Let me start off with saying we've been here living in the Central Coast for about 4 years now, and we say we have not found a good Mexican restaurant...until now. This spot was very tasty and reminded me of my mom's cooking. I had the 2 taco Fritos of pollo and we had the 3 choice, taco frito and enchilada with shredded beef and the star of the show was the chile relleno. Food, nothing fancy but good cooked Mexican food. We came in about 8pm and they were kind and ready to serve. Their service, the two waitresses were on it‼ Restaurant itself was older but clean and stocked with all the right salsas and fresh salsa as well. We shall come again! read more

El Herradero - 3 choice platter - Mexican Near Me - Santa Maria, California

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At El Herradero Mexican Restaurant In Santa Maria Visiting My Brother And We Came To Eat Haven't Had Breakfast Yet Starving..!!!I Ordered The #8 Combination Two Hard Shelled Tacos One Beef And One Chicken With Beans And Rice..!!! My Brother Ordered The Bisted Relleno With Rice And Beans. He Ordered A Modelo Especial And I Got An Agua Fresca De Tamarindo. read more

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¡DELICIOSO! Delicious food, great service and clean restaurant. This was our first visit and we will definitely be back! We ordered a burrito and a shrimp cocktail and OMG!! read more

El Herradero - Mexican Near Me - Santa Maria, California

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So the food there is so good nice workers good service food doesn't take long to make a lot of options over all 10/10 recommend

The service was good, our server was friendly. I had the menudo. It's a big plate comes with tortillas ( not homemade ) the menudo is pretty good, very flavorful, and you can get pata or no pata. read more

El Herradero - Menudo - Mexican Near Me - Santa Maria, California

This place has excellent service clean floors and tables clean bathrooms the waiters are nice food is good Amit of food options that are great food is an amazing price and overall a great restaurant. read more

Service ! They need to acknowledge the customers better & faster !!!!!! The personnel need to do less talking among themselves and attend to the l tables !!! read more

Stopped to try their menudo excellent service at a reasonable price and the food was excellent i highly recommend this family restaurant it's a must in the Santa Maria area read more

I first ate at Here when I was working for UPS tech support. It was close to work nd a pleasant surprise. We live in A.G. and drive to Santa Maria for the food. Best Chili Relleno. My favorite is El Hombre!! We have been going there for over 20 years read more

My favorite Mexican restaurant I have been here many times and the delicious taste never fails. The waitresses always in a good mood and with a smile. If you want great authentic Mexican food I recommend this place. read more

One of the best places for Mexican food in the area. Bistec relleno. Spicy shrimp. Tacos are great. THE BEST CAMPECHANA SEAFOOD COCKTAIL. Salsa here is also good. read more

El Herradero - Mexican Near Me - Santa Maria, California

excellent comida y la atencion de primera el cafe muy Rico lo recomiendo ampliamente read more

All right so let me explain something about the tacos here so you can understand. They have some of the fattest most delicious tacos in all of Santa Maria. I should know because I'm pretty much the Taco King of California much like Abe Froman is the Sausage King of Chicago. They pack so much meat in the taco that you can use the second tortilla and make another taco, so if you order two you're really getting four! They don't skimp like other taco places in the vicinity that sprinkles their meat lightly like a Subway sandwich maker does every time I ask for olives and I have to keep telling them to put more when they could just put a heaping pile of them in the first place. I highly recommend the tacos here and I would say that two is enough to fill your belly, don't forget a Modelo on the side. read more

El Herradero - Delicious obese Tacos de Carnitas - Mexican Near Me - Santa Maria, California

The dive has here for years. Probably the same paint, tables and chairs. Needs an update like an iPhone 6. Service was minimal and just ok. Rice and beans are decent. Chips and salsa were made here but not great. The queso fundido is good here. The combination plates were decent. The enchiladas were made with meat that seemed to be kept warm in watery juices. Would I come here again? Maybe. To see if they updated their decor, the cleanliness, friendliness, and quality. I hope they do one day. read more

I love the food and service from this restaurant. I have been coming here since I was a teenager. Now my kids are in their late teen years and we still continue to come because of service food and the ambience all great. Did I mention the awesome servers read more

Where do I start First of all I ask our waitress for a combo #10 then add a fried shrimp taco she said nope they are too busy to do that they will only do a grilled right now They I said can you bring my husband another Horchata most likely if there is no refills, they will tell you it's a whole new fee of a woooing $4..99 his 2 Horchata we're $10 (bull@$":) my enchiladas were hot but my husband whole plate was cold Enchiladas red sauce was not red Chile it was more like entomatadas our bill was $54 for 2 plates well we won't be back oh and they only have tomatoes salsa no tomatillo salsa. read more

I went and googled restaurants and this one came up and I went on this link https://m.zmenu.com/el-herradero-santa-maria-online-menu/ Well on here it says 63.00 and when I get there the total was 96.78? Well I don't need a man telling me In disrespectful way to have some common sense well maybe y'all should update your menu on this website And that man with the receipt is the man that was rude read more

El Herradero - And then the refused to give me a receipt? They said they couldn't and to only take pictures - Mexican Near Me - Santa Maria, California

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The best salsa and beans. Ever. Just authentic old style Mexican food. No margaritas. Mexican beer!

Restaurant was clean, authentic, and the service was quick! Our waitress was polite and gave us enough time to look over the menu. I had a Quesadilla "Herradura" which was amazing! The quality of the meat was superb, the only negative thing was they didn't have any green salsa. Other than that, this place was great, I will definitely be coming here again. read more

El Herradero - a variety of condiments on a counter - Mexican Near Me - Santa Maria, California

I ordered the Combo Fajitas. The chicken and steak were tender. The shrimp was dry. Everything was smothered in a tomato based sauce. Rice and bean's nothing to write home about. The guacamole and sour cream were the best tasting part of the meal. The corn tortillas are store bought street size. The bad, the mess under table and a piece of meat on seat. The waitress took our order, dropped off food without acknowledging our thank you's. She never came to refill water, check on us or bring the bill. My husband had to go to counter to pay despite the fact there were two people working at the counter and they weren't helping any other customers. Only two other tables at the restaurant and I noticed the other table had to go up to pay their bill as well. We won't be back. read more

El Herradero - Bench food on it. Trash on floor. Gross - Mexican Near Me - Santa Maria, California

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Very tasty food and the owner was very nice and came by to make sure everything tasted good. The prices are good. We got there a bit late at night and the owner was there and very friendly. He is from the same town as my mother in law and my wife remembered when he was young. What a small world. read more

But it was super good. Very pricy. 18 dollars for breakfast burrito. I have no problem eating here if I got a $10 raise. read more

El Herradero - I gotta say. They did mention potatoes were in my breakfast burrito, I was not expecting cut up French fries. Lol - Mexican Near Me - Santa Maria, California

The shrimp cocktail isn't what you would get at most restaurants. It's frozen shrimp defrosted and then served in the same water it was defrosted in with some vegetables added. Not what I was expecting but everyone does things differently, so when I asked the server she was completely rude, defensive and pushy. Service was a complete let down as was some of our food. Maybe I came on a bad day but I had high hopes especially after reading previous reviews but overall I would avoid this place. read more

SPOILED BY MODESTO'S ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MEXICAN FOOD ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rating is overall OK ...now for the details. Of course, when you are pining for some Mexican food made by Mexican for Mexicans, you would pick a place like this on Yelp. Unfortunately, despite the usual Yelp hype, it is DECENT Mexican food, but not STELLAR. Amazingly, this place made me miss all the good Mexican places in Modesto, CA. ( where I lived for several years). In Modesto, good Mex places can be clean, have good-great food, with good-great service, at excellent cheap central valley prices....with a semi-upscale feel. Here the food is pretty good, but is way pricey, for a run-down hole in the wall. And I do mean a hole in the wall, & not the fake retro-post-industrial crap. If the prices gave me pause here, I really cannot imagine how people who may make minimum wage eat here...since our BILL came to $46 with a generous tip. That $46 included just a Seafood Cocktail, a Giant Quesadilla plate, & a relatively small plate of a combo of two kinds of pork (but they forgot the beans & rice). No drinks beyond water. Admittedly, the Seafood cocktail was tasty & seemed fresh...at least no GI problems (yet), but ironically, it was not as good as the upscale Pseudo-Mex place in Arroyo Grande Village (which had bigger shrimp & a very tasty sauce). Herradero's version was a combo of small shrimp, chopped Octopus & Abalone, along with finely mince veges & some spices. It kind of reminded me a bit of Hawaiian Poke (like in HI, not CA). I am not a big Abalone fan, but the Octopus had the right texture. The juice or sauce seemed way too watery & even after adding the juice of about a half of a lemon....still not amazing. The serving was rather pathetic when compared to the other pics...too much water, no Avocado. The Carnitas & Pastor combo was quite small and I had to struggle to separate the little warps from each other & put the pork in. One was dry & one was moist...& I still confuse the two. I liked that they had some onions on the side to add, but something was lacking. Even if I had the rice & beans, there would be no way to wrap all of it. The drier Pork had better seasoning (Carnitas), but lacked the crispy yet moist texture that I crave. The moist Pork was not seasoned enough. A opposed to others experiences, the first waitress was nice but spoke no English, so she had the second help us. She was nice too & made sure that my wife received a vegetarian dish... & her Quesadilla also had some tasty mushrooms in it. The waitress helped me, by letting me get a combo of both types of pork on one plate. They were both smiling & friendly and did say goodbye when we left. Ironically, my honey, who is Chinese & does not mind Chinese hole-in-wall places in Chinatown, was kind off freaked out by the whole lack of ambiance, repair or upkeep. She was not thrill by the bathroom either. It was amazing that my honey felt motivated to put a napkin on the table to rest her sweatshirt cover elbow on. I then started to think that the lack of any apparent upgrades here & general hole-in-wall atmosphere, which may also be reflected in kitchen hygiene & seafood freshness. In Conclusion, while far better than the Mex Supermarket Food Court eats, it did not stand up to the best places in Modesto, nor their cost-effectiveness. Alas, the quest for a great local Mex place continues. Come to think of it, we did try a place in Nipomo, that was pretty good a few years back. They also had a huge variety of top shelf Tequila's. Definitely worth a do over. It is closer & far nicer inside. read more

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Definitely authentic and home style Mexican food. I was so hungry I forgot to take pictures but the Chile Verde Burrito and Beef Taco plate were yum yum yum. Refried beans and rice like Mamacita made. Salsa was spicy. Chips were good but I've had better, thus the reason for the 4 stars. And if you're going for ambience go to a LA, Nuevo restaurant. You want authentic Mexican where the local Latinos way go here. And if you're white like me let freedom ring that my brown brothers and sisters welcomed me in because I was the only Gringo in the place...loved every minute of it and will go back. G read more

El Herradero - Mexican Near Me - Santa Maria, California

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After 2.5 years in CT, it is a delight to have good Mexican food again. We missed it from our life in the Bay Area. This place is like a real Mexican hangout. Jack had the chile verde which was tender and flavorful. I chose my usual tacos al pastor. They were not THE best I've ever had, but thy were really good. I definitely want to try their caldos and their cocteles. Also on weekends they have birria which is one of my favorites. I hope that it is "soupy" kind (birria en su jugo) rather than the "saucy" kind. We will be back. read more

El Herradero - Pico de gallo - Mexican Near Me - Santa Maria, California

Restaurant was relatively empty. Service was quick and friendly. I ordered the carne asada taco plate with rice and beans. My food was delicious! They don't have green salsa but their red salsa is good and spicy. Would come again! read more

Delicious, loving people, would definitely come back. Highly recommend. Wish it was closer to me.

The dish that I had was Steack, Bacon, peppers, and onions. It came with rice and beans and flour tortillas the beef was tasty and flavorful. It was not greasy and the portions were just right. read more

I was there today 11/30/23 8pm ordered steak with shrimp and I asked the waitress shes about 18-20 years old wearing glasses . I asked can i add chicken? She replied can you read? i said yes wanted to add chicken it seemed like a hassle so i said nvm. She was asked by my friend do u speak Spanish she nodded her head. She told me if i had attitude! When she returned with our order she slammed the plate on the table and throw the silverware in the middle of the table and walked away. Good food terrible service from this lady unfortunately they don't wear name tags. read more

We were passing through Santa Maria and wanted to grab a bite to eat. I was surprised at the mixed reviews on all the Restaurants in the area. The only place that sounded like a good spot was booked through until 830 pm and walking in you probably wouldn't get seated for an hour. So we decided let's try Mexican, again all the Mexican places were mixed reviews. No stand outs, so we tried this place. My husband likes hole in the wall restaurants so I was keeping an open mind. To me it looked old and dirty but I'm going to tough it out and try. They gave us chips and salsa and they were good. But if you want refills it's 2.00$. What?? I have never had a Mexican restaurant charge for more chips. Probably better that way, we don't need them. They don't have fountain drinks, they are in bottles and cans so no refills. My son ordered a bean and cheese burrito with red sauce and cheese on it. Down below is the picture hardly any sauce. He said it was good though. My husband ordered a Cubano Torta he said it was good, not the worst or the best. I ordered a chicken quesadilla. I didn't know you could put too much cheese on anything, this was way too much. Waitress never came back to refill my husbands water. Overall it's just not great. Also my son didn't want to use the men's restroom I guess it was very gross. I would not return to this place. read more

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Always great food here never gad any issues. Awesome Salas, the best Breakfast burritos in town, I also love the grilled chicken burritos but I give it a twist. Excellent place we go here at least 2x a week. read more

Pretty authentic eatery :) even has a Spanish music jukebox :D Salsa is spicy (!!), not American spicy, it's authentic spicy (big plus!). Service is great--friendly, welcoming, and professional. H Had the shrimp cocktail--for me, it was okay, I've had better. The husb had carne asada tostada--it was okay, could have been better. read more

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Don't be fooled by the industrial neighborhood or humble/shabby exterior. This is great food. Our first clue when we went in is that we were the only gringos in the joint. We really enjoyed the chips and salsa. The salsa was punishing! Not for the faint anglo saxon palate. (See the photo I uploaded) We split the vuelva a la vida, which is a huge shrimp cocktail w/ chucks of avocado and cucumber, and on the side are three raw oysters. That thing was so big we had to take some of it home in a take-out box. Next we split the combo fajita plate. There many, many more authentic Mexican dishes than fajitas and I'll definitely give them a try on my future visits but we thought we'd go with something fairly predictable for our first visit. The fajitas were delicious! The waitress asked us if we wanted flour or corn tortillas in that way that said, "most of our clients use corn but your blue eyes tell me you're gonna want flour." Too true - we went for flour. My daughter had a plain bean and cheese burrito but it was too large for her. It must have been 2 pounds! Yureka! I have found a great, authentic Mexican restaurant in this area! I hope other yelpers visit this place, do some reviews, and upload more pictures. They deserve the attention. On the other hand, I hope that success doesn't change their food. read more

El Herradero - An excellent beginning! - Mexican Near Me - Santa Maria, California

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This little hidden gem is where I want to go when I want authentic Mexican food with a vast array of seafood options for a seafood maniac like myself. Don't: expect frills or an over the top dining experience. Parking lot directly out front is teensy weensy but that's neither here nor there because once you get your car parked and you're inside looking at the menu chock-full of mouthwatering options, you will soon forget what a pain in the ass it was to park your car. Not too much space inside for larger groups, but plenty of booth seating. Service was fast here on a Sunday afternoon even with a full house. Do: expect friendly, attentive service, an authentic Mexican food experience, a full-bodied menu (that can be a little overwhelming if you're indecisive), and good sized portions at reasonable prices. + They serve soft drinks in cans, and also have options other than Mexican food for the little ones. IE: chicken nuggets and fries. Fellow seafood/mexican food lovers: Try the seafood cocktail that comes in the hefty cocktail glass, and the aquachiles! Both are tantalizing. Looking forward to going back and trying everything else on the menu. read more

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Food was okay The service was great all the girls are VERY nice and sweet. I ordered green salsa enchiladas and got red salsa being five months pregnant I wasn't too happy but ate it any way because I was starving my food just didn't taste good to me. My husband got the carne asada nachos and my daughter got chicken nuggets their food was great mine was just not good read more

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Absolutely, best authentic Mexican restaurant in Santa Maria. Been here many times and the food never disappoints. From customer service, cleanliness and pricing it's all perfect! My favorite dish here is the "Alambre". It's Chuck steak with bacon and mozzarella cheese. In my opinion the horchata too is the best. I've had horchata other places and it's either watered down, super sweet or taste too much like milk but here it's perfect. Anyone seeking a good Mexican dish, try this one. You will love it! read more

So my boyfriend and I came here for the first time and upon first glance we noticed that the prices were a little high but we don't mind if the food is good. I ordered a margarita that cost $8.50. At that price I expected a normal tequila margarita that I get at any mexican restaurant I order from. So I didn't think anything of it. When the waitress asked me what kind...lime or mango I said Mango. She didn't say or ask me anything else. When she brought out the drinks I was a little dumbstruck and confused. What she gave me was a open can of ritas mango-rita and a glass with ice and salt around the rim that they had already poured the drink into. Now I know what a can of this cost at the liquor store because I buy them on occasion. $4 is what they cost give or take. So the fact that not only am I misled into thinking I'm getting a traditional margarita, but I'm paying $9 for a can of fruity bunk alcohol. When I explained this to the waitress that this was not what I thought I was ordering for the price and that it was not written in the menu so I was not going to pay for it and if I could please send it back she said no and then went to the other employees who proceeded to stare at us and talk about how we were complaining about the service. Not even the customer service was satisfactory. Just a really unfortunate situation. I wish they would have just taken the drink back but that isn't what happened. So sorry...but this place is bunk!!! read more

El Herradero - Mexican Near Me - Santa Maria, California

If you want authentic Mexican food this is the Place! I'm a regular,Always bringing family members to eat here they seat about 8 of us at times, The atmosphere is always happy here with music in the background. The waitresses are very friendly,Menu is really easy to read it's in Spanish & English. I've had enchiladas,burritos,tacos & sea food. Salsa is fire! All really delicious! Other tips: Restroom is clean Parking lot is small read more

Real authentic Mexican restaurant. Not too pretty but food is good and service was great. The food takes awhile to come out but it's expected because it's all freshly done by order. Great Mexican seafood specials and spicy salsa. read more