This is an update since the new owners have taken over. It's a tough position to be in when you take over a beloved restaurant of 40+ years. Trying to balance wanting to improve things and keeping what clients treasure. I feel what clients treasured was going to an unpretentious place and getting the heartwarming soups that abuela used to make. Don't get too fancy with the food and decor as there are plenty of other Mexican restaurants to visit that for that. Keep it authentic and homey. They have new chairs, tables & plates. All good and the flowers are pretty! If they were to upgrade the looks I would go with kitsch vintage Mexican decor such as oilcloth tablecovers, clay pottery and a mural on the side wall or Mexico vintage travel posters and tin beer trays. See pic. I had to take away one star for now as the food was missing something from before and we did not like that the Chile Verde was shredded instead of in chunks. The rice and beans were still good. I'll definitely be back for the soups and hopefully they are still the same. I'm rooting for you guys! read more

See all

Have been visiting since before I was alive because my parents have been coming to this restaurant for more than 20 years. They are under new ownership now and while it started off great they have really lost quality control of their food and service. One of the servers is very grouchy and impatient. Another is a sweet angel so it makes it hard not to notice the difference. My dad no longer wants to come here because he says he has been seeing hair in his food. We were craving tacos and Angelous is closed on sundays so we thought why not. The tacos here are very large and because they use fresh ingredients, we placed an order for pick. They didn't add the avo and cheese to our tacos that we paid for, the meat was dry and very fatty and worst of all, there was a hair in my tacos. Looks like this is an era for my family. They have a small parking lot which is nice but it seems its shared with the apartments above the restaurant. Usually 1 will be available and there's street parking too. read more

See all

The five stars are for the mini vases of orchids. Somebody there really likes purple orchids, and they're all over the place. These are not the discount orchids at the flea market, but were more pink-orange than violet-purple. Also 5 stars for the downtown parking, which costs money, but is easy and plentiful across the street and under the bridge. For the buses, take bus 66 or 68 and stop near the I-280 interchange at Pobladores Park. The beef, rice, and beans platter ranked a solid 3 stars out of 5. The beef, mixed with tomatoes and onions, was lean, mildly spicy, and free of the gristle that La Victoria sometimes has. The rice was mushy-er than Chipotlé, but still mildly distinctive. Both the beans and tortillas were softer and moister than at Super Taqueria, but not as sharply flavored. One of issues that has slowly been becoming more apparent over the years, is the growing mismatch between La Penita's menu, and the neighborhood around it. As the older houses get torn down and replaced by more upscale housing complexes, like The Fay across the street, The Sparq on the opposite corner, The Pierce to the north, the menu at La Penita has failed to keep up. There are 3 needs for San Jose that are missing from the menu: More vegetables and fruits on the menu: Our part of California is famous for supplying the rest of the country with fresh fruits and vegetables: Gilroy is famous for growing garlic Salinas is famous for growing salad greens. Morgan Hill is famous for growing mushrooms. Watsonville is famous for growing strawberries. Castroville is famous for growing artichokes. La Penita's menu does not exploit these advantages. Current nutritional guidelines are recommending daily diets to have 50% vegetables and fruits. Many of the classic Mexican menu items are still 75% carbs and protein. There are a lot of vegetarians, fitness minded, and healthy eaters who want to avoid diabetes at San Jose State, and the La Penita menu is not as well suited, because it is heavier towards the meat and carbohydrates. Second, the menu is missing more innovative items that downtown restaurants use to attract eaters. Some examples are: Red and blue corn tortillas at Tostadas. Fire-roasted corn on the cob at Luna Mexican Kitchen. Wild or organic sourced ingredients at Aquí Cal Mex. Even non Mexican places like Whole Foods are slathering Chimichurri onto their oven roasted chicken now. Lastly, I think the current La Penita menu still lacks the intercultural mashups of cooking influences that many younger people are going for. For example, some Mexican restaurants that serve university students are now mixing Asian ramen with Birria. Others are topping Filipine Adobo chicken with Cotija cheese. Currently the menu choices at La Penita are too similar to the menu options at the 40 other nearby Mexican eateries, either on the other side of the highway 280 overpass, circling the perimeter of the downtown area, or coming into downtown as foodtrucks on weekend nights. If including the 7 additional Latin American eateries around downtown which have succeeded in offering unique menu items to attract out-of-town visitors, the competition around La Penita is strong. In the past, the Caldo de Res was one of La Penita's menu options achieving legendary status, with flavors which were memorable and addictive. But the beef, rice, and beans plate on this visit did not rank as high. read more

La Peñita - Flowers on the tables March 2026 - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

See all

Caldo de rez by far is the best i have ever had. The service is great and homemade corn tortillas are the best

Little family owned hole in the wall deeeeliciousness. Food ordered was fresh, service was warm and friendly. read more

La Peñita - Pozole - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

See all

3 words : home made tortillas . Yum yum ! In the San Jose downtown area and getting over a cold. I knew just the right prescription for it ! Reminds me of my abuelas sopa. Caldo de res is my go to! You haaaaave to try it !!! Been coming here for over 6 years and today is just as delicious as ever. Prompt friendly service. Hole in the wall. You will feel at home ! Nothing fancy but if you rather have quality over fancy decor - say no more. This is it! Come early before they run out ! Don't say I didn't tell you so !! Caldo de res - beef with veggies and side order of beans and rice and tortillas. Don't over eat the chips like me, so you can enjoy the soup ! read more

La Peñita - Caldo de res - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

See all

Food was delicious, fresh and hot! The service was friendly and welcoming. I felt like I was right at home. The restaurant is cozy and you can smell all the delicious plates coming from the kitchen. Bertha is like your Tia that makes all your favorite food. Must try! read more

Been coming here since I was a little kid and it's safe to say this place is still one of the best spots to eat in San Jose. I highly recommend the menudo! read more

My husband's friend introduced him to this place years ago. He told him it reminds him of his mother's cooking. Today we were in downtown so it was the perfect time to try it. And boy am I glad we did! The restaurant is small, located on the corner, and can easily be missed. But there is ample parking in the back and on the side street. It has been around for awhile and is truly a mom and pop hole in a wall and I say this with excitement because these are my favorite places to eat. Especially walking into a Mexican restaurant and everyone eating is speaking Spanish. My husband ordered the Chile verde super taco and I ordered a cheese enchilada with green sauce with rice and beans (under "light lunch" on the menu). The chips came with 2 salsas, I only tried the less spicy one which was medium and perfect for me. My husband likes spicy and said the hotter one was too hot for him. They refilled our chips without us asking. Our food came out within 5 minutes of us ordering, another plus in my book. The tortillas are made from scratch slightly thicker and chewier than typical store bought ones, yum. My husband's taco was open faced like a tostada and was topped with large slices of avocado and cilantro. My enchilada had tons of cheese and with each bite I had strings of cheese stretching from my plate to my mouth. And the green sauce...some of the best I've ever had, my husband said the same as it was on his taco. We sat at the table next to a cut out window leading into the kitchen. The chef preparing our meal would check in on us asking how our days was and how we liked the food. We told him it was fantastic and he said, "That is music to my ears! You just made all my dreams come true!" The next time you are craving Mexican food, you gotta check this place out and support a local business! read more

See all

Customer service was amazing. Small place, might wait if it's packed. Food is delicious. read more

La Peñita - Menudo. Perfect after a night out! - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

I'm almost afraid to give this secret place up because it'll get over-run on how good it is. Their beef soup (cosido) and albondiga (meatball) soup is on point and exactly how grandma made it! The flavors really brought me back to authentic slow cooked grandma Mexican cooking. I go back when I can to get that traditional and authentic flavor. There's nothing fancy, just the on-point flavor that transports you back. read more

This place is right across from where I work, and it's my go-to place. Service is great, and there's always a table. The food is fresh and homey. I prefer flour tortillas, but the fresh corn tortilas are so fresh and the corn used so finely prepared, you'd think they were flour. I usually go for the camarones, but the all day breakfast dishes are great. Tacos good! And the Jamaica aqua fresca is served in a large goblet and is so refreshing! read more

I was in downtown, so stopped by here for lunch. Ordered albondigas. The soup came with a small plate of Mexican rice and two home made tortillas. $19.95 for the soup. Very steep considering you can get other different ethnic soups like Ramen or Pho for $15. Service was cordial, inside was homely,, food took longer than expected, probably because of the fresh made tortillas. When I bit into a meatball the consistency was soft, lacked flavor and was less than room temperature in the middle. I put very little salt in my food, rarely adding salt to anything at restaurants. I added salt to this soup.. I pulled a meatball out of the soup, put it on a plate, cut it in half. Most of the inside of the meatball was cool. I cut the meatballs (5 of them) into pieces to warm them up. The best thing about the soup were the carrots... Not worth $20. read more

This was a hole in the wall restaurant my friend suggested and I had to try it. I went during lunch on a Friday as the walk was quick from my work. It wasn't super packed for a Friday lunch hour. I got the chicken Enchiladas and they came with a side of rice and beans. The chicken was well flavored however, the choose on top of the enchiladas and beans was sort of stiff and wasn't as gooey as I wanted. It was almost sort of clumpy which I wasn't a huge fan of. However, we do get complimentary chips which was nice of them. read more

La Peñita - chicken enchilada - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

A great hole in the wall! I love coming here on the weekends. The place is small, but there's usually no wait. They also have a parking lot in the back. My order here is cocido aka caldo de res, which is a beef ribs & veggie soup. It's huge and comes with tortilla and a side of rice and beans. If you come here in the mornings, you'll see most locals order this and usually they're out of cocido by noon! read more

This meal was like a roller coaster ride. Lots of highs and unfortunately a few lows. You walk into this small restaurant and I wasn't sure if I was to seat my self or wait. A lady looked up at me from behind the counter but didn't say anything, so I just found a table and sat down. Chips and salsa were brought out immediately with a menu. 2 red salsas, one was blended the other was more diced ingredients. I ordered a Chavela, It was a modelo beer and lime juice, I think. Salt and Tajin on the rim of the glass. It was served in a giant mug but it was only 3/4 full. Either add more beer and charge more or get a smaller glass? I ordered menudo. It came out piping hot. Fresh made corn tortillas came out still slightly puffed from being just cooked. A small plate of diced onion with cilantro, a lime, a few dried chilies, and a container or oregano. I was really happy at that point. Unfortunately the menudo was under seasoned as was the masa for the corn tortillas. The tripe was cut inconsistently. A couple of large pieces remained. No one checked in on me and no bill was ever given to me. You go up to the counter and the write up a ticket and give you a total, cash only read more

See all

Great home made food! Hand made tortillas flour and corn! Great home taste dishes shredded chicken is tender and full of flavor. Soups taste almost as good as my father in laws! Place is small and could use a make over to be prettier but its hard to find authentic food this good! This small place is the definition of a "hole in the wall" but in the best way!! Their specialties are NOT to be missed. No dedicated parking but easy to access. There is a bathroom and a bar and highchairs. They do normally take cards but were cash only today Salsa is spicy but soooo flavorful! Fresh oj can't be beat and super friendly read more

See all

Excellent caldo de tez. Very good Chile rellenos . Get there early if you like caldo de res . Always happy with their food .

What I like about DTSJ is it offers a lot of authentic food. After I jogged, I came here, the restaurant (inside) is a bit small kinda unnoticeable, (it's a good thing they have a banner) however they do have outdoor dining that can accommodate maybe 10-20 people, too bad I forgot to take a picture of it. The restaurant itself is old but hey it's clean and kinda reminds me of our home back in the Philippines. I ordered beef enchiladas with beef tacos, at first when I saw the enchiladas I thought it's lacking of sauce, but when I tasted it, it didn't need more sauce as it is already flavorful. I didn't have to wait that long to get my order. I will definitely try their other food some other time. read more

See all

Just a little quaint place south of the hotel district. Great tasting food. I had chorizo n eggs and a single beef enchilada. Food was hot and tasty. If you tasty Mexican food this is a place for you. Their salsas hit the mark and they're not made in San Antonio. Portions are plentiful. A quick UBER ride or like us just grab a Lime scooter to get you to La Penita. Flew back down for my beloved Sharks in SCP 2019. Had to stop by for lunch and asked for a suggestion. The server suggested the carnitas, and let me tell you they were tender and juicy. Overall a home run!! Great value for lunch. read more

I love love love this place! Best burrito I have had in a while (I have eaten here 5x in the last two weeks). Always clean, the people working wear masks and the fold is cooked fresh. Also, they are consistently good!! I have zero complaints and would highly recommend everything. Also breakfast burritos and fresh squeezed orange juice are perfect. read more

See all

Best caldo de res in SJ. Hands down. The fajitas are hella fire. Best place to be on a cold rainy day. When u walk in, everyone is eating the same thing. The caldo read more

Came on a Thurs afternoon for lunch takeout. Pretty busy, tables were available to seat. Staff was attentively quick to serve and amicable. Ordered a chorizo burrito and it was good albeit was inundated with grease which made the eating experience messy. Establishment was clean. read more

La Peñita - Chorizo burrito - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

See all

Best mole in Silicon Valley. I have been going here for years. I wish they were open for dinner.

Horrible customer service after coming here as a guest multiple times. Ended up talking to the owner who was unprofessional and didn't even offer any accommodation. Didn't receive my food or a refund. Do not recommend read more

The Chile rolleno was by far the worst I've ever had...the chicken enchilada made up for it a bit. Beans are beans and this 'gringa' can make better rice. The service seemed ungrateful of my business and my togo containers (which may sound petty) didn't do any justice for the food. When you can't soak up even half the sauce, there's a problem.. Bottom line I'm still hungry after ordering the Chile relleno lunch and a side chicken enchilada. Bummer, I'd been wanting to come here for a while! The aftertaste in my mouth from my scraps tell me this is the worst Mexican food I've had. read more

La Peñita - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

This is a great little taqueria. The food was blazing hot, so you know it was fresh. I had the pozole. So good. The maiz was fresh not from the can. So yummy. My friend had the caldo, it looked yummy. My partner had the enchiladas and they loved it. My friend's wife had the enchilada and taco.. . It looked it so good. The horchata was tasty. Would def go here again, I want to try the tacos.. Make sure you bring cash... they don't except ATM or credit cards...it's prib why the prices are pretty reasonable. Quick service and friendly. read more

I will never come to this place ever again I will tell all my black folks do not ever spend any money with these people, at this restaurant I had very bad experience rude customer service the food was not all the way cooked and what I want it I didn't get so the two young ladies there was very rude to me. read more

Great homestyle Mexican food of the kind I grew up with in the San Joaquin Valley, meaning great pork in chile verde and great refried beans. I went here with a friend during a conference, because it was well reviewed and just far enough away from the Convention Center not to be crowded by the lunch rush. I don't normally order guacamole because I can usually make it better at home, but my friend was hankering for some--luckily for me. It was the best guacamole I've had in years: fresh, clean avocado taste, perfect balance of lumps and smooth paste, just a little onion and tomato and citrus and salt. Chips were thin and crisp. While the chips were not homemade, the corn tortillas were! We were both quite happy with our meals. read more

If you agree that you can judge a Mexican place by the quality of its refried beans, then you'll like this hole in the wall place. Obviously, they use lard in the beans which is why they're delicious and worth seeking out. It's in a seedy location and although safe, you'll see a broad range of people eating here: the occasional prostitute, frequent hungry work crews, workers from nearby offices in downtown SJ, students from SJSU. Their caldo de res soup is a specialty--homemade tasting with an ear of corn, a chunk of beef, and other veggies. You can't go wrong ordering a basic bean burrito though and appreciating the difference between these frijoles authentico and the other joints. read more

After staying out a bit too late Wednesday night (you South Bay Elites sure do know how to party), I was craving Mexican food in the worst way on Thursday. Found La Penita via the Yelp app and it was just down the street from my morning meeting. Back in STL, I lived near quite possibly the best taqueria ever, so it's hard to find a truly authentic Mexican place that compares. But La Penita definitely got the job done. This is a no-frills kind of restaurant - I wouldn't recommend going on a first date here unless your +1 is into burritos and refried beans. BUT their food definitely hit the spot! A burrito lunch special and a Sprite cost less than $10. Now *that's* the kind of hangover food that I'm talkin' about! read more

La Peñita - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

This place is close to the seedy part of what starts to be Monterey road but it is great! You get chips and salsa ,hot or mild after you order and sit down. I had a beef burrito and it was the real deal! Real authentic Mexican food and the salsa and cheese mix was excellent! It smells good and you can tell when you walk in is home style real Mexican food with most of the amenities you'd like and find in Tijuana! Colorful crowd mix of what you'd expect from a downtown as well! I will return and also review a few others in the area soon! read more

Edible... but barely. I will try to keep this short. We met here for a bite before going to see Hair at City Lights (good production btw). Our group of 5 girls arrived in the empty restaurant at about the same time but even after the last one arrived and sat down, we waited about 10 minutes before I waved to the waitress and cook who were chatting up in the back. With a barely noticeable look of irritation, the waitress came to our table and took our order. (Was that because we weren't Latinas?) She took our order and we chatted amicably as we waited for our food. We were disappointed with the food before we even started eating it. Everything that was fried looked gross, from the fries to the chimichangas. The oil had obviously not been hot enough to properly cook the food and so it had soaked in instead. To add to that, the carne asada was bland, the chicken chimichanga uninspiring and the fries half raw still. The ONLY thing that was looked great and was reportedly good (though I didn't try it) was the res soup that others have commented on. They even messed up my HORCHATA... it was sickenly sweet and had a powdery taste to it (though it was served in a cool glass). I didn't finish half of it and was glad I split an entree with my friend. Later last night... my tummy wasn't feeling so hot. Oh yeah... the prices were way to expensive for what it was too. I had lunch at El Buen Gusto earlier with another Yelper and it's amazing how much better and CHEAPER the lunch food was. Never again. read more

Found this little hole in the wall kind of spot. My wife ordered the shrimp cocktail, which comes with saltine crackers. She opened a pack of the crackers and found bugs inside the package. We told the waitress and real quick said they're bought at Costco. Waitress said they would throw away the crackers and replace. Just beware of the crackers. read more

This is a good little hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant. The chicken mole is a very tasty standard poblano sauce over boneless breast strips, and the rice and beans are likewise tasty. Try not to eat here when it's too crowded, because service can get a little overwhelmed. read more

This hole-in-the-wall completely blew me away when I recently ate dinner here with some wonderful friends of mine. Being my first time here, I have to admit that I had no idea what to expect. None at all. To be honest, I didn't even know where we were going. I was just given an address and told to "be there or be square". As I like to think I'm a well-rounded individual, I accepted. The only thing that threw me off guard was that the waitress didn't speak much English and my friends had to order for me. Everyone I was with got the Menudo. I just wasn't feeling it after I saw that this place had THREE flautas with rice and beans for just under $11. Can't beat that anywhere else from what I've seen. I'd also like to add that this may have been the first time since I was in Mexico that my flautas actually came out crispy and not soggy. That really impressed me. Needless to say, I'll be back and will gladly invite others! read more

La Peñita - Horchata - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

Dicey place near my friend's apt. Straight up delicious meal. Chili relleno plus rice and beans. Two kinds of salsa with chips, one medium, one hot. Lg horchata for me, and a hamaica for my friend. Drinks were tasty, too. Around 25$, my friend had a chicken burrito. read more

I wanted to take my mother out to eat authentic Mexican food , I have heard about this place that makes Authentic Mexican dishes , I never write reviews but this time I think it will be very helpful for people to know about this place. To start out with the place has limited parking spaces the inside of the restaurant is very small the tables wiggle the silver wear is dirty have to ask for clean ones, the food is not that great for the high price I paid $30 For a soup and on top of everything they only take Cash the server was rude to us. The food is not worth all the money I paid !! I do not recommend it, not worth it. read more

Wow what a nice surprise this place turned out to be , I had a cheese enchilada and a chili relleno and it was so delicious . I'm very picky about salsa and they served two different kinds both were yummy read more

La Peñita - Yummy ! - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

Not much of an ambiance, but good wholesome soups. They could clean up the place a little Probably a good call for a hangover or cold winter day read more