Moreno's Mexican Restaurant
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Private Lot
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Alcohol: Full Bar
37 reviews
Garden Grove, CA
"Are you kidding me? Only 27 reviews??? It should have 300 and they should all say the same thing...good food, cheap prices and great staff.…" read more »
14 Reviews for Moreno's Mexican Restaurant
The first time my husband and I came here, we had a great experience. We were greeted and seated immediately inside and when we ordered our food, it came within 30 minutes. BUT...the last time we went there, there was no one there to great us. My husband asked a waitress to seat us, and she said, 'Wait until the hostess comes out'. We thought, 'WTF'??? Wait??? I wanted to say, 'Get get the f'n hostess'. We were finally seated, and this time, it took an hour to get our food! The waiter was very nice, and gave us complimentary mojitos and a margarita. The food was good, but the experience wasn't as great as the first time. We were so hungry that we got full off of chips. What's going on with service these days???
The location is very nice. The patio is relaxing and the building itself has lots of character, but really that is where the charm stops. The food is just alright, but not anything that special. I had fish tacos and taquitos. At least they gave me a good amount of guacamole for the taquitos. All in all it was a bit overpriced in my opinion and the service was REALLY slow, even though we were there on a weekday night (it was not that busy). Bottom line save your money and try some place else.
gross.
seriously. vomitrocious!
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Moreno's rhymes with Morenblows.
I used to live around the corner and frequent Moreno's with Natali H. on nice nights appropriate for outdoor dining. As she said they have a huge outdoor patio that is very nice. It's a real mood setter for any occasion.
The inside is pretty much like an older El Torito or a Don Jose's... not much going on.
The food has always been pretty standard issue run of the mill nothing to talk about generic Mexican. When I say always I mean the past four or five years.
There are Mariachi groups wandering the premises taking requests which can be fun. They're better at their jobs than the so so service.
Until that night Natali H. described... before that night Moreno's mediocre food and service was close to making me forget about the patio and just never eat there again. After that night of the worst service ever combined with worse management ever I have vowed to spread the word that Moreno's is run by a bunch of jerks and the food/service sucks!
I don't even remember that we got 50% off our bill (once we found the manager ourselves). All I remember is the manager being super pissed right off the bat and talking to us like we were the assholes for sitting around with no food, water, snacks, drinks... you name it for hours. When we found him all we wanted was to say that they needed to be aware of the fact that they dropped the ball on our table in case they need to change how things were run... I assumed this bad service was probably a pattern and that if enough complaints came in they would be forced to step it up. We weren't even asking for a discount at all. I remember actually stating that we weren't looking to get a discount.
The place sucks. Maybe if you have a huge party, a hunger for the outdoors, and you want food that is sort of Mexican foodish they will be able to accommodate you better than some restaurants but I would look elsewhere first.
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I use to date a guy that lived right around the corner, so we frequented Moreno's often on nice nights, mostly for the nice patio. The food was always alright and the service ok.
That is, until I had The Worst Dining Experience Ever.
I feel the need to add the disclaimer that yes, I work in the service industry. While this does make me a little more aware of errors in typical service, it also gives me a good understanding and allows me to be pretty forgiving. I know things can get rough.
We waited awhile for our server, he showed up, we ordered, we never saw him again. No more chips, no drink refills, he just disappeared. We were finished for a long time before we grabbed a busboy to get us our check. We asked him if we could speak to a manager. Oops.
He informed us that the manager was busy and if we wanted to speak with him we would have to find him ourselves. So we wandered around the restaurant until we found him at the front desk. Ok.
We explained to him that in the few minutes we interacted with our server, he was very nice and kind, but that we felt he was probably too busy to give us proper service. We never saw him, never got refills, everything took longer than usual, etc. That in all of our frequent visits there, service had always been much better...
He then told us that this wasn't McDonalds. That I was insulting one of their better servers and looking for a handout. He asked me what I wanted him to do about it.
This was my first (and last) time EVER complaining to management about bad service, at any restaurant. I was floored and started tearing up.
He ended up giving us 50% off. I am a sucker. I still tipped.
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My favorite shredded beef tacos ever. The meat has an awesome flavor, stuffed with tons of cheese. The side of rice and beans are a bit bland.
The Chips are good only when they are fresh, The salsa is basic but very good and the side of spicy carrots and onions are great.
I've been here so many times ive had most every server. They are all very good for the most part. The bus boys that refill your drinks, etc are amazing. One guy is on top of everything i ever need.
The owners son and daughter are sometimes a bit on the rude side. Maybe not so much as rude as a sense that they would rather be somewhere else.
Albondigas soup is great, spicy, good meatballs.
Machaca is bland, i wouldnt order it.
Burritos are all good.
Enchiladas are amazing!!
If you go.... stick to the shredded beef or chicken tacos and you can't go wrong. There is no better taco around.
If you get a cadillac margarita bring a designated driver cuz they are pretty gnarly.
Atmosphere on the outside patio gets 5 stars for a Mexican restaurant, especially in the summertime. Great place to chill with friends and family.
Here is the one main beef i have with Moreno's, and if they were smart they'd listen to this
---------------------------------------
When you order your food they almost always get it out to your table so freaking fast you hardly have time to drink half of your drink. Now that is great service. But if you like to drink alcohol and have conversations before the food comes, it sucks.
I end up finishing my meal with just one drink, and instead of ordering 2 i just pay the bill.
Sometimes when im partying with friends i'd like to at least be ready for drink #2 when the food comes so i can order another. Who wants to be an alchy and order a drink when the food is already finished?
Slow it down Morenos!! :P
I knew something was wrong when we walked in and saw a framed picture of good ol' George H.W. Bush pretending to make tortillas...and sadly, the food was about as tasty as if Bush senor (sorry, I couldn't resist) was in the back making all the food himself.
Like so many reviewers I, too, pass Moreno's every day and was excited to celebrate the roommate's bday there. I was impressed with the heat of the pickled (?) carrot appetizer that accompanies the typical chips and salsa. While the salsa was much to be desired (straight from the jar to your table!), the carrots were so wonderfully spicy that when I bit into the much-lauded taco, it tasted bland in comparison. The food gets one star, but the service--the servers were friendly, prompt, and downright hilarious when it came to the cheesy bday song...in fact, I would give them 5 stars for working at this joint and keeping a genuine smile on their faces. Despite this, however, my experience at Moreno's was an unremarkable and somewhat pricey meal that even George would balk at.
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I love this mexcan restaurant! During peak lunch and dinner times, this place is always packed, so I normally come here for early luhcn with my friends (They open at 11AM for lunch).
A few of the many things I love about this restaurant is pickled carrots and their house salsa sauce.
Oh, this is also President Bush's favorite Mexican restaurant, I heard.
Eh...
I've been to Moreno's several times...including twice in the past two weeks...and the best way I can describe it is "Eh..."
They have a great outdoor patio that is big and a great place to enjoy a pretty night or a nice day, but with all of the trees out there you get a lot of leaves in your food and bugs, bees and wasps flying around as you eat. Just something to be aware of if you decide to eat outside.
If you decide to eat inside, the decor leaves a little something to be desired. Struck me as kinda cheesy.
The chips and salsa...eh.
The food...eh.
There was really nothing special about anything I have eaten here. It wasn't bad, but it was nothing special either. Just "eh..."
The service was also "eh..." I had one server a few days ago who could hardly be bothered to help our table. Some other servers were better, but it's always that bad experience that you remember, you know? We were a large party, but were literally the ONLY party on the patio at one point and we could not get her to help us at all. Through the course of our stay, she actually had us close out so she could go home and was replaced by a guy who was much more attentive and helpful, but it was hard to forget the bad experience from earlier.
I'll probably go here again. It's near my work and good for large parties out on the patio, so when my rowdy group of work buddies needs a place to head for a last minute happy hour, it's always a decent option. I just have to remember it's pretty "eh..." and not expect too much from Moreno's.
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When I first moved to Orange, I was enthralled at how busy this place was on the weekends. The restaurant was situated on a not so nice street, but yet still had the pull of something magical.
A companion and I had stumbled in unknowingly two years ago...thinking it HAD to be good...I mean, look at how pretty it was on the outside. Sadly, I was mistaken...
So you can only imagine how I felt after even contemplating a return to the restaurant this past Sunday evening. It wasn't by personal choice however, as my best friend was moving and it was her last dinner out. So with a heavy heart, I accepted the inevitability of a disappointing food experience. After all, best friend always trumps bad food. I think that's in the bible.
Anyway, upon arriving for the second time...this time with boyfriend in tow, we were seated outside and away from the famous "wall of celebrities", into what I'd like to call the courtyard of middle aged white people (although sometimes it was veering more towards geriatric).
Not that I have anything against white people...my boyfriend is after all as white as white can be and I love him to pieces. But honestly, how could a restaurant be that authentic if most of the people eating there aren't even of that ethnic descent?
I silence my concerns and order one of what my friend calls a "crack margarita". Why is it called a "crack margarita" you ask? Well, that's because it has twice as much tequila in it than your normal everyday TGI McFunster's margarita. Yes, this one is chocked full of tequila and a few drops of sweet and sour mix...but if you order the ULTIMO...yes ULTIMO you get an additional generous shot with it. So in actuality you're drinking to two tasty margaritas for the price of one.
Okay, I'm going to cut straight to the food. Or, if you could really call that tasteless compilation of items on my plate that resembled mexican food. I ordered the taco combo, at the recommendation of my friend who also admits the food is so so.
Well, I never knew this, but apparently shredded beef taco meat is supposed to be sweet. It was disturbing...I was expecting to bite into this average taco, only to find that the meat was dry, chewy, and overcooked in some kind of barbecue sauce courtesy of Kraft Foods.
Fine, I thought... I could just fill up on rice and beans. Sadly, no. The beans that tasted like...well...nothing. I think I cardboard would probably be as tasty as the beans. The rice was equally as bad...as it too, did not have any flavor. I was left to my own devices as I desperately reached for the mediocre salsa on the table to make the items on my plate edible. I managed to eat the taco and a small portions of the beans and rice after liberally coating it with salsa.
I think I know Moreno's secret now...you know, why the crowds keep coming back for more? A nice piece of real estate to draw the hoards in and a generous flow of alcohol that will make them think that they what they're actually eating...is good.
Which brings me to this disheartening conclusion... eating at Moreno's makes me think more highly of Taco Bell.
Run for the border y'all!
The history behind this restaurant is pretty interesting and it's one of those places that you always drive by thinking that you should eat there one day. Finally that one day arrived.
The salsa was decent, but only if you like your salsa hot. My tamale was a bit cold, but the taco was good. Big portions. My friends seemed to enjoy their burritos, so maybe it's not that bad of a place after all. It's definitely great for big groups.
The thing that I liked about the place was the mariachi band that came to each table.
*** Death of a Great Mexican Restaurant ***
Generations of my family have dined here but, alas, no more.
It happened last weekend, my cute asian friend wanted Mexican so, I promised to make this the best Mexican experience ever--well, other than me.
So we arrive at Morenos and one thing stands out right away, "where are all the Mexicans? There's only blue-haired ladies in here." You can tell if a place is good just by looking for the locals; none were to be found. Strange.
Next, how can I describe the horror of salsa from a can or jar? To be fair, it appeared that they cut up some tomatoes and tossed them into canned sauce; please note that the salsa from a fake-Mexican restaurant like El Torito is even better than this stuff. This is sooo different than past visits; Morenos always had salsa that would burn your tongue....what happened? I even asked the waitor, who was very kind, if they could make me something hotter and he politely said, "No." Sad.
Our meals consisted of Chili Colorado Burrito and Enchiladas Shredded Beef. Dismay. Again, the sauce was all wrong. On top of that, the meat inside was cold...I looked around thinking we were in the wrong restaurant...this was reality:
Morenos is gone. Does anyone know what happened? Did it get bought by Taco Bell?
Bert
"Always looking for good food"
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I pass Moreno's twice a day. Once on the way to work, and again on the way back. You'd think that after hundreds of times driving by this place I'd actually stop in to see what all the fuss was about (especially on the weekends). Well, we decided to finally drop in for a late lunch/early dinner...since El Prego (the wifey) was craving some Mexican food.
For starters, you can't miss this place. It's right on Chapman Avenue in Orange (close to the Mining Co. and Orange Hill Restaurant). The place looks like an old Spanish-style ranch house, except that this one's surrounded by asphalt and busy streets. The outdoor eating area is huge and the inside can also hold its own in the 'seating capacity' department. The decor leaves much to be desired (padded chairs reminiscent of my younger days in church; heavily plastered walls) and didn't really justify the price of our meal. If you ever decide to eat here, be wary of the 'false entrance.' This being our first visit, we assumed the front door beneath the "Moreno's" moniker would be the main entrance. Wrong! You actually have to maneuver through or around the patio/dining area in order to make it to the 'real' entrance.
The menu is pretty standard compared to your standard sit-down Mexican restaurant (eg - El Torito, Acapulco). Quesadillas, tacos, burritos, chimichangas, taquitos, tostadas, and a multitude of combination plates can be found here. They also have a tasty (but oily) Albondigas (meatball) soup and even menudo (Sat/Sun only until 2:30pm). Complimentary chips and salsa is your standard appetizer and they were tasty. The salsa was flavorful, but not spicy at all. It's a bit more on the thick, but smooth, side of the salsa scale, so if you like watery salsa or pico de gallo, you might want to look elsewhere. I am partial to the more uncommon dishes, so my eyes (and stomach) ventured over to the Platillos Mexicanos section for an entree. I hadn't had chile verde in a while, so I ordered that ($15.50 on the dinner menu). Savory, juicy chunks of pork in a green [tomatillo] sauce came piping hot along with beans, rice, and my choice of tortillas. I opted for the corn and they were very fresh and handmade (I'm assuming, due to the thickness of the tortillas). Unfortunately, I could tell that this place wasn't as 'authentic' as they would like to be since they served the tortillas with butter. Hmmm...maybe Bert J. (see other reviews of this place) knows what he's talking 'bout...Anyway, my food was decent. The cuts of meat were a bit fatty, but that's where all the flavor comes from, right?
Overall, I'd say this place was average. Yes, there weren't many Mexicans actually eating here, but I didn't think that took anything away from the 'authenticity' of their food...just their clientele. Since we arrived for a late lunch, the place wasn't that busy at all. Look out on Friday nights and weekends. The parking lot is usually filled during these busy times...it's like a bad driver convention. Sunday brunch is served until 2:30 pm and, interestingly enough, they're open until they close...which, from my understanding, means they shut down whenever they fell like it (?). Bottom line: don't expect a 'wow factor' from the food, but you may get it from the travelling Mariachis at dinner and on the weekends.
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3.5 Stars
My hubby and I had been wanting to try this place for a while now, we pass it daily and always look at it, but never seem to venture into the place. It's a really nice place from the outside, it always looks very festive and there are always people sitting outside in the big eating area enjoying their meals and drinks. It reminds me of a Spanish Villa with the old architecture and wrought (sp?) iron gates etc.
Arnold and I decided to go there for a late lunch on Good Friday and it was pretty empty. We decided to eat inside since it was a bit chilly outside. Once inside the place looked pretty old and not as nice as the outside looked, but oh well, I was just there for the food. I always like a combination of things so I ordered a combo plate with a shredded beef taco, and a pork tamale with beans and rice. I had heard about the tacos from a neighbor so I was really glad I got one, because that was the best part of my meal. The taco was a hand fried shell cooked until it was thin and crisp filled with tasty, juicy beef and lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese. It was perfect. My tamale was just eh... It had a bunch of mole sauce on it, that kind of ruined the whole thing. I love tamales untouched with no sauce, so I can taste the maiz and the meat filling. With the mole sauce all I could taste was that and it ruined the tamale for me so I would say stick to the tacos. The refried beans were really savory, I'm pretty sure there was lard or some type of meat fattiness to flavor the beans because they tasted so darn good and the spanish rice was fine. So if you ever go here, get the tacos and the beans and rice and you can't go wrong.
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