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Carmelita's Mexican Restaurant has been serving Grandma Carmelita's amazing Mexican "Puebla style" Mexican cuisine to Roseville for 60 years! Over the years, his fine restaurant has become a downtown Roseville destination for diners who savor delicious Mexican food, and enjoy a quality dining experience in a fine dining room. As with all restaurant reviews I publish, I have no affiliation with the restaurant reviewed, and there is no monetary gain on my part, as I am simply a person who likes to eat, and I love to write-up, and publish my dining experiences.
Photo: It's just before the 11:00 in the morning opening time of Carmelita's Mexican Restaurant on Sunday, March 06, 2022, and I'm ready enjoy Sunday brunch. Carmelita's has been serving fine Mexican food to Roseville from this same location since 1962, and has since branched out to a total of three restaurants, with one store in nearby Fair Oaks, and the newest location at the opposite end of the state, in San Diego.
Photo: As you enter the restaurant, you'll be greeted by a friendly staff member, who will welcome you, seat you at one of the many booths in the large dining room, and give you a menu. Carmelita's has been in the same location for 60 years, but the dining has been periodically updated, expanded, and is very spacious and comfortable.
Photo: The large dining room is very spacious, comfortable and nicely decorated. There is a small bar at the rear of the restaurant that offers many Mexican and domestic beers on tap - or in the bottle - wine, Micheladas, along with a seemingly endless variety of Margaritas.
Photo: The bar is small, but makes a very inviting place to enjoy a "cold one" or simply relax and enjoy your meal. Besides the wide array of Margaritas, you can order Mimosas, Bloody Mary's, or almost any drink with a Mexican flavor.
Photo: Today I sat at the bar, so I could watch all of the action, and chat with the friendly staff. My host, Oscar, makes a Margarita at the bar. Note the taps with Mexican beer, along with the bottles of tequila.
Photo: Right after greeting me, my host, Oscar, brought out a large basket of fresh, warm-from-the-kitchen tortilla chips, along with a small bowl of red salsa, and refried bean dip. This absolutely delicious appetizer was included with the price of my meal, and made for great munching as I looked over the menu, and comtemplated what I was going to order. The chips, salsa and bean dip are SO good, that they could almost make for your meal!
Photo: On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, a one-page "Brunch Menu" is added to the regular menu, which makes weekends extra special at Carmelita's Mexican Restaurant. Today I ordered from the "top" of the "Brunch Menu," and my choice was "Steak and Eggs Ranchero." Click on the menu image to see the complete weekday menu, along with the bar menu.
Photo: From the dining room there is an open door to the kitchen, where you can take a peek at the talented kitchen staff at work, performing their magic.
Photo: My talented and friendly host, Oscar, just mixed up a couple of Micheladas, as I sat at the bar, enjoying the atmosphere, and listening to traditional "banda" music that was softly playing in the background.
Photo: Rosa shows her talent, and drink making skills, as she mixes up Margaritas at the bar.
Photo: Meet Oscar, my amazingly friendly host who brought my order to me with a smile. Oscar provided friendly and efficient service, and always had a cheerful word to say. On this late Sunday morning, my order was ready about twenty minutes after I placed it, which made for very fast service, which was nice, but I wasn't in a hurry, as it was the weekend, and I'm never in a hurry on weekends.
Photo: Thanks Oscar for snapping my photo, as I'm a happy guy, as I'm ready enjoy an amazing Mexican breakfast at Carmelita's Mexican Restaurant, in downtown Roseville.
Photo: From the "Brunch Menu," which is served on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, I went with the "Steak and Eggs Ranchero," which is at the top of the menu. The menu describes this amazing entree as, "Hand cut Angus steak cooked medium, two eggs over medium, plus fajita vegetables, green poblano salsa, pico de gallo, with ranchero potatoes, and choice of tortillas." If you prefer rice and beans, you could substitute them for the potatoes, but I went with this fine breakfast, as listed on the menu. The presentation was simply beautiful to admire, but even better to eat and enjoy! Ranchero potatoes, also known as "Mexican potatoes" served as a "base" for the breakfast, as the meat, veggies and eggs were layered on top of the potatoes. The potatoes were seasoned Russet potatoes, cut into small to medium size pieces, and lightly grilled to a light, golden brown. Grilled "Fajita style" veggies of red onion, with green, red and yellow bell pepper were layered on top of the potatoes, and the slab of two fried eggs, along with the steak finished the main plate. On the side was a small plate with three hot corn tortillas, rolled in paper, along with a small cups of poblano salsa - salsa verde - and pico de gallo, fresh from the kitchen. The steak, better known on the menu as carne asada, arrived grilled medium, as per my request, but the kitchen would have been happy to grill it any way that you order it. The steak was cut into strips about a quarter-inch thick, marinated, and perfectly grilled, with grill marks on the outside, yet tender, juicy and "slightly pink" on the inside... perfect... just the way I love my steak. The steak "fork tender" to cut, so the knife was simply "window dressing." "Steak and Eggs Ranchero" is only served on Friday and weekends, but it's a south-of-the-border brunch that is worth waiting until the weekend to enjoy. The potatoes were absolutely wonderful, and when topped with the grilled veggies, fried eggs, along with the tender, juicy carne asada... this made a meal to simply savor and enjoy! The poblano salsa and pico de gallo were delicious, but simply a side to this amazing breakfast, and the warm, moist corn tortillas were perfect to mop up the juice, so I didn't a drop of this amazing breakfast.
Photo: The main plate of "Steak and Eggs Ranchero," showing all of the goodness, including the tasty and colorful red onion, along with the red, yellow and green bell pepper slices. After 60 years in business, Carmelita's Mexican Restaurant has truly become a Roseville icon, thanks to the friendly service, delicious food, and Grandma Carmelita's "old school" Mexican recipes. When you're in the mood for some of the finest Mexican cuisine in Placer County, look to Carmelita's Mexican Restaurant, located in Roseville, CA. Back on Wednesday, March 20, 2013, my wife and I enjoyed lunch at Carmelita's Mexican Restaurant. Here's the article I posted about our dining experience... Today, March 20, 2013 is my 61st birthday, and my lovely wife offered to treat me to lunch at the restaurant of my choice. If you follow my food adventures, you'd most likely guess that I'd choose Mexican cusine, and you're right! I had never had the opportunity to visit Carmelita's Restaurant, on Riverside Ave., but I'd heard they were family oriented, served good food, and had received rave reviews on Yelp, and other web sites. So, it was a date at Carmelita's Restaurant!
Photo: Carmelita's is located just south of downtown Roseville, on the east side of the railroad tracks. You park on Riverside Ave., or a side street, but parking is adequate, and it's free, and you can always park nearby the restaurant.
Photo: The entrance to the restaurant from the front door. The bar is in the center, and additional dining is to the right of the photo. We sat in the left rear of the restaurant, not far from the kitchen. Check out the reviews on Yelp, as there are many of them, and generally very positive. However, I take reviews with a grain of salt...
Photo: Shortly after we were seated, our server brought a basket of freshly-made tortilla chips, black bean dip, and a bowl of runny salsa. The chips were among the best that I've head the pleasure to enjoy during my Roseville Mexican restaurant adventures, as they were fresh, not too salty, and just plain delicious. Carmelita's Restaurant is the first, and only, Mexican restaurant that I've visited in Roseville that offers black bean dip.
Photo: The kitchen is open for viewing, so I had to stick my head in and snap a photo. By commercial standards, it's quite modest and compact.
Photo: Our friendly server, Rosa, places my plate of carnitas on the table, as she holds Sharlene's lunch of a chicken tamale, rice and beans.
Photo: Sharlene and I pose with our lunch. I'm enjoying a 22-oz Pacifico beer, as Sharlene volunteered to drive.
Photo: My lunch of carnitas, rice, refried beans and flour tortillas. Garnishes include fresh, pico de gallo, sour cream and guacamole. Actually, I ordered corn tortillas, but they brought flour by mistake, so it was one of those "Oh well," moments. The lunch was delicious! The food is delicious and authentic, but quite "mainstream," so if you're at home in a Tijuana loncheria, Carmelita's might seem a bit too fancy for your tastes. Carmelita's Restaurant would be a great choice to take your family to dinner, or for "Aunt Dorothy" from Kansas who's never eaten Mexican food before. The "Yelpers" were right, as Carmelita's Restaurant serves delicious, albeit quite "mainstream" Mexican food, the service is great, and the dining is friendly. If you enjoy authentic Mexican food, Carmelita's Restaurant is an excellent choice. Carmelita's
Mexican Restaurant Copyright(c) 2022 eRench Productions. All rights reserved. We've been on the web since December 22, 2002.
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