I'm a big fan of menudo and usually make it a point to try a new spot at least once a year. Gorditas El Tio definitely earned a spot on my list. Food The menudo here is the real deal. Generous portions and great flavor right out of the gate. I highly recommend grabbing a couple cups of their red salsa to mix in. It adds a solid kick without overpowering the dish. If they're doing menudo this well, it's a safe bet the rest of the menu holds up too. They also had one of the better selections of Jarritos flavors I've seen in a while, plus some dessert options that looked worth coming back for. Service Service was friendly and efficient. You can tell it's a team effort. One person taking orders and jumping back to help in the kitchen, while another was consistently prepping food. It felt organized without being overly formal. Ambience Pretty standard setup for a local Mexican spot. Small dine-in area with a steady flow of people coming in and out, with a good mix of dine-in and takeout traffic. That kind of volume is usually a good sign, and it was here. I also noticed a posted A cleanliness rating, which always gives extra confidence. Overall There's real competition in the area, both in the same plaza and across the street, but this place holds its own. Between the early opening hours, strong menudo, and consistent traffic, it's clear they've built a loyal following. I'll definitely be back to work through more of the menu. read more

First time at Gorditas El Tio. It's a couple doors down from Birreria Tijiuana. Their prices are pretty much the same, imagine that. Ordered an El Pastor Quesidilla. It was loaded and very tasty. Family owned restaurant. Place was clean, the Mexican music playing was perfect! All I needed was a pillow and could have enjoyed an after lunch map. Not crowded and a pleasant meal. Lots of hole in the wall restaurants in the Valley. Those are some of the best! read more

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The guy up front was all smiley and friendly when I went. I ordered the machaca plate. It was tasty. I ate there. The place was clean. I have to come back because I was already halfway through my meal before I noticed they have picadillo! I wish more places had it as an option. The price for what I paid was good. Sometimes places will just assume your tortilla choice as well as your sauce preference, but he asked and I got what I wanted. Next time I have to try the red sauce, though because the green was a bit on the mild side for me. All in all, though, a great experience. read more

Gorditas El Tio - Machaca breakfast plate - Mexican Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

Authentic MX food, always freshly made. Price increases like everywhere else. Inside decor could/should be better. Especially to eat there (vs take out) read more

The food has NO TASTE. Refried beans, no taste, rice, no taste.... Carne Asada, NO TASTE. Very bland. The saving grace for any of it was the salsa, which again was bland... read more

Lo que sigue de Asqueroso y Pésimo servicio. Sus precios están de locos. Beyond disgusting, poor service and soo expensive. read more

This place is amazing. Great food. Best chili Relleno in town. Everything in the menu is authentic. Definitely a must try.

Gorditas El Tio is a casual Mexican Restaurant located in a Phoenix Shopping center anchored by a Food City. English is the second language here so the food is authentic style. They have a very large menu and make almost everything you can think of. You order at the counter pay, seat yourself and wait for your tray of food to appear on the counter. It's not a fancy place and sort of looks like a fast food restaurant. Our order took 30 minutes. Basically most of the food was ok.......but don't get the fried tilapia. Mine was over cooked and was dry and crunchy. My husband said the shrimp in hot sauce was tasty but some shrimp were cleaned and others weren't. He also tried two mini tacos. He said the asada was better than the carnitas. 2.5 stars read more

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We typically order to go. The ladies are always amazing. The food is even better thank you for making eating Mexican delish!

i ordered some ROLLED taquitos to go, they charged me 50 plus they didn't even get my order correct. i come back to get my order correct and some of my money back and they gave me my order correct this time with my money, now a week and half later (today) they put a charge on my card for 50 dollars randomly and now i have to lock my card, report it for fraud, and get a new card. worst restaurant ever, don't come here- this place is ridiculous. read more

Love It always go there when I'm craving an escamocha which is mixed fruit with whip cream,lechera, granola. Also the menu is pretty big with fresh water like mango water or piña. I recommend it read more

This place was our saving grace while visiting AZ from CA. The champurrado was perfect, the tacos de pastor, asada y chorizo were perfect and the salsa was good too. read more

Took about 30 min to get 2 burritos and 4 gorditas other wise it's 4.5 stars but the food was good got a Cali burrito for myself

Iconic. I've been going heres since a kid and it is absolutely delicious, the sopes and tortas are a must have. 10/10 ! read more

It takes 32 minutes. (The time needed to get from SW baggage claim to the curbside pick-up to the highway to the very first stop on my every trip to Phoenix - authentic Mexican food at Alberto's....I mean, El Tio....same diff...and good at any location. They'll tell you they're different and that there is some type of territorial feud going on between the two locally-operated chains. But, don't believe the hype....they just like to give you reason to keep jumping back and forth between both their great menus! Go for the burritos, stay for the chips with pseudo-guac and homemade salsas!) read more

Gorditas El Tio - Chips with cheese, guac, red & green sauces = heaven - Mexican Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

Was scared to visit due to so many bad reviews for English speakers. However, counter woman today was very nice, friendly -- no issues with service. Food was good. However, we spent mid-$30's for food that should have been $20 max. This place WAY WAY overpriced, with all meals on the board crossed off and increased prices written in. Wow - they have lost a sense of reality? I had three rolled tacos plate and a cheese quesadilla. ZAP - gotcha! Never again. read more

Although I lived in the area years ago, this is not necessarily a section of town I'm in that often anymore which is a bit of a shame as it has some character (and characters). And good food, please, don't forget about the good food. I had stopped at Food City for some supplies and was starving- I know, hard to believe. My stomach was screaming, just hit at Taco Bell or McDonalds and get it over with. You'll feel better immediately and then wonder why you did it 30 minutes later. Luckily, cooler minds prevailed. I happened to spy Gorditas El Tio from across the parking lot and Yelp confirmed it was worth trying. So glad I did! I love combo Mexican dishes. Rice, beans, and (fill-in the blank-enchiladas this time). I went with the Bo Derek, (#10) and it was close! Really delicious chicken enchiladas with some great house salsa. Washed it all down with horchata that was as authentic as it gets. Yelpers are spot on, this is definitely a four-star place-worth trying! read more

The most authentic Mexican food you could possibly find! My total came out to 10.10. Order 3 street tacos which comes with two sides and an order of Mexican soda. The food was good, but they are really rude as if they don't value your business and speak to you rudely when you are ordering your food. It sucks that the customer service was awful because the food was great. I'm pretty sure they were rude because I didn't look Mexican, she was sure surprised when I responded back in Spanish. I don't plan on returning until they train their employees. ******Warning: Spanish Speakers****** When I went to go order they spoke ONLY Spanish which caught me off guard. Luckily for me I'm fluent. If you plan on coming here bring a friend who speaks Spanish! te habla groseramente como si ni siquiera quieren a tu negocio. Hay más restaurantes mexicanos que yo preferiría ir a donde tratan a sus clientes con respeto. read more

Gorditas El Tio - I had added a Mexican soda and the total came out to $10.10 - Mexican Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

Super yummy Mexican food. Love the flautas. Everything I have tasted is yummy. Made on the spot

Very nasty carne asada served here in Mexico, Phoenix. The Mexican speaking cashier had to be substituted for an English speaking person midway through our order. This is not Trump country. Upon arrival home with carne asada burrito, I took three small bites before noticing an avalanche of fatty pieces and grizzle. It was pretty standard stuff for these type of places, so I actually took a major leap of faith, but was wrong. The carne ended up dumped out in the trash soon after that third bite. One white businessman was inside during lunch amongst a throng of Mexicans who apparently love fatty, grisly carne asada burritos. read more

Gorditas El Tio - Tacos ok..shredded beef - Mexican Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

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I was in the area and decided to try out this Taco shop since I don't live nearby. When I walked into the restaurant, I thought I would have an awesome meal...but it turned out to be mediocre. Here's what I ordered: Beans/Rice/Cheese Burrito, $3.10 Carne Asada Taco, $1.33 The BRC Burrito was ok....the Beans didn't taste fresh. The Carne Asada Taco was pretty good, but didn't have that "addictive flavor" to it. I love Mexican Food and judge restaurants by asking this simple question..."Will I get the urge to drive a long distance (15+ min) to eat there?".....in this case, the answer was "no". Return Factor - 30% read more

If you're an English only sort of person, Gorditas El Tio is probably not for you. For me, this most recent visit was an opportunity to bone up on my Spanish by watching a Spanish language version of Peoples Court on their television. Something about $2,000 in damages and a woman wronged. Guess it's back to Rosetta Stone for me. The menu board is in Spanish, with some English. The frequent visitor punch cards (buy five combo plates, get one free) have one side in Spanish and one in English. The television is tuned into a Spanish language channel. And your order will be likely be taken by a person for whom English is clearly a second language. In other words, perfect! It's a Mexican restaurant for heavens sake! You order at the counter and they call out when your food is ready. Language is really not an issue. You'll have twenty, yes twenty, value combinations from which to choose. Don't be worried when you see no salsa bar and only ketchup and pepper sauce on the tables. You'll receive bottles of serviceable red and green sauce when your food is ready. I do wish they had the beverage machine in front of the counter instead of in back. Oh well. Not a big thing. The menu is extensive and the food is solid. The $1.35 mini tacos, for example, are quite generous. They also have a $3.99 menu para ninos. The décor is very basic. A taco shop sort of vibe, but with a much more complete menu. Service is not ultra fast, but your food will be hot and fresh when delivered to you. read more

Gorditas El Tio - Exterior - Mexican Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

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We went here for early dinner after movies on a Saturday. I picked this place because I wanted Menudo (it is a huge bowl for less than $6) Hubby got the carne asada fries, and he liked them. Huge mountain of fries topped with carne asada, cheese, guacamole and sour cream. Daughter had shrimp cocktail and cheese cake. Shrimp cocktail was very good (I didn't taste it but she did like it a lot) and the cheesecake we all shared and it was so so... it was sweet, caramel like flavor, so all and all it was a nice dessert, but not much ofthe cheesecake flavor and consistency that we were expecting. We will definitely be back, especially since I found this place looking for tripitas (I have not found many places that serve tripitas) However, the few times we have been there it has been a tad warm... so as the temperatures increase we will probably be ordering to go. Staff was very friendly. read more

This place is always busy around breakfast time.. They make huge breakfast burritos so bring an appetite. I stopped by after 12:00 today and the place was empty .. Ordered the giant Jamaica and the chile verde (pork) combo with corn tortillas.. the pork was good but was swimming in way too much chile verde.. Rice and beans were your standard sides.. The corn tortillas though were like store bought steamed or warmed in a microwave .. No good because they get hard before you're half way done with your food. read more

Everything was pretty good! We ordered the shrimp salad, chimichanga, chicken flautist and caldo de res. The beef in the caldo was a HUGE piece but I wish they cut it up a little. No complaints other than that really. The rice and beans were OK, nothing to write home about. Staff only talked to us in Spanish. Restaurant was nice and clean. read more

hacia mucho tiempo que no regresaba a este lugar, hace 20 años que yo vivía por estas areas y Gorditas el Tío era mi restaurante favorito recuerdo que siempre estaban trabajando dos señores, siempre con buena actitud creo que eran hermanos pero los tiempos an cambiado hoy regreso después de mucho tiempo con mi esposo al cual le conté maravillas de este lugar y me encuentro con la sorpresa de que la Doña que nos tomó la orden se porto muy desagradable, al principio pensé bueno creo que la hice enojar porque le hice muchas preguntas acerca del menú pero durante el tiempo que estuvimos comiendo en el restaurante ella seguía con la misma actitud con cada cliente. La comida sigue con la misma calidad y sazón pero el mal servicio le quitó el encanto, los dueños de este restaurante deberían de poner más atención. ps: si no le gusta su trabajo busque otro donde se pueda sentir más cómoda que no sea servicio al cliente porque a lo que mostró el día de hoy se nota que le desagrada su trabajo, no es gentil torcerle los ojos a los clientes cuando le pidan servilletas. read more

Best food iv tried in a while well recommended I give it a 10 star awesome place and environment

So dang delicious! Found it by accident and now it's my favorite place near my aunt. Nachos are amazing as well as the enchiladas.

Great mom and pop Mexican and taco shop. The service was great and food even better. Thank you

Just Wow! 5 stars for the food. This place has EXCELLENT food! I'll be coming back! Great alternative to Filibertos and is unfortunately hidden away, I'm glad I noticed it! read more

Gorditas El Tio - Delicious #3 Street tacos! - Mexican Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

Best cheap Mexican food in the valley! Found this place after the deli I wanted to go to next door was closed. Their gorditas are legit. They have every filling from chorizo with egg to classic carne asada. So simple and delicious with just lime and hot sauce. My girlfriend gets the taquitos supreme which is a deilcious gut bomb. I stick to the gorditas and sometimes throw in a white cheese quesadilla. If you are a gringo like me you might get some attitude but be nice and nice things happen. Norma is the short lady working behind the counter, be nice to her and see how fat those gorditas can be, mine come over flowing with carne! read more

Great food, very friendly people, good prices. It'll be a regular stop for me if my food is just as good the next time I stop in. Excellent lunch if you're in the area. read more

I like this place. Huge menu, everything I've had has been good and the price is right. Ok, I gotta qualify this...I haven't really gotten past the Rolled Tacos Supreme. It's just too good. Five taquitos blanketed in guacamole, lettuce, crema. cotija cheese and ganished with chopped carne asada....I want to try the rest of the menu, I really do, but when I get to the head of the line something takes over my vocal cords and I hear those three little words come out, again. J. likes the Nachos which is similar in ingredients to my fav with more carne asada and beans and he has had the fish tacos which he thought were very satisfactory. Even though I've been able to resist so far, they have a good selection of Jarritos. Unfortunately the Jarritos Piña goes straight to my hips (like the entrees are calorie free???) so I prefer water or Ice Tea with my meals, but they are lovely to look at in the chiller next to the register. This little taco shack has all the elements of a cheap Mexican delight. Variety, Flavor and good value for your buck. Look for me when you try it out, I'll probably be there ;-) read more

Spent 30 minutes waiting for 2 #15 and 5-rolled tacos. Was able to spot my order from the front, sitting there for like 10 mins. Food might be good, but not worth the wait. read more

The best Mexican food I have had in phoenix! I have had two friends that were born and raised in Mexico go there to test the place out and they both gave two thumbs up. The food reminded them of there grandma so it had to be delicious. Re-fried beans are amazing and so is the horchata. read more

Gorditas El Tio - #7 - Mexican Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

I've been looking for a place that serves gorditas and this place doesn't disappoint. You can have them with just about anything you ask. The tripas, cabeza and lengua are my fave. They are so good. This place also make the menudo just the way I like it. Plenty of tripe, spicy and hot and you can ask for toasted bread. They do serve this everyday and not only on Sundays. Their rolled tacos supreme are good but the psuedo guac was unexpected. The guacamole is a "watered-down" version. The service can be rude at times if their's short woman behind the counter. She usually works the morning shift. The guy in the evening is always pleasant and in good spirits. The place is small but the food keeps me going back for more. read more

This is the best & most authentic Mexican food in this area! I ordered a sope of Chile verde, gordita made of lengua, taco de tripitas. It was the best & freshest! Daughter ordered kids meal of 2 tacos & was a good size plate! She loved it too! read more

This is the closest I have gotten to my grandmas Mexican food cooking! I usually order the shrimp cocktail I've had better but, it defiantly satisfy's the craving I would rate the shrimp cocktail a 3.5 it does have plenty of shrimp the only thing is the avocado, cucumber, and onions are cut up like random small, medium, and large pieces. Also carne asada quesadilla and carne asada fries are the bomb! read more

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Good authentic Mexican food! WAY better than insertanynamehere-bertos! My go-to place for Mexican. read more

It was okay not what I was expecting the food is cheap. Around the corner from me think I'll try another place. I came here because of yelp. The super nacho wasn't that appeasing to me I also ordered a Gordita it was okay too read more