Good stuff !! Went with my family and the food was on point. We ordered a cheese quesadilla and fries (kids meal 5.50) two taco meal (able to give variety in tacos) and a chimichanga meal. Very filling. No complaints on the flavor. The server was very nice and even with it being busy she was able to hold down the fort! Price was average and portions were plentiful! There is ample parking but be careful because it's a busy busy area! read more

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I do not like the one time I went there and it was very nasty. I didn't like it. I ordered three mini tacos with everything on it when I got in the car I started driving and I opened a bag to eat one. It only had a tiny spoonful of steak and onions in a tortilla. I was pretty upset as my first experience ever going to California taco I don't think I'll ever be going back. read more

**MAKE SURE YOU READ, BEFORE ORDERING** Unfortunately I had a terrible experience, I have ordered from here plenty of times small orders and everything was okay, I now decided to order something for my family and when we received our food and opened it. We found that the portions were not their after spending money here and supporting this local business I went so they could fix the mistake, the worker told me her manager said there was nothing they could do, offered a flan cake to compensate. While my family still was hungry. The ability wasn't good. I won't support a business that can't fix their errors. I hope this doesn't happen to anyone else. read more

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Delicious food and amazing customer service! The guy at the register brought our food out and allowed us to combine the tables so we can stay there and eat, delicious birria fries, bean and cheese burrito, and some he birria tacos were all good!!! Chill place to place an order in advance and pick up your food. The rolled tacos we ate as an appetizer lol and they were good, I personally didn't try the pizza quesadilla but my son loved it. read more

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Service is great and so is the food - every time I eat there. Recommend it to everyone who likes tasty Mexican foods

I am from Hawaii, which we have great fresh ingredients. I do have to say the California tacos offer all of that in one great place to eat I would recommend it. read more

Every time I come here I get at least five tacos.. mainly steak and al pastor. You can't beat $1.50 tacos! Fresh ingredients as well. The homemade chicken tacos are also good too! I also always get their steak nacho fries (around $7 - $8) and they're definitely sharable. Super filling. Prices are inexpensive and menu is wide. I've dined in before and the service was pretty fast. Mainly a takeout spot though. I also like how they have daily weekday specials like Burrito Monday and Taco Tuesday. The only downside is that parking is shared in the plaza and the area is pretty busy most of the time. read more

California Taco Shop - Al Pastor Small Tacos, Steak tacos & steak Nacho Fries - Mexican Near Me - Providence, Rhode Island

This is one of the better locations in my opinion. The Johnston one is cheap they really don't put a lot of meat on their tacos. I like the carnitas. You have to try the home made hot sauce. Both are great but I love the green. It's good food cheap and quick. read more

California Taco Shop - Carnitas soft taco - Mexican Near Me - Providence, Rhode Island

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10/10 authentic mexican food treated me and my family well and i nice mint at the end of your meal

So let me start by saying it's more authentic than taco bell. But not really an authentic Mexican taco. It's kind of in the middle. Wasn't really balanced like a Mexican taco. Over powered by toppings. Its ahhh. Not going to rush back. read more

These tacos are sooooo delicious! They never disappoint ! I always get the supreme steak and chicken hard shell tacos. I'm so glad I found this place! Satisfies my love for tacos read more

We stopped in for a late night snack after visiting with a friend. We grabbed a bunch of tacos and I got this amazing passion fruit juice for the ride home. I highly reccomend it. Damn was that refreshing. I ended up getting 3 of the hard tacos with ground seasoned beef. They were perfect. Simple, flavorful and exactly what I was wanting. We didn't order much but what we did get we loved! read more

Pretty standard Americanized Mexican food: Tacos, burritos, quesadillas, enchiladas, etc. I love that they have such a range of different meat options. I always get the 2 taco combo w/chicken and a side taco w/pork. The combo comes with rice, beans w/chips & chopped lettuce. I have to say I really like the steak there, I ordered it once to switch it up & it was so tender & well seasoned. Hubby gets the monster burrito which is the size of my forearm & holds 2.5 pounds of filling for $13....Woahhhh! I've never really seen him defeated by any food item before & let me tell you, it gave him a run for his money! read more

I am only giving one star because the food isn't half bad if they get your order right. This is the fourth time we have been here and they either overcharge if my fiancé orders (I've heard from multiple sources that they always overcharge for all males), we were told rice and beans were included in the dishes we ordered, only to get them home, go BACK to the shop, for them to tell us we're paying $15 for JUST rolled tacos? Please. (This has happened three out of four times, that he's had to go back because our order was messed up.) Then tonight, we go in, send the food back, not once, but TWICE, because my fiancé does not eat red meat and I am vegetarian -- he ordered two veggie tacos and two chicken ones) and it was steak - the girl at the counter then tried to argue that it was the flat grilled chicken -- "chicken" and "steak" sound nothing alike. On top of that, after it was sent back, they literally repackaged it in a new container and brought it back out to him. We got a refund and came home to order pizza. Thanks for nothing, California. You have ruined our date night for the last time. read more

This is truly an authentic restaurant with a homey feel. This location is smaller than the others, having about 5 tables. The service is deli-style where you order at the counter. I really enjoy the workers from the multiple locations and they are all pleasant and friendly. We had the shredded beef nachos for an appetizer.. They had plenty of cheese and a decent amount of meat. There were too many tomatoes and overall they were underwhelming with flavor. I guess I'm used my nachos having chili on them. To be honest, I wouldn't order them again. This is the only reason why I'm giving them four stars rather than five. I'm a huge fan of the $1 soft tacos! They come in a double corn tortilla. They give a generous portion of meat in each and are topped with onions and cilantro. All of the meats are delicious and I usually order 4 different ones. The chorizo and al pastor are the most savory and flavorful. I'm a huge fan of sharing, so I usually get a shredded chicken chimichanga to split. They are deep fried to a fluffy crisp and are stuffed full. I really enjoy the guacamole that is served over the top almost like a sauce. I'm getting hungry just writing this! I keep coming back for the unique taste! read more

California Taco Shop - Nachos - Mexican Near Me - Providence, Rhode Island

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You know, I'll give it to them. I'm always suspicious of tacos...after being to Mexico and only living on street tacos, I feel like I can be overly critical of tacos in the US....or maybe appropriately critical. Nonetheless, these were good and cheap tacos. Nice amount of filling, right price, quick service, and a clean place to chowdown. They aren't gourmet - they are shells and your choice of filling. Well cooked and plentiful; no crazy aioli or some other nonesense. These are just good, quick tacos. There are other places in Providence that have more gourmet, nicer tacos - but they cost more and the price doesn't contribute to a better flavor. Go here instead! read more

Credit card machine is now up and running! My new obsession at Cali Taco is the deep fried burrito. You need to knife and fork it because it's a total mess and covered in sauces, but OH GOD you will love it. I've come in consistently since they've opened and they are ALWAYS busy! Even so, the service is super nice and the food comes out fast. read more

California Taco Shop - Deep fried burrito!!!! - Mexican Near Me - Providence, Rhode Island

I may have found my favorite taco spot. My friend invited me here for dinner tonight and I am so glad I went along. The decor is nothing spectacular and there are tables so you can dine in, if you find an empty table that is. I guess you can say that's my only negative part of my review. My friend ordered 2 tacos and a tostada with shrimp, she was hungry. So much so that she ate EVERYTHING that she ordered. She loves this place and comes here a few times to curb her appetite. I had the chimichanga with steak. I couldn't finish it but I wanted to so bad. The 'changa was mouth watering and so filling. I'm not sure what the green sauce is but it has the right amount of spiciness to it that enhances all the other flavors. Thinking about it makes me want to warm up the leftover in my fridge . I will be stopping by there more often for my 'changa cravings. read more

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Bad experience I recommend you don't come here I was a new customer first time i came and the cashier was rude and impatient the food taste good but the serving size of meat in the tacos is not worth the price read more

Best tacos in RI. Chimichangas are great, too. I have been going to the one on Plainfied for years and was happy when the one on Manton opened, since I drive by that area frequently. Same quality-Awesome. So happy! read more

California Taco Shop - Mexican Near Me - Providence, Rhode Island

Yummmm! Friendly staff, clean establishment! I've tried many things here, great value and great food! Inexpensive and delicious. Monster burrito is my favorite (literally can feed 2 people!), their chips and salsa are amazing and fresh made there! Nom nom nom nom read more

I ordered a veggie burrito with guacamole instead of sour cream plus two containers of the spicy red sauce. It was easily the best tasting burrito I've ever had and one of the best meals I can remember. The vegetables seemed freshly grilled. The onions were sautéed but still crunchy. The guacamole was creamy and delicious. The red sauce had just the right amount of heat. The Spanish rice was delicious and not overpowering. I'll be back whenever I'm nearby!! read more

I'd like to take this one star away but you have to choose something. Where to start.. so this is not the first of any issues with this business. But, today in particular is by far the nail in the coffin. So today for lunch I ask my husband to please drop me off lunch from this location. He orders me my usual, a homemade chicken taco salad bowl in the shell no lettuce no sour cream. Easy right. They say it'll be 10mins. He arrives, the food is not only not ready but hasn't even been started yet. So he waits an additional 15mins. No apologies. Drops my food off to me. I finally get to my lunch to find that not only is my food extra salty but there is no chicken on it. Now, I'm pregnant and I'm literally sick to my stomach because of the taste and now I don't have a lunch to eat. So he calls this Manton location back to notify them of their error. The excuse is the chef is new and he's super busy. On top of that, Janice says she has to call the manager to see what to do about it. Simple solution is to apologize and say we can either remake it correctly or offer a refund. No, it turned it to an accusatory well how much did she eat? My husband said well she had to eat a little to realize there's no meat. To which she replied she needs to bring it back if you want it replaced or given a refund. Okay, no problem, you want it back because you think We are that hard up that we need to lie about your chef forgetting to put chicken, that I ordered clearly marked on the receipt, in my dish? Kay. So I arrive at 5:17 to the Manton location walk in ,Not upset , to a young girl with a green section of hair already with an attitude which is clear by her body language and I say, hi my husband picked up my order earlier and... before I could finish she interrupts with a snap yeah I already know the other staff told me about the issue. So as she's opening a utensil, presumably to dig thru to see if I'm lying, I hand her the bag. She opens it to see my fork still in the container, says oh my god. With an attitude she grabs a baggie of money and puts for me to grab and says here's your refund, then has the audacity to ask me to throw it in the trash. I look around the very small area and ask where? There's no trash. She fixes her face to say outside in the dumpster. First of all. Your manager wanted this food back because everyone is a liar. Secondly, no. I'm not about to walk to the dumpster outside in 91 degree weather after you had all this attitude for a situation that wasn't that serious to begin with. So I looked her right in her face and said No I'm not about to do that. You take care of it. And this is terrible customer service. I've heard of other locations having terrible attitudes and bad customer service but these people are doing the most. Do they realize that there are a ton of other Latin cuisine restaurants who are well versed in the food service industry?! Never again will we spend our good money on this cheap food. You get what you pay for I guess. I'm super all set. I'll go to where I can get a real home cooked meal with kindness and accountability. read more

A solid place for a quick, cheap bite. The food is make quick and fresh. Every combo comes with rice and beans along with a couple chips. Their chicken is solid and seasoned. The other meat choices are also tasty. Did I mention that they have a ton of options and menu choices? They have counter service but will bring your food and drink to the table, if you choose to dine in. This has quickly become my go to place for a quick bite and tamarind-flavored beverage. They are my favorite of the area locations, despite the smaller interior. read more

California Taco Shop - 2 taco combination $6.99 - Mexican Near Me - Providence, Rhode Island

Best Authentic Taco Place so Far! You have to try the "Tacos al Pastor Supreme" soft shell. The service is very attentive and the prices are reasonable. This is my "Go to Place" whenever Im in the area. read more

Had lunch here an hour or so again and I am still stuffed. Wow is this place good. Everything was very fresh and tasty. Their rice is delicious, as were my carnitas tacos. Oddly enough we got a side of french fries and they were possibly the best fries I have had in a long time. They were so well seasoned and light. Not greasy and soggy like many places. The prices are great, especially for the amount of food you get. The waitress was very nice as well. I would even use the word adorable for her. read more

Food is good yes but they started being greedy and charging dine ins party of 2 and over 18% automatic gratuity lmfao. They are not a even a dine-in restaurant even at FULL restaurants they charge 15-20% automatic gratuity for a party of 4-6 or better. They are a take out they have no waiters they do not bring water or take orders at the tables I do not understand how they started doing this as if they're 50x50 establishment is a full sized restaurant. Me wife and I ate there and it was the last time after that and we been eating there since they opened. Greed will kill your business ‍ read more

The meat in the food I got was disgusting. I could not even it. What a waste of money !!

OMG taco Tuesday does exist!!! Don't let the looks fool you. We went here tonight after reading the reviews and said why not. We get there and walk in, the employee behind the counter said sit anywhere the place is small but nice. Dollar tacos on Tuesday it's like I hit the jackpot. To start we ordered the chips and salsa with guacamole both house made awesome. The salsa has some heat but very good. My wife ordered two ground beef tacos I ordered one ground beef, one homemade chicken and a chorizo taco. Our order comes out, the first thing we notice is the house made taco shells!!. The ground beef tacos were awesome, the house made chicken taco needed more flavor but that's my opinion. But the chorizo taco, omg!! If I knew I would have ordered three of these tacos. So, to California Taco Shop we will be back. Whatever your doing keep doing it!!! read more

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i like all the california taco chain restaurants... one in johnston 2 in providence .. idk if there is more but if there is ill run into it one day... my favorite thing to get off the menu would have to be the carnitas nachos... oh and they got dollar TACOSS!!! .... read more

I graduated from San Diego State University, and I can assure you this is the closest you'll get to legit SoCal Mexican food. So good. I mean, who doesn't want French fries in their burrito?!? Get a California burrito (with carne asada, of course) and enjoy! If you want nasty cheese sauce or other bad Americanized Mexican food, don't come here. read more

Nice little taco place that has several other Mexican food items at a reasonable price. Would definitely come back here again. read more

California Taco Shop - Mexican Near Me - Providence, Rhode Island

Ok I'm a huge lover of Mexican food especially chimichangas(NOT CHIMI like the food trucks) I always thought Agaves was the place to go which don't get me wrong they're delicious but $16 for there's or $8 literally half the price for this which is twice as much and just as good if not better. California Taco Shop, officially my new favorite read more

California Taco Shop - Chimichanga! - Mexican Near Me - Providence, Rhode Island

Get the sampler! $20 for tons of food- perfect for two people to share. Food is absolutely delicious and their hot sauces are great too. It's super small on the inside, we've eaten there before but prefer to get takeout. The staff is also SO nice there. All around great place with reasonable prices. read more

This really was one of the great taco finds in Providence. I love hole-in-the wall places and I'm a huge sucker for great deals and quality ingredients. I came here on a Sunday night to bring some late night snacks for the GF and I was so surprised to see such a great variety of dishes that were available and the amazing prices! Some tacos (soft or hardshell) were just $1, and the larger more unique tacos (like fish/shrimp) were just $2! This is everyday price folks! The cashier was incredibly helpful and friendly and helped me pick up the dishes I'd be reviewing, which was the carnita taco, the fish taco, the chicken taco, the steak quesadilla and the shrimp burrito. All of this was less than $18, btw. The steak quesadilla was amazing! Not too greasy but definitely stuffed with tender pieces of steak. There tacos were portioned perfectly and while there might not be bells and whistles, like pieces of radishes, cilantro or what have you, the quality of the ingredient and the freshness of the meal was outstanding. The kitchen made everything by scratch, which means that your meal may take 10-15 minutes to be made, but that's a price I'm willing to pay for high quality food made fast. Oh yeah, the shrimp burrito was definitely good too, although it could have used more shrimp and less white sauce. Overall, this was a great place and definitely worth checking. Food: 4 stars Price: 5 stars Service: 4 stars Ambiance: 3 stars read more

YUMMY! My girlfriend just moved here from California a couple of months ago, and she was quite impressed because it's hard to please her with Mexican food (she's Mexican and usually makes her food herself), but she really enjoyed this place. Out of all the times I've eaten here my stomach never complains! The roll tacos (or taquitos as they're rightfully called), are my absolute favorite especially when buried under hills of cheese, tomatoes, sour cream, beans, and guacamole. Their tacos are very good as well. I've been to the West Coast and tried my share of $1 tacos. This place is as good as it gets! read more

Hello, I have gone very often and I've had a horrible experience today... I usually pay an extra few dollars for shrimp with my steak. I asked for a steak quesadilla and it's shrimp and when I got home, all I had was shrimp in my quesadilla... I called back and SASHA told me that they could not do anything about it, that I had to pay for A WHOLE NEW PLATE OF WHICH I DID NOT TOUCH and than tried to correct me because I told her that's not what I ordered... she literally went back and forth with me about what I ORDERED... I told her maybe she should call her managers(of which I named) and she told me maybe I should call them... she than proceeded to hang up. I am very upset because I've been coming here for YEARS and this is how I get treated... y'all as managers and owners need to conduct an evaluation of your workers! It is well needed... read more

This is a fantastic little down home authentic Mexican spot. I stopped in with an old friend to sample yet another Providence taco destination and I have to say, I'm impressed. The girl behind the counter was very friendly and super attentive, always reason enough to frequent a restaurant. I had 5 or six different tacos - all were absolutely fantastic and authentic as it gets. If I didn't know I was in the northeast I would have sworn the food that came to the table was in from SoCal or Tijuana. Great service, authentic, delicious eats, reasonable prices....no need to hesitate - California Taco is the real deal. I'll certainly be back again and again! read more

This is the best one that I've been to. The staff are thorough, clear, and friendly. The orders are exactly as ordered and the facility is clean. It's a shame the other locations can't be as consistent with orders and pricing. read more

big, tasty, decent price. clean small restaurant/take out place. Friendly staff. BIG menu. The shrimp tacos were especially great. The chicken was kind of shredded, I prefer grilled chunks. Carne Asada nicely marinated, would have liked it better char-finished on the grill, I suspect they would do it if you asked. If this were in California, they'd get 3 stars. read more