I love this place, and I can't believe it's been so long since I've updated my review. It hasn't really changed, and that's a good thing. This family owned place has been dishing out delicious and authentic Mexican cuisine for some 40 years now, all under the same family. It's still in the corner of an older strip mall, (although, there is a harbor freight now just a couple of doors down. Come on over for lunch or dinner before or after you shop.). And the dining room room is nothing fancy. You are not going to get "foo foo" Americanized Mexican food here, you were going to get the real thing. This is my favorite kind of Mexican restaurant, a little hole in the wall with English is the second language in the kitchen. They don't open until 11 AM, 12 on Saturday, but they do have breakfast items on the menu, and they also offer lunch specials as well, besides their regular menu. I came in for dinner. As always, the complementary chips and salsa were excellent. The chips were crispy, a little bit salty, and not greasy at all. The salsa had a smoky flavor, with just a little bit of a "zip" to it. I usually get the fajitas, they have several kinds, and they are so good, but there was something else on the corner that caught my eye. I just. I decided to go for the Carnitas and chile Relleno. A good choice. The. Relleno was firm, not mushy at all, it didn't have too much of a kick to it, and they were very generous with the ooey, , gooey, cheese. The ranchero sauce was excellent. The Carnitas were tender, and rich, with that wonderfully "porky" flavor you get from Carnitas. It was a very generous portion. It came with sautéed onions and bell pepper. Again, normally I don't care for bell pepper, but in this dish, it was very good and it fit the Dish just right. The rice was delicious and had a good texture, and the beans were neither soupy or overly stiff. It also came with two delicious tortillas. I always get the flour, and they were just as good as always I had enough food to take home with me. They don't have a full bar, but they serve beer and wine. I have heard that their wine margaritas are very good. For all I got, the price was extremely reasonable. When it comes to Mexican food in Rancho, this place is my favorite. Thanks. read more

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Feb 16, 2026 - Rancho Cordova. Still a solid "go to" for a budget Mexican meal in Rancho Cordova. The prices are fair, with satisfying portions, and the food is good. Comfortable and cozy atmosphere with friendly service. If you want a margarita, it will be a wine margarita, but those are not too bad for not having tequila in them. I always order off the a la carte menu, and usually order the beef or chicken enchilada. Just the right amount for me. read more

El Puerto Restaurant - 2/16/2026 - Inside seating, front section. - Mexican Near Me - Rancho Cordova, California

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I've read some not so great reviews but honestly, this little hole in the wall place has not steered us wrong. In particular, I read that the refried beans aren't authentic. They taste delicious to us. Service is fast and they have the best salsa and chips ever! So tasty!!! The inside is old and could use a bit of an update but it's always clean. Prices also are reasonable which is why we continue to eat here over many years - early 2000s if not prior. read more

Ordered delivery from here. The rice was ok, salsa was great. The beans and chicken burrito, not so much. I had requested the burrito not have any sauce on top. Came smothered in some sort of enchilada sauce. read more

El Puerto Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Rancho Cordova, California

Solid basic Mexican fare with very generous portions and friendly service. The free salsa with chips had a good bite to it. Don't expect anything fancy inside. It is clean. read more

El Puerto Restaurant - Combination enchilada and crispy taco plate - Mexican Near Me - Rancho Cordova, California

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We ordered take out. I ordered Coctel De Camarones. So flavorful!! Wow! I was impressed. We also ordered the fajitas. Very tasty. Can't wait to go back and eat inside. Small and cozy! Friendly staff. read more

El Puerto Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Rancho Cordova, California

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Talk about a hole in the wall spot with excellent food. My team decided to have an early spur of the moment holiday lunch after working in the office and someone suggested here. We called ahead to see if they could accommodate a party of 7 and they stated their back room was closed but we could come anyways. There was only one server so we tried to make it easy on her. The chips and salsa were so good. The salsa had a kick but it wasn't unbearable. I went with a chicken chimichanga and it wa delicious and fairly priced. Will definitely be back. read more

El Puerto Restaurant - Chicken chimichanga - Mexican Near Me - Rancho Cordova, California

Delicious. Burritos are amazing and prices are great! Chicken avocado salad is also fantastic!

1983. That's the year when "Return of the Jedi" was the #1 movie while "Every Breath You Take" was the #1 hit song. It was also the year when "El Puerto Restaurant" was born in the heart of Rancho Cordova. If you're truly looking for nostalgia while taking a time capsule back to the early-80's, this is just the place that is truly a blast to the past. Considering I have been a resident of Sacramento since 2001, it only took me 22 years to check this place out for myself. I arrived here during the afternoon of Saturday 05/06/2023 at around 1:00pm and met here with a bunch of friends for lunch. The inside of this place is as no-frills as you would expect. But back in 1983, it was as cutting-edge as you would find. The dining area has wood-paneled walls complete with wooden chairs complete with the vinyl cushioned seats. Not to mention, a colorful display of sombreros, artwork, and streamers just to liven the place up. There is also a whole other rear dining area on those nights when it can get super busy. The menu itself offers your typical Mexican staple items; tacos, burritos, enchiladas, quesadillas, and fajitas. You will also find some seafood items as well as salads, breakfast (served all day), a kids menu, and even a dessert menu. They also have a small wine and beer selection. I ended up going with a one-item plate while I ended up choosing their chicken taco complete with Mexican rice and refried beans. To wash it down, I chose a Mexican staple, a Horchata. My friends ordered several different items including Chile Rellano, a taco salad, Chorizo, and an enchilada. They also served us complimentary tortilla chips and red salsa. All of our meals rolled out over the course of 10 minutes; fairly quickly as there actually wasn't any other customers dining here except us. As far as my taco... it was just average at-best for me. The taco shell was quite greasy and hard to pick up with my bare hands. Not to mention, there was too much lettuce and only a few small bits of chicken. Furthermore, even with Tapatio, this taco didn't have any real flavor. The rice was your typical flavor (no surprises) while the beans were actually the highlight of this dish; perfectly cooked with the right amount of saltiness and cheese sprinkled on top. All in all, "El Puerto Restaurant" is just okay in my book. Not a great meal but by no means a lousy meal. With so many options in and around the greater Sacramento area, this place will always be a fan favorite of locals that have been coming here for decades. With that said and done, I am giving them just an average three-star Yelp rating. read more

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These guys rock! They let us reserve the back room for a group of 30 of us in a jeep group, there was only two waitresses and they kicked ass! I was so impressed with their customer care and attentiveness! Also the food is great! Definitely recommend them ! read more

My family and friends have enjoyed the hospitality and warm welcome for over 25 years and consider this family owned restaurant one of our favorite places to dine in and celebrate special occasions. They recently expanded their menu to include birria and quesa birria tacos and out of curiosity I ordered them and was blown away how good the tacos and consome' were! Do yourself a favor and go have some birria tacos and let your friends know to come and join in the fun. read more

I really don't understand the volume of bad reviews. I've been going here literally for over 25 years and their food is always delicious and flavorful and good portions for the cost. But most amazingly is that they've maintained consistency in their recipes over the 25+ years. I've NEVER had quality issues with my food from day 1 to day 9,125. From the burritos to the chili rellenos to the tacos, always flavorful and delicious. And their salsa is the best. I always order a bag of chips and container of salsa to go. YES the shredded beef tacos do fall apart. But that's because the shredded beef is nice and moist and the taco is plated beside other moist items. I've never let that bother me because these are made with SOFT SHELL corn tortillas. This is NOT taco bell. Are they in a fancy strip mall? No, they've been in the SAME spot from day 1, which is probably why they are able to provide nice portions at reasonable prices. I've NEVER felt unsafe going to their restaurant though. Although to be honest, I've been Doordashing a lot more lately, just because I'm lazy. I like that even their prices on Doordash are reasonable compared to other Mexican food places. If you've never been here before, don't pay attention to the reviews. TRY them and then decide because after 25 years this is still my favorite place for Mexican food. If they weren't good then they wouldn't still be going strong after all these years. read more

This place super tasty and and very intimate only a handful of booths and tables only a few cooks and a few servers I worked My way across the menu and am a big fan of almost anything...their sauces are good, chips crispy fajitas are hot n sizzley and good portions. Tacos are crispy Shattery nightmares but in the best way possible I live down the street it's too convenient huhw bonus it's delicious and friendly read more

We love coming here. chips salsa delicious. shrimp fajitas huge portions. even delicious flour tortillas and big drink glasses. cozy and authentic. always good service. our go to for date night. read more

Good food, good price, good for kids too. Most people order DoorDash so it's usually pretty quiet inside except for the dashers making pickups, but they're missing out on a charming little family restaurant. read more

Classic, been coming here for years and the food is always delicious. Very calm and it was nice for a casual dinner date!

Food here's always very tasty. Friendly service, nice cozy atmosphere, good food and drinks, and reasonable prices. read more

El Puerto Restaurant - Dining Area - Mexican Near Me - Rancho Cordova, California

Never been here before, thought I'd try it out. Smelled good when I walked in, got a burrito and a drink. Took it home to eat, opened it up and looked very basic. Oh well hopefully it's good, cut the burrito open (it was a wet burrito) it just oozed out sauce and beans, like liquid beans...weird. Maybe it still tastes better then it looks, well, not so much. There was maybe 7-8 small bits of steak in my burrito and it was a hot mess, the steak was also tough and not tender at all.. I basically paid $20 for a wet tortilla and some cheese, liquid beans and a handful of small bits of steak. Would I go back? Maybe, but probably not. Thought it would be good, the inside had a older feel which I liked. Customer service was lacking, food was small, I honestly eat half of a burrito from Carolina's or Adalabertos and I'm stuffed, I ate the entire burrito and side of rice and wasn't even full. read more

I and a handicapped friend, whose wife had died recently, ordered two Steak Chicana dinners to go. He and his wife had eaten there regularly, and he remembered this dish fondly. The meals were listed as $13.25 each online, but when I got there to pick them up I was charged $16.50 each. Oh well, that's OK for a delicious dish. Oops, anything but delicious. The steak chicana was not very tasty at all, and the foam to-go container was not segmented so the chicana juice had flowed into the rice and beans. The result was an expensive and edible, but not very tasty, meal. We won't be ordering here again. read more

Definitely can't eat here again. I ordered the shredded chicken burrito. . Long story short, the food didn't taste fresh at all. Lacked flavor, I'm going to have to go get something else to eat and give this away to a homeless person. read more

amazing food and outstanding service. I would recommend this place to anyone that's in the area

Recommend "Dine In" ONLY! If you order "take out", you RISK *NOT* getting what you paid for. 5 large chicken burritos turned out to not even have 6 oz of chicken BETWEEN them...all beans and cheese inside. Calls to remedy the situation were futile. 0/5 stars here. Give yourself a fighting chance. Only order what you can see plated before you in dining situation. read more

El Puerto Mexican Restaurant is a fun, family-friendly restaurant, that's been dishing out authentic Mexican cuisine since 1983. It's a favorite of the Rancho Cordova locals, who love the comfortable decor, friendly service, and most of all, the delicious Mexican food the restaurant is known for... The dining room, as you enter, with the counter, and the window to the kitchen in the rear. We arrived a little after the 11:00 morning opening time, and the restaurant is beginning to fill up with Rancho Cordova locals, who appreciate the great food, friendly, and lightning-fast service. The restaurant has been in the same location since 1983, and the dining room is definitely decorated like 1983, which adds to the charm. It's clean, comfortable, and a friendly place to enjoy an excellent meal. We opened the menu to the first page, which lists the "Lunch Specials," and we never bothered looking at the rest of the menu, as this looked exactly like what we were looking for. The menu is a little misleading, as it lists "meat choices" as cheese, beef, chicken, carnitas, chilie verde or carne asada, at extra cost. When it came to placing our order, we were offered the choice of beef, cheese or chicken in our enchiladas, and I was offered the choice of beef or chicken in my soft taco. A basket of fresh tortilla chips, along with a bowl of in-house made fresh salsa makes a great appetizer, and is included in the price of your meal. Nothing like trying to carry on a conversation with a friend when you're stuffing your mouth with chips and salsa! From the "Lunch Specials" section of the menu, I ordered a "Two Item Combination," and my "choices" were a beef enchilada and a soft, beef taco. All combination lunches come with rice and beans. Kim ordered an identical lunch, except she only ordered one "choice," which was a beef enchilada. For starters, both my dining companion and I were simply amazed at the LIGHTNING FAST service, as Brenda placed our orders on our table, in less than five minutes after placing our order! That's "faster" than "fast food," and El Puerto Mexican Restaurant is a full-service, sit down restaurant. For the enchiladas, you get your choice of beef or chicken - the lunch menu is misleading, as it implies there are many more choices - we both chose beef for the enchiladas, and I chose beef for my taco. The beef in the enchiladas and the taco are ground beef, lightly seasoned and perfectly cooked. The enchiladas were stuffed with lots of red sauce, onion, and the rolled corn tortilla was covered in sauce and shredded cheese, which worked out great. My soft taco was stuffed with seasoned ground beef, shredded lettuce, diced tomato, along with shredded Mexican cheese. My dining companion and I agreed our main entrees were delicious! All lunch combination plates include a helping of rice and beans, no matter what your main entree is. The rice was your typical Mexican rice, good, tasty, but not particularly distinctive or noteworthy. The refried beans were also very good, covered with shredded, Mexican cheese, and were also not particularly noteworthy. The refried beans and rice made excellent side dishes, and made our lunches complete. The lunches aren't huge, as the portions are on the average size, but they're really good, and they'll fill you up. For me, my lunch was just the right size, and Kim couldn't quite finish hers, so I gave her a helping fork. We were satisfied with our lunches, in quality, quantity and price. Great lunch, good value, and the fastest service I've ever seen make this fine restaurant a staple in the Rancho Dining scene, and give it a solid 4-star rating. read more

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Bomb.com for a while. I definitely recommend sitting down and eating in the restaurant. This food is good and has been for the last 30+years. My first time going in 20 years and it was a blessing. read more

I loved the one that used to be in West Sacramento. The food was good, employees friendly and decent price. That one has now closed and this is the only one in the area. The food is decent but I was given my to go order and I found a long hair in the eggs. Gross! Was done eating. read more

El Puerto Restaurant - Hair found in my food. - Mexican Near Me - Rancho Cordova, California

I was so disappointed in our meal tonight. Since social distancing we have been committed to only eating local eateries around Rancho. Personally owned restaurants only. We've eaten at El Puerto many times over the past several years and it's been good. It has been a couple years since we've eaten and was really looking forward to it. When placing the order over the phone we were provided a pickup time of 20 minutes. We were there within 15 minutes and it was ready. Cool. My daughters crunchy taco was soggy. She picked it up and the bottom completely fell out. My husband and I both ordered chicken fajitas. We each had maybe 4 pieces of chicken with undercooked veggies. We wanted one set of flour tortillas and one corn. We got neither. No tortillas for our fajitas. The beans were very bland. Very disappointed with this visit. read more

la mejor comida mexicana de sonora y texas la comida mejor de todas las demas de siempre mexicana y maxicana la berdadera read more

Again here for lunch, had the enchiladas de carnitas. Oh wow, delicious! The beer is ice cold, good service, This is a nice place, good food, authentic! Love it!! read more

El Puerto Restaurant - El Puerto restaurant! yummy!!! - Mexican Near Me - Rancho Cordova, California

Amazing food, service and friendly staff Me and my family were traveling home from our tahoe trip and we re greeted by amazing staff. The food is fresh and amazing! Love this place and it's amazing service would def go again if i'm ever in the area read more

I ordered a chicken burrito with beans and rice and it tasted amazing the chicken was so flavorful and the beans were so delicious.

Love the combo fajitas. They're so good. And their prices have stayed reasonable over the years, which I definitely appreciate. Great place to grab lunch with friends. read more

Food is exspensibe and not that good. It taste okay i ordered a shrimp and steak burrito and they are so so stingy with their shrimp its sad but charge you a ton 15.00 for a burrito Never again! read more

Food (4 stars) - The Chile Relleno is awesome! The Chips and Salsa are awesome too! However, if you order ala carte only, you do not get free chips and salsa. The Chile Relleno oozes with Jack Cheese when you cut into it. The sauce on top is also flavorful and, if you eat it with the chips, you get that crunch missing in the dish. The meal comes with rice and refried beans. The rice is light, flavorful and fluffy. Refried beans? I like beans, but I've never been a fan of refried beans. The Vegetarian Burrito is okay. The Fish Taco I had was a disappointment because the fish was almost non-existent in the tacos. Regardless, I'm a fan of this place. Service (5 stars) - The staff are nice, friendly, attentive and efficient. Not much of a wait time for your order to be taken and served your meal. Fabulous!!! The restaurant could get a makeover though, but who really cares as long as the place is kept clean, the food is great and you get great service. read more

El Puerto Restaurant - Chile Relleno - Mexican Near Me - Rancho Cordova, California

El Puerto Mexican restaurant is in a run down strip mall on the corner of folsom and cordova lane (behind tug boat fish n chips off Folsom. The sign overhead looks like it was put up in the 80's, but it's near the house and I have driven by it many times without stopping. I've been reluctant to try it but I found an entertainment coupon for a buy one get one free entree (discount $7) so I decided to try it and was glad to have found a diamond in the rough so close to home. Chips and salsa- Chips were nice and warm, crisp and crunchy and thin like I like it and the salsa was a perfect consistency with a slight kick. Not too much but enough to keep me dipping chip after chip. Chili Verde- $10.95 came with rice and beans. The chili verde portion was enough to fill 2 flour tortillas full and it tasted fantastic! I wish the portion was slightly bigger but what it lacked in volume in made up for in taste. So good. Tortillas were fresh and hot. The beans were full of flavor, not salt. Not bland like most places. The spanish rice tasted good. Combination Fajitas- $11.95 had an excellent deep seasoned flavor to them with a LARGE portion of chicken and steak (carnivores dream). The onions and peppers were perfectly caramelized. The thought of the leftovers makes my mouth water... They don't have Chicken Mole' or Al Pastor on the menu, which are a couple of my favorite dishes, but they do have bottles of Mexican coke which is a score. Service was kind, attentive and friendly from both the owner and his daughter. I will definitely be back sans coupon because prices are very reasonable and the food was top notch. read more

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It was my first time here last night. It's a super cute little restaurant and our waiter was really nice. We were served chips & salsa and waters right away. I got the chicken enchilada and beef taco. My sister got 2 chicken enchiladas. Both of our dishes came out very quickly and were both delicious! I will definitely be coming here again :) read more

El Puerto Restaurant - Yummy! Beans, rice, chicken enchilada, and beef taco :) - Mexican Near Me - Rancho Cordova, California

I just had an amazing meal tonight with my mom and sister. The carnitas plate was on special tonight for $8.25! A large sizzling portion of yummy carnitas with rice and beans with tortillas! The service was fast and friendly! They serve Pepsi which I loved! The tables moved in the main dining room which was very helpful since my mom is disabled and needed the extra room. The prices are fair and the food was delicious! I would definitely recommend this place for an awesome Mexican meal! read more

This great hole in da wall was just recently discovered by us...and we live 3 minutes away. I guess we were turned off from it because of its location. I should've known it was good. MOST holes are. Decently priced, and more authentic than any LaFavorita (which, is not my favorite) or El Torito (I'm just sayin'!). We had the fajitas with everything (shrimp, chicken, steak) and a chile relleno. Portions aren't huge, but you're going to leave full. Pretty tasty stuff. Salsa was spicy and delicious. Don't judge a restaurant by it's cover, or you'll miss out! read more

This place is buried in the back of a little strip mall (sort of). It's a hole in the wall which is the first sign of great Mexican food. I had chicken tostada and steak enchilada. I liked the steak and that's about it. Everything was really bland from the watery tostada to the beans rice and enchilada sauce. The chips are homemade but needed salt. Salsa was really good. My daughter liked her smothered steak burrito. Otherwise I'm really unimpressed. All the capability of being a really good restaurant but isn't. Hopefully they'll kick it up a notch. I remember going here a few years ago and liking it. read more

El Puerto Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Rancho Cordova, California

No bueno. Super long wait for a to go order, service seemed scattered and hurried and unstructured, other folks waiting at the door, waiting for water and food at the tables, there were three folks working a room of about 18 and it all just seemed disjointed. Got excited when I saw a monster sized taco plate coming out, received our order 30 mins after we placed our order of 1 a la carta burrito and a two taco lunch special. The tacos were soggy and mi amigo did not like the beans, the burrito wasn't half bad other than that it was like warm but the experience overall was just wrong. Maybe it was a lunch rush that had them behind today. I'll give it one more shot someday. read more

El Puerto Restaurant - This was opened 1 minute after receiving the to go order. Soggy tacos are no bueno! - Mexican Near Me - Rancho Cordova, California

Very prompt and good enjoyed. Before Covid coworkers used go go eat in. Now we are all working from home so I am glad it could be delivered