Libby’s Restaurant

Best Mexican food in Mendocino County. Period. The Sopes, Flautas and Carne Asada Tostada can’t be touched. If you were going to eat at one Mexican place in Mendocino, this is the only one. Unfortunately we don’t have a lot of great restaurants in our neck of the woods, but we are blessed to have Libby’s.

Carnitas… for the recommendation from others and it did not disappoint! Very moist & tender, great flavor and likely the best ever. Choose corn over flour tortillas but you get the choice.
El Pastor Burrito was amazing as well. Spicy enough for those that like a bit of a kick. The meat is so flavorful my eyes wanted to eat the huge thing but I saved ½ for leftovers (double yum)!
Libby is taking orders, both in person and take out, delivering the meals, checking out customers, and remembering the names of all her local customers. If we lived closer, we would be regulars in short order.

To be fair, I wasn’t really in the mood for Mexican food. I ordered the combo taco and enchilada. I did not care for it at all. I am obviously in the minority with all the 5 star reviews, but I thought the taco was soggy, the sauce overwhelming everything on the plate, the beans were mushy and the enchilada was just ok. My husband had some other combo plate and said he thought it was delicious. So maybe it’s just me, but I would not go back. It was not crowded and I had to ask 3 times for a refill on my water and finally my husband had to get up and refill it for me. When you’re the only restaurant in town, maybe it’s easier to get 5 stars?

Back to Libby’s for an annual visit. The dinner was terrific and did not dissappoint. Libby had a special of enchiladas with green sauce the night we visited –which I ordered. I had the carnitas filling and it came with standard beans and rice, all done to perfection –the enchilada floating in homemade tomatillo sauce. My wife had the chile relleño and it was excellent as usual. Not only was the food excellent, but the restaurant is neat and clean and there is no music blaring in the background — just good food and oh yes, there was an outstanding by the glass wine list as well as bottles. I chose a local petite sirah by the glass which was excellent. Libby herself served the plates. Her restaurant is still serving the best hands on Mexican food in Northern California. So make it here while Libby and her husband are still here as we have heard they plan to retire soon.

Excellent food, great local beer, and a long list of wines. We stopped there for lunch on the way from Cloverdale to Mendocino, just happening to hit it during its 12 – 2 window, not knowing anything about the restaurant when we arrived. So happy to have discovered Libby’s.

We absolutely love this restaurant, but I must let
you know that it’s currently only open for dinner —
5:30 to 8 pm Tuesday through Saturday, subject to change (lol). This is the second time we tried to make our annual pilgrimage For the best carnitas & the best that Anderson Valley has to offer, full large goblets of Toulouse Pinot Noir. Don’t make the mistake we made and call ahead!

We went Saturday night the first night Libby’s was open after break. The food was beyond delicious and worth the wait. We got chicken flautas and the carnitas recommended by some people we met in a tasting room. Both dishes came with rice and beans and we had corn tortillas. Great Mexican food up here in the valley

I wouldn’t know. It was closed at 6:00 pm this Saturday. I went outta my way for… NOTHING.

Amazing Mexican food! I am from Manhattan, but had lived in CA for years. I miss good, quality Mexican food like you wouldn’t believe.
We stopped here while in the area after reading the reviews, and this place didn’t disappoint. It was awesome and inexpensive.
Highly recommend!

Heard about this place from some friends of ours who raved about it. Probably driven past it quite a few times on our way to Mendocino over the years. We planned to stay in Philo at The Madrones for a night while wine tasting in the area so we decided a nice big lunch at Libby’s would be wise. I ordered the carnitas and Laurie ordered the wet burrito. I should have warned her it would be huge. :) The carnitas plate was perfect, nice flavor with a good bit of crunch on the edge. Laurie had no chance with the burrito. She ate about a third of it and stopped. It was delicious too. We had the rest the next day for lunch. Still a filling meal. The service was great but the food, wow.

WOW, is this place good! The owner, Libby, seems to be doing everything all at once, and she pulls it off beautifully. I order the carnitas, and, wow, maybe the best I’ve ever had. It is absolutely worth stopping or making the drive to eat here!

We are 450 miles from LA. We stop at a place called Libby’s. We are told by the locals that it is great Mexican food. Being from SoCal, you know we have lots of apprehension about getting great Mexican food from a place called Libby’s in Philo, CA. Well as the dude from Diners, Drive-​ins and Dives always says, «Shut the front door».
Holy mole, this is a great Mexican restaurant in Anderson Valley. It closes by 2 pm, so you better take advantage of it when it is open.
The burrito was ENORMOUS (see photo) and filled completely with al Pastor pork and the salsa on top was three alarm fire hot — a wonderful combination. No inexpensive fillers, just meat. WOW!
The tacos were superb, the rice was perfect and the beans were authentic.
I wish lived nearby so I could try more stuff, but unfortunately, we will be limited to our bi-​annual visits.

Good conventional Mexican. Short menu, few of the usual favs. Wine list the largest of any Mexican place I ‘ve seen.
Many Anderson Valley wine tasters were here.
Portion of al pastor large, hot, perfectly spiced — no pain– w good beans, rice & tortilla. They are smart to do a few things really well.
When I return to Baxter Wine, I will eat here again.

We live in the PHX area and frequent New Mexico quite a bit. So, we love our Mexican food and prepared in so many variations. After wine tasting in the area, we were looking for a good restaurant. We inquired at several wineries and a brewery and they all suggested Libby’s. When we found out it was a Mexican restaurant… so unexpected, we were all for it!
It was a Tuesday night, so not very many patron’s, the service was a little on the slow side as it was only what seemed as the family working that evening. Once we got our drinks and ordered… man o man, it was absolutely delicious. The flavors in each of our dishes, they know what they are doing. Generous portions… nice surprise, we had left overs which we used for breakfast the next day.
This place is no frills, but great food. We had friendly service and for a table of 5 with drinks only came out to 90.00 bucks w/​o tip. Not too shabby for the wine country.

There is no better Mexican food. At least not on this planet. If you don’t dig the food here, then frankly I pity you.
As I said before: the al pastor and carnitas are divine. The two shrimp entrees should be on the divine list as well.
Yeah, the service can be slow, but hey, you’re in Philo, what else are you going to do in the evening? Just enjoy the food and relax.

So I am sometimes a hard judge when it comes to mexican places. I always compare the cooking to grandmas and thats only because its the best.
The wife and I had just finished wine tasting at one of the local bars and we asked for a place to eat at and we were told Libby’s, and that we just had to get there before 2 when they close. Well it was 1:19 and we figure that we should just go straight there.
We arrive and the place is fully packed there was only one table open so we grab it like there is no tomorrow. Waitress comes over gives us the menu and first tells us that they are out of chicken. The wife orders the mole burrito special with al pastor and I get the Al pastor plate. When the food arrived I took the first bite of my Al pastor and hands down this is some of the best I have ever had, because of this awesome dish I will be back. The wife’s mole burrito had a great kick to it, I had to sneak more then one bite.
At around 1:50 we saw the staff running to close the blinds and turn the signs around. They don’t joke about closing at 2. So glad we made it. Next time we will have to try the carnitas, the table next to us would not stop talking about them and said that they can’t find anything that good down south.
So if your passing through Philo and you want to a bite to eat stop here, plus its the only place in town to eat.