Las Islitas Taqueria

I am so sad that they are no longer open! I LOVE IT THERE! They are truly missed!

This place used to be good, but they’ve changed owners a couple times and now the food is awful. The quesadillas are made with oily, rubbery, tasteless cheese and the horchata tastes like milk with a bucket of cinnamon dumped in. Used to love this place, but I won’t be back.

I like this place as its a true mom and pop joint. You can tell the salsas are fresh and the food is made to order. Yes the seating and interior is somewhat trashy and looks like they havent cleaned it in years… but the food is consistently delicious. The place could use a make over but the food is why you are there right?

Extremely dissatisfied! Don’t waste your time, money, or health.

I judge all taquerias’ carnitas tacos against this place. There is nothing like a super crispy fried pork belly bomb before a meeting. Every now and then they dont crisp them up enough but it’s still great.

Place is now closed :(
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Good tacos. Usually order the grilled chicken or grilled steak. They also let you take a bag of chips with salsa that they have ready to go at no extra charge.
Service is quick.

I was in the area & Mexican food sounded really good. I ate here years ago & the food was really good. After walking in & looking at the place & menu I think it had different owners before.
I ordered carne asda enchiladas with beans & rice. On the plus side the portion was good. However, when the food was served the beans were thin & watery. The rice was bland & had no real flavor. The enchiladas were ok. The meat was pretty fatty & grisly not really that good & the enchilada sauce was just OK.
I’ll stick with Casa Lupe & El Burro or the next time I’m in the mood for a taqueria I’ll go to super taqueria on 10^th street or chalateco, but I won’t be back here.

Sometimes you just want some Mexican food. Today was one of those days for me. I first ventured to this joint back in my engineering days around 2007. Back then, I don’t remember getting anything other than a chicken quesadilla, and it was pretty typical with lots of cheese and chicken and nicely melty and crispy from being heated on their grill. I do recall liking the fact that they have Modelo, but I haven’t seen it there lately.
These days, my orders consist of a chicken quesadilla with a side of rice, and their prices are definitely higher than I remember. Just those two items alone ran me more than $ 10. I did question the cashier about why she was ringing up my food at prices higher than what was listed on the board, and she said that they had recently raised the prices. I commented that maybe they should change what is listed then, and she brushed it off. I found this pretty rude.
The quesadilla is made differently than I recall too: lots and lots of cheese, a scoop of fresh salsa, and a generous scoop or two of shredded chicken in scary red watery soup. It all gets grilled and then folded over, but always ends up super watery because the chicken isn’t drained well in the making. The rice is really good though, so I always recommend that. I’d be willing to come back and try their chicken enchiladas, but the crowd is pretty sketch looking. I got a lot of stares that were borderline harassing.
There is no ambiance to speak of. They play the Mexican music in the restaurant on super blast, which makes for a loud meal and very little conversation because you can barely hear yourself think. They do offer free chips and salsa, but the chips are nothing special, barely salted and on the thicker side. And their salsas aren’t really kept on ice that well, so I would avoid.

Also too pricey!

I’ve been to Las Islitas a couple times before and wasn’t impressed by the food, but decided to give them another try this time since they’re so close. However, I will not be back in the future since I got a stomachache after using their green salsa! I ordered two Carne Asada Super Tacos ($ 2.50,
) to go, and it was just ok. The carne asada was tender, but it didn’t have as much flavor as I would like, and I was disappointed the super taco didn’t even come with sour cream. In any case, after getting sick from the salsa, I won’t be back for the average Mexican food here. The parking lot is small but it’s usually easy to find parking since this tacqueria never seems very busy.

If there was a way to give a ½ star I would and it would only be for the killer Horchata.
We used to come to this taqueria often when we lived in the area but that was about 7 years ago and a lot has changed since them. When we first walked in I still got that feeling of a cute little authentic Mexican hole in the wall then… we sat down.
There is a huge difference between that awesome dive you find that only a few people know about and that dive you seriously wonder when the last time the health inspector paid a visit. The table had old crusted food on it and the booth seat had to brush off which then lead to really looking around. The walls were dirty, the floors were dirty and I was loosing my appetite waiting for our food.
I ordered the nachos carnitas. My eyes were amazed at the huge unexpected portion but then I took a bite. The pork was crunchy and tasted like it was days old that had been reheated in a microwave. The chips were stale and I’m pretty sure the guacamole was made from a package. I took a few bites and just couldn’t stomach any more… which is saying a lot right there.
I’m usually not one for writing negative reviews but I seriously would not wish this place on my worst enemy. I was reminded of that several times later in the day… ‘enough said.

Last time I was here was in 2005 when we were seeing our then VP of Marketing of our start up off. Now I came by to see my ex-​boss who’s now a VP… where was I going with this? I have no point… that’s my charm… oh yeah, this place has not changed at all… the food is still great.
The 30 or so 8 ½×11 framed photos of their food selection are all still there hung behind the counter. You can see what it is you want to order: carne asada, carne relleno, chile verde, camerones… how descriptive. It’s a similar concept when you go to Japan were you see plastic replicas of a restaurant’s shashimi presented to you.
I had my chili verde con relleno with my Mexican Tamarindo drink. I had my salsa with my chips. I practiced my Spanish with the servers. I caught up with my ex-​boss. It was nice to get back to our old haunts in Sunnyvale enjoying this very filling food.
The disadvantage? The parking. It’s at a corner who’s parking is shared by a 7 – 11. Get there early.
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Yo comí mi relleno, mi chile verde con mi bebida mexicana del tamarindo. Yo comí mi salsa con chips. Practiqué mi español con los servidores. Alcancé mi ex-​jefe. Era agradable conseguir a esto el viejo lugar en Sunnyvale que gozaba de este alimento muy bueno.

I have driven by this place for years. Today was the day to try it. I rolled into the Lot and Stashed my Work Whip. I rolled into Las Islitas. They have some Cool Murals on there interior walls. Some T&A pictures of Cheerleaders grace the walls. They also have Pictures of different plates of Food up.
They also had Mexican Music blasting. 2 Guys that were chilling out drinking Coronas were singing along. I rolled to the Front Counter where a Waitress wearing the Shortest pair of Daisy Dukes and a Low Cut Black Shirt took my order.
I ordered a Combination Plate — Chile Renneo, Beef Enchilada, Rice and Bean Plate with Corn Tortillas and a Punch Jarritto.
I grabbed some Chips and Salsa while I waited. The Chips seemed like Costco type Tortilla Chips. Place has some really Sketchy looking Patrons probably just out of State Prison, Don’t drop the soap LOL.
My food was brought out to me 15 Minutes later. It looked like a Lower grade of Mexican Food not like La Piñata or Mexicali Rose. It was more Ghetto Type Grub. It looked kinda like a Swanson Mexican TV Dinner.
It tasted alright but it just didn’t Wow me.
When I left there were 2 guys Posted up outside in a 69 Buick Rivera that looked like Poster Boys for American Me. «Dont look at me ‘Little Puppet». LOL.

Normally, I am a huge fan of «hole in the wall» restaurants. But this is more like a «hole in the ground» type of joint, where you would find a hot steaming pile of crap.
As I stood in a long line, I noticed the décor was dreadful. There was a weird mural of «life» on an island. On one side, a deer is sipping from water in the forest. On the other, there was a large shrimp smiling, enjoying a mojito, and laying in a hammock near the beach. The whole thing was random and didn’t seem to fit the rest of the restaurant, which had a dive bar vibe with Mexican flags, soccer photos, and posters of scantily clad women. Estoy muy confundido.
To the left of me, there were maybe 47 generic looking pictures of Mexican dishes. It seems that every small Mexican (and Chinese) restaurant does this. But they all seem to employ the same photographer who enjoys taking overhead shots of poorly cooked and presented meals that look about as appetizing as eating my own feces.
If I were opening up a Mexican (or some other type of) restaurant, I would get my best to cook to prepare and present the dishes as well as possible. And then, I would utilize a photographer that could take photos from different angles that could capture some vibrant colors to make the dishes look more appealing. Say what you will about McDonald’s, but they have been doing this for years. And thanks to excellent marketing of mediocre food, there sales are through the roof. I’m lovin’ it.
Even worse, the pictures didn’t have any prices attached to it. I had to ask the cashier and she had no idea. She just had a blank stare on her face. So essentially, the pictures were just up for decoration as the menu only featured the prices of tacos and burritos. Awesome. So I just wasted four minute so life staring at pictures of dishes you can’t provide a price on or even cook? Thanks. Thanks for nothing.
I kept it simple and ordered three tacos so I could try their carne asada, carnitas, and al pastor. As the cashier handed me my change, I noticed her roots were showing. She had one too many accessories on. In addition, her nails were all scuffed up and her eye shadow was a really weird color for her skin tone. All of the other women in the joint also had the same aesthetic problems. They were completely overlooking the «details» in their appearance and this negligence extended into the preparation of their food.
My tacos were horrible looking and tasting. The tortillas were soggy. The carne aside was dry and not even warm. The carnitas not crispy and were a soggy, unflavored mess (that were also not warm). The al pastor was warm, but dripping in grease. And each taco was topped with cilantro, onions, and red salsa. Unfortunately, I never asked for the hot salsa.
Now, normally, I don’t mind a little heat, but they were obviously trying to mask the flavor low quality meat. There was way too much cilantro, as all three of my tacos had more cilantro than meat. The onions were not diced properly. They chopped the meat smaller than the onions. Seriously, it looked as if person that diced the onions was the one armed drummer from Def Leppard.
Overall, I was disgusted with my meal and didn’t even bother finishing it. But it reminded me of the World War II lesson that tells us that long lines are not always a good thing.
Basura!

This place is what most cool kids would call «sketchy».
It is located on the corner of a lot with a dry cleaning place and a 7-​eleven. The restaurant is not very clean, and just blasting music, I have to scream my order sometimes.
This is the closest Mexican food restaurant to me, so if I ever need a quick taco fix, I always come here.
The tacos are always good, they have a wide selection of meats, I have tried most of them, and all the generic meats, carne asada, chile verde, polio, all solid.
The big issue with this place is that the waitresses taking your order are not very good at speaking English, which means it is hard to get your order through if you are asking for anything specific that they don’t understand.
I’m usually ok with that, I order my tacos and they get it, but one night, I paid with my debit card, the waitress swiped it, the transaction went through, but because they ran out of receipt paper, nothing came out, and the waitress didn’t notice that, she assumed the order didn’t go through and swiped the card again. I noticed that and tried to stop her, but she didn’t quite understand what I was saying, and after a while, I gave up explaining and had to just call my bank to make sure I wasn’t double charged.
I still go back once in a while. but I definitely only pay with cash now.

Two tacos (carnitas)
Food: A
Ambiance: A … clean tables, outside seating available, «juke box» with mostly Mexican music, almost all the customers were Latinos (now that’s a recommendation)
Service: A … Order at the register and someone brings the food to your table
Attitude: A … Friendly, businesslike.
I’ll come again.

My husband and I stopped by with our daughter. Cute little place, convenient location to our home. Food ordered: Fish tacos and I had the beef enchilada and chiles rellenos plate. Food was not very inspired for the price, lunch was a smidge over $ 20 with soft drinks and a side of rice. The rice was greasy and dried out. The beef was very strange– bland, mud-​brown rubbery little squares, and the red sauce was almost metallic tasting. No spice at all. Hubby saw something being microwaved, but couldn’t tell what. The rellenos was pretty blah… kind of mushy and nothing tasted fresh. My lunch had a side of creamy white beans with melted shredded cheese on top and rice. Needless to say, I didn’t finish it, and I didn’t take the leftovers home, a rarity for me not to want to get the rest to go.
The Mexican/​Latin music on the jukebox is loud but I liked it, and the artwork is bright scenes (my fave was the sunbathing shrimp, sipping on a coconut drink with birds flying overhead LOL) airbrushed on the wall. We got the booth with the metal beer ad, featuring a lovely, young señorita in tight pants & boots. Our table had a lacquered scene of a horse running on the beach. Wasn’t enough to distract us from the blah fare. There were quite a few people coming in and getting orders to go. Unfortunately, we won’t be back.

The food is decent here for the prices. The burritos are no more than $ 6 while the tacos, including fish, are $ 2 each. Street size of course, not soft taco size. I ordered the carne asada soft tacos and a fish taco and although they generously gave a lot of meat, the weight of it broke through my tortilla. Usually I’d be miffed but hey, it’s tacos and Mexican food. Gotta get your hands dirty to enjoy your food!
I’d come back for the value and trying the other meats like carnitas, bbq chicken, and chorizo but not expecting a lot. The salsas were okay but none impressed save the spicy red one that had a mild kick to it.

I stopped for lunch at this little taqueria after hearing raves about their carnitas. The place definitely had that authentic feel, with the murals, the patrons, and the blasting music. I went for 3 tacos, to get a good taste of their meats.
Carnitas — Fried to a proper crisp on the outside, practically dark brown in color, and the shredded pork was still nicely moist from all the lard. This was very tasty, albeit unhealthy. Best to let the meat drip some before you eat.
Desebrada (shredded beef) — I asked if it was cabeza, but from the response I don’t think it was from ‘that’ part of the cow. The beef was on the dry side, and the red chili marinade didn’t seem to have penetrated the meat. Maybe best dipped in some salsa.
Al Pastor — The al pastor definitely had good flavor, but the texture was that of being over-​marinated (almost mushy). Funny though, as the pork pieces had a smoky bbq flavor. Maybe they grill it off site? There’s no rotating spit here that I saw.
Free chips (on the thick side) are available in portioned baskets, and the salsa bar was pretty decent. They had a green tomatillo one, which was good but less of a kick than I like. The fresca? was ok, more of a roasted taste than fresh. The chipotle one had good mouthfeel, and was my favorite of the 3 that I tried. They also had sliced radishes, and maybe some pickled jalapenos.
Pretty good option for tacos in Sunnyvale, reminded me of places in Oakland. I’ll be back for the carnitas.

The best taqueria that I have found so far within 3 miles from my place. Love it. Great salsas! Fresh food, excellent service. Their walls are awesome… spray painted art.
I wanted to try their different meats, so I had three tacos, all less than $ 2 each. Chicken was really good, carne asada was good, and chile verde definitely had a kick.
We’ll be back.