Hacienda La Joya

S Montanez (Monty)

Always AMAZING and consistent on quality and quantity 👍.. This is our GO TO for authentic Mexican food.. And a great family owned not served out if a box or can style food.. Best Chilli Relleno in the COUNTY

Jay Keyes

Hacienda La Joya is a diner in a Mission Viejo strip mall that specializes in both American and Mexican breakfasts, sandwiches, and burgers. I wasn't sure what to expect before I walked in, but I was immediately set at ease with Hacienda La Joya's welcoming décor, clean tables, and its delightful and familiar aromas of meats being sizzled, onions being sautéed, eggs being griddled, and pancake batter being cooked. For my breakfast, I ordered the "Taco Combo #2," which consisted of two tacos, rice, and refried beans for $6.99. The first taco I ate was the "Carne Asada Taco," which is delivered wrapped in foil, with two white corn tortillas, melted cheese, onions, and cilantro along with the well-seasoned beef, tender and soft. In fact, this is soft enough to be lengua, but it really is just well-marinated beef. My other taco selection was the "Hard Shell Potato Taco," which contains home fried potato chunks cooked on a greasy plancha, the starches of the potato adhering to the grill surface and crisping up in the best ways you want your breakfast potatoes to cook, with crunchy edges and smooth, soft innards. And yet the best aspect of these potatoes was not the texture, but rather the mildly spicy seasoning blend that really brought them to life. This is an uncanny potato taco -- a "breakfast"-style potato taco rather than the usual mashed potato-style tacos -- which makes it uniquely awesome. You must ask for salsa on the side, as it does not normally come out with the Taco Combo. Don't expect much heat from it, it is somewhere between "bell pepper" and "Tapatio" on the Scoville scale, but it is otherwise a decent-tasting rustic salsa with freshly chopped tomatoes, onions, and cilantro. Karina Franco owns and runs this vibrant Mexican "greasy spoon" diner with her husband Carlos. They inherited the place from Mrs. Franco's mother and have built a stellar local reputation that I believe is well-deserved based on my 7:30am Sunday morning visit in May.

tradehead

Just had the chicken tacos for taco Tues in flour tortillas . Very good! Great flavor. I love salsa. Their salsa has a bit too much cilantro. The women that work here I think one is the owner and the waitress are just so unfriendly. I’ve been in here 15-20 times , always unfriendly

George U.

The food is very good and authentic. A very quaint little place with nice Music playing and beer and wine is available. Highly recommend as the food and service is A plus. Their breakfasts are awesome. Try the macahaca or the combo breakfast burrito and add beans. Carlos and his family serve good food and are terrific hosts. Highly recommended.

Mayur Patel

Great fresh Mexican food, which can be made vegetarian!

Yan Cui

Came with a friend in the morning. Definitely a hole in the wall. My friend wasn't a fan of the rice but I enjoyed it. Good food, good service!

Glad to know a place that has an authentic Mexican flavor to its food. Ironically, actual Mexican flavored food is quite hard to find even with the mass amounts of "mexican" food locations. Service was great.

I am so lucky that my girlfriend works close to this place because otherwise we would have never found it. I can not believe anyone would give the quality of food and flavors here anything less than 5 stars. We ordered takeout and they wrap the food so nicely it was still piping hot when it arrived home after a 20 minute drive. The owners are super nice and friendly. We can't wait to order from here again. Amazing food and I highly recommend.

Another local hidden gem. We went for dinner and enjoyed our meal. The salsa is made fresh and I ate too much! Lol. I showed no mercy to my chili relliano. I didn't even share!

Food is great and recommend the tacos as they are also gluten free.

My husband went there for breakfast right when they opened. It was an absolutely great way to wake up. Friendly and kind people, delicious coffee and the food was made with care and love.

**Update: I've been back multiple times since this review and I have had so many other entrees. EVERYTHING is delicious. I even prefer this over my husband's cooking now Nice atmosphere but the food...WOW!! this place has really flavorful food and a great selection. Planning to go back for their $1.25 taco Tuesday!

First off, they brew Farmer Brothers here, and it's great. But, most importantly, their food is great and it's all made here. Very nice people. My favorite are crispy tacos, beef and chicken, rice and beans. This is a small business and definitely worth supporting. This is more of a "sit down" place, but you can get food to go.

Joseph Hatami

Glad to know a place that has an authentic Mexican flavor to its food. Ironically, actual Mexican flavored food is quite hard to find even with the mass amounts of "mexican" food locations. Service was great.

Micah Reichman

Food is great and recommend the tacos as they are also gluten free.

Krisha Hartmann

Another local hidden gem. We went for dinner and enjoyed our meal. The salsa is made fresh and I ate too much! Lol. I showed no mercy to my chili relliano. I didn't even share!

nina afshar

This place takes your order for your children in a Hooman’s delivers it! You have to be a parent to know how amazing that is!

Julie Brabeck

My husband went there for breakfast right when they opened. It was an absolutely great way to wake up. Friendly and kind people, delicious coffee and the food was made with care and love.

Ali Forootan

I am so lucky that my girlfriend works close to this place because otherwise we would have never found it. I can not believe anyone would give the quality of food and flavors here anything less than 5 stars. We ordered takeout and they wrap the food so nicely it was still piping hot when it arrived home after a 20 minute drive. The owners are super nice and friendly. We can't wait to order from here again. Amazing food and I highly recommend.

Michael Schwartz

First off, they brew Farmer Brothers here, and it's great. But, most importantly, their food is great and it's all made here. Very nice people. My favorite are crispy tacos, beef and chicken, rice and beans. This is a small business and definitely worth supporting. This is more of a "sit down" place, but you can get food to go.

Kelly Macias

**Update: I've been back multiple times since this review and I have had so many other entrees. EVERYTHING is delicious. I even prefer this over my husband's cooking now Nice atmosphere but the food...WOW!! this place has really flavorful food and a great selection. Planning to go back for their $1.25 taco Tuesday!

Good spot, big portions for the burritos. Nothing special taste wise, but still a nice restaurant. Sat down got our food fairly quick and had a good time. Is it absolutely amazing Mexican food, no, but still great regardless. Would eat here again.

David Behbahani

Good spot, big portions for the burritos. Nothing special taste wise, but still a nice restaurant. Sat down got our food fairly quick and had a good time. Is it absolutely amazing Mexican food, no, but still great regardless. Would eat here again.

The food was really good. But the customer service was not the best. The girl kept giving me weird looks. And my take out order came out and was put on the table in a bag tied up and ready to go. But the girl just kept doing other things. I must've waited at least 10 minutes before she grabbed it and brought it over. I would've said something. But I didn't want to be pushy, especially if that wasn't even my order. But next time, I know better.

First time customer, mid week, mid day. Seated right away, served quickly. I ordered the horchata for a drink and it was exactly like the picture, and delicious! Will definitely return. Good tacos!

Kathie Thorsell

First time customer, mid week, mid day. Seated right away, served quickly. I ordered the horchata for a drink and it was exactly like the picture, and delicious! Will definitely return. Good tacos!

Danimaxed

The food was really good. But the customer service was not the best. The girl kept giving me weird looks. And my take out order came out and was put on the table in a bag tied up and ready to go. But the girl just kept doing other things. I must've waited at least 10 minutes before she grabbed it and brought it over. I would've said something. But I didn't want to be pushy, especially if that wasn't even my order. But next time, I know better.

Portions are nice and big. Horchata is refreshing, but a bit on the sweeter side. Might have to wait a bit for your food. Came with complimentary chips & salsa & you can ask for their hot sauce, which was pretty good. The owner is super nice and has a great personality! He made it very welcoming for us.

エミリー

Portions are nice and big. Horchata is refreshing, but a bit on the sweeter side. Might have to wait a bit for your food. Came with complimentary chips & salsa & you can ask for their hot sauce, which was pretty good. The owner is super nice and has a great personality! He made it very welcoming for us.

Found eggshells in my breakfast burrito. Management refused to refund me because I didn't report it 'immediately.' I was literally in a hospital bed at the time—calling a restaurant wasn't my first priority. Poor food quality and zero empathy for customers