My favorite fast food Mexican place in Placerville. Favorites are the street tacos. You can get carnitas, carne asada and chicken. Their Birria is also excellent. I wish they would bring back their rolled taco special. Another favorite is their chile relleno. If you're on the go you can get a chile relleno burrito! They keep the restaurant clean. I notice them also keeping their salsa bar very clean after each use. The staff is friendly and very efficient. They have a wide variety of different salsas, even some I've never had before. When you dine inside you can serve yourself warm tortilla chips. Overall this place is our go-to when it comes to Mexican food here in Placerville. I recommend you give it a try. read more

Came on Taco Tuesday! Each taco was $1.99 And we were so surprised with the flavor of each taco! Adobada was really tasty! Carnitas had very good flavor as well as soft meat. Asada was good also! We had 3 tacos each + 2 more because we really liked it! Plus they have salsa Bar with many salsas including non spicy to spicy and really spicy. Service was good we got our tacos very quick & very well served. We'll be coming back very soon! (Next Tuesday ) read more

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Just to confirm how utterly horrible this place is, my neighbor went there for tacos today and asked for hot carrots - they gave him one pickled jalapeño. Whoever bagged that and bagged his order thinking it was ok to pass that off as a bag of hot carrots has to be laziest person ever. read more

El Forastero - Mexican Near Me - Placerville, California

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Date: Saturday, December 6th, 2025 Party of: 2 Meal: Late Dinner Takeaway Time Placed: around 10:45pm Time Picked Up: about 15 mins later *Crispy Tacos - Ground Beef ($3.99) *Fish Taco ($5.25) *2-Item Plate - Enchilada - Ground Beef, Ground Beef ($16.99) *Quesabirria ($5.99) *Street Tacos - Lengua ($4.24) *Street Tacos - Carne Asada - Grilled steak ($2.99) The hubby and I have tried the other location in Placerville and found everything salty. Since there aren't that many late night options, I decided to try their other location. It was easy to place an order online. Do note, if you would like to go inside and use the restroom, that is not an option. Only the drive thru was open. The food was fine and they gave us a bunch of salsas like I had asked. I noted I really wanted the spicy ones. I did tip $5 with my online order, so not sure if that had anything to do with it. Unfortunately when we got to Tahoe, we realized one of my street tacos was missing. I thought about calling to let them know, but it wasn't like I was in the area to do anything about so I didn't. The food is good for late night mexican. I'd rate it a 3 overall, maybe even 3.5. But I wish their online ordering had a way to tell them we were missing food. I may have tried to resolve it if so. Given the missing food, going down to a 2. REVIEW #3932 read more

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Been missing authentic Southern California Mexican food since we moved to Placerville. We have tried all the local places, while we knew from talking to people here that we shouldn't expect the same quality as back home we still are looking for a place to at least get us by when in need of decent tacos. This was the last place for us to try, didn't expect much as it's fast food...but we sure didn't expect $6.50 for a Lengua taco. You can get 2-3 for that price back home and even in the Placerville area. We were so shocked we grabbed a normal beef taco just to try it. For these prices and the quality you get...no thank you. Taco trucks are much better and much more affordable. $6.50 a taco is highway robbery and is a reflection of this establishment prioritizing high margins over catering to customers with reasonable prices. read more

In Placerville after a long day working and you do not want to eat traditional Fast-Food this is a great option. This location is by the former Hot Dog fast food location. They have a drive through which makes your getting your food quite convenient. Over all the food is good but the reason why I did not give this location more stars is for the following reasons: 1) Inconsistent service. Seven times now my wife and I have ordered our food and the it has been wrong. They will put the wrong items into our order. 2) Inconsistent information. Several times I have ordered the potatoe tacos with Carne Asada and it is done to perfection. Then I will go in and order the same thing and am told that they cannot put Carne Asada into my potatoe Taco even after I communicate with them that they have done it numerous times before. Then they argue with me at the window and one young lady told me and I quote: "That is just the way it is take it or leave it." Not to Hospitable. 3) Employees that are having an out of body expereince. Several times we have had people at the window that window who take our orders and they are simply not enaged with the customer. Overall the food is good but the service is spotty here unlike there location which is by the AM/PM on Forni Road. Overall good food but the service needs to improve. I give a good rating. read more

It's our go to place on those don't want to cook nights! They offer a good selection and something for everyone! The service is awesome, always getting our order correct! The food has always been very tasty, and quite a few salsa choices. read more

Queso birria tacos are tasty and come with good portions definitely one of the highlights.

Best food I ever had... Love this place Will be back for another Thorta Highly recommended read more

El Forastero - Mexican Near Me - Placerville, California

I've enjoyed it and thought it was a good value. But, I haven't stopped in awhile. I do really want to like the whole experience but there have been a few small things. Our main issue: a lot of the time, the place smells like Windex. It's good to be clean, but you cannot have the place smelling like a hospital. This isn't the only place with this issue - Here's looking at you Cameron Park Gyro shop. read more

Food is great. The service is fast but remember they make it to order. And there is not really any ambiance.

Yummy! Best Mexican food in Placerville. Quality food and an amazing salsa bar. The Chorizo with egg, rice & beans plate is my favorite.

As usual I had the carnitas burrito. So huge filled with crispy tasty pork so good. Good fast service too. Dine in and you can get free chips and salsa. read more

El Forastero - Menu - Mexican Near Me - Placerville, California

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I was disappointed. Ordered 2 Super Meat Burritos. They had no tomatoes, onions and salsa it was ok. Missing the Zest! Too Dry.

I give it 3 stars because it is clean and I enjoyed the salsa bar (chips and salsa). However, the food was not good. 1) fish tacos, fish was burnt.... 2) enchiladas- it is filled with shredded white and yellow cheese and lots of lettuce .. 3) fried beans did not have much flavor... Not coming back ‍ read more

This place sucks!!! Ordered a super burrito with shredded beef and got ground beef and rice. Stay away from this place! Disgusting and expensive. It went in the garbage! read more

I really like their food, but twice now they haven't put the meat on my tostadas. Really frustrating when you get home and open a box with just rice and lettuce. read more

I'm a weekly visitor to El Forastero, and I can't get enough of their Carne Asada Fries and Horchata! What sets El Forastero apart is their huge menu and impressive beverage selection - they really go all out! Plus, they're open late, so it's the perfect spot for a midnight snack or a late-night craving. The service is top-notch - the staff is friendly, easy-going, and extremely efficient. They make you feel right at home and always take good care of you. I've been here a million times and have never seen the interior, drive-thru is always just so quick its great when you need to bring food home to the family fast. Overall, El Forastero is a fantastic spot for authentic Mexican food, great drinks, and friendly service. read more

If I could give zero stars I would , they never listen to the customer and the food is always soggy when it's supposed to be crispy , or just plain stale read more

I would not recommend this restaurant. I ordered shrimp tacos and when they came to my home, they were not tacos rather they were tortillas on the bottom. With everything piled on top. It was a mess. read more

Forastero is a good choice definitely given the lack of Mexican food in the area. The pricing is outrageous I must say. For how many people come here I don't feel the pricing is an equal representation of the food that is being delivered. I will say sometimes it is a hit or miss with flavor but at-least there is a quick food option. read more

This is an easy place to stop on your way through Placerville. Decent food and a good price. Definitely try the birria tacos, I thought they were great. Watch out for that red pico salsa, it's pretty spicy. I like that you could grab your chips and salsa while you wait for the food. The meat on the soft tacos could use a bit more flavor. read more

El Forastero - Menu options on the wall - Mexican Near Me - Placerville, California

Best quick Mexican food stop in town. I've never experienced a long wait and service has always been friendly. A little pricey but trust me they give you a BUNCH of food so it's worth it. Gotta love the hole in the wall drive thru, very ambient. read more

We stopped in here returning from Tahoe. I had the carne asada burrito. It's was great! Large, tasty and lots of beef! We will stop in here again read more

Just opened today, previously Der Weinerschel, but way better! Open 24 Hours! Drive Thru! Try the Chicken Enchiladas They take ATM too read more

El Forastero - Drive thru at El Forastero Mexican Food - Mexican Near Me - Placerville, California

Second try and a bit better tasting this time but still not great. Had the chili verde burrito and it was supposed to have rice in there but I didn't detect any. Just a lot of thick refried beans a some meat. The meat was tough so 3 strikes on that one. $11. The $13 shrimp burrito was much better than last time so that was good but lack of consistency will not bring me back. read more

Even though the Forni location is not far from us, this location is closer and I see us coming him more often. Same grub as at Forni. Open until midnight currently but normally will open 24 hours. Kiddo loves his carne asada fries. We enjoy the pasole and the street tacos/ regular tacos. I like their chimichangas with pork. Love their pickled veggies and salsa. Trying their flan with ice cream. Super friendly service. read more

for the hefty price of $30.xx, we got a chile verde super burrito, two lengua tacos and a bottle of soda. the tacos were extremelynlight on the meat. i would estimate about 1 ounce each. the Chile berde burrito was so heavy but upon eating it, it was 95% rice and beans. I only ate about half because on top of having ALMOST NO MEAT in it, it wasn't that good. fast forward one week. we thought it was just a bad day, so we tried it again. same two lengua tacos, and a carne asada burrito this time, along with a fountain soda. $4 for a medium fountain soda?! anyways another $30.xx lighter in the wallet, and it was worse this time. very light on the meat on the tacos and again, almost no meat in the burrito. $60 spent here in a week and I am not exaggerating, received 5 lbs of tortilla, rice and beans, and probably 6 ounces of meat. I gave it another shot, but never again. they're stealing from you, don't patronize this place. go to VALENZ in Cameron park, or Santa Maria on pville Dr. they will feed you with more than just cheap filler. read more

Their carne asada is different from the other Placerville location. Not as flavorful and the texture feels like they've used a meat tenderizer on it. The carnitas is not as good either. I like the other location much better but it's in a GAS STATION! Kind of tacky. This Location on Broadway has a nicer ambiance. read more

Burnt fish tacos-- served me these thru the drive thru window so it's not like I'll send them back right?? Just wrong in so many ways. Fish taco combo, chicken taco combo, one shrimp tostada for $30 bucks isn't cheap. Lost my business. read more

El Forastero - Burnt fish taco combo. - Mexican Near Me - Placerville, California

We Have been regular customers for many years. Great tasty food, service was friendly and welcoming . NOT today the cashier was VERY unprofessional VERY rude . The cashier approached me and said " you can't take more than 2 salsa for 3 tacos , and ONLY one bag of chips if you want more I will have to charge you $4.50" . If that is the policy you should have a sign on the salsa bar indicated such policy. also I have been to this location many, many, many times usually we do the drive thru. This was the first time I have been treated so very ruddily terribly unpleasant. I WILL NEVER COME HERE AGAIN. THE WORST CASHIER EVER. read more

Went today before the Christmas parade. Spent over $50 in food and my daughters chicken quesadilla had 2 hairs clearly cooked in the quesadilla. When I returned it to the counter and asked to get a chicken taco Instead the girl at the counter tried to say it was my hair in the food and had an attitude when I asked for the change from the price difference of the 2 items. She said the hair had blonde on it and no one that works there has blonde hair. She was very rude and had terrible customer service. read more

Food is good most of the time Service is not too long Not open 24 hours which is misleading read more

Great service and amazing food! Right off the freeway and well kept establishment!!! read more

Good Quick Mexican Food! Decided to do a quick stop here on our way to Tahoe. Super fast and friendly service! We had asada burritos and they were very tasty! Quality of ingredients was great! Definitely a superior alternative to a stop at a fast food joint. read more

If you eat here be careful. I've found a piece of metal inside my grandson's burrito. When I came back to show them, they apologized about it. But I would still be careful when choosing this El Forastero. read more

I watched an employee leave the restroom and proceeded to zip up and buckle his pants . I know he didn't wash his hands if his pants weren't on all the way before leaving the restroom. Disgusting disregard for hygiene and customers read more

I was treated like a homeless person because my father was in the drive thru and I went inside to get salsa from the salsa bar because they never give you what you ask for. The lady behind the counter told me to leave even after her I explained I ordered food and I am a regular customer. She again asked me to leave and her manager just smirked at me with a real condescending look. I have worked in the restaurant industry for 22 years and have never treated a customer the way I was treated. Don't go to this location! The one on Forni road has much better staff! read more

Looking for quick tacos and the Taco Bell line was out of the driveway so we came here. I gotta say it was great to order food and hear them fire up the grill and hear meat sizzling. It is definitely fresher and way less fast foody as the Bell. They were pricey. We got 6 tacos and a fruit cup for 34. . I got a burria taco but it wasn't what I have gotten before. My husband got 3 crunchy beef tacos. They looked exactly like TB but they were $4.85ish per taco. Waayyy too much if you ask me. I got two street tacos but they didn't have much flavor. I couldn't taste the cilantro and lime and the lime they served with it had no juice when you squeezed it. I also got a burria taco but I have never seen it done this way. I have always had a greasy but super crunchy shell and usually there is a sauce to dip it in. This came with a soft wet shell. It looked like they dipped the shells in sauce/juices on the grill but then just filled it. It was not a hard crunchy shell at all. I also thought it was weird that they serve it on TOP of lettuce. Ummm shouldn't that be inside so I can eat it? The fruit cup was sad. I get one weekly here in the bay area and the fruit is fresh and firm and soo tasty. The fruit here bent when you touched it. Watermelon broke up when you tried to grab it. Flavor was good but I buy these for a cold, wet, and healthy addition to my meals but this one ended up in the trash. Overall for what we ate, it wasn't a good value and not fantastic food or flavor BUT I would give them another try if I am in the area. read more

Quick drive thru service and an excellent take-out meal. We got the ground beef and the Chile Verdi. Both were excellent.