The BEST tripas ever! Both my friend and I agreed that this was the most perfectly cooked tripas…read morewe've had. Normally we would have to ask places to make it extra crispy so it's not too chewy but even without asking the tripas came out nicely with a perfect balance of crispiness and slightly chewy. Tacos were loaded so the two tacos were enough. Refried beans had a good consistency but could had used a little salt. Rice was nicely cooked and seasoned. The order counter is located in the middle and you do have to order before taking a seat. They'll bring your food out to you. There is self served scoops and sauces station. Both chips and sauces could had use some salt. But the red sauce had a nice little kick. Service was good and they have multiple TVs that were showing the FIFA game with Mexico playing so that was fun to watch while eating. Good place to enjoy the food and watch the game. Vibe was there. Plenty of chairs and tables if you're wanting to dine in. The parking lot is a shared one with a lot of other businesses so it took a bit to find parking.

Shrimp fajitas are the bomb. Pastor tacos also 10/10 and always always get 2 or 3 for easy take…read morehome meal for another day. Sadly the beans used are terrible and if canned at least wish they would try a different brand !!! If the beans improved we would eat here 2x weekly instead of 1x/month or less. The fresh salsa bar is a 10/10 and the mellow atmosphere great for quick eats & families without eating junky fast food.

Loved this place that was recommended via a friend of a friend. I had the shrimp fajita taco (2)…read morewhich were delicious. Fresh corn tortillas, great seasoning, well cooked shrimp. And their salsa is delicious. Next time I'll be trying their molé! Casual dining with a comfortable atmosphere. Order at counter, they'll bring it to your table.

Where do I begin... First off, I'm highly disappointed and feel betrayed by the high reviews of…read morethis restaurant. I felt safe to eat here thinking it was more on the authentic side of Mexican food, but I have to remind myself to look at the reviews closely before deciding on eating at a place. I had ordered 1 Gordita, 1 Burrito Gordo (Asada), and 1 Huarache. The Gordita had probably to be one of the worst Gorditas I ate in my entire life. The tortilla was very hard and dry, practically snapping off when I took a piece off. The next was the meat... very, very dry and quite bland. I don't know how this restaurant cooks their meat, but I'm assuming they overcooked it by the lack of moisture. The cheese inside was also disappointing, not much flavor to it nor had a fresh taste to it. I tried saving the dryness of the Gordita by adding salsa to it, that didn't help at all. The green salsa wasn't spicy (or at least had a kick to it) and didn't really taste like tomatillos, so I tried adding the red salsa to see if it was any different, not really. If you closed your eyes, you wouldn't really tell the difference between the two. Now moving onto our next dish, the burrito. I'll keep this one short. Asada was bland, dryer than a dessert, and even with the salsa and sour cream on it, couldn't save my mouth from the dryness I experienced. So if you read this review of mine, thank you, and I totally understand how hard it is to make Mexican food in this area considering a lot of the ingredients needed aren't easy to come by or the cuts of meat, so if you ever feel like eating Mexican remind yourself what can you eat here that you know I'll taste good. Kat signing out :3

This is a seafood destination. If you want Mexican style seafood then this is the place in…read moreSeaside. The prices are 40% less than any dish you can get in Carmel by the Sea and 25% less than Monterey. The 7 Seas (7 mares) is excellent, but so is everything. The service is quick and friendly. Chips and salsa are still free. The interior is clean but simple and with no frills. No white linens here.

The carnitas were very good not dry very flavorful would highly recommend with rice and beans also…read moregood Salsa is very good with just the right amount of heat not weak at all The steak ranchero also highly recommended Service was excellent If you are visiting from out of town like we were you should check this place out You can either eat there but we took back to our hotel room and they made sure we had everything we needed like tortillas extra salsa napkins I will be visiting again

I had tried many of the "highly recommend" burrito and Mexican places in the area and have been…read moredisappointed each time. Finally, I found an actually good burrito at El Pollo Rey!!! I ordered one of their burritos and was very pleased with it. Excellent carne asada. Great flavor and loaded with good stuff.

In a very Mexican part of town in Seaside near Monterey. I don't live in this area but I knew, as…read morewhen I was driving looking for this storefront, most of the surrounding businesses were all Hispanic based. I kinda had a feeling I was gonna like the digs here. They grill here. Over this massive open charcoal/wood grill. 2 cooks back there, engulfed in a waft of smoke and fire. They must have put a fresh batch of meat on that grill as that grill top was covered every square inch. They only grill 2 meats: chicken on the bone and carne asada. They also grill whole red onions and serrano peppers to go with those char grilled meats. 1/2 Chicken Combo ($15/4*) Upon receiving, it almost looks burnt. But upon tasting no bitter burnt notes just extremely well manufactured char. The chicken is marinated in something. Probably a seasoning salt and maybe a touch of lime. Nothing is spicy or peppery just a salty, charred chicken flavor. I liked it but I think I like El Pollo Locos version a tad more. As that is more slowly rendered where the skin gets crisp and there's more of a buttery nuance in El Pollo Locos version. I hate saying I'm siding with a big corporate but chicken-wise they've got the edge. Now where this place beats any chain are in the sides and details. First the freshly charred onions and serranos that go with most meat orders are damn perfect. Soft and easy to break apart, inherent flavors intensified from the grilling and the char-y notes that you can control cuz you can add as much of the burnt layer or as little. And the rice, beans and salsas here are real Mexican cooking, nothing fast and ready made. Fresh from scratch with ethnic soul. Carne Asada Combo ($27/5*) This is a full pound of freshly grilled Carne Asada (thin and marinaded meat), no rice or beans just warm corn tortillas, salsas, pickled onions and those charred onions and peppers. Upon receiving I felt like a kid who got his first gift from Santa. First they gave me the warm tortilla holder and all the condiments. I could have made a meal with those alone. Then the biggest pile of freshly grilled steak I've ever seen get served to me at one time. The aroma was intoxicating and was superseded by getting a taste. A little heavy handed on the seasoning but damn did that grilled meat flavor hit you like a bat. Slightly smoky with charred hits and THE most juicy and tender carne asada I've ever had. Usually the preparation can yield tough and overcooked meat but not here, there is some wizardry involved. I was putting whole pieces of meat in a rustic cowboy taco and you could still bite through the taco effortlessly. That's some serious mojo they are messin' with. I actually found a combo for the perfect steak taco here. Warm tortilla base; cut up and throw some charred peppers and onions; throw enough carne asada on there to your heart's intent; a few dabs of their tomato salsa with the charred flecks; then finally a generous sprinkling of their pickled red onions to gild the lily. THE BEST carne asada taco I've ever had. And I've had hundreds if not thousands. Trust. We just finished a substantial hike and was on route to a camping weekend. Had enough leftovers that we didn't have to cook on the first night, just heated things in foil over camp fire. They conveniently catered and we relished and feasted. A fiver relationship if I ever heard of one.

I ordered 2 super burritos and a side of refried beans from Las Marias today using Yelp to order…read morethe takeout order. I was down the street shopping and stopped in to pick up my order. I met one of the Owners named Maria. I told her I was new in the area, and she shared her restaurant is family owned and operated. She was very friendly. I'm from San Jose and have had great Mexican food. These burritos were very big and flavorful. She was very generous with the meat, Al Pastor and Asada. Seasoned well and crisped on a plancha, these were great burritos. Now I always get a side of refried beans to see how well they are made. The refried beans at Las Marias were outstanding. I will be back to Las Marias to have dinner in the restaurant. The restaurant is fairly large and well decorated with artwork and a full bar. I'm looking forward to trying more items from than their menu on my next trip.

Excellent service and really delicious food. Served hot and fresh. We were greeted by the owner,…read moreMaria who was very kind and friendly. She gave us some recommendations and we ended up ordering enough food for that night + the next night that we enjoyed at home. The chips and homemade salsas came out first. 3 different types (2 red and 1 green). All 3 were good but they are spicy. We ordered the mulcajete, crunchy quesa birria tacos, enchiladas, and a chille relleno à la carte. The mulcajete came out bubbling hot with tons of beef, chicken breast, shrimp, and all the veggies. My daughter said her enchiladas (1 chicken and 2 cheese) were extraordinary. The birria tacos were on par - she makes the tortilla with a crunch to it. They were wonderful. Everything else was also very delicious. The rice was fluffy and tasty. The beans were a little soupy but tasted great. I like my beans a little more dense and thick. I highly recommend visiting this restaurant. Make sure you introduce yourself to Maria. She's a pleasure to speak with and she serves tasty food!

Cute little mom pop shop that wasn't too far from our hotel. Decided to grab lunch here right…read morebefore checking in. Super easy to find. They have a pretty simple breakfast lunch, and dinner menu. Offering California style and Mexican food. We were greeted right away as soon as we sat down. And had our drink order taken right away. Hubby got water and I got Horchata drink it was so yummy. Hubby ordered the chicken tostada with rice and a salad and it got the Hawaiian torta with al pastor Meat served with fries. Food came out really fast, it was nice and hot, and the portions were a great size They have indoor and outdoor patio seating, and pet friendly.

This is our 3rd year having our kid at CSUMB. Every time we are always looking for a good place to…read moreeat. On this trip we wanted Mexican food, a quick search on yelp we landed on tacos California. Unfortunately if you try to view the menu or website from yelp you get redirected to a spam website so we were going in blind expecting Mexican food. Get there to find the standard Mexican plates and also burgers, seafood, steaks and pasta dishes. They make their fettuccine sauce fresh in house so my daughter got that. I tried the garlic shrimp and it was way better than expected. The place is small and parking can be tricky but it was easy enough to find and inside was clean and server was friendly. We ordered everything to go but were given fresh chips and guacamole while we waited. Guacamole was fantastic Ultimately came for Mexican but ended up with different seafood and pasta dishes and was pleasantly surprised. Food was good and worth trying especially if you're looking for variety and can't decide

We received a recommendation for Las Cazuelas by the hotel staff for good Mexican food. It was only…read moreabout 5 minutes from our hotel. Decent parking and bustling with locals and tourists. The food was delicious!!! We had the carne asada nachos (huge portion) and grilled chicken quesadilla. They also have a complimentary chips and salsa bar. The avocado salsa was my favorite. I also would like to mention the restaurant was comfortable, casual, clean with ample seating. Prices are reasonable for the area. The staff were friendly and engaging. And the wait for our food was not long. We definitely plan a return visit when we are back in the area.

We were in town from Los Angeles and in the mood of Mexican Food. Las Cazuelas Taqueria was down…read morethe street from our hotel. You order at the cashier and take a seat at your table. Their is an Chip bar where you get your chips and sauces. They bring the food out to you. The food portion is great and very tasty. The staff checked up on us a few times very friendly. They have a full bar. Restaurants is very clean and not too small. Plenty of seating.

so good i cried get the cactus burrito and strawberry cheesecake i would eat here every day if i…read morecould

Delicious! Never had vegan Mexican food, but, man! I wish I lived in Monterey! I'd be here all…read morethe time! Service as prompt and friendly. Highly recommend!

This place is for people who are all in on hardcore taqueria vibes and plentiful, delicious,…read moreinexpensive food. There will be a match on the TV, broadcast in Spanish. There will be no bathroom available to you. The service is transactional -- pay for food, receive food. You'll order at the counter and you'll sit down wherever you can manage and you'll pull your own basket of chips. Then you'll bus your plates unless you're a jerk. It is freaking perfect. If it doesn't sound perfect to you, don't go.

¡RACIST! Went with…read moremy family and unfortunately had a disappointing experience. The staff appeared more focused on watching a football game than helping customers, and the overall atmosphere felt unwelcoming from the moment we arrived. We were first-time guests and did not feel encouraged to return. When ordering drinks, our IDs were repeatedly questioned, which felt excessive and uncomfortable given that everyone provided valid identification. While I can understand staff needing to verify IDs, the interaction came across as distrustful and unpleasant. The food itself was decent, and the complimentary chips and salsa at the bar were a nice touch. However, service plays a huge role in the overall experience, and in this case it overshadowed the positives.

We ordered dinner and our meal was outstanding! I had camerones costas azul (bacon wrapped shrimp)…read moreand spouse had mixed fajitas plate, both were delicious! Our waitress was friendly and helpful (Georgina was great as always). Place filled up with locals, so it has to be good. We finished up with flan for dessert, what a treat.

The food was so bland the salsa was good, thank heavens…read more Service fine. No one in the restaurant except 1 other table not surprised. What a shame we were referred to this place. We have eaten at another Sarita's that was really tasty not sure what happened here. The inside needs a complete make over!!