La Unica

Delicious food at a good price, always fast service.

Good place for lunch & dinner. Best pick for food here is the torta ahogada (one of few places that makes em), burrito surf and turf is loaded with asada and shrimp! Not teased like other places.

April Burr

The staff is always amazing and supper nice.

Adrian

Delicious food at a good price, always fast service.

Cisco

Good place for lunch & dinner. Best pick for food here is the torta ahogada (one of few places that makes em), burrito surf and turf is loaded with asada and shrimp! Not teased like other places.

The asada tots were so good.

Best Cali burrito that I have hard. Becoming my favorite place to get Mexican food. Update 8/13/25: still my favorite place for fast and delicious Mexican food. Tacos are tasty and the burritos are exquisite! Service is always great here.

Delicious. Great salsa bar.

Awesome food. Growing up in southern California, I'm extremely picky about my taco shops, and this one hits all the marks. Huge selection on the menu is great, but their willingness to listen to customers suggestions and try different stuff has ensured they have the stuff on there that is, to me anyway, "just right." Meat is good. Hot sauce and salsa is good. Tortillas and everything that's added are very tasty, too (guac, pico, etc.). And, they have beer. I'll be returning as often as I can!

Samantha Dhers

The asada tots were so good.

george black

Awesome food. Growing up in southern California, I'm extremely picky about my taco shops, and this one hits all the marks. Huge selection on the menu is great, but their willingness to listen to customers suggestions and try different stuff has ensured they have the stuff on there that is, to me anyway, "just right." Meat is good. Hot sauce and salsa is good. Tortillas and everything that's added are very tasty, too (guac, pico, etc.). And, they have beer. I'll be returning as often as I can!

Clayton Chavez

Best Cali burrito that I have hard. Becoming my favorite place to get Mexican food. Update 8/13/25: still my favorite place for fast and delicious Mexican food. Tacos are tasty and the burritos are exquisite! Service is always great here.

Very good! Service is fast. I think I have a new go to for mexican food. It is close to where I live. I had this torta that is very good, along with all their salsas. I will be coming back again.

Has been in the top 5 in Santa Maria for as long as I can remember. I'm a carnitas man myself and they sure do know how to do some pork. Always friendly service as well

Been here many times. Love the southern Cali menu as it definitely has the best selection in that category in all the restraunts in Santa Maria. Only gripe is that meat can be tasteless at times so recommend some sauce(chipotle for me) to go with your dish.

Place has been remodeled. Looks clean and great designs. Kinda wish the menu was a little more organized, but can't complain. So we are here for the food and I have to say I've only tried the Birria Tacos and the Quesadilla. Good flavor from the Tacos, delicious spicy salsa to be complimented with the meal. The Quesadilla is your typical one with cheese and your choice of meat with lettuce, tomatoes on the side. Overall its a pretty nice place, great atmosphere and good location. I still recommend going back, after all we all have a different taste but this place is totally worth it to be checked out.

The food was good with a mix of authentic Mexican food and some Americanized options with tater tots and fries in burritos.

Ray Medrano

Place has been remodeled. Looks clean and great designs. Kinda wish the menu was a little more organized, but can't complain. So we are here for the food and I have to say I've only tried the Birria Tacos and the Quesadilla. Good flavor from the Tacos, delicious spicy salsa to be complimented with the meal. The Quesadilla is your typical one with cheese and your choice of meat with lettuce, tomatoes on the side. Overall its a pretty nice place, great atmosphere and good location. I still recommend going back, after all we all have a different taste but this place is totally worth it to be checked out.

Michael Silas

The food was good with a mix of authentic Mexican food and some Americanized options with tater tots and fries in burritos.

The restaurant looked clean. The food was good not great. The queso birria was just OK. The Cali fries were very good tho. I would definitely try their Asada tacos next time.

Jason Guerrero

The restaurant looked clean. The food was good not great. The queso birria was just OK. The Cali fries were very good tho. I would definitely try their Asada tacos next time.

Long time casual customer. Food is good as always. Not the customers fault if told a price on the phone then questions the up charges when picking up.

Just ok. Onestar for atmosphere due to the fact there was two gentlemen sitting at a table with an opened laptop which appeared to either be managers or owner-manager of the establishment speaking loudly without any respect for those trying to enjoy a meal.

Very nice people and service. Very mild flavours. No salsa bar. An hour before close and the meats were old and chewy. Very leathery tri-tip.

Kirk Foster

Very nice people and service. Very mild flavours. No salsa bar. An hour before close and the meats were old and chewy. Very leathery tri-tip.

got a surf and turf burrito it's an average burrito nothing stands out same with california burrito nothing special. burritos are not great but also not bad.

Quality of food has gone downhill... Super disappointed, this used to be our favorite Mexican restaurant. All I ordered was a bean & cheese burrito & they were s different flavor, color, texture, & consistency entirely... Tasted awful & my husband's meat in his burrito was dry... :(

This place is way over priced they charged me 8.31 for a Side of salsa it was good salsa but to much for a bit more than half of a 12oz cup😡

Angel Bravo

This place is way over priced they charged me 8.31 for a Side of salsa it was good salsa but to much for a bit more than half of a 12oz cup😡

I came in on a Monday evening and brought a regular Carne asada burrito. Nothing special, however my burrito had something in that tasted like potatoes, or maybe old rice - idk, but it felt like a filler ingredient. Moreover, my burrito had almost no onion and cilantro (I order it with everything) - it had maybe like a pinch or 2 at most. I was so sad. Plus, the flavor wasn't there - it was bland to me. I'll try one more time before I move on completely. I will find my place soon enough.

Helen Nguyen

I came in on a Monday evening and brought a regular Carne asada burrito. Nothing special, however my burrito had something in that tasted like potatoes, or maybe old rice - idk, but it felt like a filler ingredient. Moreover, my burrito had almost no onion and cilantro (I order it with everything) - it had maybe like a pinch or 2 at most. I was so sad. Plus, the flavor wasn't there - it was bland to me. I'll try one more time before I move on completely. I will find my place soon enough.

Tacos are not good the salsa tastes water down

I recently went here and on my departure I realized I was charged 5x the actual amount of the food I received. When asked if something can be done they said to call my bank? I will not be returning 😑

$17dllrs for a flour tortilla with rice and a soda. It was supposed to be a wet vegetarian burrito. It didn't taste good either never going back.

Bad service! I told the young guy what I want it, and he gave me something else’s, I ending up paying more then the regular price listed on the board menu, the woman who works there, loves money she doesn’t care about customer service, she talk to much and criticized and say negative things about people and other restaurants! This is my first time coming in as a customer! And I didn’t want to hear all that!! I ending up paying for my Chile’s rellenos without tortillas and without beans and rice $15.00 just because the young guy, didn’t pay attention to my order.. bad place to go and eat!

Yikes. Made the mistake of ordering here on accident, instead of Cielito Lindo down the road. Once we realized it, we didn't want to stand them up on the order, so we went there and paid and took it home. Terrible. The chicken fingers for my kid tasted like freezer burn - in the trash. The large order of chips was a 1/3 full styrofoam clamshell container. The salsa was decent enough? The chicken in the chicken fajitas was horribly dry - in the trash. The first bite I took of my posole, the pork was really dry and I spat it out. The guy at the counter was a jerk to my wife and seemed inconvenienced by her presence. Pretty rough, La Unica. $50 literally in the trash.

If I could give it 0 stars I would! Read a review. saying that the Asada fries were delicious, decided to give it a try since the best place for Asada Fries was closed: Toms Take Out. I saw them microwave my food and the overall taste and quality was poor. $10.95 for garbage, no thank you.

Do not eat at this restaurant!!! If I could give it a zero, I would! My husband ordered a tri-tip burrito while I was not impressed about what the back-stock bathroom area looked like so I went next door to Baan Thai which is amazingly professional and clean!!! He ate there around 2:30PM on 7/22/21 and when we came home at 7:00PM, he started getting very nauseous and dizzy! I was unable to bring him to Cottage ER myself because he kept vomiting until he passed out! This was the only meal he ate besides a light healthy fruit bowl for breakfast and some dried snacks until we were done gardening. I had to call an ambulance and they gave him intravenous fluids and anti-nausea meds to keep him from vomiting non-stop. My husband is extremely healthy and the ER doctor confirmed that he had serious food poisoning caused by this beef burrito he ate before that. We do not want anyone to get sick like this and hopefully our review will make you consider eating at this place. There are several more reviews where other customers also got very sick in their stomach after and you can find them under 1 Star while scrolling down. My husband spent 6 hours in the ER and we got home this morning @ 2:30AM. He still cannot eat or drink like he used to because his stomach got really messed up from one burrito!!!

Asked for no onion and guacamole on a surf and turf burrito for someone and the individual answering the phone said they don’t add that. After receiving order the burrito contained onion and guacamole after the employee had said they don’t add any. Won’t be returning for bad service

Absolutely disgusting, why would you put fries in a surf and turf burrito, which btw is not listed as a topping on there website. When I called and said I did not order a Cali burrito he was like well this is how its made, completely useless and unprofessional. There are probably 50 different Hispanic food places in Santa Maria and I would prefer Taco Bell over this junk! Been on the central coast my whole life never have i been so disappointed in Mexican cuisine as I am now ....anyone reading this save ur money go somewhere else....The Maya is fantastic!

Disappointed!! Ordered there Birria Ramen when I arrived I heard the older bigger guy telling the younger guy they're hear hurry up. Just to see him pulling out the food from the microwave!! From what it looks like there Birria Ramen is cooked in the microwave! Disgusting flavor way super Salty and ramen noodles aren't noodles as they are crushed into tiny pieces. Worst Birria Ramen had to throw it away!!!

I got a wet burrito. Only got rice and meat in burrito,also got a different meat mixed in and it was disgusting, not fully cooked. And the nacho was old chips, old beans and cheese was mozzarella. Not nacho cheese. Worst place I’ve been in a long time.

Beans were raw, Rice had no flavor and meat had lots of chunks of fat. Guacamole had a strange taste. I was very disappointed, We will not be back.

horrible service by a waiter after he claimed i walked on a wet floor with no signs and he not around. He proceeded to angrily and in a aggressive manner used fouled language i was totally surprised. As I complain to another person behind the counter the waiter continued his insults using fouled language and the other employee did NOTHING, WOW!! He also told me he is a criminal as he smiled, at this point he was ready to get physical so I left for my safety. I'm a 64 yo black man

This place is way overpriced. I tried to be nice and give them a couple dollar tip but checking my back account now, they gave themselves a $10 tip. The food wasn’t even hot and they messed on my order. I asked for extra pico de gallo and they charged me for it which i did not receive. Never going back

The menu says for the vegetarian burrito that is only has rice, beans, cheese, sour cream, onions, cilantro, and salsa... it did NOT say lettuce and tomatoes, or I would have removed them from the burrito. Not making what someone paid for per your own advertisement is super freaking lame and it is one of the most irritating things on the bleeping planet....it is NOT HARD to simply make what the menu says you will be getting without adding things it clearly does not state it has in it, oh and btw if you want to spend 10 min picking almost half the meat out of your asada taco that is actually disgusting gristle (which you discovered by biting down on it gag!) and fat pieces then this is the place for you....but if you don't want to spend time wondering which part seemed like a bigger waste, deciding what to be disappointed with for your order or picking the inedible parts out of aforementioned order then this is the joint for you.

The menu sounds like there should be some good food here but oh no no no. Sad sad place. I got the unica fries 17.99. Comes with shrimp, linguica and carne asada. So disappointing. No effort put into the dish. Soggy fries. Fake guacamole. Pre cooked shrimp. Fatty meat. They hit all the bad checks. The only ray of sunshine was the michelada. They have a good mix but will never be back here again.

Becca Leal

The menu says for the vegetarian burrito that is only has rice, beans, cheese, sour cream, onions, cilantro, and salsa... it did NOT say lettuce and tomatoes, or I would have removed them from the burrito. Not making what someone paid for per your own advertisement is super freaking lame and it is one of the most irritating things on the bleeping planet....it is NOT HARD to simply make what the menu says you will be getting without adding things it clearly does not state it has in it, oh and btw if you want to spend 10 min picking almost half the meat out of your asada taco that is actually disgusting gristle (which you discovered by biting down on it gag!) and fat pieces then this is the place for you....but if you don't want to spend time wondering which part seemed like a bigger waste, deciding what to be disappointed with for your order or picking the inedible parts out of aforementioned order then this is the joint for you.

Mariano Rodriguez

The menu sounds like there should be some good food here but oh no no no. Sad sad place. I got the unica fries 17.99. Comes with shrimp, linguica and carne asada. So disappointing. No effort put into the dish. Soggy fries. Fake guacamole. Pre cooked shrimp. Fatty meat. They hit all the bad checks. The only ray of sunshine was the michelada. They have a good mix but will never be back here again.

Used be good back in the day. My son had Queso Birria Tacos the flavor was ok but they were cold must been just taken out of the fridge. I had a bean and cheese burrito that was horrible (not sure how you can mess that up). Beans were cold cheese wasn’t even melted one bit.

Okay I’ll start here, I ordered nachos cause online it looked loaded with a bunch of toppings and looked really good. The only thing I asked them was salsa on the side (which they did) the plate however was the most plain nachos I’ve ever seen, no toppings, There were chips (stale tasting), beans, cheese and barely any meat. Not to mention the meat taste old and really really fatty. The salsa was sour and most definitely old. Such a disappointment. They really just slopped it together. Now I’m just hoping I don’t get food poisoning. WASTE OF MONEY!!!!!

I hope the owner’s read this review because we won’t be going back to La Unica. Please pay attention to the date of this post 04/14/25, to determine who it was taking orders the register (name unknown) at approximately 5:40pm. The guy taking orders must have been having a bad day and was just short and rude. Maybe he just didn’t want to be there today. When we got home it was like they purposely screwed up our order. We ordered asada tots and they were absolutely plain, no meat. We ordered 3 pastor tacos with no onions and all of them had a handful of onions each. We ordered a tri-tip burrito with extra onions and no cilantro and it came with no onions and extra cilantro. How is it possible they screwed up on everything? I get that sometimes mistakes are made, but what are the chances that everything is wrong. The only thing I can think of is that it was done on purpose. Even with the cashier being short and rude, I still left a couple bucks in the tip jar. What made me write this review is the fact that they literally screwed us on everything we ordered. There’s just no way it could be an accident. With so many good Mexican restaurants in the Santa Maria Valley you would think service and food quality would be a top priority. Especially with so much competition, oh not to mention the 20-30 food trucks with no overhead (and the City of Santa Maria not regulating them). It’s hard enough for you brick and mortar restaurants to survive. To the owners who just happened to not be there tonight, pay attention to your staff, they’re going to lose you more customers.

This place is absolute garbage for Mexican food. They can't make simple dishes like Birria tacos, asada burritos or plain rice. Food is overpriced for crappy potions and lowest quality of meats.

Past three times I have been here the food is trash. I keep going back because I give them the benefit of the doubt since at first when I started going, it was very good! I ordered a birria pizza today 45 mins prior to picking it up. When I arrived, I asked for my food, and the dude said “oh it’s 11:30 already”. They made the birria pizza quick and when I got home. The cheese was cold, tortilla was cold, the meat was hard. Never going back. Cashier needs to step it up!

Antnony

Okay I’ll start here, I ordered nachos cause online it looked loaded with a bunch of toppings and looked really good. The only thing I asked them was salsa on the side (which they did) the plate however was the most plain nachos I’ve ever seen, no toppings, There were chips (stale tasting), beans, cheese and barely any meat. Not to mention the meat taste old and really really fatty. The salsa was sour and most definitely old. Such a disappointment. They really just slopped it together. Now I’m just hoping I don’t get food poisoning. WASTE OF MONEY!!!!!

Dan T

This place is absolute garbage for Mexican food. They can't make simple dishes like Birria tacos, asada burritos or plain rice. Food is overpriced for crappy potions and lowest quality of meats.

J K

I hope the owner’s read this review because we won’t be going back to La Unica. Please pay attention to the date of this post 04/14/25, to determine who it was taking orders the register (name unknown) at approximately 5:40pm. The guy taking orders must have been having a bad day and was just short and rude. Maybe he just didn’t want to be there today. When we got home it was like they purposely screwed up our order. We ordered asada tots and they were absolutely plain, no meat. We ordered 3 pastor tacos with no onions and all of them had a handful of onions each. We ordered a tri-tip burrito with extra onions and no cilantro and it came with no onions and extra cilantro. How is it possible they screwed up on everything? I get that sometimes mistakes are made, but what are the chances that everything is wrong. The only thing I can think of is that it was done on purpose. Even with the cashier being short and rude, I still left a couple bucks in the tip jar. What made me write this review is the fact that they literally screwed us on everything we ordered. There’s just no way it could be an accident. With so many good Mexican restaurants in the Santa Maria Valley you would think service and food quality would be a top priority. Especially with so much competition, oh not to mention the 20-30 food trucks with no overhead (and the City of Santa Maria not regulating them). It’s hard enough for you brick and mortar restaurants to survive. To the owners who just happened to not be there tonight, pay attention to your staff, they’re going to lose you more customers.

Anthony Olozagaste

Past three times I have been here the food is trash. I keep going back because I give them the benefit of the doubt since at first when I started going, it was very good! I ordered a birria pizza today 45 mins prior to picking it up. When I arrived, I asked for my food, and the dude said “oh it’s 11:30 already”. They made the birria pizza quick and when I got home. The cheese was cold, tortilla was cold, the meat was hard. Never going back. Cashier needs to step it up!

Sam H

Used be good back in the day. My son had Queso Birria Tacos the flavor was ok but they were cold must been just taken out of the fridge. I had a bean and cheese burrito that was horrible (not sure how you can mess that up). Beans were cold cheese wasn’t even melted one bit.

Erika Viera

Bad service! I told the young guy what I want it, and he gave me something else’s, I ending up paying more then the regular price listed on the board menu, the woman who works there, loves money she doesn’t care about customer service, she talk to much and criticized and say negative things about people and other restaurants! This is my first time coming in as a customer! And I didn’t want to hear all that!! I ending up paying for my Chile’s rellenos without tortillas and without beans and rice $15.00 just because the young guy, didn’t pay attention to my order.. bad place to go and eat!