Carnitas El Rey

Delicious food and authentic. Best hole in the wall in Santa Paula. People complain about prices…read morebut need to realize you're paying for the authenticity and supporting mom n pop shops.

Picked up a caldo de pollo for lunch on a rainy day and I was happy I had gone with a soup…read moreconsidering how chilly it was but the soup was just ok. Considering your paying $13, I felt the soup was over priced for the amount you recieve. I left got a chicken leg, a small piece of squash, carrot, and chayote. Soup needed a bit extra flavor as well. I poured the salsa, onions, and cilantro it came with and about 4 lemon wedges and some salt to give it a good flavor. Soup had plenty of caldo though. The rice on the side was okay too, nothing that stands out. Of course the meal came with a side of tortillas. I think I will come back again and try some thing else. I wouldn't reccoemnd this soup, perhaps try the beef/res if your looking for soup. However the menu has other items worth checking out.

Updated Menu Prices

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El Pastor Tacos with rice and beans

Tlaquepaque Restaurant

4.2(262 reviews)

1.4 mi

Tlaquepaque in Santa Paula Ca is delicious! They have the…read morebest menudo! You must try. I also recommend their sopes and camarones Tlaquepaque They have tortillas a mano! Overall great authentic Mexican food. Great service and vibes.

Food: very tasty; tacos, burritos, chilliques salsas chips…read more Service: nice staff and attentive Atmosphere: is good. parking ok, I think you can park in USPS lot. Price: not to pricey

5/8/23

Menudo

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Chips and salsa 7/6/23

Taqueria & Estrellas

4.6(72 reviews)

0.6 mi

Been eating here for years, Paula is the best cook! Burritos, hard shell tacos, tortas...everything…read moreis delicious! Buy a jar of their salsa on your way out, you won't be disappointed!

I need nothing more than a big fish taco and a big pastor taco, con todo, with some horchata. Hand…read morepressed tortillas too. What a find. The woman working the front and cooking in the back couldn't be sweeter too. I will be back the next time I'm passing through town.

Inside

Burrito de Chorizo. Quite possibly the best burrito I've ever had.

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Inside

El Capricho Restaurant

4.1(177 reviews)

1.3 mi

Grandson brought us for lunch. Beautiful atmosphere in a Spanish style restaurant love the food…read more Service was great. Everything was amazing. Highly recommend.

We stopped by for lunch based on their rating, should have read the reviews. Service was fine,…read morenothing stood out, our waitress seemed kind. The vibe was on the quieter side. We tried their ceviche...not good. Had absolutely no flavor even with adding salt and salsa at the table. The only good thing was their salsa and chips. I wouldn't go back. Will keep Rabalais as my go to in Santa Paula.

Dining room - busy with locals

Asada nachos with toppings

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Fresh salad

El Campesino Restaurant

4.1(7 reviews)

0.6 mi

Warning! This is Not a five star restaurant. I asked the waitress when we walked in if the food…read morewas good, her reply, they say it is Lol. We arrived at 5:00 on a Friday evening, No one was there, that was our first clue the place wasn't what it was rated for. To the food, absolutely the worst Mexican food I've Ever had, the service was even worse.. Our server sat behind the counter on her phone... I'm pretty sure, the owners gave the place 5 stars, because no one in there right mind would consider this, okay food. I hate giving bad reviews but it would of been happier throwing my money out the car window.

Service was terrible. The young woman in the front couldn't be bothered. Not very friendly to me…read moreand although they closed at 2 and it was noon, she told me they were closing soon. I had to order quickly. No salsa given I had to return to restaurant to get some. I guess she doesn't like working weekends. Food was good but I couldn't enjoy it being rushed

Trocitos de puerco en salsa verde

Torta

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Caldo de camaron

Chapala Mexican Restaurant

3.5(257 reviews)

1.5 mi

Loved this place! Exactly what I was looking for , very welcoming people , made me feel right at…read morehome. Very clean and the food was delicious .

This used to be my favorite restaurant in Santa Paula. We'd drive over from Ventura (which has…read moreexcellent Mexican food restaurants as well). I came here for the fajitas. Why is the service here so consistently bad? We'll give this place one more chance. Not sure when. Not recommending to friends and family anymore though.

Insode

Meat combo

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Outside on Harvard

El Preferido Taco Shop

4.4(131 reviews)

0.0 mi

Love this little taco stand. They have great food. The service which I think is the owner is very…read morepersonable. Very nice guy. Great little spot with a nice little patio to enjoy your Mexican food

The sign out front says best tacos, but I'd say this is the best energy in any restaurant I've been…read moreto. It was legitimately like being at home with your family the welcoming friendly nature just made it so homey. I went with the asada torta and it was massive but not over powering the balance of ingredient was exactly what you wanted. We also ordered a kids taco plate that our daughter devoured and corn burritos that were perfectly crispy and the sauce they serve along with it has a unique flavor profile unlike any I've had before so that made it more crave worthy to get that flavor again!

Cornurritos with sauce on.

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La Cabana Restaurant

3.7(194 reviews)

1.8 mi

Dinner with fam bam, Mexican Pizza, chile verde burrito, beans with chorizo and a cold . Great way…read moreto end our Friday. Service was great and place was clean

Last year after almost 40 years of coming here things went down hill and we were sad and stopped…read moregoing. We went yesterday to see if things had changed and the food is good again! We are so happy for them as it was mid day and they were busy with happy customers. So glad to get our favorite Mexican restaurant back.

Seating

Chilled Coors Light, chips and salsa

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This beautiful angel statue is the same exact one in front of my boyfriend's house!

Cocina 1912

4.5(108 reviews)

1.6 mi

We stopped by for a quick bite and it did not disappoint! The food and service were great! The…read moreGordita de Chicharon sooo good! Would recommend!

Went on a Saturday evening. They didn't have chicken anymore in menu. They charged us large party…read moretip even though we had to get up an order at cashier ourselves. Food was okay. The cook told us they were short-staffed.

Interior high ceilings with cool light fixtures

Chile Verde Chilequilles

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Interior table and great brick walls with order counter

La Terraza

3.6(107 reviews)

1.5 mi

When I have a hankering for a crunchy taco, I go here for the taco combo- 2 crunchy chicken tacos,…read morerefried beans & rice, and a coke. The best. This is where I go in SP for that crunchy taco fix and it is my favorite in town. ¡Muchas gracias!

Food came fast and was delicious. Very happy with the portion size: big burritos. Plus - Great…read moreservice!

Tacos a la Carter, my favorite!

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Erica S.

3 years ago

Food and service were excellent!! And the place itself is super clean. I will be back....

Carnitas El Rey - mexican - Updated October 2026

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Been eating here for years, Paula is the best cook! Burritos, hard shell tacos, tortas...everything…read moreis delicious! Buy a jar of their salsa on your way out, you won't be disappointed!

Carnitas El Rey

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I have driven by this location and the Santa Paula one many times but this was my first visit…read more I was surprised that when there is Carnitas in the name, expect pork as the only meat! They offered Cabeza (meat from the head of a pig). So they have that if you are into that. If you are going to this place with someone that doesn't eat pork, they are pretty much going to be limited to eating rice and beans. I ordered a carnitas burrito. They put rice, beans, cilantro, onion and your choice of salsa mild or hot. I chose the mild salsa. I also got a side of chips. The price is hard to beat. We paid $31 for 2 carnitas burritos and 2 sides of chips. They have a salsa bar but they do not provide to-go salsa containers. They provide paper cup dipping cups for dine-in. You can buy their salsas to go but those will cost $4-6. However; they were nice to give us a to-go food box and we piled our paper cup salsas in it to prevent it from spilling. The staff was friendly, quick and they made us huge burritos! It's all I ate for the day because I was so full. The carnitas was top notch! Juicy and flavorful. It was seasoned perfectly; not too salty.

This place is awesome! Such great carnitas and salsas and everything! The negative reviews are…read morebunk, this is some of the best food in California. I'd put the Torta and salsas up against any in the world! No joke. We are spoiled when it comes to Mexican food because of places like this. Also, the staff is legit!

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I was referred to this restaurant by a local countertop/slab company as I was looking for a place…read moreto eat while waiting for them to finish my job. It doesn't look like much on the outside but the service was excellent and the food was outstanding. I have tacos now and then but theses are the best I ever had. I had some questions about the meat options so the waitress brought out some samples on a plate. Completely unexpected and really appreciated. I will definitely eat here again next time I'm in Santa Paula

Visiting Santa Paula for the day and decided to stop by. Was a little hesitant because there…read moreweren't many pictures. Overall, if you're hungry and want Mexican, it's good. We really liked our Tacos and quesadilla. Tacos are priced well and "buen servidos." Their menu needs to be updated to be more professional and wait is a little long.

Carnitas Mi Rancho

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BOMB carnitas & buche. Super authentic flavorful just amazing Mexican food. You know the carnitas…read morehere are legit when this is what they specialize in and nothing but locals are inside. Highly recommended. We went here twice during our trip to Oxnard, that's how good it is. The service was great too, the staff were very nice

Fast, delicious, fresh, friendly staff The place is clean…read morewith lots of seating in a big open room Give this place a try for yourself Tell Gabriel we said hi Cheers

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Tripa is always my go to when it's on the menu, and extra crispy is a MUST! Torazo definitely gets…read moredown with their tripas, and the Papa Loca is another must try. The location is slightly hidden if you don't know your way around Main St. in Santa Paula, but trust me... it's worth the search! Service has always been great whenever we've gone. I had read some of the other reviews beforehand, and I have to disagree with how some people described the staff. Our experiences have always been welcoming and pleasant. The restaurant itself has a cozy, welcoming ambiance. It's small, but in a way that makes it perfect for a casual date night. Definitely one of those spots worth finding and telling people about!

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"Is it that time?" My man Edgar used to ask that. Kind of a funny story but that's a side note…read more Great food. Just got some chips and guacamole there today. Their tacos and burritos are awesome. The asada quesadilla is my favorite. Really nice people and great food. If you happen to go to The Garage (also a really cool place to hang out but that's another review) they'll even just bring your food over to you. I highly recommend them.

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the food tasted good, I really enjoyed eating it, but then like less than one hour my stomach…read morestarted hurting really bad, I spent all night in the restroom, i had an upset stomach with diarrhea . chills, nausea, and even a day later I still feel a lot of pain in my stomach and I still have diarrhea. this place was my favorite place to go, I'm so disappointed.

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Delicioso, limpio, buen servicio. Delicious, clean and good service. Loved the shrimp tostada and…read morethe birria plate was so good! Large portions and the hand made tortillas!!! Wow! Delicious!!! We are coming back and soon! Gracias!!!

I may have won the food lottery in my group of 5 diners yesterday, because my quesabirria tacos…read morewere beyond outstanding. My husband thought his barbacoa was fine. My daughter thought her chicken flauta was okay and the shredded beef one was better. My friends liked their burrito and tamale. Staff is knowledgeable and helpful. Tables are clean. Parking is shared with other businesses and can be tight, so plan accordingly.

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