Carmelo Hernandez

THE HERNANDEZ FAMILY warmly welcomes you to La Siesta Restaurant in San Clemente and invites you to enjoy the tastes and sounds of old Mexico.

The beginnings of La Siesta San Clemente began in 1935 when our father Jose Carmelo Hernandez departed Aguas Calientes Mexico for Los Angeles.

He Arrived in L.A. with a dream of someday owning and operating his own Mexican family restaurant. Carmelo had ambition, drive and most importantly, the recipes for the foods, special sauces and spices of his native land. These recipes were handed down through generations and for Carmelo, they formed the foundation of his dream. A dream that would only be realized much later.

After years of hard work and sacrifice in the factories of L.A., Carmelo was finally able to save, invest, and in 1955, his perseverance and dedication paid off as the doors to the very first La Siesta Restaurantt opened in South Gate California.

The restaurant won favor with it's family atmosphere, friendly, hospitable service and of course, old-fashioned, fresh and affordable delicious Mexican food.

Senor Hernandez next met, fell in love and married Celia Ruiz. Together, Mr. and Mrs. Hernandez would continue to operate the South Gate location as well as La Siesta Restaurants in the cities of Lynwood and Huntington Park, California - All while raising four boys. All three restaurants shared the ingredients for success: consistency and the best Mexican food in town.

Eventually, times changed and soon, the three Los Angeles locations were sold, Senor Hernandez then set his sights and aspirations elsewhere.

In 1985, on one of his many trips back and forth to Mexico, he discovered the sleepy coastal surf-town of San Clemente, California and thought that the beautiful beach community would be the perfect location for La Siesta to continue and further prosper.

He was right. Situated just off Interstate 5 between the crashing surf of the Pacific and the rolling hills of San Clemente, the new La Siesta opened later that year and would continue the tradition of the earlier restaurants.

Once again, Carmelo's unique blend of herbs and spices along with his 'secretos of comido mexicano' proved hard to resist and this authenticity won over the locals. The dedication Carmelo brought to the original restaurants carried over to San Clemente and you could always see him in the kitchen early each morning preparing the foods that earned him his well-deserved reputation.

Now retired, Mr. and Mrs. Hernandez have entrusted that the legacy of Senor Hernandez and La Siesta is maintained with utmost dignity, professionalism and integrity by their sons Gustavo, Alberto and Enrique.

Today, the Hernandez siblings have joined together to ensure that Carmelo's recipes from Aguas Calientes, Mexico will continue to be enjoyed. His recipes have earned La Siesta many local awards including numerous awards for their famous, home-made fresh-daily salsa. Enjoy the salsa and other favorites from the menu for lunch or dinner such as the special burrito, sizzling fajitas, tacos and enchiladas or the house-favorite carnitas. Al dishes are prepared fresh and with only the finest of ingredients and our friendly staff will work hard to make sure your visit with us is a pleasurable one.