Taqueria Las Alondras

$ 1 normal sized tacos on Tuesday (usually $ 2.50) … and they were delicious! Carnitas were my favorite. They even have brain and tongue tacos! Grosses me out but also kind of confirms the authenticity :-)

Definitely authentic Mexican. Hard to find in south Orange County. Will be coming back for sure.

Great authentic home style Mexican cuisine (enchilada, nachos, burritos) like my friend’s mom use to make. This will be my regular spot from now on. Their watermelon juice was ok, I wouldn’t order it again.

I ate here like a year ago so this is a bit far removed, but if you’re looking for good street tacos this is unfortunately not the place.
The street tacos were oily and the tortillas are very obviously the bad store bought variety from a bag. Tacos are pricey at probably around 2 bucks each, give or take. The salsas are watery and flavorless (basically just spicy/​bitter water). Tacos los ricos was better tasting when they were still around, but tacos los ricos was kinda scummy slipping in extra charges so I can’t say they were definitively better than Las Alondras.

Came in on a taco tuesday. Wasn’t a fan of the carne asada. The meat was pretty tough and didn’t taste fresh. However, I really enjoyed the carnitas taco. Meat was tender and had good flavor.

Hubby and I stopped by here last weekend in the rain to pick up food for 6 – 8 people. The man who took my order recommended 3 – 4 tacos per person and when we finally sat down to lunch, we realized that was way too much food. At least most of them were delicious!
We basically tried all sorts of tacos. I can recommend the carnitas, al pastor and cabeza. I had a carne asada one the meat was kind of tough. I didn’t get to try the lengua or chicken. The tacos are on the big side with plenty of filling. Hubby said his lengua burrito was just ok. I also ordered a carnitas huarache which was also average. The carnitas was the highlight of the dish.
The salsas were a little disappointing. I’m typically a big fan of avocado salsa. Theirs needed more seasoning so you basically had to use it in conjunction with one of their regular salsas (rojo, chipotle and verde).
Maybe we’ll check it out again on a Taco Tuesday.

One of the best enchiladas I’ve ever had. I love their green sauce (the red sauce is a bit spicy for me). My husband says they have the best huevos rancheros around. Nice family owned restaurant. Highly recommend!!!

Prices are expensive. The carne meat is dry and fatty and has onions cooked in it. Chips tasted stale. The guac dip is tastless and the mild sauce is hot

I love this place! I’m so glad I found it! They serve breakfast all day and have great food! I love the potato taquitos, nachos, and of course tacos with any meat. They also make fresh Jimiaca juice too! I don’t think their horchata is home made but it is good as well. I was surprised to see the interior is so small but me and my friends were able to find a table to fit everybody.

This little place has BIG, yummy food! My bf a I were in the area looking for a Mexican spot. Glad we found this place. I got the burrito, which was one of the best I’ve ever had! He got the tacos and he said they were good. Wish they had one of these in my area of AV

The tortas are awesome and dont forget to order the fresh juice !!! And the cashier its very sociable

Love place excellent food taco Tuesday the best deal in town love the beef steak marinade meat and the chicken tacos tastes like love on a plate

Happened to stumble upon this place as my boyfriend and I were running errands, and it was delicious! We are not from the area, but glad that we found such a great place for future reference when if we are out in the area again. I ordered two sopes and a medium horchata’s, I have had horchata from several different restaurants and this by far has been the best. I like my horchata to be sweet, and Las Alondras was perfect! My order of sopes was amazing, and the meat was savory and tender! The size of the sopes are bigger than what I am used to having, but that did not stop me from finishing them. Yes, it looks like a hole in the wall restaurant, but you will not regret eating at this place.

Best Mexican food ever, we come here at least once a week. If you are dieting then ask for a fruit plate… Watermelon, mangos, oranges, bananas etc… Great place to eat. Taco Tuesday is a killer deal for a large family. Super friendly service.
Oh very tasty fruit smoothies.

This used to be my place to eat; I have been absent of coming here, now that I was close by I stopped and request my favorite lunch plate… The attendant was very more interested in the soap opera on the wall TV and never make an eye contact with me. I ask if the owner wasn’t here today she answer me back with a very slow «no» (like whispering) that start making me disappointed and if it was not enough she said $ 10.00 even I haven’t seat down on the table. What made this worst is that the cook came and said: «tu mamá no a traído pan para tortas». REALLY? She gave me my $ 10.00 and continued watching soap opera. Well. I will never comeback my business will be appreciated else where.
I’m still giving 3 stars tho’

I rated this taqueria at 5 stars before. Used to really love this place, especially the homemade face-​melting salsa. That salsa was a big part of the reason I came here. I’m not really sure, but it appears Alondras is now under new ownership and they’ve made some changes. The salsa bar now seems to be stocked with far milder salsas that lack flavor and heat. Asada tacos no longer come with grilled onions and are now served on burnt flour tortillas instead of the double corn tortillas as before. I can’t say if any of the other menu items have changed, but the tacos were definitely a disappointment today. But worse was discovering that amazing salsa is no longer served. I’ll give it another shot in case this was an off day, but if my next experience is the same as today, then this place lost me as a repeat customer.

I came in today to get my favorite meal, the nachos, as I always do. As u can see in one of the previous photos, the nachos look pretty good right? it has chips, choice of meat, beans, shredded lettuce, jalapeño, diced tomatoes, sour cream, slices of avocado, and sprinkled with little chunks of cheese.
It usually comes with an abundance of all of the toppings (a layer of every topping almost to the point where it’s overflowing the to go box, which is a good thing)
The reason why I gave it three stars was because I came in today and ordered the usual with no cream, avocado, or jalapeño and when I got my order and drove all the way home and opened it, I was surprised– I opened my Togo box to a less than satisfying meal… It was basically the chips, some chicken, barely any beans, melted cheese and I guess what you would call a sprinkle of slices of tomatoes? Granted, the quality of food was relatively the same (for what was there) as all the other times I went there but the amount of toppings was scarce, probably less than half of what they used to put on the nachos. Check your food before u leave.
Note that the person working there was a older man rather than the nice woman who usually works there and who usually makes my order. I haven’t been there in a couple months so I’m not sure if she’s still there, but not sure if it was a misunderstanding between me and the guy or if they’re reducing the toppings they’re putting in the food. Also a reason why I’m giving it a 3 stars under that assumption. I’m hoping this was just one of those bad times they just messed up. I’ve been coming here since high school and this is the first time this has happened
Will be going here again sometime in the future to see if this is how they make their nachos now but until then my review stays at 3 stars, will change to 5 if their nachos go back to what they were :)

Another great lunch. She did not have Cabeza (beef head) or Lengua (beef tongue) today; she has them on busier days (like a Friday). So I had tacos with Asada, Carnitas and Chorizo.
Someone in our group also ordered the fruit plate («Pico De Gallo»).

I visited this place shortly after they opened some years back, and wasn’t impressed. It smelled bad, wasn’t clean, and the food was really not good. Thanks to Unilocal,I felt obligated to give it another try, and wasn’t disappointed. My wife and I tried their tacos: carnitas, lengua, cabesa, al pastor, and carne asada. The only really boring taco was the carne asada, which came out a bit dry and tough. Everything else was moist, tender, and delicious. A big yes on the cabesa! This taqueria has come a long way from its beginnings, and is worth another visit. I only cast three stars their way due to the overpricing. The tacos are only $ 1.79, but other items, like a chorizo quesadilla, will run eight bucks, as will a torta. Ditto for the huevos rancheros. This hole in the wall strip joint would do much better to lower their prices to reflect the fare.
A sign inside says cash only, but if you don’t have enough cash, they will take out the device that lets you use cards.

There are a handful of taquierias in Lake Forest but probably none comparable to the Alondras. The wide meat selection is impressive for a taqueria in south OC. At Alondras, you can order lengua (tongue), chorizo (Mexican sausage), cabeza (head), al pastor (spicy pork), or tripas (intestines), not just carnitas and carne asada.
As of 2013, meat portion in the tacos is substantially larger than those at chain restaurants. Each taco is assembled with two freshly prepared heated corn tortillas and double the meat compared to $ 1 street tacos found elsewhere. Not to mention, a heaping portion of cilantro and onions is topped on the meat. Value is exceptional, because for $ 1.79 per taco, you are getting almost 2 taco equivalents for the price of 1. No longer do you have to wait for Tuesdays to eat cheap tacos!
The meats at Alondras are grilled thoroughly. If you don’t like charred and dry beef, let the two Mexican ladies know beforehand.
Spicy food lovers, splash some of the hot salsa roja sauce onto your tacos and it immediately becomes apparent why Alondras is a favorite in Lake Forest.
If you are looking for food from central and southern Mexico, like huaraches, mulitas, and sopes, Alondras got you covered.
Tips:
1. Cash only and counter service.
2. Their sopa de res is only $ 6.50, significantly cheaper than local Mexican restaurants.
3. There is a Taco Tuesday deal, but you need to purchase a drink to get the special taco price.
4. Pricing system is questionable and very nebulous. The lady at the register charged $ 9.50 for 5 tacos @ $ 1.79 each (tax included). She probably rounded up to the nearest $ 0.50 or charged a dine-​in fee. If there are mysterious charges reappear during my next visit, I may consider dropping a calculator into their tip jar.