carlsbad tavern

this place is too cute to be so lame. i had no problem with the service, but the tacos were simply overloaded with onions, and even the overpriced, watered down margaritas couldn't put humpty together again.

green chili burrito was pretty good. atmosphere was ok. service was poor as mentioned in the other reviews.

nice crab cakes...scary bats!. crab cakes were perfect with a nice hint of a spice. service was very friendly and they were clearly very proud to work there and to share the history of the restaurant! the bats and bat cave however...well, they certainly don't need to redecorate for halloween!! nice patio with supersize waterfall. hint for the ladies - don't wear heals here, the wooden planks will destroy your shoes.

fun cave-like atmosphere and a very whimsical patio with a lovely water feature. the cuisine is tex mex inspired. i tried the filet mignon that comes with three mushroom and cheese enchiladas and spanish radish salad. my filet had nice grill marks but was very flavorless. the enchiladas were filled with tasty mushrooms and what taste like process american cheese and topped with dried up sauce. the spanish radish salad was just pickled radish. my husband had the carne adovada plate. the pork was on the dry side......good luck!

the portions on the steak are extremely generous for the prices. meat was cooked perfectly for us. carne asada is a 12oz chunk of meat for ~$23...pretty good deal! servers were kind of meh, but maybe we just went on a bad night.

stacked enchiladas!

unfortunate miss for us. my wife and i went to carlsbad after seeing it on check please az. we were excited for a nice dinner out at a good restaurant. the meal started off good, we began with the potsticker appetizer, which was delicious. once we ordered our entrees the night began to go downhill. our waiter forgot to put our order in so we had to wait for quite a while to get our food. she was nice and brought us chips and salsa as an apology. once we finally got our meals we were disappointed. my stacked enchiladas were ok, except for the inedible carne adovada, which was extremely tough. my wife ordered the meat loaf per our waitresses advisement. she was let down by the very one note dish. for a restaurant that boasts lots of flavors it's was surprisingly mediocre. not horrible, but with the long wait and sub par food, we wouldn't recommend carlsbad tavern.

fast food mexican, huge servings of borderine inedible food. equivalent to chilies or montana's.

inconsistent flan. popped in for sunday brunch, and while all of the mains (and bloody mary bar) were lovely, the main reason we visited - the flans - were inconsistent. great texture on the insides, but curdled on the outsides.

i wish they'd get the cooking process down pat to iron out this kind of thing.


-----21 jul, 2013-----

some of the best flan/creme caramel i've ever had. the rest of the menu is pretty good, too.

excellent lunch.. recommended by a friend while touring arizona.

the caverns chicken salad is nothing short of excellent. . marinated in cilantro and lime, tossed with black beans, greens and corn.

if i could stay out here longer, i'd be coming here a lot.

great food slow service. i went to carlsbad tavern last weekend for the first time for an afternoon drink and snack with my dad. we sat on the patio which was great given the weather, very unique place! the food we got was delicious, and the drinks as well. however my complaint is how slow our service was. it wasn't too busy for a sunday afternoon and it still too ages for us to get our food and drinks and to even be approached by a server!
on the contrary, the chicken tacos and habanero sliders we ordered were delicious!

carlsbad delivers unique, tasty new mexican cuisine at affordable prices.

carlsbad bruchettes are the best around!. my wife and i are big fans of carlsbad tavern in scottsdale. everything is made with such great flavors, with green chiles as the host ingredient in many dishes. our absolute favorite dish is the carlsbad brochettes which is a skewer with chicken, shrimp, sirloin beef, peppers & onions, all served on a large tortilla with beans and 3 types of dipping sauce. it is a masterpiece of taste, color and beauty. we have also enjoyed the green chile macaroni and cheese and green chile mashed potatoes, which are delicious. i feel safe in saying that no matter what you order off the menu, it will be great! we love carlsbad tavern and after your very first visit, you will too.. ;)

carlsbad tavern is fabulous!!!. my husband, myself and many, many friends have enjoyed this wonderful place for all of the years that it's been open. we feel so spoiled to have such tremendous food and service available to us! all of our out-of-town guests are treated to carlsbad because we know they'll be blown away, first time, every time.
i recently read a review about this restaurant talking the food up (no one can dispute) and the service down. we all can have an 'off' night, but this writer suggested profanity and an almost fist fight from the servers, this is preposterous and ridiculous!! i suggest that the author is a disgruntled ex-employee. pay no mind.
you'll love the menu and the personal attention given by the owners and those who serve.

wonderful food. service could be better, but not bad. best mexican in town. when we went the first time, we couldn't wait to go back and bring freinds. unique and tasty. i would agree that service can lag a bit, but not terrible. excellent atmosphere, especially the patio.