Great food, poor servicing. Ordered two scopes, three customers ordered after me. They received their food/order when I caught the servers eye. She said she'd check. Said they were working on it. I pointed out the customer that came after. Then the man jumped in saying in a condescending manner the orders are prioritized a certain way. When I pointed out the discrepancy he backed off. I got my money back and left. Best caldo de rez in the county. read more

I dunno what Y'all smoking out here in Salinas but this food is trash yo Not one thing was decent . All not good . Why so crowded read more

This place has been around for a very long time. Ever since I can remember is their specialty is their Caldo de Res (Beef Stew). They sell out quick so you'll have to come before noon. Everything here is very delicious, homemade. Its a lil small place and limited on their parking but its so worth it. read more

El Zacatecano - Bistec Picado - Mexican Near Me - Salinas, California

I stumbled upon this little gem when I was working Saturdays in Salinas. I'm a former chef, a big fan of Mexican cuisine, and not an easy person to please. Bottom line: I had a great overall first experience, and every single time I've returned, without fail, I've had the same thing happen. Here's how it goes: Service: Always familiar, friendly, pleasant and efficient, start to finish. Even though I'm a gringo, I feel like family here. I never have to wait long for my food, and when my cup runs dry, it is filled. The Patron is a truly great guy; in a line of family successors to the business; and yes, mom's side of the family was from Zacatecas. The food? Traditional Mexican fare, perfected. A few examples: Salsa Picante: Fresh, resplendent with fresh cilantro and green onion. Just the right bite. Fresh, crisp chips. Chiles: More often than not, I order either the Chile Verde or Chile Colorado. Perfectly roasted, succulent tender cuts of pork or beef, quite well-trimmed, so I don't get the inedible bits of fat and gristle that less- thoughtful chefs plate up. The green and red sauces are a marvel; perfectly seasoned, freshly made, and the same every time. I've been cooking these sauces for years, and cannot duplicate them. Neither can 99% of the other Mexican eateries I have haunted over the decades. All of the entrees are served with three fluffy, warm, handmade corn tortillas. They are simply too good for me to explore the flour version that is offered. Frijoles: This is an important thing. Always perfectly cooked, just the right consistency, and very tasty. Crowned with a bubbly, good quality cheese. The rice is equally good. Posole: On any weekend morning, the place is filled with locals who are enjoying large bowls of varied soups and stews, including Siete Mares, Menudo, Caldo de Res, etc; and a delightful pork stew called Posole. The Posole is the only one of these I have yet tried, and it was exemplary. Enchiladas: Great tortillas, good cheeses, and one of the best red enchilada sauces I've yet experienced. I order extra, and they give it to me free. I've offered to work unpaid in this kitchen just to learn to make it. And I wasn't kidding. The meat fillings for the enchiladas, tacos, burritos, etc: are, as mentioned above, always tender, delicious, and never too dry. One thing, though. No Al Pastor. Hint! I haven't yet explored the entire menu, but based on my scientific sample, I'm well-convinced. I ate lunch there every Saturday for several months. I don't work in Salinas any more, but at least once per month I head from Monterey to El Zacatecano. I'll tell you this: Every time I eat there, I'm amazed anew. I sit there shaking my head in disbelief and muttering to myself about how good it is. And I leave there high as a kite, every time. Happy. Be happy. Do it. Go there. Say hi for me. read more

I haven't been here in a while so stopped for dinner since we were in the area... The food is just as good as i remembered! I always enjoy myself a nice big plato of the enchiladas rancheras!!!! Service isn't as good as it was before but the food makes up for it... read more

El Zacatecano - Enchiladas rancheras - Mexican Near Me - Salinas, California

Probably the best Mexican food in all of salinas. I live in seaside and will drive all the way to salinas just for this place. Literally a little hole in the wall restaurant but a hidden gem. They've been around for years! I'd recommend their enchiladas and Chile rellenos. So good! read more

El Zacatecano - Mexican Near Me - Salinas, California

I've come here several times with coworkers/friends. Salinas, particularly East Salinas is like the mecca of great taquerias in my opinion. Well, to be fair, certainly not all are that "great". I would go as far though to say that El Zacatecano is pretty great. It's a little bit larger than a standard taqueria, however certainly not a large restaurant. Even at lunchtime they can get pretty filled up quickly. In other words, groups larger than 4 may have some difficulty, especially depending on the time you go. My favorite lunch has to be juevos con nopales. I have had several other things on the menu as well, however as a vegetarian, I'm slightly limited to maybe 4-5 options here. Everything I've tried has been great. The price for the quality and quantity for the food is fair to say the least. Expect to be stuffed with some authentic mom and pop cooked meals. I'll definitely come back anytime and am actually craving it now as we speak. read more

We rolled up our windows to keep out the heat watching the niños outside on the street Nothing for miles but vaqueros and farm The city of Salinas was lacking in charm We parked near an old abandoned shack, Searching the town for a midday snack. El Zacatecano was said to be good Right in the middle of a real rough hood. The decor was sparse but the inside clean Gently perfumed by the scent of black bean We ordered rellenos and a taco of steak which arrived swimming in a giant cheese lake. They'd baked my whole plate in a nice hot oven which Nick H and I were totally lovin. While eating I'm not much of a talka, so we both enjoyed "El Gordo y La Flaca." The food was savory and fresh and hot -- the war was waged and the battle fought. We cleaned our plates in near a half hour... but when it was over I wanted a shower. read more

Breakfast burrito was made with love. Place is clean with a good vibe. Seemed like they have a lot of regulars.

March 30th, 2016 I came here for dinner just before heading to work. I had Yelp'd this place and followed the instructions for parking as it can be very packed in the limited behind the restaurant/next to an apartment parking. This was my first time trying this place out so I went straight to the counter and introduced myself as a new customer. It wasn't the most friendly of interactions as I was handed a menu and asked to sit wherever I like. I headed down the steps into the separate dining area and was yelled at to sit in the front section (it's a very limited and tight squeeze like a can of sardine type of an area) between two loud and obnoxious diners. I politely refused and mentioned that the other area had more room. Sitting in the front area would not have made an enjoyable just before work dining experience in my opinion. The older server lady rolled her eyes and pointed for me to sit in the other dining room where I was headed anyways. I sat with my menu unattended too as three separate parties joined me within a few minutes. It was within another minute that these parties had received their drink orders, chips, salsa and I had nothing. I felt awkward and wanted to leave when a younger server girl walked up apologized for any inconvenience and said the other lady was having a bad moment when I walked in. Somewhat good service recovery?! I ordered away for some ice water with lemon (they serve it with lime - very tasty) and a dinner combo of chile rellano, and cheese enchilada, all rice no beans. I'll be honest, it was a long wait in an awkward situation. The server lady whom was having a bad day was servicing the other patrons, whom like I said had drinks, chips, and salsa. I was at the table with nothing. 30 minutes later the younger girl server brought my meal, water, chips, and salsa. The food was hot, but I was aggravated with the experience. EVERY SINGLE table that arrived was already dining and finishing. I would have loved to sip on some refreshing lime water, tasting their delicious chips and spicy salsa (it was delicious), while chillin for my meal. The food was great! Just like a majority of the reviews mentioned. I had to flag down the bad day server (it was just me she seemed upset with) to get a refill on water, but the cups are on the small child size. My young girl sever brought me back my water, which was alright with me. It was a smaller serving than I was expecting for the price I paid $12.00.I anticipated eating only half and taking leftovers for work. Didn't happen, but that was ok because it was really delicious. It's very authentic, and you can tell the cook/chef loved his/her restaurant! So why must I give it 3 stars?! The service. I don't care how much the food is blow your mind GREAT, if service is terrible - it's NO BUENO! I have no sense of entitlement when I'm being waited on, but some common courtesy/politeness is a MUST! maybe I should've just left, but I didn't and this experience was a BUST! Would I try this place again? Only if my husband was with me - he is very outspoken and wouldn't have tolerated that type of service, I'm just too nice and accommodating sometimes. Once again food good, service - ugh..I still left a tip. Disclaimer - I review at time of service. If I visit or revisit I will review the experience again. Thanks for reading - Have a Great Day!! read more

El Zacatecano - It's a bright building, you can't miss it. - Mexican Near Me - Salinas, California

I ate dinner here two weekend in a row. I went hiking in the Big Sur area last weekend and this weekend. Dinner after hikes should be filling, quick, and cheap. This place applies to all those points. I ate shrimp last weekend and Chili Verde this weekend. Both were very big plate and so tasty. This place got a must place after a hike in the Big Sur area. read more

Very yummy. I was not expecting the carne asada burrito to be good, but it was. Would come here again.

This is a small home theme but very delicious place. I fell in love with their food the minute they brought my plate. Great tasting food, 5 star quality!! Good and fast service. Good prices! read more

El Zacatecano - Chile Verde ! - Mexican Near Me - Salinas, California

The best Mexican food I have ever had anywhere. I almost lived here when I was in the area, I could have eaten the combo 1 every day and never gotten tired of it. How simple the veggie soup is, but so good. Good quality, exceptional flavour. read more

Deep in the east side. The neighborhood looks scary, but we've never had issues. For years been traveling to that side of town a quest for great food. If you want amazing flavorful food without gimmicks. El Zacatecano is the place to go. Decent price for the quality of food Linda the waitress is really amazing. Restroom is small. Love the salsa that comes with the chips. Try tacos dorados. Chili verde. Chicano steak. Chile rellenos. Enchiladas, in green sauce too. 10 plus stars. read more

This place wasn't bad at all. My wife and I came in here for a late dinner... because we were too lazy to cook. Any way, we ventured into this restaurant at around 8 p.m. and although the location does look "sketch" as someone else mentioned, I didn't feel like it was too sketch to at least give it a shot. Maybe it was the fog and the abundance of 1980's pick-up trucks and cars, but I felt like I was walking through Juarez.... Mainly because that side of the street smelled like downtown Juarez... anyone who has been to any "centro" of any Mexican city knows THE SMELL... so lo' and behold we find this hole in the wall. It was packed, (usually a good sign) and the nice lady quickly took our order. We waited for about 20 minutes for our food and were treated to some good ol standard chips and salsa... not sure if the salsa was store bought or made there but it was good and had a nice kick. Our time waiting was interesting. I take it that not too many white people come eat here. My wife was getting the stare down by some of the other customers.. or maybe, they're not used to seeing a white-ish Hispanic with so much hair... either way it was fun mean muggin' little kids who kept pointing fingers. Oh and we also had your typical flower lady come in to try and sell flowers... I never quite understood this. ( I get why they do it but I never understood it) Once we got our food we left and while the food was delicious.. it wasn't anything worth bragging about. I've been to a few other more mom and popsy types of restaurants and the food there was much better in my opinion... so this tells me that those who gave super high ratings have either been deprived of good food most of their lives, have only ventured into the "popular" Mexican restaurants in Salinas... or have acquired what I like to call the Americanized palette for Mexican food. I got the bistec burrito and it was good and very filling. My wife got an enchilada and chile relleno plate, which was OK... her quote was "it was good, but yours (my chile relleno recipe) is way better." Now this is the reason why I gave it 3 stars instead of 4. Yes the food was good but I've had way better in Salinas. The one thing I couldn't get over though was their horchata... man was that thing super watered down and hardly had any taste to it. I could buy a carton of rice milk from the grocery depot, add some cinnamon, vanilla, and sugar to replicate what their horchata tasted like..... OK to be honest.. my attempt to replicate it actually came out tasting better... but still. You can't be a Mexican restaurant and mess up Horchata!!!! c'mon!! it's Horchata!!!! Any way.. Place has good food, it's clean, and you get awesome mean mug stares by other customers if your shade of brown is non-existent. The staff is friendly and super nice! read more

This is a great mom and pop place - always come here with my parents when I visit for a huge lunch. The service is really great - remember it's East Salinas so they speak mainly Spanish here. The food is so comforting - I love it! It's always fresh and served hot! My parents love their soups (Menudo!) - my personal favorite is the Enchiladas Rancheras and my fiance loves their Chiles Rellenos. The atmosphere is super cozy and has great warmth from the sun coming through the windows in the late afternoon (our favorite time to go). Parking - there is a small lot behind the restaurant and street parking - but that can be hectic because Alisal is always busy with traffic. I would definitely recommend this place for authentic Mexican food! read more

Good beans and rice, good enchiladas and rellenos, really good hot chocolate. Authentic Mexican food and no more. Favorite place to go when driving through Salinas. Way better than the Mexican food in Monterey, which definitely leaves something to be desired. read more

Chile Rellenos are good. Chicken Enchiladas are not good. The place looks like a bomb went off and nobody bothered to clean it up. read more

The spouse & I had a full day of hiking down at the Pinnacles, and wanted to feed ourselves with some tasty Mexican food on the way home. Using Yelp, we found this place in Salinas. It looks like a hole in the wall Taquería; the food is so much better than that. The menu was heavy on the seafoods, but I was able to find my perennial favorite - cheese enchiladas in corn tortillas. They offered it in red or green sauce - I took red. It was the Chile Colorado sauce. It resonated with hints of nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon. The rice & beans - which I usually don't eat - were good as well. The pico de galla salsa with the chips was good, but nothing to write home about. One thing that surprised & bemused me was the fact that at no time was any English spoken to us while we were there. I think the waitress thought I was Hispanic when we came in; once we demonstrated that we knew Spanish (albeit poorly) , we just communicated that way. Didn't bother me - good practice, is the way I look at it. Next time we go through Salinas, I want to try the enchiladas with the green sauce (which I'm assuming is the Chili Verde sauce). read more

This is where the locals eat, for good reason. It is small, not fancy and features excellent Mexican food served by a happy and attentive crew. I ordered the "7 Mares" stew, a cioppino with lots of halibut, plus clams, scallops, mussels, snow crab legs swimming in a delicious broth. It was a large bowl and fully-sufficient dinner. I arrived around 5:30 and they were full when I left around 7:00. Being the lone gringo, I attracted the attention of a regular who told me that the chef had been there for more than 40 years. They serve the usual beverages (horchata is popular) and a a small assortment of bottled beers but no hard liquor. The complimentary chips and salsa had me craving a second beer. When I told the server that the salsa was spicy, she confided that their piquante version was the hot one - she had served me the "regular" salsa and chuckled when I thanked her for the gringo version. read more

If you want 100% Authentic Mexican food then you need to try out Zacatecano! This is my all time favorite Mexican restaurant anywhere! My Favorites are: Enchiladas Rancheras (cheese enchiladas topped with guacamole and sour cream, Albondigas (Mexican meatball soup), and Chuletas (pork chops) but seriously just about everything here is the best. Yes it is not in the best area of town and as someone earlier stated there are bars on the windows but there has never been any problems with safety at this restaurant. Every time I have went it was a family atmosphere and the owner Gabriel is the best! Do yourself a favor and check this place out I guarantee it will be your new favorite! read more

This place is amazing! Super cozy, staff is so pleasant, food is absolutely delicious and comes in large portions. Definitely recommend to go in the evening and sit down for a good authentic Mexican dinner with friends or family. read more

El Zacatecano - Amazing! - Mexican Near Me - Salinas, California

First time the Husband and I try this place. We really liked it. He's a picky eater. So if he said he'd try it again then it's a good place to eat lol. Highly recommend it read more

El Zacatecano - Mango-Rita - Mexican Near Me - Salinas, California

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Thank you Yelpsters for letting me know about this place. We also spent a day of hiking at the pinnacles prior to dinner at El Zac. I was looking for a Mom and Pops place and we found it. We went with the tradionial Mexican fare of Burritos and tamale with enchilladas and My daughter had a quasadilla. The wife and I had a couple of beers to. It his the spot and the food was plentful and filling. Nothing fancy, just good Mexican food! read more

As a long time resident of Salinas (read: we eat ALOT of Mexican food), this place is one of our favorites. The chicken enchiladas in green sauce are the best! The chicken is soft without being mushy, and flavorful even without the yummy green salsa. Our other favorite is the caldo de res, or beef soup. It comes homestyle, with big chunks of meat and veggies, almost like a stew, and small side of rice and beans. The food takes a while to come, but it is incredibly consistent and piping hot! The cheese on the beans is toasted to golden perfection. Bonus points for toasted cheese! I bring my out of town guests when they want authentic Mexican, and the staff and owners are visibly appreciative of their very loyal customers. Don't be put off by the ghetto appearance because it is the food that counts! read more

Amazing food! I recently tried this restaurant and liked it so much I came back the next day! The only reason I didn't give five stars is because there is a large step getting into the restaurant that doesn't seem the safest for elderly or disabled persons and because the inside could use some updating. read more

First and Last time I'm going to this restaurant, I felt super rushed when I was eating, since they were about to close. Also the service wasn't good at all! I asked for some extra sauce and they rudely said that they had already put some on my food. Also, my drunk had a bug inside. Disgusting! read more

This hole in the wall has great food. Authentic, including the hand made tortillas. Never been disappointed!

Came here ready to eat , sat down on a table hella close to other people when they had a whoel another empty side , we sat there for about 25 min and asked if they had menus and the lady just pointed at a table at the corner , we just got up and left. It sucked . Just wasted my time read more

We haven't been here in a few years. Definitely have to put this place on my cell phone calendar every month. Excellent customer service. read more

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The food here is really good, and the prices are very reasonable. It's in a sketchy part of Salinas though. read more

El Zacatecano - Mexican Near Me - Salinas, California

Outstanding. Thanks to Yelpers, found this off-the-beaten-path spot and visited on our way to the Central Coast. The food is outstanding, and the restaurant clearly shows pride of ownership == clean, bright, just lovely. The wait staff is bilingual -- so even if you only speak toddler Spanish like me, or no Spanish like my husband, you'll be fine. read more

I'm not sure why there's a big song and dance over this place. It's not bad, but it's nothing special. I came here with another person, and we both got enchiladas. Mine was the Rancheros with the 'special' sauce, and my friend's was beef enchiladas. Compared to the beef enchiladas, the Rancheros was slightly more expensive since it came with guac, sour cream and the 'special' sauce. The 'special' sauce was good, but why don't they put it on all of their enchiladas? The amount of sour cream and guac was measly, and to top it off, the enchiladas were filled with only Monterey Jack cheese! The salsa came in a ketchup container you'd expect with a side of fries at a fast food joint, and it was watery. The taste was okay. Our waitress was efficient but not very friendly. These minor details could have been overlooked had the food been great. Nine dollars for a plate of standard enchiladas is too much in Salinas. If the prices were lower, this would be a three star joint. read more

Don't judge a burrito by its tortilla! Well the exterior of this joint is nothing to speak of, once you receive your order - all prejudices fall by the wayside. I had the flauta plate with beans and rice. Very crispy and good. My sister had the tamale plate - scrumptious. And my niece and nephew's meals were equally delicioso. My staff is very warm and welcoming. The chips and salsa were of high quality too. read more

Shrimp Cocktail, horchata, carnitas, Chicken Tostada, and Cheese Enchilada all outstanding & delicious. A great stop on our road trip! Highly Recommended! read more

This place has the freshest and best Mexican food I've had for awhile. It's an easy stop off 101 in Salinas for a great meal. Don't let what some reviews have commented on regarding the neighborhood put you off. You absolutely won't regret stopping for a meal here. We did it 2x in 2 days while staying about 30 minutes away. read more

Great place .great food . Will be going back I had the combo plate with carne asada, flauta, cheese enchilada with rice and beans 14.95 read more

Best authentic Mexican food in town!!! The owner and his staff are so nice! Feels like home when I'm there!

Delicious! Yes it's a bit of a hole-in-the-wall but...clean, friendly & smells like wonderful food on the inside. Reviews are right on. Food is very tasty, staff is friendly and on the ball and it is very clean and neat. Lots of locals happily eating and chatting around the place. Had the Bistec "something", steak cooked with peppers & onions. Hubby had Carne Asada. Both delicious. The Bistec on the spicy side but full of flavor. Rice and beans very good. Served with tortillas. Highly recommend! We will return. read more