LA Tablita Restaurant, Cathedral City

I go to Revival's Desert Aids Project store next door to La Tablita often looking for treasures, having just moved to Palm Springs several months ago. I lived here previously and have taken my elderly Mom to every well known Mexican Food establishment in Coachella Valley including Las Casuelas often. This place is a total little hidden treasure. I have always seen lots of luxury cars parked outside this restaurant... in a little strip mall that needs to be upgraded 's landlord neglects to keep it attractive and inviting which is a shame. One can never judge the book by it's cover. Once inside, I went to wash my hands and found a meticulously kept restroom. I was then greeted by a very kind and friendly host who seated me. I was seated at 5:30 and the place was already packed. I ordered the Monday Margarita $3.00 special and it is by far the best Margarita in the Coachella Valley. The chips were fresh, thin, hot, and the salsa was wonderful.. compared to thick greasy chips cooked in old stale oil elsewhere. My dinner was absolutely awesome and the Chile Relleno was spectacular. I've eaten Mexican food in Cabo San Lucas, Cancun, Cozumel, all of Mexico, San Diego, and in all prominent Mexican Restaurants up and down the coast. I grew up with Mexicans in Arizona and have 63 years of experience with Mexican Cuisine. This little restaurant simply takes the cake when it comes to it's quality of service, it's friendly staff, it's cleanliness, and the quality of the food. Being a gourmet chef and hailing from Rancho Santa Fe and La Jolla, trust that I know the difference. Their prices are very affordable, probably half of what you would pay anywhere else. I am thrilled to have found this little treasure. Shame on the landlord that allows this strip mall to look so tacky for it hurts potential business for his tenants and shows no pride.

I've just got to recommend this place---It was everything I expected--honest, reasonable, quality Mexican style dining. We enjoyed terrific, inexpensive Margaritas. Soups were fabulous in particular. My wife is a vegetarian and that wasn't any problem at La Tablita. Service was friendly and decent, too, considering the fact that they were apparently not expecting a busy night (We observed the cook going next door to the carneceria to buy more meat a couple of times). Family owned and operated, it's fine for family dining although we'd left the kids with a sitter this time. The decor is very nice and everything was quite clean. The only thing this place lacks is inflated prices on the menu. Oh, and you can't eat outside but since it was 104F that evening we wern't bothered about that!