My wife turned me on to this place a few years ago. Whenever we're craving bacon or ham breakfast burritos, chili verde plates, or hosting dinner for family and friends, we always order with Elma's. Their meat is so tender, juicy, and cooked to perfection. The beans and rice are so darn good! Their party portions barely survive the week with the breakfast and dinners we make hahaha. In all seriousness, everything about this place is amazing. I can't think of the name at the moment, but after you pick up your food, try and catch a churro truck that usually parks outside the building. They serve regular and filled churros that I can't get enough of. read more

After going to mass today my mom was craving churros, fresh churros, not the hard frozen kind that vendors have sitting behind a glass enclosure then reheat and serve. Yuck! Frozen churros should be arrested for false impersonation. I was going to stop by Cardenas Markets to get Tres Estrellas Churro mix which is like bisquick for churros and make some at home. I highly recommend this mix and it even comes with a piping bag but you should have some experience of making choux pastry dough since the directions (for me anyways) have always been wrong. However, since I'm planning on baking lots of cookies tomorrow I decided to jump on Yelp to find a nearby churro vendor. We could've gone down to Our Lady of Guadalupe Church or Christmas in the Park where there is one good churro stand down by Quetzalcoatl. Again, the other stands have those fake frozen impersonators but since I didn't want to search for parking I decided to go with the Yelp recommendation of Churros El Guero in front of Fresco Market next to Eastridge. This is also a very busy spot but we were able to score a parking spot right away. Unfortunately, the churro guy had just arrived and his oil was still heating up so we were patiently people watching. This is when we noticed lots of people going over to this haphazard outdoor dining spot. This was not the ideal spot to visit since the weather forecast has been falsely taunting us with rain all day. Since it was now noon we decided it was best to eat real food before munching on something sweet. I had never been to Elma's Taqueria which is connected to Fresco Market probably because I don't like that market. I went in once when they first opened and it stunk. Literally and figuratively. Nope, I'll pass. The line for Elma's was impressive so we strolled up to the outdoor window and looked up at the menu. It's basically Birria everything. Birria de Res (beef) and Birria de Chivo (goat) in a bowl, tacos, quesadilla, quesabirrias, etc...and daily specials including Menudo today. Since it was packed we shared a table with a gentleman from Michoacan while waiting for our order who said this is the best birria anywhere. He said even in Michoacan this is would be the best birria. High praise indeed. My verdict. It was good. Well seasoned, juicy and generous portions. I could only eat one taco so we packed up the rest to bring home and walked back over to the churro stand. Remember the churros? I did. In fact I remembered hiring El Guero to do some events for me in the past where he brings his pot of oil and makes fresh churros on the spot. Then you can have him fill it with chocolate, strawberry, caramel or other fillings. $3 each or 4 for $10. We opted for 2 originals, 1 chocolate and 1 strawberry. We gave him the cash, brought them home and plopped down to enjoy our fresh churros and we were happy. End of story. read more

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Elma's Taqueria is located inside the Fresca Market. They offer outside patio seating. Festive music playing. They do have a walk up window to order from. Also, the mobile pickup is inside along with drinks is another area. It's kinda confusing and service was overwhelmed. Though, after being sent to another area to pickup my Agua fresca drinks, the young cashier was so friendly, helpful, and polite! The super burritos were pretty big and filled with a lot of meat. I got mine with buche and some pieces were tender and soft and some were kinda hard. The horchata was nice and creamy. The cucumber lime was refreshing and delicious. Most places filled up the containers with ice. These two did not. Maybe they were going to refill the others outside which seemed to have ice. Overall, 3.5 stars. I'll be back to try other dishes. Support your local business. read more

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Met a few staff from Elma's due to a grand opening I went to and they were catering! Super enthusiastic crew promoting their business while serving delicious tacos! Because of this, I visited their location inside Fresco Supermarket! Their Quesabirria tacos were fire from the day I had catering but I decided to get regular tacos. It was 4 tacos for $11.99. I also got their Cucumber Lemonade Aqua Fresca again as well. They were very generous with the meat in the tacos. I did half asada and half al pastor with onions and cilantro. They were super flavorful but I did like the al pastor tacos just a little bit more. Their salsas were delicious as well. I tried their orange sauce at the catering event and it was super spicy so I didn't request for it this time but it was a good spice. Cucumber Lemonade was a bit too sweet this time that I had it but when I watered it down, it was great. Def need that extra ice for the drink! Very fair price for a good plate of tacos that you'll get full from. Would def recommend coming! read more

Elma's Taqueria - Beef Taco / Asada Taco, Al pastor Taco - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

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Elma's Taqueria just has the best Chicharron con Carne. Their competitor down the street's version is just too burnt and overly salty while the one at Elma's is literally perfect. read more

Elma's Taqueria - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

Omg the food is absolutely !!! The super burritos are amazing. The tacos are huge! And the service is always amazing. Highly recommend for catering any size events read more

It was edible im not gonna go on here and bash them their food is mehh as a mexican itll definitely kill the hunger but just know its not 4.6 stars kinda good read more

We moved back to Southside and have been looking for a new place near us. I am quickly learning that there is no comparison to Elma's Taqueria. After we ate at another local place (that people seem to like around here), my kids have told me they only want to go to Elma's. They told me they feel sick after eating at these other places. I've decided it is totally worth the drive because Elma's place is SOLID, delicious, and fresh! Big props to them for consistently doing it right. I cannot wait to try more items like the chili relleno. read more

The taco salad was really Tasty the service was fast and convenient. The ambience is wild. There is people all over there trying to get food. I'm just lucky that I was first in line. read more

Elma's Taqueria - Two asada tacos - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

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Solid quesa briria tacos as well as their pizzas. They serve both beef and goat biria. My favorite would definitely be the goat! read more

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Great service, the guy working there was very nice and explained to me the menu that was in Spanish. I tried the mixed birria, 2 beef and 2 goat. It was fresh and delicious. I will definitely come back to try other food on the menu. read more

Elma's Taqueria - Quesabirrias with Goat and Beef - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

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Grocery store taqueria's are the best thing. If you've ever gone to the grocery store hungry (like I have) and need your Mexican cravings satisfied, come here. This particular spot is inside of the Fresco's supermarket and if you walk in, it's on the left side. You can't miss it. I ordered a super chicken burrito and it was so big that we split it 3 ways. I probably could have eaten half of it and been good also but that's another story. Think portion control. Size aside, the burrito itself hit the spot. Tender chicken marinated in their own blend of spices, beans, mexican rice, melty cheese and a generous dumping of salsa verde or regular salsa was what made this burrito great. It was $9.99 plus tax which came out to $10.91. The service was fast and efficient. Lucky me didn't have a line when I walked up and the burrito was put together in 5 minutes tops. In their hot food displays I saw some chicharron, menudo and lots of other items which I'll have to try on another visit. read more

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Elma's Taqueria at Fresco Supermarket is a hidden gem! Elizabeth's outstanding customer service makes you feel like family. The carne asada is deliciously fresh, and their horchata is perfect. Fast service and convenient location. A must-try!!! read more

Elma's Taqueria - Reward after a long day - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

First timer at Elma's & first time having quesabirrias (quesadillas of birria). OH MY! Where have these been all my life?! I was skeptical- $19 for four. I love birria as it is a special occasion Mexican meat dish. The traditional is made out of goat but the popular version is beef. Here is the lowdown: they fry a tortilla in some type of sauce, then add some cheese so it melts (not too much because the meat is the star), then they add birria of your choice. At home, you add chopped cilantro, chopped onion, red salsa & then dip it in the consomé (juice from when you cook birria). It's almost like an au jus. They provide everything for you by the way. Every bite is just an explosion. There is no other way to describe it. I see why it is their most popular dish. I had two and wish I could have eaten the other two (order of 4) but ny stomach isn't big enough. My husband ended up saving his chicken burrito he originally ordered for the next day and ate the other two. We both were so happy. A MUST!!! read more

Elma's Taqueria - Fully loaded Sat / Sun Only 4 Quesabirrias de Res with a side of Stew - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

Had a chance to try Elma's Taqueria which is located inside Frescos, near the Eastridge Mall. This place is pretty close to me so I decided to try it out. I ended up getting the set of 4 birria tacos which came with consome as well as salsas, onions, cilantro and lime. I asked for 2 goat and 2 beef ones which was awesome because more to try! The Goat birria tacos were not bad but a bit gamey to me. The broth was fresh and flavorful. The beef ones were delicious and enjoyed every bite. These tacos are definitely very on the heavy side, so I would definitely try to share with someone if you can't take too much. Overall, though yummy and very flavorful! read more

Picked up some fries recently and was disappointed to see it has changed! The fries were bland with barely any cheese or sauce. I added more at home. On the bright side, the meat was good and tender. read more

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Really good and authentic spot. It's inside the supermarket, Fresco. I ordered the quesobirria tacos, but swapped it to Carne Asada. I like the Carne Asada meat better. It also comes with consome. The meat is really good. The tortilla is also crispy and has an amazing texture. Great cheese. Great flavor overall. I am not a big fan of birria, but swapping to asada makes it awesome because I like the crispy tortillas. I am not a big fan of consome, but it's pretty good here if you like that. The regular tacos were good. The meat was superb. I got pastor. One of the most savory and best pastor I have ever had. However, the tortillas felt a bit tough and was hard to chew. The tortillas were not great, but amazing meat. read more

Elma's Taqueria - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

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4x quesabirria tacos plus a consome for $20 It was packed at noon on a Sunday but I ordered to go, only waited a total of 15min. They forgot to include my consome in the bag, so I came back and they gave me two Crispy read more

Elma's Taqueria - Quesabirria, 2 beef and 2 goat - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

no manches $8 por un taco de birria????te cobran el taco al precio de dos tacos por un a $8??? y la porcion y tamaño de la tortilla fue redudisida. sigan con las extrategias codiciosas para que sigan perdiendo mas clientes!! read more

Elma's Taqueria - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

Great tacos. Each meat was flavorful and filling. Will go again very soon. I can't wait to try their birria pizza

Was in heaven with the first bite. The wait took a bit but was worth it. It's so yummy and juicy, desperate to order again soon!! read more

Elma's Taqueria - Birria Pizza - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

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Review for quesabirria tacos via grub hub It was really good and I appreciate the amount of salsas and food you get. I have been on a quest trying quesabirria tacos everywhere and in comparison these were satisfying, I liked the crunch in the shell, not too greasy, lots of cheese but I didn't think the meat was anything special. The meat was not as flavorful or tender as others. You put your own onions and cilantro on. The delivery came quickly and was packaged well and came hot! read more

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Great food! The birria seca de res with the hand made tortillas is my favorite dish on the weekends! Highly recommend this taqueria! read more

Really good and authentic Mexican food! The grocery store is also filled with great Mexican snacks.

Its getting worse... food still delicious ... bad loud music still there and louder with bad poor choice of nasty music. Quality of food??... rations are getting smaller.. today i notices tacos size got smaller.. what is going on ? Apparently they getting greedy.. perhaps i give them one more chance but if management keep ignoring reviews we may take business somewhere else. There are other good tasting birria places read more

I'm always weary of trying new place in San Jose as they can be a hit or miss. This morning I was craving some quesabirrias and consomé. I went on doordash to see which restaurant were serving birria. I always order the consomé from El Pirrin, but today, I decided to take a chance and try something new. I've been eyeing Elma's for the last month. When I received my order I was pleasantly surprised they packed it with everything. Two salsa, cilantro and onion, utensils, 4 quesabirrias, and consomé. These are hands down the best quesabirrias I've tried in San Jose so far. They are so crispy and cheesy. You have the option of beef or goat. I got two of each. The texture is spot on and what I wanted. The ingredients taste very fresh. I highly recommend trying this place out. Now, I'm curious about the other menu items and if it's just as good. read more

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Wow! Blown away! The quesadbirria is so good! It's the only place that offers asada and not shredded meat in it. I requested that and they made my food so good! Crispy! Flavorful! I will be back soon! The tacos were also amazing! That pastor was so unique! Not too heavy not too light in flavor! Seriously...get inside Fresco and go to the taqueria...won't regret! The asada and pastor for sure! But yeah, there aren't many places that make birria with asada so come here! If I requested pastor, they woulda added it too. read more

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Located inside the Fresco supermarket, the parking is easy and the location is convenient. The food was good, service wasn't outstanding but they were pleasant enough. The reason for the 2 stars is I found a pebble in my burrito bowl. Thankful I didn't chip a tooth. Be careful when you eat here. read more

Elma's Taqueria - Pebble found in my burrito bowl - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

Tacos were great the first time I came in, and the second. Service is whatever but I'm asian, if anything that was a good sign and continued to drive me back ( but yeah they can treat customers a little better ) I had the Birria both goat and beef on the weekend and it was splendid. If you take probiotics regularly this is a meal you gotta pop a fresh 10-60bn culture units or you're gassy for a little while. Order Birria here on yelp and then head over, unless you want to drive for x amount of time and still wait 30+ minutes for Birria! read more

Elma's Taqueria - Split two with my friend so we could try both they're both beautiful but goat is the bottom two and my favorite but they're both great - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

Yes, Elma's Taqueria is inside the Fresco. It's to the left as you walk in the door. They have a bunch of options but tacos have my eye right now. I ordered one fish taco, one chicken and one carne asada. The tacos ran about $3.50 per taco. I'd guess the fish taco use tilapia or similar light fish. They took about 10 minutes and were cooked to order. The toppings are all next to where you pick up your food and you can load up on whatever you want. The fish taco comes with toppings (lettuce, sour cream etc) and I only needed to add the green and red chile. They load up the tacos at Elma's and I'm not complaining. There was a little extra meat in both my carne asada and chicken tacos. The best was the chicken. The meat was flavorful and I really enjoyed it. I probably wouldn't recommend the fish taco. The fish taco lacked flavor, the green and red salsa's were the only thing that saved it. They use flour tortillas and my preference is still corn tortillas. By my standards it's a good taco place though and if you're craving tacos check it out. read more

Ordered chiliverda breakfast burrito, very good and tasty. I will return when I'm back in town. It's inside a very good market. I may shop in there too when I return for more work. read more

My absolute favorite place to pickup super nachos!!! I usually order super nachos, Al pastor meat (extra meats), it's bomb! The BEST! Birria pizza is very good too!!! Super burrito without beans are just as delicious!!!! Kids love their chicken quesadillas. Highly recommend this restaurant!!!! It's definitely my go to spot for Mexican craving! You won't disappoint read more

Great authentic Mexican foods at this place. The food prices were reasonable. The staffs are friendly. The place is clean.

Great Birra de chivo. If you want authentic food, this is the place! There is outdoor seating. Try the salsa...be careful, it's spicy!

This is a takeout spot and I don't believe I saw any outdoor dining at this location. Elma's nachos, tacos, & flautas are consistently on point. These are the go-tos for my family: my parents never stray from the loaded nachos, my 5-year-old enjoys the "big circles worth the meat on it," and I constantly crave the crunchiness of the flautas. When comparing their beef quesobirrias to that of other restaurants in San Jose, I have to say that Tostada's in San Carlos does a better job at it. HOWEVER, I may need to revise this once I try Elma's beef quesobirrias hot & fresh (I ordered them as part of a large catering order so they weren't fresh when I ate them). Still, I prefer the beef birrias without cheese, and I don't believe Elma's offers them at this time. Also, the dipping sauce/soup was more watered down than the one at Tostada's. Another downside is that the beef quesobirrias and other related menu items (goat meat quesobirrias) are only available on Saturdays and Sundays. In summary, I definitely will give Elma's quesobirrias another try, and likely try the goat option next! It's been pretty easy to order online and pickup (you need to go inside the Fresco grocery store to order and pickup). The last time I ordered online via Yelp's GrubHub option, I placed the order a few hours in advance. I couldn't easily find a way to add to my order, so I simple made another order, which was simply doubling up on my first order so it made it confusing for the staff behind the counter (1st order was 2 orders of the beef quesobirrias, 2nd order was for the same thing, so 4 orders total.) My Spanish is unfortunately limited & it took a couple employees to get my point across but they ultimately delivered on what I ordered - and they all did it with a smile. I'll definitely finalize my order when placing it in advance to reduce confusion going forward! When ordering in person, make sure you order at the right spot (at the register on the right). The large window on the left is for all the pickups. If you made an online order, you might get directed to the window on the right to place your order. But you can just go straight to the pickup window with your receipt and/or name on the online order. Customer service is great and the counter has well-staffed every time I've come in. read more

Food is ok, average at best. The service is horrible though, they always have some sort of attitude and EVERY time I call ahead it seems they never take my order seriously as they always start it when I arrive for pick up. La Otra ves que fui con mi novia, isieron comentarios sobre nosotros sin saber que ablaba español. Aprendan a respetar a TODOS. read more

Honestly, the greatest hangover food and pleasantly fattening. Elma's taqueria is a little place located to your left when you walk into Fresco. They have generous food proportions and are willing to accommodate to many food preferences (being a picky eater, I really appreciate this). The staff are all decently friendly and the wait times for food very rarely exceed 10 minutes. My fiancé and I are definitely regulars there, and that won't stop for a long time. read more

Normally the food is good here and portions are served in a good size however yesterday my food had no salt, rice was over cooked, they shorted me on my extra items and sent me something that I didn't ask for. This is the second time that this happened to me at this location so be carful with this guys cause they are getting messy on their ordering. It was a Saturday morning I was feeling achy and I wanted to warm me up with this delicious soup call birria and I got this unflavored and unwanted food read more

Elma's Taqueria - This is what I got in my order - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

I can't believe I haven't wrote a review for Elma's. Been here for years! The weekend menu is amazing they have Quesabirrias that's delicious . It comes in 3 big juicy tacos and a side of broth. I've tried both beef and Goat. I like beef the most. Everything is just so tasty here. Note: They are situated inside Fresco. I'm so happy they are in the neighborhood :) read more

Don't be fooled by its appearance. This place is located inside of the grocery store and makes delicious food. They do catering as well as serve food as a taqueria. This place is always packed and the food and always on point. The prices are just as good too! $2 a taco, that's a good price for San jose! read more

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