El Portal de Veracruz

I had not been here since my pre-​Yelp era.
Most of the cuisine is from Veracruz. So there are some dishes here that you can’t get at most Mexican restaurants.
The ribs in red sauce were incredible (these are available at other Mexican restaurants). Really savory.
The fish a la Veracruzana was also great. The sauce is peppers, onions and tomatoes. Really good.
We also had tocs filled with scrambled eggs and zucchini.
A great change of pace Mexican restaurant.
They also have a Mexican Ice cream bar.

It was my first time. I ordered a filete a la veracruzana it looked good but when I tried it it had the taste of the aluminum foil, I was very dissapointed. I won’t be coming here again.

Best seafood soup I’ve ever had. I think it was called seafood paradise, and it certainly was! Full of shrimp, muscles, crab, scallops, calamari, potatoes, carrots, and a full bodied broth that I’m still thinking about four days later. Plus handmade tortillas! Oh so good. This will be a place I visit often.

I am so lucky to live across the street from this place. The banana leaf-​wrapped tamales are amazing and the chili oil is to die for. Service is usually quick. My kids love the tacos, and my husband and I adore the chili verde.

good food. good service. coming back for sure

They have it all here. Tasty real Mexican food and great customer service. Also good for adventurous eaters considering they have around 15 different types of meats and preparation styles. They have pork stomach tacos for example. Awesome spot!

This place is beyond authentic! Don’t let the name fool you the food is made with some serious finger (that means lots of flavor and care) to make sure everything tastes absolutely delicioso! Had a breakfast burrito to die for and came back for a late lunch and had some enchiladas Michoacanas! Talk about taking you back home! A definite must try.

This place is amazing and their salsa verde is the best I’ve ever had. They have great food at great prices. I’ve tried their enchiladas, tacos, and so much more! I have never been disappointed.

It seemed they had a good selection in their menu and my wife wanted soup for lunch. I got her the chicken soup, but was surprised about the price — $ 8.50. Then I ordered 2 tortas, a lengua and a carne asada. The whole bill was about $ 24 for all these, a tad pricey. The lengua looked really tender, but not as flavorful or spiced, like it was just broiled. The bread, although toasted became soggy, that was not fun. The restaurant had regular clientele, so maybe I did not order the right food.

It was our first time & it won’t be our last. My husband ordered an el pastor taco & carne asada quesadilla. He really really liked it. He would totally go back. I had the bean & cheese burrito, delicious!

Muy delicioso!
Great food and good service. The asada quesadilla was robust.
The rolled tacos were beefy.
Barbacoa and Carnitas dorado tacos were fantastic.
Our kid had a bean and cheese burrito and we loved the flavor of the beans.
Salsa is pretty tasty too.
One draw back, and it costs a star, is the Guacamole. It’s a green purée and while they are mildly generous with it, it isn’t a robust guac.
Will definitely be back.

This is my favorite Mexican food place in the world. Homemade tortillas are to die for, good salsa, made to order authentic deliciousness.

I was super hungover so naturally a burrito sounded great. I was in the area randomly for work & this was really the only place nearby. I kinda doubted it but I didn’t really have another option. So I get a carne asada burrito with guacamole & a coke to go.
POSSIBLY THE BEST BURRITO I’VE EVER HAD.
plus they got my order together really fast.
Unfortunately I don’t live in the area so this might be the only time I get to experience this deliciousness. But I would definitely love to come back & eat another one.
Highly recommended.

This place is super bomb TRULY AUTHENTIC Mexican food that doesn’t really have a menu. Just order what you want, and they’ve got it!
Potato tacos, bean tacos, hard shell tacos, sopes, tamales… they’ve got you covered!

I had two chicken tacos and water of orchata and end up paying $ 9.00 and I expected the tacos to be good but I couldn’t finished they weren’t good at all. Never going back to this place.

What don’t they sell here? The food is delicious. Is there better, yes but this is worth a visit for something new.

We’ve passed this place many times and what always grabbed my attention was the sign outside the store. I always love to go to places that specialize primarily in one thing and do things well. Zankou chicken, Phở places, In & Out Burger, etc. So this is what I thought this place was. I thought they specialized in Rotissere Chicken. I have never seen the word Rostiseria and got all excited about this. Maybe this was a whole new type of food only the Hispanic people were privy to and I was going to discover it and let the whole world know about it. Never mind that it says in small signage «pizzeria» & «neveria» underneath it. Their specialty MUST be Mexican Rotisserie chicken because its in the big letters. I was planning on discovering the Hispanic Zankou!
Looking around I see a serving line with all kinds of meat. Menudo on a Monday (you usually only see it on the weekends), another soup, some kind of carmalized bananas, grilled peppers and jalepenos, some sort of potatoes, Rotiserie chicken, some kind of dark sauces, beans rice. There is a full on ice cream counter, A juice station and then all of these Mexican pastries like in a bakery! There are huge pinatas all over the ceiling. I am talking big ass pinatas.
Huh, what’s going on here? There is no menu, no prices listed anywhere. I can’t even figure out how to order. I see specials and there are so many varied things on there that I can’t figure out what regional cuisine this is. There are pictures of various things that are the standard items as well. I am totally lost. You have your basics, Tacos, burritos, tortas, but then you have things like pupusas, carintas stuffed in Pablanos, cuban sandwhiches, pambazo, Enchiladas and all kinds of things with combinations you don’t typically see.
I ask the counter girl (thank God she speaks great English), How do I order? She’s confused though by my question. I ask her about the Rotisserie chicken and she says I can get a whole one or ½ with beans and rice. I say OK. We order pupusas.. «What kind?». Oh please oh please stop… We had no idea. She said you can get cheese, carnitas, beans and some other things we couldn’t understand. We stood there like deer caught in headlights. You have to remember there is no menu or signage that you can mull over to make your decision. Then she says «or I can make a combination». Bingo! We’ll take that. We also order a Bean and Cheese burrito. I ask her if they have Tacos Dorados as I have been fixated on Titos Tacos lately. She says «yes» even though they are not on any of the pictures. I get a Mexican Lime Soda. Total comes to $ 19.75
First the pupusa. Incredible. Perfectly cooked. Nice soft yet with a thin thin layer of crispness. Crème Fresh made it awesome. The filling of beans, meat, and cheese all worked in harmony. Mild corn flavor. I just loved the texture of this whole thing. But the BEST THING I HAVE HAD IN A LONG TIME was the slaw that comes with it. Its a vinegary cabbage slaw but with a spiciness to it. Not a hard hitting spiciness, but a flavorful, slow to come on spiciness. It was so unique and seriously delicious!
The chicken was awesome as well. So incredibly tender. Nice firery roasted taste with Mexican mystery spices. Totally different than something like Zankou, but similar in its wow factor. Not like El Pollo Loco either. More of a red chili kind of taste. Skin is soft rather than crispy. Throw it in a corn tortilla and you are there. When you put the sauce on it, the flavor totally changes. The sauces doesn’t accent the chicken in its original state. It totally changes it. But its a good thing. I can taste hints of honey in the sauce and its kinda spicy. Hard to describe. The beans were a little bland, but good. They are the runny kind with the Mexican White Cheese. The rice was awesome. Such a great firery red flavor. Is red a flavor? Too often Mexican rice is bland and lacks complexity. This rice is one of the best.
The bean and cheese burrito was «OK». A little bland. It was huge though. With all the choices on the signs and pictures.
Finally the Tacos Dorados came out. Its nothing like a fried taco like I pictured it. Its more of a taquito. I thought Mexican places called these «rolled tacos» Anyway it was excellent as well. I think they make the meat differently for these. It was beef, but it was very stringy. It was also very dry. Like it was fried for a long time. But it was perfect this way. It made it less greasy and the whole thing crispy. The corn tortilla had a strong corn taste. It was perfect in how it worked with the stringy beef. The sauces on it were great as well. Watery guacamole and more Crème Fresh.
I think if you asked them to make anything and just described it to them they would make it for you and it would be insanely good. A lot of Mexican places fall under certain categories «Americanized» «Taquerias» «Seafood» «Baja style». This place can not be categorized and I was so taken a back by its uniqueness

Had them make me a plate of pork spare ribs in salsa roja. Comes with rice and beans corn or flour tortillas. Pinta media chicharon en salsa verde, wow! They add strips of jalepeno to the mix, equals nice and spicy. Everything is very tasty but wish I had more.
The restaurant is in an un-​assuming unit of a small strip mall attached to the neighborhood Albertsons. Mexican music wafting thru the high ceiling industrial look. I get a «times gone by» feel here. It was empty while I was here with just a few stragglers. They might do a busier breakfast or dinner?
Date night? No
Good for children? Seems okay
Attire? Casual
View? Parking lot thru plate glass
Would try again? Yes, breakfast, Siete Mares.

Every Sunday, I would pray that there would be people selling home made Mexican food after church (which would be a hit or miss depending on if they had to raise money for their group), but after finding this little restaurant, I no longer have to hold my breath through mass. This place is truly a hidden gem. On the corner of Chapman and Hewes, this hole in the wall serves damn good Mexican food. You know it’s authentic when you can get potato tacos, tostadas, and tamales-​3 items that a regularly hard to find at a Mexican joint.
Let’s start with the chicken tamale. It was served on top of a banana leaf and smuthered in chile verde salsa. Rather large, the tamale was soft and moist inside and out-​very fresh and fatty, just the way I like it! The chicken inside was not forgotten about either. It seemed to be perfectly marinated with just the right amount of spices and was tender as well. The potato taco and tostada were beautifully presented with crema (I guess it’s just sour cream, but it’s a lot more fluid and tastier than regular sour cream) and cotija cheese-​hallmarks of home made food. The wet burrito was humongous and satisfying. The salsa was perfectly hot. Also got the Limon Pepino drink (the green one) to top off our meal. EVERYTHING WAS GOOD.
If you like home made Mexican food, go here. They’re open from 4am-​10pm. They don’t speak much English, but the food won’t let you down. This is my new favorite spot for when I crave Mexican. Not a fancy place at all, but just serves its purpose for selling home made goodness. Oh and customer service was excellent regardless of the language barrier; the lady was very nice and generous in her servings upon asking for extra sauces, cheese and salsa.

This taco shop is next to albertsons on chapman and hewes theyre One of the best Mexican authentic food in orange county with home made tortillas. It’s know for the Veracruz Cuisine and they make the best homemade shrimp and fish tacos and the best fresh fruit juices