El Portal Fresh Mexican Grill No 2

I actually came in here as an alternate from my favorite taco truck (which I guess wasn’t open yet –_​_​-​) and to try something new!
Walking in, the place was empty. It can be a good or a bad thing. It was 7pm on a Wednesday night.
Coming up to the counter, the lady working the register looked annoyed or irritated. Omg, I’m starting to think there’s something wrong with ME because it’s been happening whenever I try out new place, wtf haha
She wasn’t very pleasant to talk to, even with minimal interaction.
When I asked her what came inside the burrito, she looked at me like I was dumb for not knowing? Different places have different ingredients for their food, and it was my first time (They come with meat, pico de gallo and guac fyi). Duh.
Whatever, I moved on to the salsa bar. It had a lot of options which was good. Aside from 4 – 5 different salsa options, they also had limes, chopped up onions and cilantro.
We ordered the food to go, and I had asked for a little holder for my burrito.
She didn’t want to give it to me because I had ordered to go! What!
I had to ask her maybe 3 times, and point out what I wanted, behind the counter! Jeez.
The burritos were ok, there wasn’t anything wrong with them but they weren’t remember able. Prices were ok $ 6.75 for a burrito I think.
Although the service doesn’t dictate the taste of the food, it was enough to not want to come back.
In a city with more taco shops than probably any other kind of cuisine combined, you should probably want to strive for exceptional, not less than average.

Horrible service! Went in to get something to eat. I was ready to order the whole menu… and the girl at the cashier just was so rude! Like she didn’t even want to be there. I asked what would you recommend? And she couldn’t suggest anything that would make me want to really enjoy. I would come before many times and the two older women were so nice and polite but now this girl working now looks and gives the vibe out to customers that doesn’t welcome them at all! Never will I EVER GO here again! No wonder there for help sign hasn’t been taken down in months!
Chicken Enchiladas with chicken fajitas ?!? Really?!
Not even worth 1 star!!!

Totally disappointed with our meal here. My husband and I came here for lunch and ordered a California burrito and an order of beef rolled tacos to split. The rolled tacos were fantastic! The California burrito was mostly tortilla and even worse the meat tasted like a cleaning chemical. Both my husband and I tasted it in the first couple bites and stopped eating it. I fist thought maybe they had cleaned the grill right before opening then cooked the meat on it but then I saw that they had opened 2 hours before we got there so that wasn’t the reason… Unfortunately I won’t be back.

Meh. Ordered two carne asada tacos and they were fine. Found some tough gristle in one. Boyfriend wasn’t crazy about his burrito. The woman at the counter who we ordered with seemed pretty grumpy for unknown reasons — tough day? And at one point a bug walked across my tray which wasn’t great. So this review is definitely bordering on a two.

Today my roommate and I made an attempt at checking this place out and taking some food to go at 8:50pm. When we opened the door, the lady at the counter screamed «We’re closed», and in quite a rude manner at that. Hours stated they closed at 9pm, but hey, who needs business right?

One of the better options to eat in this lack luster part of town. It’s a nicer Mexican fast food place. It’s clean and newer with the appearance that their planning to make this a chain spot. They have a nice salsa bar.
I ordered the machaca with eggs, potatoes and beans. It came out quickly. The machaca and eggs were pretty good, probably a little better than average. The beans and potatoes were a little below average and not that flavorful. You get a good sized meal for the price. I wouldn’t go out of my way to come back, but if I’m hungry in this area again, it’s a good option.

Owner please take notice: a group of about 12 of us walked in just after 8:30 p.m. this evening. The woman working behind the counter could not have looked more disappointed to see us. She began by telling each of us that we had to order our food to go because she was closing at 9:00. When some of us opened our to-​go orders and began eating them inside (figuring, we thought not unreasonably, that we could at least wait until the last person in our group had received her order), she complained loudly that we needed to take our food outside. (It was about 8:45 at this point.) we ignored her and continued to eat, but it was sufficiently unpleasant that, when we finally did make our exit at 9, a group of around 16 of us (our group and a few others) vowed that we would each write this up on Unilocal as soon as we got home.
I’ve done my part. Owner, whoever you are, this woman is not helping your business. Get rid of her.
Oh, and my burrito was cold.

The food was good; Machaca and bacon Breakfast Burrito with chips. HOWEVER! The Casher/​server was as cold, Un-​engaging, unfriendly as could be. We asked her how large were the burritos because if too large for one we could share. When asked her answer was a hand motion, grunt and shrugged her shoulders. really!
I gave them 2 stars because I liked the food but the attitude of this gal was such frankly there are plenty of good friendly Mexican places without them.

I got a California burrito when I was here and I was surprised by the size. It was much larger than most other california burritos. I was also impressed with there being Guacamole and sour cream in the burrito without paying extra. However, I did order a side of chips and I got only a few chips with my order. There was a good variety of salsa but for some reason the salsa was away from the salsa bar and placed on the front counter. The service was mediocre. Overall, because of the size of portions I would go here again.

Ordered Carne Asada plate, yikes big mistake eat half only and throw it away wasted my money. Meat is cold and no taste, rice and beans are terrible. Guacamole and salsa bar was okay. Never come back again.

Today Saturday January 23, 2016 2:30 pm. I was at CVS with my family and Noticed one of the employees from el portal BUYING BEER. And taking it inside the restaurant thru the back door. Wow. Who would know that a company like this would let their employees drink as they work. Tells me what kind of management, ownership this place has. In Plain daylight with no shame. That will NOT invite me to come and eat here. Who knows what the food might have with drunk employees.

I absolutely love the pollo asado burrito here, but sadly, I have decided never to eat here again. Why? The last three times I have eaten here, the dining area was filthy. I could understand this if they were busy, but this was at 2:15 — 2:30, and they were not busy at all. All three times, there was trash on the floor, food spills on the tables, etc. Last week, a worker came out to the seating area and took a break, not seeming to notice the trash and broken chips on the floor in multiple areas. As I got ready to leave, I dropped a napkin on the floor. As I bent down to pick it up, I noticed a large area of standing water in the corner of the restaurant… probably flooding from the rain. Apparently, the employees aren’t trained to take notice of the state of the dining area.

Ordered a machaca plate with potatoes. Food was too greasy and potatoes were cold and not fresh. The egg was partly done. I ordered this food to try their salsa bar and the gave me the food to go. Had to unpack to eat in. Will not be coming back here.

I found the cashier to be extremely rude for absolutely no reason. Furthermore played ignorant when I asked for a side of salsa and acted as if she didn’t understand what I had very simply, politely asked for.
Cannot understand the hostility as I walked up with a smile. Oh well, thanks for narrowing my choices in the area. There’s far better right next door

El Portal is in between a taco shop and a Mexican restaurant, meaning better than a taco shop but not a sit down restaurant.
My go to its the Pollo Asado burrito. Big and filling, the chicken is grilled and tasty. The carne asada is good as well.
On occasion I will get the rolled tacos which are a good sized portion with your choice of chicken, beef or potato.
They also have a good salsa bar and all orders come with a side of chips.
Of all the limited taco shop choices in Mission Valley this is your best one to go to.

A very yummy meal for a quick lunch. I had the chicken enchiladas and for less than $ 10, I got two enchiladas, beans, rice, corn, and a bag of chips. I thought it was a filling and pretty yummy, affordable meal. One thing that I particularly pay attention to is the quality of the meat that I am eating. In particular, I don’t like it when restaurants throw in fatty, greasy, dark meat from the chicken. But that was not the case here. El Portal’s chicken was delicious, quality, white meat. Will definitely come by again when I am in the area.

Great quick meal. You get a lot of bang for your buck with the plate options. I had the carnitas plate and enjoyed it. Probably not top 10 carnitas I’ve had, but made up for with quantity and very solid meat (carnitas need more fat for flavor imo). You also get a small bag of chips with your meal order which is pretty good. Definitely a good lunch option when you’re in the area.

We were regulars at this place until we had a discussion with the cashier. We ordered something from the menu and it was completely different than what it said it was. When we asked about it she started arguing that it should be the way they delivered the food, to which I responded that it wasn’t what I ordered, I specifically said what I wanted and they ended up doing it their way.
Since we were not going to eat that we ordered the same thing but this time to do it our way. The cook was really angry about it, and told the cashier «just tell them this is the way it is». If they had told us before that what we ordered actually had other stuff in it as well we would’ve thought about it.
Anyway the cook did our order the correct way now but he was throwing things away really pissed off. And as I approached to pay they were busy so I grabbed the order and went sit, to which at the middle of my dinner the cashier yelled to our sit «hey, it’s going to be 8 dollars», which was really annoying since they were too busy for us to pay before but now they were interrupting our food and not in a good manner.

Worst «Mexican» food ever!!! My friends enchiladas weren’t even cooked. The cheese was not melted at all in the middle of the enchiladas. Food temperature was cold even. My food was okay, the California burrito was big but the fixins weren’t mixed very well and I would take a bite and it would be all cheese, second bite carne. Should have distributed a little more.

I like stopping by El Portal when I’m in SD. The food is fresh, well-​seasoned, and plentiful. El Portal is great if you’re in a hurry, lunch-​break, late-​dinner, etc. Think Baja Fresh but mom-​and-​pop.
I always order the carne-​asada burrito. They use Flap Meat (Ranchera) and not sirloin or another tough cut of beef. The burrito is simple: nice amount of beef, salsa fresca, and guacamole — and that’s it. You can make any burrito a combo. You get a side of rice, beans, and a corn cake.
The have a salsa bar where you can load up on all the fixin’s — from spicy red to green mild.
Give it a try…