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    El Prieto

    3.8 (33 reviews)
    Open 10:00 am - 9:00 pm
    Updated 3 months ago

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    Specials Menu: 3pm-Cl
    Jennifer V.

    This place was super close to my job site, hence I was on foot. There is street parking and a few parking garages nearby. I ordered the adobada and carne asada tacos. There were many hot sauce and salsa options, I mean they had all the hot sauce bottles displayed on top of the salsa/condiment selections. The service from the staff was wonderful, no complaints. There were a handful of customers during peak lunch hour so I waited a bit for my order. Stool seating and outdoor seating were available.

    Suite front
    Emmett T.

    El Prieto has opened in a suite diagonally across from Petco Park in the East Village section of downtown. There has been a revolving carousel of businesses at this corner which may reflect the challenging situation when baseball is in its off-season. The inside space was shared with a seafood taco vendor (Mariscos Beto) under the same ownership that closes two hours earlier. You ordered with the cashier at the service counter to the right of the entrance. They gave you a numbered pager that buzzed when your order was ready. The menu listed the standard items you would expect from a taqueria. The unusual aspect was that they used the English names for the cuts of meat instead of the Spanish terms (e.g. marinated pork vs. adobada or al pastor). The exceptions were birria and suadero which could have been labeled as stewed beef and beef shank, respectively. The tacos were priced at either $3.99 or $4.29 each. Since my visit fell on a Taco Tuesday, a special of two for one marinated pork tacos was in effect. I chose that along with a grilled beef taco and a beef tongue taco. A window gave a clear view to the kitchen preparation area where you could see the marinated pork cooking on a spit. On the far side were containers of different agua frescas. I purchased a small cup of the jamaica flavor to go with my meal. A self-service salsa bar was across from where the agua frescas were set out. The number and variety of hot sauce bottles placed on the shelf above the bar were impressive. As for my food, the best taco was the beef tongue. It had good moisture and a mild flavor. The marinated pork was salty while the marinated beef was ordinary. The two beef cuts were dressed Sinaloan style which had shredded greens and salsa. The pork tacos contained the typical cilantro, onions, and guacamole. The agua fresca was refreshing and necessary to help rinse the saltiness of the pork from my palate. My dining experience at El Prieto was worthy of 3.5 stars.

    Laura M.

    El Prieto gives great customer service & my fish tacos were promptly delivered. The tacos were moist & crunchy. El Prieto serves tacos, burritos, vampires, and quesadillas. ONLY wish they served menudo!

    Menu 9/25
    Jack M.

    El Prieto makes some pretty good tacos. I had two Sinaloa style tacos which came with simply with seasoned carne asada, shredded cabage, and salsa. Sometimes you can get these with freshly sliced avocado. The tacos were $3.99 plus tax each. The tacos were good and the meat was tender. It was lightly seasoned. A little more salt would of been nice. I just added some myself. The hoot sauce that came on each taco was simple but very tasty. It packed a mild heat. These style of tacos are simple but they generally have more meat in them, like they did here. The two gents working here when I came in were friendly and have good humor. They offer a nice salsa bar, and cevicheria that opens up at 11 am, and a good amount of inside seating. They also offer tortas, burritos, quesadillas, birria, and aguas.

    Carne asada y al pastor quesadilla
    KayAnna S.

    Honestly giving 5 stars alone for the amount of guac on my tacos. I couldn't have been happier as their guac was fresh. For $3.99/taco this slapped. I ordered the carne asada and pollo tacos. The asada was a bit dry but again still great because of how much guac. The pollo was super juicy. Definitely needed double layers of tortillas since these were filled to the brim. My husband had the carne asada/al pastor quesadilla and loved it too. I was lucky enough to have a few bites and I quickly understood why he devoured it. The flavor of the al pastor was just perfection. He was jealous of the amount of guac I got but still would choose his quesadilla over my tacos. To each their own. Honestly I love how this location is right outside Petco Park as it's a great stop for a quick lunch/dinner before or after games/concerts.

    Carne Asada Burrito
    Alexander C.

    Brand new taco shop in East Village, sandwiched between Swagyu and the upcoming Bobby's Pizza is Tacos El Prieto. Also note, there's a Mexican seafood menu under the name Mariscos Beto in the same space. Once inside menus and ordering are directly to your right. After your order is placed they'll hand you a buzzer to alert you to come pick it up. Meanwhile, help yourself to their salsa bar while you wait. Inside is pretty much standing room only however there is outside seating if you prefer to sit while you eat. I got mine to go. Food wise, it's pretty good. I got a Suadero taco and a Cabeza taco. Each had ample fillings and were kind of heavy given their compact size. Both were tasty with juicy meats that drip down your arm and onto your shirt, be warned. I also tried a Carne Asada Burrito, again crazy juicy, maybe even a little greasy. Steak had a nice char with slightly crisp edges and lots of guacamole that helped to keep the meat from falling out. Overall a solid taco shop and of course a welcome addition to the neighborhood. Looking forward to trying out some of their more interesting offerings, looking at you Chorreadas!

    Menu
    Stephanie B.

    New taco spot that took over the former El Puerto spot, across from Petco Park. You order at the counter. There is bar type seating inside and tables outside. They have a little salsa bar inside as well. There is also a seafood menu, but apparently they operate separately and that side was closed at 6pm on a Saturday night...not sure what their hours are. Food came out fairly quickly. We ordered the Carne Asada, Al Pastor and queso taco with suadero. TJ style tacos come with guac, onions and cilantro. The cashier told us they also come with salsa on them, but they did not. Tacks themselves were decent. I liked the Al pastor the best from what I tried. Carne asada was a bit greasy. Suadero was not what I was expecting from the cashier's description, but it was ok. I liked the melted cheese on the queso taco.

    Shrimp Ceviche
    Honest Review S.

    Buy one get one free shrimp ceviche. Can't beat it. 2 large orders for $18. Made fresh, tastes so good, great portions. Friendly service too. Love the daily deals!!

    Brittany D.

    The food was okay it lacked flavor to me. I ordered the Carne Asada fries, but I haven't tried anything else. The service was good and the restaurant was nice and clean, but I don't know if I'd go out of my way to go back.

    Carne Asada Fries
    Gina S.

    Popped in before the Padres game, since there was no line to order. From the outside, doesn't look like much, however the food is delicious and the staff were nice. Huge salsa bar with lots of extras. Look for their daily specials, tonight was 2 for 1 quesadillas.

    Cabeza 5.5/10
    Nick S.

    This place was just okay for me. The carne asada was kinda dry, the cabeza had good flavor but was a little cold, and the lengua was pretty solid. I feel like when there's a game in town and things are busier, the food probably comes out fresher. Service was good though, and there's plenty of seating.

    Alessandro P.

    Birria was pretty good. I like mine a little more salty. The tortillas were a bit tattered. But I would go back for the quality.

    Ceviche was so fresh and so delicious. Ordering was easy and service was fast. Great customer service and the salsa bar chefs kiss had a big variety of different salas. Love it will be coming back here regularly

    Carne Asada Burrito

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    4 months ago

    Carne asada fries and birria were flavorless. East Village desperately needs a legit Mexican spot because this ain't it.

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    3 months ago

    Al pastor burrito was not super impressive. Meat texture was overly wet and macerated and taste was just alright.

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    7 months ago

    Great surf and turf burrito and large selection of salsas to choose from. Nice people too, I would recommend for sure.

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    10 months ago

    Quesadillas Al pastor was so good especially before a padres game. I'd get a Mexican drink to go along with it too

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    10 months ago

    The cabeza was fire and carne asada hit hard too I'm definitely going to go back when I go back to one of the padres game

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    Taqueria Los Chuchys - Taco Carne Asada

    Taqueria Los Chuchys

    4.3(632 reviews)
    0.4 miGaslamp
    $$

    Been here multiple times, but came in honor of Cinco de Mayo and love that it actually landed on a…read moretaco Tuesday ! They had the buy 2 get 1 free deal which pushed me to try new meats since I always stick to adobada. ADOBADA HANDS DOWN FIREEE! I love me a good al pastor taco and they make it just right. Super flavorful, juicy and packed w/ meat. I'm always hesitant to try asada because I haven't found a good spot here in SD, but this one was bomb! The meat had great flavor, a smokey taste and was loaded with guac. I'd order one again. The lengua was perfect too, super tender and fell apart just right. They don't skimp on the meats either. Most of the salsas were tasty and had great flavor and the habanero had the perfect kick ! I heard of this spot because my friend had them cater her baby shower and I had to come try the actual spot. Def brought the same energy. Inside is nice and has a good vibe, love all the decor. Service was super sweet! Horchata was bomb too, not to sweet and they said it's homemade! Parking.. good luck, but def worth trying. 10000/10

    Little taco spot that I decided to try, and it a no frills type of place. I decided to get a…read moreburrito instead of the tacos. The ordering process was simple enough, quick and friendly service. However I took mine to go, and it was a mess. It was literally dripping oil from the burrito and made such a mess that I didn't even want to eat the 2nd half after eating the first. To be honest it wasn't very tasty either. I didn't even take a pic of the burrito because I was so focused on it not ruining the counter space in the hotel. It served it's purpose of fueling me, but definitely wouldn't recommend it or go back.

    Photos
    Taqueria Los Chuchys - Standard salsas

    Standard salsas

    Taqueria Los Chuchys - El Al Pastor Fries

    El Al Pastor Fries

    Taqueria Los Chuchys - Front

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    Front

    Chula Tacos - Asada vampiro

    Chula Tacos

    3.9(258 reviews)
    9.3 miNestor
    $$

    Some of the best tacos in San Diego! I loved everything about it. The tortillas are so yummy! The…read moremeat is perfect! I absolutely love the avocado and the different types of tacos they have. It was way more food than I expected! I expected to be small little tacos but they were actually big and delicious! The agua de Jamaica was so delicious and refreshing. Service was welcoming and fast! They have a parking lot. Definitely coming back!!!

    "Adobada looks very disappointing"…read more People on TikTok have been really hyping this spot up lately, so I went in expecting it to be one of those "best in San Diego" type places, but honestly that's exactly why you can't always trust food influencers who base everything off one bite and a good angle. First thing I noticed was the parking situation is rough there's basically none, and you can't even risk street parking because it's marked red, so right away it already starts off inconvenient. When we got there, the tables weren't clean, which kind of kills the vibe before you even order, but I will say the carne asada mulita actually surprised me in a good way, it was solid, flavorful, and probably the best thing we tried. They also have a bigger version called the keka that I didn't get, but I could see that being more filling if the mulita is any indication. Customer service was decent, nothing special but not bad either, just kind of there doing their job. Overall though, even with a good item on the menu, it's not enough for me to say this place lives up to the hype TikTok is pushing. In my opinion, in San Diego it's still hard to beat Tacos El Gordo, and I've seen people online try to downplay it saying places like Chula Taco are better, and I just don't think that's accurate from a real first-hand experience standpoint. At the end of the day, TikTok food reviews can be entertaining, but a lot of times it feels like people are just chasing views instead of consistency or credibility, and you really have to try places yourself before believing the hype.The adobada was a negative 5 stars just look at it adobada is not supposed to look like :( #Tacos #SanDiegoFood #TacoReview #FoodReview #StreetTacos #CarneAsada #TacoLovers #FoodTok #EatLocal #TacoLife

    Photos
    Chula Tacos - Al pastor

    Al pastor

    Chula Tacos - Keka (carne)

    Keka (carne)

    Chula Tacos - Outdoor seating

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    Outdoor seating

    El Prieto - tacos - Updated May 2026

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