Santanas Mexican Food

Since changing their name and apparently their quality the food just isn’t the same. The breakfast CA burrito was the best around, not anymore. I moved to NC 7 years ago and always looked forward to my visits to CA for that glorious burrito. If I could give 0 stars I would.

This place is awesome. Your standard divey Mexican food joint, but it has some really unique and tasty items.
Got a burrito that had shrimp, carne asada and tartar sauce. I was suspicious at first, but wow, talk about tasty! And the burrito is a beast — seriously generous portion sizes.
Also got the carne asada fries. If you get a large, please note that this portion easy feeds four people. We had four people at our table, all who worked on those fries, and we didn’t finish them. I loved the fries. They are a terrible guilty pleasure. You feel so sinful eating them.
And they carry a yummy brand of Horchata. Nice and flavorful.
I look forward to going back next time I’m in the area.

Walking into this 24-​hour establishment on a Sunday night, PineSol overtook my nostrils instead of the lure of chili sauce and frying corn tortillas. The entry is filled with really awful photos of the dishes they offer – like no one can tell the difference between a taco and a chili relleno. At that point, I was 2 seconds from leaving. But… I had the hankering for Mexican food and this was easily accessible.
Santanas Mexican Food is not a sit down and order your food kind of place. It’s closer to a fast food joint with drive thru and order at the counter, then pick your table. So we ordered. The NFL playoffs were on the tube — we took a table and waited.
Thank the ancient gods of Mexico, the food was good. Taco, relleno, enchilada, beans and rice all met standard taste and presentation.
What I did not like was the PineSol, the fountain drink station would probably not pass a health inspection with the undrained waste liquids just below the metal rack – really gave me the creeps – and the ugly photos at the door. I was not crazy for the plastic serving ware and styrofoam plates. IOW, the ambiance seriously was missing.
Maybe it’s better to drive thru and take the food with ya.

Always sooooo slow. Especially in the mornings. Food tastes pretty good but most of the time I go somewhere I know is going to be faster.

This is quite literally the worst Mexican food experience I have ever had, in any state of sobriety. It’s as if they found out what gives food flavor, only to remove just that. One star will be granted for their ²⁴⁄₇ operating hours. But know that you have been warned.
GREAT waitress though. Literally the best. That girl deserves not only a promotion but to work In a venue that values her intellect, passion, and drive. She is a diamond in the rough and deserves a career that will reward her for her character and drive.

It’s still a solid Mexican fast food restaurant. Great selection of salsas. Today I got a machaca breakfast burrito and it was prepared with fresh grilled bell peppers, juicy machaca, and yummy eggs.

This restaurant used to be pretty good. But, their staff has changed quite a bit. Sometimes you get good tasting food and sometimes you don’t. Since their staff changes the customer service is horrible. They make it seem like they are being inconvenienced with your placing of an order. I used to come here a few times a week for the California Breakfast Burrito but now I’ll gladly go elsewhere mainly due to their staff.

The people who gave this place bad reviews are obviously idiots who know nothing about Mexican food. Not only is the food here really good and authentic, but they have an awesome salsa bar and great prices. I’ve been to tons of Mexican fast food places and taquerias, and Santanas is definitely one of the best.

The cooks at this place need to read the orders I’ve gotten Pico in my order to may time after telling the chick no Pico, READ THE ORDER!!!

The san felipe burrito was amazing. Their burritos are huge and filling. The fries were a bit undercooked. You need a key for the bathroom. This place is now called Castaneda’s instead of santanas.

This place is actually better than the review would have you believe. Not great, but not bad.

BEWARE OF FOOD
If Unilocal allowed us to give a restaurant no stars it would be none. But I guess one star for 24 hours. I’m being sarcastic with the one star.
First of all, the girl who took my order is rude and completely disregards me as a customer.
Second, my order came out wrong. She charged me for the carne asada nachos and two burritos when it’s supposed to be carne asada fries and one burrito.
Third, the burrito isn’t hot, just slightly warm. The meat is literally cold. The only reason why it was slightly warm is because the tortilla was toasted.
Fourth, the food is so greasy it makes you feel fat after one bite.
Fifth, my boyfriend found a legit block of potato barely even cooked in his fries.
Sixth, after I ate, I’m feeling very ill. Hoping I don’t get food poisoning.
Seventh, you can tell that they barely change their oil because the way the fries come out and that the fries weren’t that warm and they were literally drenched in oil. If the temperature for the oil was hot enough and the oil was fresh, the fries wouldn’t come out like that.
The health inspector needs to pay them a visit ASAP. ASAP.
It’s my fault for not checking the Unilocal reviews before coming here. I’m not very picking with food. But the Mexican food here is not authentic and I don’t get why they are still open. They are not good at all. Please don’t disregard the 2 ½ stars they have. It means something when most of the reviews are one star.

It taste just awful, the meat was too salty, and not that cheap either. If I wasn’t really hungry and got in town late with everywhere else is closed. I would of walked out.

I have been here before. Have never had any particular problem with them. They were always OK. Real cheese used, good food for the most part.
BUT today…
I opened my drink when it was handed to me to take a sip (I don’t use straws) and there was a BUG, FROZEN in one of the floating ice cubes on top. Tried my food… there was a BLACK HAIR in my burrito. I do NOT have black hair. WILL NOT be back to this place.
Take my advice, you’re better off elsewhere…
I am an easy customer to please but I am just unsatisfied 100%.

Found a hair in my burrito… not the first time! This time I’ll really never go back! Yukk

Of course Santana’s is good. Each item is over 3k calories on the menu, but hey cheat meal right?
But when ordering watch that they don’t overcharge you, it’s happened to us a couple times! Be specific in what you want and say.
Cleanliness on the inside could be better, seems like the tables are never wiped.
But other than that the food is pretty darn awesome and filling to say the least.
Tip: The San Felipe burrito, California burrito, and Carne Asada nachos are to die for!

The overall atmosphere of Santana’s is very drab and somewhat mismatched. But that’s more just detail and I don’t care too much about it.
The bathroom is clean. (This is worth one whole star.)
The plate I ordered this morning was definitely some of the worst huevos rancheros I’ve ever eaten, but I have eaten some very very good heuveos rancheros so maybe its a biased opinion. The tortilla on the bottom was totally fried and no beans lay in between my overcooked eggs and my overcooked tortilla. The ranchero sauce is very very bland and untasty.
In the past I have only ordered the breakfast burrito which comes with fries in it instead of potatoes and is the biggest breakfast burrito in all the land. Its fantastic and I’m sad that I didn’t order it this time. But the fact that my boyfriend ordered it and it was as good as all the previous times bumped my two stars up to three.
In a serious pinch the drivethrough is open 24hours but then you miss out on some of the positives of the joint.
I come here about once or twice a year on climbing trips and every time it offers the same comforts of a warm place to relax without judgement for my incredibly dirty body and clothes, warm meals and a clean bathroom to poop in.

Santana’s is a reliably terrible fast food Mexican palace. It works… fuel, some salt and spice, and a clean bathroom.
Come here if: you’re so starving, it doesn’t matter what you choose, you just want something hot, covered in habanero sauce, and slightly resembles Mexican cuisine, you’re looking for something open 24 hours, you’re extremely trusting of the ingredients in your food.
Don’t come here if: you want to eat with silverware, you want something healthy, you are offended by garish photos of your food.
Essentially, it’s a step up from Taco Bell… But just barely. I ate the whole plate of huevos rancheros but I also have been rock climbing for a few days and anything would do at this point. If you’re hungry, you’ll be full when you leave. If you’re not that hungry, move along. 2 stars because the salsa was a-​okay and the service was quick.

I had to hear HOW GOOD the carne asada burritos were, and how the horcahta was calling my friends name for about 3 hours as we detoured into this place.
Lemme tell ya, the burritos are USMCdoc14 approved. Damn good!
#Iknowguacisextra
#OAF

By virtue of not wanting to research and look for someplace better, a friend and I rolled into this place for a quick grab to eat before heading home. It was am, so we both ordered a breakfast burrito. The place did honor my request to make it «my way» and did a fine job of it. The burrito was good and worked for what I needed it to do, which was soak up some of the beer stomach from the night before.
They have 6 different salsas which is nice. Included in the selections is the watery red crap that you get at so many of these types of Mexican eateries. Highlights though were a chipotle hot sauce and a loosely based avocado/​cilantro/​onion salsa. Both were tasty.
So, for a place in a small community like Joshua Tree, and stellar convenience (open 24hrs and right on the corner of the highway and one of the park entrances) it is ok. Not as bad as I remember its sister store in Yucca Valley, but not a place that I would frequent if it were in a bigger town.