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Taqueria Cardenas

4.1 (149 reviews)
Closed • 9:00 am - 8:00 pm

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TAQUERIA CARDENAS ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Moderate noise
Dogs allowed
Outdoor seating

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Recommended Reviews - Taqueria Cardenas

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Crispy Shrimp Taco
Ariana H.

Had to run an errand at the Supreme Court in Modesto and decided to grab some Mexican food nearby. I found Taqueria Cardenas on Yelp -- it was just a short walk away. The bright, colorful exterior caught my eye -- always a good sign at a Mexican spot. The place was small but packed, with a fast-moving line despite only three employees working. They handled DoorDash, takeout, and dine-in orders efficiently. I placed my order, used the restroom (immaculately clean -- rare for small spots), and found a seat. They brought the food straight to my table without needing a number. Carne Asada Plate:The meat was thicker than most places but very flavorful. The rice, beans, and salad were well-seasoned, making the plate a hearty, satisfying meal on its own. Crispy Shrimp Taco:Good flavor but overpriced at $9. It only had about three shrimp -- not worth the extra $3.50 compared to a regular crispy taco. Overall, I'd definitely recommend Taqueria Cardenas when in the area. They handle rush hour well, the food is tasty, and the salsa bar is a great bonus.

The lady was super nice. The food was spectacular. She gave the food asap. 10/10 no complains. I WILL be coming back.

Interior looking at service counter and Salsa Bar
Dexter D.

Time for some pre-show dinner. Tonight? The Temptations & The Four Tops! We had time to kill, needed dinner and didn't want to lose our excellent parking space close to the Gallo Center. We did a minor bit of walking and looked at yelp as we walked. This led us to Taqueria Cardenas. Honestly, it wasn't much to look at. Small store front with an enclosed patio area in front with maybe two or three small tables. It was a little wider inside than I had expected. There was one person placing an order to go, otherwise it was empty. The menu is behind and above the counter. We waited our turn and placed our order. We each got an entree, and I ordered an extra Chile Relleno to share. We grabbed a Diet Pepsi from the self-service fridge. There were fountain drinks as well, but we didn't ask about them. We did have our Gallo Center cup with us, and our order taker/server was kind enough to fill it with ice for us. We paid for our food, received some napkins, flatware and a plastic basket of tortilla chips and went to choose a table. There was a Salsa Bar for salsas, limes, and radishes. There is a public restroom for guests. You do have to ask the cashier to open it for you. That's a good thing because that meant that the restroom was very clean. The order taker/server brought our food to our table and checked with us a couple of times to make sure that we were happy and didn't need anything else. It was a small wait for our food from ordering to serving but it was a wait worth waiting for. The rice and beans were as expected. The Chile Rellenos were perfect! Excellent temperature, texture and flavor. She got an Al Pastor Enchilada with Green Sauce and a Carnitas Street Taco. Both were devoured in no time. We have four more shows to attend at the Gallo this season. No doubt, we will be returning.

Carna Asada fries

Felt the food was pretty skimpy. Ordered carna asada fries but felt the fry to topping ratio was off. Definitely should have had more fries for the dish. Definitely not worth the $15. Could have been a busy night so they were rushing thru and were trying to spread their fries across several dishes instead of making enough for all their orders.

Chicken tortilla soup
James S.

Outstanding quality ingredients. I ordered chicken tortilla soup! Very tasty and fresh

Pollo and Chile Colorado Taco
Marc B.

Great location. Plenty of seating and a kitchen area had a ton of taco toppings choices. The pollo taco was ok and the the Chile Colorado didn't have a ton of flavor. Perhaps I didn't choose the right toppings. The "mild" salsa was pretty spicy but didn't add much to the taste.

Chicken Enchiladas and Chicken Taco
Greg C.

The Yelp rating is legit. Nice little family run restaurant. The food was fresh, served fast, and delicious.

Mushy rice and the beans were no bueno
C Q.

So I really liked Cardenas and I wanted to bring my wife to enjoy their food. I am going to soon realize this was a bad idea. We arrived at the restaurant to find no one enjoying dinner. No biggie right. I ordered the quesabirra taco plate, the wife went with the enchiladas. My little brother also ordered his meal. He too got the quesabiria taco plate. The food came out and it was time to eat. First impressions, the rice was mush. I had a feeling this dinner was going south quick. I grabbed my first taco and instead of being firm and crisp, my taco was soft and flimsy. I took my first bite and i knew this was not the same meal I had a couple of weeks ago. What a bummer. Lack of flavor even with the dipping juice. I actually regret coming here now because this dinner wasn't what I had weeks prior. The wife said her enchiladas were ok but the rice was mushy and the beans were no bueno. I totally agreed. My brother wasn't impressed either. He too has had a great meal here in the past but tonight's meal fell really short. My original score was five stars a few weeks ago but this meal dropped it to three stars. Should be a two and a half star really.

Getting food before wine tasting
Jessica M.

Went to a wine tasting event at the taste studio fashion house across the street but needed some carbs in me quick haha so went here for a veggie burrito and it was soo good!! Their beans are delicious which makes all the difference in a veggie burrito. They have a salsa bar which was legit, I loved the green salsas. The red is the spicier one but I like the flavor of the green salsa. My friend ordered a taco salad and she really liked hers too. They were fast and really good quality food. Will definitely be back next time I'm in town.

Chile Relleno Plate
Rayanne T.

Found out about this place because I have a RAD Card -- I would have otherwise never tried this place. I called in my order for camarones rancheros, chile relleno, a quesabirria and large jugo de jamaica. My order was ready on time. It was some man show -- the cook was very friendly! The quesabirria was the best thing. All the food was tasty but was missing that homemade touch. The chile relleno was just dipped in egg -- not that puffy egg white batter. The rice was good, beans were good but canned I think. The camarones rancheros were tasty, spicy sauce, but lite on shrimp. Salsas bar had a good variety with sliced radishes, lime wedges, and four salsas. Plus: food came in recyclable paper board containers. Negative: food didn't hold temperature and boxes got soggy by the time the food got home. Conclusion: I'll give it another try -- especially for the quesabirria.

Tacos Plate
Dayana V.

This spot was walking distance from my hotel so I decided to try it out. The food was alright but the margarita was trash.

A fried shrimp taco is my absolute favorite & i'm in love

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4 months ago

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2 months ago

Got their burrito and it was average. The Carne Asada was a little over charred and some parts of it were un edible

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1 year ago

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3 years ago

This is my favorite place to get lunch... they have great enchiladas, taco salads and bowls, tacos, and breakfast food.

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2 years ago

Our Go To when we visit Modesto. Great food, service and menu choices. Simple, clean decor but it's really all about the food! Excellent!

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2 years ago

Food is terrible don't waste your money and the drink fridge has mold growing on the glass doors

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Frida's Taqueria Ajua - Cucumber Agua Fresca...hit the spot!!!

Frida's Taqueria Ajua

4.6(403 reviews)
3.3 mi
•$$

First off, we found out about this restaurant through social media. We knew eventually we'd want to…read moretry it. Luckily, we were by the mall and made the VERY short 10-ish minute drive. Worth it! Walked into a very quiet, but colorful restaurant with only one other patron inside. The employees were so nice. We were told to pick anywhere, we were brought menus and instantly asked if we'd like anything to drink or if we wanted to look at the menu first... We asked for suggestions and the waitress offered the types of drinks they have. She brought us chips and salsa. The chips were homemade with a perfect crunch. The salsa was fresh, chunky and not spicy. The pepino cone limo aqua Fresca was the best aqua Fresca I've EVER had. Not too sweet at all and was SO REFRESHING. We also ordered an horchata and I was told that was just as good. The food... Where to start. We ordered an empanada and some quedabirria tacos. The empanada was HUGE, deliciously filling with fresh ingredients. It had great flavor. The quesabirria tacos were probably the best we've had. You order the amount you want. They are 5.99 each and oh so delicious. The meat tasted SO FRESH and flavorful. The creamy jalapeño salsa had a NICE kick to it. All meals come with radish and pickled onions as garnish, but eating them with the meal made it even more refreshing and delicious. They need more than one location, but until then we will be back! (Luckily, I heard they do catering.)

Cool ambiance and good service…read more Ordered a couple of wet burritos to go; chicken and chile verde. Wife liked her burrito but felt that chicken was a little dry. My burrito was pretty good so we will need to come back to dine in and try some other items. Overall 4 stars.

Photos
Frida's Taqueria Ajua
Frida's Taqueria Ajua - Mulita de asada. Steak Mulita

Mulita de asada. Steak Mulita

Frida's Taqueria Ajua - Quesabirria tacos with consommé.

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Quesabirria tacos with consommé.

La Morenita - Shrimp enchiladas, with no sauce, only cheese and sour cream on top, per request. Rice and beans on side.

La Morenita

3.5(275 reviews)
2.8 mi
•$$

I come here pretty often, and it's always a solid choice for Mexican food in town. The food is…read moreconsistently good, the drinks are solid, and they easily have the best chips and salsa around. Service is always friendly and reliable, which keeps me coming back. My only real recommendation is to avoid sitting in the bar area if you're in a hurry. Service there tends to move a lot slower, so it can take a while to get your order in and get your food. The restaurant itself is a little run down, and the bathrooms could definitely use some attention, but the bar and outside area is decorated nicely and has a good atmosphere overall. All in all, it's a great local spot and one I keep going back to.

Unfortunately, this was a really disheartening experience…read more We waited over an hour for our food, and when it finally came out there was an issue with the size of the menudo bowl that had been offered to us. Instead of trying to resolve the situation or make it right, the manager, Noah, became argumentative and tried to debate what had been said rather than listen to the customer. After waiting that long, the last thing anyone expects is to feel like they have to argue just to be heard. What made it more disappointing was the lack of willingness to fix the issue or offer a solution. We came in hoping for a good meal and left feeling frustrated and unheard. It's sad because good service could have easily turned this into a positive experience. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case here. At the end of it he realized and came back and finally apologized.

Photos
La Morenita - Patio seating that is covered with ACs blasting, plenty of TVs with sports playing, and connected to the bar.

Patio seating that is covered with ACs blasting, plenty of TVs with sports playing, and connected to the bar.

La Morenita - Chile Colorado with rice and beans.

Chile Colorado with rice and beans.

La Morenita - Chile Verde with rice and beans.

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Chile Verde with rice and beans.

La Morenita - Molcajete

La Morenita

3.6(314 reviews)
3.7 mi
•$$

Pretty good experience here today, we were seated promptly but it took a while for drinks to come…read moreand much longer for the meal after the wait for the server to take the order. The food was well done, the ambiance was the busiest we have seen it in a while (they seemed to have a party on the bar side which is a good thing). We didn't order the margaritas this time but definitely can recommend them. Overall, a solid 4/5.

My husband and I came here for an early lunch (11 am). We were attracted to the sign stating that…read moreit was "La Morenita The Original" We ordered off the lunch menu: *Burrito supreme- chicken with green sauce (4/5) This is my go to at Mexican restaurants. However, I should've asked for grilled chicken, instead of shredded chicken. * Wedding platter- asada with corn tortillas (5/5) The "signature medium spicy cream sauce" was delicious! The service was great. We were greeted with a smile. We arrived right when they opened, so we received our food promptly. While waiting for our food, we received chips and salsa. The ambiance was kinda quiet, being the only ones in the restaurant, but they had upbeat Mexican music playing. *The cook did get our order wrong, they gave my husband chicken, instead of asada. But the waitress and cook were quick to correct this. Overall, good food (4.5/5) and good price. We spent less than $35.

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La Morenita - Cute little decorations behind the counter.

Cute little decorations behind the counter.

La Morenita
La Morenita - Part of the dinner combo, pick three items. I had a cheese enchilada with cheese on top, no sauce, and beans & cheese.

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Part of the dinner combo, pick three items. I had a cheese enchilada with cheese on top, no sauce, and beans & cheese.

Las Casuelas - Birria tacos

Las Casuelas

2.9(375 reviews)
4.8 mi
•$$

Great traditional Mexican food. This place never disappoints. I started with the whiskey smash,…read morewhich was a refreshing variation of almost a margarita. The complimentary chips along with their salsa and beans paired amazingly well. I proceeded to get the choose three build your own combo with a beef taquito(pictured), green chicken enchilada, and a chicken burrito. The beef taquito was first of all huge, the biggest one that I have ever seen. It came with plenty of toppings including guacamole, sour cream, cheese, cabbage, and tomatoes. The burrito was decent, definetely could have used at least some more salsa, ended up being a filler on my plate. I saved the best for last, the classic enchilada was smothered in a delicious salsa that I dipped my other two items into. If you want to try out different things and get a good amount of food for your money, you can't go wrong with the build your own combo, especially from this establishment. Apart from the food, the service exceeded my expectations and it is perfect for your next casual dining experience.

Gave them one more shot for a taco salad... and they blew it again. You'd think a taco salad would…read morebe a simple win, but nope. I asked for grilled chicken and got stewed chicken with absolutely zero flavor. They said it came with guacamole and sour cream--neither were anywhere to be found. The "salad" was basically lettuce, pico, and whole beans with a super tiny portion overall. I added bell peppers and onions, maybe five pieces total, and they hit me with a $6 upcharge. Would've been nice to know that before so I could've said no thanks. Final price for this subpar salad? $25. I actually had to go back just to show them. The bar manager, Hamad (spelling), tried to help by adding more chicken and then told me the sour cream and guac were "under the shell." Really? Who hides condiments under the shell? Total waste of time and money. I'm done. No more chances.

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Las Casuelas - Inside

Inside

Las Casuelas - Steak and Chicken Fajitas

Steak and Chicken Fajitas

Las Casuelas

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Taqueria Cardenas - seafood - Updated May 2026

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