La Hacienda 101 - EMERALD BEACH

My husband and I were in Emerald Beach in July and on reading others reviews thought we'd give La Hacienda 101 a try. We are so grateful we did, the food was amazing, so authentic, fresh and a wonderful flavour experience; however, more than this the owners and staff were fabulous. Thank you for a night we will always remember and while we live in Melbourne we are determined to be back!

Best Mexican food I have had since I visited Mexico. . The owners are very pleasant company and great to talk to about Mexican food and drinks. Highly recommended if you visit the area.

So refreshing to come to such a great restaurant. Very different from the usual beach side cuisine. Friendly welcoming service coupled with very flavour full food. Real care has gone into providing a wonderful experience. Well done...loved it.

What a treat to dine here last night! Our daughter has been before but first time for us. Nice welcome by staff and exceptionally nice waitress to advise and recommend with nothing too much trouble.Had a nice sangria and beers to start with the little marinated cactus tortillas. Very different and delish.Mains...I had the salmon very nice and filling and others had the vego mains.Glasses of wine were very reasonable.The desserts looked too good to refuse so we shared the gorgeous tart and the banana one, both fab!How nice to chat to the owner and then be offered a complimentary tequila..honey one , what a treat!Thanks we had a great night!How about open one in Port Macquarie, we really need a good Mexican!

I'm a local only living 10mins away and have heard about this place for a long time with the rave Mexican reviews and never took the time to go until being invited out for a small Sunday night birthday dinner. I usually head south into the jetty for dining and now kicking myself I have not been here sooner! I actually thought the quaint little beach village of Emerald (15mims north of Coffs) surely couldn't have a Mexican restaurant that some people tout as the "best in Australia." Well I was wrong. It's small and casual and cosy. Great music. Busy atmosphere. Fantastic service. Great menu. Fresh and authentic food. Flavour and presentation colourful. Quick drink refills and DEEP MARGARITA GLASSES (did a mention deep!) that tasted sublime ($15ea) These margaritas would win awards, the blend perfection and the salt rim off its rocker - so so so good! Last time I had a margarita was in NYC at a Cuban restaurant and they do not compare to the quality of these little lime beauties. We were a table of 7 and had two small guacamoles and house made corn chips to share for starters. The guac was in a cute corn chip bowl that we pulled apart at the end and ate like a hot chook on a summers day! In other words we devoured it and fighting over the chips and dip til the end. We shared two chicken and two beef fajitas (we were all very hungry) that came out in sizzling plates, fresh platters of side salads with pouring sauces and warmed tortillas. It was such beautiful food and a delight to consume. The staff regularly checked our food and welfare and couldn't do enough to ensure we had a great dining experience. We were pretty full but could not leave without trying the dessert menu - it was insane and very hard to chose! I truly wanted to try a little bit of everything. We ended up sharing a couple plates of churros for the table which came as two long cinnamon donut sticks (churros). Perfect to share, with the biggest freshest blueberries I've ever seen, fresh strawberries, creme fraiche and the silkiest pot of chocolate that was super smooth and not sweet. Great fun dipping the sweet sugary fried dough into the chocolate sauce. Two at the table had to try the deep fried banana with caramel that was a large and decadent dessert. Overall it was a fabulous food experience that I will be raving about for a long time and will be back again very soon! Thank you.