Excellent food and customer service. Employees are so nice and hard workers. Fast service always. read more

I was driving to San Marcos from L.A. for a meeting and it was 9:30am on a Tuesday. I looked up food places for breakfast and I saw a bunch of places to eat in the area. I was tempted to find a drive thru since it was raining but I'm so glad I chose to brave the rain and support a local mom and pop business. There was one customer eating his soup that morning. I came in and wanted a breakfast item. I chose the Burrito con Huevos y Papas and added rice and beans for extra. It was huge and it was soo delicious! I had to save some for my husband in L.A. because I wanted him to try it. It was a simple burrito but the potatoes were the perfect texture, the rice and beans were good. Not too salty. The flavor was amazing! It sounds like I'm exaggerating but it was freaking good! Plus the old ladies at the shop were so sweet! One was the cook and the other was the cashier. I hope everyone wanting Mexican food can give this place a try! read more

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The food was really good and tasted authentically delicious. You can tell everything is made with care and attention to detail, which I really appreciated. The atmosphere was very nice and welcoming, and the staff gave off such a positive vibe that it made me want to come back again. Overall, it was a great experience, and I'd definitely return to eat here. 10/10!!!!!!! read more

BIRRIA DE CHIVO plate with rice and beans. Flavorless rubberized meat. I didn't even ask for salt and the woman brought me 2 packets of salt. read more

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This place is amazing! I had a taco de carnitas and burrito de al pastor and let me tell you it's amazing! So much flavor in the meats and the burrito here are huge! read more

California was great! But the green sauce was the best green sauce I have ever had. Hands down.

It took a really long time for them to make our order and people who came in after me and placed their order, got their food before I did (it was just an order of tacos, enchiladas and a burrito so nothing out of the ordinary). Food was good, but not a lot of flavor to it. read more

Oh man! This was so good! I had the Birria De Chivo and it was delicious and hearty. The Great - The birria was a great portion! The Good - The flour tortilla was also delicious The Bad - I do wish they had a bigger selection of salsas The Ugly - There wasn't anything ugly! I really appreciated this small little taco shop. Their menu is large, and although limited their salsa was good. They only have canned soda, which I was sad about, but otherwise, the food, the prices and the people were great. read more

Tried this place on a whim because we were high and dry by another move by Mariscos German. We ordered a carnitas, pastor and cabeza tacos along with a chili relleno. The food, while not bad per se, was rather bland. The carnitas needed more salt and should be an easy menu item to nail down. The cabeza unfortunately had a lot of fatty chunks in it which obviously eroded the taste. The pastor was the best of the three. The chili relleno was a good attempt but when given cheap plastic stemware to eat it with it was next to impossible to cut it (the chili might have used a bit more time in the prepping stage.) The cheese was melted and the chili itself tasted fine enough but again, this lacked any real zeal. This is however a better attempt than most normal taco shop's rellenos. Hot sauce offered is the typical watery red, watery bland green and a fair tasting hot red. Service is friendly from an older gentleman at the counter and place was clean despite having an array of coolers in the front area to sell other things like sodas and ice cream. I can't say that I wouldn't ever come back. If in the immediate area, I would consider trying a carne asada (and they do offer mojara as well for mi amiga,) but i wouldn't go out of my way. It does appear to be very convenient for the apartments that surround the little plaza. Tough place to compete is southern California. read more

El Palenque Taco Shop - Interior - Mexican Near Me - San Marcos, California

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Looking a quick diner. The chili relleno was good and i loved the pollo frito tacos. Good prices too. read more

El Palenque Taco Shop - Mexican Near Me - San Marcos, California

I hate writing bad reviews but I just have to write one for this restaurant. As soon as I walked in, it smelled gross, it looks very dirty and unsanitary. I only had a thirty minute break so I kind of had no choice but to order something real quick and drive back to work. I ordered a carne asada burrito with extra guac and sour cream - and that took them 20 minutes!!! The lady in the front wasn't paying attention and I guess my burrito had been sitting there for a while and I got up and told her that I had to go and where my burrito was. I literally had 5 minutes to eat it, it didn't have extra guac and the sour cream was so faint I couldn't even tell it had it.....and lastly the burrito made me sick....:/ so I ended up throwing away half my burrito... and it was 8 bucks! Blah!!! Not a happy camper...I will never go back again. read more

Ive tried breakfast and cali burritos . Food is great here. But it's no 5 star restaurant.

I was staying at a nearby hotel and found this place in a small shopping center so I decided to stop for dinner. I ordered a 3 rolled taco dinner with rice and beans. When I got it the rolled tacos were large, hot, and crisp. There were covered in fresh made guacamole and two types of cheese. They were not at all greasy, there were done in a very hot fryer as they should be. The dinner was served on a styrofoam plate with a plastic fork. The tomatillo salsa I chose from their salsa bar was excellent. Dinner was about $6.50 and excellent for the price. If I lived nearby I am sure I would frequent this place. read more

El Palenque Taco Shop - The front of El Palenque Taco Shop - Mexican Near Me - San Marcos, California

A cute little mom and pop shop. Don't be mistaken for the looks of it because the food is authentically delicious! And they serve menudo everyday!?!? Amazing! And the service is very kind. Definitely a place I'd go back to read more

Ordered the adobada burrito. Very disappointed. It was 2 different colirs. The pork is super shredded. A dime worth of guacemole. It tasted... Horrible. Im sorry to say but i did not enjoy my lunch. Im from City Heights and my job site happen to be in San Marcos. I should have known better. 9 bucms im never getting back. I didn't even get halfway and ended up tossing it out. read more

Yummy Camerones!!! Every time I come to San Marcos, I gotta stop at this little mom and pop shop, just Great food at affordable prices! read more

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Pleasantly surprised at this little place in San Marcos. I was craving a breakfast burrito and it was very good. They should add a little more eggs in it but the chorizo was excellent. The thing that surprised me about this place was the salsas and sauces. It was very good. Also the pickled carrots and jalapeños very spicy and flavorful. With so many places in SD for Mexican food another hidden gem. read more

These tacos are way better than Mr Tacos just down the street. This place is my go to place in San Marcos when I want street tacos similar to those you get in el D.F. I usually get 2 tacos al pastor, 2 de suadero and one or two de carne asada. Yeah, the location isn't the best, but I don't go here for the 'atmosphere', I go for good Mexican food. read more

Their menu is pretty extensive, even occasionally having uncommon things like birria :) My only complaint is that they're food ranges from okay to good, but your never really quite sure what you'll end up with. I've certainly never eaten anything bad here. Their prices are pretty fair too. read more

This restaurant has very good food. It's just like home made Mexican food. It's not your typical fast food place. Went today we had chile verde pork, tacos, menudo, & some mulitas. All the food we ordered was great & tasty. I will continue to come here to eat with the family! read more

This place is a typical taco shop. Food ain't bad but nothing special I would just stick to the tortas here.

The Mojarra Frita is excellent. Everything there is great. The service is very very good. Don't let the looks fool you. They are humble.

Not bad. The food was ok, pretty typical mxn food, nothing special. The facility was a lil unclean and no one really spoke English, but if you were in the area and had a craving for mxn food, it would definitely satiate your appetite. Just don't expect greatness. 2 stars. read more

El Palenque is nothing special to look at but the food is excellent, and they have superb salsas and jalapeños in the salsa bar which are amazing. Every time I eat here, I love the food and absolutely stuff myself. It's great food! read more

More on the authentic side of Mexican food than your typical taco shop. Prices are slightly cheaper too. And they don't charge extra for the jalepeno carrots. read more

I work across the street at the School District, so I was looking for a decent place for my lunch break and I came across this place. Not great, not terrible. The salsa was good and the tortilla didn't come apart which made it easy to eat (at some Mexican places I end up with the food in my lap from a flimsy tortilla). I wouldn't go there with high expectations but it will fill ur belly while tasting decent. read more

When I ordered my shrimp burrito, I didn't expect there to be spaghetti sauce on it -.- I tried to take it off but of course that was a mess. And the carrots didn't taste right. Overall I'm not happy and won't eat here again. At least the individual pieces of tortilla, shrimp, et cetera were good. Although I would expect them to be anywhere. read more

Best Pollo Asado tacos around! And a great price at $1.49 each. We love this place...it's not fancy but really great authentic Mexican food and an exceptional value. We will be back for sure! read more

Bit of an off beat place but they have a wonderful and reasonably priced Caldo de birria that is absolutely worth the trip. Carne Asada is a solid choice, and thier chips are fresh and tasty. Lack of seating is a huge drawback and the atmosphere has zero charm, but this place more than makes up for it with flavor. I am a multiple repeat customer and have not been disappointed yet. read more

The meat was gamey and fatty and the corn tortillas soggy. OK price for what it. Salsa average

I ate here twice. The first time I ordered a taco and it was extremely greasy and a small portion. Second time I got their asada plate. It was the smallest portion I have ever received, by far. Mind you, this was after I waived the cash tip in front of the face of the cashier and the clock, or just prior to placing it in the tip jar. I've gotten a single street taco with more meat in it, that is no exaggeration. To make matters worse, a lot of the beef was pretty rough textured. The rice and beans were only average. I'm never eating here again. read more

I come to establishment on a regular basis, the food is overall well prepared and is consistently of good quality. I would definitely recommend their tacos as well as their beef soup (caldo de res) which reminds me of home. Great prices and fast service. read more