Los Cuates

Let me start off with where I’m from, San Diego (30 minutes north of Tijuana). I grew up with a Mexican family. That being said, finding «good» Mexican food around here is tough. In San Diego I would go to Old Towne Mexican Café for Pozole (drive 30 minutes to get it because it was that good). I had a place in Santee (Hilbertos) that I could get my Carne Asada fries fix. This place has better Pozole (more authentic with bones in the soup and all) than did Old Town Mex. The Carne Asada fries are very good also, with the guac and cheese.
I also found their little drive thru place on Capital and was led to the sit down location. Winner-​winner Mexican dinner!!!

Get the carne asada. Good flavor. There was only one girl working (taking orders, delivering food, cleaning off the tables)…so the service was a bit slow… but she was doing her best! The salsa bar is really good… and so are the chips. The restaurant is pretty basic on the inside. Next time, I’ll get carry out.

The food is Great i didn’t even expect that i love trying food from different places and this one definitely has me wanting to go back and i will!

Being from San Diego I didn’t have my hopes up, but apparently the owners are from Southern Cali too! THANK YOU for bringing a taste of home to NC. Love this place!

Not what I was expecting but damn they have some tasty food.
Stopped on in to Los Cuates before a show at The Ritz, if you’re looking for a quick and tasty meal then look no further.
Tucked away behind the Kanki on Old Wake Forest Rd. you’ll find this west coast style Mexican food joint. There sign doesn’t light up at night so it can be a little tough to find but it’s worth driving around for.
I ordered the carne asada tacos. The carne asada is so good and they clearly make their food to order. I loved the salsa bar there were so many yummy choices and all fresh ingredients. They have a nice selection of Mexican beers all pretty cheap. The food is so cheap too and way better then some other fast taco joints in town.
This is a fast casual restaurant, you order up front and they bring your food out to you. The lady working the register was very sweet and helpful with suggestions.
I’ll definitely be back soon, I can’t get enough good Mexican food.

The food is REALLY good, and more authentic than your standard Mexican restaurant. Huge portions, great prices and very fast. Nice selection of salsas. The green chili plate is amazing. This has been a regular place for us to get carry out for five years & they never disappoint.

My wife and I got a Groupon for Los Cuates and tried it for the first time. Simply delicious, relatively inexpensive, very large servings, very authentic and yet their very own style. They have a salsa bar which has some an awesome carrot and jalapeño salad in a vinaigrette style marinade. The bottles of beer are reasonably priced and like one other reviewer noted, soccer is playing on all 3 TVs. We will be back.

Growing up in Imperial Beach and Chula Vista in California we lived on Hilbertos, Adalbertos and of course the best; Robertos. Hitting the 3^rd Ave store 2 – 3 times per week for rolled tacos. Los Cuates is a slice of heaven, serving up the foods and flavors we’ve been looking for, for so long. The carne asada burrito is spot on. The marinated carrots are the best since El Patio in the 80s. And the rolled tacos with guacamole was perfect!

Very friendly. Clean. Always some good soccer on the tv.
Everything on the menu is the very best and I’ve had everything at least once.
There is a very bright green salsa at the bar — be careful — it’s really hot, but addictive.
Great and very friendly service.
My favorite.
It’s all about the food at Los Cuates.

Great food, great service, and great prices. What more could anyone ask for, as this is as close to California Mexican food as anyone will get in Raleigh. Nothing fancy about the
place, but who cares!

Love it!!! As a San Diegan its hard finding Mexican food that reminds me of home and they brought me back to many late night burrito runs. Similar style to Santana’s or Alberto’s.
If you havent tried a shredded beef taco from here you are missing out in life. They also have pretty good Cali-​Burrito.

I stand corrected.
We went back a second time, again for the carne asada fries, and tried a chicken taco salad. Wow!!! Whole different experience!
The carne asada meat was consistent with our first visit– well-​seasoned, tender, and plentiful. The chicken reigns king, now, however!!! Amazingly seasoned, to the point where we were both scraping around on the plate looking for the last morsels! The taco salad itself was also very tasty and fresh. Maybe the best one we have ever had. I personally love that they don’t put rice in it: just beans, meat, lettuce, cheese, sour cream and pico de gallo all inside that divine fried taco bowl.
Seriously, I take back my two stars! Even the service was much better and very friendly this time.
Based on this, we couldn’t help but wonder why there was only one other table there this evening. Prime time on a Saturday night?! So… Go there, now!!! You won’t regret it!!!

I give Los Cuates 5 stars for being delicious, affordable, family owned and accommodating. This is a walk-​up food counter, and your chips and food are delivered to your table. This is my go-​to spot for catering large group dinners. They sell absolutely delicious made-​to-​order carnitas, ceviche, and guacamole (and I’m sure more items as well) by the pound, and they supply all of the necessary fixings to allow you to skip the grocery store (tortillas, chopped onion and cilantro, chips and salsa, even cutlery and napkins if you need it).
When I’m not ordering 3lbs of carnitas :) I absolutely love the quesadillas, fish tacos, and burritos. I’m not sure what they do to their carne asada and chicken — but it is so flavorful! Great people, great food, unparalleled convenience.

We moved to Raleigh in ’06 from San Diego, we knew not having taco shops around might cause a Mexican food jones. We looked around & tried various stands which were good but more traditional Mexico rather than So Cal. Then we stumbled upon the Capital Blvd store…
Took one look at the menu & really couldn’t believe what I was reading. Upon talking with the owner he told me he was from CA & if I knew where Oceanside was located. Still having my CA DL I showed him I was from La Mesa. He then asked me if I knew about Roberto’s…he used to manage one of their stores. This is basically a Roberto’s here in Raleigh.
We ordered Carne Asada fries, it hadn’t been put on the menu yet. My wife cried… literally.
The prices have gone up a bit but it’s a small price to pay for comfort food from a place that has so many fond memories but Raleigh is now our home.

Went there for the first time today and I’ve got to say their burritos are awesome! I’m not usually a burrito person but I decided to try the carne asada burrito after reading great reviews on here and I’ve got to say, it’s pretty dang good. It’s pretty much just steak, guacamole, and pico — so simple yet so good. Their plain churros were also the best churros I’ve ever had in my life. The Mexican soda was awesome, too. This place is very authentic and reasonably priced. Definitely recommend!

Good inexpensive and fast Mexican food. Had the chorizo con huevos and it was a little greasy, but very tasty. We’ll be back.

My 4 stars for Los Cuates is based primarily on their Carne Asada Fries, which should illustrate how good these fries are.
I first tried the concept of Carne Asada Fries at Alberto’s in Southern California and was taken away by such a simple, munchies food. Ever since, I’ve had perpetual cravings for this late night snack but have been unable to satisfy this need.
Enter: Los Cuates. This place is hidden in the North Market shopping area, and provides a simple, clean environment with super legit Mexican/​Latin American dishes. Although I only had the Carne Asada Fries, I could immediately tell from the menu that this place was the real deal.
The fries were incredible, as I made sure to do it SoCal style by adding guacamole, sour cream, and hot sauce. You NEED to try them. For good measure I also had their horchata and caramel filled churros! The horchata was fairly good and the churros were cooked fresh and were delicious.
I’m very pleased with Los Cuates and am looking forward to eating here again to try their other dishes, with the hopes of adding one more star to my review.

Ive been going to this place weekly since we first discovered it on a lunch trip a month back. If you’re looking for no nonsense authentic mexican food with a great salsa bar this place is definitely your spot.
The standouts for me so far have been the carne asada and adobada but everything people have gotten here they love.
The service is awesome and they bring out chips for you to use with your salsa bar if you dine in.
Among my favorite places to dine in the city.

I was DESPERATE for some good Mexican food. I was warned and warned again that the Mexican food does NOT compare to what I can get back home in SoCal, but I was willing and open to trying a couple spots that I had found on Unilocal!Los Cuates was one of them and I’m so glad I went to try it and went with an open mind!
I decided to try both the Carne Asada Fries and the Carne Asada Burrito plate.
Carne Asada Fries — If you get a side of guacamole and sour cream and some pico de gallo, it’s almost as good as it is back home! I have to say that I was really impressed with their carne asada! I was expecting dry meat without any flavor but it had a GREAT flavor! I was really impressed! I would be back JUST for the fries! :)
Carne Asada Burrito Plate — You get not one but 2 carne asada burritos filled with asada, pico de gallo and guacamole! The plate comes with 2 burritos, rice and beans. I wasn’t too impressed with the beans (tasted like it was straight out of a can) and rice is rice, but I really was, again, impressed with the carne asada and the fact that you get 2 burritos!
Salsa Bar — I am absolutely a fan of their green salsa — not to be mistaken with the chile verde — but the brighter green salsa! I could probably eat buckets of that salsa! This girl APPROVES! I also love that they have cucumbers, limes, radishes, and pickled jalapenos and carrots out — I feel like a lot of establishments just have their salsas out and the other condiments are over-​looked! Glad I was able to see it there.
All in all, I will be coming here whenever I am craving Mexican – it also helps incredibly that I live less than 10 minutes away! :) I spent $ 18 dollars for everything but I probably ate it all over 3 meals! So, $ 6 per meal? I’ll take it! :)
This LA girl was VERY happy!

Burrito! BUUUUUUUURRITOOOOO! What! I want to tell you about this Burrito!
Usually I would go through a list of ingredients of what I do NOT want in my Burrito! Here is how it went down… Exakt :
Rod0 «I do NOT want any Lettuce in my Burrito»!
Sweet Lady at the Counter «We do NOT put any Lettuce in our Burritos»! «A Little bit of Guacamole»
Rod0 «Good»! [happy, stunned, relieved, impressed, entering a stage of calm, relaxed and excited to enjoy something I have so seldom in what Americans call «burrito»
Rod0 «Does it have Rice or Beans in it»?
Sweet Lady at the Counter «Not unless you want it»
{commentary: [ this is VERY IMPRESSIVE… maybe it should not be? ] }
This Burrito was BIG… THICK with STEAK, a little Onion, Tomato! Mostly MEAT! Very Nice Flavor! This Burrito makes this a 4 Unilocal star experience!
4 Unilocal stars for the Fries COVERED in Meat! My eBay Bride ordered these so I did not realize it was NOT her meal… Entrée Sized! BIG!
We ate all the Sauces and Red Salsa and Salsa Verde! As I would expect, they were pretty Plain, so what, the food was so Good I did NOT need to Drown or even touch it up with ANYTHING!
eBay Bride and I were of the non-​Latin few eating here at Lunch today!
Yes the Décor is Minimal! That ADDs to the experience to us, so… The Service was polite and Wonderful!