Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    Leo's Cafe

    4.9 (15 reviews)
    Closed Closed

    Order Leo's Cafe Takeout or Delivery

    Leo's Cafe Photos

    You might also consider

    Recommended Reviews - Leo's Cafe

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    Reviews With Photos

    IMO best breakfast sandwich in Santa Ana, crispy bacon, avocado, egg, cheese, tonatoy

    Great food, great service! Chef Julian gets down w his breakfast items. At least once a week I order the avocado breakfast sandwich (bacon, cheese, avo, tomato, cheese, toasted English muffin). Leo has weekly items that are not part of the regular menu that always hits such as tamales, chicken tinga, chiles rellenos. Thanks Leo and Julian.

    two quesadillas in a box
    Fred G.

    I can't recommend Leo's enough! Consistently great food with great service and the food is always hot and it comes out in an extremely timely manner. I work in the Santa Ana Federal Building and during COVID all I could think about was whether or not Leo's would be there after the height of the pandemic had subsided. I couldn't be more grateful that they are here as I missed both their Big Star Coffee, Their Breakfast Quesadilla that consisted of Bacon, Egg and Cheese in a Tortilla as well as their Philly Cheesesteak which is as good as just about anything you'd find on the East Coast and I lived there for 13 years and went to Philly often. So glad they are still around and so excited to be able to patronize such a wonderful business with great employees who take pride in the work they do and the service they provide to the Federal Employees that work in the building as well as visitors who come and go including for citizenship ceremonies. What better way to celebrate than taking in Leo's great food.

    Al pastor customized bowl with avocado, rice, beans, grilled onions/broccoli/zucchini
    Vic V.

    Don't be afraid of custom orders! I wanted a bowl but with Al pastor and grilled onions... Wish granted. Chef's Leo and Julian are pretty flexible when it comes to getting your order just right. The only drawback to this location is what security you get at the front door and how quickly they let you in to eat.

    Angel B.

    Lots of made to order breakfast and lunch itema being served to the hungry hardworking people of Santa Ana. This place is located on the first floor in one of the Federal Buildings in Santa Ana. It also requires a security clearance and ID to get in. It is within walking distance of most of the courthouses, which is where I am going to be stuck for quite a while. I have been here a few times and the most inconsistent thing are the fries. Day 1 they were good with my burger. Day 2 completely undercooked with my philly cheesesteak. Day 3 they were somewhere in between with my sandwich. Prices are okay. Somewhere between $8-$10 for a combo which includes fries and a fountain drink. But it can add up if you go everyday. Anyways this is a good alternative place to eat while in the Justice area.

    They have soft drinks, energy drinks, and coffee
    T G.

    So Leo's used to be loacted in a food truck across the street from the cafe. When a co-worker told me he moved I had to come check out his new place. Leo's Cafe is located where Knowlwoods Cafe used to be. I got my usual order of tacos; I love the tacos from Leo's! The meat has always been tender and tasty! Add some lime and salsa and it is awesome every bite! Be careful with the salsa though! Both red and green have a small kick, so if you're not used to the heat then you're better off only trying a little at a time. I love the indoor seating area; It is cute and there is plenty. If you're in the area and looking for a place for either breakfast or lunch, I recommend this place. Be mindful of the hours though! They only serve breakfast until 10:30am. The breakfast is worth it! My co-worker swears by their breakfast burrito!

    Tacos are so good here.  Authentic street style tacos with lots of meat.  Plus you can watch the world cup soccer games too!
    Gabriel C.

    Leo's cafe is a great spot for lunch. The food is great and the selection is even better. Lots to choose from. They are very friendly and will make you food just like you want it. The street tracks are delicious, a must try! Will be coming here often.

    This are the protein style tacos al pastor. One of the best and low carb plate at Leo's Cafe.

    See all

    Photo of Lamson N.
    109
    18
    2

    19 days ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 1
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 1
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    9 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 1
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    10 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Fred G.
    377
    395
    1058

    4 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Absolutely delicious! Made jury duty worth it! Definitely go, run! I had the tacos... unreal and beyond tasty!

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 1
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 25
    Thanks 0
    Love this 23
    Oh no 0
    Photo of T G.
    8
    203
    249

    8 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    6 years ago

    Very good food, good price and great service. Always a smile on their face. Definitely a perk about working in the same building.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Best menu in town. They have excellent customer service and no doubt Five Star food menu. I will be back!

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    Ask the Community - Leo's Cafe

    Review Highlights - Leo's Cafe

    The owner, Leo, is incredibly kind and welcoming, which really made the visit special.

    Mentioned in 2 reviews

    Read more highlights

    You might also consider

    Verify this business for free

    People searched for Tacos 108,191 times last month within 15 miles of this business.

    Verify this business

    Bandito Taqueria

    Bandito Taqueria

    4.6
    (487 reviews)
    0.3 mi
    $$

    I fucking love this place. I eat here at least two or three times a week, and it never disappoints…read more The al pastor is a 10/10..seriously, get it with everything on it. Their salads are delicious, and the quesadillas? Chef's kiss. I'm actually really picky about quesadillas because, for some reason, the cheese at a lot of places messes with my stomach. But whatever they're using here agrees with me perfectly. Honestly... not even a 1,000/10. If you haven't tried this spot yet, you're missing out.

    PREMISE: I went here on a Tuesday night with a group of 10 friends…read more WAIT TIME: Not long! You order at the counter and then you can rather take it to go or sit in their restaurant. There's plenty of indoor seating and some outdoor seating as well. Food came relatively quickly as well for all of us, and drinks came out right away. Wait was maybe 5-10 minutes but all the food was freshly made! FOOD: They don't have too big of a menu, but that's not bad. I tried the carne asada, el pastor, and the mushroom tacos + queso tacos. The tacos were a lot bigger than larger tacos, coming at roughly $4 per taco. I would recommend the queso tacos because i LOVE cheese but the regular tacos are good. The quesadillas were very filling and there was a lot to them as well if you want something that'll fill you up more than a taco. SERVICE: Service was good. Everyone who helped us was very nice. PARKING: There is street parking and parking lots around the area for you to walk in--all of which are paid parking. You can use an app for the lots or use coins for the street parking. I've gone here during the day and night and I haven't had any issues with parking at all. INTERIOR: The interior is very simple: warm tones with benches. If you have a big party, you most likely will have to split up between multiple tables. For us, a party of 10, we divided it between 4 and 6, though the 6 was a tight fit. BATHROOM: Clean. Nothing crazy when I went there. I'm pretty sure you can use the bathroom too even if you don't buy anything. LOCATION: This place is in downtown Santa Ana, so there are a lot of shops for you to look around, eat at, or shop at if you go during the day. Very fun to eat tacos here and then go on a walk afterwards :)) TLDR: A very good taco spot to go eat if you want good tacos. They're open till 10pm weekdays and midnight on weekends as well. Decent variety that's fresh and very flavorful

    Photos
    Nice spacious dining room.
    Nice spacious dining room.
    Chicken Flour Quesadilla
    Chicken Flour Quesadilla
    Al pastor with everything and pineapple passion fruit fresh juice (no refill).

    See all

    Al pastor with everything and pineapple passion fruit fresh juice (no refill).
    Navarro's Taqueria

    Navarro's Taqueria

    4.3
    (573 reviews)
    1.8 mi
    $$

    I came here with my coworkers for lunch and so glad that we did. I'm disappointed that I have not…read morebeen here sooner! There is a decent size parking lot for Navarro's. It is next to a gas station. It looks like a pretty popular place during the lunch hour. It's a smaller place inside, but they do have an outdoor patio. We were able to find a small table, not too far from the front counter. Ordering at the front was easy. The staff was friendly and quick. We could see the cook grilling up the meats as we placed our order. There were at least five different salsas to choose from as well as cucumbers and a chili oil at the self-serve salsa bar. I noticed a customer in front of us ordered a kids plate which included two street tacos and rice and beans. That's what I ended up ordering with Carne Asada and chorizo. There were four or five proteins to choose from for the kids plate. I loved the grilled meats with the char flavor. It was delicious! Everything was well seasoned. I wish I would've ordered a third or maybe even a fourth taco because it was that good! I will definitely come back many times and it's going to be on our lunch rotation for sure.

    I ordered the BK breakfast burrito through Postmates since I was at work and really feeling a…read morebreakfast burrito. So I tried this out. I'm glad I did. The burrito was solid sized, I was definitely full after eating it. Great seasoned potato wedges inside, tasty egg, and plenty of bacon and sausage. Only thing with the bacon and sausage was that the bacon was actually bacon bits. I'm pretty sure they are pre bagged bacon bits, judging by the extreme salty taste...they overpowered the sausage inside so all I was really getting was bacon bits. There was supposed to be chipotle mayo inside as well, but I don't think mine had it. Or it was also overpowered by the bacon bits. Burrito was grilled on both sides and wrapped up nicely. By the time I got it, it was still super hot. The green and red salsas are also delicious.

    Photos
    Menu
    Menu
    Chicken Enchiladas
    Chicken Enchiladas
    Birria Combo A

    See all

    Birria Combo A
    Tacos Gutierrez

    Tacos Gutierrez

    4.5
    (109 reviews)
    1.6 mi
    $
    Family-owned & operated
    LGBTQ friendly

    Taco Gutierrez you have my whole heart!…read more After having moved to Santa Ana last year this has become my go-to spot for tacos close by. It's hard to find a good Taco Tuesday but they do a great job helping the community and keeping the prices $1.50 for basic meats like pollo, asada, and al pastor. I personally love my lengua and this truck has some of the best I've tried! It is a bit pricier but definitely worth it given the taste/quality. A couple things about the condiments--green sauce is spicier than you think, red one is more of a salsa and not that hot. Radishes are unfortunately not very crunchy/juicy at this location so I don't get it as often as I would at other taco spots. If you're ever in a rush, they do phone orders AND DoorDash. I've done all the methods and quality stays up there each time! However, if you do wanna enjoy your tacos right after they're prepared, you can always sit at their tables next to the truck. They have quite a bit of dining space and I've never seen it too crowded to the point of having difficulty finding a spot to sit. In terms of finding the truck, you just need to turn into S Hathaway St. Very close to the train tracks. I park in any free space they have there, since the businesses are usually closed after 5pm (which is when the truck opens).

    Came here on a Tuesday. Place wasn't too crowded and we were helped promptly…read more $1.50 tacos are a bargain these days, and they were reasonably sized. I got 3 asada and they were great! Small counter with radish, cucumber, and salsas as well as some Mexican lollipops (def took a few for the road) I definitely will be coming here on Tuesdays from now on!

    Photos
    Come make your own combination.
    Come make your own combination.
    Taco Tuesday come get your tacos.
    Taco Tuesday come get your tacos.
    Tacos Gutierrez

    See all

    Taqueria El Gordito

    Taqueria El Gordito

    3.9
    (379 reviews)
    1.3 mi
    $$

    Taqueria El Gordito is one of my go-to late-night taco spots, especially after work--and it never…read moremisses. They're open until 3am, which already puts them in a clutch category. This is the kind of place you rely on when you need something solid, fast, and satisfying. My usual order is the asada or cabeza tacos--and they don't hold back. The tacos are big, flavorful, and consistently good every time. Every now and then I switch it up with the chile relleno burrito, which is also worth it. Everything I've had here hits. The salsa selection is solid too. They don't have it laid out anymore, but you can just ask at the counter--and they'll take care of you. They've always been cool about giving extra when needed. They've also got a good variety of drinks to go with it. I usually take my food to-go, but the outdoor patio is there if you want to sit and eat. Service is friendly, quick, and consistent--another reason I keep coming back. If you're looking for a reliable late-night taco spot that delivers on flavor and portion, this is it.

    I was in the area and decided to grab some lunch. Someone mentioned that the Horchata water was…read moregood, first of all it was from the machine so that was already a bad sign. The tacos had plenty of meat tho. I had 2 adabada and 2 cabesa tacos. Adobada Tacos - the tortillas could use a little more oil when you say TJ style. The meat was more in the sweet side 1-5 (1) Cabesa Tacos- The meat was nice and fresh and had good flavor 1-5 (4) the yellow corn tortilla is always a nice touch. The salsas 1-5 (1) are not spicy and lack flavor It's not sitting outside but I'd rather eat inside. The Horchata Water can also use some work. 1-5 (2) This is just my taste buds talking we all have different taste buds, but this would not be my first choice for tacos.

    Photos
    Breakfast grub.
    Breakfast grub.
    Breakfast burrito
    Breakfast burrito
    Burrito combo, massive!

    See all

    Burrito combo, massive!

    Leo's Cafe - tacos - Updated July 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...