Carmelitas

The best Mexican food we’ve found in a long time. Fresh, authentic, good prices, nice cocktail assortment, clean, professional and friendly people. We’re renting a house in new port richey, on the water but love this place so much we’ve been back here the most.
I had guacamole Toastadas, tamales, their sweet corn is delicious and the flan is great!
Come here!
It’s worth the drive!

Food: The best authentic Mexican food anywhere around! The beans and rice are phenomenal. And whatever that salsa is made of… it’s KILLER!
Service: Service is awesome. The ladies (and gentleman) are always watching out for you, and they’re very friendly. Once you become a regular, they are very nice people.
Atmosphere: I love the remodel. This place needed a bar! Very bright and open. The building is a little old, but the décor sticks to the traditional ‘fiesta’ appeal.
It’s a great place overall!

Pretty good food. We’ve eaten here twice and I like that you can get other sides beside retried beans. I love their chips and salsa. They are thinner, I hate thick chips! Guacamole is very good. The shredded chicken tacos are very good! The kids meal with the smiley potato fries are a bit mushy and gross but we just give our toddler food from our plates or just get him some rice and he loves guacamole. One less star because the service seems a bit slow, at least on one of the occasions and it seems a bit dinghy inside but it’s an old building I guess.

Absolutely fantastic! Great food! The manager is a good person who really cares about your experience. NOT one bad thing to say!

Much better than the last time we were here few years ago. Food was good, excellent service, you can’t miss. Home made salsa was great, no complaints from anyone at the table!

I have a good friend in NPR that I visit often. All the decent «Mexican» joints around his area closed.
Thankfully, Carmelita’s opened a NPR location!
As for the menu stand-​outs? Their simple refried beans beat the sombreros and serapes right off of ALL most other «authentic» Mex joints.
Carmelita’s refrieds are not only creamy but have a depth from being made with lard or bacon fat? You can taste that meaty goodness in every bite! Decadent…
Plus call me crazy, but sometimes I really enjoy the simple «gringo» tacos from my youth. Almost like I make at home, meaning a CRISPY corn tortilla shell, ground beef, and lettuce/​tomato/​cheese. Carmelita’s are always the very best, and I’ve sampled many.
Do you crave those traditional real Mex tacos with a floppy corn tortilla, stuffed with meat, and just topped with raw onion and cilantro? Look elsewhere. This is not the place…
Carmelita’s also has great shredded pork tamales if you care for more traditional Mex fare. Finally, the real menu secret here is their «kitchen special.» It’s just simple shredded beef, slow simmered in a complex sauce, served over rice with tortillas on the side.
This is definitely the best Tex-​Mex in NPR! Look no further and enjoy!

The food is good, I wish it was more authentic and more to choose from. The price is a little high for Mexican food in my opinion. The salsa and chips are excellent. The staff is great, it’s very clean, and the draft beer is on point. My place to go when I’m craving Mexican and don’t want a long drive.

Salsa was good. Enchiladas were very flavorful and the kids enjoyed them. We split a large carnitas pork burrito for lunch which is the weekend special and it was awesome :)

Rude staff, The mole sauce is from a jar, Canned tomatoes in the salsa. Really, who wants any of that? Didn’t this place get shut down on dirty dining?

Awesome good! Great service! Very authentic! Will be back. Your waitress dresses in authentic dresses!

We decided to give Carmelitas a try. We were quickly seated. We were approached by the server in a timely fashion but had a hard time hearing her. There was a large party sitting near by and they were having a good time but the place was very loud. Chips and salsa were brought with our drinks. Our food came very quickly piping hot but a bit bland for my liking. The service was great, fast and friendly. All in all it was good but not great.

Rude staff, The food is decent. We drive out to Pablanos instead.

The hubby and I were looking for something different when we came upon this little gem of a restaurant. We walked in and in no time at all we were greeted by a lovely young lady who seated us and brought us some refreshing tasty margaritas. We munched on chips and salsa as we chatted and waited for our dinner. when our dinner arrived it looked yummy. I had the del Ray burrito. It was delicious and properly but together. Overall we had a lovely experience at this quaint little Mexican restaurant.

Time for an update… I was really surprised to see Carmelitas down to 3 stars, until we stopped tonight. Hopefully, Jose, the manager reads this and makes some changes before they have no business at all.
This has been a twice a month stop for the last two years. Although we have seen service slip a bit over the last six months, I thought it was just a bad spell. But it has gotten so bad, I’m not going to waste my money here despite the decent food.
Service is slow, but on a Wednesday night with two guests in the restaurant it shouldn’t have been this bad. While our server sat at a table in the other section we waited and waited and waited and waited. She was more interested in watching TV and drinking soda, she truly neglected her job.
We observed a gentleman come in and be seated.
He waited nearly ten minutes by himself. The rude server told him that he could not get the fajita special for some reason… but that he could pay full price. As he got up to walk out, he commented that he understands why there were only two people in at dinner time. He will probably never return, over what? a $ 2 difference?
Dinner was ok… I asked for raw onions on my taco salad… apparently that is an extra…50 cents extra for 6 to 8 small pieces of onion… and there was no lettuce in the salad.
Dinner was still tasty Carmelitas style which is why they get the two stars.

Best Mexican food in the area, huge selection! Maybe some of the neg reviews are from people expecting Taco bell. They have different spice levels, various choices on the menu. Only complaint is the lack of more desert choices.

The food here is amazing! It far exceeded my expectations. They also have great specials on margaritas which is great if you want a drink with your meal. The atmosphere is relaxed and the staff are always friendly. Portions are large, I always end up bringing food back home.

Service is awesome! The desserts are really good. I’ve been here 2 times and my main course has always been just okay. Nice Mexican food for a decent price but nothing out of this world.

Every meal we have had has been awesome. Portions are large, food is always served hot. The service is hit or miss.
And the Fried Cheesecake Dessert, to die for.

Ive tried other Mexican food restaurants in the NPR area and Carmelitas has consistently been my favorite. Good portions, inexpensive and a variety of items to choose from. Ive never left disappointed. Try the flan. Its awesome.

How does this place only have three reviews?
Carmelita’s is our standby. The menu is consistent, the service is great, and the prices are reasonable. I can honestly say that I’ve never been disappointed by the food. My boyfriend, a Mexican food snob, enjoys it well enough too. Perhaps it’s not the most authentic Mexican food, but it’s delicious and inexpensive.