Kathy Escott

The restaurant was hopping on Saturday night. Without a reservation, we waited about 40 minutes to be seated. It was well worth the wait. This was our first visit to Manuel's. The service was excellent. All the staff was friendly and efficient. This was the best Mexican food we've had in years. The rice and beans were seasoned well and absolutely delicious. The chili relleno was light, eggy, fluffy, and so good, almost like a souffle. This set them apart from others we've had in the past. We can't wait to go back for more. Tomorrow perhaps? ;)

Amir Ahmed Asif

A bit upscale than everyday Mexicsnnpalces but worth the money. The service is super fast! It is the shortest ever someone took an order for burrito and tostada and came back in 5 minutes. Food was good. The portion size is satisfactory. Indoor has three sections. The ambiance has three types: well-lit front, medium-lit middle and dark back tables. Each table has a candle and some flowers.

+6

Marc Kleinmaier

Hidden gem in Aptos/Seacliff. The food was legit. Wife got the special (pictured) of giant, bacon wrapped prawns. I got the Chile Relleno with Beef Enchilada combo. The beef was shredded and tender, not ground. The Chile Relleno batter was a bit too fluffy/eggy but still great. Her Camarones were perfectly cooked and delicious. Everyone was friendly and accommodating. The ambiance was nice but the lighting was quite dark, such that walking outside felt jarring. Service was great until our waitress left without telling us or handing off our table to other wait staff. Once they were alerted however, great service again. The special came with ice cream and we asked for the Mexican Chocolate. This was off the hook. Cinnamon and milk chocolate blended with lots of dark chocolate chunks. I asked if it was made in-house or if it came from Marianne's across the street. They said Marianne's, so our first stop after the meal was to pickup a pint of this! Unfortunately, Marianne's said the version they sold didn't have the dark chocolate chunks; this was added by Manuel's. So I passed on the pint but we'll be back to Manuel's again for sure!

Ioana Cozmuta

Very cute restaurant with nice and quiet Mexican music. The guacamole side is delicious. Service is prompt and very friendly. Decorations are also “immersive”. They had their 50 years anniversary in 2016. Recommended as a great stop after a good beach walk - portions are large and filling but definitely delicious!

Marilee Cruz

Excellent dining! We were in town for our nephew's game. Hunger strikes after a 'Win' so naturally we looked for food, and because it was an evening game, the restaurant must be open late. Manuel's fit all of the requirements. We have a young family so we were happy to find it's location to be ideal. The staff combined a couple of tables to accommodate our party of 8. Not only were we treated like new friends to the table, but DAYUM! We all were blown away with the delicious late dinner we consumed! Everyone, from 6 y.o. to 46 y.o., left the restaurant with fully bellies. I, honestly, look forward to our next visit.

Tibor

This place proves that good service and good food earns a well deserved reputation! First time here and as soon as I sat down (at the bar) I was kindly greeted and presented with chips and salsa. And not the basic eatery kind but professionally made, dense and flavorful!! Ordered the burrito plate from the a la carte menu and I was so thrilled that though it wasn’t a “super burrito” the real ingredients made for a delicious flavor that felt homemade. Everyone was so kind and the food then check came promptly despite being visibly quite busy. A+ and an easy recommendation! 👌🙏

David Olsen

First visit to this little gem. We had driving all the way to whole enchilada, a perennial favorite, and they closed early and pissed us off. We googled other spots and viola! So stoked on this spot. Best Chile Verde ever. My wife had a tostada, the salsa was perfect. And the ambiance felt so cunningly south of the boarder, I was transported. Great work. Love.

+12

Very good tacos. Good service too.

Daria Malysheva

Nice food, loud annoying music. Too many people on Friday nights. I like to take away from here. They might easily forget your order if you order through the phone. But they'll still serve you it, just a bit later 😜..

jlt_productions

Excellent service and atmosphere! Food can use just a little bit more flavor for my taste buds. Other than that, the drinks are also amazing! Great place....parking can be a little bit difficult to find.

+5

Prax Chandra

Few places with indoor seating during covid days. Pretty authentic vibe which you would find in the food flavors too. Good standard menu options including margaritas. If you are a strict vegetarian then you may want to check with them first for options e.g. they didn't have veggie fajitas or veggie taco salad. Otherwise if you are in town then definitely worth a visit.

+4

KC C

With four stars, I had high hopes for this place, but it is decent at best. Parking was kind of a nightmare; I had to drive around in circles until I realized I would just have to park down the street and walk over. It’s not the worst, but it wasn’t the easiest. Upon arrival, it was packed….like so crowded you are literally sitting corner to corner with others. We thought about going elsewhere bc we just didn’t want to be THAT close to others. That actually almost happened as they said they did not see our name on the reservation list, but I told them I KNOW I made the reservation bc online, it says to call a week before your desired date; I didn’t just make that up. They hustled and bustled, and finally got us a seat. Three entrees, one guoc and four margaritas later, we were hit with a $120 bill pre tip. I mean that’s not expensive, but for a meal that was just OK at best, I would’ve taken my coins elsewhere. Overall, the place was meh. I am giving them three stars bc Jesus was a great waiter. Although he messed up our order, he fixed it, and fast. Food is out in about 5-7 minutes, and I get the idea that they don’t want you lingering. We came in thinking we’d have a few drinks, hang, eat, drink some more, but we were in and out in about 45 minutes. Likely won’t return.

HC North

Multiple members of my family had talked up some great past meals they’d had here, but after today none of us will be back, ever. We had the three worst Mexican meals we’ve ever experienced—bland, dry, and burned—and terrible customer service when we asked them to make it right. This was not just a horrible dinner, but an awful experience.