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Gordo Taqueria
Category: Restaurants Mexican Mexican [Edit]
2989 College Ave(between Ashby Ave & Webster St)
Berkeley, CA 94705
Neighborhoods: Elmwood, Claremont
(510) 204-9027
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 10 am - 10 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Price Range:
-
$
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
397 reviews for Gordo Taqueria
Review Highlights
"Can I say they have the most juiciest carne asada."
(in 52 reviews)
"dependable well priced quality burritos."
(in 145 reviews)
"The optional hot sauce is spicy."
(in 53 reviews)
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397 reviews in English
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Review from David C.
1/4/2012
In my opinion, this place definitely gives some competition to both La Burrita and Chipotle. Its in the same general area, and the target audience for all three is broke college students. Gordo's accomplishes a difficult feat: it's extremeley quick, affordable, and tasty. In terms of speed, this place is like an assembly line for burritos; you walk in and order and pay at the front, with most patrons opting for togo. Their seating area is limited. Its very affordable. For just north of five dollars, you can get a loaded burrito including specialties like guac or sour cream. Now, in my opinion, this place trumps both Chipotle and La Burrita in taste. Maybe its just because their turnover rate is so quick, but I feel like the meats always taste substantially richer in flavor and freshness. Also, Chipotle has almost an 'Americanized' Mexican flavor feel to it, while I would compare Gordo's taste to the taco trucks in downtown LA.
PROTIP: Get the burrito bowl! Huge portions and you can save it for later if you don't finish. -
Review from S and L.
San Francisco, CA
12/30/2011
Yes!
- Best quesadillas ever. Fill it with any kind of meat (or cooked veggies), guac, sour cream, and you've got goodness wrapped in goodness.
- Guacamole and chips have a lime finish.
- Jarrito
Only con is prices have gone up but quality of food is still there. Service? Ha. -
Review from George A.
Berkeley, CA
12/3/2011
Gordo has great burritos and tacos. I love how you can get in and out in just a few minutes no matter how long the line is.
I only wish they had more setaing space.
Make sure to try the carnitas burrito with all the fixins. It's heaven. -
Review from Andrew S.
2/5/2012
This place makes really juicy burritos. I love the fact that they'll go ahead and carve the carnitas in front of you. I always get my burritos spicy + with guac and I think it's the best way to make them. Service is fast and it's slightly better than the alternatives (La Burrita, Mario's, Chipotle, etc.)
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Review from Jesse R.
Sunnyvale, CA
11/28/2011
Meh. There is just something not that great about the food here. I mean, it's not bad, and I've been here more than once, but I feel like they just lack variety and it could be better overall.
Prices are good, though. -
Review from Zeeshan J.
Orange, CA
1/13/2012
This place doesn't look like much, but for fast food, it's actually pretty good. Their chicken burritos are great, however I don't recommend the steak. It doesn't have a very good taste and doesn't compliment the burrito as well as the chicken.
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Review from Amber J.
San Leandro, CA
1/2/2012
I've been eating here since 1991!! woohoo!! the best tacos! the crispy taco or the "corn quesadilla" is amazing! Carnitas is the best then Carne asada and then grilled chicken (in that order)... I always ask for extra salsa... take it from me I eat mexican food more than anyone i know... This is one of my fave spots and not just cuz I grew up on it. Great food and great prices! Viva El Gordo Taqueria!!!!
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Review from queso f.
Berkeley, CA
9/27/2011
Why would anybody eat here twice? Carne asada burrito, meat tuff as tuff, damn chen....yall own the dentist office nearby? Flavors weak, I might put up with tuff meat if flavor was there...maybe only in business because of location, location, location...
So many better places(maybe not so nearby), Cactus by Rockridge, Cancun by downtown BART, Picante by Gilman, Tacubaya by University & 4th... -
Review from Grace C.
10/12/2011
The line may be really long, but they're efficient & make your food right when you order it, so the wait's not as bad as it may look.
The carnitas burrito was pretty good. The chicken taco was blahhh - not that flavorful & the corn tortillas were pretty tasteless, like eating wet cardboard.
I think the best thing about Gordo Taqueria is the price - no wonder there are always tons of students here. -
Review from Allie S.
Oakland, CA
9/12/2011
Another white-washed Berkeleyite joke.
WTF. I don't get it.
Keep your fucking beans and rice OUT OF MY TACO. Oh, I get it; you're covering up the fact that your meat lacks any flavor whatsoever.
Maybe if your hot sauce didn't also suck I wouldn't have noticed so much. -
Review from Michelle N.
Berkeley, CA
9/9/2011
No, no, no...I ordered the Chile Verde Super Burrito and it was a complete mess. The pork had some salt to it, but tasted like it came out of a can. Then the rest of it was just a glob of beans and rice coated by sour cream. (Don't think Super Burrito means that it includes guacamole and sour cream either, those cost extra. Super just means bigger tortilla.)
The service was even worse, the cash register did not even bother looking at me in the eye, nor to check if I wanted black or pinto. The employee making the burrito didn't bother putting on the sour cream and guacamole on evenly either, he just put on spatterings wherever he pleased.
I think the worst thing though, is that they don't offer agua fresca or horchata. What the hell is that?! Never going back again. -
Review from Hannah E.
8/29/2011
When you order a crispy taco, don't think it's a taco like, 'oh, it's just a little taco, I can finish it in four bites, I'll have three, please!'
No. Order ONE unless you are a competitive eating champ. It's about the size of a regular burrito and much tastier to boot. I ordered the burrito and wished I hadn't - the beans were mealy and the rice tasteless, leaving about half the burrito as something I wanted to ingest. I also tried to get extra hot sauce and the guy taking the order just kinda smirked.
So I stole as many bites from my mom's wonderful crispy taco as I could get away with - the lack of beans and rice made the flavors of the delicious juicy carnitas much stronger. They chop 'em up right on the counter in front of you - as soon as I saw that I knew they'd be good. The guac + sour cream is something like an extra 90 cents, which is worth it.
Oh yeah, and the crispy tacos aren't on the menu, so when you order them, make sure you swell up with in-the-know hip-crowd pride! It's what animal-style at In-n-Out used to be, so take it while you can. -
Review from HL H.
Brooklyn, NY
9/2/2011
After being in NYC and not finding ANY good Mexican food, I was dying to find some good ol' Mexican food!
Dude, I was to look no further! They have the freaking best quesadilla. Because they don't serve it the traditional way. They make it open face, toasted to perfection with loads of guac and deliciousness. Definitely get that if you don't want it too big and ask for it corn tortilla to make it open face, if you just say flour it'll be the traditional way. -
Review from Hanna D.
8/20/2011
This place was exactly what I was looking for - really good quality at a low price!
Conveniently located in the heart of Elmwood, this place certainly isn't what you'd expect to find in the area full of upscale and expensive sit down restaurants.
My burrito was delicious. I can't say that it was spectacular, but it really hit the spot for my Mexican crave and filled me up. My burrito was mostly steak - yay! It is a good size (not too small, but not too large) and the tortillas are absolutely perfect - thin so you don't get too much tortilla but thick enough to not burst.
Their prices are also excellent. I don't think that there were many items over $10. Most of their burritos are around $6 with meat.
The seating inside is limited and there can be a line, but they are very quick at getting your orders up.
Parking can be REALLY hard to find around there, it is street parking that you have to pay for. Don't be tempted to park in another store or post office's parking lot, you WILL get towed and get a fat ticket. Try going north on one of the streets along Elmwood...still street parking, but not as crowded. -
Review from Marco L.
San Francisco, CA
9/3/2011
I was looking forward to eating here because someone told me they made the best burrito in Berkeley. I really hope that's not true. I had a carnitas "super" burrito (here, 'super' just means bigger). It was big all right but totally bland. The only discernible flavor was the salt on the meat. I had to work my way through long stretches of flavorless beans and rice. Honestly, if you gave me canned tomatoes and asked me to make up a recipe for Mexican rice, I would have been hard pressed to do worse than this. My girlfriend had the chicken plate (burrito ingredients in a box with some dry corn tortillas). I kept stealing bites of her pico de gallo just to add some tomato flavor to each interminable bite of my burrito.
A lot of reviewers seem to think it's a good thing that this place has no "extras": no salsas or sauces or even refried beans to choose from. But when you start with something this stale and boring, you need all the help you can get. I just moved here from the Mission, and I wish I could click my heels right about now. -
Review from Lauren L.
Berkeley, CA
12/16/2011
Delicious, basic tacos and burritos. I always get a carnitas taco with black beans, guacamole, pico de gallo and sour cream. Their plain quesadillas are deliciously greasy. Cheap, fast, great service!
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Review from Jeff R.
Concord, CA
12/11/2011 1 Check-in Here
Great burritos at a reasonable price.
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Review from Benjamin P.
Oakland, CA
9/27/2011
I've been coming here since childhood. Every time I drive by it, I smile.
Try their grilled flour quesidilla or super carne asada burrito. -
Review from Alex D.
Manhattan, NY
9/3/2011
This place is simple. Fresh, tasty and walking distance from my house. Unfortunately there's nothing too special about the food here though.
I got the chili verde super burrito in a spinach tortilla w/ everything to go and for $5.50 its a good deal. The pico and hot sauce are fresh and tasty but nothing out of the ordinary and certianly not spicy. The major let down here was the chile verde pork. Despite it's freshness, the meat was stringy and seemed to be cafeteria quality.
I think ill be back to try their tacos, it is a taqueria after all. -
Review from Unkl- T.
Oakland, CA
11/20/2011 1 Check-in Here
tasty veggie burrito. I have had much better and much worse. The hot sauce isn't great, but the prices are.
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Review from Katie M.
Berkeley, CA
7/21/2011
Am I missing out on something? I came here with a friend who highly recommended it, and as we were sitting down and eating a pretty long lined formed at the counter - I'm getting the impression that people love this place.
I don't see what's so special about it, though. I had a regular beef burrito with chips and guacamole. The beef was all right, nothing great, and I didn't really like the way the rice tasted. If anything, there was too much sauce (from the rice and beef) and it felt extremely greasy.
The store itself is small and can only seat a couple of customers, but I'm guessing most people get their order to go anyway. The next time I want Mexican fast food, I'm heading to Chipotle. -
Review from Zack O.
Berkeley, CA
5/24/2011 7 Check-ins Here
Excellent and fast Mexican food. So good and open pretty decently late.
I highly recommend the carnitas in either the flour quesadilla or super burrito. Everything is really good, haven't had anything bad there yet, definitely a go to place in the Elmwood area! -
Review from angela l.
9/1/2011
what the... I haven't reviewed gordo's?!?!
if you grew up in berkeley, you have had a gordo's burrito. if you've visited berkeley, you have probably had a gordo's burrito. if you've lived in berkeley and never had gordo's, you should be ashamed to call yourself a berkeleyan. if you've visited berkeley and never had gordo's, you're missing out and you suck at life. basically, gordo's is fucking good.
it's a very simple taqueria, no special sauces and like 3572750820153 different things to stick in your burrito. my viewpoint is when you have good ingredients and it's done right, a simple thing can be absolutely delicious [think genova deli]. gordo's has been making my tummy for about 10 years now, and I always crave it, regardless of whether I'm living in berkeley, sf, or oakland. I've usually stuck with a regular chicken burrito [extra hot sauce], but I've tried the quesadillas and crispy tacos before and everything has been delicious. reasonably priced, as burritos should be. the quality has never changed, and that's why gordo's is the berkeley culinary landmark it is today! -
Review from Krystal H.
Berkeley, CA
10/10/2011 1 Check-in Here
A decent place to grab a cheap meal along College (where a lot of other places on this street can be a little higher priced). The burritos are huge -- I skipped breakfast and didn't get around to eating lunch until about 3 and I STILL couldn't finish this bad boy. A-OK.
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Review from Jack C.
Oakland, CA
12/31/2011
Hands down one of my favorite burrito/taco shops. Highly recommend the chicken burritos!
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Review from Alex L.
San Francisco, CA
6/16/2011
This shit is ridiculously good. Ridiculously. And ridiculously cheap. Where else can you get a 5.50$ burrito?
Also, I am a Chipotle lover. This is actually a different league. It's almost not the same kind of food. Try it out. -
Review from Geralyn Y.
San Francisco, CA
4/6/2011
Still ironing out the kinks, this Gordo Taqueria, but I'm appreciating the effort.
First time I went, the carnitas was wayyyyy too salty. This time around, a vast improvement. First time I went, no Horchata, this time around, they're giving away free samples before they place it on the menu.
Gotta love the healthy options like wheat and spinach tortillas and black beans. They also lay on the guac and sour cream light when I ask. Yeah I know "easy on the guac and sour cream" is like an oxymoron when eating burritos but this one here wants to have her cakes and eats them too.
Next time I'm sure I'll have even better things to say. -
Review from L C.
Berkeley, CA
11/9/2011
I'm glad this places exists, staple food for long bike rides and runs! quick service, and consistently good at a great price!
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Review from Carlos G.
Daly City, CA
10/22/2011
They have a nice selection of salsas but I've had better burritos elsewhere for cheaper. I was just bummed they didn't have super burritos.
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Review from Anthony S.
Berkeley, CA
1/20/2011
In the immortal words of Chevy Chase as "Dusty Bottoms" in the critically-acclaimed 1986 film ¡Three Amigos!, "Do you have anything here besides Mexican food?" That about sums it up for Gordo.
I wish I could join in the Kool-Aid party that Gordo Taqueria seems to be throwing for its patrons, but for some reason the fairy dust doesn't seem to work on me. I know what good Mexican food tastes like and this my friend, is NOT good Mexican food. Period. It can't even masquerade as good Mexican food. The carnitas were too fatty and greasy and the chicken taco was absolutely tasteless.
Just read the reviews, not many people talk about the food preparation and presentation at Gordo; the reviewers talk about how fast the line moves, or how close it is to their house, they discuss the cramped seating conditions, or the run-down feel of the place. When reviewers do talk about the food, they use the word 'average' or 'decent', or 'alright'. They say the burritos 'aren't filled with too much flavor', and more than one reviewer mentions the 'absurd greasiness' of their menu items...
So how do they get an average of four stars?
I think I have the answer. It's a little phenomena I like to call 'Lazy Ass Syndrome' or LAS for short. It's all about convenience. People who suffer from LAS slothfully go to the easiest restaurant they can get to to fill their stomachs. The food doesn't have to be tasty per se, or even edible for that matter. It just needs to fulfill one purpose- not having to find a parking spot. If you can save the person with LAS from walking too far or having to find parking, you auto-magically receive four stars. If the food doesn't cause the LAS sufferer intestinal distress- you've got yourself a five star situation! Lucky you!
I can't imagine I'll give Gordo another shot, but I do have to admit, that line does move pretty quickly! Which is EXACTLY what I look for in a taqueria. Yeah, no.Listed in: Tacos Are Good
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Review from Annaliese D.
Berkeley, CA
4/8/2011 2 Check-ins Here
Good burrito for Berkeley. The prices are good unless you want to add guac or sour cream, which makes your burrito a lot more expensive.
Today, I got the super burrito with carne asada. It was actually better than past experiences, where the burrito was super soggy especially at the end. The meat doesn't have tons of flavor, but was tender enough. Price was $5.54 for the burrito, and it's enough for lunch and a little extra.
What would be a big improvement to me, would be better hot sauces. They put a green hot sauce on the burrito, which was hot, but didn't have that much flavor besides hot.
Even though I don't eat a lot of burritos I'd come back since it's so close. It was a plus that even though the line was long the workers were speedy at making the food. -
Review from KAI S.
Oakland, CA
2/6/2011
This place's food was good, the portions large, and the prices OK, but....
... The seemingly *infinite* long line out to the bitter cold street and how long it takes the cooks to get your order right and make your food (coupled with the kinda blah overall hospitality skills) makes this place only "OK."
Also, everyone (myself and others in line) wanted spinach tortillas and they were out, and I think a business should be fully stocked on popular items like that----especially on a weekend night as it was.
I'd eat here again, though, cause they give you lots of pico with your chips and their quesadillas look really yummy and unique (fried and stuffed with veggies all wrapped up in the middle).
If I'm near Alameda, though, I'll stick to Ramero & Sons where they're faster, cheaper, and overall yummier. -
Review from Erick L.
Berkeley, CA
8/30/2011 1 Check-in Here
Average burrito, very Americanized, juicy but not what I was expecting after so much hype on Yelp. Definitely doesn't compare to the authentic burritos from San Francisco's Mission District
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Review from Nathan W.
Seattle, WA
10/2/2011
Gordo is an institution among kids from my high school. Having no In N Out in the East Bay (North Oakland-Berkeley-Albany-El Cerrito), this is where we went for a quick, cheap, and super filling meal. There's something about their meats and beans - probably cooked in lard. The quesadillas are straight up amazing.
I've lived in Paris and still think a pollo burrito from Gordo is one of my favorite meals in this world. -
Review from xristo s.
Emeryville, CA
8/26/2011
It's all about the carnitas. Bring a lime with you and squeeze the juice on your tacos. IT'LL BLOW YOUR MIND!!
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Review from Melissa B.
Oakland, CA
12/9/2010 1 Check-in Here
The reason I like this place is it puts taco trucks in prospective. I didn't feel like I'd crawled through the Saharan desert looking for an Oasis like I do the day after I eat at a taco truck in SF. You seriously have to hydrate when you eat taco truck food.
It might not be as 'authentic' as some places, but my GI track thanks me for it when I eat here. It's satisfying to get a deal at Jeremy's and then eat here.
They were training someone the last time I was there, so I got quite a generous portion on my cheese, meat, rice, beans, and guac regular sized burrito. And I did eat the whole thing in one sitting! -
Review from Jona C.
Oakland, CA
8/23/2011
Had a super carne asada w/ guacamole, black beans, pico de gayo. It was pretty decent, not dry at all but I felt like there was way too much rice. Prices are def. cheap and the green salsa is good and spicy. If you're not a local to the area or someone who has to drive in like myself, parking is hard to find. They make to order and it's pretty fast and I'm glad to see the food maker isn't the one who handles the money.
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Review from Audrey C.
2/15/2011 1 Check-in Here
A new mexican fast food place to give la burrita a run for it's money!
The burritos are big in girth rather length. If you get a super burrito it comes with a melted slice of cheese then filled with all the typical burrito fillings. The meat is marinated to a good amount, now overpowing the rest of the ingredients. -
Review from Dechawuthi D.
Chino Hills, CA
5/27/2011
If you happen to be on College Ave. by Berkeley and want some Mexican food, Gordos is definitely a low price eat with great taste! I always like to get the fried pork meat plate with extra meat which actually comes out to like $8-9 (what a deal).
The beans are fresh, the rice is really good, the meat is always great. Good place to eat! -
Review from X Z.
Oakland, CA
11/16/2010
I would think that a burrito has to be just about the easiest food to make well. Have you watched them being made? Hell, a monkey could do it.
Obviously I'm full of shit.
Gordos is so much better than other burritos. Who knows why? Maybe it's the meat spices, maybe it's the salsa with fresh onion and cilantro, maybe it's the hot sauce or the super fresh tortilla. Maybe it's the way they're wrapped.
I really have no idea. All I know is that they keep me coming back for more.
Which is unfortunate. Because while a Gordo's Super Burrito is a fine meal for a construction worker, if you're a desk-ridden tool like me, you're just working on a second ass.
