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Portumex
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street, Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
91 reviews for Portumex
Review Highlights
"I ordered the camarones a la diabla - shrimp in spicy red..."
(in 4 reviews)
"The red and green salsa were both hot but I preferred the..."
(in 4 reviews)
"...was really good and the carne asada had so much flavor."
(in 8 reviews)
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91 reviews in English
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Review from Hitesh B.
San Leandro, CA
1/20/2012
Best burritos I've had growing up.
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Review from Vincent K.
San Francisco, CA
11/3/2011 1 Check-in Here
There's taqueria joints and then there's Mexican Food.
This my friends, is a Mexican Food place that not only serves stuff you would find at a taqueria joint, but that and so much more.
And from the looks of it outside, you'd hardly imagine how enormous this place extends into with a backyard patio, a hallway deck, and the front open room. Even walking up to it from around the block I could smell the aroma of deliciousness.
Certainly its no gourmet dining experience. You step in, order your food, and hold onto a number where they find you bearing greatness. And in the meantime, their chips and red salsa is awesome.
And just a tip, don't over order because its a super load of food:
-Concha Lengua Salad - tons of meat, flaky crust, and good amount of beans, rice, guac, sour cream over cut up lettuce. But unfortunately, it was the last thing to come so we didn't get to it.
-Pork Tamale - beans and rice that came with it are pretty good and the tamale was nicely moist and flavorful. I just wished they had more varieties
-Chile Releno - as my sis suggested was packed with cheesy goodness and cooked perfectly with just the right sauce.
Def coming back for more -
Review from Jovana V.
Pittsburg, CA
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS PLACE!! The feel was great as soon as you walk in. The place was packed but service was still pretty fast. We ordered camarones a la diabla & tostadas de ceviche & we enjoyed every bite! My tostadas needed some ketchup but were delicious! Service was quick and friendly and everything was fresh. It's our new favorite spot!!
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Review from Rhoni T.
Richmond, CA
1/26/2012
These folks are fabulous! Food is terrific and service fast. I visit many restaurants monthly to pick up lunch for our entire office. I work with the pickiest felines around, extra this and hold that, all day long... Most places fuss endlessly about seperate tabs and special requests... not these folks! They are always willing to take the extra few minutes to make sure everyone gets what they want! Love it.
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Review from Nicole G.
8/10/2011 1 Check-in Here
Realizing I live in what seems to be Little Mexico, I now have the goal of (eventually) trying all of the Mexican restaurants/taco trucks in the neighborhood. I absolutely love mexican food and Portumex was on the list for today.
My brother is a huge fan and a few friends have recommended the place, so on a day where 2 clif bars just weren't cutting it and I was starting to feel like my brain cells were dying, I made my way over to Portumex to get a burrito I have been craving for months.
Carne asada burrito with black beans, mmm. $5.85 for enough food to make me want to puke from eating too much? I'm game. The burrito was really good and the carne asada had so much flavor. They sort of skimped out on the rice, but hey, better for my diet anyway!!! Maybe the small asian girl in gym clothes gave them a hint? Lol, anyway. It was really good but I couldn't finish it (I don't eat much), especially with the comp chips and salsa that came with it. DELISH salsa.
A short anecdote: I ordered my food to go, sat at a table, and waited for my number to be called. "Treinta y dos", says the man. Pause. *Looks at ticket, oh that's me!* And as I was getting up, he looks at me, looks at the ticket, "oh, thirty two!". -________- just because I'm asian doesn't mean I don't know español, señor!!! Ay caramba. After taking spanish for 6 years in school I at least know how to count :-p -
Review from Tinker B.
Berkeley, CA
12/28/2011
I crave their albondigas and their chicken soup. So good, it brings tears to my eyes.
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Review from Natalie H.
Sacramento, CA
9/11/2011 1 Check-in Here
Um go there its good
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Review from Rachel H.
El Cerrito, CA
Updated - 9/27/2010
I have to update my review, because I am now a total Portumex fan. My husband loves Portumex, so for the sake of our relationship, I decided to make it work by finding something I can really love. At Portumex, not about my husband. My husband is full of lovable things.
I love the Chicken Fajita Burrito with sour cream. I'm into it. I crave it. I think about it when it's not around.
Baby H. likes the black beans.
I'm not a fan of eating there. It's too bright and not very comfortable. We get take-out.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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10/27/2008
I love crispy tacos. This place fails to make a good crispy taco, and therefore fails me as a… Read more »
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Review from nikka l.
San Francisco, CA
8/23/2011
How i missed this place! I havent been here for years when I first tried the food here I was very satisfied. I dont go here very often but whenever I can I do since I love their burritos and quesadillas! Don't really like the area/location but I'd go here anytime for the food!
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Review from Tia U.
Bay Area
8/30/2010
Portumex is one of my all time favorite restaurants. I've been coming to this place for well over a decade [maybe two] and I've enjoyed every visit and takeout meal. I moved well over 50 miles away and I still manage to make monthly visits to my favorite place. And guess what???!!! I'm still ALIVE!
From the salsas, to the shrimp cocktails, carne asade tacos y burritos, conchas, and various shrimp dinners - I'm hooked. Forever and always.
I'm all for different opinions - but these reviews about the HOOD and THE EXTREME DANGERS of 23rd Street are down right pathetic and so stereotypical. But while you dined and RISKED your life - did you down a Nacho Gat supreme???? Was a jacking ordered with your carnitas?? Most people just want to eat good food - just like you - and aren't thinking about stabbing you to death.
I'm not denying Richmond's crisis - but c'mon. Stuff your face with the great food, quit waiting for your bullet burrito, and ease up. You aren't going to get jacked for your concha and Corona. Just shut up, Eat, Chew, & Swallow. Just be thankful for your food and ... I don't know... think of the hundreds of thousands of people that live in Richmond and manage to LIVE EVERYDAY. -
Review from Omar M.
Richmond, CA
6/14/2011
Customer service here sucks manager is a butt hole if their food wasn't so good I wouldn't come back and now there closed on Monday's what's up with that!?
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Review from BRSKI B.
San Francisco, CA
5/4/2011
Is this going to be the worst review of a Mexican restaurant you'll ever read? Maybe.
Remember how I used to be a Chinese food skeptic until Sichuan Fortune House kicked me in the backside? (Of course you don't remember, but the point remains the same.) I'm kind of that way with Mexican food - a skeptic. Yeah, I just heard your internal chorus of boos - so picture me turning around and pulling down my shorts and mooning you boo-birds in reply. [Be forewarned, I'm talking almost exclusively about what we get here in America (though my experience in Mexico was not exactly startling).] I just don't get it as a 'favorite' cuisine. Do not misunderstand, I think it's delicious food, but my favorite cuisine? Uh, no. Excluding Mexicans (for whom it ought to be the favorite cuisine), I think it's telling what American demographic always picks Mexican food as its favorite cuisine. What demographic is that? Look around your friends and the answer should be immediately obvious. How bold are their ideas? How stunning are their souls? How many collared shirts do they own? How blond are their children? Yeah, can you believe I just went there? Mexican food is the favored 'ethnic' food of this demographic for one reason - this demographic is typically raised on the most boring and processed food in human history. Bleu cheese on their pepperoni pizza was as exotic as their childhood palates got - and not many even went that far (oh noes! bleu cheese!). Is it any wonder they find Mexican, non-threatening Mexican, so compelling? You tell me. You want to know how a true Mexican eats? Go to Mexico - they're not eating your fat thigh burritos or your ground beef tacos. There are favored innards and offal in the real stuff. I know, I know, every ethnic food does that in America, and what do I know anyway? Yeah, true, not that much - I eat it pretty irregularly, and by no means have I scratched the surface of bay area Mexican eats. On the other hand, I've cooked cover to cover out of Diane Kennedy's and Rick Bayless's cookbooks (Bayless's books are particularly good). I know what you're thinking - it's pretentious to tell you I've cooked so much Mexican food from cookbooks that are not written by Mexicans. But the facts are the facts - I've probably eaten more diverse and sophisticated variations of things you've never seen on a menu. Like you, I've eaten enough 'typical' Mexican food in my lifetime to know its full spectrum - and yet I never seek out Mexican food as a first choice. When I reach for a cookbook for a special weekend meal, I rarely (rarely) go Mexican - I'll go Indian long before Mexican and I consider Indian home-cooking weekday food. So really, do you honestly believe your favorite Mexican restaurant is going to knock me flat? I hope so, I truly do, but I remain...a skeptic.
HOWEVER, I also acknowledge I'd be a fool not to eat Mexican food because it's a helluva tasty cuisine. The best Mexican food I have ever eaten was at an open-aired seaside shack in Mazatlan, one or two spots in the Mission District, a few small places in Chicago, and one place in Richmond, CA. [Shout out to Richmond - I'd wager there are as many excellent spots there as anywhere else in the bay area.] And no, though I consider Doma Tomas and its sister sites (the taco shops) to be very nice eating, I still wouldn't say any of the food there has ever been the best 'Mexican' food in my dining experience.
That bring us to Portumex in Richmond.
If you go, I don't think you can go wrong in any direction. Some things are good and some things are special. Having eaten there many times over many years, I have my standby faves and if I got there more often I would say much more about the menu. I've tried all of the standards - every dish is always delicious, generous in size, and a bargain for the buck. I've never been made sick from the food and I've never had any issues in either the restaurant or its surroundings. There's a simple pleasure and happiness inside Portumex - it is simple, bare, and to the point.
What do I generally end up getting? The tacos with Chile Verde (oh so tender pork in green tomatillo sauce) - a whopping $2.73 each. Believe it or not, 2 tacos is almost too much food. And then there is the Camarones a la Diabla (shrimp in a hot and spicy sauce), which is $12, but one of those dishes that make you crave. This is a simple, simple dish, but oh so finger-licking delectable. Just go and try what you like - it's going to be good and if you keep exploring the menu you're going to find something special.
Worst review ever? You're welcome. -
Review from Matt C.
Richmond, CA
10/31/2010
I had the steak fajitas which I give a 3 stars out of 5
My wife had the chili rellenos that they did not take the seeds out.
The bath room smelled like pee but you had a exotic choice of rubbers that you could buy for $0.50
The place was OK. don't know if I would go back. -
Review from Felix W.
Berkeley, CA
9/26/2010
'damn... this burrito is piping hot'
That may not seem like the highest of high compliments, but that comment will forever resonate with me and my friends. Uttered after a mouthful of portumex's fantastic burrito, we continued to laud the virtues of portumex and the similarities it had with some of our favorite mexican haunts back home in San Diego (that's right, i'm from SD so therefore know a thing or two about authentic, cheap, hearty mexican food, and damn proud of it).
We decided that it compared favorably and i would indeed pit it with any of my other favorites. 5 bucks for a burrito? Subway's got nothing on the prices seen here. Great tasting salsa is already at the table when you walk in, and its just an overall great place to have lunch.
Why lunch? well.. for me, its just a slightly sketchy part of Richmond, and there's the reason why i can't give it 5 stars. Not that i necessarily expect anything to happen, it's just that i feel more secure eating here during the day. But don't let that deter you from Portumex, as they make one mean mean burrito. -
Review from Rinky N.
East Bay
11/20/2006
This is one of our favorite places to eat. WE have lost count of the number of times we have eaten here.
Our favorites are chile rellenos, veggie burritos and enchiladas.
They do NOT use lard and their servings are huge. You always feel like you are getting your money's worth here!
Good Food!
Large servings!
Good Prices!
Great Salsa!
Good service!
Free calendar card (as mentioned before)
This is a real neighborhood hang-out. This where the locals eat. -
Review from deb n.
Palo Alto, CA
1/12/2009 12 photos
My sister in law and the kids took me to lunch on Saturday around 3pm, this was my brother's find, years ago. Yes it is on 23rd street, but not that ghetto and the area looked fairly safe. They have their own parking lot.
Arrive and you order at the counter, there is a menu on the wall with some specials listed on the counter. The food was good, ample and inexpensive. We ordered 1 beef flauta, beef enchilada lunch, chicken enchilada lunch(on special for $5 with beans, rice and lettuce), two beef enchilada lunch, beef burrito, two beef crispy tacos, 1 fish taco, 1 beef soft taco with quac and sour cream, nachos and burrito to go and 4 canned sodas, $55. What a deal!!!
They take cash and credit cards. You are given a number and sit at the table where you are brought chips and two salsas, red and green and drinks and utensils. I don't remember the green but the red was mild to me. Then they start bringing out your food. I was pleased, the ground beef was flavorful, the chicken was moist but not enough flavor for me. I noticed they didn't service carnitas as a meat option. My ala carte beef taco with quac and sour cream was good sized, sat on two corn tortillas.
Plenty of seating inside and a small decking when you enter. Servers don't seem to speak much English but the cashier does. With our order, only had one mistake, not too shabby. -
Review from Michelle D.
Fremont, CA
9/5/2008
At first, I was delighted. Cheap food, great salsa, quick service, outdoor seating. My chicken flautas were yummy and savory and I'm chowing down and two bites away from being done and...um...what's this in my mouth? A chicken bone? Nope. It was a TOOTHPICK. Inside the flautas, with the meat. And we're not talking about a club sandwich toothpick at a 90 degree angle, clearly announcing itself with the frilly green stuff at the end, and warning you that "Hello, this is a toothpick--don't eat it." This was a toothpick hiding inside my food.
My friend and I took the dish in to the manager/owner to complain, and at first he was pretty indignant and insisted that was just how they made the flautas--the toothpicks held them together while they're being fried. Yes, but why was there a toothpick in one of my flautas and not the other? And why was it embedded in the meat? The cook came out and showed me how he makes it--they put in toothpicks at 45 degree angles to hold the flauta together. Maybe they just forgot to take this one out, but it was actually embedded in the meat--not at a 45 degree angle.
They offered me my money back, and I accepted. At first, I felt guilty. But then my friend reminded me of the cardinal rule of food: never put something on a plate you wouldn't want someone to eat. And I don't want to eat a toothpick, thanks.
Bonus: great churro stand across the street. -
Review from Lyzbeth S.
San Francisco, CA
5/7/2007
There's no lard in the food but no lack of love and care at this decades-old family-style, family-owned Mexican restaurant.
Mega portions of good quality food and great prices served with lightening speed.
Excellent fresh, thin, greaseless chips with either super hot green salsa or milder chunky red salsa.
Must order: Fish tacos, perfect chile rellenos
Very Good: Chile verde tacos (order without lettuce & cheese), Mexican hot chocolate, tamarind & Jamaica aqua frescas, soups, guacamole,
Good: Strawberry aqua fresca, breakfast (good value for a hearty decent meal)
Skip: Tamales, carne asada, al pastor, horchata,
Highly recommended and/or look delicious but I haven't tried yet: big goblets of shrimp cocktail with avocado, ground beef taco in a hard shell taco, chili Colorado taco, camarones a la Diablo, ceviche tostata, humoungous burgers, super-sized flautas, whole fried catfish, birria.
Except for the ground beef hard shell taco, soft tortillas are better.
The beans and rice are only average. Save money and order sides instead of plates. A filling meal can be ordered for $2 - $3 dollars.
Portumex is named for the owners. Tony Moura is from Portugal and his wife, Maria Del Rosario, is from Guadalajara, Mexico. -
Review from Thyrone A.
San Ramon, CA
11/16/2009 1 Check-in Here
Jewel in the ghetto is how I would define Portumex.
Best burrito in town with an excellent service. The price can be overwhelming with the size of their burrito but it's well worth the pay. I also see a lot of people ordering concha. Though I never tried it, it looks appetizing and its definitely on my list.
Whether it's dine in or take out, they serve every order with tortilla chips and a tasteful red salsa. Finding parking can be difficult during lunch hours but the side streets are always availabe. -
Review from jay h.
1/4/2006
I have been going here since I was in junior high. The owner knows my father and the chef is the mom of a girl I know. This place always has people in it. You can sit down and eat in or eat outside in the patio. Walk inside order your food at the counter and have a seat they'll bring the food to your table.
They have an great chile relleno plate and taco salad as some veggie options. The burritos are crazy good and their enchiladas are great too.
You can test the tried and true tradition of any "real" Mexican restaurant by their weekend soups.
Saturday-Pozole
Sunday-Menudo
If you happen to be in Richmond this is a place to have lunch. There are stores just down the block to buy any other Mexi-friendly things ie. pinatas and candy and chile. -
Review from Jennifer H.
San Francisco, CA
7/9/2007
Can i just say, YUM? I'm so thankful that my friends brought me here!
They have really good burritos (big burritos!) and salsas, and a KILLER horchata. Hey, good horchatas are hard to come by!
If lived closer, those people would know me by my first name! -
Review from Mea W.
San Pablo, CA
4/2/2008
I've been going here since I was a little girl, say about 7 y/o. They are like family to me. My top dishes are as follows:
1. Concha Fajita de Pollo, you have to say Fajita, otherwise you will not get the grilled chicken. All this is is a small tortilla shell, mind is blank, can't think what it's really called, filled with beans, rice, grilled chicken, and grilled bell peppers and onions. Top this with a little bit of the hot salsa, the green one, and you're in heaven. $5
2. Hot and Spicy Shrimp. Mouth is drooling right now. Beans, rice, with a side salad, and Shrimp cooked in this sauce that is hot, but at the same time, hella flavor. Get you some flour tortillas to get all that good sauce fro your plate! Oh yeah, if you do get this dish, DO NOT get a soda, the caffeine and carbon will not help with this dish! LOL Yeah, it will make your mouth burn even more. Go for the
Snapple or something! $12
3. Diet Plate. Simply, grilled veggies, with grilled chicken, and a side salad: greens and slices of avocados. $5 -
Review from Shyam P.
Oakland, CA
12/17/2005
This is one of my favorite mexican restaurants. It's straight up in the middle of the ghetto and we've only ever ventured there for lunch but what excellent lunches they serve.
Their burritos are huge with good quality meat, cilantro and possibly the best guac ever. They're reasonably priced around $5.
They have one special and it's been the same special for at least a year: the enchilada plate. It's delicious.
Good authentic food at reasonable prices. The best thing there is the guacamole, it's fresh, creamy and not overly sour like at most other places. -
Review from tom p.
San Ramon, CA
2/13/2007
Fast service, great tasting food.
My first time here. We walked into the restaurant and the place was packed. There was a line that leads to the cash register where we would order our food. There was a lot of options on the menu board. We were given a number after we paid for our food. The place was packed, so we ended up sitting outside. The food showed up in minutes. The fish tacos were so delicious.
I will definitely come back again. -
Review from Edi B.
Vallejo, CA
2/22/2010
Finally! I heard of this place for years...
I ate there on a nice sunny day and got to enjoy their outdoor patio. The place is deep on 23rd so I had alot of interesting activity to watch.
Tasty tacos, cheesy enchiladas and crisp flautas. It all was delicious comfort food.
They have aguas frescas as well.
Oh ya the salsa is as good as it gets! -
Review from LuX P.
Oakland, CA
6/7/2008
Giant,, fat soft tacos generously filled with
meat,
lettuce
and cheese.
Simple.
Two make a meal for hungry hippos and three only if you want to bust open like a pinata.
Crunchy fresh chips are the icing. -
Review from James K.
El Cerrito, CA
3/18/2008
This place makes best chicken enchilada.
Great salsa with chips too.
I haven't tried any other dish because every time I go here I order the chicken enchilada with horchata. -
Review from Daphne L.
San Francisco, CA
2/21/2009
This place is ok... I'm not much of a mexican food fan, but it's always busy (even when I went at 3pm) and it seems everyone there loves it. It's pretty good, large portions, but not the cheapest thing in the world. I love chips and salsa though, so they had me sold when they gave me a basket of chips and 2 bottles of salsa before my meal. =)
I had their chicken quesadilla, which definitely would not have been too good without salsa... I'm really picky, so I scooped aside the guacamole and sour cream and all that weird stuff that they gave me on the side. =P My fault, I suppose! Then I had their fried catfish, which I thought wasn't too flavorful, but the salsa saved it. Plus, who can say no to fried food? Oh, and apparently their horchata is yummy. *shrugs*
Bottom line: It's good food, just not that cheap, but a hefty amount of food - even the lunch portions. -
Review from ToAsTy T.
Pacifica, CA
2/7/2008
The area isn't ghetto, but it's not fur coats and marble sidewalks either.
Food is pretty good, good flavor, and it's pretty fast.
Chips are thin, light and crispy. the choice of hot as hell green salsa and a lighter red salsa give you some fire on the tongue. Maybe i had too much green salsa that it killed my tastebuds for the red stuff. -
Review from Leena C.
San Francisco, CA
8/20/2006
This place is pretty good. They don't use lard like some other restaurants use. This place gets crowded but they do have an outside patio which is nice when it's sunny outside. They also have a jukebox so if you want to listen to some cool music (no, i'm not talking about hip hop)...come and eat.
A lot of people get the shrimp cocktale with pico d. gallo.....I forgetting the name but the catfish plate is to die for. it's a lot of food. I usually settle for a burrito. The thing that I don't like is that it doesn't come with guacomole and sour cream...those things are extra and adds 1.25 to your burrito...plus when they ask you about it they kinda sneak it in. They don't tell you it's extra.
When you eat in, you get salsa and chips. The green salsa is SPICY. The red one is not so much. -
Review from BENN T.
Oakland, CA
9/2/2009 1 photo
Hi, this Mexican Restaurant is one of the busiest that I ve ever been, i was here last week. First you have to find a parking. Private parking is limited so prepare to park in the street. The service is quick, the owner is always there. The place is always busy especially at lunch time.
The Back patio is nice; you will be surrounded by plants. I ordered a beef tortas, very tasty; I like the bread they used in there. The price is very reasonable. -
Review from Shannon S.
Oakland, CA
2/20/2007
It's hard eatin' in Hercules for an Oakland transplant. It's almost all nasty chain/fast food out here. I plan to write a horrid review of a nearby Mexican place if I can remember the name. Suffice it to say that I'm a Mexican food-aholic and being 10+ miles from favorite spots (Gordos, Las Palmas, Cactus if I have to) is hard. So when I read all the glowing reviews of the 5 or so mile away Portumex I was hopeful. Could this be our new regular burrito spot? Have we found what we've been looking for for so long? So we went to see.
It's not in the hardest of ghettos by any means. So don't worry about heading over there -- unless you've lived your live in Piedmont, then you may be a bit skittish.
The line was short, so we didn't have a lot of time to peruse the menu so we stuck with our standard chicken burritos. Me with black beans, Chris with pinto. We took it to go.
It was okay. Definitely better than the one down the street whose name escapes me. Still, it was just okay. Mine was on the dry side and there really wasn't a lot of flavor. The chicken was decently seasoned, though Chris' qualm was that it was a bit overdone making for hard, dry meat. The other minus is cheddar cheese in the burrito. What self respecting Mexican joint doesn't have at least a mix of cheese with monterey jack?
So bottom line? I guess I'd go back if I was really, really, really craving Mexican. Or maybe I'd just drive twice as far for something really good. -
Review from Joselita T.
San Pablo, CA
9/1/2009
It's in one of the busiest street in Richmond so parking may be a problem. There is a small customer parking area one store away from it but it can only fit about 6 cars and it's very tight parking so be careful. This is also in the shady area of 23rd street so you might want to check it out for lunch or early dinner.
I love it's ambiance. It has outdoor seating both in the front porch and at the back. There's also a covered seating area on the side.
Food is good and they serve in big portions so you might want to split it with someone, if you don't feel like eating too much. I had a camaron (shrimp) burrito ($9) and some horchata ($3). The shrimps are great but the burrito itself is just okay. They have a lot of different dishes to try, including soups (one of my co-worker's favorite) and sandwiches and some of them are probably close to authentic. -
Review from stacylee a.
San Diego, CA
7/24/2009
This place is by far thee best mexican restaurant i've gone too up in the bay.
My ex coworker took me to this spot one day for lunch and I got the Concha (taco salad) with carne asada, lettuce, cheese, sour cream and gaucamole. The meat was cooked perfect, not much fat nor that greasy. The only part that sucked was, I get full fast and couldndt finish my food and taco salads are usually the best when its fresh. But, if you're in the area or shall I say work around richmond you must try it out!!!
im having it for lunch today! yum..vegetarian concha! -
Review from Lisa f.
Richmond, CA
4/3/2008
Ewww!! I just don't understand the hype with this place.
When we first moved to Richmond about 3 years ago, we asked around for recommendations for a good Mexican place, since there are so many to choose from.
Many people recommended Portumex. WHY?!?!?! The first time we went, the food was so bland, I seriously could not taste any spice in the meat. I had chicken, my husband had pork, we both had the same comment about our meal. Bland!
We waited a couple months and tried it again. We thought with all the rave reviews that it must have just been a bad day for Portumex. We had the same experience. Very bland no flavor meals.
Never again. I don't see what the hype is about. If there was an option for negative stars it would get that. -
Review from AVa C.
Hercules, CA
3/29/2011
Except for the location, this ok place is one of the best Mexican restaurants Ive been to. Love, love, love the fish burrito.
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Review from Sandra S.
9/2/2009
Man.............
My BF introduced me to this place. I normally would never eat here because it's in the hood. Unbeknownst to me I have found the hood spots are the best spots. Especially when it comes to Taqueria's!!!!
This by far is my 2nd favorite spot on this side of the bay!
I always get the burritos! I have yet to finish a whole burrito yet because they are HUGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They have great salsa and guacamole too.
My second favorite thing to get at this place is the taco salad. OMG...best taco salad ever.
I have no complaints on this place other than it could be a little pricey depending on what you get.
Their always packed so try and call your order it!!!! -
Review from Mary D.
Point Richmond, CA
3/8/2008
For years Juan's had been our default Mexican restaurant. However, with the recent price hike, even their yummy flour chips weren't enough to maintain our patronage. So, we are now on a quest for a new default Mexican joint. Criteria? Decent prices, good chips and great food. We may have found all that it with Portumex.
We started off with the chips and salsa. The green definitely has a nice kick - good amount of heat, but not enough to singe your tastebuds. I ordered the camarones a la diabla - shrimp in spicy red sauce. Damn, that sauce was very tasty. Even after I had finished my shrimp, I was dipping my chips in the sauce. It was too good to waste. The boyfriend ordered carne de adobada and they were not stingy with the meat. He left stuffed and still had half the meat left over for lunch. He also appreciate the chilled glass for his beer. The atmosphere is pretty basic tacqueria with a diverse crowd of patrons - very representative of Richmond.
The downside: they close at 8pm. -
Review from Nadiyah S.
Imperial Beach, CA
12/23/2010
Mexican food in the bay area is rarely good, but Portumex seriously the best chicken torta I've ever had. Dont forget to get salsa on the side and pour some on with every bite!
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Review from Jessica G.
Seattle, WA
6/6/2011
Love, love, love Portumex. Hands down, my favorite place for Mexican food. I find it difficult to order anything other than the steak ranchero, but everything I have tried there is excellent (chile verde, chile colorado, pozole, breakfast egg dishes, tacos, burritos, tortas, enchiladas, chips, salsa, guacamole). The steak ranchero is perfect: thinly sliced tender strips of grilled steak in a silky, rich, meaty ranchero sauce topped off with very fresh, tender crisp sauteed veggies like green onions, cherry tomatoes, and tri-colored bell peppers. The rice and beans are just right. I am from the Bay Area and every time I go home to visit, I eat here as many times as possible. Nothing in Seattle even begins to compare with Portumex.
