Tacos Moreno
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: No
- Parking: Street, Private Lot
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: No
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: No
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Lunch
- Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
58 Reviews for Tacos Moreno
I'm a true connoisseur of Mexican food if nothing else. I was raised on it and couldn't live without it. I also have a deep appreciation for authenticity. This places exceeds my expectations in both areas. The food is fresh and cooked to perfection. The flavors are exactly right. It's a small family joint. They keep it simple and it works for them. The menu is small but more than adequate. They don't do refried and they don't do rice and I love them for it. As if Mexican food weren't filling enough? I also have learned to respect the fact that they close down during the winter to take a vacation for what seems like several weeks. Good for them!
This place is definitively average. Decent burritos for a good price, but no rice available in them. Pretty good salsa, but it costs extra money for the chips and salsa. And if you get take out, they'll only give you 2 measly looking containers. They don't accept cards, so you have to bring cash. The place is super small and provides barely any seating, practically forcing you to get food as take out. Dude at the counter gives off a really cold feeling.
My friend told me this was the best place for Mexican food in Santa Cruz. I think it's just cause he's cheap as hell. Try Taqueria Santa Cruz instead. 2.5 stars.
lol at the "wow theres always a line out the door!". The line could literally be 2 people long and be out the door since this place is so small. Lots of my friends love this place, but I knew they were doomed after the following conversation.
Me: Can i just get a bean and rice burrito?
Cashier: We don't have rice?
Me: Like, today?...or ever?
Cashier: Never.
Me: collapses and commences seizuring.
SERIOUSLY WTF GET SOME RICE. ugh now my day is ruined just thinking about this place not having rice. Its burritos are well above average otherwise, but not having rice, my favorite thing ever, just makes me always go somewhere else. Stubbornness ftw!
I remember when I went into this place and looked up at their menu and noticed they didnt have crispy tacos. I left and went back to Jalepenos and kept eating their (like a fool) for a year more. Then, finally, a buddy brought me over there, and I was broken. The carnitas was the best darn thing I have EVER had in a burrito and their chips and salsa are home made and fresh.
Whenever im in Santa cruz, this is a must stop and eat place, even if I just finished a meal somewhere else, in which case, its a take a burrito back home and eat a few hours later place.
OMG their chicken burritos are the things mexican sonnets are made of. I can drink the salsa its so good. The thing is, its cash only, they don't use rice and you get what you get. That said, there's always a line out the door cause its SO GOOD (ok, fine, and cause its so small hahaha). The carnitas is good too, but I can't be bothered to get away from that awesome chicken. I miss this place so much since I moved to san jose.
No trip to Santa Cruz is made with out stopping here.
As a Santa Cruz local, I became a burrito snob, and this became my only choice.
it's all about the salsa, ok and no rice filler, and the yummy beans....
one thing I would always order was a corn quesodilla - mmm fried corn tortilla with beans, cheese, salsa fresca, and cabbage - -oh so good smothered in their own special salsa....
I have not been in over a year, so I hope it's not true that the quality is diminishing....
I will definitely be back
My favorite mexican hole in the wall in sc, salsa mmmmmmmmm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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The best burrito on Earth.... I live and die by a good burrito, and the quality of ingredients is unmatched by any of the other tons of burritos I've eaten (it's scary to think how many I might have eaten!!!).
Why? #1 their chicken is succulent, not overcooked, and just the right amount of seasoning; #2 they don't put rice in their burritos which often causes other burritos to be unnecessarily filling; #3 they're not TOO big that you feel sick after you've eaten it; #4 they grill their tortillas to perfection so there's still a little crispiness; #5 the hot sauce is awesome; #6 they layer the fillings so there's not one bite of just ONE thing, every bite contains a little of everything; #7 they put cabbage in their burritos, not lettuce.... OK, I could go on, but do you really need MORE reasons than this?
I've moved from Santa Cruz since and we will still make a trip JUST for the burritos... it's worth it....
I was brought here by locals who swore up and down about this place. They were right about this place always having a line out the door. I eat a lot of burritos in the city, but Tacos Moreno superseded any San Francisco burrito I have ever eaten. I don't know if it was the cabbage or the fact that there was no rice in the burritos. Whatever it was that made the burritos here so good, I will be back.
I hear they are famous for their quesdillas so I will try those next time.
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I don't know what all the hype is about this place. I know a dozen people that swear by Tacos Moreno, but this place does nothing for me. I never understand why there's always a line out the door...actually, maybe it's because the dining is like 9 square feet.
I used to frequent this spot, when I used to hang out in Seabright a lot, but I've never understood why people think their burritos are good. Weird overcooked meat, held in liquid over a steam bath...all day.
I used to grub on the chicken quesadilla regularly, which happened to not be on the menu. I figured there would be a standard addition fee, but honestly, I never paid the same price twice for it. I got the impression that whoever was taking the order was skimming off the top. I remember the guy who was the shadiest...a greasy-looking, shifty-eyed, smirking dude, who was never in a hurry to do anything, with the line perpetually out-the-door. I always paid a weird amount with this guy, "$4.77 my friend". What?!
As far as quality of ingredients, my colon knows when it processed Moreno's...enough said.
I think the slow service and lines are part of their marketing strategy. It's like the line at a club, when you wait and wait, only to get in and see a deserted place. You drive by on Water and see the line out-the-door, so you are automatically predisposed to assuming that this place is good. Reality check: it's not.
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Years ago, Tacos Moreno used to be amazing, and people would gratefully line up out the door. However, they stopped being good a long time ago, and their lines have reflected this. I miss the old days...
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If you like "hot sauce" that taste like marinara sauce. This is your place. Quite possibly the worst "Mexican food" I've ever had. I grew up a half an hour from the border and I know good Mexican when I taste it. Don't recommend this place at all. It is disgusting to over hear people raving about this place. Santa Cruz definitely is "weird".
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Best burrito I have ever had. And that's pretty damn good, considering I used to live only an hour or two from the border.
It can be a challenge to get good Mexican food in Northern California, but this place seriously brings the yummy.
Fast service & fresh ingredients. Love it.
Absolutely the best burritos in three counties! It sounds funny to say this about something as heavy and strongly flavored as a burrito, but the food here has a clean taste to it that is absent in most taqueria fare. You can taste each ingredient, rather than the undistinguished sludge characteristic of average burritos. Moreno's food tastes like it was made with good ingredients, and it tastes fresh. There is no off flavor of cheap oil or chemical soup base (that I have tasted is so many places). Nothing tastes greasy or watered down, or like it has been frozen and reheated (again, my experience in many taquerias). I've been eating here for more than a decade, and I have never felt unwell after eating anything here, which is more than I can say for some of the "nicest "restaurants in town. This tiny place even manages to keep the bathroom spotless! They get a million stars for that detail alone.
The burritos start with gorgeously fresh, fluffy tortillas, topped with large, whole pinto beans that they cook there (absolutely delicious), shredded cabbage, their own fresh salsa, and your choice of "wet' toppings. No cheap filler rice, bless them. A "suprema" will have added cheese, guacamole and sour cream. My favorite wet filling used to be carnitas (shredded pork), which was always perfectly tender and never fatty or gristly. Since I stopped eating meat, I get the vegetarian burrito, which has no wet filling but has more of the salsa in it to make up for that. If I could change one thing about the menu at Moreno, it would be to get them to come up with a meatless wet filling -- roasted vegetable, tofu, mushroom, potato, or even fish (hint!!!!). But even the veggie burritos are very good. My meat loving husband likes the lengua (tongue) filling. He says it's wonderful. I'll take his word on that.
Other offerings are quesedillas (flour ones are great!) and soft tacos (great!). I think that's all they do. They stick to what they know here. The prices are low. The owners are nice. The tables are cleaned regularly. i love this place. I'd eat her more often if my figure would allow it.
As for the silly asssertion made in another review that all Moreno patrons are "white" (whatever that means, which is not much), I see people of all colors and backgounds eating here and taking food away. And I do see Latino customers, if that's who the reviewer was implying was the missing "ingredient" for a truly good taqueria. This place happens to be in an extremely "white' neighborhood, and it has very little seating. It's not a place where families are going to go out to have a sit-down meal together. It's not a place for teenagers to hang out. People go in, eat, leave. Hence, there is no indentifiable "crowd" -- white, brown, black, yellow, green, purple, red, orange, or rainbow. Such generalizations border on racism and are not fair to anyone.
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I don't know how they can get away with calling tacos corn quesadillas, but I'm not complaining. Since I discovered these for 2 bucks a pop, piled high with beans, fresh cabbage and tomatoes on a hot corn tortilla with amazing salsa, I've literally been coming for that meal once a week. I was less than impressed with the veggie burrito, but it doesn't matter since I found my fave. Add some sour cream to the quesadilla and dig in.
They grill their burritos instead of steaming them. Already love it. There is no parking and the place is the size of a postage stamp and the line wraps around the block. I'm a total Gringa, I admit it, and I always have the spicy stuff left off my Mexican food, but I can tell the difference between a soggy, gristle stuffed lard lump and a flaky, grilled, tasty food treat and this was the latter.
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Simple good Mexican food. Line out the door, who cares get it to go. I work far away from Santa Cruz for long periods of time and I have been know to ask friends to overnight one to me. Nuff said.
A conversation I had with my brother when we went to Tacos Moreno:
Adam (awestruck): "Look at all the people in line with us for tacos! This place must be good."
Me (smirking slightly): Are they all white?
Adam: "Pretty much, yeah"
Me: "Then it's probably not that good."
...and I was right.
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I've been wanting to go to this restaurant for years. I finally decided to do it. And, I wasn't disappointed. My goodness, the best burrito ever! Tasty, fresh, delicious. I tried the Al Pastor, which I've never eaten and it was fantastico! And I got a quesadilla for my daughter and she loved it! I can now see why there is always a line...
ABSOLUTELY A WINNER.
Supreme burrito, al pastor = Ridiculously good
The meat is greasy as hell, and every drop tastes heavenly. If you want black beans and rice in your veggie burrito, take yourself and your patchouli-stink somewhere else. PORK DRIPPINGS CAN'T BE BEAT.
Another thing - Shredded cabbage instead of wilty lettuce = Serious win.
Quesadillas = ALSO WINNERS. Not sure I'd call them quesadillas (more like a taco) but they could call them shit on a shingle for all I care. Grub.
Fastest burrito makers in Santa Cruz - doesn't matter what the crowd, the guys in the back crank em out proper fast.
If you don't like this place, go shoot yourself in the head with a Taco Bell guacamole gun. And then go challenge Carina Moreno to a fight. I dare you.
I know I probably shouldn't be revealing my secrets, but if you don't want to wait in the line, go to La Hacienda by the Boardwalk (its the same place with no line. sssh. don't tell too many people. seriously)
I've read a lot of reviews and heard about the al pastor burrito, never had it. it might be good, don't really care. theres only one thing i get, every time, have dreams about it, the corn quesadilla. 4 of em please, and a full bottle of "liquid crack". The greatest salsa ever. There is no better, I'll drive for hours to get to it. I'm scratching myself like a crack addict thinking about it right now. I bathe in it, squeeze some in my pockets for later. liquid crack. dont bother with anything else. guacamole? service? lines? save your complaints for the manager at baja fresh, and take your lame taste buds to the soup plantation.
a note to all you hoity toity types: this aint fresh mex, this is the best mex. ever. believe the hype and save your pretension for ucsc. if i am in the area, and by area i mean within 2 hours away, i must stop by tacos moreno.
Anytime the word "Carnitas" crosses the threshold of my aural limits, I am transported to Tacos Moreno. I've never had guac there, and didn't know they had it.
I only order one thing--A carnitas burrito, two corn quesadillas (more like veggie tacos with pinto beans & cabbage,) and a coke in a bottle (sometimes a tamarindo.)
They don't stuff their burritos with rice, so expect it to be a little skinny looking. Grease WILL drip out the bottom. These are both things that make this burrito transcendent for me.
And don't forget to make liberal use of the delicious salsa, conveniently provided in squeeze bottles.
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This one gets 5 stars for the salsa. While I am on my SC kick, I had to give a shout out to my favorite burrito joint. As a vegetarian, I have only eaten their bean burritos and quesadillas. I wasn't even turned off when they started serving lengua.
Anyways, they have salsa in ketchup containers on the table. Squeeze a shot of salsa into each bite, and you will be certain to enjoy.
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Soul satisfyingly good. I've been going to Tacos Moreno for 15 years and the quality and consistency of their food is unbeatable. They don't have a lot of the bells and whistles of other taquerias, but their food delivers on pure goodness. I'm normally a taco person, but here, I love their burritos. The bean and cheese is just perfect - whole, well flavored pinto beans, lots of gooey jack cheese, shredded cabbage, and their addictive vinegary tomatillo salsa (I just keep adding more of this from the squeeze bottle on the table) and no rice (which in my opinion makes for a much more satisfying burrito experience. Ah, just writing about this place makes me want to run over there lunch. Too bad it's only 10 a.m. Go, you'll love it.
Watered down, liquidy green stuff does NOT guacamole make.
If you've read any of my other Mexican joint reviews, you'll know that I consistently give places that don't do guacamole right a bad rap.
In California, at least, I have come to expect fresh guacamole (i.e. chunky avocados and maybe diced tomatoes, onions, cilantro - really whatever you want to make it special).
JUST DON'T GIVE ME THE FREAKIN' LIQUIDY STUFF THAT I FOUND ALL THE TIME ON THE EAST COAST!!!
Anyway, I was not only displeased with the fake guac, but also the lack of meat in the carne asada burrito, no chance of rice (it's not on the menu), and shredded cabbage. What???
p.s. Cash only.
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let me just tell you all something....
tacos moreno makes birria...and not the "birria de chivo" (goat soup)
kind.
they make BBQ beef style birria, and its one of my favorite mexican foods in the world....and they do it awesome.
ya sure, i get free oil changes for the subaru at the near by dealership, but i can get the oil changed in san francisco and save a lot of time, but there is no birria in SF (or yet i have found)
plus... a big thumbs up for having mexican green apple soda!
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After reading all the good reviews about this place, I thought I would go try it out. And after a recommendation from a friend, I decided to try my first taste of an al pastor burrito.
I don't think I had a high expectation of this place after reading the reviews. I've had many a burrito in my time, and I know what I like. And this place... I just don't like.
If I wanted to get a small burrito with HARD meat and LOADS of grease, I'd go to a taco truck. I mean, even burritos from the taco trucks that I've been to don't have hard meat and don't even amount to the neon orange oil that dripped all over my hands.
I didn't even mind the cabbage because when I was really young I had the most delicious burritos (which I cannot find anymore) all the time from a tienda in Oakland, but it was FRESH cabbage. Also, I love Spanish rice. I noted that they didn't have it, and didn't mind, but I think it would've helped make that burrito a ton better.
Man, I'm getting more and more infuriated at how bad my burrito was. Maybe I could understand if it was really busy and they got sloppy with it. But no one was there. Maybe two other people besides me. Thanks for getting me my burrito fast, though.
That was totally NOT worth the 40 minute drive (stupid traffic) from campus (I'd just gotten out of lab and was starving).
Sorry, but I don't think I'll ever try this place again. If this is what good al pastor is, I think I'll pass. I need to find a new place that will rekindle my will to venture from my usual pollo asado or carnitas.
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I moved away from Santa Cruz 6 years ago and not a day has gone by without having masturbatory fantasies about their corn quesadilla. My buddies would eat a trough of these after smoking smuggled Cuban cigars on West Cliff Drive and life has never been better. When I visit, my fat, taco scarfing face is plastered to their front door every morning waiting for them to open and take away the itch that burns in my soul.
i could think of no better place for my first Yelp review. I miss you Tacos Moreno from deep deep in my taco lovin' belly.
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Why are you guys waiting outside to eat here? Hmmm, I'm not sure.
I'm not too fond of Tacos Moreno and find this establishment to be somewhat overrated. The gents who work the counter and the stove are all very nice and I feel a tad bad not being a big fan, but in all honesty - what's the fuss about? Average, veeerrryy average.
I've been here numerous times because each time I go I voice disappointment and people straight out freak and suggest I go back. Ugh, okay, okay. Now we're to current times and I'm back to Vallarta on 41st Ave. I used to live across the street and went there often. I think it's much better.
Pappa Vallarta runs a tight ship and they can be a bit stingy on chips and salsa for take out, but come-on, this is the good stuff!
My favorite Mexican joint in Santa Cruz, and apparently other people think so too since there's always a line out the door at lunch time. Simple burrittos made with good ingredients and great salsa.
Don't come here if you want the new age wrap style, or if you want totally huge stuffed with everything burritos, that's not what they do.
My favorite is the BBQ pork burrito, sometimes with sometimes without cheese depending on my mood. With my wife sometimes we do that plus a corn quesadilla and a couple beers, makes a great cheap, quick lunch.
Contrary to the name, this is not the place to go to for tacos. It's the burritos that make this place worth the drive (from just about anywhere) and the wait (always a line). The al pastor with cheese is the perfect burrito, plenty of spice and flavor especially with liberal squirts of thier salsa. It is true that occasionally you might experience a chunk of dried out meat, but that's not enough to stop me from eating. The asada is also very tasty. I'm not a fan of thier guacamole, which is fine because I don't really care for guacamole in my burritos. They grill their tortillas which automatically puts them 1UP on places that steam and they put shredded cabbage which actually gets tastier as it gets a little cooked by the hot ingredients instead of turning into a soggy mess like so much lettuce. And for those of you that complain about the lack of rice, GET OVER IT! Rice is just a filler anyway. That's how other places make bigger burritos for cheap, by giving you less meat. I HATE RICE IN BURRITOS. But I love Tacos Morenos.
Taco's Moreno's is my all time favorite Taco joint in all of Northern California.
Whenever I'm in town I try to stop in.
All the food is really good but the Carnitas and the corn quesadillas are amazing. The fresh made chili that sits on the table waiting for you is the main reason I go back time and time again.
It is also pretty cool that one of the daughters of the owners is a boxer and they have info on her fights in San Jose in the restaurant.
I wish they made agua fresca de sandia.
Arguably Santa Cruz's favourite/best Taqueria.
You have to eat there yourself to try it out. Their meat is the tastiest, but I found the burritos to be a bit skimpy on the extras. I loved the beans and rice, and the spiciness was just perfect, but I also found it to be really rich.
Love the family atmosphere, always a line out the door, and affordable for the starving student.
I like this place because the menu is very simple and to the point.
Their tacos are big and are a good value. Their burritos taste good and fresh, especially because they add cabbage to their burritos and tacos, something that other places don't do. They have good salsa, and overall a good taqueria experience.
Best taqueria in Santa Cruz. Be prepared to wait in line at lunch time. Worth the wait though. The meats and salsas here are the real deal... Authentic, cheap, properly-prepared, and flat-out delicious. Not much of a dining space but great place to grab a quick, cheap, scrumptious meal on the fly.
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Nobody comes here anymore. It's too crowded.
The food is fantastically amazing but the line (which is always out the door) made me take one star off.
I don't know what's better - the excellent burritos or the ginormous bottle of salsa on each table. Mmmm.
Tacos Moreno...what can I say? Thank you for teaching this new england white girl what authentic mexican fare tastes like. Sometimes I curse you, not only for your distance from me right now, but it's because of you that I can't enjoy any of the yuppie burrito places. Accept no imitations, and don't judge this book by it's somewhat run down looking cover, there's a reason the lunchtime lines at this place are legendary!
I'm not really sure what the hype is about this place. Perhaps the sauce you squeeze out of the plastic containers are what make it, but I've found anything I've ordered (in the 4 or 5 times I've been) here to be overrated. The carne asada here is somewhat dry and has a stringy texture. It's also not as well marinated as Los Pinos. Can anyone give me some suggestions on what to try besides the Al Pastor?
I used to live in Santa Cruz. I go back once a year and always head straight to Tacos Moreno.
I used to work at a vineyard -- and the crazy winemaker would take wine writers to this whole in the wall -- their first impression was to be insulted -- but quickly understood why -- such good food, fresh, comforting -- the best Mexican food -- it is as much of an out of body experience as a dinning experience -- al pastor -- but the quesadillas are to die for too....I know that sounds a little loco -- but true.
There is now a Tacos Moreno at UCSC!!! Why did they have to wait until after I graduated? Actually I was already on the 5 year plan -- Tacos Moreno would have meant 8-9 years at a minimum.
I don't know if their tacos or burritos are the best ever -- but the quesadillas are first rate.
Tacos Moreno I miss you with all my corazon!
Best out of body food experience for the money.
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