Mitla Cafe
Mexican restaurant · San Bernardino
602 N Mt Vernon Ave, San Bernardino, CA 92411, USA
Highlights
Authentic Mexican comfort food, family-owned since 1937
Authentic Mexican comfort food, family-owned since 1937
"Opened in 1937, Mitla Cafe is one of SoCal’s finest stops for chile rellenos, burritos, and tacos dorados. Founded by Lucia Rodiguez, the goal was to serve easy Mexican comfort food alongside daily specials during the pre-war era. It became a community hub, welcoming famous folks like Cesar Chavez, but later became credited for inspiring Taco Bell. Legend has it that Glen Bell came into the restaurant and opened a restaurant oriented around crunchy tacos after trying Mitla’s 10-cent tacos dorados. Though Mitla Cafe is a little detour from the 10 Freeway, it’s worth it to try the hearty and historical pit stop." - Mona Holmes
"In many ways, the history of Mitla Cafe embodies the Inland Empire as a whole: overlooked, underappreciated, and quietly just going about its business selling hundreds of crunchy tacos, enchiladas, combo plates, and excellent handmade corn tortillas every day. Watch out for daily special announcements on social media, too." - Sean Vukan
"I learned from the New York Times piece on hardshell tacos that Mitla Cafe in San Bernardino played a historical role by inspiring Glen Bell to open Taco Bell." - Matthew Kang
"Opened in 1937, Mitla Cafe is one of SoCal’s finest stops for chile rellenos, burritos, and tacos dorados. The local legend that inspired the Taco Bell chain is a ways off the 10 Freeway, but worth the detour for a hearty and historical pit stop." - Mona Holmes
"In many ways, the history of Mitla Cafe embodies the Inland Empire as a whole: overlooked, underappreciated, and quietly just going about its business selling hundreds of crunchy tacos, enchiladas, combo plates, and excellent handmade corn tortillas every day. Watch out for daily special announcements on social media, too." - Sean Vukan
