Beans belong in breakfast burritos and El Portal delivers every time. Greatest breakfast burrito in Escondido.

Fantastic taco shop. Great value. Awesome service. My wife loved the ceviche and the carnitas tacos I will definitely come back I have been passing this place for many years and I for the life of me cannot understand why I thoroughly enjoyed my visit tonight. I had the carne asada french fries which most places don't add beans to the carne asada fries and they do here and it made all the difference in the world. And they were nice enough to allow my wife to bring in her service dog because my wife is deaf. read more

Tacos El Portal - Outside seating available. And they keep the interior very clean. - Mexican Near Me - Escondido, California

Customer service with an attitude... cash handling and serving food without washing hands in between ...cashier tried telling me I cannot order tacos in pairs if they're not the same kind but I have every single time before and the cook said it was fine idk why she wouldn't take my order as it was Also no AC inside at all so maybe consider taking your food to go. Even when it was summer time they've never had it on. My kids love the tacos here so it's unfortunate they have gotten so rude lately according to recent reviews read more

comida horrible que asco de comida, Por querer apoyar un negocio hispano y te salen con un guacamole echado a perder y un burrito California con hash brown read more

My favorite taco shop in the area, always tasty and good prices! Service is great too

Everyone that works here has a dam attitude here, and on top of that they're dirty! They handle cash and food without washing hands or gloves. So now let's talk about the food. Asada trash, Lengua trash salsas taste watered down and no flavor. I'm confused why they're still operating read more

Over charged me and purposely does not give receipt. Got a simple bean and cheese burrito and got a stomach ache for 2 days after eating 5 bites of it . Notice guy from back room staring for a long time now I think he put something in my burrito. I would not eat here again if you even paid me $5,000. It's super dirty to the tables are disgusting the lady does no cleaning . read more

The service here is great, the food is amazing, and the prices are affordable! I highly recommend.

The customer service are really rude! I am having kidney stone and need it the to use the bathroom because of the pain I get is unbearable specially if I don't use a bathroom . I walked in at Tacos El Portal and asked the lady in front to use a bathroom, she was so rude to ask me leave , there was on one customer sitting on the table and no one else was there. I had to buy a Fanta drink that I will be able to use a bathroom. I am Bussniss owner and I know to respect my clients no matter what is the situation might be but hey I had to pay $3 to use the bathroom in this place. read more

Tacos El Portal - Buy drink first or food to you can use a bathroom, it was a expensive bathroom though lol - Mexican Near Me - Escondido, California

Worse Lengua tacos Ive ever had in my life. They tasted like boiled cardboard. Las peores tacos de lengua que habia probado en mi vida. Saben a cajas de carton cocido. read more

Tacos El Portal - Lengua tacos - Mexican Near Me - Escondido, California

The food here is priced very well! Then on top of that the food is delicious and abundant! I had the rolled tacos piled high was a very delicious guacamole and pico de gallo! The Nacho Fries fed two people and sampling by the rest of us and carne asada plate rounded up our order! The four of us really loved our food and this is now our favorite go to restaurant! read more

First of all, the owner, is VERY RUDE! She was using her bare hands (after handling cash) to bag my chips I had bought. I asked if she could use gloves when handling them, and she got upset!! HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE!! read more

Worst customer service, they don't even help and they have attitude when ordering their food, never coming here again, the worst service. I wouldn't even pick the 1 star but it's making me read more

Well Coming to Escondido and I was Driving around and thinking of some good places to eat for lunch !! So Since I always enjoy Mexican food so I drove around and Tacos El Portal came to mind and it is located in an small shopping center and parking is no problem here !! I drove right in and parked right in front !! Well as I walked in I took a look at there menu and I always go for the Carney Asada Burrito and 6 Roll Tacos which came to 16 dollars and I did not have to wait to long !! Well if you look at my pictures of the sauce bar I kind of felt it was not to clean and since I ordered to go why not have prepared sauces to go like other Mexican Restaurants but no !! Here at Tacos El Portal no sauces were given to me with my order !! Well I Was kind of like what !! Kind of weird and it was not busy at the time I went !! Well the food was good and Tacos were Krispy and delicious !! As for indoor dining , No one was inside eating and there were a few tables in front of restaurant to eat !! But I took my order to go and ate it elsewhere !! But service was ok and I suggest you give Tacos El Portal a try and see for yourself !! Overall I might think about returning and hopefully they see other Restaurants handing out pre packed sauces and decides to do the same !! read more

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I hate having to write reviews like this - but I MUST. I ordered food through postmates and it was a nightmare! When I opened the container of Rolled tacos a HUGH FLY flew out of the to-go-box container!!! SO GROSS - it was trapped inside the box for the entire trip to our house so we threw the tacos out. THEN.... the carne asada tacos were SO DRIED OUT that I couldn't chew the meat - it literally CRUNCHED and tasted old and dry. And if that wasn't bad enough.... When I bit into an adobada taco there was a ROCK... and actual ROCK... not a pebble... this thing was the size of an adult thumbnail!! The rest of the tacos in the batch were gritty and sandy.... I swear they dropped the meat on the floor and just scooped it back up... how else do you get sand and a ROCK INSIDE YOUR FOOD!???!! This was my first time eating from this place and NEVER AGAIN! read more

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Tacos El Portal is pretty run-of-the-mill by Escondido standards. I came in hankering for a plate of machaca for lunch. Their menu is pretty standard and many of their plates are represented by pictures of the food. Their plates come with white Mexican rice (never seen that before) and smooth refried beans. The 1990s laminated picture of their Machaca had green peppers in it, but what we were given had no peppers. It was an okay Machaca plate, but it needed more flavor I think. At least it wasn't swimming in grease. It actually tasted better after being in the fridge for a few hours. The Carne Asada burrito was fine, and the fish taco was pretty big.. Everything was okay, but not good enough for a second visit. - I also thought the place needed a thorough cleaning. It was dirty with crumbs on the floor and some really old looking grime around the salsa bar. - With so many new Mexican places moving into Escondido ( Burros and fries, Serranos, La Taqueria, JR's, That Mexican Place for example) El Portal needs to step up their game.. Tip Adam S is quickly becoming Escondido's best reviewer.. He's been spot on many time. read more

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There are 4 Mexican restaurants close together that I enjoy. I usually chose El Portal, even though they don't have a drive-through because I like the food. Tonight I got the cheese enchilada plate and I noticed the enchiladas were not warm. Then, I bit into one of the rolled tacos and it was actually cold, as if it had been cooked, then placed in the refrigerator and then pulled out to serve. They were really inedible. I have always enjoyed this restaurant's food, but I was beyond disappointed tonight, read more

I've been ordering Mexican food from this location for 15 years now. This is a wonderful family owned business the food is always perfect I never have an order mistake. And their salsas are always fresh and kept on ice. There being in cheese burrito is nice and smooth no chunky stuff in it it's wonderful. They don't use a lot of cilantro if any which I'm very happy about because I'm allergic to cilantro so I'm able to enjoy the Carne Sawder burritos and all the other great Mexican foods without the worry of my allergy. I go to this location one to three times a week sometimes and they are always happy there always smiling and they're always open read more

Best breakfast burrito i've had. I honestly come here every morning before work. Everything is made fresh and tasty. The staff is also super friendly and the place is always very clean. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for authentic Mexican food. Bomb. And still one of the best restaurants to eat at! read more

Large coffee and a taco for under $5 and it comes with pleasant service and a clean dining area. My expectations for value were exceeded.

Great place to order some fast Mexican food. Even though a fast food place if you eat in they serve you on real plates.

The place is alright. I've been here once before. There's this huge mirror glass covering most of the inside wall though, it's a bit uncomfortable. It does make the place seem Big though. Some of the things I didn't like about my breakfast burrito was that it had too much beans. Eggs? Not so much. The beans would overpower everything. At times I would think if I got a regular bean and cheese burrito! Also the sausages seemed a bit off. Maybe they are suppose to be eaten like that, the grey coloring. But I felt like they weren't cooked right. A little bit of a darker color or a little burnt or sizzle would make these babies get their juices going. But I didn't see any of that on these sausages. Also I believe the sign says "hot dogs" which I was confused about. Having the variety of drinks was pretty nice. Definitely add ice if you are getting any Mexican drinks though. The Orchata will taste sour if you don't. And Tip: swirl the drink with the ice cubes until they are gone for a better taste! The salsa bar has also a good amount. Although minus points for having a very watery Green and Red sauce. They also have scallions which is pretty cool. But the salsa bar needs better salsas. Thicker ones instead of watery-all-taste-like-lime ones would be better. Way better. Sausage Breakfast Burrito: 2/5 Orchata Mexican Drink: 3/5 Will I revisit? Only for a "Third times the charm" kinda deal. read more

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I love this place but.... yikes... rubber-band in my burrito. C'mon guys. I order from here quite often and although it's not as gross or dangerous as some things which can be found in food... it's still unappetizing. How they managed to miss a bright blue piece of rubber in their meat is beyond me. read more

Tacos El Portal - Carne Asada Supreme Burrito - Mexican Near Me - Escondido, California

We happen to stop in for a burrito, just because we didn't want McDonald's. So here's my review...food was average, service was satisfactory, the ambiance was unsatisfactory. The place is old, which isn't the issue, it's the filth on display from floor to ceiling. The walls are gross. The tables were dirty. The ceiling is full of cobwebs covered in grease. The bathroom was filthy. The light switch was supposed to be white, it was blackish grey. If the restaurant is filthy in the dining area, I can only imagine the kitchen. Had I checked out the restaurant prior to ordering I would have walked out. Gross and filthy dirty. read more

This place is alright. It's not the best food, but it does have flavor and is prepared well. Service was a little slow but there was only one cook. I ordered the 2 enchilada plate, which comes with beans and rice. The enchiladas were ok, I prefer the cheese to be a little less melted, but it was fine. The sauce is a bit oily, but has decent flavor. The beans are on the liquidy side, but also had good flavor. The rice was alright - it was white not red. Overall it's okay to get a quick bite but nothing special. read more

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Great taco shop!! Got the 2 beef taco plate with rice and beans. Taco shells were light and crispy! The meat flavorful and juicy and the cheese and lettuce was on point to add that right amount of cool and crunch to balance out. The beans were a little light on the salt, but that is 1,000 times better than salty beans from most shops. Service was fast and friendly and they serve your plates while dinning in on real plates. Price was decent and overall very clean. Again, great little taco shop. read more

Tacos El Portal - Mexican Near Me - Escondido, California

A basic taco shop. Place was not so clean, we ended up wiping down our table. We orders basic stuff like the roll tacos, Cali burrito and a quesadilla. The quesadilla was extremely greasy the tacos were OVERLY loaded with cheese( like don't get me wrong I love cheese but I'm trying to have tacos with some cheese not cheese with a side of tacos) and the burrito had way to much sour cream. The salsas were a bit watered down and not spicy at all. read more

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Love this little taco shop bin coming here for years. Always nice people now my and my moms order Come here after church and any time I want some good tacos. Tell all my friends and coworkers read more

Tacos El Portal - Amazing tacos Family style tacos shop come here very week after church Awesome little shop tell all my friends - Mexican Near Me - Escondido, California

This food is gross I will never eat here again. Al pastor is red not brown. I feel like this meat was either old or nasty I'm not sure what is going on. The fajitas I ordered were also not good and had little to no chicken. Do not eat here, do not order any food from here. I wish I would have just made a sandwich instead! Order if you dare good luck on this gross food. Cold nasty just wrong!! read more

Got a breakfast burrito. They didn't call it out when it was done though I was in view of the counter. I waited and finally went up after 20 min to check. The clerk gave me a dirty look with my food. I won't go back. Mediocre food. read more

To keep it short we made the wrong decision choosing El Portal. We got 3 orders of carne asada fries and all of them were covered in disgusting, rotten, turned, GARBAGE guacamole. Absolutely ruined the entire plate of fries. It was old, sour, and brown and should not have been served to the public. Seriously disappointed. Seriously pissed. Hasta la vista El Portal. Not worth the money anymore read more

Tacos El Portal - DISGUSTING - Mexican Near Me - Escondido, California

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I usually just order the same thing whenever I go to taco shops, but today I wanted to try something different. I ordered their rolled taco plate and was so excited to try it out. It comes with 3 pieces of rolled tacos, beans, and rice. I mean for $5.99 I was like heck yeah. Took my food to go and I give it a try and honestly, I was really disappointed. The rolled tacos had no taste what so ever and was super soggy because it was overloaded with guacamole on top. The meat inside the tacos could have had atleast more flavoring in it, but all it tasted like was a fried taco shell with tasteless meat.The rice was so bland and it was only a small portion of rice that was served with the plate. I should've just stuck with the usual carne asada tacos. read more

I was about to try the Greek place next door but they were closed so I went here. As I walked in: it was hot (no air-condition), tables are semi-cleanish, and a wide wall for a menu selection to choose from. I said to myself: "just the way I like it!!!!" So I ordered the asada supreme. (Pretty much a carne asada burrito w/ sour cream) it was delicious. The asada had a nice saltiness and taste to it and the cheese was melted which most other taco shops have it cold inside. I also ordered a fountain drink where they have horchata, jamaica, etc that's offered so... Free refills!!!! For me what makes or breaks a taco shop is the salsa bar. I like to have a variety of salsa when eating at a taco shop. They have the spicy carrots and lime wedges but the "salsa verde" (which is my favorite) tasted like it was watered down.... Overall I had to give this place a 3 star because of the "salsa verde". Would I come back here??? Sure, but I'm not much of a hurry to do so. read more

Tacos El Portal - They have self served horchata!!!!! - Mexican Near Me - Escondido, California

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HA! This was probably the worst cheese enchilada that I've ever had (including the duds I used to make 10 yrs ago!) . Why Adam? It was a to go order and when i got home I couldn't find the enchilada! It was actually cooked into the styrofoam flat that it is served on! I had to peel it off and even then it wasn't rolled up. Moreover, why places insist on flooding them with tasteless red sauce and then adding copious amounts of lettuce dumbfounds me. But maybe that is the intent with this slop food that i encountered this morning. The breakfast burrito i had was ok, nothing special and not a lot of egg. One can find the same thing in a hundred different places. The hot sauce selection faired much better. There was a variety and they all tasted fresh. Finally, the lady working the counter (mid 40s) was a little aloof. No smiles, no thank you etc etc...How can someone not smile at 8:30am? Anyway, i won't be back to this place. read more

Chile Verdi burrito suffered with over cooked pork and rice and was very soggy. Pork needed to be cooked in the sauce more to tenderize the meat read more

Great for a quick bite at a decent price. Very fast service. Also, very clean. I plenty of seating inside and out.

They have good tacos, price is fair. I tried the carne asada fries and they are not that bad, didn't know they put beans on them, never try them like that before. Good costumer service, place is not that big but they try to keep it clean. Overall the service was good, they were kind enough to change the channel to a soccer game, so that's always a plus. read more

Tacos El Portal - Mexican Near Me - Escondido, California

They have the best breakfast burrito in town I'm across the street so it's convenient, Did you know you get add bacon to the burrito oh yeah I'll be coming here for years and years and years read more

Average taco shop in Escondido. The place was fairly dead when I arrived later in the evening on Taco Tuesday (note - they have no Tuesday specials for Taco Tuesday). I ordered a Fish Taco + 2 Rolled Tacos special and two Cheese enchiladas ala carte with a regular Horchata. The Fish taco was pretty good but standard and the rolled Tacos we're crispy but lacked any flavor after the cheese, guacamole, and lettuce slipped off. Admittedly not sure they even had meat in the shells. The 2 enchiladas I chose not to eat because 1) they weren't what I ordered (chicken instead of cheese) and the sauce did not look good (deep red and completely dry). The Horchata was okay - fountain drink, self serve variety, and came out at the right temperature. This all topped out around $17 for those that wondered on pricing. They charge a credit fee over $0.50 by the way and said nothing about it to me. Customer service was nothing special either - the staff was more interested in chatting amongst themselves then acknowledging me and got my order wrong. With the number of options in the area, I don't think I'll be going back. Too bad because their hours were a draw for me, but the meal left much to desire for the price. read more

This place was delicious my husband and I stopped by to try this place. We had rolled tacos and carne asada fries. They were so good! We havent tried anything else so I will definitely recommend what we ordered. The roll tacos and the carne asada fries were piping hot so it made it that more delicious. read more

Tacos El Portal - Roll tacos and carne asada fries.. Yummy - Mexican Near Me - Escondido, California