I love this taco joint! Well, there are more things available than just tacos. But I've only had the quesadillas and tacos, and they are so reasonably priced and just fantastic. The green and red salsa is so good too (Though, be careful gringos, they are spiceyyyy.) the steak quesadillas are packed and just so satisfying. I actually had a lunch catered from here, and the service was fantastic and again, worth the value! There were tons of toppings included. Can't recommend this place enough! read more

Cozy hole in the wall restaurant. Authentic food at great prices! The service was amazing, the food came out quickly and our server was quick to get us sides of cilantro, onion, and chopped jalapeno. read more

El Alteno 2 - sincronizada, menudo, quesadillas - Mexican Near Me - Summerville, South Carolina

This restaurant is located on a strip mall off Highway 78 near the heart of Summerville. There are several parking spots but not many as there are two businesses adjacent to it. The place looks like an older restaurant with the hole in a wall feel. The food is actually cooked in the food truck out front of the building with probably a dozen or so tables inside. My wife and I visited this place for lunch on a weekend when I took the day off. It was one of my saved Yelp spots to try. We were not disappointed and the overall experience was okay. I ordered a sandwich, taco and a nacho. My wife ordered a few tacos and a torta. The tortillas were not homemade and the nachos seemed like it was made by not fresh ingredients but packaged ingredients (cheese, meat, chips). As far as drinks, we ordered the horchata which was on the sweeter side and mediocre. As far as service, they were all friendly and nice. No issues on that front. If your looking for a casual same friendly environment with okay Mexican food, this is your place. read more

El Alteno 2 - A little of everything - Mexican Near Me - Summerville, South Carolina

Never had anything bad from this place. Best Mexican food in Charleston. Their chorizo tacos are amazing!!! read more

El Alteno 2 - Mexican Near Me - Summerville, South Carolina

Food was really good. The tacos were seasoned nicely and the chorizo and chips were delicious. Friendly staff, and has indoor seating. read more

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This is a great place to eat if you looking for something real authentic Mexican food like street tacos tortas and gorditas I totally recommend to eat at this place read more

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This is not the menudo I was expecting. But I guess this is not California either. The menudo was watered down and little flavor. Service is horrible. You have to get up and get your own drinks " no big deal but ok". Worse part is we had to endure and listen to some kind of sermon "loud" on their speaker system inside the restaurant. I asked if it can be changed and they denied the request. Will never come here again. read more

El Alteno 2 - Watered down menudo smh.... - Mexican Near Me - Summerville, South Carolina

This place is so good and cheap. I get the vegetable burrito or tacos and it is very filling. I would like to try the churros next time. Also the lady knew my order when i only went there once so they are very welcoming read more

This place was down the road from the big flea market. Glad I decided to try this place out. Ordered steak burritos and spicy pork tacos. No complaints at all- delicious- I love hot sauces and peppers- to which it came with. Recommended worth a try. read more

El Alteno 2 - 2 Spicy pork tacos and 2 steak burritos- came with red and green sauce and pan fried onions and peppers - Mexican Near Me - Summerville, South Carolina

This is hands down the best Mexican food I have ever had. It is a fairly hidden, authentic Mexican restaurant. You order at the food truck and then go inside to pay for your order. Inside they have a little store; snacks and candy from Mexico. Very well priced; my fiancé and I both ate for $17 (and we eat a lot)! FOOD: I got 2 chicken tacos and 2 chicken sopes. My absolute go to when I go to Mexican restaurants, although sometimes I will switch up the meat. My fiancé for tacos and sopes as well but he got carnitas and asada. Normally we put a load of salsa verde but the meat was so flavorful it completely unnecessary. But I did try the salsa verde and it was really good, on the spicier side, how I like it. The tacos were doubled up on the tortillas, which makes it easier to eat. SERVICE: We placed a Togo order so we didn't interact with too many employees, but the employees at the food truck and inside where we paid were pleasant. OVERALL: This restaurant was absolutely AMAZING! I'm pretty sad that we don't live here, but when we pass through again we will definitely make sure we stop and get some delicious Mexican food especially for the price. Tacos were $1.50 each and sopes were 2.50 each! read more

El Alteno 2 - 2 chicken tacos and 2 chicken sopes - Mexican Near Me - Summerville, South Carolina

Imagine my surprise to see El Alteno as the #1 taco spot in the area in the recent online blog, Eater Charleston, (11 Essential Taco Stops in the Lowcountry, April 11th) the day after we discovered. My husband and I were in North Charleston, car shopping and our end goal was Summerville, so we were traversing Dorchester and trying to find something new to try out. El Alteno, on Hwy 78, popped up so we headed over. This place is not near anything and is nothing like you'd expect. It is a food truck, parked next to a 'cafeteria' and serves on paper plates from there. I am not sure if we were supposed to order at the truck or go in, sit and wait for a wait staff. We did the latter. The young man was friendly, but wasn't sure how to take our order. We finally had to explain that we hadn't been here before. At this point, he is most likely wondering "how the heck did you find us?" After explaining a few items on the menu for us, in halting English, and our Spanish being poor to non-existent, we settled on 2 steak tacos for me and 2 pork for him and an order of beans for the 2 of us to share. This place is not a chips, salsa, and margarita kind of place. You hit this spot for fresh genuine street tacos. These were delicious and inexpensive. Small, so hubby ordered two more, but two were fine for me. We didn't care for the pinto beans. Something in the cooking method, a flavor we weren't familiar with. A tiny spot, serving a genuine street taco made for an nice afternoon lunch. read more

Cheap, awesome flavors and fast. What else do you need from a taco truck? Especially they got homemade tortillas! Love their tacos and sopes. You can get like 6 tacos and 4 sopes and still paying under $20! read more

Menudo and pozole are delicious... weekends only. Spanish and English speaking. You can order at the table but then you have to go to the front counter to pay. read more

I ordered food through DoorDash and in there it did not specify if it was a order of tacos that had more the one or single taco. It turn out to be a single taco with I was confused about so I call the place and the lady who answer me was rude and very disrespectful and did not let me talk at all and just kept on telling me how I was wrong and she was right. read more

If Jesus Christ eats tacos, then I am sure he eats them here. This completely unassuming hole in the wall has some of the best, most authentic Mexican cuisine I have ever had. I ate here today with a group of 8 people. All the food is made in the Taco Truck and then brought into a sit down dining room. After we sat down a nice gentleman came over and took our orders. They have a small menu on the wall. You pick an item from the left side: such as tacos or burritoes. Then you choose a filling from the right side: such as beef cheeks or chicken, etc... I ordered a bean quesadilla and 2 tacos with chicken. The Hubs got a burrito and 2 tacos. We grabbed some plastic utencils and napkins, as well as drinks from their cooler (it's all sort of self serve). Then we waited. What came out was amazing! My quesadilla was crispy on the outside and the filling was soooo good. My tacos were beautiful and perfectly made. On the side of every plate were sliced radishes and a roasted serrano pepper. The "waiter" dropped off two containers of salsa (one red and one green) and a dish of lime wedges. I squeezed a little lime on the radishes and salted them as well. They were delicious. The Serrano though, was BLAIZINGLY VOLCANICALLY HOT!!! It was delicious, but it took my breath away eating it. I have to say that even though it looks a bit dodgey, the food and service rival some of the best restaurants around. read more

Just to update. Make no mistake this is the best Mexican food you find east of the Mississippi. 400 tacos later nothing has changed.

Great authentic Mexican tapas, meaning tacos, burrito, tortas, quesadillas. Best tacos in the tri county, if not SC. Great hot sauce and carne Asada. Plenty of meat to choose from too. read more

El Alteno 2 - Items here at an awesome price - Mexican Near Me - Summerville, South Carolina

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Glad we came to check this place out. We ordered tacos, sopes, tostadas, and the tortas. Everything was delicious and we loved the salsa verde. We also got the papas Fritas for our son who is incredibly picky. It's nice they had something like that on the menu. Great prices too. read more

El Alteno 2 - Mexican Near Me - Summerville, South Carolina

So not going to lie this place is hard to find. It is nestled off the side of the road and is hard right turn. The space is in a small three store shopping plaza. All orders are placed at the food truck outdoors, given a ticket and go inside to pay. The indoors is air conditioned and has booths with the option to dine in with Mexican candy and drinks and jewelry for sale .The staff all appear family and are warm with all the customers. This is authentic Mexican Cuisine and by far the best in Charleston. The steak tostada is pilled high with fresh ingredients and is my go to menu item. The tacos are phenomenal as well. Spanish is spoken read more

AMAZING!! Do not come here expecting any sort of fancy building or spectacular service, just come here expecting superb authentic Mexican. The food is cooked in a food truck which can be off-putting so some, but it is the best Mexican around. Step inside, wait for someone to come to you, order about twice as much food as you think you need, grab a drink, enjoy. If you have never had authentic Mexican then you are in for a treat. The menu items are much smaller than your typical "American" Mexican restaurant so don't feel bad if you order two tacos, two quesadillas, and a burrito. Add the sauce to all of your food because it is delicious. And the best part? It's CHEAP. 18 bucks feeds two adults with drinks. What is there to complain about? read more

My new favorite item is the steak quesadilla! Fyi to any newbies. Those and the tacos are the best! read more

El Alteno 2 - The steak quesadilla is in the middle. That was my favorite!! And they serve red and green sauce. Must have! - Mexican Near Me - Summerville, South Carolina

I stop here often for lunch because its about the fastest Mexican food I can get around where I was working. It has an inside area with plenty of tables and a small Latino market where you pay for your food. The food is made outside in the food truck which is quite convenient when in a rush. There's a few chairs to sit in while you wait for your food. I ordered two pastor quesadillas and two bottles of mango jarritos. The wait time was about five minutes. Its pretty decently priced and the food is always great and hot, very authentic usually comes with radish on the side and sour cream if you ask for it. I would recommend this place for a quick bite or sit down meal. read more

Best tacos around hands down. I love the lengua, and the pastor. Their meat is tender and a perfect harmony of salty, sweet, spice and acidity. So authentic and delicious! Unfortunately it's pretty far from West Ashley, but it's totally worth the trip every once in a while. read more

El Alteno 2 - Pastor tacos - Mexican Near Me - Summerville, South Carolina

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Really good nexican food in Charleston South Carolina. Well as good as its going to be in the southeast. I stumbled across this place 3 plus years back and its just as good today. They don't do the aqua frescas, mostly bottle type drinks. Dinning in us casual as most taco style places are. This is, for the new term street taco type food. read more

El Alteno 2 - Mexican Near Me - Summerville, South Carolina

I was brought here by a lady I work with, that this is one of the most authentic Mexican places you can go in the Charleston metro area. I trust her, because she's from Brownsville, TX, which is on the Mexican border and is actually Hispanic. I'm glad I did listen to her, she was spot on! El Alteno isn't like most of the Mexican places around here, but more of a tiny store, with a taco truck attached. The store is actually pretty clean and well kept, with a few tables set up inside. There's not much in decor, but they make up for that with the food. If you speak Spanish, it will definitely help, but they do have English translations on the menu. Don't be intimidated though, it's totally worth it. They have a number of things to try, including tacos, quesadillas, burritos, sopas, tamales, gorditas, etc... Within those, you can have barbacoa, lengua, carne azada, nopales, pollo, etc... You know you can trust me when I say this place is totally worth the trip if you're far away from the Ladson area. It's kind of hidden away in a tiny little shop, so keep an eye out for it. This is gonna be one of my new haunts. read more

Hands down best tacos I have had in a while! Super friendly staff working there, uber great prices & great tasting food. It's kind of your hole in the wall spot. They have seating in doors, but you order from the food truck outside & pay inside. If you cant handle that kind of ordering system, there are fine dining tacos made by a celebrity chef in DT Charleston that you can pay over $5 a taco for to make you feel more comfortable..... ;) But seriously the food is great & delicious. Everything was served with grilled onions, peppers and radishes on the side. I can't recommend them more! read more

I've bounced across the country from Southern California to Charleston a few times in my life and every time that I came back to the east side of the country, I have lamented the lack of authentic Mexican food. Thankfully, I have discovered El Alteno. When I checked in at my new job, my coworkers informed me that "Taco Truck Thursday" was a tradition with them. Always hopeful, I agreed to join them for lunch at the Taco Truck. Wow! is all I can say. This place is proper! Excellent food served by a friendly staff at a reasonable price. Their menu is simple and authentic. The spicy potato burrito seems to be their signature dish, but I can honestly say that I have not had a bad dish yet. I will continue to be there every Thursday with the gang for lunch, and quite a few weekends with the wife. Now I can stop moving back to SoCal for my Mexican food fix. read more

I was born and raised in AZ and just moved from San Diego, so I can confidently say I'm expert on Taquerias. For all the way over here on the east coast, in the south, this place is great. The only place I've found so far, here, that offers the more savory meat options like lengua, tripe, and cheek. Ordered 6 of the burritos of an assortment of the above, and all were great. My only reason for 4 stars was the lack of ingredient in the burritos, and the small portion of meat. Retried beans detract from the flavor of the meat in the burrito. I was also fortunate to get the tamales when I went. The red were good, but the green were great! Just like a remember from back home. I'll be getting the tacos next time with hopes of a better meat ratio with some cilantro and onions. I'm always up for increasing my rating! **Update** Went back and 4 tacos (lengua, cabeza, cheek, and carne asada), all with cilantro and onion, and all were perfect! No tamale's this time, but the tacos were enough to push the review to 5 stars. read more

This is the most authentic Mexican food you can get in Summerville. To me there is a severe lack of authentic, ethnically diverse food in Summerville but El Alteno is a welcome departure from that unfortunate reality. If you want delicious authenticity, this is the place for you in Summerville. The meats are well seasoned and prepared with care, you can tell that great love and attention goes into this. It feels like your sitting down at a latin family table when you eat here. Highly recommend! read more

If God is serving pork tacos in Heaven, they're still not as good as the marinated pork tacos from El Alteno. They explode with flavors from the pork, from the onions, and from the cilantro, and they finish with a delightful bit of heat. Combine that with the salsa verde, and it's absolutely glorious -- worthy of singing angels. The rest of the food--the tortas, the sopes, and a bunch of stuff I can neither spell nor pronounce--is similarly simple and tasty. The people are friendly. The decor is spartan, but it's clean and inoffensive. It is homecooked, traditional Mexican food, expertly and cheaply done. That's right -- cheaply done. I can eat dinner with my wife and two kids for less than $20-25. Definitely a great place to stop. read more

If your looking for truly authentic, absolutely delicious, Mexican food- look no further. Their carnitas are mouth watering good. Do not order less than 3 tacos, you will want to eat them all and then some. Their food isn't spicy, and they have all the sauces if you want to spice it up a bit. It is truly a hole in the wall, so you should not expect anything fancy. The service is good, though you might find yourself having to ask questions since some of the staff seems to assume you know how things work when you walk in. Get your own drinks from the cooler, and if you are not handed a menu you can get it from the front register. The food is absolutely worth the casual atmosphere. I find myself craving it often. The prices are very reasonable as well. read more

If you're looking for authentic Mexican food. You found it. Not the greatest atmosphere, but solid food.

This place is amazing. I've been to Mexico 3 times and this place reminds me of the amazing meals I experienced during my travels. We live near here and never realized it was an actual restaurant. Do yourself a favor and come here! read more

El Alteno 2 - Reminds us of some of the places we visited in Cozumel & Playa! - Mexican Near Me - Summerville, South Carolina

Good authentic Mexican food and the lady's are súper nice. Food always fresh and delicious

Delicious food in a no frills but friendly atmosphere. The chicken tacos and al pastor tacos were tasty and filling. Expect small street style tacos at a very affordable price. Tortas and small burritos available as well. Drinks were serve yourself sodas from the cooler (nice selection of Mexican and American). The staff was happy to put together a to go order for us as well. Small convenience store selection as well with all my husband's favorite Mexican candy and crisps. read more

If you want truly Mexican food, this is the place to go. They serve a variety of meats, even those you wouldn't find in a "chain" type restaurant. Although the items may look small on your plate, it totally fills you up! I ordered 2 tacos and 1 sope and couldn't finish the sope. Amenities are simple cause all the $$ is put into the food. Love it! read more

So far this is the only authentic Mexican Food in the area I have been able to find, so that is a major plus in its favor. The parking situation isn't great, but the food and service more than make up for it. We tried asada quesadillas, burritos and a spicy pork taco and they were all fantastic....not to mention the salsa that comes on the side. We will definitely be back here very soon. read more

This Mexican food is about as authentic as you can get here in Charleston. It's not fancy, but the tacos are reasonably priced, hearty, and delicious! read more

the grilled onions that are served with the burrito and the green sauce come together with a beautiful harmony of flavor highly recommend the steak tortas as well!!!!! read more

El Alteno 2 - the grilled onions and the green sauce come together with. beautiful flavor of harmony ... - Mexican Near Me - Summerville, South Carolina

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This is a real Mexican food stop. Been out here for 3 weeks and haven't found a place like this that has great food. Ordered the tacos and they were perfect! Authentic street tacos at a great price. If you value authentic Mexican food you owe it to yourself to stop by. You can either order to go from the truck or sit inside. read more