Garcia’s Taqueria

Used to really love this place, but it changed ownership at the end of 2015. I think the new owner (s) mean well, but — at least for me — the remodel and recent menu changes have left me feeling like my old favorite Mexican hole-​in-​the wall place has been needlessly gutted and hung from a bridge.
Some of the old staff remains, but the newer people working there just don’t seem nearly as good when it comes to service. It used to feel like your Mexican mom was cooking and looking after you, but now it’s more like you are walking into Subway. The hole-​in-​the-​wall vibe is totally gone and it’s just not as good as before — and that’s really a shame because this place used to be a true gem with some of the best Mexican food I’ve ever had outside of Mexico.
It’s bigger inside now, yes. But it’s too bright. It feels like a cafeteria now, not a place where you get authentic Mexican food and relax with a beer after work. The plastic table clothes are a little silly. Where is the hot sauce? How about a bottle opener that works? How about a lime with my taco? I go out to eat for a pleasant experience, not to deal with this sort of stuff. Much of the greatness this place used to have has been remodeled away I think.
The old place always had hot sauce on the tables, not anymore. Now there are fake flowers. The old place had some horrible bottle opener tied to a string by the cash register that looked like it came from a South American prison. As crazy as it sounds, now I miss that silly thing. There never seems to be a functional bottle opener when/​where you need it now and sadly I’ve long since stopped opening bottles with my teeth. Sure someone dumped a plastic bag of bottle openers on the counter, but it’s just not the same.
Another thing that is super annoying are their new menus. Those need to go straight into the trash — or need to be redesigned — because they aren’t easy to read. The big giant menu board that used to be over where you order has now been relegated to the back corner and that’s too bad, because it always functioned quite effectively as near as I could tell.
All this could have been overlooked, but then they decided to start screwing around with the food…
That’s where I draw the line and start looking for a new Mexican place. Soggy nachos, tacos full of fruit instead of meat, stale chips, no limes… All no bueno. Hey, it’s your business; make all the changes you want, but just remember this famous Mexican saying:
«All the new tables in the world can’t make up for bad tacos full of pineapple»
Ok, that’s not actually a famous saying. But tonight I will be lighting a $ 1 candle and praying to the Saint of «please put shit back more how it used to be» for a while. Hopefully they get their act together soon, because I think I speak for more than a few people when I say the old Garcias is really starting to be missed.

Our party of three decided to give Garcia’s Taqueria a try. Unilocal reviews are overwhelmingly favorable so we wanted to see if maybe they could break into our dining rotation.
My son was underwhelmed. He chose the seafood soup and most of the seafood was imitation crab. One clam, a couple of mussels and squid tentacles rounded out the dish.
My wife had the chilequiles with red sauce and two fried eggs. The positives were the eggs and the tortillas. Good texture on the tortillas but the red sauce lacked. Much like the green sauce on my cheese enchilada plate. The tomatillo based sauce was way too tangy. A shame because the enchilada itself was pretty good.
The rice is as good as any Mexican rice you will find on the Monterey Peninsula and the refried beans deserve a five star rating.
Complimentary tortilla chips and salsa are clearly an afterthought at this taqueria. The chips are near razor thin and the sauce is watered down. I asked the server for a hotter sauce and he brought out a first class sampling of hot sauce.
The clientele looks to be mainly Seaside locals. Two large screen TV’s blast out international channel soccer. If you understand Spanish you can follow the narration.
The restaurant is very clean and the cooks workstation is spotless.
Will we return? I don’t know because competition within the mom and pop Mexican food restaurant business in the area is fierce. Pricing here was well above the average for similar meals found in other area Mexican food establishments.
If we were to base our decision on the friendliness of the cook and waiter we would return tomorrow.

I love this place. It’s May favorite Mexican place in town. I have never had a bad experience. Their food is authentic. I just love their Lengua tacos and Chicharrón Tacos. They are some of the best tacos I have ever had. The cooks/​servers are super nice ladies. Thy make me want to come back. Best Mexican place for sure!

Came here for some simple Mexican food. A basic cheese quesadilla and taquitos. I got back to work and the cheese on the quesadilla was moldy. So gross. And my taquitos weren’t even taquitos they were tacos. :-(

The food is awesome and as close to authentic as I understand Mexican food in the US to be. The portions are large and you can ask them to tailor the spices for you. No matter what I order, I always leave with a bulging belly. I love the dark red salsa that they give you with the chips. It has the distinct «pepper» flavor without the super-​spiciness of something you would expect with that much pepper in it.
This place has the feel of a «hole in the wall» type of restaurant; one of those gems that only the locals know about. A litmus test for a Mexican restaurant is if you see Mexican people eating in it; which you will see if you try this place. It helps to speak some Spanish, but it’s not required.
Try this place if you are in town. You won’t regret it!

Great food, super authentic, excellent service. Loved my 3 tacos — lengua, carnitas and al pastor. Gonna try more soon! Hope you’re not reading this from a Chevy’s. You lose!

Reminds me of my favorite taqueria up in Chico. I always missed that place, now I’ve finally found a taqueria that’s very similar.

Headed for Monterey, but don’t really like the tourist food on Cannery Row, Downtown, or LIghthouse?
Take one exit before the first Monterey exit, and you’re in a whole different world.
Broadway in Seaside is like other Mexican flavored streets you find out of the limelight in California. And where you find the finest of authentic style Mexican food.
Carnitas and pastor were perfect, in all of taco, torta, and tostado. Service, friendly and attentive. We didn’t try any of the dinner combos, just the a la carte selections.
Woohoo. As good as it gets.

Best Torta I have ever had.
Garcia’s is way legit. It doesn’t get any better than this. Authentic and more importantly good. I go hours out of my way to eat here. Its worth the trip from SF.
Order a Torta.

I am a professional chef and restaurant guy. People always ask where I like to eat. Well, here it is. Garcia’s food is exactly like I used to get standing in front of the schoolbus/​taco stand in Jocotopec, Jalisco… fresh, simple, fast, and very inexpensive. Three fat tacos and a soda… seven bucks.
Also, for soccer people… if there is weekday Champions League or Premier League game, you can catch a half or so on Garcia’s TV on your lunch hour.
And…to add to the authenticity: there are no tourists, and the friendly helpful staff doesn’t speak English.
Finally…white folks are often scared by the darkish kitchen and dining room, and assume it is grubby. No… the kitchen is galvanized, not stainless… and Garcia’s is across the street from American Supply (the restaurant cleaning supply joint). The place is spotless.
Save yourself a trip to Jocotopec…

Pretty darn solid and authentic in regards to Cali Mexican. Wedged between the Latino Market and Domino’s this place is a hidden gem if I ever saw one… My sister and her boyfriend rave about this place and I hit this place up for the first time with someone who had been visiting for over 30 years.
They have stuff I’ve never heard of. I ordered the Carnitas Torta (ask for crema and aguacate on the side), a Azada Taco and a Tecate in a can. My sexy friend ordered a plate of tacos… 1 Cabeza, 1 Chicharron and 2 Buche…
BUCHE is the way to go… No estoy bromeadno guey!
Ay dios mio that hit the spot. Super flavorful and great texture. Good stuff for sure. Never had a Chicharron taco before either… holy crispy goodness.