So rumor has it that the family that Owens La Piñata and La Penca got into it and split apart and turning Alamedas La Piñata in La Penca Azul. I've always gotten Carnitas and they do something funny to theirs now by putting some red sauce on them, not very good. I do like the super shredded burrito though so that's why they get 3 stars instead of 2. The service has always sucked at both places but the managers are quick to step in and resolve any issues which is nice. They close extremely early which is weird because La Pinata satays open extremely late. It is a.cool place to come with a date or friends and have a few drinks and enjoy the ambiance although expect to drop about $40-$50 per person when it is all said and done. I'll still come here from time to time but definitely not my favorite Mexican food in Alameda. Island Taqueria or El Caballo are way better options. read more

La Penca Azul - Combination fajitas. $22 well worth it. - Mexican Near Me - Alameda, California

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Our waitress was very rude. I should have gotten her name. Our group was at la Penca on Wednesday at June 21st. It was a large group . The bathroom was very dirty also! The staff seemed to have a chip on their shoulder. Not very inviting. Need some classes in being friendly! Food was fair! Not going back! read more

I just ate 1/4 of the biggest burrito I've ever seen. The Da moso! Give me time to rest and digest. I'll write a 5 star review when I recover... 12 hours later, I've back to finish the review. My son, who himself had become an ethnic street food freak, tells me about a great place his co-workers took him to lunch. He decided to order delivery. I wasn't ready paying attention and said just get me a wet burrito. The food arrived in about a half hour and he left my burrito in the kitchen. When I saw it, I damn near fainted. It's the size of a loaf of bread! Filled with black beans, rice, jalapeño, pico de gallo, guacamole, sour cream, onions, and al pastor. Smothered with red sauce and a generous helping of cheese it's massive. I sliced about 1/4 off and plated up a serving. Every bite was mucho bueno, I replaced my fork with a spoon. The serving was soooo delicious, I had to stop and savor every mouthful. It's the morning now and 3/4 of this monster burrito in in the fridge. Excuse me while I reheat is for breakfast. read more

The takeout food wasn't that great. What I asked for wasn't what I received. Food was bland. Perhaps better in restaurant but I won't chance it. Being burned once is enough. read more

Alameda staple and always a nice place to go if you are craving some amazing Mexican food. Great chips and salsa! Their platos offer a big range of options and don't forget to try th3 Taco bar! Great staff and service. read more

I stopped in during happy hour and enjoyed the experience. The service was top notch! It seemed like every server or employee that walk by our table asked if we needed anything and generally checked in on us. We had margaritas, a 3-item combo plate of (enchilada/taco/chili relleno), and steak fajitas. The food was good but my experience at La Penca and my 5 star review is about the service. Keep up the good work! read more

The food was not what I remembered the last time I went. I think they changed owners but looks the same? I think it was once called La Pinata or something like this. it looks the same to me but different branding. same kind of plates and everything. same tables. twice as much as pre-covid. the chicken in the enchilada was dry. but I was hungry and needed to leave and didn't want to complain. the rice and beans were OK but they're just starches. very small vinegar like veggies set as a side dish. the taco was soggy. but the thing that bothered me the most was the price. that place is packed with people and they pull in big bucks but the food isn't worth the 36 bucks for a beer and 2 item plate with rice and beans. it should of been like 15 bucks and 7 for a beer. 22 bucks tops. plus I tipped so it was 43 bucks total. Atmosphere is OK. I ate alone this time. I normally bring my girlfriend but she was home with the flu and asked me to go out to eat because I was making noise. and I had to get back home to bring her cold medicin so I had to pick it up at the store or I would have asked they replaced the enchilada because the meat was really dry. I don't think I'll be going back. read more

This is an excellent place to bring your family and friends for a lovely time some delicious food and excellent drinks! The staff is very respectful and comforting. Try this place at least one time. I'm sure you will return! read more

I was at the restaurant on Sunday May 29th and left the establishment at 10:30pm. Upon leaving towards the restroom, the floor was extremely wet) with NO "wet floor" yellow signs whatsoever!!! I slipped really hard and almost fell back, in which I only heard a worker closely say "oh be careful" right after. By Law, these signs must be provided as a precaution which was not! read more

Me and my family went here yesterday. As soon as we came in they it didn't look too busy, we originally were going to order take out but decided to sit down and eat instead. I took my 3 kids and husband, so it was a total of 5 people and so they lead us to the back area where they seat the larger groups. Somehow we were brought all the way to the back which was a table that was out of sight and looked like it seated about 10 people. I don't mind at first, but after sitting there for about 15 minutes without any server coming over to give us water or chips and salsa, so I had to get up and go find someone. After another 5 minutes went by, and here comes the server. They brought us chips. Never brought us any water, and honestly I've been coming here for a long time. The food is bomb ! But the service is just not. And I had to keep getting up during our meal to find my server. Because we were placed all the way in the back and forgotten about. I will make sure next time I just order to go read more

Friendly staff, very large food portions and excellent flavors. Definitely will return in the future.

Authentic Mexican cuisine. Great services and great food + the music was amazing. Would definitely recommend. read more

La Penca Azul - Menu and some chips - Mexican Near Me - Alameda, California

Came here for the first time with my brother on his birthday. We usually go next door hot pot . Today was his birthday and he decided to get the oysters . Way too small and the inside shell looked unhealthy . Any one that can see and tell me if they are good or bad ? read more

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I just bit into my burrito and bit into a rock. I don't know what else to say but Yelp won't let me post unless I add more content. read more

La Penca Azul - Bean burrito with a rock... - Mexican Near Me - Alameda, California

Great food, chips and salsa were great and the rice and beans took my back to my younger days living near the border. Shredded beef tamales were very good. Lots of food on plates read more

Always delicious every time I have a dined in or had take out. I usually get the wet burrito. Friendly staff and top notch food! read more

I could eat here everyday and not be sick. The food is immaculate!!!! Now when I say they have the best chips and salsa in the game WATCH OUT that's all you might eat. They can't miss. I haven't even got started on the service. Family oriented staffed and they always have a smile on their faces. Seating and lighting is great open space clean and they have outside dining. You Can't leave without trying a hennychata but you might need to catch a Uber home. ENJOY!!!! read more

The enchiladas are really good! I'm a frequent visitor of this place now and my favorite item to order is the enchilada dinner. I usually get one chicken and one cheese with red sauce. The black beans are ok but the cheese they add onto it can give it a weird taste. The retried beans are hella good. The drinks here are really good too. After two margaritas I'm pretty lit. read more

Night owls who want to grab a sit down meal in a well decorated comfy family owned restaurant - this is your spot. The eatery is open until 3 am daily. The front is a sit down restaurant and the back is a spacious bar where young and old are having drinks either because they are waiting to be seated at a table, or just because. My visit is reflecting an 11pm restaurant experience on a weekday: Food: yummy, good flavors, and generous portions. I got prawns in tequila sauce as a main dish, and baked clams with cheese and salsa for appetizers. Both were delish. Service: fairly quick, however it will depend on who is your waiter. Our waiter was very nice but brought out the main dish prior to the appetizers. He also forgot to give us napkins and small plates, and had to ask for them twice. Yes, twice. There was a fruit fly in my guest's margarita, but luckily that was exchanged at no charge. Margarita's are on the sweeter side. The menu's were dirty and not identical. My menu had semi dry salsa in it and my companion's menu had different pages then mine. Yet we were told there is only 1 menu. #puzzling Vibe: neighborhood spot. One can see youngsters come in pre or post partying for nachos, some are on a date, and then there are the occasional Lyft / Uber drivers picking up take-out after their long shifts. The music is loud and fun. One will have a legit full immersion Latin American experience. Bathrooms: this place got a 3 star because of their horrible bathroom conditions. The female sink was clogged - had a hard time washing my hands, the floors haven't been cleaned in days, to be honest quite filthy. I would have given a higher rating to the restaurant due to how delicious the food was, but the bathroom was so disappointing that I would have held it if I i would have known. Seriously. Parking: street parking and was easy to find at 11pm I understand every place can have an off day hence I will give this restaurant a second chance because the food was good. read more

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This is regarding the Taco Bar. The NICEST employees you will ever meet, if you have any bad experience here you are WRONG. I would literally protect all of them with my life. This taco bar is cheaper than making a cheese sandwich at home. This place somehow has become a weekly outing for my whole family, I bring everyone here and constantly talk about it. This is my only yelp review, I have to say this place is really like no other. read more

La Penca Azul - 5 tacos, loaded - Mexican Near Me - Alameda, California

The drinks are good and food comes out fast. Maybe too fast since the food is tasteless. No seasoning and the worst tamales I've ever had. Maybe stop being so speedy and take more time to properly cook and season the food! Three stars are for the drinks. The food receives 0 stars. read more

The table was sticky and wasn't wiped properly. The menu was dirty and has food stuck on some pages. When she brought the extra plate out, it was dirty and has stuff food stuck on it. Food was just ok. Burrito Truck taste way better. read more

Went to this place for outdoor dining and it was not bad at all. You have to order insideand grab your own table then they bring out food for you. Food&drink are served in to go containers. It would have been 5 starts if they could keep the outside area cleaner read more

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I make no BONES about this. :) I saw the Manager Roman and asked him if he had whole fish entrées. He said yes. It's a Red Snapper. Crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Good size fish. Omg. The fish, whom now I call "OSCAR", was just like Roman described. "OSCAR" was nothing short of DEEEEELICIOUS! He came with a salad, rice, beans and garlic sauce. I measured him at 16" long. As always I am never dissatisfied when I dine at Penca Azul. Thanks again Roman for the great suggestion. read more

La Penca Azul - This is the Red Snapper entrée. Simply deeeeelicious. Crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Nickname - "OSCAR" - Mexican Near Me - Alameda, California

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All of my best experiences have been at the Bar, and that's not because of the drinks! The restaurant is often too crowded and the servers are overwhelmed. If you can stand it, eat at the bar, your food is hot, prompt and there's much better service. Best item on the menu is the fried fish or spicy shrimp. It can easily feed a group of 2-3 people! Love the drinks! The watermelon margarita is my go to, but they have a lot of other great flavors like: grapefruit, mango, strawberry etc. I prefer the margaritas but the mojitos aren't bad either. read more

La Penca Azul - Watermelon Margarita - Mexican Near Me - Alameda, California

Delicious Mexican food. I grew up on the border of Mexico so have had very good Mexican food. La Penca Azul is the real deal, with excellent food. read more

if there's a negative 5 stars that what I will rate this place. there food is full off maggots. found maggots in my soup will not recommend this place ever. read more

I have been going to this place since it was no longer La Piñata. Around the pandemic it was hit or miss. My husband and I ate there yesterday and enjoyed our meal. The environment was nice, staff were professional and provided good service. Everyone was enjoying themselves I enjoyed my limeade, oven baked oysters and chicken and shrimp fajitas...delicious...food was fresh and hot! Those oysters were really good! My husband usually eats the garlic butter fish and enjoys it. Chips and salsa are always good. Very pleased with our experience! I recommend this place. read more

This is always an amazing experience. Great food, great service. I recommend anyone who wants great food and beautiful ambiance. read more

I used to eat here a lot growing up tonight we ordered a vegetarian burrito and got a chicken burrito. My girlfriend's salad came with old tomatoes and wilted lettuce. Ate the chicken burrito instead of making the 30 minute round trip, it was mediocre tastes like boiled chicken breast, canned refried beans and rice. Quality has clearly gone down hill, two stars since they used to be good and the rice and chicken had spices. read more

La Penca Azul - Some of the wilted lettuc - Mexican Near Me - Alameda, California

We had the worst ordering experience getting the food for a group. First the online order was different from the menu for both items and pricing, plus no kids menu can be ordered online. Then when we called, the staff knew nothing about the online menu discrepancy. We called the next day to place the order, but the staff didn't help at all once knowing that we wanted a different location, and cancelled the order right away after we spent half hour on the phone. At last we went in-person to order, again, the price was different on the computer from the menu. When asked about it, staff just said they had no idea and just went based on the computer which was more expensive. Finally, when we got the food, we asked them to label the 14 boxes of dishes so we can know which is which for our group, the staff just said rudely "just look at the meat and you can tell". Sorry I cannot tell. Plus the food was not good and way over priced. After 3 attempts to order and encountering 3 roadblocks, we would not order here ever again. read more

I waited for 30 minutes after being seated and served chips and water for a member of the wait staff to take my order. No one did. Need I say more. When I asked to speak with a manager, staff did not get the manager and told me that the lady who gave me water came to the table twice and I wasn't ready. Yes, in the first five minutes after I was seated, she asked if I wanted a drink. I asked for water which she brought and I asked for an extra napkin to wipe my hands. She brought that to me within a minute and then she never came back during the next 30 minutes after which point, I had enough. I find it unbelievable that the staff would say that because the waitress came to the table twice in the guest 5 minutes and I wasn't ready to order then that excuses the failure to return again for 30 minutes. The menu is several pages so I feel incredulous that they expect someone to know what they want to order within 5 minutes. read more

PRO-TIP: Want a snack? As for the off-menu street tacos. Just $7 for two of them with chips, salsa, pickled veggies and some pinto beans! The off-menu street tacos are my go to here. You have to ask for them because they don't appear on the 6-page menu. They are just $3.50 a piece and come with lots of extras. Two street tacos will set you up for a nice snack or light lunch. In terms of meats, the two to try are the carnitas and the al pastor. Both are lightly seasoned and juicy. Street parking can be a little tricky here, especially around the busy meal times like evening weeknights and weekends. There are a couple public parking lots nearby, but be prepared to pay at a meter. If you are willing to walk 3-4 blocks, there's lots of residential free parking nearby. read more

This is my favorite Mexican restaurant. Period. They have anything you want, and if not, they are happy to substitute or make changes. Best Margarita outside of Mexico. read more

Ordered a carne asada burrito over the phone, and it was ready for pick up in 10 minutes. It was organized, and they had a customer pick up flow plan through the store. I like how efficient and easy it was. Here comes the other part, the burrito was yummy! And appreciate that they put a bag of tortilla chips and a container of salsa. Thanks! read more

I've been dying to try this place for a while and now that I finally did... well I'm very disappointed. We were seated quickly, BUT the host told us that we'd have to sit inside or order our food inside at the bar and bring it outside because they don't serve food outside. Yet, 10 minutes later, I saw a server bringing food out to the patio tables! So, that's an annoying and unnecessary lie. Inside is extremely loud with music and people so it feels like a nightclub with screaming children in the background. The music was way too loud and you had to scream to hear the person next to you. But that's not the end of the world, so, moving on. We were served chips and salsa very quickly but it took FOREVER for our waters to be served. After being served our waters, we were asked if we wanted other drinks. I ordered an Arnold Palmer and someone at the table ordered a coke. They served the coke in a can with an empty glass on the side but with NO ICE and my Arnold Palmer with a mountain of ice. I sent the Arnold Palmer back because it was very bitter and the server told me I needed to let the ice melt. I told him I simply don't want it and he rolled his eyes at me. Ok, whatever, I'll just chock that up to him having a bad day. The worse part of our experience was that we ordered a half pitcher of margaritas for the table. We asked for the pitcher of margaritas blended. Our rude male server said that he recommended they be over ice because otherwise you can't taste the flavor of the margarita. "Ok we'll trust him since he's had it before", we thought. Well he was wrong. Our margaritas were extremely strong which is great if it's good quality tequila, but it wasn't, so it tasted like straight up Everclear. I guess they make them with alcoholics in mind but I really wish our server would just have listened to us. I genuinely felt drunk, not tipsy, DRUNK, as I left the restaurant. Onto the "best" part of our experience. The food was pretty decent and the portions were big. I got a burrito, and my table mates each ordered the dinner combinations. All of the sauces and salsas had lots of flavor but the actual meat, beans, and rice were a bit lacking. Overall the food was enjoyable for the price. After we ate, another server came to clear our table when we were done, and she asked us if everything was good. I said that it wasn't but that it wasn't her fault and I was just going to leave it at that. She ended up calling the manager over and he asked me if there was anything he can do to help. I said no, and that I didn't even want any money back but I did tell him that next time they should not recommend the margaritas over ice if people ask for them blended. But then, this jerk had the audacity to argue with me too, and says "oh but if it is blended it tastes like Kool-Aid." At this point I had had enough and I said I would have preferred Kool-Aid over the rubbing alcohol that you served me. Before the manager came out and argued with me, I might've come back for just for an entree to takeout but now I definitely won't be. So overall, the food is decent and if you like your drinks strong then this is definitely the place for you but I won't be coming back. read more

Above and beyond! Been eating here for years and food has always been great! No doubt about it always the right taste for the dishes I ordered, my favorite is the grill mariscada (combo of seafood). Super Bowl today not many people besides 49ers losing they played great music variety of Latin hits making conversation more enjoyable great Ambiance. Drinks deep cold like my heart and food right from the stove and just made tortillas on point! All of these wouldn't be possible without the great service Anjelica provided definitely will rank up this place reviews! Keep up the great work Anjelica!! read more

La Penca Azul is the spot!!!!!! If you're in Alameda and craving Mexican food please come visit this place ! Although I'm already warning you if you are a late night eater it will get packed so if you already know you'll be heading here reserve your spot! If you don't, you better be okay with waiting about an hour. I remember the longest I had to wait was an hour and a half and we stuck it out. Also, it's only street parking and it is a big hassle to find street parking so you best bet to get on that app to reserve food! Also if you have a big appetite there's a really good boba spot right across so you can get appetizers there if you're a true boba lover like me before you actually start eating or after! It's up to you. I've been here multiple times. The inside decoration is super cute with tequila bottles. They can hold up to massive groups so feel free to bring a huge group! My favorite meal is definitely enchiladas. Omg and their wet burritos are massive!!! I remember ordering one with my sister to split because it was just too huge. Also their alcoholic beverages are super on point! I've tried their margaritas and let me tell you, they do not disappoint. Ofc like any Hispanic restaurant they give free chips and salsa. Although sometimes the food can be a wait, it's always worth it. I will be back some day if I'm ever in the are! But I remember the first time I came we never stopped. We always made it a point to come back monthly! That's how much we needed it. Lol, we love it here. Even for lunch, it didnt have to be dinner. Review #20 of 365 read more

$30 for 6 tacos that were just ok, and the meat had a significant amount of tendons/ fat. What happened? That's too expensive for mediocrity. read more

My friend who lives in Alameda recommended this spot to me after she learned about my love for margaritas. It did not disappoint! But let me rewind a bit. My group of 4 came by on a Saturday evening a little before 7 and there was a short wait. They take your number when you check in and text you when your table is almost ready, which is nice. We left the restaurant to wander around nearby, since there were so many stores in the area. We got the text to come back 10-15 minutes later and were promptly seated. We started off with a pitcher of their house margarita ($36), though I was seriously tempted by the plethora of different flavored margaritas that looked delicious! I absolutely loved the margarita here. It was the perfect balance of tequila, sugar, and lime juice. My friends and I all agreed this was the best restaurant margarita we've had in a while. Their nachos, which we munched on while perusing the menu, were also amazing. The menu here offers a ton of variety of food (they have the largest menu I've ever seen at a Mexican restaurant), to the point where I was getting a little stressed out as I couldn't decide what to order. I finally decided on the burrito callejero (street style burrito) for $10.99. I'm not exactly sure what makes it street style, but I had it with the steak and it was delicious. There was a generous amount of rice and meat both; they definitely don't skimp on the filling! Portions here are huge. My burrito was already pretty big and I had trouble finishing the whole thing, but one of my friends ordered the famoso burrito and that thing was a beast!! He could only finish 3/4 of it and took the last 1/4 home. I will definitely come back and try more of their margaritas and delicious food next time I am in Alameda! Or maybe I'll make a trip out here just for this; it's that good. read more

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