La Carreta

Had a craving for huevos a la Mexicana and found La Carreta on Unilocal.It’s a small, yet cozy and clean, little restaurant on Cesar Chavez in ELA. Placed our order to go with the friendly server. My food was really good, especially the beans (I really am not big on beans-​but these were very tasty). My friend got the huevos en chili verde– She loved it. The prices were reasonable: My plate (which included beans, rice and tortillas) was $ 5.50– Definitely will be coming back.

Lovely intimate place. Ate here with my family after my sons 8^th grade culmination. Homemade guac & delicious Tilapia fish plate! Will come back again if in east LA.

Worst service ever! The waiter and owner were so rude. Not once did they come to our table to ask if we needed anything. I would never EVER go back!!!

Major disappointment! Got there about 40 minutes before closing. Ordered the Chile Colorado and two carnitas tacos for my son. Wife had the Mole! The Pork was at least two days old, zero taste, hard (cardboard quality) and cold. My son didn’t care for it. My Chile Colorado sauce could not mask such an insult from the chef (meat was the same for tacos and Chile Colorado)! I sincerely hope they read this review and not do that to a customer again! The horchata had a weird taste as well (kind of minty medicine like)…
On the other hand, the rice and beans are some of the best I’ve ever had in Los Angeles. From the pictures I can tell most of their dishes look decent. I will give this place another try and will report.

I turned my son on to this place. Bottom line is we are hooked on huevos divorciados. Today we also ordered the machaca. Scrumdidlyumptious.
First time I came here was 25 years ago. My friend now has a business across the street, she recommended I revisit and try the chile verde. My family and I had an early dinner here about 2 months ago and it was good but not great. My son came back during breakfast and
when this restaurant earns it’s stars. I also have noticed some patrons bring in a bag of pan dulce from the bakery next door, El Gallo. The staff doesn’t seem to mind, which is really nice! Nothing like enjoying a little pan dulce with coffee while you wait for your food.

I dropped in this morning for some breakfast with a buddy (this was my second time here) I had the chilequilles or how ever you spell lol and it was hard tortilla chips and sauce, so I was like «ok this is different «still pretty good
Anyways, today I decided to ear Huevos Rancheros with beans and rice. They lagged for a bit (I wanna say 20 mins) but when the food finally arrived omg it was soooo good ! Worth that little wait .
Plus the waitress is a hot milf ;) or hopefully a cougar lol

Maricela is the hostess with the mostess! Great inviting restaurant with so much great food salsas to offer. Try the tacos dorados!

Walked in because the restaurant we originally wanted to go to, was closed. It was a good decision. We loved it, I got the Mole Enchiladas w/​rice and beans. Mmmmmmmm it was delicious. Very filling. 3 chicken enchiladas smothered in mole, topped with cheese. The hubby got Chile Verde, my favorite. It was soo good. Small space, but was fine. The waitress and other gentleman cleaning the tables were very attentive, I never had to ask for refills, thats always nice. Definitely will come back again!

Had the huevos divorciados. Soooo delicious!!! Best ones I’ve ever had. You get a lot of food for the price and it’s all tasty.

Try and get a booth on either side of the restaurant, the tables down the center of the small dining room are a little uncomfortable for me with the waitress and bus boy going back and forth constantly to serve the other customers.
I didn’t care for the guacamole. It was mostly diced tomato, I think thick skin Roma tomato.
I prefer a thinner skin juicier slicing variety tomato, I like the seeds and juice in my guacamole.
They blend together better.
My steak picado was alright, but not very filling for my big man appetite.
If the guacamole had been more avocado based I probably would have been more filled up.
My companion enjoyed his steak and eggs with rice and beans.

Delicious chile rellenos! Me and my friend went on a whim and ended up going everyday for a week to have breakfast! Everyday I ordered the chile and she had the machaca! Would definitely recommend this place

I ordered the Huevos Divorciados. The food is very delicious. The service is quick. I would definitely recommend this place.

I like La Carreta a lot and eat there often. Although I happen to believe that my mom was the best cook ever, La Carreta’s food holds it’s own and keeps me coming back.
Now, I’ve read some of the reviews and I feel a need to correct some information and add my two cents.
Just J from Long Beach, they don’t have a counter here nor bar stools, could you be mistaking it for the place next door? La Carreta has booths on one side that can seat up to 4 yet cozy and nice for those who eat alone. There is a center row of about 5 small tables that will snuggly sit four, and a row of bench/​table/​chairs that will accommodate a family of 5.
Yes, the owners are not warm and fuzzy (for the most part, they’re there at the end of the week) but they are by no means rude nor nasty. On most days, the staff runs the place and they are the nicest and most accommodating people around; however, they’re all multitasking, so, if you’re in a rush, let them know.
Contrary to someone’s review, the Menudo is not canned, but home made and very good (they make their own chile for the broth, they don’t use canned sauce). As for the other dishes, they don’t serve canned beans, this is one of the few Mexican restaurants that will serve «frijoles de la olla,» if you ask them and they’re made on site.
And this is not by any definition, a Tex-​Mex menu, they don’t go overboard on the cumin or sweetened salsa. The dishes are fairly typical mom/​pop favorites but tweaked a little. For example, their Huevos Divorciados are not only red sauce on one side and green on the other, they use chile verde or rojo with chunks of meat, making it a pretty hearty meal. During the Lenten season, their Tortas de Camaron w/​Nopalitos are made with tiny shrimp, not powdered shrimp as is traditional (I must admit, it’s not my favorite of their dishes, I prefer powdered shrimp) but it’s good. Their albondiga soup also has its small twist, you will get all the traditional flavored soup, but the vegetables – potato, carrot, and calabasa – are whole, not chunks, and not mushy, it’s awesome! Today, I had a Steak Picado burrito, it was nicely balanced between the beans, rice and steak. I walked out of their full and not bloated – wonderfully content! The best part, it was inexpensive.
La Carreta is a small neighborhood restaurant that maintains its mom or home-​made «sentido» because of an honest amount of integrity that goes into making the food. Understand this, most of those who eat at La Carreta are from the surrounding neighborhood, its customers do not rely on smart phones for directions. They are people who know what good Mexican food is because most, as I, who walk through those doors, happen to have (or had) a mama that prepares the best Mexican food in the world. My mom would have enjoyed this place. I do too.

This is an order at the counter sit on bar stools at high counters attached to the exterior walls. For lunch you should try to arrive early to get one of the 3 tables. The food was very yummy and affordable. The tacos are the mini type so order appropriately. The chili verde burrito was served wet and large enough for two meals. They do take credit cards. By 12:10 the line was out the door, but the service was quick and efficient.

Food is really good the huevos divorciados are my favorite! The service has definitely gotten better

Love it! i miss coming here when i worked in the area. The burritos, the huevos divorciados and pretty much anything on the menu is bomb. The owners are super friendly and cool. They gave me a free meal once. Thanks!

I read all the positive 4 and 5 star reviews so I was convinced to give this place a try. A friend had already eaten here about 9 months ago and was not impressed with the food.
I wanted to check it out for myself to render an honest opinion. I went on Saturday morning and couldn’t make up my mind on what to order. All of the dishes that were coming out looked delicious. I decided to give their menudo a shot. BAD CHOICE. I kid you not, when I tasted the menudo it tasted EXACTLY and looked IDENTICAL to canned Juanita’s brand. I swear it did!
I was thinking to myself WTF, I’m going to pay $ 9.00 dollars for garbage that costs $ 2.50 a can at Ralphs.
Don’t get me wrong here, I’ve had canned Juanita’s menudo before, especially on those rainy Sunday mornings when you just want to kick back and watch some football; but had I known what was I was about to eat, I would’ve gone to Azteca Tortilleria next door instead.
I know good menudo when I see it, but the crap I was served today was a direct insult. Who knows, maybe there are those patrons who frequent this place that think canned Juanita’s is the bomb! Hey more power to you!
Obviously, menudo is not their specialty, so I will probably come back one more time and try something different and maybe then, if they win me over, will I change my rating. We’ll see what happens stay tuned…

We went a few weeks ago. The service was OK. But the food, was horrible. It was not Mexican food, maybe if you didn’t know what mexican food was, you’d like
this place. It was more Tex-​Mex.
I ordered chilaquiles, I got Tortilla Chips with tomato sauce. I asked for a spicier salsa, and they brought me more tomato sauce.
If I wanted tex-​mex I would have gone to Taco Bell. There is plenty of other joints with authentic Mexican food.
Maybe this place just wasn’t for me, but considering the price, and the quality of food, I will not be going back.
–Alberto

Late post~was here early.
My opinion the best chili Colorado by far. Authentic.
You want a good Mexican meal come here and try the chili Colorado or the enchilada with mole then after you eat order up some home made tortillas and take home hot.
Yummy!
Grab s beer kick back and enjoy!

I have a feeling we’re going to be coming back again and again.
La Carreta is the type of mom & pop place we prefer to frequent.
Down home cooking with delicious smells coming at you right from the open kitchen.
I was in a soup-​y mood and was looking at recent local (to me) Unilocal friends reviews. Saw Sergio Z’s review and saw that he thought the broth was really good. Sold! I love to sip on a savory broth.
It was mid-​morning, so we just dropped by for take-​out.
Got a friendly greeting and sat down to wait for our food.
The hubby was getting all happy looking at what other folks had on their tables.
This place has a nice feel to it and we agreed that the next time, we’ll want to dine in.
He ordered a Machaca-​Huevos burrito ($ 6) and really liked it.
Plenty of filling.
My albondigas soup was delicious! I drank half the broth the minute we got home and it was very hearty. Heated up the rest a few hours later for lunch and it made for a good filling meal. The presentation of their soup is simple and I enjoyed it very much. Came with rice, tortillas & condiments.
I’d happily come back for more!

Great place came in for breakfast, the carreta as soon as you walk in you can see the workers in kitchen cooking it up, was impressed all were friendly so I ordered Huevos Divorciados wow a lil pricy $ 10 but let’s have a good day type of morning nevertheless
Eggs are huge sunny side up with one with green Chile, the other egg with red Chile & in between u got some chilaquilles & fresh home made refried beans (u can ask for frijoles de la hoya) anyways yumm I will be back best Huevos Divorciados around

The huevos divorciados are the best choice if you like variety you get green chili in pork I’ve one egg and beef red chili over one egg beans in the middle of the plate and Chile quiles in the middle a little of everything this place rocks !!! Prices are good considering the quality the tortillas are hand made all in all great place to eat should have five stars

BEST MENUDO EVER!!! Very flavorful, just the right amount of chile, and meat and tripe are cut into bitesize pieces, absolutely wonderful. La Carrera serves it 7 days a week.

Last week my wife and I went to the Azteca Tortilleria and had some great burritos. Now we are next door at the La Carreta restaurant. The restaurant is small like the Azteca Tortilleria but very popular. This is our first time at the restaurant knowing the restaurant is pack with people knowing the food is good.
We saw the menu on window displaying dishes they serve at the restaurant. We decided what to order before we got seated in the restaurant. We waited couple of minutes until seating can be found. We got our table and order, my wife order the chilaquiles and I order the albondigas with flour tortilla.
The waitress brought us our meal then I say wow the food looks really amazing including my albondigas soup and my wife chilaquiles.. The Broth is amazing so much flavor it feel like home made like mom made it and the meatball were so good, I really enjoy the Albondigas very much, I would get Albondigas again. My wife chilaquiles enjoy it, she let me a bit wow I say it taste like home made.
Overall we enjoy the food at the La Carreta, we would come back again.

Simply AMAZING! Have to try los huevos divorciados… What’s keeping then from 5 star is no hand made tortillas. But the food makes you forget all about that.

I had he chicken Fajitas they were very good the beans were amazing and so was the rice I wasn’t sure between that and the carnitas so I asked the waitress and she recommended the fajitas and I’m glad I listened my mom ordered the famous huevos divorciados and she liked them except for the fact that the eggs were sunny side up and she likes her eggs scrambled. You don’t get tortillas unless you ask for them. But what bummed me out is that it was my uncle’s birthday and I asked the waitress if they did anything she said no you can go to the bakery nice door and buy something really? I was thinking just grab Anthing you might have And stick a candle in it but nope. :(I also asked if they had any desserts and they said no… ;(
Our party was 15 people so we took up half the restaurant small place for big groups but they do try their best to sit your entire party together

I had a green chile burrito. At first i couldn’t make up my mind, so the waiters ley me sample the red sauce and green sauce meat. Both were delicious! I have to come back and try other things.

Good food at a reasonable price. The staff is very friendly. Try the Mole poblano or the enchiladas. Went again after I wrote this review and had a totally different experience. The waitress wasn’t so friendly this time. 5−22−15 went again yesterday. That’s it, I’m done with this place. Totally different since the first time I went.

Food was average not tasty. I ordered some chillaquilles all I got was hard chips in table salsa and canned beans. guacamole needed salt Ana spice. Not Mexican but more Chicano style tasteless

Clean, homey, friendly, keep your coffee mug full, Simply Delicious. I can’t help mysel, always come back for the Lengua Ranchera. Mmmmmmm…