Tacos El Panson

This was an okay taco shop. Meat spinner is cool. Rolled tacos need lots of help. There was very little meat in the rolled tacos and the guacamole was really diluted and tasted like a mix. Their salsa selection wasn’t too great. I really enjoyed the adobada taco. It’s not as flavorful as Taco El Gordo but I still enjoy the texture. Will come back next time to try the Birria and eat more adobada. But never rolled tacos here.

So many tacos in this town are boring
these taco were excellent tacos
way above average
recommended

Amazing taco shop!!! This is the only place I have found in all my life that makes soles fresh and from scratch!!! Their adobada is one of the best ones in town. Everything is fresh and very tasty. They also have a good domestic AND imported beers… they carry Carta Blanca!!! I was very pleased to find since I’ve been wanting to try but not willing to drive to Tj
This place is a must to try if you are in the taco mood. Do not go to Tacos el Gordo, el Panson is the real deal!!!

This is another hidden gem and definitely underrated for their food. The place isn’t going to catch your eye from the outside, but I guarantee this place won’t disappoint, regardless of how tiny/​ghetto this place is. The adobada meat is my favorite here. Sure, there are plenty of different kinds of mexican taco shops all around the area, and honestly, many are just mediocre or just not really good. But I would rather eat here than anywhere else because the service is very nice (sometimes very generous), fast, and the tacos are $ 1.55. Come on, Tacos el Gordo ain’t even in mind anymore since i found this place.

I been on the TJ style taco hunt trying new places every week. Done most of them and this place was on my list due to the reviews. Place is authentic looking and was busy. I ordered their daily taco special (three tacos with rice and beans). Two tacos where adobado and one was carned asada. I also ordered a adobado sope. i was happy to see that they had a pastor spit. The food came out fast. Sadly the adobado was bland and not flavorful and spicy like some other places. The carne asada was good though. Can’t say much about the other items cause I have not tried them. I had high hopes for the adobado. So far TEG is the best with El Paisa coming in secord.

Needed some «real tacos» and not the typical California huge tacos with guacamole. This place is legit. I had the carne asada and adobada tacos. They were delicious. We will be returning.

OMG… finally found an amazing authentic mexican food… beats all other taco shops I’ve been to! I have definately fell in love with this place. The tamales, Gorditas and Sopes were so freaking good. Although I didn’t order the tacos after seeing them come to other people’s tables I wish I had but there’s always next time because I will definately be going back. The Food was FABULOUS.

Food is not that good bought tacos and the meat was burn and had no flavored, and the tamales are nasty and hard…

The employees were friendly but the good was sub par. The salsa bar is extremely limited which sucks. I ordered a breakfast burrito with jamon and it was pretty much potatoes and cheese. There were barely any eggs, if any. My roommate ordered the chicken tamale, carne asada mulita and carne asada sope. The chicken tamale was all corn with a sliver of chicken and the carne asada was extremely fatty. They have Mexican Coke though. Which would be cool if I wanted a soda. I doubt I’ll give the place another try, but if I do maybe I’ll try the adobada or lengua.
If you really want tacos just go further south to tacos del gordo. Better meat better tortilla better everything.

My previous review was 5 stars. I do love the food here but unfortunately the hygienic practices of the cashier/​cook/​waiter will deter me from ever returning. I came in, I ordered, I payed in CASH. The person behind me and the person in front of me also payed in cash. He begins to prep food with bare hands after handling everybodys disgusting money, and never washed his hands. I’m not a germaphobe or high maintenance but I feel one should practice basic hand hygiene when handling money and then preparing food without gloves. Food preparation 101. He also collected dirty dishes, put them in the sink and then served food. I waited approximately 20 minutes in front of the counter waiting for my order to be done, and observed multiple actions of cross contamination and zero hand washing. That is enough for me.

I used to eat here often, but haven’t for a while. So since I was walking up the street, I stopped in for a burritio. The food has changed, though.
The pros:
It was a big burrito, and loaded with meat.
Cons:
Some gristle, and the meat wasn’t marinated.
With all of the taco shops in San Diego, I can find better burritos. I won’t be back.

Really wanted to love this place since it had such high Unilocal star ratings. Unfortunately it doesn’t deserve such high praise. It’s an okay taco shop but not spectacular. I tried a variety of items on a recent Saturday evening to give them a fair shot and discover the hype.
The restaurant kitchen food prep area is in the front right as you enter. The restaurant is arranged like a skinny alley and the seating is in the back. It is a clean and bright taco shop compared to many others, service is quick and efficient.
On this occasion we had the following:
— pastor adobada mulita (5 stars): think tortilla sandwich with marinated pork meat, cheese, onions, cilantro. This dish was the highlight of the evening and I would rate it 5 Stars on flavor — simply delicious.
— 3 taco combo special (3 stars): tripa (tripe), cabeza (head), lengua (tongue) tacos with rice and beans. The rice was bland and beans were horrible and tasted like they were from a can (1 star rating). The tripa taco had crispy tripe bits and was very good, reminded you of chicharon. The cabeza and lengua tacos were good but didn’t stand out. Tacos I would rate 3 stars. Part of the problem is the salsas on the salsa bar aren’t very flavorful and taste watered down or clashed with flavors. Salsas are supposed to bring the flavor and elevate food to the next level. The salsas in this case were detrimental to the dishes.
— 5 rolled tacos (2 stars): tacos were skimpy on meat. The guacamole on the tacos was terrible and tasted like packaged supermarket guacamole with chemical tasting citric acid instead of fresh lime juice.
Bottom line: ordinary taco shop with good tasting meats, subpar salsas, and terrible sides. I wouldn’t go out of my way to come here. This place is no Tacos El Gordo which is my #1 pick for tacos when it comes to flavor.

2 Words: Birria Fries
(So bomb!)
My boyfriend and I come here all the time. We love the tacos and burritos, but we always order birria fries (instead of carne asada). They are really nice, hygenic, and everything is fresh. This is definitely a place to try!

If your looking for some good tabs this is a great place. I’ve gone various time and it’s always as good as the first time. One thing that is really amazing and besides the great food is that they make the tortillas in the restaurant and they are so delicious.

These tacos were AMAZING!
The chicken taco was ok, however the al pastor taco was suuuper good!
Got 3 tacos for $ 5! Can’t beat that deal! Haha yeah I’ll be back again for a late night bite.

I’m so glad I finally tried this place. I work right down the street and will definitely be coming back soon. Standard taco shop menu but with a wide variety of tacos to choose from. I went with one birria and one adobada taco.
If you order ‘for-​here’ they bring the food to you in the dining area on a real plate (fancy, lol) and you can get your limes, radishes and whatever salsa you like from the salsa bar. Personal fav: green. Both tacos had an excellent flavor; I think I detected nutmeg in the adobada but whatever it was really added that extra ‘something.’ I would have liked guacamole on my adobada taco but maybe you have to ask for it extra. I’d be down to try the birria next time by itself.
Expect an update when I try other items!

Delicious! Came here after hiking Cowles Mtn to refuel, perfect post workout meal! The minute you walk in you can smell all of the yumminess. Handmade tortillas (woot woot), I ordered their TJ tacos special (3 tacos, rice & beans & a drink), carne asada & adobada, & also ordered a carnitas mulita. Everything was perfectly prepared & topped with a generous amount of guacamole, grilled cebollita & peppers (FYI, you have ask for the grilled cebollita & peppers)! They also have Mexican Coke! Mmmm… salsa bar, offers radishes, lemon slices, red & green salsas– a must for TJ tacos.
Customer service was great, guy at the counter handed me their business card so I can call in the order next time, to avoid having to wait! :))

They never disappoint!
Tacos keep getting better and better every time I come.
I love this place. Even my five year old son tells me «mom, we should come here all the time!»
We always order the daily special;
Three tacos, rice, beans and a drink for just about $ 7. That’s a deal!
I recently discovered their carnitas tacos…
OMG it’s like a foodgasm!
The flavor is AMAZING… And most pieces are nice and crispy. My new favorite.
Food, prices and the employees are the reason I come here often. My favorite place to eat in SD for sure!

Definitely a legit spot.
My standards for tacos seem to be a big high. Before even walking into this place you can see a woman in the kitchen making tortillas (huge plus). This is the first step to getting a good taco.
What I usually order: Adobada (pork) tacos, carne asada tacos, and/​or Adobada mulita. For those that are not familiar with mulitas, they are simply a tortilla «sandwich» with 2 tortillas serving as the «bread» — meat, guac, cheese, cilantro & onion. I never get onion on anything. I tend to add lemon, salsa, and a side of radishes.
They have a couple of aguas frescas toward the front counter. This is also a plus bc I refuse to drink fountain goop water. Their horchata was too sweet for me but my sister liked it. The strawberry was pretty good. Their medium size is only 2 dollars which wasn’t bad. Oh, and they do have beer.
I tried all of their salsas alone and with my tacos, all were ok. This little salsa bar can definitely be expanded.
Just FYI– this place is right next to Edna’s and parking along el cajon blvd is grim.
If you come to this place, try their tacos for sure. This isn’t a fancy shmancy place but they have some good good food.

I was really hyped up to try this place, after driving past it so many years near my place of work. The parking here isn’t very good because its limited street parking with lots of businesses and apartments down the street. It’s a very small narrow restaurant with seating outside and in the back of the place. Everything is cooked and prepared right infront of your eyes (
) which is pretty cool. This lady was really fast at making stuff, quite impressive to watch.
I ordered a variety of items to try out, in to go fashion. They have a limited menu that includes burritos, tamales, tacos, tortas and mulitas. They had a special where you order any three tacos, rice, beans and a drink for 6.99. Seemed like quite the deal. Also ordered a California burrito and one pollo asado mulita.
The taco plate (
) gave you choices on what type of meat. I went with two birrias and one carne asada. You cannot go wrong with tacos here, they are simply amazing. They make the tortillas on site (
) and their guac ontop is great. The only thing I would change is to use corn instead of flour tortillas like customary Mexican tacos. The beans and rice were also good, beans being seasoned very well with a bit of cheese ontop.
The California burrito (
) was a disappointment for me. The inside of the burrito consisted of meat, potatoes, cheese, guac, and pico de gallo (
). The potatoes inside made the burrito very greasy and the meat was really greasy as well. I personally didn’t care for their California, especially since they don’t use fries.
The pollo asado mulita (
) was awesome. Not many Mexican places make these, but they’re basically two tortillas usually with meat, oaxaca cheese, and onions/​cilantro mixed inside. This thing was great, reminded me of being in Mexico.
Their salsa bar wasn’t out, you had to ask the guy for your hot sauces. Which was fine with me, I didn’t care too much for their hot sauces. The green was too bland for me and the red had a weird tasting flavor to it. This place is okay, on the cheap side but not really a favorite of mine. I’d rather go to Tacos El Gordo if I was in the mood for authentic Mexican style tacos personally.