Ruby's Taqueria

 

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Pinkflutter C.

Santa Clara, CA

I love their food specially their burritos :-) they have a mini one for ppl like me. I can eat this food everyday. Yey for Mexican Food. Ruby's FTW!!!

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Mark T.

Mountain View, CA

I came here for the first time today for lunch, and I obviously wanted to try out the much hyped vampiros.  Since they weren't so big, I figured I would get one vampiro and one burrito.  That should be enough, right?  Man, it was more than enough and then some.  Without even looking at the vampirio, the burrito (the regular one) was as big as Zack Morris' cell phone on Saved by the Bell.  It was probably as heavier if not heavier than it, too!  

I started off with the vampiro, and man, that's a whole lot of flavor and meat packed into a small corn tortilla.  For those that eat with their eyes, you'd be surprised how filling just one is.  

So on to the burrito.  I was only able to eat half of it, and that was flirting with being really full.  I'd say it ranks up there in my book with some other burritos I've had.  They put fresh onions in their burritos which, while simple, isn't found in many other burritos, IMHO.

I'd definitely go back here again.  The atmosphere isn't as bad as I had expected based on other reviews.  Maybe they cleaned up a bit?

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3

Jason J.

San Jose, CA

After an unexpected decline in early 2008, Ruby's is back on the map again with tasty and inexpensive taqueria grub. It's definitely worth what you'll pay for it. Then again, a taco is only $1.25, so take that as you will.

The al pastor is nowhere near as good as it was before, but the carne asada and carnitas remain excellent.

If you wish to die before your 40th birthday, opting for death by vampiros would not be the worst way to go. Vampiros are small tacos that are loaded with meat, cheese and guacamole, and they're the best thing I've tried off Ruby's extensive menu (and that's saying something, because their burritos and regular tacos are also quite good). If you're only going to visit Ruby's one time before returning to your home planet, go for the vampiros. Don't panic when you notice they've burned a hole in the plate on which they're served. I hear that's good luck in Mexico. Or something.

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Dan B.

Redwood City, CA

I wouldn't be surprised if f you've never seen Ruby's Taqueria. Though only 50 yards from Hwy 101, it's in a completely unexpected and well-hidden spot: far back in a residential area, and just off a frontage road. A small Hispanic grocery store sits next to it.  The only way I found it is when I did a map search for restaurants within a few miles of my job. Ruby's location popped up and I had to see it to believe it.

Ruby's is your basic south bay area taqueria with a twist.  It is the only one I have seen that serves vampiros and gorditas, which are two kinds of Mazatlan-style tacos. Here's a description of each.  
-- Vampiro: The meat of your choice is smothered with salsa, onions and guacamole. After that it's not unlike a soft taco, except the wrapping is two grilled corn tortillas with melted cheese in between them. A little taste of heaven.
-- Gordita: The meat of your choice (more than a vampiro), plus beans, lettuce and Mexican crumble cheese. This is wrapped in a very thick, corn tortilla, which has been deep fried to make it puffier and even thicker.  Yumbo.

I have tried the burritos and tacos here too, and they are also solid choices.  The menu is pretty large and varied. As to whether chips and salsa are included, I still haven't figured out their policy.  I have had always had to ask for chips.  On some occasions they charged me extra for these, on other occasions they didn't.  But the main drawback is they don't make their own like some places. Instead they just scoop them out of a store-bought bag sitting behind the register. Damn the luck.

Though a lot of places are called " hole-in-the-wall," Ruby's definitely fits this description well. It is small, narrow, and not overly clean.  English is barely spoken, so I feel like a complete gringo when I eat here. The seating arrangement is not ideal. Your choice is to either sit at a shelf against the wall with the kitchen staff staring at your back, or sit in a long narrow room that is more like a hallway with a loud TV at one end. There are also a few small tables our front next to the very unattractive parking lot.  If this setting were a little more appealing I would eat here a lot more often.

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Mercedes R.

Sunnyvale, CA

"Where is this place?" wonders fiance, as he scans the street looking for Ruby's.  "Don't worry, we'll find it. Yelp says so," I reassure him.  Soon enough we found Ruby's in the midst of a dodgy parking lot, at the end of Borreagas near the freeway.  I'm glad that I made fiance come with me, since he wanted me to pick up dinner by myself, but I refused to go alone.    Burrito = 3 stars, not bad, and well priced, but I've had better. Vampiros = 5 stars, cheap (like $1.69 each I think) chicken tender and delicious and all around yummy.  Average = 4 stars.  People were right about the vampiros melting the plate though, geez.

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3

Fozzi B.

Millbrae, CA

RUBY'S IS BACK! I'm not sure what happened in that 2-month stretch that prompted my original review (below), but the food is definitely back on the upswing here. If they change back to the old tortillas I may give 'em that fifth star.

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O Ruby's, what happened to you?

I guess it's the little things that make a difference, especially with a hole-in-the-wall joint like this. My friends and I used to go to Ruby's with insane frequency... 2, 3 times a week. The food was super-cheap and just terrific. The tacos were like little bites of heaven, the burritos a bargain. And the vampiros! Cheesy goodness that would melt straight through your plate if you weren't careful.

But then, something happened. I think they got new management (but the ever-present language barrier kept me from finding out). The ambiance (or endearing lack thereof) remained, but the tortillas changed. That killer sauce of theirs lost its flavor and just became heat. My friends say the meat quality declined too, although I never noticed that myself. But without a doubt, the edge was gone. It just wasn't the same anymore.

I haven't been to Ruby's in a couple of months now. I'm giving it 3 stars  based on my most recent visits, but it used to be a 5-star place, hands-down. Here's hoping greatness returns to Ruby's.

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nehemias P.

Sunnyvale, CA

This place is great place to get a burrito fix!  I ordered the Asada Super Burrito and it was a very well sized portion for the low low price of $4-5.  The seating area is really small, but we went around 5pm on a sat and found the place was empty which meant more seating for us.  The chips seem fresh and the red salsa was HOT but i just couldn't get enough of it.  Okay, so the reason it didn't get 5 stars is for the following.  

    *The Orchata I ordered was luke warm and when i usually order it somewhere else it's ice cold.
    *The last several bites of my burrito came with nice chunks of fat

The next time I visit this place I will try something else because they have a good size menu, but a safe bet is their burrito.  The place is inexpensive so if you don't like the food you won't feel so bad when toss it out.

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5

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Joe H.

Palo Alto, CA

I'd be down at 1.5 stars, but my friends liked the al pastor a lot, and they have excellent, fresh tasting chips and hot punch.  Also, they're friendly there.

I got a chicken torta and barbacoa sope.  The chicken was tough and dry, and barbacoa was acceptable.  The torta used a roll that was too big for the contents inside, and it was greasy.  The sope was again very heavy and greasy.  Perhaps a burrito is better?

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UPDATE: A burrito is better.  I got an asada super burrito, and it was excellent.  The only downside is that the asada was more like brisket than asada -- it certainly wasn't grilled to order.  Even so, it was a VERY tasty, huge burrito for the low cost of $5.08.  It's a deal you can't beat.  3.5 stars.

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Kelly B.

San Pablo, CA

I live across the street from this place and absolutely adore it.  

It's NOT health food, but it is really tasty. My favorites are the gordita with lengua (beef tongue) and the mini-burrito with chorizo.  I can't imagine eating their super burrito, because the mini is plenty big!

They make delicious shrimp anything there.  I can always get my husband to go to Ruby's because it good and inexpensive.  We often get out of there for under $15.00, including two drinks.

Brush up on your Spanish and head over to Ruby's!

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Kristal S.

Sunnyvale, CA

If you're craving a big juicy meat-filled burrito, i suggest checking this place out. A small, yet comfortable, restaurant right next to a grocery store that usually has a security guard in front of it...what does that tell you? Other than that, the food will make you feel like you're in Mexico and get you full in minutes.

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Zeke S.

Santa Clara, CA

This is one of my favorite places flat out. My personal favorite meat, the Al Pastor is spicy/crispy with tons of flavor. The asada is top notch and my vegan friend gives an A+ to the veggie burrito no cheese no sour cream (although you have to be pretty explicit about that considering some workers don't have the best English - you might even want to watch 'em make it to be sure). The burritos are the size of a small child (I think that is actually one of the many meat filling available) and under 5 bucks for the Super size with crema and gauc. Thats like what chipotle charges for side of chips.

This place is 100 percent authentic, I see a few geeky white folks like me and a lot more folk that are, well, not geeky or white. As an added bonus they have a money transfer to Mexico in the back and dueling tvs with a continuous soccer game. Its next door to a good Mexican market which sells Michoacana brand popsicles in the very back (Mexican popsicles are the absolute best in the entire frickin planet, no arguments accepted on this point.)

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Small update May 23.... I always get a burrito or tacos there, but today I got a torta for dinner.. Al Pastor of course. To be honest it wasn't that good. I am gonna leave the palce at 5 stars (maybe 4.5 in my heart) because of everything else, but the torta tonight was far too greasy and there was not much to it. I know its the same pastor, but it just didn't seem that way.

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Elite '08

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2152

kim n.

Mountain View, CA

This place is a close second to Taqueria Latina in flavor but probably gives it a run for it's money as a dive. It's in an isolated mini strip mall off  the frontage road of 101 in Sunnyvale. It's completed surrounded by a residential area so I worked nearby for a few years and didn't even know about it.

The parking lot looks like a great place for a drug deal, complete with a pay phone. How many people do you know still use payphones? Well if you go here there's almost always someone on it. Hmmm...

Don't let the shady parking lot scare you though, Ruby's has some great taqueria fare. They have  a pretty large menu too (bordering on a sit down Mexican place) and i have yet to scratch the surface. They make some really good tacos and a chorizo and queso dish that is quite excellent. They also have something called the vampiro taco that is loaded with a Mazatlan red salsa and cheese. My co-workers have  had the burritos and the chille relleno dish and everyone was happy with their selections.

The space is very long and narrow with a wall splitting the room in two. On one side you have the kitchen, cashier and some counter space. On the other you have a handful of tables pushed against the wall, a juke box and two tv's televising Spanish programming. If you're in a large group you might take over the place but you wouldn't be able to talk to most because you'll be all lined up against the wall.

Definitely a new arrow in the taqueria quiver with much variety to warrant multiple return trips.

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jerry r.

Fremont, CA

If you want to have big burrito at lunch and go to nap in the office.
You would like it.

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Armen A.

Mountain View, CA

Authentic place.. greasy food and some outside seating.  Depending on how much of a gringo you are, it can actually feel like you are in Mexico when you eat here.

A couple other notes:

#1.  They really speak hardly any english.  
Me:  "no lettuce, please"  
Girl: "que?"  
Me: "no lettuce
Girl: "....."
Me:  "no salad"  
Girl:  "no salsa?"  
Me:  "never mind"

#2.  They serve all sorts of meat.. including cow brain and goat.

#3.  Sometimes they don't have any water, bottled or tap.  I have had to go to the mexican grocery store next door for water.  Insert joke about mexican water here.

#4.  Vampiros - I've never heard of them either.  Apparently its a Mazatlan-style taco, which basically means that its fried one more time.  Pretty delicious although I usually get a burrito because its easier to eat and take home if I don't finish.

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Jeff D.

Sunnyvale, CA

What makes food taste good? Vegetables? Tofu? Cous-cous and chickpeas?

Forget your yuppie crap. All the bad stuff in the world makes food taste good. That means fat, cholesterol, sugar, and salt.

Now ask yourself: Do you love grease? Do you love having red slimy oil dripping down out of the bottom of your foodstuff? Does it make you lethargically happy to know that you ingested enough nasty grease to give a dozen lab rats cardiac arrest?

If you answered "yes" to any of the above, then you must drop into Ruby's.

Ruby's Taqueria is awesome. The meat is awesome. The seasoning is just right. The carne asada is a bit on the tough side but the pork is incredible. Food is made fairly quickly.

Some good deals include the morisqueta (pork ribs in red sauce over sour cream and rice with cheese sprinkled on top; it all comes out to a pound or two of food for just a few bucks), nachos, sopitos, and burritos. Plate food is also fairly priced.

Most foods leave lots of delicious red grease on the plates, foil, trays and whatnot.

A star is subtracted for the quality of the beef, too much cinnamon in the horchata, and the slight heaviness of the sodium.

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Josh J.

Morgan Hill, CA

Ruby's is definitely tough to find.  Literally, I never would've know it's there had I not seen the review from KQN here on Yelp.  That said, I'm glad I found it.  They do have a very expansive menu, and a not very expansive place to sit.  I ordered my regular test food - carnitas burrito, and found it to be quite good.  Lots of flavor, and even a pretty good level of spice from the green sauce.

I'll definitely be returning, and ordering something with camarones (shimp), because they had some on the grill for the order before mine, and they looked REALLY good.

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