El Pirrin is a very homey place, located right off the intersection of San Antonio and Oakland in the Eastside and Alum Rock neighborhoods. If you're looking for cheap tacos, caldos, and more, this might just be the place for you :) In the holiday season, you know the one home-cooked soup that is made for most holiday celebrations -- and it's gotta be pozole. A little regret of mine is that I had gotten the pozole as takeout -- which, to be fair, made the plastic a little too hot, and my utensils a little too oily. The service was fairly quick and straightforward. They did give a little bit of attitude, though -- but only because I ordered straight in Spanish and they kinda took it to offense. They do have indoor dining and outdoor dining -- and wait times depend on when you go. I went early in the afternoon after lunch rush hour, which would have been the perfect time. read more

El Pirrin - Their pozole is pretty good :) - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

Came here for the Menudo and left very satisfied! Definitely get the hominy added to it too! Flavorful yet light broth. Mild in flavor, but lots of tripe! Super hearty and my boyfriend & I easily shared this. They also offer their housemade chili oil to compliment it :) They have indoor and outdoor dining. The tables and chairs were a little sticky, but overall a home-like cozy restaurant. The staff are really kind too! read more

El Pirrin - Menudo with Hominy - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

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This place is a little neighborhood gem! My mom told me this is where my grandma tried menudo for the first time when she came from the Philipines and the only way she could get it back in the day was by bringing her own pot. It's a great place for brunch with plenty of patio seating. The inside of the house is converted into a dining area with about 5 tables, perfect for cozy dining on a cold day. This is my go to place when I'm craving pozole. It's flavorful with tender pieces of meat, and I always have lots of leftovers to take home. Order a michelada and you're all set for a perfect meal. The senoras here are sweet and helpful, they're always busy, but quick to assist. Plan on spending some time here, it's not a place for a quick meal, it offers homemade dishes and good things take time :) read more

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Top tier tacos with complimentary chip and salsa. Tacos are a bit pricey but are loaded with meat. The meat was flavorful and cooked with love! The chicharrones and carnitas are crispy, just how I like it. I always feel welcome entering the restaurant. The indoor and outdoor seating are kept clean. read more

El Pirrin - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

Stopped in for lunch for a quick bite to eat. Walked in and was greeted by the lady serving tables, she said we could sit at any table we wanted. Decided to get a table inside as it was a bit chilly outside. Chose a table and chips and salsa was brought out. Love the thick chips they serve, however, the salsa was lacking that kick of heat. Salsa was a bit bland and not spicy. Ordered the flouta lunch special which is a smaller portion and $5.00 less than the full plate. Floutas were served with beans and rice and 2 floutas. Beans, rice, and foutas were on the bland side so added some salt. Food and service was just ok. read more

Service was prompt and friendly. Food tasted good! Outside seating was nice, with moderately loud music. Not pictured, but I specifically came here because I was seeking good mole, the mole flavor was great! it was rich and creamy with cacao. The pork ribs dish is apparently hard to find, it was great! Veracruz food is tasty! read more

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You can always count on this family owned restaurant for consistency, flavorful meals. They are always busy so prepare yourself for a 15 minute wait of they are busy. Not matter what you order you will never be disappointed. Staff is always welcoming and pleasant too. read more

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Service is always excellent here and the staff is very friendly & fast! On beautiful days like today, we ate outside under the canvas overhead!! We love being able to choose inside (when it's cold) or outside!! We LOVE the food. They served warm chips and fresh salsa. When our food was served, we truly savored every single bite!!¡Que Sabroso¡ Que Rico!! read more

This review is LONG overdue- literally one of the best (if not, THE BEST) pozole in San Jose! The next best would be in Mercado Libertad in Guadalajara, MX and then of course, my mother-in-law's. Only served on Saturdays and Sundays, I've been going *almost* weekly. The perfect ratio of hominy, pork, and soup base. Like me, you can ask for the chile and extra lemon but even without is still pretty flavorful. Definitely a MUST to order! read more

El Pirrin - Pozole and Morisqueta - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

Great spot for a patio brunch. First time trying this spot and I will definitely be back. My husband and I dined on their shaded patio for a Saturday brunch. We were able to get a table right away and the service was on it, friendly staff and the food came out quick. I ordered the machaca con huevos and my husband ordered the chile verde, which came with a side salad, both came with tortillas. The meat in the scramble was flavorful and resembled a shredded brisket. He loved the chile verde, claiming it wasn't salty unlike others hes had in the past elsewhere and the meat was very soft. This place from the outside looks like a small house but there is a parking lot at the back and additional spots on the street. The restaurant is clean and looks well taken care of. On the patio there is a handwashing station for guests. Overall I enjoyed this place and was impressed with how much food you got for the price. I had leftovers to take home. read more

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My friends and I always come for the menudo and pozole. Always hot bowls and delicious. They give you salsa and chips and they're so good that we need to ask for more before our food even gets here. Haha Son Los mejores! read more

El Pirrin - Inside - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

Hidden gem, I usually don't write about a place on 1st visit. This place is a destination place for sure because it's not near anything. Overall everything I ate was very good ! Beans and rice are what I look for in overall quality. Refried beans were up there and the rice was fluffy and tasty. I could have had just a bean burrito and been happy. The chili relleno and enchilada were tasty. Service was great and the place was clean. read more

All right. I've lived in San Jose for decades. I've had tons of Mexican food - burritos specifically. Many many burritos are good (Eduardo's, Super Taq, etc) and I had one of their burritos at random honestly. It is the most delicious burrito I've ever had in my life. I got the carnitas burrito. The meat is just a tiny bit crispy (my favorite) and just had a flavor I've never had before. The place is delicious. Super nice. Always busy. We have returned several times. Always the best. read more

I've been here a couple of times and the food is always delicious, one exception when I ordered huevos rancheros, eggs were overcooked. However the fried fish, chili Verde, Caldo de Pollo were all on point (very delicious) read more

I had a major craving for pozole this morning and my friend recommended this place and let me tell you I was not disappointed. Took our order right away very nice and friendly staff. Parking is scarce there's not a lot of it. the restaurant has a large outside dining area and like 6 tables inside. the pozole had lots of flavor with all the topping you will ever need I put the chili oil stuff on top soooo good but be careful if you don't like spicy it definitely has a kick to it. Overall I now know my go to place for pozole! read more

El Pirrin - Pozole and Menudo - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

This place always hits the spot from their burritos to their plates. Everything is really good. Service is always good doesn't take long to get your food once you've ordered with the waiter. Inside is nice and they have a pretty nice outdoor patio as well. read more

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There is excessive oil in their food! I thought I was ordering something on the "healthy" side by ordering nopales con huevo. I guess not. There was oil separating from the beans and the nopales con huevo were swimming in a puddle of oil as well. Your food had always tasted great. There is no need for excess use of such a harmful ingredient! Never again, El Pirrin. read more

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IMHO they have the best chef(s) in this area, and their burritos are fabulous. Have eaten here for over 20 years, both in house and take- out. Staff are efficient, warm, and friendly always. Summers are great with outdoor seating, winters idk 'cause I'm not a winter outside eating person. They do have 'patio heaters' but have yet to try them. Shout-out to Consuelo. read more

The ambiance is really great, your typical Mexican restaurant, with bright colors and lots of people. The food is amazing, authentic taste. I had the Chile verde and I must say it's one of the best I have had. The portions are big, enough for two with one plate. Service is quick and great, sometimes there is wait but totally worth it. read more

El Pirrin - Mojo de Ajo and tostadas de Cameron - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

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Ever since I've discovered the chicharron tacos here, life has been great :) Definitely a must try when visiting El Pirrin. They give so much meat packed in tacos, crunchy chicharron. Their al pastor tacos is also one of my fav packed with lots of flavors and juicy. To go order comes with chips and salsa. They have a small parking lot on the side of the restaurant. If you pay with cash, you can save the service fee. read more

My family has been coming to El Pirrin for decades. The food never disappoints, great service, and most importantly, the portions are the best. The foods anyways fresh and such a clean restaurant! I highly recommend this place and it won't disappoint! read more

Certainly one of the best Mexican restaurants in San Jose. Indoor and covered outdoor seating and feels like you are in Cabo. All of the staff were pleasant and efficient. Food was prepared and served quickly. Refried beans are the best. Menu has anything you would want to order. It is my favorite in San Jose that I have tried so far. read more

I come here just for the chilaquiles for me they're delicious but for my experience everything I have order is good the service is nice and they have great ambiance too. read more

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The food is very good and it was my go to spot until this last time. Everytime I order on doordash or to go it is inconsistent. Sometimes I get all the sides with my meal (tortillas, salsa, chips, salad) and sometimes I don't. Theres been multiple times I've ordered the soup and they won't pack anything but the soup. Dine in is a completely different experience. I wish this place was consistent. read more

Located at the corner corner so you have to pay attention OR you'll pass right by it. The color of the building is why you won't miss it. ORANGE fr fr, really really small inside of the restaurant but, they have an outside area (tent) w/heaters for the cold. Waitress is friendly with the Hi (Spanish) until she realized we were not Mexican, she tried her best to habla ingles & Great Job & kept the same smile, while taking our order. All the dishes have there own flavors & are yummay, their also not greedy on plating, so that's a plus plus, will be back to try the other different items they have on the menu. read more

Really Good Authentic Mexican food at reasonable prices. Indoor or outdoor seating and take out as well. Friendly staff and good food, what else can we ask for? read more

Caldo de rez is good and el agua de Jamaica was perfect I orderd to go and left in 15 min pretty fast .

Delicious authentic mexican food! Great service as well. Had the enchiladas and asada tacos both were very good.

The food was amazing, and on top of that, the waitress Rosie was so sweet. We got caldo de res, menudo, tacos de birria. And all of the food was 10/10 read more

Came by on a Saturday afternoon as I wanted caldo (soup). I got the menudo with grano and my partner got pozole, both very good. So good in fact that I got a menudo and a caldo de res (beef soup) to take home for the next day. Tasted great the following day too. Didn't try any of the other food but I'll definitely be back for the soups and will most likely try other food items then. Waitress was attentive and nice. Small seating area inside but during the day you can eat outside which is nice. Even on a hot day, I'll be going here for some caldo! read more

No flavor, ceviche over marinated, extremely sour cuz too much of lemon juice, the Pico de gallo not marinated, ugly dish. Camarón a la Diabla, no flavor either. read more

Really like this place, a bit small but hope they expand . I've been coming here a bit the food was great and service was ok.

Nice little mom & pop restaurant in the heart of E San Jose. It was a house, converted into a restaurant, right on the corner on San Antonio Street (near Guadalupe church) they have great patio seating too. You can get a bucket of beers (5) for your table. Food was good. I got the flautas de Carne and came topped with guac. This was a la carte. Also got the cold nopales. They had a nice kick as diced jalapeños were in the salad too. Staff was friendly, which is always a plus! The only downer is that the parking lot is small. 8 recommended getting there early. Also, side note is that a lot of the neighborhood residents double park in the street. read more

Chiles Rellenos were bomb! I love that you get a salad with your meal, so healthy! This place is a must if you are in San Jose.

Came from out of town, looked it up online and I'm so glad we did!! Inside is pretty small but they have a decent amount of seating outdoors as well. The service was great, I think this place is fully ran by woman because I did not see one man working in there, even the cook was a woman. We came here twice and each time we had something different. My friend said the menudo was bomb, I had the huevos rancheros and my husband had the chilaquiles and the machaca and I tried all three and everything was just amazingly delicious. I highly HIGHLY recommend this place. Don't get put off by this little hole in the wall, it's a must try read more

El Pirrin - Huevos Rancheros - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

Yum! I've found a new Mexican food go-to :) I was searching for a place with breakfast plates and burritos for a reasonable price. Somewhere more authentic in flavor and less TexMex like. Glad I found El Pirrin! The restaurant has plenty of outside seating, as well as a few tables indoors as well. The day I went, I opted to get takeout. Order at the counter inside. You can ask for a menu in case you're not sure what you want. They have a lot to choose from. There's seafood platters, desayuna plates, tacos, burritos, and more. Burrito with Lengua || $10.50 Delicious and large sized. Comes with your choice of meat, rice, beans, onions, cilantro, and salsa. I asked for my salsa to be on the side since it's a bit spicy. Compared to burritos I've gotten from other restaurants, the lengua burrito here is delicious! They don't play you with a tortilla stuffed with mostly rice and beans. Nope. Here they actually make burritos as they should be - with plentiful meat and just a touch of rice and beans to accompany the mix. I was happy to find the lengua tender and well seasoned as well. I would definitely get this burrito again! Would I come back? Yessiree! read more

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The parking here is ridiculous! We parked couple blocks away, the parking lot is soo small and theres no street parking being thats in a busy residential area. Place was really busy when we came, but we got lucky and got a table fast. The waitress was really nice, being that it was so busy took awhile to get our drinks and food. Even sat for awhile waiting for boxes and our bill. The food was pretty good. My husband ordered chicken taco plate and the chicken was really juicy. I ordered huevos rancheros and a carne asada taco, the taco was juicy and delicious. The huevos rancheros was ok, nuthin special about it, I didn't care too much for the sauce that was on it felt like it was missing something. I really liked their fresh juice I ordered hugo guyava and It was really good. read more

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I've ordered menudo every Sunday for over a year, but I am prompted to write this review. The last few times I've ordered the menudo, the tripe has been Very chewy. Not like before when it was tender and easy to breakdown with my teeth . Maybe they are using a different vendor, but when I prepare this for my 86 year old father,(DoorDash), I have to cut it in super small pieces so he doesn't try to swallow it after trying to chew it over and over again . I usually ordered this every Sunday so this has been an ongoing thing for the past two years only recently it started changing the texture and all the way I ordered it again today. It is still the same way. I just cut it in small pieces, hopefully you can get the same vendor as before. I ordered the posole today. It has pork meat in there for my sister who is visiting. She says that the pork is also tough and not tender as she has previously eaten at other establishments. Not sure where to go from here I've tried multiple places for Menudo, and this was the best one only until recently. I would say the past two or three months that the tripe has been affected negatively. Hope this review helps in changing your source of tripe vendors . Otherwise your food has been delicious. read more

El Pirrin - Pork pozole with cabbage - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

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This place has been around for as long as I can remember. I finally tried it out for takeout when restaurants opened back up while COVID was at its peak. It was really good! So this time around I was able to go in person...this was my experience. 1. Food is delicious! Myself and my mom had menudo. The color is how I find it ideal; that nice light orange. The menudo was tender. I do prefer mine with a little more hominy. My serving was pretty big AND hot (which I love). My pops got the pozole, he said it was delicious. 2. The inside is small, however there is outside seating. If it's late and chilly outside; there are heaters 3. Parking is rough! Keep that in mind. On my visit, we got lucky and found parking and were able to seat inside so it worked out well! I highly consider this place. The menu has an option for everyone. Prices were reasonable considering the portion. read more

Ahhhhhh!!!!! Talk about REAL AUTHENTIC MEXICAN FOOD!!!! They have an outdoor patio that is really clean and well kept, they have a sink outside for hand washing. It is located in a residential neighborhood so I couldn't get back there for the longest time...until I ran back into it by accident and I'm so glad I did. They have "Morisqueta" at this restaurant!!!!! Which is white rice under refried pinto beans, topped with pork in red sauce... this is a dish native to Michoacan and it is absolutely deeeeeelish! I wish it came with the cheese but it's good either way. You can't go wrong here if u like real authentic Mexican food :) read more