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    Mota's Mexican Food

    4.2 (208 reviews)
    InexpensiveMexican
    Open 8:00 am - 7:30 pm

    Mota's Mexican Food Photos

    Business Info

    MOTA'S MEXICAN FOOD ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

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    Chunks , not shredded chicken inside.
    Cheryl B.

    I ordered a carnitas combo plate and a chicken enchilada/chicken taco combo plate. Oh my! I get home ready to enjoy my meal along with my sweetheart. The carnitas was so overcooked, it was crunchy like potato chips! When is carnitas served hard? Really?? My guys chicken enchilada had LARGE CHUNKS of chicken inside the enchilada. Really? What happened to shredded chicken? It was disgusting, as he almost choked on the large chunks of chicken . Clearly the chef didn't care that they had the gall to serve this crap. I wrapped everything up, drove back to the restaurant. I opened the containers and ask the cashier " would you eat this? Why would you even serve this"? She was quiet. I said look at this crunchy carnitas! It is terrible. I proceeded to tell her my guy practically choked on the enchilada. I wanted a total refund. I ended it with you all ought to be ashamed of yourself selling some crap like this. I tell you- you try and patronize local businesses right? Then they serve you food that not even a dog would eat. Shame on you MOTAS!

    Machaca burrito & Huevos Con Machaca w/ homemade corn tortillas
    Victoria W.

    Love this family owned business. Been coming here for over 20 years. My Saturday morning tradition is to order the machaca plate with the homemade corn tortillas. I arrange the machaca & rice in the homemade tortillas add the house salsa and my mouth has an instant party. The salsa is authentic and service is fast & friendly. There is always a plethora of cultures enjoying the great food at Mota's especially Saturday mornings. One day I'll finally order something other then my machaca plate but for now it's my go to and I'm gonna stick beside it. There menu is plentiful and they have Mexican sodas to wash down the delightful food!

    Eggs with chorizo and nopales

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    10 months ago

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    2 months ago

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    3 months ago

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    3 years ago

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    6 months ago

    I always get a veggie burrito and add rice and beans. So good and staff is so nice! Friends have had the meat options and rlly like it.

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    7 months ago

    Really good posole! I've always just gotten that and it's the best I've had in the San Gabriel valley!

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    1 year ago

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    1 year ago

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    5 years ago

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    1 year ago

    The food tastes like homemade, the server was attentive, and I'm looking forward to the new bar area opening soon.

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    2 years ago

    Clean. Nice people. Great salsa. Their fish tacos are delicious! It was full size and the fish was perfectly grilled. 100% would recommend.

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    2 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    1 year ago

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    2 years ago

    One of our favorite pozole spots! Solid authentic Mexican food and a business to support!

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    1 year ago

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    4 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    2 years ago

    This place sucks. Mole was flavorless. Tartar sauce and lettuce on the fish taco? Not sure how this has so many good reviews. Avoid.

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    3 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    6 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Great food & service! Close to all other amenities nearby and absolutely love the menudo!

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    5 years ago

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    Page 1 of 6

    Mota's Mexican Food Reviews in Other Languages

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    Anayas

    Anayas

    4.1(1.1k reviews)
    3.1 mi
    $$

    This Mexican restaurant is off E Colorado Blvd…read more My family decided to eat here, as we entered I was blown away with the authentic Mexican decorations, this restaurant is huge! It's super clean & their restrooms, highly organized, and attention to details. This restaurant is very friendly, war, chic, classy, and elegant! We were first greeted by Giovanny M. He took us to our table and gave us our menu, he ask if we had any questions . Which we did and he answered them all beautifully! Anayas has breakfast, Ensaladas "Salads" , appetizers,Sopes, Taco plates, Los Dorados, Flatus, Taquitos, Quesadillas, Burritos, enchiladas, chefs specials, Platots especiales, dulces alegrais "Desserts ",sides, drinks, tequila, premium tequila, mezcal, whiskey, gins, vodka, rums, cognac, dessert cocktails, white wine & rose, reds, sparkling, sweets, drag beer, Mexican beer, soft drinks, agua frescas. Before we order Giovanny gave us Chips and green salad, delicious! We ordered : pollo quesadillas 2 salmon negro, 1 pollo negro, 2 cokes, 2 ice teas, and 1 Doz XX Lager. Everything was super delicious, mouthwatering! Giovanny was so very sweet always making sure if we need anything & would go the extra Mile on getting us our refills on our drinks without asking! Their price points are spot on especially for the quality & quantity of food you get! Giovanny M. Was so super sweet, kind , caring, he is very knowledgeable, very genuine, super sincere & down to earth! Giovanny M. Has this super positive energy about himself that really radiates! He is your rarest Diamond! His shine can never fade! Please treasure him greatly!! I would love to Thank Giovanny M. For terrific, fantastic and memorable visit! I would also like to thank the Manger for also helping too! Thank you so much Anayas for our wonderful visit ! I'll tell all my Family & Friends to visit here !

    I came here for lunch and had a really nice experience. The restaurant is located off Colorado…read moreBoulevard, and when I arrived around lunchtime, it wasn't busy at all. There was plenty of seating. Our server was very nice and attentive. I didn't catch his name, but he was constantly refilling our waters and making sure we had everything we needed, including chips, napkins, and anything else we asked for. My friend ordered the chicken mole enchiladas, and I ordered the chicken fajitas. The fajitas were super flavorful and delicious. I also really enjoyed the rice, although I wasn't a big fan of the beans. The chips and salsa were really good as well. The one thing I found a little odd was that they didn't have a red salsa or something like pico de gallo to have with the chips. That was a little disappointing. Overall, though, this was a solid experience. I'd give it 4 stars. I would definitely come back and would recommend giving this place a try!

    Photos
    Anayas - Casamigos special! Flights and skinny margaritas!

    Casamigos special! Flights and skinny margaritas!

    Anayas - Come Celebrate Cinco de Mayo! Live music and cocktails! Bring your friends and family for a day of celebration to make your day!

    Come Celebrate Cinco de Mayo! Live music and cocktails! Bring your friends and family for a day of celebration to make your day!

    Anayas - Valentines at ANAYAS! Come by and enjoy a special night with a new menu and drinks!

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    Valentines at ANAYAS! Come by and enjoy a special night with a new menu and drinks!

    El Matador Authentic Mexican Food - Quesadillas

    El Matador Authentic Mexican Food

    4.5(233 reviews)
    2.9 mi

    The food was excellent and the pricing was great. The ambiance is pretty good. It's simple but very…read morehispanic, decor and clean. My chile relleno was out of this world, and i'm very picky about that. I will definitely be going back. Our service was pretty good.She was pretty busy, so I'll give her that much.But it could have been a little better, but not bad.

    hit and miss!…read more sometimes great. enchiladas on point. very good. sometimes asada on nachos is nauseating!!! order nachos with asada will be almost great sometimes. then sometimes it comes with nassty pieces of rubberery fatttt clusters!! was perfect for 3 orders straight, then i got an order that was nasty!! bunch of fat clusters, damnnnnnnn i love this place, wtf first 5 scooos of my asada pollo nachos was beef fat gross clusters that i had to remove from my mouth without throwing up. was trash gross horrific don't put fattt clusters on the nachos. thats a snack fusion that doesn't need rubbery fat attached to meet or full on fatt clusters. 22 dollars for chips beens and salsa with hit and miss asada. fatttt clusters not cool. please, i beg u, pay more attention to nachos. i was loving them till the last order saturday aug 8th was trash. i really liked the 1s b4 but damn, the 1 on saturday evening was fatyyyy on my snackyyy no bueno literally turns a good thing into trash. u must be consistent nacchhoosss. please. i had a gross experience on what i usually get. so gross, trying to get over it! please b more careful so i can remove this unfortunate review!!! fat on nachos not acceptable. we stopped ordering from don pillo because they always use nasty asada pieces and started ordering from u because asada was good. i couldn't eat the first three scoops of last asada nachos than threw it in the trash. nauseating was my last 5 bites. i hope this becomes constructive criticism because we are neighbors. best regards

    Photos
    El Matador Authentic Mexican Food - Seating area/ interior

    Seating area/ interior

    El Matador Authentic Mexican Food - Rice & Beans

    Rice & Beans

    El Matador Authentic Mexican Food - Front Entrance

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    Front Entrance

    Cabrera's Mexican Cuisine

    Cabrera's Mexican Cuisine

    4.0(757 reviews)
    2.6 mi
    $$
    Speaks Spanish
    Minority-owned & operated

    We have been coming to Cabrera's for a number of years. I was surprised to recently find I had…read morenever posted a review. We discovered Cabrera's during the almost 2 year time span when our then go-to for Mexican, La Fiesta Grande in So. Pasadena, closed and their new location on Glenarm/Marengo opened. We tried a multitude of Pasadena places, including Mijares, Casa del Rey, Margaritas and El Torito (gringo!). Cabrera's was our fave, with a better location for us vs. La Fiesta. Their menu extended beyond the "ordinary", and I liked their plating/presentation. A slice of cucumber or orange adds a lot to a mound of shredded lettuce garnish. Mind you, our family fave for +40 years is still El Tepeyac in Boyle Heights, but that's quite a shlep. Cabrera's has also been around awhile (40 years) and now has 3 locations--Arcadia (the original), Pasadena and Duarte. All are owned/co-owned by 2 families, one named Cabrera. The Pasadena location is near the corner of Lake and Orange Grove, next to popular breakfast spot The Reyn, with which it shares a rear parking lot. All locations have a full bar. I have ordered off the regular menu, breakfast menu and Happy Hour bar menu. The breakfast menu is mostly offered on weekends when they open at 10 am, but you can ask for it weekdays at 11 am opening. My fave dish is the chilaquiles. As stated before, their all-day menu has some unique items, but I stick with the more gringo choices. Their chile rellenos used to be quite large, with the poblano chile clearly visible. They're a bit smaller and more generic now, but still fine. We order it as a 2 or 3-item combo or a la carte. Note their complimentary chips and salsa comes with 2 salsas, one red and one dark green (smoky and quite spicy). Lately we have been coming here for their Tuesday or Wednesday specials. Tuesdays is of course Taco Tuesday, and I love their crispy beef tacos. They have a special avocado salsa on Tuesdays. Every Wednesday, a certain dish is 50% off for the entire month if you order a soft drink, a great value. The most recent specials were fish tacos and steak or chicken fajitas, both delish. As AARP members, we usually arrive at 11 am opening. Inevitably either Christian and/or Guillermo, scions of the 2 founding families, are on duty then (Christian is the Pasadena manager)--shout outs to both of them! We are very comfy and happy with our newish go-to for Mexican food.

    I've been coming to Cabrera's more often lately for lunch, especially when there's a game on like…read morethe World Cup. They have plenty of TVs, so it's a fun spot to grab a bite and watch soccer. The main reason I've been coming back is Taco Tuesday. The tacos are around $2 each, come with a decent amount of meat, and they also give you chips and salsa. They usually have carne asada, chicken, carnitas, and chorizo. I can normally eat about 4 to 5 tacos and be pretty stuffed, so I think it's a great deal and definitely worth stopping by on Tuesdays. I've had some of their other menu items before, and they were just okay. But between the Taco Tuesday special and all the TVs for watching games, I've definitely found myself coming back more often. If you're looking for a casual place to catch a soccer match or other sporting events and grab some affordable tacos, this is a solid spot.

    Photos
    Cabrera's Mexican Cuisine
    Cabrera's Mexican Cuisine
    Cabrera's Mexican Cuisine

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    El Patron - Shrimp enchiladas

    El Patron

    3.6(606 reviews)
    1.6 mi
    $$

    El Patron has been our Mother's Day tradition for a few years now. My Mom truly Loves this place…read more My Mom , fiancé and I showed up a little before noon and the place was basically empty. We picked our table and were on our way. I Love the fact that they started doing Margarita pitchers! So guess where we started! Always have to get the special Salsa with our hot Chips, no Pico de Gallo. These 4 Salsas cover the full spectrum.....a flavorful yet mild Salsa Verde, a Earthy Arbio, a spicy Habanero Aioli and a killerHOT Habanero Salsa round out this great offering., They have a great Birria de Chivo plate and that's what I went for.....plus Rice and a Salad. Tasty chunks of goat simmered in a super flavorful sauce just really satisfies the palate. The Rice is always hot, fluffy, and is one of the best Mexican Rices around.....lots of flavor. I like to use the Habanero Aioli as the dressing on my Salad. It really compliments the chilled, crispy lettuce and the tang of the Cheese. My Mom got a shredded Chicken Taco with Rice and Beans, and she was extremely satisfied. My fiancé got 1 Chicken Enchilada with Red Sauce and another with Green Sauce. She really Loved the combo. Aleen is a great server. A great smile, very attentive and a warm personality. Her service is top notch. Thank you to the entire crew at El Patron for the continued consistency, excellent service and all the flavor.i

    Located right by the Bunny museum (at least where museum was). This is a small but mighty…read morerestaurant especially after the Eaton Canyon fire. In fact the buildings exactly across the street were all affected so very little business left in this immediate area. Let's keep supporting our small business. Seems like a semi ghost town for all the businesses near here. Parking is on the streets which is enough. Seating is very little inside maybe 9 tables but there is about 10 outdoors. Price is right. Very affordable for this area. Anywhere $12-$20 depending if you order seafood. Oh there is a kids menu for $11.50 where there is a a selection of Mexican food or chicken nuggets. Bottle of entire wine is $23 (great). Food time.... Every table gets chips/ salsa. I like to order appetizer combo that comes with taquitos, quesadilla, chips with chicken or beef. Burritos are super huge (can never eat even half) with a delish red or green sauce on top. Served hot and tasty plus plenty of meat inside. We also ordered fish tacos a la cart which was good. Rice and beans are very tasty. I really would like to order breakfast next time because plenty of people talk about their yummy breakfast. Freshly made flan is only $8.99 which I highly recommend. Every bite is worth it and so smooth. Fridays is karaoke night but I haven't been so maybe soon. Thank you El Patron staff for being so friendly. Thank you for supporting Altadena. See you soon.

    Photos
    El Patron - Inside Aperitivo El Patrón / El Patrón Appetizer

    Inside Aperitivo El Patrón / El Patrón Appetizer

    El Patron - Amazing spicy salsas!

    Amazing spicy salsas!

    El Patron - Sad view of the city.  Rebuild Altadena! ‍

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    Sad view of the city. Rebuild Altadena! ‍

    Mota's Mexican Food - mexican - Updated September 2026

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