Good quality meats here and good service, ie. not closing 30 minutes early like another place down the road. This is the place to go. Good quality food is not the only thing important when dining. Simply being committed to your business hours is a basic level of customer service. Kudos to you El Compadre! I will be coming here and referring all my family and friends to you. read more

I enjoyed this place a lot. I tried both the compadre burrito and the veggie burrito with no cheese or sour cream and black beans. Both were fresh and tasted good, I enjoyed them. The compadre had carne asada and grilled veggies, much like a fajita, very tasty. The veggie was pretty much the standard veggie, but still very good and fresh tasting. The guac was good and the combo with black beans and the rice was tasty. The chips were good, but salsa bar was a bit of a disappointment. The verde salsa was good with onions and cilantro though, but that was the best of all the types they had. The service was friendly and fast, and the prices weren't too bad. The specials looked good on the wall. It was clean, but kinda empty. Overall I would probably stop by there again if I was right in that location, but I would like to try all the other places up north too. Good place none the less. read more

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Love the food here...I tend to eat the same thing everytime(just because I love it)and because I am usually afrraid to try something new. Well, everything I have eaten here I love. My husband love their Torta and has not found one that comes close to being as good as this one is. Very comfortable place, I have a very good friend (86 years old) and this is the only place that she feels comfortable coming by herself to eat. The employees and owner work very hard and are wonderful..try it you will like it. read more

The food is delicious and the price is great. From what I hear, it's the only truly 'independent' Mexican restaurant in Atascadero. Simple atmosphere, friendly staff, tasty salsa bar. read more

El Compadre - Mexican Near Me - Atascadero, California

My first time in this restaurant, and I was pleased. We were greeted warmly by the owner and given a menu right away. I ordered the Huevos Rancheros from the breakfast menu and my husband ordered a torta ahogada. I was pleased with my dish it was hot and very tasty altho the rice was dry as expected with most mexican restaurants. The torts ahogada traditionally is soaked in very spicy sauce but here they more like fried like an enchilada and was not very spicy. Overall I would recommend this place. read more

Great food, way better than most Mexican restaurants in the area, would definitely recommend. Had the Chilie Verde, it was great and the rice and beans were perfect. Salsa bar is nice but nothing is labeled so it's hard to tell what most of the salsas are and how hot. Service was very prompt and friendly, our server seemed to know almost everyone that came in, a great local vibe. There were Mexican people eating there which is a great sign that the food is authentic. At the end our credit card sat on the bill on the table for 10-15 minuets before I was able to get the servers attention. We still tipped 25% because up until then the service was excellent. read more

Nasty nasty nasty. Strip mall, do I need to say more? Yelp reviews were good so I decided to try. Ordered tacos and chips. Girl at register did not know how to give change and shorted me. Guess that was her tip. Salsa bar had flies all over it. As people filled their mini little to go cups salsa ran down their fingers and back into the salsa container. Yummoo!! Place was dirty. Above bathroom wall there was hinges. This opened about 2ft below ceiling. Cameras in restroom? Floors and wall dirty. Do they ever clean? Not sure why I decided to even eat part of the taco. Pollo asada. Well I always though this was grilled chicken, not here it's boiled. Not much of a taco. A little lettuce and sprinkle of cheese. Aftet a bite I walked out. What a waste of money and time. Ended up in Paso for a real dinner. If I could of have it a zero I would of. read more

Ill give this a solid three stars. I had the carnitas taco plate. Beans-OK. Rice- OK. Tacos- OK. Salsa - OK. Brown cardboard to-go containers a bit unusual, but I get the recycle element. Cool. If you want the same ol, but descent same ol, then this is a go. If you want spicy, different, flavorful explosion, then this is a no go. Overall, I feel a tad expensive for OK. But I WILL go back at sometime. No issues here. BTW, its been 2 hrs and the tummy is still good. read more

The food served here makes this one of the better Mexican restaurants in A-Town. When Armando's closed there was not another restaurant in town that was any good, that is until we found El Compadre. We have tried them all from one end of town to another and not one compares. If you have room after dinner try the deep fried ice cream it is delicious. read more

Great food, great prices, my new favorite spot for Mexican food! Their salsas are really good and the food has a lot of flavor.

We were visiting another business down the street & realized it was lunch time. My kids & I really like Mexican food so we gave it a try. I didn't realize it was order at the counter so we sat for a bit before someone else walked in & ordered. Once that was figured out, I was able to place our order. I had the 1 item cheese enchilada (comes with rice & beans) but I chose all beans (not a big fan of Spanish rice). The kids split a bean & cheese burrito. It was a la carte so I paid extra for a side of beans. With one soda & no drinks for the kids, the total was $21.55 before tip. I thought that was a bit spendy since I am use to a kids meal coming with a side of rice & beans & a combo meal coming with the rice & beans side & either soup or salad. The kids loved the salsa bar because they love salsa. They each chose a different one & they both loved it. They polished off 2 bowls of chips because the salsa & beans were so good. The food was delicious! We all cleaned our plates. It was a great find. read more

Not as good as we had hoped for. The service was ok but the food came out cold. I ordered shrimp tacos & the food had been sitting so when I picked up the taco the tortilla was soggy & ripped right through the middle. read more

I'm such a sucker for Mexican food and luckily Atascadero has tons of Mexican food places. El Compadre has nice employees, delicious pico de gallo and other salsas, but pretty average food. Somewhat bland, we had to keep adding salt and salsa to our tacos/burrito. Average overall & fair pricing. read more

Best authentic Mexican food in Central Coast! All home made, fresh quality stuff! Great food, great service, friendly staff, beers, and reasonable price! I'll go back for sure when I'm in town! Oh, and the Salsa Verde is 10 out of 10! read more

Great food, good salsa bar with plenty of chips along with friendly service. I only have one complaint / recommendation. I went into your restroom to wash my hands. The hot water was extrememy HOT. You need to turn your hot water heater down and save on natural gas. You could also turn down the pressure of the water going to the sink. Many restaurants need to do this. To many people turn on the water full blast and waste water. Just a recommendation; I mentioned this to one of your employees. Thanks for listening, Steve from Lake Mathres, CA. read more

Best tacos in town, I've been looking for lengua tacks since I've moved to town and it's now my go to spot. Grab some tacos and then head to the park for a picnic! read more

My meals were excellent with a fun atmosphere and very kind staff. It's the perfect family run type of joint. The wait time was minimal from ordering to eating with excellent, yet simple, appetizers as well read more

Visiting California and looking for authentic Mexican food, saw all the great reviews on yelp, so we thought we'd check it out. So thrilled we did. This place is a little gem. Great food, great prices and great service. Thank you! Will be back the next time we are in town. Love it's authenticity! Had the carne asada fajitas, huge portion, enough for two to share. Great variety at their salsa bar! My husband had the machaca bacon breakfast burrito, breakfast served all day, was fabulous and huge! Come with a large appetite or split a meal and have their yummy sopapillas! read more

Simple place with friendly staff and delicious food. Had enchiladas and a torta al pastor yesterday, and they were delicious, as always. read more

I received a recommendation for this place one day that I forgot my lunch. Went in and ordered a carne burrito and was very pleased. I've been south of the border extensively so I know good Mexican food. The tortilla was great, the meat was flavorful, and the burrito had the perfect amount of saucy ness. Would highly recommend. read more

My daughter just moved to Atascadero. I took my granddaughters to lunch here because of the Yelp reviews. I specially wanted to try the torta. A picture was posted of their tortas, and looked great. My granddaughters loved their kids meal that came with rice and beans. I had the torta al Pastor. Another picture on Yelp was of them carving the al Pastor. The sandwich was great. A little too much mayo for my taste, but next time I'll just request "easy on the mayo." This place is the real deal. Atascadero is lucky to have such an authentic homage to Mexican Cuisine. read more

The best Mexican food around hands down. The burritos are amazing. Fajitas are delicious. Family owned and staffed with great and friendly people. Chips are fresh and salsa bar is amazing. Highly recommend. read more

I adore this mexican restaurant! The food is exceptional, the people are nice, and I love the pork torta (which I order at least once a month if not more.) I highly recommend trying this place. Happy dining! read more

Like others have written, this place is frickin' fabulous!! The carne asada will make you believe in a benevolent God who truly loves us (and their salsas are proof of it). They have an excellent, diverse list of local brews on draft and in bottles as well as all the standard Mexican crowd pleasers as well as a few Mexican brews I wasn't familiar with. My only regret is that I didn't pick a hotel closer to El Compadre so I could eat here 3 times today. Travelers: pull off the highway and try this place. You can thank me later. read more

El compadre is amazing for many reasons. The tortas they make are on another stratosphere (that's what I would recommend if you want your mind blown). Might also try and wet California burrito with fries instead of potatoes or the tacos. The staff is typically comprised of Joel and Luis (brothers and owners) and these two are passionate about what they are doing and how they go about business. Great food. Funky atmosphere. Courteous staff. read more

This is a small place with a very friendly atmosphere. This time I had tacos al pastor. The pineapple mango marinade for these gave them exquisite flavor and tanginess. I ordered three, but two would have been plenty (they are large) Top marks!!! read more

Yelped this restaurant and decided to give it a try after all the rave reviews. If you live on the central coast you know good Mexican food is hard to find. We went inside and the ambiance is very bland, sort of dirty looking and not at all friendly or inviting. I was hoping the food would make up for that. I ordered the California burrito (carne asada with potato, cheese, etc) my husband ordered the chili relleno. Unfortunately the food tasted just like the décor...bland, not inviting and nothing to rave about. My burrito had about 2 potatoes, a sprinkle of cheese and the meat tasted weird and looked even worse. My flour tortilla seemed to be homemade but was sweet tasting? huh? My husband said his chili relleno was horrible and the edges were completely burnt. Honestly, I hate to say this, but all I could think about was the fact if I was going to get food poisoning or not. The meat was that nasty tasting. The service, was so so. Our server, if you can call him that, since we basically got all our condiments, took the bill up to be paid and had to retrieve our own silverware, was fairly friendly but not like the reviews stated. All in all, another disappointment for Mexican food on the central coast.... read more

Love this family owned place. We think they have the best tortas we have ever had. Everyone is so friendly and the food is fresh and delicimo consistently every time we go there. We drive from Paso just to get a torta. Everything is yummy. Try them out and you won't be disappointed. They are not open on Sundays. :( read more

We don't eat in Atascadero often but stopped here, starving after my daughter had a game at AHS. We both liked it a lot. We ordered at the window and food was on the table quickly. I had chile rellenos, a favorite dish, and one that is hard to get right. They got it right. First off, the presentation was absolutely beautiful, especially for a strip mall restaurant. More importantly they tasted fantastic. My daughter loved her burrito. The salsa bar was clean and well stocked and everyone working there was really friendly and helpful. We will return. read more

Food was ok at best. Kids pushing you at the salsa bar. Ordered food and it didn't come with what it said it would. Asked for to go boxes multiple times and was never given any. read more

Possibly the best El pastor tacos ive had. Amazing ! Luis and the staff are very friendly and welcoming! Place is my go to mexican spot!

El Compadre catered my sons Cal Poly graduation dinner. Everything was amazing and my guests raved about the food. I am from out of town and found this restaurant on yelp. It lived up to its reviews plus some!!! Mary was amazing to work with and made us feel special and cared for. read more

I had high expectations based on the reviews I read, but although the staff was friendly, there weren't enough of them. Tables and floor were dirty and the food was okay, but not memorable. read more

After ordering for 8 people, it's safe to say their Carne Asada and Carnitas smothered burritos are the best around. We were very happy with the sides,taste and sheer SIZE of our individual plates-they are not stingy on the ingredients! I will definitely come here more often. read more

Some great Traditional Mexican Food! Very authentic recipes. They also have Horchata on tap at the soda fountain which I like :) and they have a salsa bar to soup up your taco's to just the way you like them :) read more

Best burritos in Atascadero. The salsas are fantastic. Huge fan and will definitely be back.

Used Yelp to find a restaurant for lunch on our way through town, and luckily we chose El Compadre. Great food. Nothing fancy, very simple, but great flavor. Everything we had was seasoned and cooked perfectly. The service was great, as well. Super friendly and helpful in choosing menu items. I had enchiladas - one with green sauce, one with red - both were very good. My husband had a burrito with carne asada, and the meat was tender and flavorful. Great find! read more

This was really much better than I expected it to be. Had a hard time finding it because it was after dark and the sign was either burned out or not turned on. The ambiance is no frills, but the food was exceptionally good and the staff were really nice even though they were busy. Highly recommend. I will be back. read more

I will make the drive from paso for this one! Delicious, authentic mexican food, amazing service, I have switched to el compadre for our companies' catered events, too! They made a vegetarian enchilada with spinach that was the Bomb! And I love their cilantro salad dressing :) muchas gracias Luis y Mary :) read more

Best chili Verde around... And the chili relleno burrito is amazing :-) I highly recommend this restaurant! The salsa bar is great. Love the chips they are always fresh! read more