Olamendi's: Pop's Tacos and Sandwiches

Olamendi's: Pop's Tacos and Sandwiches 34320 Pacific Coast Hwy, Suite F Dana Point, CA 92629 (949) 429-2612 No online directory listings available yet for this restaurant. Official Site

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Having just found out about this yesterday (keep the tips coming, folks) and having my lunch plans for today change I was able to drive down to Dana Point a few hours ago and test the new Olamendi's restaurant: Pop's Tacos and Sandwiches (not to be confused with Pup 'N' Taco). Look for it off the Camino las Ramblas offramp on PCH in the shopping center with A's Burgers and Jack's Surfboards right by the Dana Point Bridge (UPDATE: found out it's called Doheny Park Plaza).

Run by the same Olamendi family who runs the Original Olamendi's in Capo Beach, Pop's Tacos and Sandwiches opened up five days ago and offers a beach-friendly Mexican menu (tacos, burritos, quesadillas, etc.) and several American-style sandwiches.

I have found Nemo

I like the fact that Olamendi's bottles their own sodas, which can be ordered along with other Olamendi's products from their gourmet foods website. Flavors are: grape, cola, hibiscus, and lemonade:

These are in real bottles that you need a can opener to get into; none of that wimpy twist-off stuff.

Another unique thing on their menu is ceviche tacos. Having never had one before I ordered one along with a fish taco. You can tell them what kind of toppings you want (sour cream, guacamole, etc.). Both were stuffed with as much meat and toppings that they could fit into their two corn tortillas each and the cool ceviche taco is an appropriate choice for a hot summer day.

If I had realized they had "Nachos Libres" on their menu I might've ordered those but those will have to wait until my next visit. If you're wondering what the reference is, here's some clips from Nacho Libre, the Jack Black film:

My usual ratings icon is a Speedy Gonzales:



And I have also used the Panchito:



But I think for Olamendi's: Pop's Tacos and Sandwiches I will use a new icon. Therefore they earn a four lucha libre mask rating:



Click here to see the complete photo album at .

Original Olamendi's - Review #2

Original Olamendi's 34660 Pacific Coast Hwy Capistrano Beach, CA 92624 (949) 661-1005 (949) 661-7341 FAX Listing on Yahoo! Local Listing on Ask.com's Citysearch Official Site

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Here's the latest review from Johnny Automatic with his perspective on Olamendi's in Capo Beach:

This is the original Olamendi's in Capistrano Beach. It has been serving up the family's Mexican favorites since 1973. Other members of the family have opened branches of the restaurants over the years but this here is the original. It sits on the thin strip of land along the coast here between cliffside and beach. As popular as it is, parking can be an issue. They have a decent enough parking lot that due to the location is forced to be one-way. So diners leaving the place may be backing out onto PCH.

10 of us visited on a Saturday in January. A number of people waited outside so we thought the wait would be long. Fortunately we had reservations and seating happened pretty quickly. Upon entering it be came apparent that a number of tables were empty. Maybe all those people were waiting for take out.

Olamendi's is famous for a couple of things. One is the way the place is decorated with art and photographs filling the place. The other thing it is famous for is being Richard Nixon's favorite Mexican restaurant. Since they only opened in 1973 this would have to have been late in Nixon's presidency or afterwards. Anyway, among the many pictures are ones of Nixon dining in the restaurant. Right near him is one of former President G.W. Bush. So the tradition continues to this day.

Things started well enough with chips and salsa arriving pretty quickly. The chips were nice and fresh and the salsa was fresh, chunky and had good heat. But after that we seem to have fallen off the staff's radar. It took an unreasonable time to even order drinks. They were delivered eventually, but the waitress vanished before we could order dinner and again waited way too long. Maybe it was break time in the kitchen as from where we sat the cigarette smoke blowing in from the employee's break area was unavoidable.

We ordered a pitcher of Cadillac margaritas which was very reasonably priced compared to the normal margs. But if these truly were Cadillac margs we couldn't tell. They tasted like any other place's normal margarita.

Apparently someone higher up noticed our plight and to their credit they brought us some complimentary guacamole. It showed up just before our meals did. It was a very good guacamole.

Albondigas soup - a good traditional rendition.

The #8 Combo - taco and cheese enchilada. My wife ordered this and liked the taco quite a lot but found the enchilada sauce too tomato-y and a little thin and light. She also gave high marks for the rice and found the beans to be average.

I ordered the carne asada Olemendi's. It was a well prepared Mexican style steak. I'm watching the carbs right now so I passed on the rice and beans. It also comes with grilled onions and peppers and guacamole.

Another one of the combos - our resident head gringo found this just to his liking - not too spicy.

A big monster chile relleno. They make them in the style where the egg batter is big and fluffy.

Mole Poblano

Camarones Enchilados Corona del Mar - shrimp enchiladas with a tequila and chile flavored white sauce.

The carnitas burrito served wet. The meat inside was cold and needed to be sent back.

Shrimp Fajitas

You can see that the menu is extensive, and in case you forgot about Richard Nixon, all his favorites are pointed out on the menu. In fact almost everything on the menu is a favorite of one of the regulars and is so noted on the menu.

As to the whole experience, obviously it was not the best experience. My fellow diners (except for the cold burrito) didn't find the food exceptionally good or bad, just about what they expected. Was it an off night for the kitchen and staff or is this an old established place that has gotten too complacent? Hard to say. The stuff they did well was worthy of their reputation, long waits and cold food offset the positives. I'll reserve giving them a Speedy rating this time.

Original Olamendi's - Review #1

Date of Visit: January 13, 2007

Original Olamendi's 34660 Pacific Coast Hwy Capistrano Beach, CA 92624 (949) 661-1005 Listing on Yahoo! Local Listing on Ask.com's Citysearch Official Site

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Due to being in the middle of another horrendous backlog again of reviews to write I am just going to post the Olamendi's photos for now and add my remarks on the place as my schedule allows. Not only is Olamendi's a feast for the mouth but for the eyes as well. Managers John and Gloria Olamendi Haney kindly allowed me to take pictures of their family-run restaurant which has been a favorite for 33 years now of both Republican politicians (Richard Nixon being the most famous; his last visit was about a month before he died) and Hollywood celebrities and the Dana Point locals. Many from all three categories are featured in the numerous photos adorning the walls

Some of the celebrities spotted at Olamendi's include:

• Anthony Edwards
• Kevin Bacon
• Courteney Cox
• David Arquette
• Oscar de la Renta
• Heather Locklear and Richie Sambora

The childrens' part of the menu at Olamendi's is called "Christian's Speedy Gonzalez Menu." Most readers of this blog will recognize how appropriate that is. The dishes on the childrens' menu are named after other Olamendi grandchildren.

From out front the restaurant looks small but it really opens up as you head towards the back.

Olamendi's has three other spinoff restaurants run by various family members; all locations are in the South County coastal area and may be covered here later.

At Olamendi's every day is Day of the Dead

"Shark fin" guacamole

I was having a hard time deciding between all the different breakfast entrees that they had that looked so good so at Gloria's suggestion I got a half-and-half plate with Huevos a la Mexicana and the Huevos Olamendi (scrambled eggs with chorizo):

What I especially liked about the chorizo was that it was perhaps the least greasy chorizo I've ever had and with just the right amount of spiciness. I took some of each entree, stuffed them into my tortillas and made some of my own custom ultimate breakfast burritos.

I also got a bowl of Huevos a la Tia Lucha, a sort of breakfast soup with a poached egg swimming a red sauce with avocados, peppers, sour cream, and pimento olives.

Olamendi's earns a four and a half Speedy Gonzales rating:



Here are some more shots of the interior: