One word: Tacogasm. This is the one and only establishment in Ventura that I DEEPLY miss having moved to San Diego. I haven't had much variety of food at Snapper Jack's (which my friends and I lovingly refer to as Snapper Cack's), but I don't really need to. I always get two potato tacos in the Jack's Combo, and holy friggin' hell, they are amazing. I'm not even a vegetarian. I choose the potato tacos because they are so freakin' fantastic and a helluva lot yummier than any meat I've had. I'd be hard pressed give up my card carryin' carnivore status (look at the happy cows... let's eat 'em!), but if I could manage to have Snapper Jack's potato tacos all the time, I think I might actually be able to join the dark [vegetarian asshole] side. Drench whatever you get in the Secret Snapper Sauce and you will be flying high on the magic carpet of pseudo-Mexican food. I would do wicked, wretched, and downright WRONG things if I knew, in return, someone would open a Snapper Jack's a block away from my house. read more

I saw these reviews on Yelp! for Snapper Jacks, and I imagined a make-shift hut and some kid making crazy tacos; maybe an old nanang, lola, or abuela grinding out some corn while her husband, Jack, takes orders. [I didn't look at the pictures first] I didn't expect a strip mall and, generally--I admit--I turn my nose up at strip malls restaurants. Yes, I'm a snob, damn you. I thought, "Well, my fellow yelpers haven't let me down yet..." So I ordered a grilled fish taco in a crispy shell. My taco was ready fast. I grabbed some sauce from the sauce bar (they were short on pico, but otherwise stocked well), I had a seat, and I bit. Holy mother of mercy, it was like a rocketship took flight in my mouth. Possibly the most delicious fish taco I have ever had. When I bit into it, I was momentarily confused, lost, I didn't know who I was or where I was, or what was happening in my mouth. I chewed, I chewed, I swallowed. Deliciousness. You'll be seeing me again, Snapper. read more

What can I say about Snapper Jack's? I have been coming to this establishment since I was in high school and I am now finishing up college. Whenever I come back to Ventura, this is my necessary stop. So many memories are attached to the days of eating potato tacos- which, in my opinion, are way better than the fish tacos. I am not usually a fan of anything fried, but even having the fish grilled instead of fried still doesn't make me go crazy as the potato tacos do. Their salsa bar is so awesome. I love getting the pico de gallo and mixing it with the Yolanda salsa (Snapper Jack's and Yolanda's have an interesting relationship with each other). The chips are never stale and all you want to do is eat bucketfuls of them. My favourite order is the mini combo which comes with rice and beans and a taco of your choice. The nachos are okay, but they are really drowned in sauce and beans, that it becomes too heavy for the chips and makes them really soggy. The quesadillas are great and the vegetarian burritos (all their burritos) are huge! You can also order pitchers of beer here, and I believe they have Tecate on tap (I forget) and other good beers. What better way to spend an afternoon than getting a group of friends together and getting a pitcher of beer and lots of chips and salsa? Aside from the total awesomeness of this place, it does get pretty busy during dinner time. But the food comes pretty fast and I am not too bothered by the crowd. It has a great family atmosphere and at the same time, it is a great spot for friends to unite! read more

Tried this place when I bought my house in Ventura back in 2003..... since then, I think I've had Snappers every week, it's HIGHLY ADDICTING, especially that special sauce. Granted the sauce is most likely heart-attack causing but WTF, when you go to Snappers, you gotta go big. That said, I get the same thing every time I go, all the staff knows me, it kinda feels like the bar, "Cheers", but with only beer and mexican food. The salsa bar is intimate, the place gets super busy so call ahead and do the to-go pickup, you'll be glad you did. The management staff, the cashier's, the cooks, everyone is super nice. The same can be said for the other locations in Camarillo and 1000 oaks. I can't say enough good things about this place, but I will miss them terribly as I'm selling my house and moving to Burbank. :*( I guess my arteries will thank me but it was a good 9 year run of filling my body with the fine cuisine of snapper jacks. no fish tacos for me.... Grilled Chicken Burrito, refried beans, no tomatoes, on a wheat tortilla... (I highly recommend this one). Grab yourself some Jabanero salsa and shack sauce and voila....it's a party in your tummy! Rock on Snappers, thanks for keeping my taste buds stoked all these years!!!! Damon PS - my only gripe about Snappers is the parking lot gets super busy I think on Thursday nights when the Tae Kwon Do class has its testing or evening classes. The location is awesome but snappers really needs its own building and parking lot which leads me to suggest that big empty lot next to the strip mall just next door..... time to build a mega-snappers and a larger salsa bar - maybe with a 5 gallon bucket of shack sauce. Can I get a HELL YEAH!!!?! read more

In my earlier days of visiting Ventura, it seemed like I was always asked if I wanted to get some fish tacos. "What do you want for lunch? We can get fish tacos, burgers..." "Would you want to go to Snapper Jacks and have some fish tacos?" "Fish tacos fish tacos fish tacos, fish tacos?" I finally caved in and said, "FISH TACOS!" Oh, and I'm so glad I did. If only Snapper Jack's was in LA, I'd be such a happy girl. I'd forget about Rubio's in a heartbeat. They have a wonderful menu of tacos, burritos, and other Mexican-style dishes. Of course, I had the fish tacos, and they were very very good. Granted, I'm not a fish taco connoisseur, but it was very good nonetheless. Do not forget that the menu has many other things that look just as tasty. I think I've found my favorite in their vegetarian burrito which has beans, potatoes, some other non-meat goodness I forgot exactly because it was that good I forgot parts of my childhood and of course, their snapper sauce. Snapper sauce is good. Vegetarian burrito is good. It is very rare that one can find a "Mexican" restaurant that has potatoes in the dish. I do like potatoes in the non-meat Mexican dishes and I think it's highly underutilized. Oh, they also have the standard bean and cheese burrito there too, but PSHAW, COME ON, VEGGIEBURRITO!!! The place is also famous for having the best salsa in the area. How big an area? I forgot. I don't doubt it, because they have a great assortment of salsas to choose from depending on your tastes and your heat tolerance. Everything I've had has been good. They also serve beer there, including two on tap (Dos Equis y Budweiser?). There's also outside seating with a fountain in the middle, so having a burrito and a cerveza outside on a beautiful summer day is wonderful. What else is there to say...looks like a Rubio's but with televisions, nice assortment of beers, great salsa, veggieburritos...yep. Okay. read more

Back when I went to school across the street, Snapper Jacks earned a special place in my heart as the go-to restaurant in between school day's end and my Wednesday Strategy Game club sessions back on campus a couple hours later. I would always get the same thing: two taco Jack's combo, with battered fish tacos on corn tortillas, with refried beans, rice, and extra Jack's sauce. The reason? Because Snapper Jack's, darn it, is an oasis of awesome food in the middle of a street that has virtually nothing else going for it in terms of restaurants, and I was more then happy that my only choice was the place with the best fish tacos for miles. Even to date, whenever one of my friends comes back from school, we try to find time to head back to what became a legendary staple of delicious food for the high school and college students across the street. The salsa bar alone is worth ordering an extra basket of chips for, especially the habanero salsa, which thankfully is right next to a soda fountain featuring pink lemonade. You can't go wrong here with the tacos. It's called the taco shack for a reason, and you seriously can't be disappointed with so much flavor in such a small package. It is a little pricier then other taco shops, sure, but you get what you pay for. Oh, and they have Jarritos! How awesome is that? read more

The best fish tacos I've ever had!!! So much that we're willing to drive the 40 miles to get them !!! WHOO HOO, road trip! The breaded fish tacos are my favorite and the salsa is AMAZING.. the cream sauce is amazing, has a perfect hint of spices, flavor and "coolness" to it. The salsa bar has a great selection and is sure to please any taste pallet... between the chips, the 3 fish tacos I got, and the salsa... I had an amazing meal for about $10 bucks. The ambiance is great, think of it like surfer/islander joint. Clean, w/ LCD that showed some surfing vids when we went. Our food was served w/ a smile and the staff was very attentive... we actually spilled some soda on our table and they came by immediately to help us clean it up w/o any exasperation or hesitation. You definitely get what you pay for, and at $3 dollars a pop (that READS... 6 JACK IN THE BOX TACOS!!!), these fish tacos are WELL, WELL, WELLLL worth it. Next time we go here, I have a feeling we're going to pair our meal w/ a few (dozen) Coronas. read more

I'm not going to lie, as a SoCal native who grew up in primarily Latino neighborhoods, I am super suspicious of these kind of Americanized Mexican food chain restaurants, especially when I know that I can drive down to my old neighborhood and get like 8 incredible street tacos for 4 bucks off a truck. That being said, this place ain't bad. I went here when a friend was super starving and I hesitantly agreed to try it. I was surprised at how good it was. Not amazing, but way better than similar places. The sauces, though, are what would make me consider coming back. Worth a try. read more

You must try the fish tacos! I love how they give you the option of hard or soft shells for your tacos. I got the grilled on soft shells. I do not like cheese so the cheese in the taco made me sad. For those who like cheese, you'll love this place. Let me tell you about their salsa bar. This isn't some whimpy pico de lack of selection salsa bar. This is an in your face salsa bar. There's over 6 flavors. Their house (mild) creamy sauce is to die for. It reminds me of cooler ranch Doritos. I recommend getting 2 fish tacos and putting 6 sauces on them. Chips are included with your tacos. I didn't try the horchata. The decore feels like a Hollywood set of the OC. It's too clean to have any actual surfer culture and it ends up looking like they tried too hard. read more

When I first married my wife she used to dream about me. Now that we have been married a few years, she just dreams about secret shack sauce. Just kidding. In all seriousness though, we live up in the Seattle area, but any time we are withing a few hours driving of Ventura, we are going to suffer through the drive and get some of the best fish tacos in the world. Nothing else there is really amazing, but the fish tacos... perfection. read more

First of all it's $14 for nachos, with chicken. That is outrageous. My family of 5, one of those being a 3 yr old, cost $76, which didn't include drinks. Tacos are full of cabbage, very little fish or shrimp in them. We got our order to go and they put guacamole and sour cream on the side, but they forgot one of each. For what we paid for some take out food, which is the best I can say about their food quality for price, I'm so disappointed. I knew there was a reason we never went there, and that's why. Overpriced food, not much substance included with the cabbage. Oh, and their rice is terrible. Reminds me of Rice A Roni's attempt at Mexican rice. Yuck. Only thing going for them is their sauce. Sorry. Sharky's is sooooooo much better if you're not looking for authentic Mexican food. read more

Snapper Jack's has always been a decent place to eat fish and shrimp tacos. I've always gone to the main st. location but tried this one out after class. The service was on point and the restrooms are clean. The only thing that made this experience go left was my cold as shrimp burrito. The rice in the burrito was warmer than the shrimp! If I'm going to spend $14 on a burrito w/ a weak ass handful of chips on the side, id atleast expect it to be warm. Probably taking my ass to rubios next time smh... read more

I've been coming to this place for years and it never disappoints. Fish, and potato tacos are my favs. The nachos are massive. They also have a great salsa bar. Parking can be a little tricky but it is worth it! read more

I discovered this place on Yelp when I was traveling through Ventura. The service was good but the food was average. I ordered crispy fish tacos but they didn't have much flavor. Another person ordered the wet chicken burrito which he really enjoyed. The salsa bar was wiped out and needed cleaning. I've had better Mexican food at Roberto's in San Diego for half the price. read more

We absolutely love the burritos here! Yes, it is not authentic mexican food. But it IS authentic Surf American-mexican food. The atmosphere fits in perfectly with Ventura and the food is exceptional. I recommend everyone coming through Ventura to eat here! read more

I love you potato taco! What an odd combination, but it's super soft and really tastes good with all the salsa and veggies I drown it in. My personal fave is Yolanda with a drizzle of Habanero. Fish taco is equally loved. I think they fry it better here than in Camarillo because it's more succulent and not overly fried. I like to replace the cabbage with lettuce from time to time and the texture of crispy fish with softer than cabbage lettuce is perfect! If only they would add Cilantro sauce to their salsa bar. read more

The best potato tacos in the land. They might not sound filling but they are fantastic. The fish tacos have a good flavor and rate as one of the better fish tacos around. The salsa bar is a 10, good selection , good taste and the special sauce is worth the trip to the restaurant. read more

Gotta admit, I was pretty stoked about eating fish tacos in SoCal, especially in 65 degree sunny weather near the beach. You can tell the place is popular when there's a crowd around 1:15pm past the initial lunch rush on a Wednesday. And a diverse crowd at that... from law enforcement officers, college girls, old retirees (maybe from the assisted living complex nearby), utility workers, etc. etc.. They look like repeat customers for sure. The salsa bar reminds me a bit of Dos Coyotes in Davis/Sacramento in the freshness and variety. My colleague was in awe of the restored/polished bikes mounted near the ceilings. Something about reminding him of childhood memories. We both ate two fish tacos (I had one grilled & one crispy) and came out satisfied with the excursion. Thanks to Yelp for helping this out-of-towner pinpoint the place! Food: 4/5 Ambiance: 4.5/5 Service: 3.5/5 Value: 3.5/5 read more

I had neglected Snapper Jacks for several years simply because I don't really have a reason to be on that side of town! Last week, I was running errands around town with a friend and we just so happened to driving down Telegraph Road- my friend had never been to Snapper Jacks and I instantly thought of the crispy potato tacos and had to stop! I ordered two tacos and forgot that one is plenty, so I had one left over for dinner! They tasted even better than what I remembered. They have more than generous portions and you can easily eat there for under 10 bucks a person. I also love that they have outside seating, I wish they had a location in the Downtown Ventura area, hint hint. I have to go back asap to introduce it to my boyfriend, he will love, love, love it! read more

This is a family favorite thanks to my aunt and cousins who are Ventura natives. Everytime family comes to visit this is the place we head to - especially during lenten times. Their tacos - excellent, and I have heard they have the best fish tacos around, but since I'm not a fish eater I won't remark. My favorite part is their grand selection of salsas - including 2 that I have found only here: mango salsa and their "secret salsa" whish isn't so secret. I'm a huge burrito fan and I usually end up saving half of it for lunch the following day. People wise the services is great, friendly, and fast. I always run into someone I know here -including YELPers :) Now shrimp would be a fantastic addition!!! read more

Love this plaze, local favorite from high school. Love the nachos, crispy tacos over the soft ones. They also have a great salsa, shack sauce goes good on everything, love the pico and they got a great mango salsa. Great for a quick lunch and they serve . read more

Snapper Jack's Taco Shack - Crispy steak tacos. Rice and beans, shack sauce and pico - Mexican Near Me - Ventura, California

Take out...fast and easy. Food great. Parking sucks. Staff friendly and patient. read more

Great Food! I love the tacos and burritos, but don't expect authentic mexican food! I always hear people griping about how "It's not real mexican food!" No one ever said it was! It's SURF themed, not mexican themed. Anyway, I've had The steak burrito, breakfast burrito, vegetarian burrito, chicken burrito, battered fish tacos, grilled fish tacos, potato tacos, chicken tacos, and steak tacos, all of which on both corn and flour tortillas(I live real close, ok?) and they're all really good! I've also had the pico de gallo salsa, yolandas salsa, secret shack sauce, and a few more I can't remember, but they're all good, it just depends on your hottness preference, but they have everything from mild fruit and cilantro salsa to super spicy habenero. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone! read more

Snapper Jack's has an amazing selection of tacos and burritos. Personally, my favorite item is their crispy chicken taco-- both filling and delicious-- I get it almost every time I go there for 3 years now. Their salsa bar has a great selection ranging from mild to spicy, even fruity. It's clean-- the staff always seems to keep their tables and floors nicely wiped and ready. Usually the workers are pretty nice, but can occasionally give off a rude vibe. (The food completely makes up for it though) My only warning is do NOT go to Snapper Jack's if you're expecting AUTHENTIC Mexican food. HOWEVER, if you're in search of amazing California beach food then you can't go wrong! read more

Best fish tacos in Ventura County! (If I'm saying that as a yelp review, believe me!! because I usually don't post a lot of yelp reviews haha) Snapper Jack's is like the local "Rubio's" but better! You can tell their fish is fresh. They give huge portions, especially their burritos! I mean, their burritos are like San Diego-sized burritos! And oh yeah, drown your food with their "secret" SHACK SAUCE!!! So good! PS, Snapper Jacks... It would be perfect if you guys have a Taco Tuesday deal! I'm just sayin'! Thank you! :) read more

This is definitely a better than average place for Mexican fast food. I had the taco plate, which was very good. The place seemed nice and clean, and professionally run. I was especially impressed by their salsa bar, which had a wide variety of salsas and condiments. The prices here are a little above the norm for places of this type, but I'd say this difference is justified due to the quality of the food compared to their competitors. read more

Major disappointment. If you're looking for fast, friendly, clean fast food place with a well maintained salsa bar and grilled instead of deep fried fish, this will satisfy. Saving grace for the entrees was the soft potato taco I had. I have to admit that I thought it tasted great (the potatoes are mashed & seasoned, mostly with black pepper I think). However, 2 of us found our fish burritos dry and bland. One described them as 'ok', the other as 'pretty bad'. Same for the fish taco another person had. We didn't like the nachos at all. They were piled thick with refried beans (they weighed down and soaked everything) and were extremely greasy - dripping greasy with all the cheese, beans, etc. I usually LOVE lots of toppings but these turned me off so much that I only tried one bite. All entrees came with tortilla chips that included bright green (seriously - is that necessary, fast food or not?) and bright red ones. They were so oily I didn't eat any of them. And really, I'm not an avoid-fat freak! I highly recommend you look for something other than this place if you're looking for anything resembling an authentic fish taco or burrito. read more

I'm not a fish guy. I see a lot of customers ordering fish and they seem to like it. I rate the place a 3 because it's okay. Breakfast burrito is alright but they are always wrapped in a way hard to eat--messy. Chips are standard and salsa is mediocre. Not bad food, and might be better if I were into fish. Seems like a white guys mexican food. Makes sense since most customers are white and it's usually busy. Cinnamon chips are good. read more

Came here for the second time and I tried a new variety of the ayce salsa !! I really like the light green thick sauce but watch out, the other green salsa was spicy! My sauce paired perfectly with my battered fish tacos. The tacos were really tasty and it was my first time trying the refried beans, which actually was pretty good coming from a person who doesn't eat beans I would definitely reccomend their famous fish tacos and refried beans, 100% would come back again. read more

I have dreams about their chicken fajita burritos. In my dreams, this burrito is warm and melts into me. When we join forces, we know we are meant for eachother. It knows how bad I want it, but I eat it slow and gentle. We trust eachother - I know it satisfies me every time, and it knows I wont taint it with sauces and crazy salsas. Sometimes, when it's been a bad, bad burrito, I sprinkle a little fresh lime juice on it. We have a long distance thing going. I try and forget about it because there are many many burritos in the sea. But I cant get Snapper Jack's chicken fajita out of my head. Theres nothing like it in San Francisco, no matter how hard I try to find something that compares. I think this is true love. read more

*This review is based on the Chicken Taquito Plate and Cancun Burrito* Pros: Customer Service Tasty food Awesome salsa bar Cool atmosphere Cons: My husband ordered the Cancun burrito (it has shrimp, real crab, rice, avocados and tomatoes) and received a burrito that was mainly rice. There was not enough shrimp and he only tasted the crab in two bites. He Definitely felt like they skimped him on the meat portion. Would I recommend: Yes Will I return: Yes! The next time we go we are going to try the tacos. read more

Came here on a recommendation from my sister. She told me to stop by on my way to Santa Barbara so that if I really like it, I can stop by on the way back from Santa Barbara. And that's exactly what I did. I had two grilled fish soft tacos. At about $3 apiece, they come with chips and are quite filling. The portions are large and there's a great salsa bar to go along with it. Delicious. The place is clean, the restroom is clean, and people are walking through the doors as soon as it opens. Delicious. Oh, I already said that. read more

This place is about as authentic as my British accent, but it tastes like a million bucks! I prefer the battered fish taco to the shrimp. The fish is never dry and is always very nicely battered. Their house special sauce pulls the taco nicely together. While the shrimp is nice, I feel like the taste isn't amazing to the point of justifying the higher price. Most lunches I'm happy with the mini taco order which comes with your choice of one taco, rice, beans, and chips. Of course you should hit up the salsa bar and take one of each to try! My favorite though is the medium/mild Yolanda's salsa. That being said, if you need a break from the tacos my actual favorite order is the Cancun burrito. It's filled with shrimp, rice, guac, everything and anything that you would want in a burrito. Super filling and super messy. Get it. Parking is a little iffy but there are spots in the back. Go and enjoy :) read more

YUMMY!!! I have never had anything here that I disliked. The salsa bar is great, but the secret shack sauce is the best. I'm sure I put way too much of it on my tacos and burritos! I've tried the snapper, chicken and potato tacos, veggie burrito, nachos, and quesadillas... All very good and of course made better with the sauce. The staff is very friendly. I've been here many times and have always been greeted with a smile. Nice and relaxed environment to stay and eat. They have both indoor and outdoor seating. They also package everything nicely if you want to get it to go. The food travels well and nothing is soggy by the time you get it home. Travel time from the restaurant to my home was anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes, depending on traffic. I've also never had an order screwed up here. And again, my family has been here many times. read more

Yum! Yum! I love their fried fish tacos!!! Great salsa bar! I need to try their potato tacos next time. Try it-you will definitely return for more!! read more

Snapper jack's is another one of the countless reasons I miss living in ventura. For 3 years, I lived about 5 minutes from there and went about twice a week. The grilled snapper burrito is my hands-down favorite but the snapper taco comes in a close second (the creamy, tangy sauce they use on both is YUMMY!) Oh and the nachos, I can't forget about the nachos!!! Ok, you know what? Order anything there and i'm guessing you will be happy! They have a nice selection of salsas too..one of my favorites being the melon one, it's more like a salad but it goes really well on the grillled snapper tacos. The restaurant itself is decent size but it does fill up quickly during meal "rush hours" and the parking lot can be a pain but it's worth it! read more

Food is overpriced. They don't fully cook the tortillas sometimes and they charge you for the chips!

I've only had the grilled fish taco here so I can't say how the other stuff on the menu are, but I'm sure it's all delicious. All I can say is that the fish taco is AWESOME! I also was so stoked to see that the salsa bar had habanero salsa too! More places should have that for people who LOVE spicy food like me! The first time here I over ordered not knowing the sizes were so generous. I totally love this place. One thing that would make it better is if they served some margaritas too. Then again, it would probably turn into Sharkeez and being that there is a community college across the street, there would be a lot of drunk students. haha. Jack needs to open more taco shack chains in the LA area!!! read more

First off, this isn't Mexican food, it's Baja food. But that doesn't mean it can't be delicious. Yes, the shrimp burritos can be dry. BUT! There's plenty more on the menu to chose from. I fell in love with the veggie potato burrito back in my veghead days, but it is still my favorite. It's so juicy and the flavor is just out of control. I love it. The salsa bar is epic, everything from the melon salsa to the secret sauce is great. It's a little pricey but a great place to go a warm, summer night and then grab some froyo next door. read more

It's a mystery to us why this place is so popular with all the great and authentic Mexican taco places around Ventura. Certainly nothing to go out of your way for. High prices for mediocre food. The $3 tacos are mostly lettuce, the burritos are mostly beans. And quality was inconsistent on our visits. I guess the fish tacos are popular. This place is Mexican like Pizza Hut is Italian. We tried it because of the high Yelp ratings average but after giving it three chances, the pages of rave reviews and stars seem somewhat bogus. And I keep asking...why does Yelp rate fast food joints in the same category as sit-down, full service restaurants? read more