Expensive, bland food. Unfriendly, no-smiles service, young workers lacking intuition. If they were Latino, I’m sure I would have gotten a warm welcome! My first time in California, my first time ever seeing the Pacific ocean… was excited, told them this, was even joking around and *still* no smiles. I speculate because I was wearing my work clothes with paint on my shirt and shorts and they had shallow pre-conceptions.
She asked if I needed utensils and napkins. I said napkins. If I had known that I would have to make the fajitas myself, I would have gotten utensils. Instead, there I am back at the room scooping refried beans and rice with my soggy chips and fingers onto 1 of the 2 tortilla shells.
$25 for 2 fajitas, medium portion, but couldn’t even use 1/3 the ingredients, peppers chopped in quarters with the seeds left in, long wild onion looks like asparagus, hard to chew thru and tasted like onion grass, avocado cut into quarters, not even avocado sauce, yesterday was green, today is almost black, put 5 chips in the container and melted the cheese onto the chips, but I would rather have the cheese in the fajitas and the chips outside, didn’t even try the little bit of salsa on the side, chicken had a good seasoning but not enough, also not enough cheese, rice, refried beans, non-jalapeno peppers, and no sour cream at all.
Loud atmosphere, but at least there was also outdoor seating.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Kelly Peters
Place is elite, a must stop for Mexican food lovers.
Austin Thomas
We went in to get a to go order takeout got two burritos and they were total of $28 we then opened up the bag and the burritos were super small and I got the turf and surf burrito and it was literally bell peppers and shrimp. Would not recommend the place, but the waitress was nice.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 5
MSAC
A great SoCal location and nice old school vibe!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Conner Pabloff
Tacos were bland, unseasoned, and overpriced. Genuinely some of the worst tacos I have ever ate. The food took a while to come out when the restaurant was practically empty. On the bright side they gave unlimited chips and salsa which were okay, however, the salsa was too sweet and not spicy enough. Overall poor dining experience, would not recommend.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 2
Cristal S
Nice outdoor restaurant near the beach. Great food and great location!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Joshua Poulsen
Norte Mexican Food (Carlsbad Village)
🌮 Food Quality: Very Bland, Lacking Authenticity
Many diners describe it as “Gringo food” with little to no real Mexican flavor. One recent review said: *“The food was so bland and just poor quality we couldn’t finish it… The burrito had nothing but plain chicken… the sauce was unrecognizable—maybe tomato soup?”
Others echo the same sentiment: “Order arrived late… food was bland, not the same as usual.”
Some even critique the salsa and sides: “salsa tasted like pizza sauce,” “off ‘old oil’ taste to the rice,” and “guacamole seemed like it had been frozen.”
Overall, unless you’re content with generic American-style Mexican dishes, the food here may fall flat.
👍 Service & Atmosphere: A Standout
Service gets consistent praise: “Prompt and friendly,” “waiters and waitresses can’t do enough for you,” and “great location to the beach.”
Patrons appreciate the laid-back, family‑friendly vibe and the beach‑village setting: “Nice atmosphere outside… even though tourists are their bread and butter, locals love it too.”
Verdict: Not Recommended for Flavor, But Friendly Otherwise
If you’re after vibrant, authentic Mexican food, Norte may disappoint—it’s often described as “very bland” or “just standard” . However, if you're just looking for friendly service and a casual spot by the beach, it hits those marks well.
Final takeaway: Great service, solid vibe—but the food lacks punch. I’d steer clear unless flavor isn't your priority.
⭐ Would not recommend Norte for flavor. 😊 Two thumbs up for the service and atmosphere.
Shawna Palmer
Albondigas soup is good, but service, not so much. The last three times we've been here service has been sub par. Being an F&B supervisor/ lead server, these women need to be retrained and show that they enjoy where they work and not make the guests feel like they are bothering the server. With a positive, friendly attitude, they will more likely see an increase in tips.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 1
Ellen Juarez
First time going here, and food was incredible overprice I just got 2 drink which I didn’t realize they, were 4.50$ each I thought they were less and I just ordered 2 burritos 🌯 ending up paying 40$ that was so expensive, definitely not worth it.
Food was okay. For some reason, our order was ready in just 5 minutes, and the plates were extremely hot—which to me suggests they had just been reheated. Not impressed by that.
When the server brought the food, he had to reach over me and my mom to serve the third person at our table. He was carrying three large, hot plates at once and did this twice. That was uncomfortable and unprofessional.
This was my second visit, and it will be my last.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Brent Ellis
We were staying a few blocks away so the location was good. Place is cool, with a great patio. Our server was excellent too. That's where the positives end. This was probably the blandest Mexican food I've ever had. Zero flavor. I also had a skinny margarita that was void of anything good. It was also more expensive than a regular marg. Why?? It has less ingredients! This place has been around for over 40 years apparently and honestly I don't know how. There are other reviews like this so I'm not the only one. Please add some flavor and spice!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 5
John Shields
Best place to go in Carlsbad for Mexican food and great atmosphere and service
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
tara hale
This place has gone down hill. Margarita was 👎🏻 food wasn’t bad. Portion size for price wasn’t good. Service was friendly but we never saw our server
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 2
Devon Usery
It took 25 minutes to get water, it took an hour and half to get food and we had to keep flagging someone down to get any help. Our waitress pretty much ignored us the entire time. We have been coming here for years, but now we won’t be back.
Expensive, bland food. Unfriendly, no-smiles service, young workers lacking intuition. If they were Latino, I’m sure I would have gotten a warm welcome! My first time in California, my first time ever seeing the Pacific ocean… was excited, told them this, was even joking around and *still* no smiles. I speculate because I was wearing my work clothes with paint on my shirt and shorts and they had shallow pre-conceptions.
She asked if I needed utensils and napkins. I said napkins. If I had known that I would have to make the fajitas myself, I would have gotten utensils. Instead, there I am back at the room scooping refried beans and rice with my soggy chips and fingers onto 1 of the 2 tortilla shells.
$25 for 2 fajitas, medium portion, but couldn’t even use 1/3 the ingredients, peppers chopped in quarters with the seeds left in, long wild onion looks like asparagus, hard to chew thru and tasted like onion grass, avocado cut into quarters, not even avocado sauce, yesterday was green, today is almost black, put 5 chips in the container and melted the cheese onto the chips, but I would rather have the cheese in the fajitas and the chips outside, didn’t even try the little bit of salsa on the side, chicken had a good seasoning but not enough, also not enough cheese, rice, refried beans, non-jalapeno peppers, and no sour cream at all.
Loud atmosphere, but at least there was also outdoor seating.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Place is elite, a must stop for Mexican food lovers.
We went in to get a to go order takeout got two burritos and they were total of $28 we then opened up the bag and the burritos were super small and I got the turf and surf burrito and it was literally bell peppers and shrimp. Would not recommend the place, but the waitress was nice.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 5
A great SoCal location and nice old school vibe!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Tacos were bland, unseasoned, and overpriced. Genuinely some of the worst tacos I have ever ate. The food took a while to come out when the restaurant was practically empty. On the bright side they gave unlimited chips and salsa which were okay, however, the salsa was too sweet and not spicy enough. Overall poor dining experience, would not recommend.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 2
Nice outdoor restaurant near the beach. Great food and great location!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Norte Mexican Food (Carlsbad Village)
🌮 Food Quality: Very Bland, Lacking Authenticity
Many diners describe it as “Gringo food” with little to no real Mexican flavor. One recent review said: *“The food was so bland and just poor quality we couldn’t finish it… The burrito had nothing but plain chicken… the sauce was unrecognizable—maybe tomato soup?”
Others echo the same sentiment: “Order arrived late… food was bland, not the same as usual.”
Some even critique the salsa and sides: “salsa tasted like pizza sauce,” “off ‘old oil’ taste to the rice,” and “guacamole seemed like it had been frozen.”
Overall, unless you’re content with generic American-style Mexican dishes, the food here may fall flat.
👍 Service & Atmosphere: A Standout
Service gets consistent praise: “Prompt and friendly,” “waiters and waitresses can’t do enough for you,” and “great location to the beach.”
Patrons appreciate the laid-back, family‑friendly vibe and the beach‑village setting: “Nice atmosphere outside… even though tourists are their bread and butter, locals love it too.”
Verdict: Not Recommended for Flavor, But Friendly Otherwise
Category Rating
Flavor / Authenticity ⭐ (Bland, unmemorable)
Service ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Friendly, attentive)
Ambience ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Beach‑village charm)
If you’re after vibrant, authentic Mexican food, Norte may disappoint—it’s often described as “very bland” or “just standard” . However, if you're just looking for friendly service and a casual spot by the beach, it hits those marks well.
Final takeaway: Great service, solid vibe—but the food lacks punch. I’d steer clear unless flavor isn't your priority.
⭐ Would not recommend Norte for flavor.
😊 Two thumbs up for the service and atmosphere.
Albondigas soup is good, but service, not so much. The last three times we've been here service has been sub par. Being an F&B supervisor/ lead server, these women need to be retrained and show that they enjoy where they work and not make the guests feel like they are bothering the server. With a positive, friendly attitude, they will more likely see an increase in tips.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 1
First time going here, and food was incredible overprice I just got 2 drink which I didn’t realize they, were 4.50$ each I thought they were less and I just ordered 2 burritos 🌯 ending up paying 40$ that was so expensive, definitely not worth it.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 3
Delicious carnitas
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Food was okay. For some reason, our order was ready in just 5 minutes, and the plates were extremely hot—which to me suggests they had just been reheated. Not impressed by that.
When the server brought the food, he had to reach over me and my mom to serve the third person at our table. He was carrying three large, hot plates at once and did this twice. That was uncomfortable and unprofessional.
This was my second visit, and it will be my last.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
We were staying a few blocks away so the location was good. Place is cool, with a great patio. Our server was excellent too. That's where the positives end. This was probably the blandest Mexican food I've ever had. Zero flavor. I also had a skinny margarita that was void of anything good. It was also more expensive than a regular marg. Why?? It has less ingredients! This place has been around for over 40 years apparently and honestly I don't know how. There are other reviews like this so I'm not the only one. Please add some flavor and spice!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 5
Best place to go in Carlsbad for Mexican food and great atmosphere and service
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This place has gone down hill. Margarita was 👎🏻 food wasn’t bad. Portion size for price wasn’t good. Service was friendly but we never saw our server
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 2
It took 25 minutes to get water, it took an hour and half to get food and we had to keep flagging someone down to get any help. Our waitress pretty much ignored us the entire time. We have been coming here for years, but now we won’t be back.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
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