El Taco

I grew up to this awesome place. Long Live El Taco. not Del Taco, El Taco.
Try it, i might drive from west la to orange just to have one of their awesome bean burritos.

Horrible greasy crispy beef tacos. Ate here a few days ago and had about 2 tablespoons worth of grease spill out of my taco shell and ruin my pants. On top of that, the service is absolutely horrible.

Came here for some mexican food my little boy was craving. Ordered a taco meal with fries and a drink. The lady that took my order was very monotone and of a few words when I was asking to have the onions/​cilantro and pico de gallo salsa on the side as my kid doesn’t eat that. I get his order and they are not on the side. I asked for napkins to clean up their messy tables and this lady gives me a «I don’t GAF» look. Ok whatever. As we are eating, the lunch crowd comes in and wow this lady is a total 180 with men vs women. She was super nice and asking all the right questions with a guy and this other lady comes and she was just as dry with her. The food we tried was bland, their salsa on the salty side and the orchata super sweet. Needless to say we’ve had better and there is no reason to come back unless I look forward to bland food, dirty tables and crappy customer service. Yea I’ll skip.

They put meat in their enchilada sauce. That’s right. Meat. Over cheese enchilada’s. If you want vegetarian fare try something or somewhere else. Like La Siesta over on Batavia St.
I always wonder if El Taco has bugs. Not that I’ve ever seen any but it always seems kinda dank. They even left the old menu board up like an old, haunted relic. The food, overall tastes good and it comes in good portions. You will be eating outside unless you get it to go.

Had the chicken taquitos and they were good. Real chicken used, the rice and beans were good. The only negative is that the seating is outside. The day we went it was super cold.

Who wants you plain old regular boring Mexican food that is the same as every other average or slightly below average place around? Well if you are eating here that is what you will end up with. The only difference is that it is kind of expensive compared to most of their competitors.
I had been loathe to try this place to be honest as it looked like expensive white washed Mexican grub. Well that wasn’t far from the truth. I came in and decided to get a burrito which wasn’t all that pricy comparatively speaking to their tacos.
It came out a little bit slow and the staff seemed less than inclined to smile or do anything other than provide menial service without a smile. But you can tell the difference in the food when it is not made with love and happiness. This food is just slopped together and is technically acceptable, but its just average.
They have strictly outdoor seating and I can honestly say that I don’t believe that they have a bathroom for their patrons to use. There isn’t a drive thru and I would consider this mostly a take out place.

Why 4 stars when there are so many 1 star reviews? Here is my opinion on El Taco. I agree with the 1 star reviews. There is a lot of truth to them. To a new comer yes the sagging benches, the dirty tables, the rude staff, and food being shoved at you from the window is very off putting. What I have compared to the new comer is the memories of this restaurant that filters a lot of the bad out. I have been coming here for over 25 years. On Saturdays my dad and I would go get dinner while my mom worked nights. Now that my son is almost the same age as I was when I first started going here, I have introduced it to him and he loves the burritos. The food is good, not great but better than Taco Bell or Del Taco. The chunky beef burritos are loaded with chunks of beef and they have a really good bun taco that my 8 year old always orders. A lot about going to places to eat isn’t strictly about the food but the memories new and old that come with that food that is being tossed at you from a tiny window. Go and see for yourself and don’t let a good or bad review make you miss out on something you may love.

The food and service is great. For 20 years I’ve had to put up with those tables. They got to go!

The service wasn’t terrible. The location was fine
The food… Tasted like it was cans of low sodium chunk meat soup wrapped up in a tortilla and a saucy beef stew over bagged salad with runny guacamole and salsa water.
The picture of the super salad has cheese and a thick sauce… But… There was no cheese and all of it was like liquid water… There was almost no flavor. The carnitas on the burrito was a hint more flavorful.
Even for the price… This was CHEAP food.
Best part of the meal… Was the Orange Bang.
Just… Go to Del Taco… You’re taste buds would be more satisfies.

Got the breakfast burrito with sausage and bacon and nothing to drink. Total came to $ 7.03. I was shocked cause the sign in the window was $ 3.49. When I asked why so expensive he said the extra meat was $ 1.50. Still doesn’t add up. I paid and left cause i was in a hurry. Guess he gave himself a good tip as well. Update: I found 1 sausage link and 2 strips of fatty bacon in the burrito. The grease was dripping out of the bottom. This is not the El Taco I used to love 5 years ago. Not coming back.

I have been coming here for many years. I went to high school up the street and am a native of the area. 45 yrs.
So, outdoor seating only. No bathroom. The old school feel is real & mostly all original aside from the new blinking «open» sign. Hold on to your napkins because, it’s usually windy here. Sat at a table that had faulty seats that dropped when I sat and raised the seat on the other side (Seesaw style). Have been told that the owner of this fine establishment is Korean.
The food: I suspect the reason I’ve always enjoyed my meals here is because I always order the same thing. The Super Chicken burrito. No rice, no lettuce. (Filler) No side dish. It comes w/​sour cream & add guacamole. Big chunks of all breast meat chicken. Big meal. I always have trouble w/​the last few bites. Two small cups of red salsa in the bag with napkins. $ 6.48 You pick up at window when called. Tips: optional.
I always give the salsa back. They offer no green sauce or green salsa of any sort. I’ve asked more than once. What’s up w/​that?
This place COULD BE a gold-​mine w/​some minor improvements. When dining here I’ve never been grossed out or pissed off for any reason. Enjoy… if you dare.

Ate here with my family… group of about 8 people. Martin the cashier was completely rude and not flexible at all. He refused to provide adequate customer service by basically calling me a liar when i said that I had not yet received my drink. I’ve contacted Alex the owner of the joint to tell him about my unpleasant experience and his mailbox hasn’t been set up yet. Hope to hear from him soon.
As of 6:12pm, I heard back from Alex the owner. Although he didn’t understand much of what I said (as he’s a Korean man who speaks very little English) he did apologize for the bad service. So while my rating still stands, I am grateful that he called me back.

Ground Beef Burrito is Amazing… Enough said…

El Taco has the Best Taquetos and guacamole ever! The ladies that work here are very sweet! You must try!

This place is a joke! I was looking for a place with an authentic crunchy taco and I kept hearing about this place. I got there and it looked legit. I ordered 3 ground beef crunchy tacos and a small sprite and it was only $ 5.46. I was excited until I saw the taco. Not only was it bland and tasteless the taco shell was only half full. And even more upsetting was the taco shell was store bought! How is this place authentic if I can get the same taco at del taco? Actually, at least the taco at del taco has flavor… Ugh. Never again!

Based on other reviews I went with the green chilli quesadilla. Best quesadilla ever!

I gave this place 2 stars because the quesadillas are pretty delicious. I prefer it without sauce, but with sauce it’s still pretty good. Other than that, gross. The meat in the tacos was old, the eggs in the breakfast burrito weren’t cooked fully. The chicken taco tasted terrible. And the gentlemen taking our order acted like he wanted to kill himself with each syllable we uttered. If someone bought me a quesadilla from here, I’d eat it. But I’d never go back.

I’ve been going here since I was a kid in the streets. the food is so underrated. amazing nachos and red chunky beef burritos. mmmmmm! o and the quesadillas omg

Green Chile quesadillas are my favorite. I will come out of my way to come here and get one. The taquitos are very good hand made and big! My kids like their bean & cheese burrito. They are also pretty accommodating if you want to add or take away ingredients.

I passed by and made a U Turn, the cool sign made me do it. I ordered some hard ground beef tacos. These were nice, like the way Taco Bell tasted way back when their stores were shaped like old Spanish missions.
The shells were crisp, and had good crunch. Nice cold, crisp lettuce and plenty of cheese. Good flavor to the beef. This is nothing like how Taco Bell slaps together their assembly line tacos.