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    El Ranchero

    3.2 (115 reviews)
    InexpensiveFood Trucks, Tacos
    Closed 10:30 am - 11:30 pm

    El Ranchero Photos

    EL RANCHERO ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Outdoor seating
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - El Ranchero

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    Sad burrito
    Jose F.

    My brother & i went there for lunch. My brother ordered a deluxe breakfast burrito and was charged for one. He ended up getting a regular burrito and not the deluxe. When we went back to ask for the right burrito the cook was visibly mad. She gave an attitude to us and the he own cashier. We heard the cashier tell the cook that she told her it was a deluxe burrito and you could tell she was mad. We were able to get the replacement after waiting around 20 minutes. Also they claim to have potatoes yet they are only fries and their sausage is actually some nasty hot dogs. Over all bad experience

    Hyebin H.

    Not salty fresh yammy and I liked corn shells. I cannot forget that flavor with beef steaks

    QuesaTacos carne asada
    Vivian R.

    First time ordering from them. Tacos were pretty good. They are kinda pricey but they have big servings so I feel like it evens out. All and all a good taco spot! Definitely going back!

    Increased prices.
    Gena B.

    Very disappointing Birria taco. Over priced, incorrect order. Missing food. We really enjoyed this truck for a while. But these last few visits have been a total miss. Save your money. $3.40 for a taco too small for a toddler. $6.25 for a Mulita that made incorrectly... same with the Asado taco. A missing adobada. I asked 3x to please make sure the mulita only had guac. $76 and everyone is still hungry.

    Carne Asada, Al Pastor, and Beef Birria Tacos!
    Jack M.

    I ordered a trio of street tacos from this food truck. I had the a "al pastor" which was incorrectly labeled as "adobada", a carne asada taco, and a beef birria taco. All three tacos were quite good, but my favorite was the beef birria taco with guacamole. The beef was flavorful and had a good amount of juice in it. It was bliss with guacamole which you have you have to ask for apparently. The Al Pastor was tasty but the meat was a little tough given it was not sliced and chopped across the grain. They use a more traditional light green creamy avocado sauce on this taco and it was good. The carne asada taco was good too. The meat was well seasoned and had slight smoky flavor. They put a good amount of meat in the taco too. They guy at the window and the gents on the griddle had good senses of humor. The tacos were $1.90 each.

    Carne asada fries.
    Ed M.

    Roughly $2 street tacos and carne asada fries sold here for the high $8 range. Food over all is good. Park anywhere in the lot here where the food truck is located. They have more to the menu here but the food I mentioned is what I ordered.

    Tried the Adobodada Fries & they were good but the Carne Asada fries are way better. Tacos De Cabeza are good as well.

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    8 months ago

    Helpful 9
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    1 year ago

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    2 years ago

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    8 months ago

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Delicious hidden spot for tacos (and birrias). Little pricey for the size (like everything nowadays) but they're an authentic flavorbomb.

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    2 years ago

    Assholes! Fake hours. Not open til midnight. A disgrace. Minus stars if possible. Move on....

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    3 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    6 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    6 years ago

    Helpful 1
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    11 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Good birria tacos but so much competition in the area may need to reevaluate and bump to a 4. It's been a while since I've been there.

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    3 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Waiting almost 20 minutes just for 2 tacos! Was hoping for better service, very disappointed customer.

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    4 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    6 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    Page 1 of 3

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    De Cabeza el único

    De Cabeza el único

    4.7(1k reviews)
    2.6 mi
    $$

    Parking 3/5 -parking lot in front of the restaurant has…read moreabout 20 spots that are shared with other shops in the plaza so you most likely have to park across the street in the residential area during busy hours Service 4/5 -server is friendly and accommodating however feels understaffed during busy times, the owner is always present and very helpful and enthusiastic/passionate with customers, honestly great service! Just be more patient and mindful that they're doing the best they can Food 5/5 -mixed(surtido) and cheek(cachete) tacos, meat is TENDER. I honestly can't taste the difference between the two, I just knew I wanted to keep eating them(even after eating 3). Sturdy tortillas so the tacos weren't falling apart as I was eating, I also really liked that each table had two squeeze bottles of salsa, so convenient -orden/order, if you come here, you have to order this soup with the head meat. It's the essence that sums up the restaurant, it's a little peppery with the sweetness from the diced onions and meaty goodness. It comes with about 4 tortillas and there's a lot of meat in the soup to be made into more tacos Ambiance 5/5 -restaurant was full of people eating food happily(obviously the food was delicious) and there was a guy that sang for donations and vendors that came through selling trinkets, just a mixing pot of life and happy place to eat

    Pretty good asada. pastor decent…read more cabeza is not my preference but it was okay here. not too stinky. flavor in chilaquiles was cool. not best.

    Photos
    De Cabeza el único
    De Cabeza el único - Taco de cochinita pibil  Taco de cabeza

    Taco de cochinita pibil Taco de cabeza

    De Cabeza el único - Michelada

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    Michelada

    El Viejon Seafood - El Viejon Taco, our favorite. There's sooo much stuff in it, be prepared to get messy. Worth it though!

    El Viejon Seafood

    4.1(122 reviews)
    4.4 mi
    $$

    You have to try this place!…read more It's one of my family's favorite seafood spots. I've had the pulpo tostada and taco multiple times and they're always amazing, super fresh and never overcooked. I usually get the macho sauce on the side so I can spice it up to my level lol. My family has also tried the tuna tostada, micheladas, chilaquiles, and even Dino nuggets for the kids, everything has been consistently great every time we go. The service is always on point, the ambiance is nice, and it's in a great central location. We usually stop by Wood Market afterward to grab a few things. Highly recommend! definitely a spot we'll keep coming back to. Also, shoutout to the Convoy location, it's just as good!

    Love spending time with mom and sis. I was the one driving, and I got to choose this casual dining…read morespot. We got some chilaquiles! Even though we were a bit late for the breakfast menu, they still let us order the Smoked fish, Gobernador, and Pork Belly-quiles. I loved the flavors, and it had just the right amount of spice I prefer. I also had a Mango-rita that snuck up on me in a good way. We each tried all three plates, and all agreed they were sumptuous. Everyone running the restaurant was super friendly and accommodating to special diet needs as well. I'm glad we tried this establishment. It was quite busy that day, but there was still plenty of parking, and they had booths to sit and enjoy the experience. Portions were large - we all had leftovers to take home. I would love to come back and try more of the menu!

    Photos
    El Viejon Seafood - Bye bye Crudo

    Bye bye Crudo

    El Viejon Seafood - 2 Birria Tacos

    2 Birria Tacos

    El Viejon Seafood - Porkbelly Taco

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    Porkbelly Taco

    Chula Tacos - Asada vampiro

    Chula Tacos

    3.9(257 reviews)
    4.5 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

    Tacos El Poblano - Al Pastor Quesadilla at Tacos El Poblano in Chula Vista

    Tacos El Poblano

    3.5(485 reviews)
    1.2 mi
    $

    Since we were shopping at Home Depot we had to swing by for a quick snack. Authentic street taco…read moreflavor from TJ. Most definitely a MUST try. The hubby had the burrito (smaller than average). I had 2 street tacos. Everything was so flavorful. Quick service & chill vibes. * Burrito Mixto * Quesataco De Birria * Quesataco De Asada #DiningWithTheAndersons #ComidaMexicana #Tacos #tacoselpoblano #YummyGoodness

    I went to Tacos El Poblano really excited because I used to love this spot when I was younger…read more Unfortunately, my experience was really disappointing from start to finish. First, I ordered an adobada taco. The meat wasn't cooked properly on the trompo why ? :( then they threw it on the grill and ended up burning it. That completely defeats the point of even having a trompo if you're just going to burn the meat afterward. It had a bitter, burnt taste. Next, I got a carne asada taco, and it was completely overcooked and dry:(honestly, drier than the Mojave Desert. The tortilla was hard and didn't taste fresh at all. Nothing about the tacos tasted like the quality I remember. The customer service was just as disappointing. I stood in front of the carne asada guy for about 5 minutes before he even acknowledged me. What made that worse was that there were no other customers there t wasn't busy at all. The workers seemed more focused on talking and laughing with each other than paying attention to the food or the customers. I even think I saw what might've been the owner there, which makes this even more frustrating because this place used to be good. It feels like they're letting it go downhill. I'm giving this a one-star review, but I'm being honest when I say I actually want this place to get better. I'll give them one more chance in the future, but as of right now, this was a really bad experience.

    Photos
    Tacos El Poblano - Homemade salsas at Tacos El Poblano in Chula Vista

    Homemade salsas at Tacos El Poblano in Chula Vista

    Tacos El Poblano - Birra combo

    Birra combo

    Tacos El Poblano

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    El Ranchero - foodtrucks - Updated May 2026

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