Stopped here just for a breakfast burrito last weekend. Lots of good to fair Mexican food restaurants in the area so we are trying new ones every week. Efren's is one of the few who does a breakfast burrito. It was recommended by someone while waiting in line for food at another restaurant one time. There was a constant line of customers while I waited for our order. It seems pretty popular. Prices are a little higher here. We paid $22 for two burritos and one soda. The burritos were big and I ate it over two days. I had the #1 breakfast burrito. The flavor and ingredients were good, maybe a bit too greasy so I was thankful I left out the bacon. My husband ordered a carne asada burrito and said the meat was seasoned well but it had too much lettuce. We enjoyed them while sitting on the beach. We will be back! read more

Sad that I was really looking forward to posting a good review. I phoned in an order for a California burrito (first time trying it) with everything, cut in half, and three asada tacos with everything. The meat in the burrito was WAY too salty and it didn't have enough fries. I ate it anyway didn't want to drive back and complain. They forgot to cut it in half. The tacos my daughter had were good, she tried my meat and said the meat in her tacos wasn't salty. The horchata was good, they serve it without ice. And this time they did put green salsa in her tacos, as I'd asked for everything on them. All three items $19.00. I might be back but it will be a while. I was going to give them two stars but it does come with ALOT of meat so I gave three. Would of been nice if it hadn't been salty. Easy on the salt guys! read more

Efren's Deli - Carne Asada Fries - Mexican Near Me - Oceano, California

The woman running the front right now on Mother's Day in the year 2023 is so good at what she's doing, incredibly quick, looks like a supermodel, is courteous AF and pleasant beyond words and seems to really care as she said let me get you another salsa for your order... when she noticed I had a large order. Cut to the chase: She is awesome! Also, one of the greatest bean and cheese burritos. You get one and you're really full after it. I went to Village Cantina two days ago and had to make a(n honest but possibly brutal in possible interpretation) Yelp about it because it was so ridiculous. The burrito at Village Cantina now in comparison to Efron's ... sorry... spelled it like Zac Efron. I'm doing auto speech right now... The burrito at Efren's is colossal in comparison... I'm guessing twice as heavy for a dollar and something less in price. I will buy anyone a burrito in the surrounding tri county area If they can honestly look me in the eye and tell me that the burrito at Village Cantina is far superior and more filling than the burrito a Efren's which is cheaper and twice as large. I look forward to this encounter because I feel like it will never happen but you and me whoever this person is we will meet at Village Cantina and you will say yes this burrito at Village Cantina is far superior and if I believe you, I'm gonna give you two burritos worth of money, but you have to go to Efrens for the burritos. That's the catch. Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice... shame on me dawg. read more

Efren's Deli - A burrito so righteous when I just dropped it, it made a thud sound. Right on that's what's up. - Mexican Near Me - Oceano, California

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I ordered three pastor tacos and when the food came out they brought me chicken. No big deal simple mistake. I walked up to the counter and let the women at the front know that I had received the wrong protein. She started arguing with me and telling me I was wrong about what I ordered three minutes prior to that conversation. I returned to my seat. She came three minutes later with a dirty plate with cold pastor meat and a dirty fork in it. She slid the dirty plate across the table with an attitude and walked away and proceeded to make a call on her cell phone in the middle of the dining room. This place has gone down hill. There are lots of better options. I would avoid this place at all costs. read more

Efren's Deli - a half eaten plate of food - Mexican Near Me - Oceano, California

Although I prefer TexMex style Mexican food this place is not so bad. It's better than most Mexican restaurants in the area. I had a wet burrito (green sauce) and it was more than filling. Very good!! Had nachos on another occasion - not quite how I like them. Very spicy and not as good as most. Their tacos are very good. Best to call in your order and make sure you have the right location. It's easy to call and order from the Santa Maria location when you meant Oceano. Very Authentic Mexican food. read more

I've been to Efren's many times and it's always delicious. I work in SLO so I frequent that location pretty often and I live in AG so I also get to this location in Oceano often as well. Efrens has become my new local favorite. I recommend the chicken burrito it's my usual order, always delicious and it's a great sized portion. This recent trip I got Carne asada nachos and they were delicious as well. The only tip I have for others is to make sure to mention if you want hot salsa or not. They have a red salsa which for me is kinda unbearable, I prefer the green which is much more mild and flavorful. I noticed depending on which chef you get, the amount of red salsa can vary. If you don't want it spicy just make sure you mention that when ordering haha. read more

Efren's Deli - Carne Asada Nachos - Mexican Near Me - Oceano, California

I like getting carnitas here when I'm running errands and want some good, fresh and fast take out on the way home! The food is always really delicious although very spicy! The service is always good and there's nothing fancy about the interior but it is a deli after all and the seating suffices. I'd recommend this place to anyone who likes good, authentic Mexican and you're looking for something quick. read more

Its just crap now, used to be good. El pastor is horrible and carne asada is not real just low quality stewed beef. Not authentic not good for any price. I gave it a few chances but will no longer. read more

Efren's Deli offers great homemade Mexican cuisine. Thier chicken burrito is perfect! Ask for a wet chicken burrito with green chiliverde mmmm, mmmmm, MMMM The service is very good most all of the time! The ambiance might not be gq, but the place makes it up with a healthy staff. read more

The food here is authentic and delicious! You order at the counter and then sit down, and when your food is ready, a server brings it to you. The workers are kind and attentive. It's a good place for a little booth for two, or a large table for a big group. read more

Red salsa for $10 was not salsa! More like enchilada sauce. Not okay. Never order it again.

Dear Owner of Efren's - the women taking orders is RUDE, RUDE, RUDE!!! Please hire people who are friendly or get more staff to take orders AND answer the phone. Customer Service (one star): SUCKS! The women taking order was in a horrible mood and rude when taking my order in person. The phone was ringing and ringing and it seems they were short staffed on Wednesday. Food quality (five stars): is very good, and I have been coming here for over ten years. I've had tacos, enchiladas, nacho plates, meat combo plates, burritos - all excellent with lots of spices and flavor. I am tired of coming in here or calling in an order and this restaurant is SHORT-STAFFED and the people taking orders are RUDE and in a bad mood!!! I will come back when that women is no longer working the register and phone! read more

Had a couple Michelada's and tacos. Both the asada and carnitas were juicy and flavorful. Definitely returning. read more

Efren's Deli - Michelada - Mexican Near Me - Oceano, California

Really good! I should have done this review a long time ago! Saying this place is super casual, is an understatement. Food is fresh and delicious. Inexpensive and friendly staff. Enjoy! read more

My husband and I came here because we had heard that there was really good menudo here, so my husband and I decided to come here since he was craving it. The service was good but the food definitely was not that great. The menudo definitely was not fresh and did not have much flavor. I had gotten chilaquiles and eggs and I was not impressed as the salsa was bland and I did not feel like it was worth the drive or the cost. read more

Second time trying this place for a Mexican breakfast. I started out with a Michelada and found the garnishments of shrimp and cucumbers splashed with Tajin seasoning refreshing. The darn thing was delicious. I ordered the Efren Torta which contained carne asada, carnitas, and Al Pastor what a delight. IT was excellent with the fresh bread to the condiments of lettuce and beans. My wife opted for the Menudo which she liked. I tried it noticed it was missing the dry Mexican oregano and red chili flakes for garnishments. I asked for red chile flakes and the waitress provided with sauted whole chilies. I put the chilies in and found that it was hot, hot, hot....aye muy caliente. Overall the entire place was clean and the staff was friendly. Definitely a hit for breakfast and will return again. read more

Great food absolutely love the birria quesadilla. This is a perfect go to for your authentic food outing.

Buenos Dias mi amigos. We have been coming to Efren's Deli over the last few years now. This is a small little restaurant with to eat in or order some take out at a separate entrance. When you enter in the restaurant it is clean and colorful. On the back wall is a fun mural of the area and local landmarks. A nice touch. The menu is mostly traditional Mexican food. My go to items choices like the tacos, burritos, and some breakfast foods. Huevos Rancheros, yum! The food is good and the flavors blend together well to make Efrens a good choice when you are hungry for some Mexican food. I like a little spice to and you can get a little extra kick added if you ask. I would recommend you to come check it out. It may be you new go to place for a quick Mexican food fix. read more

Oh.My.Goodness!!!! Was looking for a new taco spot in five cities.. and I saw this one on yelp.. so I drove on over, parked right in front (since they have street parking), and I walked into such an amazingly genuine Mexican food place. I ordered and sat down in one of the booths and was immediately greeted and attended by the waitress. The walls have really cute murals of Oceano back in the day too, so it's very nice and cozy. Now to the important part... the food. Let me tell you.. if you want authentic.. come here. There's a lot of places in the area with good Mexican food.. Juanita's, La Tapatía and even Chachos is pretty decent. But Efren's!!! Man, they are gooood!!! Their tacos are on point, their rice and beans is about as close to homemade as you'll get, they even has sopes or gorditas!! And hey are the best gorditas I've ever had at a restaurant. The meat was juicy and tasty, and they put a balanced amount of lettuce, tomato and queso fresco too. Since that day.. I've been back 2 more times. A few days later I saw a commercial for them on tv and realized they also have A Santa Maria location. They are a bit hidden.. but if you find them.. treat yourself to some great food!! read more

Efren's Deli - Carne Asada Gordita - Mexican Near Me - Oceano, California

Quality of food has gone down. It's disappointing to receive your food and when you get home it was not as ordered. Ordered chilaquiles with carne asade and egg but they did not add the carne asada and had very little egg. Also, ordered the menudo and added hominy but it only had three pieces of hominy in it. We will not be going back. Caldo de res has no flavor as well. read more

The food is amazing! I came with a group of friends and all of our plates was soo good ! I got the horchata and the pozole. Definitely recommend if you're in the area! read more

We love Efren's. Have gone here for years and will continue. Service during Covid regulations needs some work. We always call our order in. The name for pick up is two letters..easy. I paid and waited 25 minutes for an order tonight that was sitting there the whole time. The girl who took our order wrote the wrong name (even though I repeated the order items when I paid at pick up.) They need two cashiers because it is always busy and the kid working the register is overwhelmed and can't keep up. He hustles and moves quickly, but it's too much for one person. The orders pile up. This would get customers in and out quicker with a second register and/or a window for call in orders. We will keep supporting Efren's. Hoping for more efficiency when it comes to ordering and pick up. read more

We spent over $120 on dinner that was just mediocre. Not only that but we didn't receive all of our food. So the $16 dorados tacos, I have no idea if they're good or not. We ordered door dash and I feel like if you're going to have an agreement with them you need to make sure all of the food is given to them to bring to the customer. Also, I ordered beans and in the options I said pinto- they were refried. The salsa was also not good and the chips had no salt. We also weren't given utensils or napkins. Needless to say, I cannot give a good review. read more

Had the Posole, Birra, Chilaquiles and Carnitas tacos. All was wonderful. Highly recommended and would come back again. Service was also excellent; read more

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Very good!!!! Very authentic just like the great restaurants in Mexico-Cabo. Casual but clean. read more

After hearing such good things for a while I was stoked to finally go. The service was great, the inside clean and fresh. The chips were great and I liked the salsa. The offerings here were quite varied and I'm glad to see they always have cheap tacos. The lengua was good. I also had enchiladas, they were different, crumbled meat, not super melted cheese, I still liked them but they were not the cheese or meat enchiladas I was hoping for. Still totally good though. Everyone else enjoyed their food a lot too. I'd come back again for sure, though I think I'll try and hit up the North County spot first. read more

Soo... stopped in for a quick bite after a long day. The server seated me and brought me a nice cold Modelo Negro-no glass. I asked for a glass and the chile relleno combo (cheese). The food came first, with a tiny salad fork and a steak knife stuck in my rice. Then this weird square glass for my beer. Although it was frosted I passed and sipped from the bottle. My plate was brimming with oil from the chile relleno, which was also super soaked with oil. I proceeded to parce out the edible portions of the relleno, beans and rice with my tiny fork, but it finally got to the point that everything was soaked in oil and there wasn't another edible bite. That wasn't even halfway through. Oh, just before that a server finally came to ask how things were and I asked for a grownup fork. She was surprised but obliged. I used it on my two remaining edible bites. All the while two women in the kitchen seemed to be trying to sing ranchero songs, very loud and badly, followed by loud, almost sinister cackling and laughing. Let's just say it didn't improve the experience. It's disappointing to write this as this has been my go to place for a quick bite of decent Mex in the area. The service has always been horrible, but the food was good and atmosphere ok. Tonight they struck out on all counts. I'll try it again 'cause it's so close but it'll be a while! read more

Ordered food, sat down waited, finally got the food and started eating, pretty normal. UNTIL! I almost swallowed a piece of glass!!!!!!! So I went up to the cashier and said hey I just almost swallowed a piece of glass can you please go check how it got in my food?!?!?!?!?! So when the girl at the register was talking to the other workers she was saying that my son was playing with the light above our heads? I got up and said hey I speak spanish also and the whole time he's on his phone no one touched the light so I'd appreciate it if you stop lying and blaming us! So when I went to go sit back down I looked at the light to see what she was talking about and it was broken?!?!?!?!?! Are you serious they knew it was broken and still let people sit there?? Then a man comes from the kitchen and doesn't even ask us to move while he changed the light just straight up went to my table and reached over us and to me that was disrespectful!!!! They were so rude and took no accountability and it took me almost eating the glass for them to change the light! Didn't offer a refund! I said check your cameras no one even touched the light! I seriously wonder how long it was broken and how many others ate the broken pieces of glass. This place is an enter at own risk for me, I never went back!!!!!! The day after my mouth and tongue had cuts from chewing the glass before almost swallowing it, I don't know if I swallowed smaller pieces because my throat was swollen too. Just remembering that experience is so horrible please be careful when eating out check surroundings etc. read more

Packed this Sunday with church-goers, some Harley Davidson riders from Hanford (good tippers too $$$) and families all enjoying themselves. Our table had 4 tacos, a breakfast burrito with egg, chorizo, bacon and fries with sour cream and cheese (no beans or rice KETO style LOL). The tostada was piled with shredded lettuce, crisp corn shell and shredded chicken in red sauce. We also broke down for the chips. I like that you pay for chips at Efren's $2 for the best and thickest corn chips served with an avocado purée with Pico de Gallo folded in. Wow --maybe the best restaurant chips on the Central Coast -- Me & Z's is right there too giving them a run for their money. read more

Got a violent case of food poisoning here on Sunday, March 20, 2022, within about 2-hours of eating a couple of tacos from here. Rode through by myself on my motorcycle around 2:00 p.m., no one else in my household got sick so definitely food poisoning, maybe they don't like motorcyclists and laced my food. Don't think I'll ever be able to stomach going back. read more

Efren's saved the day today! Thanks so much! Our friends had a taco caterer scheduled for a backyard party with 40 people. Unfortunately the guy was sick and never called to cancel. Our hostess called Efren's and they had 200 associate tacos ready in under an hour! They were so fresh and delicious! Kudos to them for their hustle, I'm sure they had other customers to serve as well, but were able to get ours ready in a timely manner. Thanks so much read more

I asked for a breakfast burrito with bacon and no potatoes and I instead I got a breakfast burrito with eggs cheese and hot dog and potatoes and hardly any salsa I came home and had to cook read more

Efren's Deli - A half ounce of salsa thanks alot - Mexican Near Me - Oceano, California

The food was good I ordered the pozole and a few tamales pork it was very good I ordered it to go service was that gave me all the condiments and the employees were super nice but definitely return read more

I don't know who Efrin is, but he can make a darn good Machaca burrito. Food: You'll find tons of what seems to be authentic Mexican food. I ordered the Machaca burrito with confidence that this place would serve up a gnarly log and they did not disappoint. This isn't just a burrito mind you, it's spiced with jalepeños,cilantro, and onion on the inside that make your throat burn, but your taste buds smile. Not only do you get loads of sweet machaca goodness, but they splash in some bacon bits and a mouth watering pickled jalepeño that's hidden on the inside. I don't remember the last time I was this passionate about a burrito. Atmosphere: Great Pismo beach murals on the walls, La Liga playing on two flat screens, good amount of traffic in and out, and some nice natural lighting. Service: Not the best. Honestly I thought they might have been understaffed because our server was constantly running in and out of the kitchen, and only got our food orders. I think you have to get up to pay, which led to me finally doing that after waiting a little while. 4.5 stars. Would definitely go back to try their tacos. read more

Efren's Deli - Machaca burrito! So good! - Mexican Near Me - Oceano, California

I would give this place 5 stars, buuuuuut our waiter was a little lacking. He tried, he really did but we had to get up and get our own menus and then it wasn't that we waited for our food, good food takes times, it's that there was never any communication between our drinks and long wait. I liked the menudo a lot, Taco was delicious as was the salsa. My mom wasn't a huge fan of the enchiladas but I would have been. Rice was good and authentic. All and all good and delicious. I just wish service was a little better. Ps they were swamped, however my mom has been a server for 40 years so I know that you can check him with customers to reassure them of everything. read more

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Underrated! Beautiful murals. Good, authentic Mexican food. Enchiladas can have cojita queso. We try to come here anytime we are in Pismo Beach. read more

If you like Ceviche! You must visit this place and get the Shrimp Ceviche! It is soo fresh with onions and cilantro. The salsa is spicy but hits the spot. You can also enjoy a Bottle Coke with Real sugar. What I really appreciate is the consistency, always fresh ceviche which is very important to my wife and I. Highly recommend. read more

Used to be my goto place but since they eliminated the to go window service has become unbearable and slow unless you got forever I do not so I will go somewhere else pay attention effrons bring the window back! read more

For my husband to get their refried beans on a regular basis tells you that they are 100% delicious because he compares them to his mama's and that is very high praise. Their rice is really delicious too and I love their shrimp cocktail. They are generous with the shrimp and avocado. The wet burrito is huge so my husband and I split it with a side of chips and salsa. read more

Driven by this place a few times and saw the commercial advertising the Micheladas. Wow not only great Micheladas, they have the best tacos I have ever had. I had the Asada , Cueritos, and Chorizo tacos. Da bomb. The Cueritos are awesome especially! The shells are freshly made and the ingredients are awesome. Best ever. Highly recommend. The staff BTW are super friendly and I can tell all the locals hang out here. read more

Efren's Deli - Michelada, minus a few sips! The bomb - Mexican Near Me - Oceano, California