El Pirrin

The boyfriend was craving brain tacos… cause obviously, it’s a normal craving. so the hunt was on to find him some brain tacos. This place showed up, had good reviews, and had brain as a choice of meat on their menu so we decided to have dinner here on a Sunday night. The place is pretty tiny inside, they do have a outside patio too but it was too cold for anyone. It would be perfect for brunch or something. Anyway, we arrived and waited for about 10 minutes for a table. There were only 2 servers working so it was pretty busy but our server was still very polite and we never felt rushed. They have complimentary chips and salsa, but i believe it only covers the first serving. The salsa was good and had a nice kick to it. We both ordered micheladas with modelo especial and they were good and refreshing, not the best we’ve had but still good. Also, they didn’t have brain that night (boo!) but still, We ordered:
Morisqueta ⁵⁄₅: Steamed white rice with beans and pork short ribs in red hot sauce. This dish was really good, the pork rib was tender, the sauce was good, and tortilla came with it. I’d say corn tortilla is the way to go (they grill it too)
Chicken Enchilada: ³⁄₅: My bf said it was good, but nothing about it popped out.
Chicharron taco ⁵⁄₅: Definitely try it. Loved the tortilla.
Lengua taco ⁵⁄₅: The bf loved it.
At the end of the night, my bf and i agreed that we’d prob come back again. He took my leftover morisqueta to work the next day and said it was still really good.
Give it a try!

It was good for a quick pozole I just typed in best San Jose Pozole. And this came up phone ordered and picked up fast and easy and so good. Plus they hooked us up to with so much sides.

LOVE this restaurant. Pride of ownership is truly evident – and we love their spicy salsa and gracious and attentive service. We always sit outside because the music/​TV is too loud inside. The outside vibe with palm trees makes us feel like we are on a plaza. We love to bring out-​of-​town guest here – and we have never been disappointed.
I think we’ve been there 5 times – and we’ll be back!

the breakfast experience was very pleasant. i was helped right away and was served in the outside area. its a nice atmosphere with many plants and vivirant color. thank you el pirrin.

I know authentic mexican food and this is as close as you can get. I came here skeptical and was wowed!!! Their salsa is great with just the right amount of spice unlike other places. I tried their tacos al pastor and they were delicious along with the refried beans and rice. Oh, and their michelada was great to.

Love their tacos with al pastor! Great tacos and beans! I come here with my girlfriend to get my Mexican fixed

I went on a Friday night (8:45pm ish) and place was busy. It was my first visit with a friend. Foods look appealing from the menu and I’m eager to try out this place. We ordered a spicy shrimp (extremely good) and pork ribs (bean sauce over rice). I have to say the two dishes were good. They offer chips as appetizer and the salsa is just awesome. Spicy but really good. I’ll be back.

Foods is good I came often to this place but a couple of times we wait
They said because was bussy
But today 8÷15÷15
We place the order and wait about 45 min, I understand was alot of customer, but a few peoples came 10 or 15 min after we order and they assist the other people and services them first I understand if there’s is one customer but 6 people arrive after and they get the food first?
I get upset and I asked the lady why,
and she said beacuse the food for thems was already precooked?
But we asked for the same food ?? ?
«Menudo»??
And I told this, and the answer she give to us o nothing I can do sorry
Sorry that a good excuse? ?
I know I love the food of this place but I hate the lady who assist us and for sure I don’t came back here and I personal don’t recomend this place to any body..

Pretty bomb Mexican food!
I think it’s the best spot on the East side San Jose.
Enchiladas are on point! And the tacos are pretty good.
Very clean restaurant and the servers are nice to.

Food is good when I can get service. Waited 20 minutes asked twice to order and the waitress pointed to another table saying she was helping them.

Great food! The Morisqueta is great and the chicharrón tacos are delicious. So far I haven’t been unhappy with any dish I’ve tried. The service is good and staff is warm and friendly.

Have you ever wanted to go to a hole in the wall Mexican restaurant that has some REALLY GREAT FOOD?! Well look no further. I have been coming here for years, DELICIOUS.

I came here on a weekend for lunch, and there were no more empty tables inside! It was also quite hot inside so I’m glad we decided to sit outside. The building is very orange! Anyway, I got a carne asada taco and an al pastor taco, and they were both really good. The meat flavor was really strong and the meat was really tender, although I think the carne asada was better as the pork was a bit tougher. The service here sucked though; it was just ridiculously slow, and I had to ask for water after the waitress asked us what we wanted to drink. The food was slow, the service was slow; everything about the service was bad. At least they weren’t mean and apologized. Anyway, –1 star for the terrible service; otherwise I’d give this place 5 stars! The tacos are that good. They’re not too expensive either; $ 1.75 each with meat, onions, cilantro, and salsa. Their salsa is good too; it has tomatoes and is sufficiently spicy. I’ll be back, but only if I have lots of time!

We tried this for the 1^st time since I bookmarked it years ago. The food was good. Our waiter was nice and relatively attentive. BUT the review is more for the SLOW FOOD OUTPUT service. The place was not that busy since there were open tables when we were there. It maybe an off Day since there was probably only one chef cook or something. It took us 1 hour and 25 minutes to dine there. We were expecting to be out in 30 minutes. Usualy mexican restaurant is pretty quick but this place took that long to bring out 1 enchilada ang 1 burrito. We’ll try them again to give them a 2^nd chance especially since the Chicharron tacos were delicious.

Food:
— Chicken Enchiladas: Baked shredded chicken wrapped in a tortilla, topped with enchilada sauce and Mozzarella cheese served with rice and refried beans. The chicken was tender and the sauce had okay flavor. The tortilla was a little regardless of being covered with sauce. 3.5÷5
Service: Fast and friendly. ⁴⁄₅
Final Thoughts: The food was okay. I would like to come back to try other food. I did like the authenticity of the food and restaurant.

Excellent hidden gem neighborhood Mexican restaurant. Love eating here, makes me feel like I’m in my Nana’s kitchen! Shrimp cocktail is full of shrimp and fresh avocado. Chile Verde is amazing as well. Rice & beans always good! Worth the parking nightmare (small lot, park on the street if you can). Service is excellent as well.

The service here is great! I came here with my cousins for dinner Saturday night and our waitress was awesome! Food was mediocre but I wasn’t really hungry so I just had the Asada tacos and they were pretty good. I used my
certificate and for everything we got it was about 31 bucks minus my 10 dollar certificate which came out to 21 bucks Will try dining here again but I love the service!

On my way to visit a friend in San Jose, it was nearing dinner time. I didn’t want to take it upon myself to rummage through her in-law’s cupboards for edibles so I stopped here.
I got a chicken burrito and added avocados and sour cream. My burrito was huge and only came to about $ 7.50 after the ad ons!
I’m in the area for work at the moment and this is making my per diem go far.
The salsa was spicy and tasty! Genuinely! I would consider buying it by the pint. Everything was so good except for their chips which were those hard round circles that remind me of high school football games with nacho cheese sauce that come in 50 lb. Costco bags. Please make homemade chips! Thanks! You are great!
The sweet lady running the show was fantastical.
This place also gave me two slices of lime complimentary which is amazing. I’m
sorry I didn’t eat them by the way.

My bf and I go here for lunch almost every week. We love their lunch specials and the service is always great!
Our usual server is Rosie and she’s the sweetest woman! Always smiling and making sure we have a good experience :)
I usually get the chilaquiles, it reminds me of the ones I used to get in Cabo. Flavorful with just enough crunch! My bf gets the tacos and he loves them. Overall, El Pirrin is a must! Sit outside on a nice day, you won’t regret it! :)

El Pirrin can be found in the middle of an east side San Jose barrio, if you will. I spotted the brightly colored stucco building driving through the neighborhood. The large patio is scattered with umbrellas for outside seating. As soon as I read the name, I looked it up on Unilocal to see the rating which was good. Bookmarked, and waiting for the day «to Try», but high on my list. That day came on a Tuesday evening. It was empty for the most part. My son and I decided to sit inside. The colorful décor and friendly staff were welcoming. What I was most impressed by was how clean it was. You could tell the owners and staff really take pride in keeping the restaurant in tip top shape. Pride goes a long way in this area, especially when most taquerias/​restaurants do the minimum to keep a clean place. The receipt said our server was Consuelo. She was ever so pleasant and willing to talk english to us when she realized we weren’t fluent spanish speakers. I was very happy with the service.
I guess this is long-​winded and I need to talk about the food, but all of those things mentioned above are what make a business great. The menu had just about everything you could be craving for. Combo plates, mariscos, burritos and tacos and caldos all looked delish, but there was one dish that caught my eye. It was something called «morisqueta» which was a bowl of steamed rice topped with beans and shortribs simmered in a chile sauce. This is the kind of dish that my Mom would prepare for us five kids on a regular basis and it was pure comfort food. I enjoyed it very much, but not close to Mom’s. RIP Mom. The salsa was spicy and did not lack flavor (my 1 complaint about most other places). Chips were okay (not homemade). My son’s burrito de carne asada supremo was pretty hefty and served with a small salad on the side (nice touch). Everything was fresh and it showed. He took a few bites and immediately said «this is good». He’s quite the critic himself. I know my son thought pretty highly of his meal because he wanted to make sure he knew where this place was so he could find in again. Neither of us finished our food and took home the rest. I expect this to be the first of many visits to El Pirrin.

!Atención Atención Atención! Este es el primer review que escribo en Unilocal y es debido al pésimo servicio dado en este restaurante! Hoy por la mañana fui por primera vez y es un hecho que no vuelvo a este lugar!!! Al llegar me sirvieron una taza de café rápido y también mi orden fue tomada bien… pero esperé y esperé y esperé y MI COMIDA NUNCA LLEGÓ!!! Entiendo que somos humanos y esos errores pueden pasar pero ninguna de las dos meseras se dignó a ver si se me ofrecia algo durante mi larguísima espera. Igualmente, mi mismo error fue no haber pedido hablar con él/​la gerente del Pirrin para corregir este tipo de servicio de inmediato. Honestamente, si pudiera darle menos de una estrella lo haría sin pensarlo! Ufff

Si usted esta en busca de comida realmente Mexicana y saludable, no lo piense mas!!! El Pirrin es la mejor opción!!!