waitress comes over and is very apologetic . Turns out she’s also the bartender and no one (including Autumn) bothered to tell her we were seated in her section. She was very nice, apologized for any misunderstanding, did not throw Autumn under the table like she could have, and was very accommodating all in all. The manager, Brian, served us our food and had overheard how we were rudely ignored by Autumn and he, too apologized. Please don’t think me to be entitled, I don’t expect to be treated like royalty but when I do go to a restaurant and pay for a service I do not expect to be ignored. Autumn, please do better.

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FAQs

Miguel's Cocina - Carlsbad offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (760) 759-1843.

Miguel's Cocina - Carlsbad is rated 4.5 stars by 23 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

A photo of Miguel's Cocina - Carlsbad restaurant

Miguel's Cocina - Carlsbad

4.5
$30 and under
Mexican
Carlsbad

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 PM
Booked 9 times today

Order delivery or takeout

Google Map for Miguel's Cocina - Carlsbad

5980 Avd Encinas, Carlsbad, CA 92008

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Neighborhood
    Carlsbad
  • Hours of operation
    Mon–Thu, Sun 11:00 am–9:00 pm Sat 11:00 am–9:30 pm
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    Mexican, Contemporary Mexican, Traditional Mexican
  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Dress code
    Formal Attire
  • Parking details
    None
  • Additional
    Banquet, Bar/Lounge, Counter Seating, Happy Hour, Indoor Fireplace, Non-Smoking, Private Room, Takeout, Weekend Brunch, Wheelchair Access
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