El Palenque

Ok back to the 2^nd time… Where do I start… don’t know why every «authentic» dish is accompanied by French fries? Tacos are a tasteless. Pastor is seasoned pork yes I can’t taste anything?! The owner needs to step up his «game.» There was no greeting service, not even a sign to let us know to seat ourselves. The falutas… had no taste! Couldn’t even take the left overs to go! The waitress was very nice and sweet… to bad her kitchen doesn’t reflect the same. I was hoping something was different this time, but… neah. Smh. Btw I saw someone on here saying that this place impresses them because their dishes are made to order??? What? So is jack in the box food «they don’t make it till you order it» anyhow I don’t think I have to tell you how «authentic» I am and how well I know food — just take look at my «authentic» name… so yes I know Mexican food, and coming from amazing food cooks, this is a place I wouldn’t bring my mom nonetheless my grandma… if Unilocal has hashtag… I would tag this restaurant under «#authenticfail»

Diner layout, but with Mexican cuisine. I’ve had the flautas and wet burritos here, the portions are quite huge and heavy on the rice and beans. There’s a karaōke bar in the lounge/​bar area that’s open to the rest of the restaurant, so the karaōke sounds can make its way to you table on some nights. Huge Chabelas for cheap (5 – 6 bucks) Service is pretty fast, and open late too for your post-​El Camino/​DTSJ adventures. Sleep it off in the Super 9 Motel in which the restaurant is housed too, if you find the need :]

Would give then 2.5stars if i could… okay place for lunch but would say B-​OK, not A-​OK thus the 2.5…
Pros– frendly staff (for lunch), highly recommend the regular $ 2 taco, do not buy the $ 3 ones, just stick with the $ 2 one n you’ll be fine) and place was about half-​full for lunch /​they try to make edible food
Cons– only have 1 overworked waitress for lunch (who still was amazingly nice even though she was slammed), if you need a speedo-​bandito-​meal do not come here.
This place is now called La Casa Ochoa (i guess named after the sleazy-​8 motel attached to it…); many moons ago this place was a SAMBOS Restaurant, they still have the old Sambo’s countertops and rusted-​out seat holder spots (made me laugh at how cheap the «rennovation» of this place was). After reaading the reviews of the El Palenque I can report that not much has changed and the complaints about the funky salsa are accurate (it’s like they blended some hotsauce with tomato n onion n cilantro bits with some gallon-​sized stuff from a can); HOWEVER, the lunchtime food was actually pretty good.
The lunch menu was a mix of hamburgers and mexican dishes. I saw a burger n fries come out for another table and they actually looked delicious /​think i might try them some other lunch… but I like tacos n fajitas so I ordered a chicken fajita and a steak/​carnitas taco. Their taco is just like a standard street taco made with a small corn tortilla, onion, cilantro n meat with some spicey salsa/​sauce on the side, i dumped the sauce on it and the result was very similar to the steak taco you get from Baja Fresh– totally enjoyed it. The chicken fajita gave a choice of flour or corn tortilla, i opted for flour and the portion of chicken was very large and generous– i felt i got my $ 12 worth for it. The chicken was marinated in a red chili sauce and was delicious! I was very happy with both selections.
The only major downer was the salsa used with the chips n salsa… it’s just wrong /​off /​unfixable /​they should just throw-​away whatever recipe /​can they’re using n do something different… i still used it to dip my rolled-​up fajita chicken but that probably made it worse and not better.
Don’t be afraid to try them for lunch if you can be unrushed. I would return there for lunch when in the area.

Came here because my moms staying at the hotel for the night, we drive up and the place is empty. Seats unconfortabLe when we sit down, I usualy order flautas but no flautas and sopes today, ok chile rellano?, nope out, menudo? Weekend only, horchata? Nope. Any mexican drinks? Nope out. Ok lets do breakfast chiliquiles sounda good right, oops no breakfast after 2pm. Wtf doea this place have crap to eat? Why even be open? im just gonna order a taco, since the meals are like 12 bucks per plate, im not coming back to this place already.

If I wasn’t on a quest to try every Mexican restaurant in my area I would have stayed away from El Palenque… far far away.
When you see a restaurant attached to a Super 8 motel you can’t help but be weary. The décor looks more like a old fashion diner than a Mexican restaurant. The restaurant was deserted when we walk in, but I mustered all the courage I could and pressed forward on my journey.
I ordered the carne asada tacos and they were about what I expected. The carne asada was bland and the rice and bean didn’t taste fresh.
I’m glad I got to check off another restaurant from my list and thankfully I lived to tell the tale.

Where to start…
I actually kind of liked the kitschey décor… wasn’t sure what to expect.
1. we promptly got our salsa. Most definitely canned tomatoes. I make my own salsa and tomatoes naturally dont have that flavor. I set the bar down a couple of notches accordingly. I still was hopeful for a good dinner.
2. They were out of the only thing I really wanted to eat on the menu. Out of Chile Verde at 7:30pm on a Friday night? Really?
3. The waitress (who was hispanic) looked at me crooked when i asked if they had Enchiladas Suissas. Seriously?
4. The chicken inside of the enchiladas was soooooo salty. Not good.
5. They had MTV «Jersey Shore» on the tv. I was having to distract my toddler from watching Snookie dry humping some dude at the club.
Won’t be back.

This restaurant is a testament to the idea that I should always trust warning signs.
Warning sign #1. 8:30 PM and it’s empty except for a few non-​hispanic people. Never a good sign.
Warning sign#2. The décor and the format of this place in general, it looks like a crappy diner that wend out of business on the inside – in fact the only things about this place that were Mexican were the name and the people working here.
Warning sign #3. The menu. I wish i had taken a picture of the menu here, it was a picture menu in case you didn’t know what a burrito or quesadilla looked like, but the worst part is that they pictures of the food didn’t even look appetizing.
Salsa was way too tomatoey and almost certainly from a jar. I ended up ordering chicken sopes, which were pretty gross. The actual sopes were almost certainly store bought as well – and they were crunchy, more like a mini tostada than a sope – and they were way, way, too salty.
This is a sad excuse for Mexican food. Avoid this place at all costs.

The Sopes were excellent. The fresh salsa is a great appetizer. This is definitely authentic Mexican food. The service was excellent.

This place is A-​OK.
Attached to the Super 8 it has a somewhat strange layout, but seating is never a problem. The food is good and plentiful. When I was there the place was not that busy but the waitress seemed over burdened and unresponsive and even though I was sitting directly across from the soda fountain my drink was empty longer than it was full.
All in all I only recommend this place if you find yourself staying at the Super 8 or visiting someone who is staying there.

It’s really interesting that there are so many vehemently negative reviews for El Palenque. My wife and I have come here a dozen times now and always have an excellent meal (I’m Mexican and grew up with my dad making many authentic dishes so I feel that I know good from bad Mexican food). The thing that impresses me the most about El Palenque is that just about everything they make is made to order (other than the rice and refried beans which are made in bulk of course), so maybe that ends up taking a little longer than at a taqueria but the results make it all worth while in the end.
My wife really enjoys the enchiladas camarones with generous amounts of seasoned shrimp. I just had their unique quesadillas which are almost like fried empanadas with ground beef and tons of cheese nestled within. Another thing we noticed right off the bat was that their salad that comes on most dinner plates, is so green and fresh… not at all like the typical bagged salads you get at most places. Tortilla chips are extremely addictive and taste almost like a corn and flour combination. Fresh salsa and a decently hot hotsauce (I like to sweat when I eat so I can take it pretty hot).
I really think you ought to try it. Sounds to me like there is a wide range of pallets out there and while I respect the opinions of others, I think this is a restaurant that deserves a try.

This is the second worst Mexican restaurant I have eaten at since moving to the Rose Garden. The #1 spot is reserved for Mexico Lindo! Both places made me feel ill for hours after our meal. NEVER again.

I love this place! Given that it’s the restaurant in a Super 8 Motel (no, i’ve never stayed there), you wouldn’t know it’s so good.
More traditional than most Mexican joints around here. Plus, they make hand made corn tortillas. Not those store bought cardboard versions of tortillas. The real deal.
The staff is nice and attentive but the service can be a tad on the slow side.

I usually don’t do this but I’ll start with the negatives. Everything but the food is a bit off. I’ve been here for lunch a couple of times and the first thing you have to get over is that it’s attached to a Super 8 Motel. The second thing you have to get over is that it’s freezing inside and many of the lights are burned out or off so it’s cold and dark. Oh, the parking lot is small and cramped.
So far, it sounds like a one star review. Things improve quite a bit when you factor in the food. And isn’t that why you’re here? The portions were large and served steaming hot. I’ve had a massive burrito here as well as shrimp fajitas. It all seemed fairly authentic although, authentic or not, I wish they’d take the feet off of the shrimp. I also thought it was a bit odd that they gave me a ton of food and only two flour tortillas. Odder still, aside from the sizzling fajita skillet and the small plate full of beans, rice, guac and sour cream, I had no plate to make my fajita on. Loss of style points there. But it was TASTY.
I may give this place another shot just because the food was so good but festive, it’s not.

Hmm… not quite sure where to begin with this one?!
Stopped by this restaurant because it’s local to where we live & I had passed it quite a few times on my way home from work. We decided to stop for margharitas and a quick snack yesterday evening & I wish we had walked straight back out!
Have to admit, I agree that the décor is nice, the service is quick and the servers are attentive. However, we should have taken a cue from the fact that the entire restaurant was EMPTY except for one couple who looked like they were enjoying their dinner. They happened to be Mexican, so we took that as a good indicator to the level of authenticity. Unfortunately NOT!
Made the mistake of ordering «Combinacion #2» — the chicken flauta, enchillada and the quesadilla. To be honest, the only thing that tasted good on the plate was the sour cream and perhaps the rice & beans. Everything else tasted like it had been cooked earlier in the day and reheated. Plus, the chicken was non-​existant! Worst of all, the margharitas were SUPER SOUR and tasted like there was no alcohol in there at all. Sad end to our Wednesday, but had to write this review to make sure other locals don’t make the same mistake we did!!!

This is what used to be called Jack’s Tavern, the place recently went through management change… nothing is too different!
This bar is what I have looked for in a very long time… a place where I could go relax and have drink or two and enjoy Spanish rock… correction 80’s and 90’s Spanish rock pop!
I have been going here for almost a year and have always been happy with the service I have gotten. The drinks are priced reasonably.
The crowd is very mature, there are days when it can get a bit crowded but for the most part it’s a fun place to go to!

This was the worst place that I have ever been to. The food was horrible and the service was worse. To start we ordered coffee, it was horrible, after waiting for what seemed like forever, 1 hr later it was served. My appetizer was served with my dinner. The frozen hamburger with the frozen fries.
Once we got the bill we were so surprised, it was $ 170.00 for 9 people who didn’t even order a beer and 2 of the 9 ordered the $ 6.95 hamburger.
Would not recommend this place to anyone who is looking for a good Mexican meal or a meal in general.
** In reality it is worth ZERO stars

Blech. Worst pozole I’ve ever had. Not spicy, no cilantro, no jalapenos, bland radishes, minimal cabbage, no chips (until I asked). Also had a la carte chicken enchilada, very small (fine with me since it was just a side to my pozole) and totally forgettable. Plus ice tea and I walked out $ 17 lighter for a crappy meal.
Atmoshere sucks. Located in a cheap motel, looks like a diner, attached to a tavern, and the place was empty.
Weird menu selection, not that much to choose from if you don’t consider breakfast items. From other reviews and the menu, I suspect that some of the seafood dishes might be the best choices, but I won’t be back to find out.

I didn’t expect much, considering that its right next to Motel 8 and every time we pass by, it is rarely crowded. Today, I was craving rice and beans with tortilla, so we finally decided to try this place.
It took me a while to look over the menu since it was in Spanish… I didn’t see the translation until much later. I was surprised by the array of selections. Though having pictures would have helped a lot with picking from a unfamiliar menu. But that’s not too important…
We started out with chips and salsa. Super good salsa!!!
I ordered the Camarones Rancheros (shrimp cooked in spicy sauce with bell peppers, onions, tomatos, mushrooms and ham) and David ordered Camarones a la diabla (shrimp cooked in hot spicy sauce). Mine was not spicy at all and I didn’t even taste the ham. The beans and rice was tasty though, you can’t really mess up that up. Something about the sauce was off… I think it was too much tomato sauce or something and too much salt. But eating it with the rice and beans really balanced the rest of the meal. The shrimp was good. Would I get it again… probably not. Though, I really like David’s plate. His was spicy! BTW– their horchata drink was really good. I could really taste the cinnamon… yummm!!! I do have to say that I like their portions. A good size!
The service was okay. The waitress was a bit slow with the drinks but she was the only one serving the tables. Our drinks came after our plates arrived. At least the meal did not take long. The waitress was nice and friendly. No real complaints.
Next time, I’m going to try their breakfast menu…

I happen to like the long space, it reminds me of those train diners people always eat breakfast in the movies. It obviously at one point was a Denny’s, Coco’s, or whatever, but I think it makes it unique compared to other Mexican restaurants. I recall the salsa being pretty tasty. The carne asada fajitas were satisfying but not memorable. I ordered a margarita as well and it was pretty weak sauce. My sister and boyfriend got the molcajeta with mixed seafood and it was HUGE and hella heavy! Definitely enough for two to share. The molcajeta is in the shape of a little pig which I though was cute and that mug stayed volcanic hot during our whole sitting. I don’t eat seafood but they seemed to love it. I would say for seafood lovers it would be worth coming in to try that!!!
The one qualm I have with this place was the service. The waiter misunderstood our drink order 3 times and he obviously did not speak very much English. Later a waitress came who was on top of it but I don’t know why she did not serve us in the first place. It also seemed a bit slow over all and we were only one table of about 5 that were occupied.

Ok, so the interior of El Palenque looks like a Coco’s diner. And the wood paneling and Mexican bandito motif makes El Palenque look and feel like Twin Peaks meets Desperado. Upstairs you’ll find the bathrooms along with some large portraits of Celebrities.
The good thing about El Palenque is it seems to be open fairly late on Saturday night. Another important upside to El Palenque is the value priced $ 6.00 burritos. They season the innards of the burritos with plenty of green and white onions, something I can appreciate.
Even still, the burrito is a touch bland. Never fear though, along with the burrito El Palenque offers one of the tastiest hot sauces/​salsas I’ve tasted. I have yet to find a taqueria in the north bay that has something better than the salsa I had at Palenque.
When you’re fiending for late night eats, a burrito with generous portions of hot sauce will definitely do the trick. And it just might push Palenque up to a 4 star experience.