Dos Carlitos

I loved my meal, and the Guac was very plentiful! Can’t wait to go back
Had a lot of food for a decent price.

the food was awesome. I recommend the chicken enchiladas, they were made with free range hormone free chicken which is a plus! the service was a little bit slow but all in all the experience was pretty good

We went here for my girlfriends Bachelorette party! Awesome restaurant with great service! Matt was our server! He was a great server… and hilarious! The food was amazing! I had the mole tacos, and I would highly recommend them.

The spicy ribs were the best I’ve ever had… bit of a kick to them though. Wife had the swordfish tacos and they were excellent too. Both were enough to split.
Wonderful, attentive service without being annoying.

This is the first time I tried Dos Carlitos and we really liked it. Food was very good… nice portions… very tasty. Service was impeccable. Agave nectar was so good my husband had a second. Atmosphere was friendly and welcoming. The only thing I would change is not putting the crispy taco on top of the rice/​beans. The taco shell got soggy on the bottom and I couldn’t pick it up. Minor issue. I can’t wait to return.

This place is quaint and very nice to eat outside. Food was good, not going to say the best ever. But it is worth a try if I were you. Nice atmosphere and staff is really nice and helpful.

Loved this place! The patio is awesome and a great way to enjoy some great food while checking out such a cute and quaint town. I tried both the fresh hand made margarita which was good but then also a Cadillac margarita which was better! Chips came with milder salsa and a bean and corn salsa, both of which were good. If you want something with some good flavor and a little more spice, just ask and they will bring you out something with more kick! I had the taquitos de tinga and they were the
! Tasty, tasty, tasty and the service was wonderful.

We love the patio, chips and salsa, and margaritas. This is quite a find in sleepy Santa Ynez

I came from out of town to measure a job close by, I stopped by to kill some time, and I had the most great chicken tacos with mole. I highly recommend to anyone .
I Was in and out with some of the best service ever!
PS.
Came by later for a michelada…

In my ten years of working in the service industry, I have never experienced anything like I did last Sunday. When my friends and I arrived we were told it would be a small wait before we could be sat to at which point we stated we needed to be home in Goleta at 7:00PM. The host/​server said he believed this to be no problem as tables were in the process of being cleared so we decided to wait. Approximately 15 minutes later, my friend got up and politely asked to see the manager simply to confirm we were going to be able to be sat and served and wanted to ask if seating separately would help us do that. The manager, Dario, instead of going out of his way to be friendly and accommodating (as most good restaurant managers are) proceeded to almost franticly tell my group of all the traffic we were likely to hit on the way home, strongly alluding to wanting us to just leave, all while ironically behind him, our phenomenal server was getting tables ready preparing for us to be served. we were literally sat in the process of him trying to explain why we should not be sat. it was extremely uncomfortable and bizarre. Once sat, we expressed to our server how bad the manager made us feel and asked if it was even OK to order to which the server (very friendly) ensured us everything was ok and that he could get the food in (which was great) but we remained uncomfortable the whole evening. The manager never once came over to make things right, check on us, or ensure that the remainder of our experience was a pleasant one. It is pretty unheard of that a customer.7 of them. can express they were unhappy and not have a manager come by to work it out. Because of this, instead of leaving happy, we left feeling insulted and genuinely confused as we just spent $ 200 on a place that appeared to not want, appreciate, or care for our business.
The reason for this review is to bring to Dario’s attention how his demeanor impacted our dining experience in hopes that if we, or any other patron in a similar situation, were to go back. the treatment would be different but I see from the owners response to my friend that poor management behavior is very welcomed and accepted and that apparently upset customer (s) matter to the slightest at this establishment. I don’t know what else to say aside from please look for this exact review in the mail as I plan on hand writing it out now, just for you.

I’ve been here before and the food is good and usually the staff is great, but the manager with the moles all over his face was rude! Not overtly rude, but definitely not accommodating and passively aggressive. It was a Sunday evening and we got there about 4:45, and told the waiter that we had to be back in Santa Barbara by 7pm. He was very nice and told us it would be a little wait for a table. ok. After about 10 – 15 mins, my friends and I noticed some open tables outside and inside and were willing to sit separately (party of 7) so that my friend could make it back to town to receive her children by 7pm. So I got up and couldn’t get anyone’s attention so I just asked for the manager. I told him if he thought we would be seated soon because we had to be out of there by 6:30. I asked if that would be ok and he said «well maybe you guys should just leave, because you don’t want to be late and I don’t know how long it will be to get you guys seated and served.» Then proceeded to tell me there would be A LOT of traffic on the way home and that there always is… which is BS, I’ve lived in this area my whole life and unless there was an accident there would be no traffic getting home to Santa Barbara (which there wasn’t when we drove home). OMG I could not believe him! So passive aggressive! I was very surprised and looked at my friends for guidance and he walked away. While we were discussing where should we go instead, our waiter came by and said he had a table for us and joked about hurrying up so we would be finished in time. Our waiter was the bald guy, I can’t remember his name :(but he was very friendly and accommodating! But, yeah, I definitely wouldn’t want someone like the «manager» working for me, where he is ok with losing business and providing bad service. Not friendly at all! Stone-​faced! Maybe he shouldn’t be in the service industry if he is not personable.
Carlos,
He may very well be all those things you said, but that was not my experience with him. He was not accommodating, unhelpful and not very friendly. I did say he was not overtly rude, if you missed that, just not too concerned with us dining there. Maybe because we aren’t «local community» members.

This is my third visit to Do Carlitos. We visit the area often and this is one of our favorite spots so I thought I’d write a review.
This past Friday I brought my girlfriends here after a day of wine tasting to enjoy a margarita and dinner. We shared fajitas and there was plenty of food to enjoy to satisfaction. They don’t nickle and dime you for the extra tortillas for the fajitas.
The service was quick, noise level is high with lots of energy. Gets busy so make reservations!

After 45 minutes and two rounds of drinks our waiter had not taken our order we left. Plenty of options in Santa Ynez.

This was a geat find on our way to Cambria. Dos Carlitos is comfortable and prices are reasonable. Service was fast and food was very fresh. We ordered their guacamole and had tacos that were served on freshly made tortillas. I ordered swordfish tacos and they were huge. We could have easily shared one entrée. The bloody mary I had was perfectly spicy for me and reminded me of one of my favorite Mexican food restaurant in Laguna Beach called Coyotes. I give it four stars because the overall ambiance was lacking the proper music that completes the experience for me.

Great food at reasonable prices is hard to find around here, but Dos Carlitos delivers. If you’re expecting a traditional Southern California Mexican joint you will be surprised. The food ranges from gourmet versions of Mexican Classics like stuffed poblanos en Caldo (sauce) but moves on to Mexican interpretations of American food ranging from Spareribs to Wild Salmon with a papaya salsa and chipotle mashed potatoes (delicious). They make ample and good use of the grill, so if that’s a flavor you like you should find something to enjoy. I have never been disappointed in any of the food here.
They do get busy (especially on weekends) and the service can be hit or miss when they are busy. They really need to put on a few more servers for those times. And it can be quite loud. I wouldn’t describe it as a place to go for a romantic encounter or deep conversation, but for a fun party atmosphere with good and plentiful food Carlitos is hard to beat.

I’m sure the food was good. It looked and smelled good every time they walked by. But I can’t say for sure. We arrived on a Saturday and they were busy. We waited 10 min in line to put our name in and were told it’d be 15 minutes. 45 min later I asked if we could get chips or something bc we were starving and it was well past 15 min. They said no!!!
10 min later my bf asked where we were on the list and was told we were next. An empty table had been open for a while so we figured it was ours.
We waited another 10 min and my bf went up again to ask. The manager or host at the front (same guy) didn’t acknowledge him. Instead, grabbed menus and sat someone else.
Needless to say, after an hour on a 15 min promise, we left, starving. Horrendous service. Never again.
After reading through reviews, I’m glad we left. Overpriced, overbooked, no flavor, bad service is a recurring theme on here. Too frequent to not pay attention to.

Drive in from Santa Clarita 2 – 3 times a month just to eat here! The food is so good! I especially love the pozole, tacos al pastor and the cheese enchiladas. Sooo good! But I have to tell you the Cadillac margaritas that the bartender Cameron makes… OMG… Seriously they are the best ever! If you are ever in the area, this is a must try! Dario, the manager is awesome, Guillermo is great, Trevor & Kenny are amazing waiters and please don’t forget to have that Margarita!
Oh, one last thing. They have a huge variety of great tequilas… if you’re not sure which ones to try, ask for a flight, particularly the extra anejo flight! You’re gonna love this place!

Stop by on our way back from Santa Barbara. I had heard so many things about their margaritas that we wanted to stop and enjoy one. However we did also order some nachos to snack on and some shrimp empanadas! Those empanadas are absolutely delicious by the way. I requested some hot sauce and they brought out a green sauce that was amazing with the empanadas. My son ordered a cheese quesadilla. He enjoyed it very much and it was a handmade tortilla. Are two margaritas were very delicious I highly recommend the Agave margarita!!! Two thumbs up for that one. We will definitely be coming back.

Out of this world Mexican food. Definitely not your ordinary mexican food! A must if you are visiting or local! I ordered the Dos Carlitos Tostada — Steak, and it was out of this world, the steak was melt in your mouth kind of good! They are definitely not short with there servings either.

I speak Spanish. Dos Carlitos means Two Carlitos.
Good-​looking, modern place. Great chips and salsa.
Strong margarita. Good burrito and flavors.
Not a fan of the ranch-​style tender carne asada.
The chicken in the tacos were cubed– my wife didn’t expect or like that.
Though it was likely pre-​made (it came out cooled),
the guacamole was good and a good mix of chunky and creamy,
and the bowl was too huge for the two of us to finish it.
Right? Who doesn’t finish guacamole?
And, this may seem silly, but the Diet Coke is super crisp
–they just calibrated their gun at the bar, a good sign.