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    Taqueria El Carnaval

    3.9 (298 reviews)
    ModerateMexican
    Closed 9:00 am - 9:00 pm
    Updated 3 months ago

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    TAQUERIA EL CARNAVAL ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Happy hour specials
    Outdoor seating

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    Fajitas
    Nicole P.

    Best food around. We fly from Texas to get authentic Mexican food! You must give it a try!

    Milton ..

    The food looks and taste amazing! But honest you guys should be ashamed to charge $3.50 for a tiny 16oz cup of tamarindo I feel robbed if the food itself wasn't great I'd give you guys 1 star. This is my dinner tonight as I'm working in the area! Sucks for me!

    Nachos
    Becca B.

    This is the fastest Mexican food place that is not considered fast food! Stopped on our way back from a snowboarding trip, we had a big group of 8 and by the time the 8th person was ordering the first person to order already had their food! It was so quick and tasted good too! The margaritas are huge!

    Lengua soft taco   :)
    Lillian W.

    When I walk into an eatery and see a diverse clientele eating there, I know it is gonna be good. Well I got that vibe while I walked into this taqueria for the first time. It was on a recent lazy weekend afternoon between lunch and dinner time. The place was hopping. The line was long but moved super quick. The food came out quick also. The food was pretty darn good and service was excellent. The staff was so uncommonly nice and welcoming. Feel good vibes. I ordered a crispy pork soft taco and a lengua soft taco. $2.80 each. They had a good portion of meats and topped with different salsas. Each one having its own crazy delicious, unique flavor. The pork was cooked so that the edges of the meat had that indulgent crispiness without the burn. Mmm. They had a complimentary chips n salsa bar. Yay... bring it on. The chips were crisp and sturdy. Not too thick and not thin n flimsy. The salsas had a nice variety and in varying heat levels. They even had green salsa which is my fave. Hubs had a crispy hard shell beef taco. He liked it. But our lunch companion had a wet steak burrito. It was massive and looked so good. It is his fave. Actually, he was the one that recommended this place to us. Hubs kept thinking about the burrito for several days later, so he broke down and went back on a solo trip to get the burrito. He luved it. Ha! Since know we know about this place, I reckon we will be back again.

    L-R Carne asada taco, lengua taco. Chips & salsa, nopalitos, pickled carrots and onion, radish. All great!!
    Gisele X.

    Good experience here over Memorial Day weekend. Clean restaurant, patio, and salsa bar. The staff are on top of it all here. The salsa bar has all of my favorite items - fresh chips, Pico de Gallo, pickled carrots, onions and jalapeños, whole radishes, nopalitos, lime slices with lots of juice, guac flavored salsa, many different kinds of salsas nicely marked. Lengua was delicious. Some of the carne asada was overcooked but not all and it tasted fabulous. The two individual restrooms are spacious, clean and well-stocked. Prices are a little steep, $2.85 per taco. Came to a little under $7 for two taqueria tacos. But, everything is becoming more and more expensive. Thanks America and politicians for your irrational response to rona. Thankfully, I didn't need a large meal and the chips & salsa bar filled me a little more. I'd return to eat at Taqueria Carnival. Especially with the El Dorado Trail a little further down the road for some good bicycling. Try it out for yourself, the patio is nicely shaded for the most part, too. Can easily set bikes near your table.

    Two combo meal with an enchilada and a taco

    Food was ok but I couldn't get past the smell to even be able to enjoy my food. The smell of purple pine-Sol plug ins were everywhere..... in the bathroom and all over restaurant. I felt like I could taste it. I want to smell the good food your cooking Not pine-sol, it was horrible. Ate outside but didn't really help I could smell the purple plug in outside.Food was ok rice and beans were super salty and asada tasted like he had no flavor.Sorry but it's a no me!

    They didn't make the carne asada correctly. Blah

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    9 months ago

    Always quick and delicious! Nice outdoor seating, Bomb margaritas too! And churos! Our favorite

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    4 months ago

    Amazing food, Good Vibe, fantastic service, one of my go to when the family is feeling hispanic food and not cooking it!

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    2 years ago

    Food was good. Service fast. I like that you can eat inside or out on their patio. I will go there again.

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    Leonardo V.

    Thank you so much for you review

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    Paco’s Mexican Cuisine - Tacos chicke carnitas asada chileverde ground beef

    Paco’s Mexican Cuisine

    4.2(168 reviews)
    2.8 mi
    $$

    Excellent! We've had lunch and dinner for take out but never…read moreate in. Had the best tacos and hubby had fajitas 3 different meats with the fixings. Price wasn't high and took home leftovers for today's lunch. The waitress was fast serving no wait for food maybe 10 minutes. We're going back soon!

    I've been to the Paco's in Pollock Pines which I totally dig. But I haven't been to the Paco's in…read morePlacerville. So on a recent lazy weekend, I tried them out. Glad I did. The food was yummy. Our waiter was terrific. I ordered Rojas chicken posole. It was served in a big ole bowl that was bigger than my Charlie Brown head. The broth had a good flavor. The shredded cabbage was served already mixed in the posole. The posole was topped with chopped onions, dry oregano, and chopped cilantro with lime wedges served on the side. I'm used to everything served on the side including the cabbage. I like to control the quantity of toppings. A bit of a control freak. Next time I'll ask for the items on the side. The posole had a lot of shredded cabbage and hominy. Each spoonful had a textured crunch from the cabbage. Slurping and chomping my posole. The hominy was soft and tender without being mushy. The complimentary chips n salsa were divinely delicious. Salsa was packed with flavor, nice thickness. No watery soupy salsa here. The chips were crisp and light. This Paco's is a sit down casual restaurant while the one in Pollock Pines is counter service. Both have a fun luchador theme that's understated without being outrageous. This location has a bar in the dining room shared space. The atmosphere can get rambunctious. Not rowdy but rambunctiously loud.

    Photos
    Paco’s Mexican Cuisine - Artwork

    Artwork

    Paco’s Mexican Cuisine - Birria tacos

    Birria tacos

    Paco’s Mexican Cuisine

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    El Forastero - Fish Taco ($5.25)

    El Forastero

    3.1(62 reviews)
    3.1 mi

    Came on Taco Tuesday! Each taco was $1.99…read moreAnd we were so surprised with the flavor of each taco! Adobada was really tasty! Carnitas had very good flavor as well as soft meat. Asada was good also! We had 3 tacos each + 2 more because we really liked it! Plus they have salsa Bar with many salsas including non spicy to spicy and really spicy. Service was good we got our tacos very quick & very well served. We'll be coming back very soon! (Next Tuesday )

    Date: Saturday, December 6th, 2025 Party of: 2…read moreMeal: Late Dinner Takeaway Time Placed: around 10:45pm Time Picked Up: about 15 mins later *Crispy Tacos - Ground Beef ($3.99) *Fish Taco ($5.25) *2-Item Plate - Enchilada - Ground Beef, Ground Beef ($16.99) *Quesabirria ($5.99) *Street Tacos - Lengua ($4.24) *Street Tacos - Carne Asada - Grilled steak ($2.99) The hubby and I have tried the other location in Placerville and found everything salty. Since there aren't that many late night options, I decided to try their other location. It was easy to place an order online. Do note, if you would like to go inside and use the restroom, that is not an option. Only the drive thru was open. The food was fine and they gave us a bunch of salsas like I had asked. I noted I really wanted the spicy ones. I did tip $5 with my online order, so not sure if that had anything to do with it. Unfortunately when we got to Tahoe, we realized one of my street tacos was missing. I thought about calling to let them know, but it wasn't like I was in the area to do anything about so I didn't. The food is good for late night mexican. I'd rate it a 3 overall, maybe even 3.5. But I wish their online ordering had a way to tell them we were missing food. I may have tried to resolve it if so. Given the missing food, going down to a 2. REVIEW #3932

    Photos
    El Forastero - Ice cream and the chips and salsa bar

    Ice cream and the chips and salsa bar

    El Forastero - Birria Burrito

    Birria Burrito

    El Forastero - 2-Item Plate - Enchilada - Ground Beef, Ground Beef ($16.99)

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    2-Item Plate - Enchilada - Ground Beef, Ground Beef ($16.99)

    Carolina's Restaurante & Cantina - Dang. Churro and ice cream.

    Carolina's Restaurante & Cantina

    4.0(472 reviews)
    2.1 mi
    $$

    Carolinas in Placerville is an easy 5 stars. We sat in the bar by the windows, and Itzy was both…read moreour bartender and server. He was fantastic. Friendly, attentive, accommodating, and just great all around. And let me say this clearly: if you want the best skinny margaritas in town, this is where you go. The balance of tequila, agave, and just a touch of lime was absolute perfection. Impeccable. I had the chicken with the spicy mole sauce, and it was delicious. The mole had a rich flavor with just the right amount of kick. My husband ordered the carne asada house burrito and really liked that it didn't come loaded with a bunch of extra stuff he doesn't want. It does come with sour cream and pico de gallo if that's your thing, but they were happy to put the pico on the side for me, which I added to my mole, and the sour cream could happily stay in the kitchen. We had several special requests, and everyone was incredibly accommodating. The entire staff was friendly, helpful, and attentive. Whether you want a full meal or just want to relax with a cocktail, some warm tortilla chips, house-made guacamole, and a little bean dip, Carolinas is a great spot for a satisfying afternoon or evening.

    Very good food, service and ambiance. I had the carna asada as I always do when trying a new…read moreHispanic establishment and it was fire! Very flavorful and tender, beans and rice were on par with the plate. I will be returning again, thank you

    Photos
    Carolina's Restaurante & Cantina - Beautiful full bar

    Beautiful full bar

    Carolina's Restaurante & Cantina - Chocolate tower

    Chocolate tower

    Carolina's Restaurante & Cantina - Top Shelf margarita with grand on the side... thats how we do it.

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    Top Shelf margarita with grand on the side... thats how we do it.

    Casa Los Abuelos

    Casa Los Abuelos

    3.7(133 reviews)
    0.7 mi
    $$

    We arrived at 12:45 hoping for some outdoor seating for the dog. Unfortunately there was no outdoor…read moreseating, but no big deal we were staying at the hotel right across the street. The host was very kind and offered to ask the manager if we could sit inside with the dog but the answer was an expected sorry, no. So far great service. When we came back we were seated right away at a comfortable booth. We ordered 3 street tacos. Two Al pastor and one carne asada. They brought out chips and salsa right away with waters. I ordered a top shelf margarita to share with my boyfriend. Good thing we shared because it was huge! It said it had a floater shot, but I couldn't see that and it didn't come on the side like it usually does. Makes me question if it was even in there? The tacos took about 30 minutes to come out which was a very long time for 3 tacos. BUT they were very good quality tacos. Seemed like the corn tortillas could've been made in house. The quality of the al pastor and the carne seemed very good. I really enjoyed the tacos. I'd say the wait will be longer because the quality is fresh. I would definitely come back again!

    This place was a mess from start to finish…read more Service was painfully slow, disorganized, and straight-up inaccurate. I ordered a super burrito with al pastor. What I got? Carne asada. When I pointed it out, the waiter argued with me about what meat it was (wild) and then still charged me extra for the al pastor anyway. The upcharge was never removed. So I paid more for food I didn't order, got attitude for calling it out, and zero accountability. To top it off, the food made me physically sick afterward. That's the dealbreaker. Bad service, wrong order, pointless arguing, and food that left me regretting the whole experience. Not worth the money, not worth the time. Hard pass.

    Photos
    Casa Los Abuelos - Entryway

    Entryway

    Casa Los Abuelos - Veggie Fajitas

    Veggie Fajitas

    Casa Los Abuelos

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    Santa Maria Taqueria - Pork Tamal

    Santa Maria Taqueria

    4.6(188 reviews)
    1.5 mi
    $

    The taqueria is tucked into the corner of the store on the right just past the cashiers. Make your…read moreorder, get a ticket and grab some groceries because you can pay for it all at the same time. We ordered a few tacos and grabbed a tamale to try and grabbed the only table to seat the 5 of us. Cheese and Pepper Tamale - 10 OMG it was so big and moist not to mention the amazing flavor of the chili and cheese. We liked it with the green sauce best. Carne Asada Taco - 8.5 Tender yet lean meat with decent seasoning Chicken Taco - 8 Tender chicken cubes with decent seasoning Al Pastor Taco - 9 Very good flavor and high quality meat. You'll be very happy. Carnitas Taco - 10 We asked for extra crispy and boy did he deliver! Incredible flavor and texture. All of the tacos came with delicious seasoned and grilled onions as well as a grilled shishito pepper that you will want to eat with or without the taco. The staff was so incredibly nice. Crazy to think that some of the best tacos in Sacramento are in the corner of a grocery store! Who needs decor when you side by side with a meat market?

    The food was good, but I am missing three tamales from our order, I tried the phone number, but it…read moreseems like they may already be closed, I will try to go by tomorrow. We ordered five beef tamales, two pupusa's, in order of beans and a super burrito with El Pastor meat.

    Photos
    Santa Maria Taqueria - Meat counter

    Meat counter

    Santa Maria Taqueria - Arrachera y queso fresco

    Arrachera y queso fresco

    Santa Maria Taqueria - Meat options for taqueria menu

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    Meat options for taqueria menu

    Max's Tacos & Cheeseburgers

    Max's Tacos & Cheeseburgers

    4.8(11 reviews)
    2.2 mi

    Really good burger would definitely return during apple hill season. Look this place up on yelp…read moreand would recommend it

    I love them as a sandwich joint so wanted to try them out for dinners…read more I really enjoyed the burger. Asked for sauce on the side and sauce came on it so BD couldn't have a bite which was fine because I didn't want to share. No chicken wings that night which was a bummer as I really wanted to try it. Pork Chile verde was tender with big chunks. BD said he wished there was more sauce or maybe more sauce taste because if It was saucier it would be sloppy. He enjoyed the chicken mole but I didn't care for it. Wished there was more toppings on the tacos? It was just meat and tortilla. They did give us sour cream and pico on the side. I want the cheese and onion and cilantro and lettuce. But all in all glad we tried it! Wait was a little long as it's made to order and maybe we had a big order before us? While dude (was it Max?) was really polite to us and chick was super helpful too, their interaction was a little weird. It almost seemed like he was a little aggressive with her. Like maybe she was moving too slow? He would tell her in this exasperated way to do something (flip the chicken, get the water et) like he had told her 20 times already but I only heard him ask her once. Then he would turn to us and be super formal. Then turn back to her and rush her to do something else. Then give us our receipt in a quiet and calm manner. So much back and forth I was cool with just waiting outside. I'd come back for the burgers. Would def come back for the sandwich.

    Photos
    Max's Tacos & Cheeseburgers - Chicken mole

    Chicken mole

    Max's Tacos & Cheeseburgers - Burger

    Burger

    Max's Tacos & Cheeseburgers - Pork Chile verde

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    Pork Chile verde

    Taqueria El Carnaval - mexican - Updated May 2026

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