I was initially disgruntled with their food quality; however, I'm glad I didn't give up on this place. My previous experiences weren't all that great, but going back to give it one last try, I was not disappointed. I will definitely be back here in the near future. read more

Really good food & Great burgers, however the service has taken a turn for the worse after who I think is to be the owners wife, decided to become a. Regular full time employee. Her attitude sucks & she's really rude. I've called to place orders & had her answer rudely as if she was mad that they were so busy. I've been placed on hold for extended periods as well. The older gentleman was much pleasant & never lost his cool during the chaotic lunch hour. Wish he'd come back & run the show regularly. read more

They have a breakfast menu now, I had they're chorizo burrito, they're menu says it comes with mashed potatoes but luckily it's ur regular potatoes, it was good. read more

Cal Taco - Steak nachos - Mexican Near Me - Goleta, California

See all

Being a SoCal girl this is the only place I have found with decent cheap burritos that taste like home. Love the bean and cheese and the veggie burrito but have never been disappointed by any of the burger options either! read more

3.5 rating-- rounding to 4. This place is a mix of American/Mexican food, which is great when you're in the mood for both. Best onion rings in the area, served hot and crunchy! They also serve the thicker cut fries, which is perfect when you're not in the mood for thin shoestring fries. They also ask you if you want ranch when you order fries, instead of the other way around. The charburgers are pretty good, kind of a mix between Deja Vu's burgers in IV and In-n-Out's. People behind the counter are always nice. Burritos aren't that great because they seem like Americanized versions of the real deal, and I question the meat quality. But if you're looking for a good burger and sides, this is the place. read more

I love this place: excellent food, friendly service, and plenty of tables to sit at. My favorites here include the barbecue chicken sandwich, the french fries, and the milkshakes. They also have decent Mexican food and excellent salsa. The owner (?) often takes my order and even delivers it to my table when I don't hear my number called. This is a great place to go for lunch, but be aware that it's also popular with the local high school students and as such becomes somewhat busy around their lunchtime. PS: the American portion of the menu is almost identical to The Habit's menu (another fine restaurant in town); apparently the owners are related. read more

First of all, its called CAL TACO Its all about the BBQ Chicken Sandwich. mmmmmmm.... whenever I come back to SB I must go get one. Their fries are good as are their milkshakes. And when I rarely branch out, the taquitos are good, so are their burritos and charburgers. And they get an extra star for having Cherry Coke in their coke machine....such a lovely treat. I'm telling you, there is nothing like a BBQ Chicken Sandwich (which is also offered in Teriyaki), fries and a cherry coke. I usually I'm convinced in splitting a chocolate milkshake with my mother. A meal I gladly forget my diet for. read more

California Taco, I thought it was called Cal Taco. Pretty good burgers, sandwiches and tacos joint stashed awkwardly along Hollister next to a liquor store. I'd say that their burgers are almost as good as the habit. The menu layout, font and selection looks awfully similar to the habit's which makes me think that they're under the same ownership? Either way, it's can't go wrong fast food. I like hitting it up on the way back from bacara beach. read more

I really like Cal Taco and I have to say I'm a fan since I've eaten there a few times now. They have a variety of menu items and they are all pretty good. The charburgers actually taste like charburgers, I like them with everything, onions, cheese, bacon, bbq sauce. They have good sides. I've had their onion rings and zucchini stick and they are typical affairs, pretty darn good. Their burritos and tacos are good as well, they use good chicken meat in their tacos. The service is good and the owner is friendly. It's one of my favorite places to get a burger when I'm in the neighborhood. Cal Taco is comparable to In and Out Burgers and The Habit but with a bigger menu. read more

For being called Cal Taco, this place has some good quality burgers. Don't be fooled by their name because this is a good burger joint as well (not sure about their Mexican food).The burgers are a bit smaller than you'd expect but it's still a filling meal. I would definitely be going back! read more

Hubs and kids and I started going to Cal Taco about 15 yrs ago, and have since moved to the East coast and back. Off and on over the yrs we stop in for a bite and see how the place is doing. I was especially curious because of the great reviews. We went today for lunch before hubs flew to NYC for business. We only had about 45 minutes before we had to schlep him to the airport (looove the convenience of living 5 minutes from the aiport, and hubs always flies out from here and connects via LAX or Phoenix). Sundays are $1.89 charburger specials. We got a couple of those, some fries, a double char with cheese, fish tacos, and steak tacos. The place was packed, but we managed to get a booth quickly and somehow squeezed two parents and 3 young adults into a four seater. The food took just a few minutes and was solid overall. Aside from the fries which were warmish and sorta limp, we were all satisfied. The chars are smallish but satisfy for those who don;t want to pig. My son who had the double with cheese said he was stuffed and couldn't finish the last two bites which I brought home for the dog who was highly appreciative. BTW my son said even though the char was great, the Habit's is slightly superior. (And I hafta say, Habit's fries are better, too). My other son who got the fish tacos said they were great--and he is extremely picky. He ordered two at $3 apiece. They came on soft corn tortillas with decent sized pieces of grilled fish, shredded romaine, tomato cubes and shredded jack. They were delish enough that he didn't even use the salsas from the salsa bar--a fairly wimpy green tomatillo and a tomatoey/cilantro one that was flavorful but not at all spicy. Half a point off because even though this place is not truly authentically Mexican, they shouldn't call themselves Cal-"Taco" and not offer at least one kick-ass salsa. The steak soft tacos, at $2.75 apiece were perfectly acceptable and came exactly as the fish ones, but with cheddar cheese. The crowd was low-key, Goleta, beach-casual. Strictly shorts and Ts. Families, couples, just a nice mix. The service is friendly and efficient, atmosphere nice and breezy on a beautiful summer day, with the option of eating outdoors on their little patio. I would like to go back and try their teriyaki chix sandwich since people rave about them. All in all, a perfectly acceptable experience but didn't knock my socks off. Maybe next time. read more

Burgers are similar to habit, but not quite as good (I think they are just too overcooked - I should probably just ask them to cook it medium next time). I actually get the fajitas typically. They hold their own against a place like Chili's for half the price. Service is usually fast and friendly. It's a solid place to come for lunch. read more

Four stars simply because I was surprised by the existence of Cal Taco, and the fact that they delivered tasty fish tacos. Cal Taco isn't that much further from Costco, but is definitely easy to miss. It is part of a small shopping spot composed of basically 3 businesses. If you continue West on Hollister past the Costco shopping center it will be on your right. It is definitely worth a try if you have never been, and my recommendation is the fish tacos (soft/hard) if you are going for Mexican, or, the charburgers if you are in the mood for a hamburger. Chicken soft tacos weren't too bad either. read more

Always loved this place, but I think it has new ownership or at the least a new jerk manager. Went in there to use the SB Axxess Card and they denied me the 2 for 1 burger coupon since the my card registered that it had already been used. I told the manager that I just received the card a few days earlier and had not used any of SB Axxess coupons yet. The manager still denied the 2 for 1 and I therefore cancelled my other order of $15 of food. He made it sound it was impossible to get the 2 for 1 even if he wanted to give it to me. Yeah right. It appears what happened is the cashier accidentally scanned the SB Axxess card twice. Therefore it registered as used when it had not been. Unfortunately I figured this out after I left. I do not blame the cashier as it was an honest mistake, but I do blame the manager. The manager was basically calling me a liar without actually doing it. All to make an extra $5 off me? I'm sure the food is still good. I had been going there 20+ years, but that was the last time. RIP Cal Taco. You were great back in the day. read more

I don't know why I never tried this place when I was living in Goleta. It's SO yummylicious! Stopped here with some friends on our way out for a night of drinking and split a steak quesadilla with one of my girls. So good I wolfed every bite down! I was thoroughly satisfied with my dinner and will be dining here again. read more

Great variety (char burgers, tacos, breakfast), good value and fresh food! I love this neighbored place. I've always had great service too!

Owned by the Habit? a question i never found the answer to. Anyway, shark tacos are bomb, yea i said shark tacos. Kind of random but the owner convinced me to try them one time and i loved em. The burgers and fries are quite good too. read more

Gotta give this place props for the zuchini fries (best with ranch!), the quesadillas, and the burgers. When I was still at UCSB and working in the area, this was definitely one of my favorite go-to places for lunch. :) Staff is friendly, food comes out quick, and they've never said no to extra ranch/salsa! read more

This is the place to eat when you need a quick and delicious and fast meal. Caltaco's menu is full of burgers, Mexican standards, and delicious sides. This is the one place where everyone in the family can find something they like. Fountain drinks, beer on tap ($3/4 pints / $10/12 pitchers), and a salsa bar helps build out the experience. Friendly service and just a bit off the beaten path. There is an outdoor patio for seating. They also have a breakfast and regular menu. Stop in when you need that quick meal or dream about perfectly crisp onion rings. I love how they include ranch dressing with everything. Remember to end your meal with the $1 soft serve cone! Stop by soon! read more

Sitting in the restaurant now and shocked how long the cashier was talking to the customer ordering in front of me, talking about her personal life for at least 5 minutes with 3 people waiting in line. Never coming back here again. read more

I would give five stars but I've only tried few items. However those items don't disappoint. Taste good everytime I come haven't had a bad experience read more

Awesome awesome breakfast burrito - hot and fresh! On par with our favorite breakfast burrito in LA. Took a chance and stopped here to get some breakfast burritos to go on our drive to LA. My boyfriend got a burrito with both bacon and chorizo and has not stopped taking about how good it tastes. Mine with just bacon was great as well. Wish I could try everything on the menu. Thanks for the delicious meal! read more

I've heard a lot about Cal Taco, and we finally visited there on our last trip to S.B. My overall impression is that as an alternative to The Habit - owners are brothers - this is an excellent compromise choice when one friend wants a charburger and another craves Mexican food. My dad loves the taquitos here; however, my wife and I both thought our burritos were too, well, American. (They tasted fine, just in a pseudo Baja Fresh sort of way.) So ... if BOTH friends crave either a burger or Mexican food, I might just drive an extra couple minutes and head straight to The Habit or another, neighborhood Mexican diner. Good place, reasonable prices, and its three stars are well-earned. read more

The hard shell tacos are really good. Just like mom makes them!! The burgers are made with high quality ground beef. The owner told me it is the same patties as The Habit. Friendly staff and cool owner. There is a small outdoor dining patio. Good food for cheap!! read more

Cal Taco - Ode to Ellwood Beach - Mexican Near Me - Goleta, California

1. Service is incredibly friendly 2. Menu is actually vegitarian and carb free friendly 3. Um, and the most important, my fish tacos were ridiculously good. They used their house salsa to marinate the fish. It had such great flavor I regret not getting a 3rd taco. Oh and don't worry about your tortillas getting soggy. I ate my tacos in lighting speed they were so good ;) read more

We go there once a week for dinner. Over 20 miles to get there from Carpinteria. The girl tried to charge us $20.57 for 4 $2.95 tacos. It's always been $12 and change.....We said goodby and good luck. 1/15/21 4:30 pm read more

Just had their 1.89 charburger sunday special. added cheese, avo, and jalepeno. very tasty. this may be our new neighborhood go-to place for when we want some good food fast and cheap. bf had the bbq chicken sandwich which was very good too. I also got an order of zucchini stix - yum. cant wait to try the rest of the menu! read more

I LOVE THEIR CHARBURGERS and ONION RINGS and ZUCCHINI STICKS! I go at least two Sundays a month for the 1.89 charburger deal. I get two burgers and some onion rings, it usually costs about six bucks, WHAT A DEAL! The owner is awesome and friendly, as are the gals that work the register and the cooks in the back. They have never gotten my order wrong and their ranch dressing is to die for. read more

Cal Taco - Charburger with cheese - Mexican Near Me - Goleta, California

I'm torn with this place. It used to be a lot better, but I read (here on Yelp) that it has recently changed ownership and that might be why my last few experiences haven't been up to the same standard as previous visits. First, I feel like the best thing you can get here is the crispy tacos. They have always done a good job with these (go figure, their name has taco in it.) The burgers are just okay (go figure, they're not a burger restaurant.) The one thing they get right in my book, consistently, is accuracy and friendliness. I've never had a mixed up order here and they never forget small details. That's a rare thing in my book. I'm not sure this is the best place in Goleta to eat a taco, but it's decent and if you order what they're good at making, you'll likely get a tasty meal served friendly. read more

Been living here nearly a year and pass this place every day on my bicycle, coming home from work. My roommate raves about this place. He loves that the char burgers are $1.50 on Sundays. I decided to stop by recently and the blue-eyed dude behind the counter took an order for something that was not on the menu: a steak burrito with only beans, rice and a little cheese, he even offered me some extra spicy salsa made with grilled tomatoes and chiles (just like the kind I make). Why didn't I give this place a 5 star rating? I'm half Mexican from the San Fernando Valley, and the tacos are just not authentic enough for me. Based on their awesome burritos (or at least the ones that were specially ordered for me), I expected carne asada with salsa verde on a soft corn tortilla, but I got ground beef in hard taco shells. Not their fault really, just not what I expected from them. Otherwise, this place is pretty damn awesome, the people who work there are nice and the prices are great. I'll definitely make this place my go-to whenever I feel too tired to cook for myself (which is quite often, I'm afraid to say). And of course, try other items, that are actually on the menu... :) read more

We are long time customers, thought it was about time we published a review. Great hard shell ground beef tacos, tostadas, and char-burgers. This place can get busy at lunch time; however, it is worth waiting for... Highly Recommended! read more

We came here on a Saturday for lunch and we used the access buy one hamburger get one free deal. We both got the burgers with cheese. After receiving our burgers, we both noticed that the burgers were dry and cold. My husband had the fries and he pulled out a french fry that had gone in the fryer a couple times. The overall feeling of the food here is that there is not a great deal of competency or pride in the cooking here. There are so few items that they should be so easy to cook everything properly. In a world full of burgers why choose mediocrely? read more

Update: changed ownership recently. Didn't know that when I wrote the review below. We're regular patrons as we live nearby. We go there at least twice a month, often more frequently. When the owner is there, we find the food tasty and fresh. When he's not there... hmmm. The other night may have been one of those nights. I had a lot of trouble placing my order over the cell phone (for pick up): a double char combo, single char combo, plus kid's meal bean/cheese burrito combo. No problem with the first two items, but we wanted to substitute the Mexican rice for the fries on the kid's meal. We do this all the time. Communicating that change to the order-taker was challenging, but we finally seemed to get on the same page after agreeing to pay an extra 50 cents for the substitution. I don't know whether we've paid that surcharge in the past, but whatever -- the kid wants rice. It was a busy in the restaurant but we finally got the food into the car to take home. We found no side of Mexican rice in the order even though we paid the extra .50. Glad we checked before driving off. Had to go back in to the restaurant to get the rice, which took another 10+ minutes, during which time numerous patrons were coming to the front to ask where their missing food items were. By the time we got home, things were lukewarm at best. But the rice, we discovered, had been put into the burrito. If you know kids, you know that SEPARATE foods are important to them, so this wasn't appreciated by my son, but he made a comment and ate half of it anyway. Okay, miscommunication can happen, not a big deal. But what's not acceptable? The double burger was tasty and fresh as normal. The single burger was on a stale crusty bun, the meat patty dry, overcooked, and had only the slightest trace of the cheese that I'd requested, and had no lettuce and tomato. It was so disappointing, and in stark contrast to the double burger's goodness. Do they pre-make some of these single burgers and let them sit around a while??? Because that sure is what it seemed to be -- a premade, dry, stale single burger. Please, Cal Taco -- I recommend your restaurant to friends regularly, but I'm going to have to stop if you are premaking burgers. Yuck!!! read more

Ordered a Chicken Terriyaki sandwich on wheat and I was charged extra for the Terriyaki sauce and the bread. Will not come here again. read more

Cal Taco - Mexican Near Me - Goleta, California

Mexican restaurant should have nachos down pat. Mediocre at best the chef skimped on meat overdid the beans, and poured watery salsa over them. Finished as much as I could asked for a refill on my drink,NO WE DON'T DO THAT..... Last week we filled and refilled our drinks... Restaurants routine is to provide refills as it is one of the highest profit margins. Our family and circle of friends will easily find a replacement to our weekly meeting place. read more

Chris is back and so is the great rock and blues music!! That's right, folks, he really is back and the food is even better now!! (This is in all capital letters, but for some reason, yelp wont let me post in capitals now...) read more

Great food for cheap. Tacos, burgers, burritos, taquitos, tostadas, fries, onion rings and shakes! Never gotten anything bad here. read more

Great customer service from Hugo. He was efficient, informative and made the experience personal, we weren't just a number. Food was great and establishment well kept up. Highly recommend and will be back. read more

We gave them a very long and detailed order--and they got it all correct and it was delicious. They are very nice too!

Just a really good hole in the wall burger joint/Mexican place. Would highly recommend. Had to stop for food on a road trip and decided we'd give this place a try. Friendly service, really awesome food and great portion sizes. read more