This place is amazing to eat at with family and I recommend going due it's large menu options. The service was well and not so slow as they bring your drinks and appetizers in quickly. The place is kinda big and the chairs and tables are mostly next the window. Overall pretty memorable place. read more

Was recommended this place by a friend. Left much to be desired. I ordered a wet super burrito, two tacos and a tamale. Complimentary chips and salas was served. Quite a scant amount. Nothing special about the chips and the salas was forgettable. The Tamale came out first. It was lackluster. The Salas for this was spicy but a bit salty. When the super burrito came out they forgot to make it wet. The waitress disappeared for a while. The two asada tacos were mediocre and the tortillas used were a bit dried out and gritty. Finally my wet super burrito came out and it did not deliver. The tortillas used were gummy and rough. Not the consistency you'd expect from a wet burrito. It was hard to eat. No prices were listed on the menu and I was quite shocked at how expensive the food was at the end. I would not recommend this place at all. read more

Came for the Taco Tuesday deal (5 for $12). The asada tacos were so good. I liked the meat - perfectly cooked, not chewy or hard. I tried my husband's al pastor which I usually don't like but it was also pretty good! I liked both of their salsas too. Pretty solid tacos- I'd come back to get them again. read more

El Chalateco - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

For a catering lunch, I like that the food was prepared on time. Their food does not taste like the regular Mexican food. For example, the Beef Fajitas and Chicken Fajitas have cheese on top but they are quite juicy and flavorful. The Vegetable Cheese Enchilada is very tasty. Slightly spicy but has very good flavors. The refried beans are also delicious and the Spanish rice is never wrong. The only complaint I have is on the Guacamole. It has very little avocado and a whole bunch of chopped onions and spicy jalapenos that made it a totally fake guacamole. read more

El Chalateco - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

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I've now been to this place twice. First time I was driving by and saw the Al Pastor on a spit in front of the restaurant when I was driving by. I turned around, walked in, and ordered tacos to go. They were excellent. The salsa is great too. I went again a few days later and had the chicken mole, so very good. Each time the service was good, the atmosphere is fine for a taqueria. Look forward to going again and working my way through more of the menu. read more

El Chalateco - Tacos Hawallanos (Al Pastor) - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

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Run from this place unless you want to pay $11 for ONE pupusa First off, their in person menu doesn't have prices on it. When the cashier rang up two pupusas, each one was charged at $6.75 base + $4.5 for meat making ONE meat pupusa $11.25. The workers don't understand the restaurant system, and told me they didn't know the prices, so it seemed right to them. Eventually an off duty manager or someone understood that I was being overcharged, but still didn't know the right price to charge. He ended up giving me $2 off and offering me a free drink for my troubles. After all that, my price was still wrong but I wasn't willing to hold the staff hostage anymore. Receipts and menu prices are attached. They skimped on meat and beans after all that too. Run from this place, don't eat here unless you know what you're being charged and even then, their food is just okay. There are two ways to look up prices: The qr code you can scan in restaurant doesn't match the price they charged. The doordash/online order system prices didn't match either the cashier nor the website (in person is actually the most expensive). The workers don't understand how their system charges things, so it's very easy to get mischarged, and it's inconsistent between workers They didn't give me salad and sauce for my pupusas. I had to ask, and they still forgot, so I had to go back again. I would be willing to revisit this review if management reaches out and corrects the issue. read more

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Everything on the menu is absolutely delicious! We've tried a variety of dishes including pupusas, enchiladas, and birrias. They are so flavorful and portions are large! Highly recommend for authentic Salvadoran cuisine! read more

I haven't had Al pastor tacos this good since I was in puerto Vallarta. They have the proper cooking spit and marinade. It's crispy and tasty. read more

Great food, better people. Always my coworkers' first option for lunch. Highly recommended!

Service was attentive and friendly, the place was very clean and well-maintained, which added to the comfortable atmosphere. As for the food--it was delicious! Everything was well-prepared and full of flavor. I would definitely recommend this spot to anyone looking for a satisfying and pleasant dining experience. read more

Food was great, we ordered enchiladas suizas, pupusas, tacos carne asada and chorizo, choriquezo, chips and guacamole and everything was amazing, service was amazing as they keep on checking on us Would definitely go!!! read more

Was told they only had to go orders at 9 when they close at 10 dude with arm tattoos was rude too decided not get anything and left lost a customer for life check your employees read more

The food it's delicious and friendly service!! Especially in taco Tuesday yess!! I'll be back for sure read more

Lorocco pupusas for the win! They were SOOO good. I am craving them now as I am writing this. Clearly, El Chalateco is popular given the line to pick up food. Ordering on the phone was a little challenging since the person spoke very fast but the food is well worth this little challenge. read more

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Ordene unas popusas y la verdad que estaban muy mal hechas. Parecian unas tortillas bien flacas y no tenian queso ni frijol. No tenian sabor, y unas estaban quemadas. No me molesta dejar propina pero la verdad tienen que mejorar la comida. Antes era uno de nuestros lugares favoritos no creo que volvamos a regresar read more

I am not a big fan of Salvadorian food however I have eaten it in the past and it's been okay. I was driving on Saratoga Avenue in San Jose, CA when I saw El Chalateco. The outside tented area looked inviting with quite a few patrons. So I decided to stop by with my wife and see what was going on. Everyone was very friendly and one of the outside employees waved hello to us. Well if so many people are eating there and an employee stops what he is doing to wave-i'm trying this place! The food was absolutely fantastic! The best Pupusas I have ever had! It was nicely filled, fully cooked and fairly good size. The tacos (Soft/Crispy) were excellent tasting with fresh ingredients and the pork and chicken was cooked perfectly. To finish the meal, we had dessert Plantain with sweet cream milk. I like Plantains if they are fresh and properly prepared. These were absolutely perfect and I highly recommend them. Service was excellent, all employees were polite, friendly and in compliance with Covid 19 Standards. They do take credit cards for payment. This is my new favorite restaurant and I Highly Recommend El Chalateco! read more

El Chalateco - Front of El Chalateco - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

El servicio excelente pero los tacos de chorizo estaban muy secos como que lla tenian rato de estar hay ocupan más supervicion en la cosina

Has good food but has no prices on menu. Makes it easy to overspend when you order. Service is good though.

pedi tacos de cabeza me dieron carbon!! muy mal servicio no recomiendo este lugar!! chalateco en saratoga read more

El Chalateco - tacos de cabeza - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

I usually get my pupusas from this chain. They make a nice tomato sauce and excellent curtido (fermented slaw) to go along with. Their Salvadoran tamales are ok. The reason I'm giving this location 2 stars was the horrible caldo de res I ordered from delivery. Had I been there in person I would have sent it back--something I never do. The problem? Take a look at the photo. Front and center there is, yup, a giant hunk of fat. The beef in this soup was all bone, fat, and tendon; the stuff you use to make the broth, not what you serve to customers. Unacceptable. (I only like tendon when I order it with pho, which is seldom. Surprise castoffs like this are thoroughly unappetizing.) Another factor in my low rating was the haphazard service when I did go in person. Inattentive and thoughtless. An employee mopped the dining room with a pungent cleanser while diners were eating and it was nowhere near closing time. Not pleasant read more

El Chalateco - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

From the moment I arrived, the waiter greeted me with a very friendly smile, always very attentive, and the food was delicious and very affordable. read more

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Imagine a world where pupusas taste like heaven and el Salvadoran food is made so good it's a sin and a crime this place isn't a multi billion dollar chain. Now stop imagining and drive over to el Chalateco then reply to this comment telling me I have made all your wildest fantasies come true. The wet burrito is literally more wet than a water park. I mean you can live your life however you want but if you're like me and quest for the esoteric purpose of living and have found that it is simply traveling from one Mexican food place to then next then you will certainly give this place a visit, tip them extra, and eat all the yumma nom noms read more

El peor pambazo que he visto y no pude comer. A picture can tell my bad experience. A wire from tortillas package!! What if I choked! and the bread was burnt- Check your food before but I won't come back again. read more

El Chalateco - A wire from the package of tortillas!! The bread was burnt. - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

I have only ordered take out from this place, but I would definitely recommend it. I typically order the chicken avocado soup with a cheese and zucchini pupusa. read more

Everything is good! They have pupusa. Al pastor is great. Mole is tasty, different than mole is regular Mexican restaurants.

Went here one day for the pambazo but saw that they had a taco deal (5x12) so I had to get both especially because they had the pastor cooking outside on the broiler The pambazo (chorizo) was really good. Sauce had good flavor but it wasn't over sauced where the torta bread got soggy. Would probably switch it to chicken but highly recommend Got 5 tacos. Mix of Chorizo lengua pastor. Chorizo was good. The highlights were the lengua and pastor. Although the lengua wasn't cut up, it was super soft where you can just take a bite. Pastor was easily the best especially with diced pineapple on top (that's how you know it's legit) read more

El Chalateco - Tacos - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

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Friendly, great service. Delicious salsas, pupusas, Loved that they were grilling outside. Will be back!

We ordered the carne asada and lengua tacos. The meat to tortilla ratio was on point (lots of meat!) and the salsa was fire as well. $3.50 a taco is a bit on the pricey side, but it hit our taco craving. A good spot for a quick fix! read more

El Chalateco - Carne asada and lengua tacos - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

The wife was soooooo excited to see Chalateco open on Saratoga Avenue. Now we dont have to drive to Eastside to get her favorite pupusas, cabbage, and red sauce. I do have to admit these are the best pupusas I have ever had, and believe me I've tried a lot! They also have their amazing mixed fruit drink (with actual chunks of fruit of at the top) as well as fried tacos, rice, beans, chips, etc. They have outdoor dining available during shelter in place, but just a heads up they only accept cash! It's convenient though because they have an ATM inside the restaurant. read more

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I went to the location at Camden and Union shortly after it opened. Despite the hideous color scheme and cheap Rubbermaid tables, the food was good, and I chose to overlook a certain level of uncleanliness (like dry food stuck to the flatware). I went back today and left without eating. Even though it was after 3:00 pm, the floor was filthy, presumably from the lunch rush. There was only one table seated, and I saw at least 3 employees, but none of them found 30 seconds to sweep the dining area? Even the cashier's uniform was covered with dried food stains like it hadn't been laundered in weeks. And this is not an inexpensive place. Sorry but I won't pay $17.75 for a bowl of soup in a filthy establishment. read more

Incredibly happy they opened up a Chalateco in our area! No need to drive over the the East Side to get tasty pupusas and al pastor tacos. Our typical order: 1. Revueltas Pupusas - pork, bean and cheese 2. Alambre special - steak, peppers, bacon, onion and cheese tacos topped with al pastor 3. Aguas Fresca with fruit read more

El Chalateco - Revuelta pupusas - pork, beans and cheese - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

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I just got the Pambazo to go, very tasty, may be because I was really hungry. But very disappointing: 1. No processed next to items so was surprised when it cost $16.40. 2. I asked the lady who took my order which meat she recommended, she said chicken, I went with it. What a DISAPPOINTMENT there's was but maybe 3 at most 5 pieces of chicken about 1.25 inches long and 0.25 inches thick, $16.40!!! WTF!!! There's a lot of interesting items on the menu and thought I would go back and try other items, needless to say you couldn't pay me to go back, not for those prices for what you get! read more

I usually order tacos de lengua from here but for some reason they didn't dice up the meat. We called in to let them know and they told us they have been serving the tacos like this always when we've ordered from here over three times in the past two months and we've never received our tacos like this before. All they could offer when we called in was "credit" for two tacos. read more

El Chalateco - Taco de lengua, not chopped up like it usually does - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

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Amazing food and service !!! Came late after church service and the server was really nice and the ambience was really homey. read more

El Chalateco - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

So excited to have found a place that offers delicious pupusas. They have various fillings (I tried the shrimp and bean and cheese one) and add a generous portion of slaw. I also tried their Campechana with shrimp and octopus which was good! Could have had a bit more kick to it but was still good. read more

El Chalateco - Campechana with octopus and shrimp - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

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Craving the real real ? You need to check this place out! I'm serious everything, I have had has been mouth watering and delicious I start doing that happy food dance! I highly recommend the papusas and dare you to eat just one. read more

I wanted to give my neighbor restaurant a try ... it's a no for me. I called in my order the woman taking my order didn't know the menu she kept saying I don't know I think it's this or that... I opened the food At home (if I had looked at it there I would have asked for a refund). + chips soggy, two slices of jalapeños, tiny scoop of guacamole, and very little Cheese or beans, these items are cheap and I'd expect more for a $15. read more

Pretty good food, pretty good service! Had a solid plate here that was filking and decently priced.

We tried the food here last night for take out. This location is very close to our house and we were intrigued. It was the first time we've had El Salvadoran food. We ordered a grilled chicken quesadilla, chicken fajitas, some bean and cheese pupusas and chicken flautas. Al four of us really enjoyed the food! I would recommend giving it a try! Their menu is very long and has breakfast items mixed in but the food is very tasty. read more

Just placed an order, de carne asada burrito, not enough meat. I placed an order asking what I wanted, came by to pick up my food, got the opposite of what I ordered. The guy at the counter was looking at me like I placed the order wrong. Service, not so good. read more