MORENA’S Mexiccan Cuisine in Huntington Beach.

By John Borack
Orange County Tribune

My wife and I recently celebrated our wedding anniversary and the evening prior, we were attempting to decide on a suitable restaurant to visit for dinner.

Once we agreed that we both had been craving Mexican cuisine, we set about looking for a local Mexican place that featured freshly-made tortillas.

After a bit of Yelping, we decided on Morena’s in Huntington Beach. Located near the corner of Edinger Avenue and Gothard Street, Morena’s is a small Orange County/Inland Empire chain with a handful of locations.

The HB location has been open since 2019, and their website touts the freshness of their offerings: “Every dish is made from scratch—no frozen shortcuts, no canned sauces, no artificial mixers.”
Sounds good, right?

We were seated in the spacious dining room and looked over the extensive menu,which includes specialties such as Camarones Tampicos (wild Mexican prawns, sauteed in chardonnay, secret spices, mushrooms, and herbs) and Pollo a La Plancha (grilled chicken breast seasoned with fresh herbs, capers, and salsa), along with a variety of combo plates, enchiladas, salads, and more.

Things didn’t get off to a great start for us. My wife decided on the crispy taco plate, and since she is a vegetarian, she asked if she could substitute beans and/or rice for the shredded chicken or beef included in the tacos.

“No, the chef won’t do that,” our waiter replied.
Okay.

That seemed a mite odd and I initially thought that perhaps the waiter had misheard my wife’s request, so I asked a different waiter who stopped by our table. He confirmed that the chef would not substitute beans or rice for the chicken or beef. My wife instead opted for the cheese chile relleno and spinach enchilada combo plate. The chile relleno was large and flavorful while the enchiladas were stuffed with sautéed spinach, roasted corn, onions, and tomatoes and topped with a poblano chile cream sauce. My wife articularly loved the sauce and said everything was very tasty.

I went for the Enchiladas de Camaron: two enchiladas filled with sautéed shrimp, onions, tomatoes, roasted corn, and jack cheese in a pasilla cream sauce and garnished with sour cream and avocado slices. It was served with white rice and black beans. The enchiladas were packed with shrimp, the sauce was creamy and satisfying, and my wife and I both agreed that the addition of roasted corn to the enchiladas was a game changer.

Morena’s is not inexpensive—entrees run anywhere from $18 to $39 —but the portions are large and filling and the quality of the food is top notch. The homemade corn tortillas were hot and extremely addictive. (Don’t ask how many I ate.)

Morena’s is located at 7402 Edinger Ave. in Huntington Beach. You can find them online at hb.morenasmex.com.