Super affordable and really good. I definitely recommend the tacos - at just over $2 per taco you can even try them all!! The pupusas are also delicious. read more

Tacos were first rate, will definitely return. Can be a bit slow to get your order in right at lunchtime, but if you're not in a hurry it's great. read more

I'd rank the food high among the Mexican food I've had in the area. There's also a small market inside with local goods and fresh meat and produce. Wait was a bit long for what I ordered. They have seating inside with TVs but not a ton of natural light. read more

Some iteration of this taqueria has taken up that space for years but I never ventured in until today's lunch. I live maybe 6-7 minutes away but work close enough to at least five good to great taquerias in Durham so never really had the urge. Had to stay near my house for the day and a friend who has lived less than a 10 min walk away for years but likewise had never been convinced me to try it out. It will be my only visit. 1. Exterior -- dinginess is fine but it wasn't a terribly appetizing sight to pull up, get out of by car and immediately see a trash can so overflowing that there was trash piling on the ground around it. The 95+ degree temperature didn't help either. 2. Once you walk in there's a check out counter to your left. Menu is basically tacos, pupusas, gorditas, huaraches and burritos. Beans and rice are four dollars extra. There's also a steam table that had 4-5 items in it (roasted meat with spaghetti, pork ribs with salsa verde, beef steak in mole, carnitas today). No clue the prices of each item but my friend was charged 10 dollars for the ribs which came with rice, beans, a few blistered jalapeños and pretty solid homemade tortillas. No free water nor aguafrescas made in-house, just whatever cold drinks from the cooler you want. I ordered two gorditas which along with a can of soda was around 9 dollars. They were out of my first two protein choices so I settled for one barbacoa and one carnitas. 3. Honestly the only positive was the really nice woman behind the counter. She was really nice and gave me some extra salsa containers when the food came out. Much appreciated. 4. Once you pay you get a number and from that point you have two choices -- either crowd the counter with the other folks waiting for their orders or go to the back of the store to the small dining area. Neither choice is great -- you either get in the back of the small crowd waiting which is a bit hectic but at least you can actually hear your order being called in. 5. Once you get your food plus a few salsa containers you can go sit and eat your meal. The eating area 1. only had one salt shaker that was empty, 2. was completely filthy and had definitely not been cleaned in days and 3. were all so wobbly you had to brace them with one hand while eating. I would definitely recommend taking your food out. 6. The food -- my friend said his pork was cooked well but completely bland, the rice was similarly ok, the tortillas were over steamed and the beans were almost inedibly watery. My gorditas were ok -- cooked pretty well if a bit overdone -- and the toppings were adequate (crema, iceberg and queso fresco), but the meats were disappointing. The carnitas were tender but super bland and the barbacoa was chewy and equally tasteless. Unfortunately the two salsas were pretty tasteless as well as the cactus salsa they have on offer behind the counter. I imagine this place will always be pretty popular because it's the only even remotely authentic taqueria in Carrboro (and other than Mariposa in Hillsborough there are none really between Durham and Alamance County). read more

Fire authentic Mexican food. Customer service is really good, I would definitely recommend this place.

This place is a hidden gem. I get the chicken tacos (it's not shredded kind which I hate, it's stir-fried, wish it was grilled though), al pastor and carne asada tacos. They make their pupusas fresh and it's so good. Only thing is you gotta wait 20min, I learned it the hard way! read more

Good Authentic Mexican Food! I ordered 2 carnitas tacos and the order of pupusas and they were both fantastic!

Grimy and cheap, this takes me back to the Mission District in San Francisco. I am so glad to find something real, versus the local hipster imposter's. Try the Gorditas, AWESOME. read more

This was a tale of two experiences. First, the good. Unassuming place located in a small plaza just outside the main part of Carrboro. Upon entering, it became apparent that this wAs both a full fledged Hispanic grocery store and butcher as well as a restaurant....all good signs, as some of the most authentic Mexican food I have had has come from the humble kitchens of places such as this (la plaza shopping market in Cleveland comes to mind). There was a deli style counter with a large containers of braised meats, but these didn't catch my eye. I dove straight into the menu, and together with my girlfriend, ordered most of the tacos on the menu- lengua, chorizo, carne asada, carnitas, barbacoa, as well as the carnitas Gordita and carne Hurraaches finishes off with an obligatory side of rice and beans. The tacos were on point- only a single tortilla, but honestly who needs the double tortilla unless they are the micro street tacos where 5 of them won't fill you up. Meat was well seasoned, but nothing special. Topped with cilantro and onions, with lime on the side. Simple, tasty and definitely worth the 1.99/taco. The Gordita was a surprise. My only prior experience is sadly with the Taco Bell version, and while tasty, it definelty lacks in the uniqueness Department. This did not disappoint, and was essentially a thick outer layer fried and filled with meat, cream, queso fresco and lettuce. The Gordita shell was surprisingly tasty, and the whole thing together formed a sizeable treat. For someone with a more normal appetite than mine, this could easily suffice for a lunch portion. At 3.50, it was definitely with it, and a nice change of pace from the tacos. Finally, we ventured and got the hurrahaches. This was a new dish for me, and essentially was an open faced burrito with carne. In terms of size it rivals that of a carrburrito, and was overall quite filling. The carne, as others have suggested was a bit tough, but when eating at an establishment like this, I am not expecting filet style softness. People often forget, that some of the most flavorful cuts of beef are those that are the toughest, so I'm not taking points away for this. The rice and beans were just that, obligatory, and forgettable. While the beans tasted homemade, they lacked the depth of flavor and fattiness that separates the good from the bad. Overall, I'd pass on these next time. To those people racving about the cactus salsa, I'm not sure where this came from. I asked the head chef and he lady at the counter for this and was met with blank stares. They said they do not make this. They did offer a roasted jalapeño green salsa and a rojo salsa. Each with a bit of kick and nice accent for the dishes, but nothing to write home about. The inside had a nice selection of authentic style Central American style cuts of meat in the butcher boxes, as well as mentioned before, a mini Mexican grocery store. They even had fresh made tortilla stacks Wrapped in paper and big igloo style cooler to go. Will have to try that next time. And now for the not so good part- standing outside was a group of perhaps 4-5 loiterers. They noticed my Argentina shirt as we were walking in ( my girlfriend is from Argentina- represent- oh and it happened to be Argentina's Independence Day!). They immediately started talking to us about that and essentially giving us a hard time, haranguing is about soccer, etc. ok, I get it. But on the way out, they again got right up in our faces and we're essentially confrontational. My s/o, who I mentioned is from Argentina, was offended by the way they spoke to and about us, right there outside the restaurant. It made an otherwise enjoyable experience feel a bit uncomfortable and actually seemed to have the potential to turn confrontational if we weren't just agreeing to everything they said. Overall, solid Mexican style street food with a few dishes I have not seen many places elsewhere (gorditas and hurraches). The crowd outside really ruined for me though- who wants to be harassed while picking up food???? Will probably be back, but will keep a look out for the crowd outside. read more

I only went to this place because the guy that reviewed this place before me said it was like Mission St. in SF. I must say that this is better then any of the American burrito places around here (Chipotle, Moe's, etc.) but I can in no way shape or form say this is like the authentic Mexican spots on Mission Street. I only tried the burrito especial but I'm pretty sure everything else would not live up to par either. One thing that really threw me off was that they topped their salads with mayonnaise, gross. The place is grimy and cheap but not amazing. Also, no one in the store speaks a lick of English so be prepared to dig through the back of your brain for the little bit of Spanish you can remember. read more

We just had their quesadillas, but they were the best we've had in NC. In same building as a gas station, but was surprisingly large inside. Nice little meat counter, Mexican grocery, and restaurant. They speak mostly Spanish, but could make out some of what I was saying in English/Spanglish. read more

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They have amazing authentic Mexican food. This is probably my favourite taqueria in town. I suggest it for everyone. There cactus salad is out of this world. read more

Excellent Al pastor tacos. Very authentic food, especially the tortas and enchiladas with the same rate as the taco trucks nearby.

Ok, convenient, cheap, Staff is friendly, although I must admit you have to attempt to speak spanish when you first walk in the door of this place otherwise you'll be completely and utterly lost within this store.. However after you botch your spanish as I often do, the cashier will gladly translate back into english and give you a free complimentary spanish lesson. In addition to that the price you get for the quesadillas is not only amazing, exciting, and the quality of meat they put in them is vibrant and almost wakes you up just by taking the first bite. Not to mention you also gain access to the variety of ethnic food that is sold everything from desserts to plantains. even still the various meats they have set up as a deli like fashion is amazing. read more