La Cueva Mex Grill

This is one of the few Mexican restaurants I've been to in San Jose that lived up to the hype.

I had always heard from my Mexican compadres that La Cueva Mex Grill on Prospect Ave in San Jose was THE premier place to visit if you had a hankering for fine, down home Mexican food. Now, for an authentic Mexican food experience I always go to the various taquerias I know around town and get my fix there but this one has always flown under the radar for me because I just don't live to close to it and I don't want to go out of my way to get Mexican food when I can get it from half a dozen other places that are closer to my neighborhood so I didn't make any effort to try La Cueva.

I was sorely wrong not visiting this place sooner! Today I tried two of their tacos, one carne asada and one carnitas respectively, and I was BLOWN away with how good they were. If you have ever been to Super Taqueria in San Jose then you will have an inkling of what the taco here are like but these are much, much better. They grill the tortilla ( which is of superior quality than Suoer Taqueria's ) and they load it with an ample serving of meat, cheese, avocado and I believe tomatoes or salsa for more flavor and an overall picture-perfect presentation.

The veritable cherry on top of all of this honest-to-goodness South of the Border fiesta is a special hunter-green salsa which I'm certain is an in-house creation. It has subtle heat, adequate spicy goodness, a peppery kick to it and adds a whole new dimension to the tacos. 2 were enough to fill me and I am a MASSIVE man!

La Cueva merits your business as a fine establishment that serves uo good food well! I will come here soon to see if the rest of their offerings is as good as their delicious tacos!

La Cueva is one of the best small business restaurants. It has a welcoming and homely vibe, and the staff is always kind and helpful. It is a pretty popping spot, and it took a second for us to find seating, but we were able to after waiting for 5-10 minutes.

I love being welcomed with the fresh tortilla chips in the beginning as we wait for our dishes to come out. I know that everyone raves about the tacos here, which are amazing, but I can never get over the Chicken Enchiladas with green sauce. It has been a must-order for me ever since I tried it once. I love the flavor and the rice on the side, and it fills me up just the right amount.

I will continue going to La Cueva whenever I crave Mexican food!

I haven't been coming here as much. Their food is still tasty but the burritos are lacking meat since Covid. I've ordered a carnitas burrito twice this year and got a tablespoon of carnitas. You can pay extra for double meat, but why not do it right the first time? Or just up the price.
Also be aware that their prices have gone up, so what's on yelp is not correct.
Large green salsa is $7 now instead of $5
Side of beans is $3 now instead of $1.50

The people are still great! Covid just seemed to change a lot of places.

La Cueva is one of those unpretentious neighborhood joints we need more of. It's small, active with people eating in or picking up orders, kinda noisy. Set way back from Prospect Avenue, it's easy to miss the first time, so look for the See's Candies. La Cueva's in that group of stores.

As for the food, the only thing I've ordered from the very complete menu the three or four times I've been there is the tamales plate. I keep wanting to get something else, but those tamales are magic in your mouth, tenderness for your taste buds, bendiciones in your belly. They are moist. You know how some tamales kinda crumble when you slice a bite with your fork? Well theirs are so moist they're almost creamy.

They're accompanied by a lovely salad with bits of papaya, refried beans exquisitos, and fluffy rice. Finally the green salsa they bring with tortilla chips, (both made in house, I asked) is so uniquely, remarkably, unforgettably sabrosa that you'll want to take some home. They'll put it in a styrofoam cup for you. Don't let it sit long in the fridge; it gets fuzzy in a few days - proof they make it themselves without preservatives.

As to cost, everything's expensive around here, but La Cueva is on the more affordable side.

¡Viva Sabor! ¡Viva La Cueva!

I love their food and the service is always friendly even when they are busy. My favorite item is the Chile Colorado Burrito! I think it's fairly priced too. If you gone when it's busy you may have to wait, but it's worth the wait.

I love Torta and this was one of the best toras i had. Btw total cost was leas than 20$.

Had two different burritos and both had too much rice compared to the protein . No guacamole to be found, even though its supposed to have some.

Came across this mex place in Campbell and it was a pleasant surprise. We ordered 2 super tacos and 2 fish tacos and they were both fantastic. You order at the counter and they will bring the food to your table. Price is great - although the portion is not big, the taste was fresh esp the like the sea bass taco. Dine in also comes with free tortillas with salsa!! Will definitely come in again. The mall it's located in is a little run down but it's ok.

First word come to my mind. WOW.
Second word is how yummy it was.
Love the hole in a wall

Here is my scoring card for this restaurant:

1) Location: ( 5 Point ) - Great location for customer to see and find. Great parking for street parking and back side with parking lot parking.

2) Decoration : (2 Point) - They still have the original decoration. Clean but not up to date.

3) Price: ( 4 point)- The price is competitive but still a little bit pricey compare to other same stars and type food they serve

4) Quality and Taste : ( 3 point)- The quality is ok, food taste is good and portions are below average .

5) Type of cuisine standard : ( 4 point) - The style of Mexican food they serve is pretty close to the way it was prepare in Mexico. Not bad! But some dishes did have slightly modify to cater the customer's need

Overall it's not bad and I thinks it's great to give it a try and let me know what you think. Go foodies



Total max is 25

Score 18

Stars = 72% round up to 3 stars

My favorite Mexican spot. Love the fish tacos. The green Salsa with the chips might me my favorite salsa.

It's always a yes to La Cueva!

The staff here are so friendly and we love the food every time. I don't say that lightly either considering how many great Latin / Mexican spots there are around SJ.

Sea bass Tacos 10/10: Super soft, almost a shrimp like flavor in the form of a delicious fillet.

Chicken Tacos 9/10: Cooked just enough to perfection and juicy!

Shrimp Taco 9/10: sweet and spicy Cameron, some other spots in Santa Clara *cough* don't do a good job of this, but La Cueva knocks it out of the park.