Tacos Pa’Ella

These guys rock! I will drive by countless other shops, from across town just for these tacos! They’re hot sauce is on point, as well. I’ve lived in Portland my whole life and these guys have the best tacos in town.

The guy who owns/​runs this place is always so friendly and enthusiastic. Food is great and super affordable. Killer homemade salsas, excellent burritos, and a veggie torta to die for. My favorite neighborhood truck!

Good street taco and good people. I love that you can call your order in and do pick up. The tacos are really good and the green sauce it to die for. Recommend for sure if your looking for great Mexican food quick and has that family feel as well. Closed on Sunday is the bad thing:)

Great food but inconsistent hours. I’ve tried coming here four different times during their posted business hours and the cart is closed. It doesn’t matter how good your food is if your customers are always confused and don’t know when you’re open.

I’m really digging this place after I’ve tried several of their items. Their food is authentic Mexican food made fresh and to order, and everything from their homemade salsa down to grilling their tortillas screams this authenticity.
This place is in a little trailer on the corner of 15^th and Alberta and is a bit hard to find. Every time I go here there are usually only two people working there, and the gentleman who helps me is very friendly and helpful. So far I’ve tried their Pa’Ella Burrito (my favorite so far) and their carne asada burrito, and I was quite impressed by both. The Pa’Ella Burrito I ordered had asada, french fries and guacamole in it and was very similar to a California style burrito, and it was cheap at just under six dollars. The burrito was quite large and had a good portioning of meat, which I’m always pleased to see since some places love to add more filler ingredients like potato or beans.
The guy who was operating the stand when I was there also offered me a sampling of a batch of hot sauces he made, and I picked the pineapple habanero. He warned that it was hot, and boy was he right! It wasn’t overbearingly spicy since the pineapple seemed to counterbalance the heat, but it did make me sweat a bit. I definitely recommend the habanero sauces if you are a spice fiend like myself.
Overall I really enjoy Pa’Ella and I will be frequenting it.

Yummy fish tacos, friendly worker with a big smile & super spicy pineapple habanero salsa! Yum horchata!

The best tacos I have had so far in portland. (Having admittedly not tried more than a few places so far). Very solid.
Tacos are the way to go here IMO, was less than impressed with my torta, but hey, you can’t get everything perfect. HOWEVER, I am not a burrito guy and haven’t tried them here so I can’t comment on those, judging by the other reviews they are pretty great.
Several of the meat choices are just great, see which ones you like the best.
Guy who runs it is super nice too.

Maybe I was hungry, maybe I really just wanted some good Mexican food, maybe I’m just glad I have yet to see a Taco Bell in the Portland area. Please do not tell me where there is one. I don’t care.
Living in the Dallas/​Fort Worth area, I learned about incredible street tacos and really great hole-​in-​the-​wall Mexican places. I’ve also learned that I can find it just as good up here. I hadn’t had a torta until I moved to Texas and I’ve had some great ones. The one here at Tacos Pa’Ella blew me away. It was that good.
Just the bread alone was worth the trip. I got carnitas and it was beautiful and moist. Add in the creamy refried beans, avocado, sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes, onions and a really nice and limey green salsa and I was so content. The sandwich was pressed and the bread was warn and crunchy and chewy and if Pa’Ella was open now, I think I might actually have to get another one. I was very impressed and I can only imagine what the rest of the menu offers.
Just take a little trip down Alberta and you’ll find this little food pod with Pa’Ella, an empanada place, and Mediterranean place and two other places and you will be grateful you did. Enjoy.

The rule of thumb for the 1^st-​timer is order what’s listed at the top of the menu. Here it’s the Burrito Pa’Ella for $ 5.75. Mexican purists might scoff at this concoction: asada, thick guacamole slices, cheese, pico, and crisp medium sized fries (lots of ‘em.) The size of our stomach is about the size of our fist, their marquee item might be the size of Andre the Giant’s. The plan was to eat half and take the other home: the plan failed.
While they offer red and green hot sauce like most places, the red here is extra special, one of the better I’ve tried. Nice owner, service time is about average.

If you’ve been looking for that classic cali burrito with french fries and the whole 9 yards, this is it! Glad I found this gem and will be returning for another bomb burrito. Super cheep might I add.

Best tacos, hands down, within .03 mile from my studio. Get the pastor. Dollar taco specials on Tuesday and Wednesday.

This place is only getting one star because this is the only way I can write my review. On the 9^th of June went to check out this spot because of all the good reviews with my husband. I ordered the beef fajita plate with rice no beans and my husband ordered the taco plate with rice and no beans. My fajita plate looked awful, the rice was somewhat dry and Luke warm and the tortillas were like cardboard and not handmade as advertised. The fajita mix had mostly onions and bell peppers hardly any beef. My husband said the tacos were just okay, but he usually only gets tortillas and meat. His rice was also gross. We both felt sick almost right after. Stay far away from this joint. Save your money and go elsewhere.

FAN-​TAS-​TIC!
Up there with Tortilleria and Tienda de Leon! Both are the best Mexican food I have had here in PDX. The asada steak at both joints is slurp-​elishuous!
I was born and raised in Mexico, BTW!

A burrito the size of your head with french fries in it. I call it the regret it later burrito. While you’re eating it, the best decision that you could have ever made, or will ever make. Having kids, donating blood, saving the world, whatEVER. No, no, this burrito. The best.
If you eat the whole thing by yourself (because, duh!) there will be a moment of reflection on the elasticity of the anatomically modern human’s stomach that makes you question the wisdom of what you just did. The thing is MASSIVE. Like, that’s too large to be a space station big. And it’s got french fries inside of it. And the seeming regret will pass and the warm fuzzies will return. Every time.
I’ve been here a few times now, the guys inside are always friendly and pretty quick considering they’re gestating a food baby you’re about to become surrogate to. I’ve gotten this masterpiece of monstrosity, the home burrito, every time. There’s another burrito-​with-​french-​fries but the particular blend of not-​french-​fries ingredients doesn’t appeal to me, so I’ll be sticking with what works.
They have other stuff, too. Normal tacos, plates with beans and rice on the side. But, the home burrito. OMFG. Really.

This cart has moved. Its new location is in the pod by 15^th and Alberta.
NOTE: This is NOT the same taco cart that was in this same exact location a few months ago. Despite living nearby I hadn’t gone here for a while because I had some less than stellar burritos from the last cart in its place. This new cart is infinitely better, seriously one of the best in town.
The tacos here are the real star of the show. For only $ 1.25 a piece they are some of the cheapest you’ll find anywhere in town. I’ve had several of their meat options by now and across the board they have all been consistently mind-​blowingly good. Perfectly moist without being too drippy. Insanely generous portions, so much meat you have a hard time fitting it all in your mouth. Truly some of the most authentic tacos found in Portland. Nothing but meat, cilantro, and onion atop 2 freshly made tortillas with some lime and radishes on the side. Just the way a good taco should be.
The burritos here are also pretty bomb, especially given their low low price of $ 4.25. Add guacamole, it’s $ 5 even. For a burrito loaded with guac, sour cream, and cheese it’s still only $ 5.75. These expertly wrapped bundles of goodness are no joke either. They are literally the size of my forearm with stellar ingredient proportions and distribution. Just about every bite was full of a bit of everything, a truly special experience. So far I’ve had the veggie and the carnitas burrito. The veggie burrito was great, totally stoked on it, will absolutely get again. The carnitas was really good as well, I have nothing bad to say about it, but I really think the best way to get the full flavor of the meats here is in taco form.
If you can handle a little heat, go ahead and douse your meal in their homemade habanero salsa. While it has a decent kick, that sweet habanero flavor still shines right through. Not overpowering at all, perfectly balanced. One of the best salsas I’ve ever had.
Top all this mouth watering, insanely affordable, generously proportioned food with the unbeatable customer service they provide, and you’ve got yourself one of the best damn taco cart experiences in all of Portland.

I was sold on their homemade corn tortillas – you have to eat it immediately because it is delicious, plus, its on the thinner side so it falls apart when soggy. They should double up the tortillas for added protection. I normally go with their three tacos (Lengua) and a drink for $ 4 and I am satiated. Tacos are $ 1.25 each and the service is quick. The habanero sauce they provide has a good kick and compliments the taco perfectly.

These tacos are off the chaaaaaain! Homeboy makes the tortillas BY HAND. They make the tacos even more awesome. I’ve had the veggie and the fish tacos. The mango salsa that comes on the fish tacos is killer! My fiancé had a chile relleno plate there, and he said it was the best he had ever had (which is saying something because he’s had it a zillion times). Their horchata is awesome too. These guys are at Cartlandia on SE 82^nd and Harney, tucked away in the corner. Check ‘em out!

I’m always on a lookout for a place that serves healthy sized burritos. If tacos are more your thing, the people here make those corn tortillas from scratch.
Tacos are $ 1.25 and burritos are a wallet-​pleasing $ 4.25. Seriously? Quesadillas and tortas are $ 4.99 each. Choices of meat include the asada, pastor, tripa, carnitas, pollo, lengua, chorizo, and cabeza.
Burritos include rice, beans, choice of meat, onions, and cilantro. I got a Lengua Burrito and got some hot sauce on the side.
After managing to play «hot potato» with the temperature-​hot burrito for a little bit, I dug in. The lengua was cooked wonderfully. Juicy and seasoned well. Properly cooked rice. The hot sauce has a pleasing kick and the vinegary punch adds a bit of zest to the experience.
There’s a Pa’Ella Burrito ($ 5.25) that has french fries, asada, guacamole, and cheese. Finally, there’s a Combo menu if you also want to purchase a drink with your meal.
A pleasant first experience. A very good burrito that kept my wallet happy.