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The 9 Best Mexican Restaurants Near San Carlos

Updated: May 2, 2022

Mad about Mole? These are our go-to Mexican places in San Carlos for Mole, carnitas, and tortas. We assessed top review sites and incorporated millions of diner and critic reviews for the best guac in San Carlos. Grab a Mexican beer and tuck into the enchilada and corn chips at one of these fantastic San Carlos eateries.

Find the perfect spot

El Maguey Taqueria

Mexican, $, San CarlosMexican, $San Carlos
Google: 4.6
Yelp: 4.5

iGuey Taqueria

Mexican, $, San CarlosMexican, $San Carlos
Google: 4.6
Yelp: 4.0

Mama Coco

Mexican, San CarlosMexicanSan Carlos
Google: 4.6
Yelp: 4.0

San Carlos Bar & Grill

Mexican, $$, San CarlosMexican, $$San Carlos
Google: 4.5
Yelp: 4.0

If you travel further

La Viga Seafood & Cocina Mexicana

Mexican, $$, Redwood CityMexican, $$Redwood City, Middlefield
Google: 4.5
Yelp: 4.5
  • Michelin Guide

    The Plate • Fresh ingredients, carefully prepared: a good meal (2019)

    Michelin Guide

La Cocina de la Abuela

Mexican, Redwood CityMexicanRedwood City, Downtown
Google: 4.9
Yelp: 5.0

Cuco’s Burritos

Mexican, Redwood CityMexicanRedwood City
Google: 4.8
Yelp: 4.5

Los Tacos Locos

Mexican, San MateoMexicanSan Mateo, Twenty-Fifth Ave
Google: 4.6
Yelp: 4.5

LV Mar Tapas & Cocktails

Latin, $$$, Redwood CityLatin, $$$Redwood City, Downtown
Google: 4.4
Yelp: 4.0
  • Thrillist

    The Peninsula's 31 Best Restaurants

    Thrillist

Why is this list better than others?

We know how tough it is to find the best restaurant in San Carlos. The restaurants in this list rose to the top after we analyzed the Yelp and Google ratings for 28808 restaurants in San Carlos, 3104661 restaurant reviews, and exactly 1901 lists and articles from experts at Thrillist and Michelin Guide and more. All with some boam magic. The spots that made the cut have been featured in Thrillist - The Peninsula's 31 Best Restaurants and Michelin Guide - The Plate • Fresh ingredients, carefully prepared: a good meal (2019). As restaurants continue to adapt to COVID-19, you can trust us to show the latest information on which restaurants are open and how with our real-time data recommendation engine. Our site gets no payment from the restaurants we show, so you can trust what you see. We don’t recommend restaurants lightly, these 10 are really something special.

Common questions

El Maguey Taqueria, Mayan Restaurant, and San Carlos Bar & Grill are the highest-rated Mexican restaurants for a quick lunch in San Carlos.

There are 11 Mexican restaurants in San Carlos.

El Maguey Taqueria, Mayan Restaurant, and San Carlos Bar & Grill are some of the highest-rated late-night Mexican spots in San Carlos.

El Maguey Taqueria, Mayan Restaurant, and San Carlos Bar & Grill are the highest-rated Mexican restaurants for take-out in San Carlos.

El Maguey Taqueria, Mayan Restaurant, and San Carlos Bar & Grill are the highest-rated Mexican restaurants that are good for groups in San Carlos.

Drink pairing tips

  • Pair beef burrito with ESB

    To elevate your beef burrito experience, we recommend some ESB to go with your dish. This pairing works especially well because this beer balances fatty flavours.

  • Pair Pale Ale with bean, cheese, rice burrito

    When considering what goes best with bean, cheese, rice burrito, we recommend a glass of Pale Ale, it truly complements the dish as it cuts through richness.


  • Grenache and pork carnitas


    A red wine and some nice, tasty pork carnitas - specifically a Grenache - go really well together. This drink will help bring out the most of the bold in your food, trust us!

Fun facts

  • All about taco

    taco-lovers in The United States come together annually on 44 to celebrate National Tacos Day

  • The go-to pairing

    Did you know that tea pairs perfectly with steak? Don’t believe us? Try it for yourself!

  • Ready for 102 tamales of tamales?

    If you think you could break the record set by Joey Chestnut for most tamales eaten in 12, then you’re gonna have to do better than 102 tamales.

Parking tips

Few things are as aggravating as circling around the block, looking for parking when you’re hungry. We’ve partnered with SpotHero, a digital parking reservation system to help make finding parking in San Carlos quick and easy.

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