La Siesta a Real Yawner? - CLOSED

La Siesta

920 North El Camino Real

San Clemente, CA 92672

My friends Dawn and Mike apparently love Mexican food. This is the second Mexican restaurant that they have recommended. The first, Flamingo's in Laguna Hills, could have been better. This time, they wanted us to try La Siesta in San Clemente. I found the name of this restaurant appropriate because eating dinner with Dawn usually puts people to sleep. Of course, I am just kidding, Dawn. Well, maybe.

La Siesta has been a fixture and local favorite in San Clemente since 1985. Opened by the Hernandez family, the restaurant has a beach/family vibe. It is a very comfortable restaurant, but the music was blaring out of the speakers. This Friday night, every table was filled, and people were waiting. Thanks to Dawn and Mike getting here early, we got seated right away, and this is the food we got.

We will start with chips and salsa. La Siesta has won numerous local awards for its salsa. I liked the salsa here. I would have liked it a little more if it was not so watery, but the flavor was good and had a mild spice. The chips were decent.

For an appetizer, we went with the Fiesta Platter. This platter included chips and cheese, flautas, tacos, and a quesadilla. The food on this platter came out lukewarm, and nothing blew me away on this plate, either. The quesadilla was average, and the chips and cheese were good, but the cheese was easily separated from the chip as soon as you picked one up. The chicken in the flauta was cooked well, and I liked the $9.95 price for this platter.

With every meal at La Siesta, you get a salad or soup. The salad was your basic green garden salad variety. The soup was decent. It had a nice, relaxed flavor to it. I will choose the soup the next time I come here.

The colorful plate above belonged to Katie. She opted for the #5 Combo, a Beer-Battered Fish Taco, and a Grilled Shrimp Taco. Katie felt the fish was tender and flaky, and the shrimp was flavorful. Just like when I ate dinner with Dawn last time, I did not get a bite of this from Katie, so I will have to take her word on how this was.

A miracle of miracles, Dawn let me try her large chicken Colorado Wet Burrito. The burrito featured tender pieces of chicken and a perfect tortilla. I really enjoyed the tortillas here. They seemed really fresh and tasted even better. The sauce also helped make this burrito a winner.

Mike went with his old standby, a Wet Chili Verde Burrito. Like Dawn's, this burrito was above average, and it started with the tortilla. The green sauce was equally as satisfying as the red sauce. The meat in this burrito got pushed to the side as a supporting character. The beans and rice here were up to par.

La Siesta touts their Carnitas as a house specialty, so that is what I ordered. I will have to admit that this carnitas was right on the spot. They are tender and a little crispy on the edges, just as I like them. They had good flavor, and they complimented the rice and beans well. The only drawback to this plate was that the serving size needed to be bigger because these disappeared quick. I could have eaten another plate easily.

This was a much better dinner out with Mike and Dawn. La Siesta provided a good atmosphere and Mexican food for a nice dinner with a great couple. See, I can say something nice about you, Dawn. The prices were reasonable, and the portions were right up there with them. The service was average, but they were crazy busy the night we were there.

Out of five narcoleptics (because they take lots of siestas), five being best to zero being worst, La Siesta gets 3 solid narcoleptics.

For more information on La Siesta, click here: http://www.lasiestasanclemente.com/