I took my grandma and grandpa here on Friday, and this place exceeded my expectations. My grandma really enjoyed her tacos, and my grandpa liked his food too--although he thought the salsa was a little too spicy (I personally loved the kick). The tortillas were amazing--soft, fluffy, and delicious. My molcajete had great flavor as well. My only personal preference was that the steak was cooked more well-done than I typically like, which made it a little dry for me. I understand that may be how many customers prefer it, but it could be nice to give guests the option on how they'd like their steak cooked. The beans were creamy, the rice had great flavor, and overall everything tasted fresh and well made. It does get busy, so parking can be a little difficult, and it can get pretty loud inside during peak hours--but that's also a sign that people clearly enjoy this place. Overall, delicious food and I definitely want to come back to try more items on the menu. read more

Food was good. I ordered carne asada. It was 3 thin slices--juicy, fresh. It came with rice, beans a grilled chile serrano, a cebolla and 3 home made corn tortillas. My daughter had the birria plate and a chavela. I was checked on about 5 times. read more

this place was a bomb! We were looking for a place to eat Mexican food before we headed to Sea Otter bike expo at Laguna Seca. We saw the great 5 star rating and read the feed back. They were all spot on it did not disappoint us. I had the green pozole and my buddy Gary had the huge burrito, both order was awesome we will it again next time we are in the area. read more

El Chilacatazo - Carne Asada Burrito - Mexican Near Me - Salinas, California

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Cute locally owned mom and pops type of restaurant serving up tacos, burritos, ceviche, enchiladas, pupusas, and Mexican style lunch plates. During my most recent visit, I tried their Shrimp Ceviche Tostadas (Tostadas de Ceviche) and it was quite a refreshing treat. Lots of fresh ingredients like cucumbers, red onions, tomatoes, cilantro, avocado etc. blended well with seasoned shrimp and dressed with lime juices. I topped it off with some hot sauce and it made for such a light lunch. Loved how the restaurant was playing Mexican music loud enough for a vibe. The restaurant itself is relatively big offering space for groups of all sizes. My server was really sweet and checked in a few times. Would definitely recommend. read more

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I had a great experience here from start to finish. It was open seating, our waitress was incredibly friendly, and the coffee tasted just like café de olla, with creamer and sugar served on the side. I ordered the small molcajete, which was the perfect size for one person, and it was absolutely delicious. It even came with a bacon wrapped jalapeño popper, which was a great addition. I couldn't finish it, so I happily took the rest to go. This was my first time here, and I'll definitely be back for the authentic Mexican food! read more

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As someone currently on a mission to explore more local restaurants around the Salinas area, El Chilacatazo turned out to be an incredible find and a place I'm already excited to revisit. We started with the guacamole appetizer, which was bright, fresh, and tasty. You could really taste the freshness of the ingredients, and it set the tone for the meal. The star of the night was the molcajete mixto, served hot and packed with an amazing variety of ingredients, chorizo, shrimp, cheese, chuletas, carne asada, and nopales. It also came with some surprise finds, which was a bacon wrapped chile, cebollitas, and pieces of grilled queso panela. It also came with rice, beans, and fresh made corn tortillas. The molcajete itself was a feast of flavors and textures. The meats were well seasoned and tender, the shrimp were perfectly cooked, and the chorizo melted in the cheese brought everything together beautifully. What really stood out was the seasoning. Every element was so flavorful on its own that we didn't feel the need to add salsa or anything extra, which is a something that doesn't happen often. It was clear that a lot of care goes into the preparation of this dish. And the homemade corn tortillas deserve their own mention. They were warm, soft, and incredibly delicious, so much so that we had to ask for a second batch just to keep enjoying everything in the molcajete. Portions were generous and incredibly satisfying, making it a hearty and shareable meal. The service was friendly and attentive, and the menu has a great selection that makes you want to come back and try more. One of the workers came by to ask if it was our first visit and shared their weekly specials menu with us. For anyone looking for bold, authentic Mexican flavors in the Salinas area, El Chilacatazo is definitely worth a visit. This was a fantastic foodie experience and a restaurant we're already looking forward to returning to. read more

El Chilacatazo - Guacamole - Mexican Near Me - Salinas, California

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You Guac My World Family-owned restaurant that's owned by two cousins and features Guerrero-style Mexican cuisine as well as Salvadorean pupusas in honor of one of the owner's Salvadorean husbands. Located in quaint Downtown Salinas, El Chilacatazo (Mexican slang for "delicious") is a relative newcomer to the restaurant scene being open less than two years (ca. Feb '24). Their rave Yelp reviews drew us in to check them out after a hike nearby. The Good: *Friendly service by make sure you pay at the counter or you'll be sitting at your table for a long, long time... *Fresh housemade flour tortillas *Horchata was delicious and not too sweet. *I loved their Guacamole which was nice and chunky (like me), but my only complaint was it needed a little more salt for our liking. *Birria tacos were Mexcellent! Absolutely packed with meat and cheese and with a nice helping of their delicious consomé that put it over the top. The Meh: *Small shared parking lot that was packed on our arrival, but empty when we left. There's free street parking as well, and another (free) City-owned lot right across the street, which is where we ended up parking. *Hard to complain about complimentary chips and salsa, but the chips weren't my favorite. Too thin and a weird texture to them. The salsa however was fantastic and had a great kick. *No outdoor seating The Ugly: *Need a code for the restroom, which is kinda annoying. *I don't know if the area is always like this, but man is was a nightmare crossing the street from the city lot. So many friggin cars coming around those two incoming curves on San Luis St. Conclusion: Tasty authentic Mexican eats in a family-friendly environment with friendly service. read more

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Really good food love to try new places! But the service isn't good this my second time coming and once they drop the food they never come back. So be ready to stand up if you need anything! But the food is definitely worth it! read more

At El Chilacatazo, you can find great seafood dishes, such as tacos gobernador and molcajete, inspired by Guerrero-style cooking and the fresh ingredients so close to the Monterey coast. Camarones a la Diabla: The plump shrimp are fresh and flavorful, which is no surprise considering how close the coast is. The devilishly delicious sauce contains chili peppers, tomatoes, onions, and garlic, with a sweet and buttery flavor, and a nice kick. You can never go wrong with rice and beans, but the thin fries add some great crispiness. The freshly made corn tortillas are warm, thick, and chewy. I sopped up all the sauce as an excuse to finish the tortillas. The same thing happened to the chips because of how great and spicy the salsa was. read more

El Chilacatazo - Camarones a la Diabla - Mexican Near Me - Salinas, California

Came here on a Sunday afternoon. We ordered two adult entrees and one kids meal. My wife's order came out completely wrong and my entree was missing all the sides. We waited 40 minutes being promised it would be fixed but ended up having to take it to go since our little one was ready for a nap. Would not recommend and what was served to us was overly salty and bland. Not worth the money and a waste of time. read more

We got the quesabirria tacos, pupusa revuelta and a molcajete, over all our food was delicious! The restaurant is clean and inviting and our waitress was friendly. My only reason for not giving 5 stars is that all our drinks were empty and no one came to check if we needed a refill. read more

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Food is salty and sandwich doesn't taste anything. The server got my order wrong and came out later and it was not worth it at all. Not worth the time and money, sadly. I was hoping for good experience. Too bad read more

El Chilacatazo - Birria is too salty and the meat doesn't taste like meat. It's weird - Mexican Near Me - Salinas, California

Discovered this place recently and we're so happy we did. The food is truly authentic and packed with flavor. On our first visit we tried the red enchiladas, mixta tostada, and the shrimp and fish tacos--everything was fresh, bold, and delicious. Our second visit was just as good with the menudo, molcajete, and a pupusa, all cooked perfectly. The guacamole is an absolute must, and the chips and salsa are great on their own. Don't skip the horchata--one of the best we've had. We also noticed they offer daily specials and we can't wait to come back to try the Tuesday special. There's a constant flow of patrons, which is always a great sign. This spot is officially in our regular rotation. read more

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What a pleasant find! This eatery is located in a tiny strip mall. The sign is down so look for the Mexican drapes in the window. We had the deviled shrimp plate with rice, yummy, smooth white beans, a few delicious fries, a tiny salad, soft corn tortillas and an oh-so-magnificent red sauce. My parter had the meat enchiladas with red and green sauces, which were outstanding. Specials offered daily. Beer and n/a bevies. We had Coke Zeros to complement the wonderfully authentic fare. The staff was welcoming and service was prompt. read more

Stopped here on our way back home from a week in SLO, and we were hungry. Did a quick yelp search and found this little gem. We ordered the pupusas revueltas that were delicious. So good that I forgot to take a picture. Elvis our server came by to ask if we needed anything and he asked if we had been there before, I explained that we were driving through and he brought out a sample of the pozole rojo for us to try. It was so good, we ordered a bowl. We were pleasantly surprised to find out it came with a chile relleno and a cheese taquito on the side. The pozole was so flavorful and delicious. We look forward to coming back to try other items on the menu. Highly recommend the food and the service. read more

I really recommend this place The food is great we had some tacos sl pastor The girl was very helpful The place is clean read more

My wife and I shared the large Molcajete and it was amazing! My son also loved his Quesabirria tacos. The salsa verde was delicious and tasted so fresh. The staff were very friendly and attentive as they kept that salsa verde coming when I needed more. We were there an a rainy day and it was warm and cozy inside plus my family was able to really relax in the comfortable booth seating. It's very bright and colorful inside plus they had some great Mexican music videos playing on the big screen TV that we enjoyed. Highly recommended!!! read more

El Chilacatazo - Molcajete - Mexican Near Me - Salinas, California

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That was some of the best food I've had in a little while. Everything was delicious, crafted with care or at least that's what you could taste in the translation to the dishes. Seriously unreal go try if you like Mexican food, we had Hurachae, sope, y pupusa everything was so good. read more

Nice little spot. Nice people. Amazing food. I came from Redwood City for a meeting. I am so thrilled I stopped here. I will be back. read more

El Chilacatazo - Chilaquiles Combinados - Mexican Near Me - Salinas, California

Good here is ALWAYS EXCELLENT- Salsa n Chips and Carne Asada with all the trimmings super plentiful and great flavors. Fun ambience and always clean. Super friendly service and they always return to the table and check if everything is good. Thank you read more

OK, first of all let me say I just happen to be in this area for work with my job. Nice place !! Service was good and the food was very good. Like I said usually I don't give this many stars right out the gate, but it deserved it. Check it out saying that we Teamsters like to eat lol and this food didn't disappoint.. I will be back to try more someday. read more

If you know seafood and love tacos. There is the tacos governador. These are the best tacos I've heard about but had yet to try. They are absolutely amazing. I was driving through and stopped to eat here. No regrets I just hope if ever in this area again I stop so others can try these tacos. read more

Omgggg amazing food. Friendly staff. Down home cooking. Best asada tacos. I had the caldo de res special and it felt like a grandma made it for me. Corn tortillas are made by hand and it's obvious and delicious. This is the kind of food I would drive 100 miles to eat. And of course DEFINITELY worth a stop if you're nearby. This food is a core memory. read more

El Chilacatazo - Taco asada, caldo de res special, and chicken tacos - Mexican Near Me - Salinas, California

This place never disappoints! Everything is absolutely delicious. Definitely my favorite spot in Salinas. read more

El Chilacatazo - Carne asada Huaraches - Mexican Near Me - Salinas, California

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My favorite dish is the Popusas revueltas. The prices and decent. The noise level is amazing to be able to carry on a conversation with your party. The service is quick and the restroom is clean and locked, must ask for a key. On most days, parking right in front unless it's a busy time, might have to park across the street, rarely. read more

We came here after finding a 2 hours wait at Villa Azteca during Mothers' Day Sunday. El Chilacataza was highly rated on Yelp and it was busy when we got there, but luckily they have a table for our group of 5. We knew this eatery is authentic as most of the staff speaks little English. LOL However, the printed menu was helpful and the staff tried their best to answer our questions. They were very friendly, and brought us complimentary chips and salsas to start. Two kinds of salsas were provided, one very spicy and one mild. Both were very fresh and tasty. We ordered the tacos gubernador(tray of 3 shrimp tacos with guacamole), shrimp fajitas, shrimp and octopus cerviche, al pastor huarache, and 2 pupusas. The flavors were all great and authentic. Portions were good, with very fresh ingredients. They did make a mistake with one of our orders, however. We had ordered an asada tacos plate, but they brought a potatoes tacos plate instead. Lost in translation, I guess, but we took it in good stride as the potatoes tacos were still enjoyable. We are glad we made this find for authentic Mexican food in downtown Salinas! read more

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Went for lunch here after Steinbeck house said they couldn't take anyone in a wheelchair. Which was a lucky break because we had the best Mexican food I have ever had. I had a burrito which was unlike anything I've ever had. Not a brick of beans and meat but a great recipe of veggies, meat and spices wrapped in a fresh tortilla and covered in a perfect verde sauce. Really good. Staff was friendly and attentive. Nice relaxed setting, clean and comfortable. Good restaurant, wonderful food. read more

Amazing food , fresh always Great service. Tastes like your mother's cooking. 10/10 recommend. The staff is always happy to serve you and provide a very welcoming environment. We come weekly. read more

I ordered from them which got tired of hospital food and it was soo good I couldn't shove the food in my mouth fast enough. Got three diferent types of gorditas, (something rare to find at Mexican restaurants) and a taco... oh my yum. I slept like a queen :) read more

It was our first time. We had quesobirria. I thought it was goood. The wait was a bit long. They were friendly.

The tacos gubernador were probably the best shrimp tacos and some of the best tacos I've ever had. The tacos had a crispy exterior and a soft puffy interior, the shrimp were grilled just right, and were topped off with delicious guacamole. The salsa on the side had just the perfect amount of kick if you want that extra heat. Horchata was great as well, not too sweet and a perfect pairing with the tacos. read more

El Chilacatazo - Shrimp gubernador - Mexican Near Me - Salinas, California

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All I can say is OMG! This place is fire! It may not look aesthetically beautiful, but the food is off the hook. I had their special today, which was homemade tortillas, and they're costillas de chile just the right spice and sauce. I'm coming back so far the best in Salinas actually the best in the South Bay come check this place out. Their homemade lemonade is super good.! read more

Our sons had a soccer game at Alisal High School. We decided we wanted Mexican for a late lunch so we checked Yelp for the nearest Mexican restaurant. El Chilacatazo popped up as being 3 miles away. We didn't notice the restaurant immediately because the font in the sign was not super clear. We walked in and were greeted and seated right away. My son and I are on the hunt for the best quesabirria tacos so we put in our order for the 3 tacos ($16.99). Our friends ordered the enchilada plate and 2 asada street tacos. The servers brought us chips and salsa and glasses of water. Everything came out in about 10 minutes, hot and looking amazing. The presentation of the quesabirria tacos was beautiful! The tacos were crispy, they were full of meat and cheese and the consommé was not too salty. Our friends enjoyed their enchiladas and tacos as well. Our only complaint is that we were not checked on for water/chips refills. We had to ask on our own. When we checked out, they weren't sure what it was we had ordered, so they had to write it up again. We aren't sure what happened. Not really a complaint, but something to note and check for so you don't get charged for something you didn't order. Overall, we had a great post-soccer game late lunch. We would definitely come here again. read more

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This place is so well reviewed that we had to try it. It's really good and may be the best Mexican restaurant in Salinas but I can't give it 5 stars. Things our group tried: * shrimp taco - outstanding. shrimps were juicy and plentiful, cheese was glazed on top, a kick from Jalapeno. If you don't have a big appetite, eat two and share the third. * shrimp fajitas - very good, the zucchini was a pleasant surprise and added a nice crunch. I would have ordered a different cheese than mozzarella. Shrimp was the highlight again. * birria - good. Liked the texture but wish there was more seasoning. The rice and beans were quite good. * pastor, chorizo, pollo tacos - ok. These are classic street tacos with a little lettuce cilantro and onion. None of the meat was remarkable and I didn't like the chicken. * Agua Fresca - nope. only one choice of flavor. Not sure what it was but it tasted very sweet. Staff was nice, some with limited English. Our restaurant Spanish was good enough. Spartan surroundings with only a few tables which may or may not be cleaned. read more

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Best Mexican we've had in years n the US. Rivals some of the best Mexican food we've had in Cabo San Lucas. If you're passing through Salinas, it's definitely worth a stop. read more

I was traveling to Salinas on a business trip. I'm originally from LA and I have to say these are probably some of the best asada tacos I've ever had. The tortillas are home made and the flavor of the meat is incredible. Their green salsa is the perfect mix of citrus and spice. I was seated immediately ( party of 1 ) and the server brought some chips and salsa along with my drink order very quickly. I waited about 5 mins for my food- I ordered the lunch special 1 pupusa and 1 taco. Great place to stop by if you're passing through and looking for some authentic Mexican food! No picture as I hardly write reviews but this was definitely worthy. Great place!! read more

I tried this place because of its Yelp rating and I really wanted some good Mexican food. The place is cute inside and was pretty busy for a Friday at 2:30 in the afternoon. I walked to the register to place my to-go order. I was browsing the menu for my staple meal when the girl at register realized I wasn't quite ready and moved on to the person behind me. I guess that was my fault for not being entirely ready, but still a little on the rude side. I order a wet burrito with added sour cream. My order didn't come with chips, but I guess that's fine, everything is expensive nowadays, so I should t be expecting free items. I drove 10 mins home and my food was still hot. I would say the burrito was a solid 7/10. The tortilla was slightly burned and I could taste it. The chicken was also a little weird, maybe overdone? I'm not sure, but overall the food was good, not great. I would give this place another try and try something else. Again, it was pretty busy, so maybe people really like it. read more

Again food, service, and ambience is excellent. Definitely delicious plates to choose from.

Great food, aguas frescas, and friendly staff. This family owned restaurant has quickly become a favorite of mine and my family. Highly recommend their tacos, pupusas, chilaquiles and seafood platter. Agua de limón and horchata is everything you want in an agua fresca. read more

First time here. The staff greeted us with a cheerful smile. The place is bright in color and clean. I ordered the shrimp gubernador. 3 homemade corn tortillas and loaded with shrimp, grilled veggies and cheese. Guacamole was delicious. My hubby had the birria de res. It came with rice and beans and of course the consommé. The meat was juicy and tender. read more