Mothers

I’d been to Mother’s for lunch service but never for dinner. My friend was in town with me for work. He’s also a chef so I try to get him some of the local stuff that’s around I think he’d dig. Got to sample some of the new fish from Chef Felipe which was awesome. The food here is great and the service was excellent from our server Chad and the bar manager John. Kept well fed and well served. It was good to have this kind of experience for my friend to make him feel the love of the community here. Thank you Mother’s, I’ll be back of course.

Last night, we chose to try this restaurant to celebrate my boyfriend’s birthday, and unfortunately the experience was disappointing from start to finish. We arrived early and waited for the rest of our party, but service was noticeably unorganized. It felt like they may have been short staffed, There was one busser running around trying to help everyone, while the rest of the staff appeared distracted and disengaged.. We placed our food order a few minutes before the rest of our party arrived. They ordered about 15 minutes after being seated, yet their food came out well before ours. To make matters worse, incorrect dishes were brought to the table. While they gave us a few extra items to compensate, we ultimately never received everything we actually ordered. For a restaurant charging top dollar for Mexican food, the service should match the price point and it simply didn’t. Attached is a photo of the $22+ torta we ended up taking home. I’ve never had a torta served with a salad piled on top like this, and it was not what I expected or wanted especially at that price. The “papas” were definitely not it, and the salad easily could have been served on the side instead of overwhelming the sandwich. I would much rather support a local mom and pop spot where you leave feeling satisfied and taken care of than repeat this experience. I was embarrassed to have brought my family here for a special occasion, and sadly, I wouldn’t return. P.S. If you’re charging $7 for chips, I would expect them to at least be warm.

Stopped in today and was immediately impressed. The first win? A big tin cup packed with ice and a full bottle of water at the table—simple, thoughtful, and much appreciated. The Mother’s Margarita is excellent—perfectly balanced, refreshing, and clearly made with care. Not overly sweet, just smooth and done right. Now the tacos… absolutely fantastic. Fresh ingredients, bold flavors, and cooked perfectly. You can taste the quality in every bite. This is the kind of food that keeps you talking about it after you leave.

I’ve been a few times and it is always great. If you’re looking for flavor packed, elevated Mexican in Ventura, try Mother’s Tacos. On my most recent visit, I had the new Milanesa Torta sandwich. My god was that sandwich incredible. I’ve also had the chips, guacamole and salsa, several tacos, beans and rice. All A+ so far. Best elevated Mexican restaurant in Ventura County!

The space was definitely warm and welcoming. The staff were prompt with the service from the moment we got there to when we got our food. The food on the other hand was not it, all three taco options(asada, mushroom, al pastor). Were lackluster in flavor and the salsa they had was not much help either. The most flavor the tacos got was when we put sal and limon on them. The aguas frescas were pretty solid though.