Carlos O' Brien's - Avondale

I so so want to give this place more stars. I wish I could do half stars because this would be a solid 2.5; a solid middle of the road. Just a cool place and a great location with my kids in soccer and volleyball in the complex right next door. Plus the beer and Margaritas were top notch. Now... the chips, well, the chips are the number one thing holding this place back. They taste like plain rice cakes....no, that is an insult to rice cakes, they taste like styrofoam with some light corn tortilla flavor. Actually yes, that's what they taste like...buy some white corn tortillas and eat one right out of the fridge. No real flavor. This is really unfortunate as their salsa is really good. Well at least, as you won't be eating much of the salsa with these chips, you will have plenty to add to your tacos or meal, because like I said it is pretty darn good salsa. We started with the Nachos. Half beef and half chicken. They were both good. In fact both better than good. However, these dang flavorless styrofoam chips take away from them. They would be 5 out of 5 nachos all day long if it wasn't for the chips. My kids loved their quesadilla and mini tacos. Big plus. My wife and I shared the taco enchilada plate and ordered an extra taco. I enjoyed the taco and the enchilada was decent. Huge plus...I will say this place does not skimp on the meat in any of the dishes. It was loaded on the nachos, and the taco and enchilada were stuffed. Modelo on draft was tasty and the repasado margarita was very enjoyable. We decided to come again to try their fajitas. I will let you know how it goes. But we're bringing our own bag of chips.

I have to say I was disappointed with the ambience or lack thereof at Carlos O 'briens. The decor is more Cafeteria Style . On our visit it was not busy so we were seated immediately and a large basket of chips and two kinds of salsa were promptly delivered to our table. I have had better salsa however, my lunch companion thought the salsa was good. I ordered the chicken fundido as did my lunch companion. In what seemed like an impossibly short time our orders were placed in front of us. I have to say that the entrees served at Carlos O 'briens are of very generous portions. In fact, there was enough there for two to share. You definitely get your money 's worth. However, I really didn 't care for the taste of the chicken fundido. The chicken was very dry and the sauce didn 't have much flavor. On a positive note our server, was very attentive and wanted to make sure everything was to our liking. .

One of my favorite authentic Mexican joints in the valley. I have never been disappointed with the food and I have to say, they have the best chips and salsa. Service is always spectacular and the staff is always happy. The fajitas are off the chain and it can serve about three people, however the quesadillas, burritos, and tacos are just as good. The menu is packed with so many food choices it's hard to make a decision, which of course delays my order time. They have plenty of TVs if you want to catch a sports game in the bar area and the happy hour is not too shabby either. PS they pour heavy.....

Got to say food is very good staff is checking if you need anything I'll be back for sure here on business and being next door at the hotel around the corner highly recommend. Came back still consistent great service ice cold beer carnitas is a must and yes five stars

Ordered pollo fundido. They must prep their chicken the night before? Because I hate the taste of old chicken and my entree was filled with it. For the money, I'll go somewhere else. The staff were friendly.