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Gallegos Mexican Deli
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 8 am - 7 pm
Sat 8 am - 4 pm
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street, Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
58 reviews for Gallegos Mexican Deli
Review Highlights
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58 reviews in English
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Review from james p.
Los Angeles, CA
This place is walking distance from me and I'm so glad it is! You really can't go wrong with anything here. I like the tamales and tacos best. And for the price, you can get a bunch of them. It's homestyle Mexican food at it's best! The hours are mostly during the daytime however, so come early! It's a very simple set up inside, pretty small and no frills, so it's really not the type of place you want to bring a date to or anything. I usually just order for take out and everyone here is always pleasant and keeps me coming back.
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Review from Monica E.
We found this place on Yelp! Thank you Yelp :-)
It's a mom and pop deal -- nothing fancy. But the food is nicely seasoned, delicious and with ample portions. Great salsa with the right amount of spice. This place -- apparently -- has a reputation for the tamales but I had a cheese and chicken enchilada. Both excellent. And the beans reminded me of Mexico.
Give this place a try -- but don't expect white tablecloth draped tables, formal silverware or eloquent service. This place is about home cooking. -
Review from Jenn T.
3.5 stars
I went here with a few friends and I ordered the California Burrito with all chicken instead of beef and carnitas.
I know that the menu says that it's "the big one" but jesus christ I had no idea it was going to be so BIG. Literally one of the biggest burritos I've ever seen. It was bigger than my face. I ate half of it before giving up. I liked it, but there was way too much chicken. I felt like 80% of my burrito was chicken, so i had to take a bunch of it out to eat my burrito.
Their tamales were DELICIOUS though, and that's saying a lot because I'm not a fan of tamales. Also, prices are great! My burrito was only $6 and it was big enough to feed two people (most likely girls.)
Also, my friend ordered a wet veggie burrito and I loved it. If ever go back, that will be what I order! -
Review from Emanuel R.
Los Angeles, CA
Went here for lunch on a day off from work. Ordered a carne asada burrito, which hit the spot, yet was...smaller than I had expected. The meat was a little on the salty side.
I'll go back, but they do close relatively early (7pm). For a Mexican food place, that's unfair. Burritos are best enjoyed past 9pm. -
Review from craig j.
Venice, CA
this place is a hidden gem....clean tasty food, a great old school mexican place...great tamales , tasty salsa, and enchiladas...hey locals, come on out you'll be glad you did
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Review from Gee M.
Los Angeles, CA
This is the epitome of what a good mexican restaurant should be. Authentic, tasty food in a casual atmosphere. Who could ask for anything more?
I've been to Gallegos many, many times. I've eaten lunch at Gallegos and I've catered many parties from Gallegos (even christmas once!). The food here is never bad. You really cannot go wrong with anything on the menu. My favorite dishes are the tostadas and burritos but the enchiladas are great too.
Gallegos is a great place to go if you crave great mexican food that is really inexpensive. The family who owns the restaurant is incredibly friendly, and really knows what they're doing in the kitchen. Highly recommended for catering any event as well. -
Review from Matthew W.
Los Angeles, CA
Best mexican food in Mar Vista, hands down. Great barbacoa, great asada, great carnitas. I love their house burrito, their other popular burrito is just too plan and most people who get it dont end up loving it. Their tamales are homemade and delish, their tacos are great (you get the idea, the place is solid).
However, I would NEVER order the seafood again. Just not their thing, no big deal, I stick with my barbacoa house burrito.
Oh and dont forget about their great salsa bar with delish carrots and jalapenos.
Love it. -
Review from Wade A.
Los Angeles, CA
On the one hand, pretty delicious. On the other hand, the slowest Mexican food place in existence. I've had entire 4-star meals faster than I've gotten served a burrito here -- literally. Everyone moves slow, and nobody's sad that they do. It's delicious, but after waiting 45 minutes for my last burrito, never going again.
1 Previous Review:
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3/23/2010
Delicious, if somewhat inauthentic, burritos. Really great salsa.
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3/23/2010
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Review from Adamoko G.
Los Angeles, CA
Terrible Mexican food. Not authentic at all. The worst I've had in a long time.
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Review from Keith J.
Sherman Oaks, CA
I think a lot of you folks don't remember that the current Gallegos is what is left of their old Santa Monica empire on Broadway. They used to have a cavernous building filled with family members dishing out the Mexican food by the truckload. It was a primo lunch spot with a huge line (they called numbers).
In those days, the food was consistent. Not great, but sorta homestyle and satisfying. A couple of the family members were really friendly (such as Tomas, who ended up leaving to become a priest). The rest? The women were indifferent and the guys were surly. Even though everybody had been coming there for years, they STILL didn't know your name and practically snarled at you.
They eventually sold the property for development, and reconsituted as this little "deli" on Venice Blvd.
The food? To me, pretty much the same, but without the crowds and the beautiful patio, it's lost something. A couple of the surly ones are still there, but the ladies smile more now, perhaps because they are happy SOMEBODY is visiting them now.
The tamales are still great (but not as good as Tamara's Tamale nearby), and enchiladas nice. Never been for breakfast all these years, but I imagine it is good.
I go for the memories, but not for much else. Rather go to Tamara's, get freshly made salsa of two varieties, some wonderful fresh white rice with tomato sauce, and some awesome perfectly made tamales. And tortillas strips that rock when fresh. There are so many really good Mexican-American restaurants in the area, Gallegos is really just an also-ran these days. Have you tried the flour tortillas at Casablanca? Those make you gasp for joy. Gallegos? It's like visiting the house of that old aunt you kinda like. -
Review from Eli G.
I should have just gotten the tamale plate!
After rave reviews from my coworker, we came here for lunch and based on his recommendation I got the California burrito and a chicken chile verde tamale.
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
The burrito wasn't great, but I got what I ordered. It was filled with carnitas, beans, lettuce, guacamole, sour cream, cheese, mild salsa & rice. Why did I get this?! I don't like those veggies in my burrito!
But the tamale was the saving grace, so good! I will go back just to eat those and maybe try something else on the menu that's more suited for me.
So do I rate this place for the food I should have known I wouldn't like or just on the good food? Let's just pretend I didn't get that burrito. -
Review from Kristen G.
Los Angeles, CA
Best tamales around. Seriously. Especially if you like sweet corn tamales as much as I do.
*droooool*
For a little bit less than $7 you can fill yourself up on two tamales, beans and rice.
Need I say more?
(oh, beware, they do close a bit early -- 7 p.m.) -
Review from lulu H.
Los Angeles, CA
I'm kinda weird and obsessive about food, and actually did a search once for the best tamales in LA. It was easy for me to look / visit/ taste many of the places I read about all over East LA since I live in Los Feliz and work off of the 5 and the 10. I'd pick up some tamales bright and early, and them take them to work. I'm very popular at work.
I read a lot of reviews, and tried the best rated ones. I went to Juanitos in East LA on Floral Drive, and Mama's Hot Tamales too by MacArthur Park....both were rated very high by Jonathan Gold. I really liked Mama's because they had an incredible selection about a dozen to pick from (from all over too- Lima to Mexico City) and an okay restaurant in which to enjoy them. Not so with Juanitos, it's basically a take out place, and they didn't have what I wanted exactly even though I got there early in the day.
I also went to Tamales Lilianas on Cesar Chavez which was very good. It was a really really popular place. I went there around the holidays and again, even though I got there early there was a long line! We did a taste test and liked the chicken ones the best. I went back a few times after that....they are very good.
But still, I gotta say while I loved doing the Tamale Tour of LA (AKA The No Carb / Lard Pie Left Unturned tour), my favorite is still Gallegos Brothers.
My family are such foodies, and actually will go to sickening lengths to get the perfect dish for our holiday meals. One staple to our authentic Chinese - American holiday feast (ha ha) include tamales. Each year, one of us dutifully drives to Mar Vista to get chicken chile verde tamales from Gallego Brothers. They were previously in Santa Monica on Broadway, which worked because my folks live in Malibu, and my sisters live on the westside. But they moved a few years ago to a place in Mar Vista, on Venice Blvd. Its sooo far out of the way for me, but it's totally worth driving all the way over there to get them. I can't remember how many years we've been eating their tamales. They're THAT good. Their salsa is really good too. You'll probably want to take out than dine in.
Rene, a guy I used to work with, swore by La Mascota Bakery (in East LA on Whittier Blvd.) but I haven't made it over there, so happy I've been with Gallegos Brothers.
I guess this is a review for more than one tamale place. Oh well, it may make it easier for you. -
Review from Ana A.
Santa Monica, CA
The three main things I get here:
* Enchiladas Supremas
* Chorizo - not the Chorizo plate...but the 1lb. pkgs of chorizo....to take and make at home!
* Chicken Chile Verde Tamales
Order yourself the Supremas Plate with a tamale on the side, a large Horchata and a pkg of the chorizo to go. Then Sunday morning, make a big batch of chorizo con huevo y papa for the fam.
Perfect weekend! -
Review from crypt g.
Los Angeles, CA
down home mexican comfort food. The hospitality is just as good as the taste and price of the food. I can eat here every day. And at times I do, because it is near the construction office I work at. I love the tamale with red sauce and chips best. Love you guys!
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Review from Hugo C.
I imagine Gallego's to be pretty similar to what would happen if my family were to open a restaurant. If you've met my family, you know that's not really a compliment.
We were going to have a Thanksgiving potluck at work and I wasn't exactly sure what I would be able to bring to the lunch. Cooking something myself was out of the question, it took a review by Geneva W. to inspire me to pick up some tamales for the potluck. "Who doesn't love tamales?" I thought.
I originally planned on driving to Downtown to pick up some tamales from a dedicated tamales establishment, but one of my coworkers encouraged me to give Gallegos a shot since they sold some pretty amazing tamales -- besides it was only a five-minute drive away.
The location itself is in a strip mall with extremely limited parking spots, but I was lucky enough to catch the last open spot. You can tell that it's family run -- I'm pretty sure no one would willingly hire the person that took my order when I visited. Gallego's is sparsely decorated, but done in such a way that it was visually distracting to me. It reminded me of those home projects that you start, but get tired and leave half-done for years. To my amusement, mostly all of the chairs are different styles and colors which make the place look more kitschy than anything else.
I'm happy to say that the $2 tamales were individually wrapped in foil, wrapped in pairs with butcher paper and clearly labeled. That made it much easier to see what was what. The tamales themselves were not what I was expecting. Most tamales I've come across have a filling that is a pretty equal parts sauce and meat. These were more meat and very little sauce. I suppose that was what they were going for, but it caught me off guard.
I wouldn't go out of my way to grab some tamales from Gallego's, but I did have plenty of (non-Mexican) coworkers drop compliments on the quality of the food; go figure.Listed in: Santa Monica Lunch Hour
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Review from Sam H.
Maybe it was fault; when a place is known for their tamales, that is probably what you should order.
Instead, I opted for their mega "California" burrito. Not because it sounded particularly good, but in my lifetime of consuming every possible Mexican food dish, I have never battled against a burrito with chicken, beef and pork. Triple meat combined with lettuce, rice, beans, guac, sour cream, cheese and salsa... It seemed a worthy opponent.
Overall, the burrito was mediocre. You could make a strong case that something with this much food could not be delicious; but I would offer up the Surf and Turf burrito from JV's Taco Shop in San Diego. Half carne asada, half shrimp with rice and salsa; requires two tortillas to roll it and cannot be consumed in a single setting. It is amazing. Digression complete.
The interior is very bright and not horribly comfortable.
The salsa bar was a nice bonus.
I have to give Gallegos the benefit of the doubt and return for Tamales in the summer (I eat my yearly share over Christmas and New Years).
As another reviewer mentioned, their hours do suck.
It's always good to support local, family operated restaurants and this place is definitely superior to La Salsa / Baja Fresh. -
Review from Michelle G.
Los Angeles, CA
I have been going to Gallego's since it was located on Broadway in Santa Monica, and absolutely love this place. What more could you want then homemade tortillas and fresh Mexican food at extremely reasonable prices?!
You'll never go wrong if you stick with the basics, like the tamales, the tacos, the enchiladas and their regular tostada that is served on a cripsy tortilla (I am not a fan of the big, giant taco shell). I have never been one to order anything with rice and beans on the side, not because Gallegos' rice and beans are unappetizing, but rather because I prefer to eat more of the main dishes and cut out the sides.
You can get a ton of food without breaking your bank. I once took a bunch of guy friends here and they each ordered about 5 things and spent $10 or less each. My friend's former boss, a high powered talent agent, used to take clients here for meetings in fact, because the food was so good and inexpensive, plus no one would expect to find a celebrity eating here.
The only downside is that they're closed on Sundays and if you want to place a big order around Thanksgiving or Christmas, place it way in advance. This is the place to go for your holiday tamales. -
Review from megan b.
West Los Angeles, CA
This place is surprisingly delicious. I doubt I'll be going to the Subway in this strip mall ever again! (Plus Gallegos has a restroom for customers! Yay!)
Gonna need to get some lower-body-shaping constrictive underwear soon. For use under JEANS. -
Review from Samuel L.
Los Angeles, CA
Was looking for new places in my area. We decided to try out Gallegos as it was just down the street. Located in a relatively new strip mall and with the decent ratings from yelpers, was looking forward to finding some good local eats.
First bad sign, the place was not very busy on a Friday night. Second bad sign, they turned away customers because it just passed 7PM and they said they were closed (isn't that bad for business?). Third bad sign, why are they closed so early on a Fri (lot of peeps go out to eat dinner on Fri & Sat). A place like Tito's is open late with tons of customers. If this place is so great, why aren't there more peeps?
I saw someone else order a tostada, so I thought I'd get one. "Sorry, she got the last one". You would think having a lot of customers, they would be better stocked. So I went with the California burrito. Mix of beef, chicken, and pork. Burrito was ok, but nothing special. Chips were ok but too few. Salsa was more wet than thick. My Hispanic friend got another type of burrito, but he was also disappointed.
Sorry, but I don't have any good reasons to come back. Maybe it's gone downhill since it's moved. I'm going back to my current fav Tito's. -
Review from Azmir S.
Los Angeles, CA
I'm a customer for over 14 years now and I gotta say they have been one of my favorite lunch spots for years. Every new person I bring ends up with Gallegos as their favorite as well.
My favorites are on Thursday and Friday - Seafood specials. Ask for the Seafood burrito. Anything Carne Asada is excellent. Also, if you like tamales this is the place to get 'em. -
Review from Hisham D.
Los Angeles, CA
The main reason I go here are for the Wednesday special the delicious taco especiales. It is a nicely fried crispy shelled taco with ground beef, potatoes, lettuce, salsa, and cheese (I always take some of the cheese off). I don't see this as a common dish because of the potatoes in it making for a nice combination of flavors.They also make it with chicken instead of beef.
I've ordered all the tacos, tamales etc. there and do not find anything else as good as the above mentioned. The salsa is pretty good but the chips taste like Fritos, but only thicker, which is not good. -
Review from Aaron T.
San Francisco, CA
Delicious tamales. The chicken chili verde tamales are especially recommended. Its both a deli (food sold frozen) and a restaurant.
I miss their old spot on Broadway in Santa Monica but the food is just as good as before.
More of a lunch spot than a dinner spot. -
Review from Henry C.
Santa Monica, CA
I don't know, sometimes I think this Yelp place is so lame. I mean there are so many LA landmarks that are not in the tome.
Since I was adding a taco place I happened by today, I thought I would bookmark Gallegos only to find Gallegos was not here. Oh well, now it is.
Gallegos is a Mexican, family run delicatessen that has been around for like 60 years. They make wonderful home made tamales, enchiladas, chile rellenos, all kinds of goodies. I stop in for tacos every once in awhile, I am never disappointed. It was better in their old location and business still has not picked up since they moved like 6-7 years ago, but the food is the same, and it is really good and you can get platters of enchiladas or tacos oh so much more served up deli style. By far the best place to get a mexican picnic together on the West side. -
Review from Kim N.
Friendly, fast, and tasty. Love their enchiladas. I will also chomp on a super nacho from time to time.
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Review from Jeremy S.
Marina del Rey, CA
The best mexican food in L.A. Sooooo many places in the L.A. area totally suck, and people still eat there. That is why Baja Fresh took over all over LA. If you're new to California, you need to know that the further south you go, the better the Mexican Food Gets. Huntington Beach has great mexican food---many places that are as good as Gallegos.
That being said, Gallegos is a great Mexican food place.
The burritos are amazing.
The enchiladas are amazing
The Salsa is very good.
That is the only thing. -
Review from Brian M.
Los Angeles, CA
Excellent chile relleno and fresh tamales. I bought six fresh sweet corn tamales and wish I had more. The staff are very nice and I always feel welcome dining here. I miss the old location but the parking here is good and it still works. This is easy to miss on Venice blvd but well worth the trip for great food.
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Review from Chris K.
Los Angeles, CA
Little corner deli just a short walk away from my place. I got the all meat burrito with carne asada and walked away a full and happy man. It isn't often that I can spend $6 and walk away from a restaurant both full and happy, but Gallegos did the trick. Pickled carrots were also delicious, and I don't even like carrots.
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Review from Jared E.
Santa Monica, CA
It amazes me that this place hasn't been reviewed further. They've been in business since 1945. How many other Mexican places have been in business since WWII people? If you rememember that Gallegos bros. is primarily a tortillera you won't be underwhelmed by the seating area and lack of other restaurant trappings.
Highly recomended are the California burrito - chicken, guacamole, etc. You can't go wrong with the basic House burrito either. The flan is fantastic. -
Review from T M.
Venice, CA
Supremas enchiladas here are absolutely INCREDIBLE! They are small, chicken with white cheese, green onions - very rich and just about my favorite enchiladas in the whole entire world - they're just so light and fresh while still being really rich and cheesy.
They close early(6pm i think?) so best for lunch or an early dinner - not an after work takeout place. -
Review from Emily and Allen L.
New Orleans, LA
The tamales are the stand out here. Really good. There's nothing like the chicken chili verde burrito and tamale; it's the only reason to go.
Another plus: everything you get is served with delicious homemade chips. See taco bar for salsas.
There's a topping bar with salsas for the tacos. We had the carnitas and it was nothing special -- the pork was chopped, not pulled and the flavor was bland.
Would return for the house special but would skip the tacos. -
Review from yuri c.
i really enjoyed the fried chilli relleno here. the whole thing just melts in your mouth. i only had one but i could have easily eaten four. the little bit of heat from the chilli was great too.
the chicken chile verde tamale was good, but i think i really liked the pork one better. either way, the tamale themselves were yum.
you can take ti to go, and also eat inside. there are all these miss-matched tables and chairs, and some of them are actually really nice! some must have been from the santa monica location from years ago. the lady was nice, and the service was fast! -
Review from Helen C.
Solid Mexican food for the area. Sadly, I didn't order their tamales because I wasn't aware that it was their specialty but their tacos (chicken and carne asada) were tasty (beef was much better than the chicken) and the carne asada burrito was better than most burritos I've had on the Westside. I don't know that I'd go out of my way to go back but if I happened to find myself in the 'hood again and had a hankering for Mexican I'd definitely stop by.
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Review from Ken N.
Venice, CA
I already reviewed this place (below), but I have to give it another shout out - they've got this breakfast deal, buy one, get the second one half off. And the prices are already unbelievably cheap! My wife got huevos rancheros this morning and I got the chili verde with carnitas, refried beans and flour tortillas, for $5.41. Total. Both breakfasts. CAN YOU DIG IT? And the food was excellent. The chili verde looked a little intense for breakfast, but it turned out to be a good hangover cure - its spicy goodness just sopping up those toxins. Mmmmm. Unbelievable. And now, back to my original review:
My wife and I used to live in Bernal Heights in San Francisco...walking distance to the Mission District and your choice of some of the best burritos and tacos in the Bay Area. We had our favorites - some were good for general pigging out, some were good for post-midnight dining, and some were good for really bad hangovers where you needed something to soak up all that extra alcohol that remained undigested and unprocessed by an exhausted liver. When we moved here, we found we had to live on the Westside because...we're heat wimps. She's a San Francisco native, and I hail from Seattle, so we just wilt and become unbelievably stupid when the temperature gets above 85. But we didn't know where to get those great, big presto-log burritos anywhere on the Westside. Sure, Gilbert's was great for dinner, and Tico's Tacos was a comforting, throw-back treat - like the faux Mexican food one used to be able to get way back when Mexican food was kind of exotic, in a cheap way. But...in this strip mall on Venice Blvd, just east of Centinela, we found what we were looking for: Great big, tasty, mouthwatering burritos with a variety of different kinds of fillings that would stuff you, but not leave you feeling like you've just eaten some really great tasting lard. These...are San Francisco Mission District-style burritos. Inexpensive, lots of variations, and they feel like they might even be good for you! The chips and salsa are excellent, their tacos and enchiladas are good, too, and they've got a greeeaaat breakfast special - you will not believe the prices. The only downside - they're not open late (I think they close at 6) or on Sundays (the proprietors are church-goers and the business is family owned). Anyway...maybe because of the hours, or the location (why are so many great little restaurants hidden in strip malls down here) not many people have heard of this place. Part of me hopes the word will spread, part of me...well, I won't be selfish. These nice people deserve a great big Yelping success! -
Review from Ashley D.
West Los Angeles, CA
This has become a regular spot of mine because it's close to school. If you ever see a swarm of royal blue clad ladies during lunch time, it probably includes me! Their horchata is BOMB. I always have to get it. Another fav of mine is the chicken verde burrito eventhough it's kinda soupy inside (not the easiest to keep inside the tortilla much less in hand), but it's got great flavor, so I still love it. Their red salsa, which tastes a bit roasted and a little garlicky, is a must for all over everything-at least in my case! If im in the mood for tacos I always get at least one barbacoa. I tried a bite of one of my classmates' chicken mole tamale and that was good too. Tongue's not so good...
Listed in: Venice I Adore, MexiCAN
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Review from Dennis I.
Monterey Park, CA
When I worked in Santa Monica this was a very popular place as they had decent mexican food and a nice patio to enjoy lunch away from the hustle and bustle of Wilshire Blvd. Many locals told me that this place had the best tamales, but I have to say they are maybe good for Westside, but definitely far off base from the tamales on the Eastside. They are now on Venice and haven't drawn the crowds like they used to when they were in Santa Monica. I sort of think it's because it was their location that was great and not their food.
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Review from Janelle N.
Santa Monica, CA
The tamales at Gallegos are incredible! They are moist with a good meat vs. masa ratio. I have yet to find a better tamale place! Yes, one could possibly find some good place in mid city LA or East LA but that's if you want some "iffy" meat (might catch a few bones in there too lol). Not to mention having to drive over to those areas! Gallego's has awesome quality tamales and I love their beans as well. I remember as a kid going to the SM location on Broadway where they made tortillas but now they are on Venice Blvd in a shoping center next to a Subway. The parking can be a pain in the ass though! P.S. Try the cheese enchiladas too!!!!!
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Review from Nia I.
Temple City, CA
Me and my bf went down to Venice beach last week, we accidently found this place because I really need to use the restroom, we thought Subway will have one, but we were wrong! so we saw this place which is next to subway, bf decided to try some taco and horchata.. bought beef taco, pork taco and their daily special on Friday seafood taco. beef taco is pretty good, pork kinda bland since its not the BBQ one. seafood taco is amazing! they grilled it with onion and sprinkle some cheese (I think this is only on Friday)..salsa is great! overall we like it.. decided to buy another 2 tacos.. the lady was nice and we got a free refill of horchata since bf kept compliments on how good the seafood taco was ;).. too bad we didn't know that their tamales are their special. will definitely stop by at this place again.
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Review from kiko m.
Los Angeles, CA
This place is FKN Yum!!!Bottom Line.And everyday there's a daliy Special,which makes this place even better.
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Review from Wendy P.
Santa Monica, CA
Great service, great grilled veggie salad and moist delicious tamales(cheese and corn, anyway). The cheese enchiladas seem to be made of nacho cheese, though...not so good and the burrito I had was pretty tasteless. I'd still go back for the salad and tamales...and it looked like they had some pretty tasty chile rellenos.
