Carniceria San Juan de Los Lagos

Delicious!

Service was fast and staff was very friendly. The salsa, food and aguas frescas were amazing!!! Definitely recommend this place.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Amazing place it’s a restaurant and a Mexican store at the same time. Birria tacos are fantastic they serve the food in clay pots and plates which is really cool. Drink are good try the mango agua fresca if it’s available. Get some candy from the store too! Highly recommend

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Five stars all around for food, vibes and service!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The menus are all in Spanish and the staff aren’t big on English but it’s a very friendly place with some truly excellent food. So very worth it.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Really excellent

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Delicious food but over priced. You will wait for your food

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Anything with carne asada is great.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Delicious parillada . we'll served. 5*****

Excellent authentic comida Mexicana. I had the nachos with carne asada plus Mexican coke.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Carneceria San Juan de los Lagos: Where Gringos Fear to Tread and Tacos Reign Supreme

So I told my wife, “I want something authentic.” And boy, did the universe say, “Bet.”

Carneceria San Juan de los Lagos in Carlsbad, NM is the real deal. No frills, no cutesy sombreros on the wall, no QR code menus with English translations. This is straight-up Mexico dropped onto a New Mexico street corner—and I, a humble gringo, was not emotionally prepared.

First off, unless your Duolingo owl has been threatening your life lately, ordering here is going to be a bit of a spicy adventure. I busted out Google Translate like I was defusing a bomb, trying to explain that nachos were an apertivo. Apparently, “apertivo” means “bring it out when we feel like it,” because those nachos showed up fashionably late—like, after the entrees late. But hey, fashionably late nachos are still nachos.

I ordered the quesabirria tacos because I saw the word “birria” and panicked, and my wife played it safe with a quesadilla. Pro move. Both were really good—juicy, cheesy, and messy in the best way—but the prices had me wondering if I accidentally ordered in pesos and got charged in euros.

Let’s be honest: for gringos like me, this is a bit of a culture shock. You don’t get the warm, fuzzy “we have mild salsa and Diet Coke” vibe. You get “you better know what you want, say it confidently, and don’t ask for ranch.” The food? Delicious. The experience? A little humbling. The tab? Unexpectedly steep for what felt like a back-of-the-butcher-shop taqueria.

So here’s my final take:
Three stars for clueless tourists like me.
Five glorious, cilantro-sprinkled stars for those who speak the language—literally and culinarily.

Carneceria San Juan de los Lagos isn’t here to make you feel comfortable. It’s here to feed you. And if you survive the ordering process with dignity intact? You’ve earned that birria

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 5

Service: 3

The food is amazing!! The staff are polite and very accommodating

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

When you buy groceries non taxable they charge you tax ask for the receipt and you find out you got charged tax and if you pay cash they charge you for using the debit card when you don't use it charging tax on non taxable items it's against the law but your receipt says that you eat it there when you're not that when tax comes in does anyone knows a phone number to call to make a report it's not right

Service: 1

Most authentic Mexican in Carlsbad, massive portions, decent service, definitely worth the trip from out of town. The price makes it a once in a while sit down restaurant

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 3

Food was amazing. I had enchiladas con pollo asado. Really good.