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    La Catrina

    4.4 (214 reviews)
    ModerateTacos

    La Catrina Photos

    LA CATRINA ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - La Catrina

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    German C.

    The service is quick. I ordered the chimichanga and it was huge, and so delicious. I asked for cheese on top, but guacamole and some hot sauce- but that just being extra cause the slices and taste are soo good you dont need it. My girl had the fajitas and she loved it. The large drinks are gigantic too.

    a plate of tortillas, tortillas, and salsas
    Joyce K.

    I have been meaning to try La Catrina for a while, especially since it's only a couple minutes walk for me. When my friend and I went for dinner at approximately 6:30 pm, there were a good amount of tables open and the restaurant was cutely decorated. We were given complimentary chips with a variety of salsas and sauces to dip them in. My friend got tacos and I got the al pastor chimichanga. I admit that I wish the chimichanga looked nicer, but it was very flavorful and it was stuffed with a good amount of food. I would be willing to go back to try more things on the menu!

    Nick S.

    La Catrina is a just-bigger-than-a-hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant on Easton Ave that is worth the visit. The small space is filled with Mexican decorations that really bring you into the culture. Their nachos were delicious and towering. I actually brought half of them home for lunch the next day. My chicken enchiladas came with refried beans and rice. They were so filling, but also delicious! The only downside is I couldn't order a margarita!

    Sauces! (came with the food)
    Jahnavi Y.

    First time trying this place after I got a craving for Mexican food! And I LOVED IT. My boyfriend and I got the Tacos (3), Tostadas (3), and Quesadilla Azteca to share- I honestly thought this wouldn't be enough food and now I feel so silly! Each one had a generous amount of vegetables & meat, enough to be considered one meal each. The ingredients tasted fresh and light, yet very filling. The meats were delicious and they have so many meat options to choose from! My favorite item was the Tostadas- the crunch of the tortilla contrasted so well with the tasty veggies and chorizo. The best and most unexpected part was that they include 3 different sauces/salsas for you in the takeout order, which I found to be incredibly thoughtful. The salsas only enhanced the flavor of the dishes. We got takeout (only took about 15 min), but they seemed like they were open for outdoor and indoor dining. Staff was very friendly and wearing masks. I will definitely be trading in my Taco Bell runs to go here instead to support local businesses and eat a healthier, freshly-cooked meal.

    Steak Chimichanga
    Rony E.

    The service, vibes and food is really good! I've been here a couple times with family and friends and it ever disappoints.

    Agua Fresca - Jamaica and Pineapple Jarritos Soda
    Santiago K.

    Little Mexican restaurant on Easton Ave. the place is well decorated and brings in the Mexican culture. Staff and service is exceptional. This may be the best Mexican restaurant in New Brunswick but not the best Mexican food I have ever tried. In my opinion the food needs more flavor. The soup was over seasoned and the fajitas just needed more flavor. Pequeño restaurante mexicano en Easton Ave. El lugar está bien decorado y trae la cultura mexicana. El personal y el servicio es excepcional. Este puede ser el mejor restaurante mexicano en New Brunswick, pero no la mejor comida mexicana que he probado. En mi opinión, la comida necesita más sabor. La sopa estaba demasiado sazonada y las fajitas solo necesitaban más sabor.

    inside
    Sanjna S.

    Adorable little place in New Brunswick! They have a amazing selection of Mexican dishes - some classics and some different! Definitely exciting for a vegetarian to explore more options. The service was friendly and the ambiance was also festive and cozy. It's also BYOB! Parking outside can get difficult but it's further away from main Rutgers campus so it was doable. I tried the Torta w/ mixed veggies/black beans but didn't turn out as yummy as I had hoped -- too much mayo and not enough mexican flavor. My fiance really enjoyed his Enchilada and the array of the hot sauces/salsas that came with our meal. I will definitely come back to explore more of the menu.

    Complimentary chips and salsa
    Bushra H.

    If you want some no nonsense, authentic, cheap Mexican food, this is your spot. La Catrina is one of the wonderful authentic Mexican eateries in New Brunswick. It's on a quiet, unassuming street. Don't come here with a large group. Come here with someone you don't mind seeing you stuff your face full of tacos and guac. No, really, that's what you will do. They serve complementary chips with a variety of salsa. TRY EVERY ONE. They're all uniquely tasty. The guacamole is freshly made and seasoned nicely. If you want spicy, let them know and be clear. For dinner, I ordered the chicken gorditas and they were really good. Everything came out at a reasonable time and I made sure to scarf everything down with glee. Best of all? The prices are totally affordable. It's a great date spot without breaking the bank.

    3 tacos ($7)
    Bree H.

    La Catrina is one of my favorite restaurants on Easton Ave. Every time I come here, I am never disappointed. I love the ambiance and cultural feeling this restaurant gives. Upon arrival, I was able to get a seat right away. Our waitress brought complimentary chips and salsa to the table. Really loved having these especially since I was so hungry. The salsas all tasted different; I really enjoyed the green one. The 3 tacos I ordered were soooo delicious. I highly recommend the shrimp tacos. They are an additional $2, but they're so worth it. I even added the salsas from the chips to the tacos. Luckily for my friend and I, the day we visited was the 2nd anniversary of the restaurant. We were offered either free hot chocolate or free churros. I opted for the churros. They were the perfect amount of sweet and crunchy. I need to go back ASAP to get these because they were so good.

    Front: Tostadas Back: Tacos
    Jennifer F.

    La Catrina has become our new go-to place for Mexican takeout, thanks to its great food and low prices. We ordered a multitude of menu items, including tostadas, tacos, chalupas, chimichanga, and tortilla soup. The tostada was my personal favorite, as the dry crunchy corn tortilla was balanced out by the chorizo and juicy fillings on top. We also enjoyed sampling the different tacos and chalupas we got, each with a different type of meat: carne asada, al pastor, carne enchilada, etc. All were so flavorful and delicious! The chimichanga was disappointing as the carnitas inside didn't have much flavor and the fried outside had become soggy by the time it was delivered (which was to be expected).

    Carne Asada Platillo

    Carne Asada Platillo The meal was overall delicious The chip was a bit hard, wish it was more crunchy and soft. The server provided different kinds of salsa and sauce for the chip. It was nice.

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    2 years ago

    Ordered to go cause it was late. Wow this play is amazing. Food was soooo good and the different salsas were all amazing. Will be back

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    2 years ago

    Great food, great service, BYOB, cozy atmosphere. Good prices, also on Tuesdays the tacos are 2 dollars each.

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    4 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Love the asada tacos and red salsa, so good! Highly recommend anyone looking for authentic Mexican tacos.

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    Ask the Community - La Catrina

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    Fat Cactus Cantina is really more about the atmosphere than the food. The decor is fun, colorful,…read moreand gives the place a lively vibe. Service was excellent, and that honestly stood out as one of the best parts of the experience. The food is pretty much what you would expect from this kind of spot: huge portions, greasy, salty, heavy, and very Americanized. Basically over the top Mexican food with lots of carbs. Not terrible, just not something that felt especially memorable or authentic. What really surprised me was that they did not have coffee or tea at all, which feels like a pretty big miss for a full service restaurant. Overall, I liked it most for the atmosphere and the service.

    Stopped in before a show at State Theater and we had a lovely experience. Place was nearly…read moredeserted when we arrived, but really filled up quickly as show time approached. The chips and salsa were so fresh, always a good sign that your Mex will be a wonderful experience. They had no issue refilling our bowls of that as we waited for our meals, but it was hard to get the attention of the man who does that. I got Chimi Carne Asada Steak, served with a verde sauce and quite good. A bit pricey at $35, but tasty. My wife got Birria Pizza and my son got Birria Burrito, both good. I believe my son mentioned he got three meals out of his Burrito, which made me feel better about parting with $24. The drinks were good. I would imagine they could do better than $6.50 per bottle of Miller Lite, but what can you do. This would be a five star review if their prices were a bit better, but the food was good. Clean establishment and Christian was a wonderful server. I would go back, and their Parsippany location is closer to me.

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    tacoria - New Brunswick - Tacos al pastor

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    Saturday 1/24/26- Yelp week event. It was cold and parking was -- typical of the area but I was…read moredetermined to have tacos here. I brought Mini-Mi as my p+1 and hubby was our chauffer lol. First, staff is super -super nice!! helpful when trying to decide what to order. Mini Me and I both chose three tacos carne asada with the smokey roja sauce. Hubby had the same but as a burrito. For the sides we had chips and guacamole and the Mexican street corn. Drink were Horchata (Obviously). Tacos and burrito were stuffed, and absolutely delish. They have a self serve salsa bar with the three salsa, the smokey roja, salsa verde and habanero. Let me just say I tried all three- fantastic heat to flavour ration and I poured the habanero on my tacos so good! in fact the smokey roja with the salsa verde is a great combination !! Seating area outside is much larger than inside, we sat inside at a table that had just become available- they do a super brisk take out business and we didn't wait very long for our food to be ready. In fact, my husband and Mini-Me - all three of us, agreed we would for sure make the drive again to have tacos here!! If you are in the area or at school near by- you have to come here at least once, to try the food. I paid for my hubby since he was not my +1 and his meal was about $16. so that in itself is very very reasonable for the amount of food you get. We were very pleased with the food, service and price point.

    Ever since I was introduced to Tacoria's Paramus location via a Yelp Elite event, I've been a big…read morefan of their grilled chicken burrito. After a recent swim meet at Rutgers, I brought my kids. One is a big fan of tacos, while the other is more about quesadillas. The chicken tacos were a touch spicy for my kid, who is very sensitive to heat, and my habanero-flavored chicken burrito was brilliantly seasoned. (I love the heat!) All three of us were more than happy with our meals, which we enjoyed out on the back patio area, which had as much ambiance as an eatery in Mexico City. Very cool! The service was pleasant and quick. Now I'm looking forward to their next nearby swim meet so I can bring them here for lunch!

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    Birria House Mexican Restaurant - Enchiladas Verdes

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    4.8(4 reviews)
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    I came here on a Saturday afternoon on a weekend I had class. I have driven past this place several…read moretimes and made a mental note to stop in and try the food. When my lunch plans fell through it was a perfect opportunity to check this place out. If you were going past here too fast you would definitely miss it It is a small restaurant that faces a big hole in the ground in New Brunswick. Parking is New Brunswick parking, if you've parked in New Brunswick you know it to expect. If you've never parked in New Brunswick try circling around a few times and if you don't have any luck with the meters you might have to pay for one of the decks, fortunately there was one right around the corner from this place. When I came in I already knew what I wanted to try, The namesake menu item that has been pretty popular lately. There were a few tables downstairs, and there was a stairwell upstairs that I never ventured up. The few times I visited here I've always found first four seating and never felt the need to see what was up the stairs. The tacos came out a little while after ordering and they looked really good. I think this was my first time consciously trying Iberia tacos and they were very good. I might not be the best person to judge this is I've never had other ones. But I was satisfied with what I had and the broth that it was served with was delicious. I have been back since, and will likely be back again. If you're in the mood for some good tacos you should check this place out.

    Birria House serves delicious, authentic Mexican food. This hole in the wall restaurant has a very…read morewelcoming mom and pop vibe. I ordered the namesake birria tacos and was very happy; plenty of flavor with a little extra kick from the salsa verde. Buen provecho!

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    Taco Empreso

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    4.2(129 reviews)
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    It's a blessing and a curse that this taco spot is a distance from my home. It's a blessing because…read moreI would be a regular customer, if I lived closer. It's a curse because everything is so effing delicious and it's so far from my home! One of my daughters recommended Taco Empreso as she is a regular customer. She even spotted my nephew eating here one evening, who came all the way from Brooklyn lol. So there were three of us, who ordered an assortment of items to share. Let's start with the tacos... We ordered the Baja shrimp, Baja fish, steak, birria, asado chicken and shrimp Ensenada. Every single taco was finger licking with distinct flavors that were sooo sooo good. I could not decide on a favorite. We also shared birria fries, which were AWESOME! If I ever return... you know the rest lol. The meat was juicy, flavorful and melted in my mouth. The marinaded chicken and beef were succulent and the flavors subtly stood out. We also ordered a steak burrito, which was Cali-style with fries instead of rice. The steak was flavored, tender, and crave-able. A popular must have! We added a birria quesadilla, which was also epic. Lastly, the frozen pina coladas! Get it! The food is road trip worthy! Finally, there was a consistent line, but these dudes were so organized. The orders were getting out in a timely manner. It's also worth the wait!!!

    The hype of this taco spot had me wanting to come in and see what it all about…read more The mocktails here are delicious and must try. I got the coconut lemonade and it's the best of both worlds of lemonade with pina colada vibe. My friend got the tropical fizz which was flavorful as well. For tacos we got birria, butter chicken, asada, grilled chicken, and Nashville hot chicken, and el pastor. Think the ones we enjoyed the most collectively was butter chicken, grilled chicken and asada. The sauces have a spice level to them which elevate the tacos. Guac and chips were okay a tad bland for me. The esquite corn was yummy side. It's self service where you order tacos either at register or from screen. When your name is called you pick up the food. The tables are limited. I would definitely go back to try some different tacos and for those delicious mocktails.

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