El Sitio

Just what I was looking for! Yum authentic Mexican food with salsa bar. Next to absurd shop and liquor store. Done

We stopped in for breakfast burritos one morning after a long day of winery hopping. This was the best hangover cure for all of us! I’m not usually one to choose a corn tortilla/​breakfast burrito as my first choice, but holy moley, I’m so happy we did. Pico was unbelievably fresh, the salsa verde was perfect, service was quick… can’t wait to visit SB again and wolf down another one of these.

Brocheta and tacos are the bomb and I have not tried the Torta yet but I am sure it is very good too. Very simple little place, not a very complicated menu so you don’t have to stand there for an hour and think about what you want to order, great little place when you’re on the run!

Quick small bite… got 1 carne Asada taco and it was great!!! Plenty of meat to make 2 tacos since it comes with 2 tortillas with green salsa. Beware of their grilled jalapenos because they’re HOT. Overall good choice for not getting a bigger meal. I would have rated 5 stars but the customer service wasn’t great, not cheerful or inviting.

The people who work here are such nice people and have been very accommodating to my special requests like ordering from the lunch menu during breakfast time. Yes, I know. I’m a breakfast defector. I’ve actually only tried the #21 from here because I like it so much it’s hard for me to try another dish.

Hands down, the best breakfast burrito in all of Santa Barbara… yes, really! Besides the fact that this breakfast burrito is so big that it can stand up on its own, it has just the right proportions of fillings. I always get the chorizo and egg burrito with avocado. For those of you who don’t know, El Sitio has the best chorizo. No, it’s not that mushy oily stuff you find in your grocery store. It’s real Mexican chorizo that is essentially a spiced sausage. That’s the way real chorizo should be. Their salsa bar has some of the best pico de gallo in Southern California.

I ate here today and I was ¾ finished with my shrimp burrito. As I rolled down the foil paper to take another bite, what do I see? A very small fly looking insect stuck on my tortilla! It was dead and it was the size of a fruit fly, It was disgusting! I’m guessing the fly flew on top of my burrito as it was being wrapped. I will never return! which is such a shame because the staff was really friendly and there aren’t many Mexican food options in Goleta.

This is a great place for authentic Mexican food. Don’t let the no frills building our interior fool you. What comes out of this place is simple cheap and tasty.
The burritos are massive and the tray of seared jalapeños is a wonderful thing while waiting on the food

Fresh made to order and can be modified. Tasty and very fresh. VERY reasonable prices and ample parking. My personal quick bit when I am looking for flavorful Alhambras!!!

Not too bad of a place for quick Mexican food. Staff has always been friendly. Generally pretty good bilingually, but alot smoother and easier if you happen to know Spanish. Only reason 3 stars is there food is so-​so. Get a good amount of food for the prices but quality isn’t on par with some other similar places. Tacos/​burritos can be very bland, meat wayyy overcooked, etc. Quesadillas just tons of cheese and sauce. But I don’t want to say that it isn’t good, it’s just not 5 star worthy. Reccomend if looking for Mexican close and fast

Great location, but it’s a little bit smaller than some of the other El Sitios and the parking can be very annoying here (small, awkward parking lot that’s hard to get in and out of). The lines here are also longer, so I’ve found that it’s harder to get a table. With other locations nearby, it may be easier to go to those (e.g. Calle Real and IV). The food is the same old great stuff, and they have buche here!

For around $ 3 you get a large taco filled with LOTS of meat. And I mean LOTS. Enough meat to make two meat filled palm sized tacos.
As for the flavor, it was nothing special. The meat was a bit dry and salty — I got adobado and bistec. The taste wasn’t superb, but it wasn’t horrible either. There is a small salsa bar with pico de gallo, salsa Roja, and salsa verde.
This place seemed like a local go-​to joint for most of the customers inside, they had some sort of relationships with the workers.

I used to work in Public Health when I was in the military so I know if I will give negatives.
Here we go:
1. The sneeze guard was not properly installed, their sauces and condiments (onions, and etc.) were exposed, not even a cover, a NO NO! I saw people come and go from this sauce and I can say that no matter how good the sauce is if it’s dirty or contaminated, a turn-​off.
2. Their soda machine, there were signs of stains where it has not been cleaned for days.
Let’s stop here. It makes me throw-​up.
Food is a OK, but I experienced better ones. I did not see cilantro, maybe you have to ask for it, for a $.
Me not coming back here. I can find better Mexican joints than this place.

I have been going here for years, and only a time or two have I been mildly disappointed in the Asada Torta (steak torta). Consistency may be the hobgoblin of little minds, but in a restaurant, it is the harbinger of success, and El Sitio on Fairview puts out a fantastic, near-​perfectly consistent delicious torta sandwich.
I have gotten their tacos, burritos, nachos, and other items occasionally, but these items are just okay (hence four stars, not five). However, the torta is the best one I’ve tried anywhere, and every time I try a torta at a different restaurant, the comparison to tortas from El Sitio always makes me appreciate this little hole in the wall.
And this location, near the McDonalds on Fairview, is my destination El Sitio for Goleta. I have been disappointed in the one on Calle Real (in El Encanto heights, near DP high school and behind 7-​eleven). The time I went there to get my usual asada torta, they omitted the cheese, and when I asked what happened, the churlish and unfriendly staff unapologetically told me that they were out of cheese. Well, had I known that when I ordered, I might have been less ticked off about it, but just the way they said it with disdain and dismissal showed that they really didn’t care. And IV? It’s in IV.
Back to Fairview El Sitio: this place does not offer much in terms of ambience, although they recently introduced colorful wooden chairs to replace the plastic patio-​furniture look. It’s an improvement. The tables are still the plastic patio tables, but they’ve now gone to the effort of covering them with tablecloths and vinyl, so these are also improved. The service, which consists of the women behind the cash register taking orders, and the various cooks, are rather indifferent and not given to overly friendly interactions, but they are not grumpy. And the one time I ordered nachos, they had the courtesy to warn me of the price since it wasn’t posted (I think it was $ 12 or so?). Speaking of price, the tortas and burritos are very reasonably priced and filling.
Old town Goleta has lots of mexican places with more popping up all the time. But El Sitio is the place for tortas.

Small joint perfect for a quick lunch, the torta Cubana was decent though at 11 bucks a little pricey.

I didn’t get this place my first few visits because most of what I had didn’t quite satisfy, but then I discovered the adobado, which is really flavorful and tender. I never waver from the adobado and either go for the adobado mixto (adobado, peppers, onions, cheese and served with hot tortillas), the burrito or the torta. I normally opt for no mayo on all my sandwiches but the torta here is much better with mayo. The food is really filling and I don’t finish my meal if I want to get anything done that day.
This location, unlike the one in IV, has self-​serve roasted peppers that are oily, salty, and a little charred next to the salsa bar… sometimes jalapeño and sometimes serrano… so watch out! If they run out, request some from the cashier and you’ll get some piping hot ones wrapped in foil.
I’m into this place.

It’s a hole-​in-​the-​wall taco joint. Don’t expect fancy atmosphere or an extensive menu. Expect delicious tacos.
All of their vegetarian tacos (I think they have three kinds?) are fantastic. The vegetables taste GRILLED, which isn’t a flavor vegetarians get to taste too often. Really satisfying.

No points for atmosphere, only 3 for tacos.
4 taco adobado– the best choice here for moist and delicious meat dripping with a little spice
5 chorizo– dry and charred. I’ll pass
7 bistek– not as good as I hoped
Sure it’s a quick in and out but so are most taquerias. The stark, almost institutional interior was about as lame as the chorizo. I’ll pass and hit up another one of a dozen joints in the hood.

Love the choriqueso and raja tacos! Carne asada burrito is my fave with cheese. The burrito is so big i always have left overs for the next day.
They have a very tiny salsa bar with spicy tomatillo, mild red sauce, pico de gallo, and roasted jalapeños.
This is definitely a mom and pop type business and one of those hole in the wall places you must try if you want authentic Mexican food.
Prices are very reasonable! Check it out if you’re in the neighborhood.

El Sitio translates into «the spot»…and the spot it is.
I had some chorizo tacos with cheese. Awesome. All for less than $ 6.
The horchata was very generously sized. Seems like a great iocals spot that latinos actually eat at which is always a good sign for a Mexican place.