El Palmar

I come here all the time, the workers are always so friendly and sweet to me! The owners are such great people. The food is very affordable and comes in great portion sizes. I highly recommend this place! Great authentic Mexican food :)))))

I don’t understand where all these great reviews came from. My husband and I are trying to recover from food poisoning at this restaurant. My beef soup was contaminated with a jagged crab pincer in it that I could have cut my tongue on. I was surprised to find it in there — what about people who have allergies to seafood? The reviews here say this restaurant is authentic and like ‘Little Mexico’. If you’ve been to Mexico, then maybe you’ll understand how this might be true. When we were there, a prostitute got kicked out and we didn’t feel safe parking our car in the area even though we saw police driving by.
The restaurant looked dirty (the cups were dirty so we drank water out with a straw) and a strange man (probably the dishwasher) kept bumping into me as he walked back and forth through the middle of the restaurant with a white pail over his shoulder. The soup didn’t look fresh and we were joking we were going to get sick, especially when I found the crab in my soup. No one finished their soup, but we didn’t say anything at the time to the staff because it wasn’t very expensive. Little did we know our jokes weren’t so funny after all as we actually did get sick. The food sickness (nausea, vomiting, headache, diarrhea) was icing on the cake and has prompted me to submit this review as a warning to others thinking of coming here.

Hola,
This place is legit. Some of the spots in the bay don’t do justice for authentic Mexican food like you see down south.
For 10 bucks you can get a days worth of food, and its super awesome, tasty, and yes greesy.
I don’t want healthy food from a taqueria. Though they do have some healthier options if that’s what you are seeking.

El Palmar, An authentic taquera, with solid, large portion, and low cost options in San Rafael. El Palmar is located on Lincoln Ave, I’ve driven past it for many years. I can recommend the Carne Asada and Chicken burritos and tacos.
I tried their Cochinita Pibil, and it was pretty good, but I prefer the Cochinita Pibil from Taqueria Cancun.

Quick, authentic Mexican food and you aren’t going to pay an arm and a leg!
My Daddy, who was a chef and owned his own Cantonese American restaurant, always said if you are going for ethnic food, make sure you see «that group» of people in there. That is how you know it’s DELICIOUS!
Not only is the food tasty here, the service is also great!

Red salsa is a little too hot for me, but the verde sauce was the perfect heat. I ordered the El malisco tacos (fish and shrimp). Everything came on tasty soft corn tortillas. I asked for a side salad, since my tacos did not come with a side. I was presented with romaine lettuce, sliced tomato, and avocado! Talk about an awesome side salad! I was thinking they might just throw some iceberg lettuce on the side but was pleasantly surprised. I am a fan of the taco bar, which has all the sides and sauces you could need, and then a few extra that are fun to try for extra flavor. All dishes are served with free chips, which I did not eat any of.
The place is a small hole in the wall and all of the dishes seem authentic. There are hispanics eating here, mostly, so you know it must be authentic. Usually there is soccer on TV, also. I don’t think any meal would actually come with whole black beans instead of refried beans, but I also did not ask. It seems hard to be healthy with the menu, but I was able to pull it off by ordering a custom dish. This is a usual eating spot for coworkers.

We ordered fish taco and chicken taco plates, and a side of guacamole Rice was flavorless and had peas (?) and corn. The shrimp overlooked.
The beans were good.
The guacamole was a strange texture, too creamy, and could use more cilantro and even some heat.
The portions were a good size, not overly large, and the side salad was good with a nice dressing
Wouldn’t go again.

The prices are very reasonable, the food is delicious! My favorite is the especial wet burrito. It is a wonderful dish! Highly recommend you try El Palmar!

This place is authentic, uses fresh ingredients, and it staffed by friendly folks. I’ve been for lunch a few times and everything has impressed me from basic street tacos to ceviche. They catered an event at my home and the 3 folks who came were professional and friendly. Everyone raved about the food. Perfect taquitos, enchiladas, tacos, rice, and beans. The salsas and pico and guac were all fresh as can be and flavorful. Everyone raved about the food, even those of us who have spent lots of time in Mexico. Highly recommended for informal dining in or catered events you want to feel and taste like Mexico!

Traditional Mexican yum. Great fish tacos. Really good soup. Salsa bar. But my favorite, that I keep coming back for, is the burrito especial. HUGE with all the fixings served wet! Perfection. Bueno. Gracias.

Moving to Marin from the east bay I have always been so un happy with the quality Mexican food until this place. I only had a beef tongue burrito, and every inch of the burrito was moist and full flavor. I will never go to any other spot but this one.

Love this tacqueria and store. They’re open late, are always polite, and the food is great.

Been eating here for the longest. Cant remember how long. What I do remember is how good the food is. The Milanesa con papas is awesome, Chilaquiles, Birria, etc. but MY favorites are the Guaraches! get them with any kind of meat. Amazing. This place makes you forget about tacos and Burritos. the One thing I dont like is the rude cashier that works there in the morning. not even a hello or thanks.

This restaurant is simply great! No frills and very authentic. The prices are reasonable and the food is very good. The service is friendly. I work close by and walk over there to pick up my to go order. It is always correct and ready to go when I get there.

Good stuff, not a lot of gringos so you know it is good. service was really nice, good carne asada, which to me usually tells it all. It’s a definite must-​try if you like good mexican. Need to try some of the specials, including the Albondigas soup, etc. in some of the other reviews.

I should not be doing this. but this spot is quietly the best Mexican in town… shhh!
The chicken tortilla soup is heavenly, and WARNING: you will not look up from the bowl until it has been emptied. The carne asada is full of flavor and always cooked just perfectly. The carnitas are impressive. The tortas are satisfying and unexpected. The menu selection is wide and ultimately you have to choose something cause your stomach is growling. Authentic dishes always go right for me here. Breakfast burritos are killer too. Fresh salsa bar. love at first bite.
Love, love this place and will keep coming as long as thier doors are open.

Excellent tacos. I love the steak and chicken. Favorite taco shop in area at the moment.
Burritos are not as awesome.
San rafael location has better service than the Novato location. I placed an order at novato and tipped and the short, female, bottle blond, server let my food get cold instead of bringing it to me outside. She was also rude on 2 other occasions. I stopped going to Novato location because the service was so bad. Food was great though.

Quick update:
Today I threw in the fish taco into the mix and that too was really good. My only grouse was the shredded cheese on it; I don’t like cheese on it but hey, now I know to ask them to remove it next time.
The fish is probably Halibut and though it was pretty good, it still wasn’t as good as that at my favourite taco truck in Richmond
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Update:
So I had the camarones diabla on my second visit. Although it was not as good as my two favourite places, it was still pretty tasty. The shrimps, alas, were not seared (my preference) but tended towards being simmered in the sauce instead, and the sauce was a little too acidic for me — I thought they could go easy on the tomatoes but that could be a case of personal preference. Nonetheless, I lapped it all up — shrimps, beans, salad, mexican rice et al and I am stuffed!
Would I have it again? No. Because at $ 13.69 (incl tax) + tips, it’s a little too expensive for a working day lunch. That, and the tacos are really good and cheap. At about $ 8, the three delicious tacos more than hit the spot for me!
The restaurant is still a 4-​stars for me.
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Lovely Tacos! I can’t believe I haven’t come here earlier! I love the option of having grilled chicken in my tacos instead of that putrid looking shredded chicken you get in most places (they had that option too). The tacos were jam packed with chicken so you won’t be complaining about a lack of meat in anyway!
I also liked that they had 4 or 5 kinds of salsa to choose from to go with the complimentary chips. The same (spicy) salsa kicked my tacos up a few notches and added the juiciness to the crunchiness of the grilled chicken.
It came to $ 8 incl tips for the three tacos. While not as cheap as a truck, it still works out fine in my (not-​so-​humble) opinion.
I am going to go back for my «benchmark» dish — the camarones a la diabla — and see how they fare vis-​a-​vis my favourite at the «Taqueria Real» just 7 mi up north. At $ 12.85 it was a good 2 bucks more expensive than at my favourite so they have a lot riding on their shoulders!
Will it win? It’s all up in the air! Check back soon!

I’d give this place 4 stars just for the burrito gordo: beans, cheese, and rice. That’s it. Simple, to the point, and only like $ 3. Sometimes a guy doesn’t want guacamole and veggies and meat. I just want the basics. And if I’m feeling even more lean and mean, they do the burrito Flaco, which has no cheese and is beans and rice. Simple is good.
This is a small, inconspicuous place that does good food. Come here, you won’t be disappointed. There’s not a lot of seating though, so you might have to take your food to go. Other than that, it is clean and the service is really nice.

The next stop on the G-​Money World Taqueria Tour! (Well, okay, five mile radius of my house taqueria tour…)
Burritos were decent. Wifey had their chile verde burrito, which was rather uninspiring, but my camarones burrito especial was tasty. Large and filling, it arrived packed with shrimp, beans, lettuce, and rice, smothered in enchilada sauce, with a big splat of neon green guac on the top. But while we were somewhat content with our burritos, the other member of our party was having a moment over her molé enchiladas. And when I got to taste, I had to agree — they were outstanding.
The lesson I learned? Don’t expect too much from «old standbys» like burritos, but their authentic menu of specialities are worth delving into. As is the attached market, which satisfies all of your Strawberry Shortcake piñata purchasing needs.