La Sirenita

I've been back to La Sirenita a couple times since my initial visit and have noticed that they've raised their prices in the past couple months (I get it! Ya gotta make ends meet!) and that the quality of my orders are wildly inconsistent.

Al Pastor Colorado burrito with hard, hard dried bits of meat in place of tender, marinated pork.

Partially-melted quesadilla.

You get the jist.

It's darkly lit, chilly, and not very clean in there too.

All this adds up to skipping over La Sirenita when looking for Mexican take-out or eat-in.

Great little place with very good prices quality food and always nice and speedy service

It use to be a great place and was very affordable. Not anymore! They still use that same orange water trough for humans and luckily have hot water now in the bathrooms. Besides that not too much has changed oh yea they charge you for jalapenias and fried onions they use to have at the condiment bar. Luckily they gave me verde sauce for free. I I found a great place much more affordable and delicious condiment bar and fountain sodas on Lombard farther east I'm headed to from here on. La Sirinata is a has been place now although the food is decent but not worth what I payed. Do upkeep and get a clean watering jug if you want to charge those prices. Adios!

This is one of the oldest taco places in town, and, despite my long tenure in Portland, my first visit. I appreciated the bits of fat in the pastor taco, i like a little fat with my pork. The meat here and in the carne asada taco were freshly grilled, and the tortillas themselves had little grill grease on them. 4 sauces to choose from and some vegetables. Efficient service. Not much in terms of ambiance, but that's how these places roll. Roll on little mermaid.

Continuing the hunt for the best vegetarian burrito in town, this stop was La Sirenita!

Right on NE Alberta, you might walk straight past this older building without seeing their sign above you. It could be easy to overlook. But once you walk inside, it's much more colorful than expected. And with burritos ranging from $8-9, it's pretty well priced. A cheese quesadilla is $3.50, and single tacos range from $2-2.50.

So how was it? Decent! I'd eat it again! I don't think it's a contender for best veg burrito in the city, but no one has met that standard yet. Good size, decent filling, good tortilla.

A classic, old-school Taqueria with many cheap choices here (much better than La Bonita if that's all you're wondering). The basic tacos start at 2.70 (there is a little cash discount too). I'm mostly a taco guy but they got it all - tamales, burritos, chimichangas, tostadas and I think tortas. Their meat selection is big too - all the classics plus tripe, lengua, cabeza, buche, tingas, birria, and im probly still forgetting a few. I've tried a lot of their tacos and here's my judgement
- Pastor: consistently nice and juicy, not too fatty. Those who like Korean style spicy pork will love this.
- Cabeza: tender and meaty, not too gristly
- Carnitas: good
- Chicken: dry and flavorless
- Buche: too greasy and tough
- Tingas: dry
Tho I wouldn't try some things again, they're good enough at the basics that I come back. Besides, stomach, head, tripe and tongue are always gonna taste kinda weird no matter how well it's prepared. The only reason I didn't do 5 stars is bc their chicken sucks and I wish their salsa had a tad bit more heat and flavor. But overall, solid spot. They don't sell beer but you can buy one at La Playita next door and they'll let you drink it there.

It took me about 5 times eating here to hone in on what I like. I wasn't really a fan but now that I have tried the ground beef taco and ground beef taco salad...I'm in.

They have a pretty big menu. Lots to choose from. Online isn't as trustworthy as going in to view the board.

Tacos are filled to the brim and flavorful. Taco salad shell is perfect. Crunchy. Flaky. Yum. This is also packed to the brim. You can also ask for salsa to go. The mild has a kick so choose wisely!!

Take out is always pretty quick. About 10-15 min. Staff are friendly.

My wife enjoys the shrimp taco and says the flavor is great.

Mmmmm fajita carne asada burrito was FIRE and qt pie working the front. Great service. Been good since the last i been 13 years ago.

we returned again, and about once a month or more for lunch yesterday...i had a grilled fish taco, and my partner had the soft tostada with black beans.....we love the food, staff, and r/r, it's so relaxing.....we've been coming for decades, thx so much!

Excellent by all standards.
They have an amazing menu.
Amazing staff. And...
Every. Single. Taco. Was. Bomb.
I will be back.

La Sirenita rocks. Cactus burrito, cueritos tacos, pastor, carnitas, cabeza. Do yourself a favor and eat good!