Published June 12, 2024

While Nene’s Cocina and Tortas Lokas are some of our favorite Mexican restaurants, we wanted to try someplace new on Friday night.

We came across Carlos Mexican Food (yes, not Carlos’s or Carlo’s, just “Carlos”) — at the intersection of Newark Pompton Turnpike and Main Street in Little Falls, New Jersey. It is across the street from Sushi Village and nearby the strip mall that houses The Fine Grind and Gencarelli’s Pizza.

Carlos Mexican Food

A two story gray building has a corner storefront with two large windows for Carlos Mexican Food. Some street parking is available on Newark Pompton Turnpike, but we elected to park down Grey Street — a residential side road — and walked over to the restaurant.

Restaurant Interior

Bright salmon colored walls, neon paper garlands, traditional woven textiles, and national flags hung throughout the space. We were the first guests for the evening, and had full pick of the 21 seats. We selected a four-top table closer to the door. I loved that the smallest table was for four, so we had plenty of room to spread out.

Menu

Our waiter brought us a trifold paper menu, which was organized by categories: Appetizers, salads, soups, tacos, Mexican dishes (entrees), fish and seafood (entrees), sides, drinks, and even breakfast options.

I liked that the menu also had subtext for each Spanish dish with a description of the offering. Pictures even lined the bottom of the menu to provide even more clarity to the options.

Appetizers

A complementary basket of unsalted tortilla chips — which were definitely homemade — and salsa arrived on the table for us to snack on.

Empanadas | $2.00 each

We ordered two beef and two chicken empanadas to try as an appetizer. Our waiter warned us that these were large empanadas, so that two each may be a lot. He didn’t know we were foodies who loved to eat!

A freshly fried golden wrapper held juicy ground beef. Small plastic containers of homemade hot sauce — one orange and one green — accompanied our empanadas. The hot sauce was too spicy for me, but my beef empanadas were seasoned well enough to eat without a sauce (though I did add some of the homemade salsa to it).

I could not believe that these massive empanadas were only $2.00 each! That seemed like a fantastic value for their size and quality.

Barbacoa Tacos | $10.00

We decided to split the barbacoa tacos as an appetizer as well.

The clay-style plate with its painted edges was lovely and the color made the tacos pop. Four small tortillas overflowed with shredded beef, fresh cilantro, and raw onions. I was skeptical about the raw onions, but they added additional flavor to the shredded beef.

My boyfriend added the leftover hot sauce to his tacos while I stuck with the salsa. These tacos were delicious and I would love to try the other protein options.

Entrees

A nurse in scrubs stopped in for a takeout order. Three Spanish construction workers came in and sat at the front-table. They knew our waiter. An elderly woman came out from the kitchen and spoke with them for a bit. I wondered if this was a family business — was the elderly woman the owner and our waiter, her son?

The construction workers seemed like regulars, as they came in and out of the restaurant a few times before settling at their table with their entrees.

I enjoyed the break between our appetizers and entrees. It gave me the impression that the dishes were made to order. The other’s conversation was drowned out by the music that played throughout the small space, offering some privacy to our table’s conversation.

Chicken Mole Poblano | $15.00

I continued to be impressed with the portions as our dinners arrived. My boyfriend ordered the chicken mole poblano. It came with a side of rice and beans. As you can see, this was a huge portion of chicken with a pool of the mole poblano sauce! The chicken was tender and the mole poblano sauce lived up to its name.

My boyfriend loved this dish and the portion was more than enough for dinner. He ended up wrapping a portion to take home.

Bistec Rancheros | $20.00

The image of the Bistec Rancheros on the menu is what sold me to pick this dish as an entree. Seasoned sliced steak tossed with peppers, onions, and cooked tomatoes were draped with a fried egg. My entree also came with beans and rice.

I don’t normally care for beans and rice but these sides were flavorful and complemented the steak well.

A beautiful basket of corn tortillas arrived for us to share. We piled our entrees — a bit of rice, beans, and protein — into the tortillas and ate them like tacos. The tortillas were steaming hot and freshly prepared based on the texture, shape, and flavor.

We took our time with our entrees. Our waiter never rushed us and he checked in a few times to see how everything was. Even after we finished our entrees, we hung out at our table for a while before packaging our entrees in takeout containers.

While I was tempted to explore the dessert menu, we were so full from our entrees that we decided to call it a night, with the goal to visit Carlos Mexican Food in the future to try even more of their dishes.

My Recommendations

I give our visit to Carlos Mexican Food a 10/10 for the following:

• Decor and Design

  • From their website to their interior design, Carlos Mexican Food focuses on their values of offering an authentic Mexican experience — from the ingredients and meal to the craftsmanship of the decorations and items within their restaurant. I appreciated the colorful and thoughtful touches in the space and throughout the meal.

• Service

  • Our waiter was friendly and helpful with answering our questions and providing recommendations. He did not rush us at all and always checked in to ensure we had what we needed. I can see from the elderly woman — who may be the chef or an owner — that the staff at Carlos Mexican Food cares about their customers and wants to provide a great dining experience.

• Food

  • From the fried empanadas to the fresh tacos and entrees, the dishes at Carlos Mexican Food are thoughtfully plated with delicious ingredients. The range of offerings provides a variety of dishes for folks to enjoy authentic Mexican food at amazing prices.

Have you been to Carlos Mexican Food?

Do you have a favorite dish from Carlos Mexican Food? Leave a comment below with your thoughts, I’d love to hear from you.

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