The BEST tripas ever! Both my friend and I agreed that this was the most perfectly cooked tripas…read morewe've had. Normally we would have to ask places to make it extra crispy so it's not too chewy but even without asking the tripas came out nicely with a perfect balance of crispiness and slightly chewy. Tacos were loaded so the two tacos were enough. Refried beans had a good consistency but could had used a little salt. Rice was nicely cooked and seasoned. The order counter is located in the middle and you do have to order before taking a seat. They'll bring your food out to you. There is self served scoops and sauces station. Both chips and sauces could had use some salt. But the red sauce had a nice little kick. Service was good and they have multiple TVs that were showing the FIFA game with Mexico playing so that was fun to watch while eating. Good place to enjoy the food and watch the game. Vibe was there. Plenty of chairs and tables if you're wanting to dine in. The parking lot is a shared one with a lot of other businesses so it took a bit to find parking.

Their carne asada tacos are really good. I ordered two yesterday and I really enjoyed it…read more I also love the salsa bar with a variety of sauces and fresh veggies. This has stayed continuously good. This is a great place to eat, catch up with friends, and hang out with family.

Loved this place that was recommended via a friend of a friend. I had the shrimp fajita taco (2)…read morewhich were delicious. Fresh corn tortillas, great seasoning, well cooked shrimp. And their salsa is delicious. Next time I'll be trying their molé! Casual dining with a comfortable atmosphere. Order at counter, they'll bring it to your table.

Where do I begin... First off, I'm highly disappointed and feel betrayed by the high reviews of…read morethis restaurant. I felt safe to eat here thinking it was more on the authentic side of Mexican food, but I have to remind myself to look at the reviews closely before deciding on eating at a place. I had ordered 1 Gordita, 1 Burrito Gordo (Asada), and 1 Huarache. The Gordita had probably to be one of the worst Gorditas I ate in my entire life. The tortilla was very hard and dry, practically snapping off when I took a piece off. The next was the meat... very, very dry and quite bland. I don't know how this restaurant cooks their meat, but I'm assuming they overcooked it by the lack of moisture. The cheese inside was also disappointing, not much flavor to it nor had a fresh taste to it. I tried saving the dryness of the Gordita by adding salsa to it, that didn't help at all. The green salsa wasn't spicy (or at least had a kick to it) and didn't really taste like tomatillos, so I tried adding the red salsa to see if it was any different, not really. If you closed your eyes, you wouldn't really tell the difference between the two. Now moving onto our next dish, the burrito. I'll keep this one short. Asada was bland, dryer than a dessert, and even with the salsa and sour cream on it, couldn't save my mouth from the dryness I experienced. So if you read this review of mine, thank you, and I totally understand how hard it is to make Mexican food in this area considering a lot of the ingredients needed aren't easy to come by or the cuts of meat, so if you ever feel like eating Mexican remind yourself what can you eat here that you know I'll taste good. Kat signing out :3

Really good tacos! Service was really good and our server named Stephanie was very attentive. Good…read moremusic as well. Makes the experience really enjoyable. Thank you staff for a very good first experience. Will definitely be back.

Dropped a star :-(…read more We had our usual trio of tacos, out for the 6 there were 5 that hit the spot and one (my wife's) deep fired fish taco was comfortably on the overcooked side and the fish didn't taste fresh apparently ... To be clear, this is the first thing we have had at BA that hasn't been at least 10 stars so am really hoping its a glitch not a trend... We'll be back to make sure we were correct, its our goto Mexican in the area and that's against stiff competition so fingers crossed

This is a seafood destination. If you want Mexican style seafood then this is the place in…read moreSeaside. The prices are 40% less than any dish you can get in Carmel by the Sea and 25% less than Monterey. The 7 Seas (7 mares) is excellent, but so is everything. The service is quick and friendly. Chips and salsa are still free. The interior is clean but simple and with no frills. No white linens here.

The carnitas were very good not dry very flavorful would highly recommend with rice and beans also…read moregood Salsa is very good with just the right amount of heat not weak at all The steak ranchero also highly recommended Service was excellent If you are visiting from out of town like we were you should check this place out You can either eat there but we took back to our hotel room and they made sure we had everything we needed like tortillas extra salsa napkins I will be visiting again

In a very Mexican part of town in Seaside near Monterey. I don't live in this area but I knew, as…read morewhen I was driving looking for this storefront, most of the surrounding businesses were all Hispanic based. I kinda had a feeling I was gonna like the digs here. They grill here. Over this massive open charcoal/wood grill. 2 cooks back there, engulfed in a waft of smoke and fire. They must have put a fresh batch of meat on that grill as that grill top was covered every square inch. They only grill 2 meats: chicken on the bone and carne asada. They also grill whole red onions and serrano peppers to go with those char grilled meats. 1/2 Chicken Combo ($15/4*) Upon receiving, it almost looks burnt. But upon tasting no bitter burnt notes just extremely well manufactured char. The chicken is marinated in something. Probably a seasoning salt and maybe a touch of lime. Nothing is spicy or peppery just a salty, charred chicken flavor. I liked it but I think I like El Pollo Locos version a tad more. As that is more slowly rendered where the skin gets crisp and there's more of a buttery nuance in El Pollo Locos version. I hate saying I'm siding with a big corporate but chicken-wise they've got the edge. Now where this place beats any chain are in the sides and details. First the freshly charred onions and serranos that go with most meat orders are damn perfect. Soft and easy to break apart, inherent flavors intensified from the grilling and the char-y notes that you can control cuz you can add as much of the burnt layer or as little. And the rice, beans and salsas here are real Mexican cooking, nothing fast and ready made. Fresh from scratch with ethnic soul. Carne Asada Combo ($27/5*) This is a full pound of freshly grilled Carne Asada (thin and marinaded meat), no rice or beans just warm corn tortillas, salsas, pickled onions and those charred onions and peppers. Upon receiving I felt like a kid who got his first gift from Santa. First they gave me the warm tortilla holder and all the condiments. I could have made a meal with those alone. Then the biggest pile of freshly grilled steak I've ever seen get served to me at one time. The aroma was intoxicating and was superseded by getting a taste. A little heavy handed on the seasoning but damn did that grilled meat flavor hit you like a bat. Slightly smoky with charred hits and THE most juicy and tender carne asada I've ever had. Usually the preparation can yield tough and overcooked meat but not here, there is some wizardry involved. I was putting whole pieces of meat in a rustic cowboy taco and you could still bite through the taco effortlessly. That's some serious mojo they are messin' with. I actually found a combo for the perfect steak taco here. Warm tortilla base; cut up and throw some charred peppers and onions; throw enough carne asada on there to your heart's intent; a few dabs of their tomato salsa with the charred flecks; then finally a generous sprinkling of their pickled red onions to gild the lily. THE BEST carne asada taco I've ever had. And I've had hundreds if not thousands. Trust. We just finished a substantial hike and was on route to a camping weekend. Had enough leftovers that we didn't have to cook on the first night, just heated things in foil over camp fire. They conveniently catered and we relished and feasted. A fiver relationship if I ever heard of one.

Food was excellent and fresh. The service was quick as it…read moretakes for you to order. Ambiance was a clean place with a few tables. The take out orders were many. We will be back.

Excellent service and really delicious food. Served hot and fresh. We were greeted by the owner,…read moreMaria who was very kind and friendly. She gave us some recommendations and we ended up ordering enough food for that night + the next night that we enjoyed at home. The chips and homemade salsas came out first. 3 different types (2 red and 1 green). All 3 were good but they are spicy. We ordered the mulcajete, crunchy quesa birria tacos, enchiladas, and a chille relleno à la carte. The mulcajete came out bubbling hot with tons of beef, chicken breast, shrimp, and all the veggies. My daughter said her enchiladas (1 chicken and 2 cheese) were extraordinary. The birria tacos were on par - she makes the tortilla with a crunch to it. They were wonderful. Everything else was also very delicious. The rice was fluffy and tasty. The beans were a little soupy but tasted great. I like my beans a little more dense and thick. I highly recommend visiting this restaurant. Make sure you introduce yourself to Maria. She's a pleasure to speak with and she serves tasty food!

The service was excellent and extremely friendly…read more We ordered Birria tacos, Veggie Nachos, and Flan. The Birria tacos were stuffed with the cheesiest of cheese! It was the craziest cheese pull I've ever seen! I wish I got a photo. The chips and salsa are made fresh and the nachos were yummy!

great food and service ! Ordered the fish taco combo and it was delicious. The chips and green…read moresalsa were so fresh . Will definitely be going back for more.

Cute little mom pop shop that wasn't too far from our hotel. Decided to grab lunch here right…read morebefore checking in. Super easy to find. They have a pretty simple breakfast lunch, and dinner menu. Offering California style and Mexican food. We were greeted right away as soon as we sat down. And had our drink order taken right away. Hubby got water and I got Horchata drink it was so yummy. Hubby ordered the chicken tostada with rice and a salad and it got the Hawaiian torta with al pastor Meat served with fries. Food came out really fast, it was nice and hot, and the portions were a great size They have indoor and outdoor patio seating, and pet friendly.

BEST MEXICAN, HANDS DOWN!…read more The giant super quesadilla, soo good & soo big! It can be multiple meals. The service has always been amazing as well, everyone is the nicest. Highly recommend!

This restaurant is perfect for a quick grab for Mexican food. We ordered and the staff were really…read morenice and service was incredible. The food arrived in less than 5 minutes. Taste? Amazing. We tried the Al Pastor tacos, Veggie Burrito, and Veggie Tostada. The Al Pastor was really flavorful and juicy, the vegetarian options were amazing. I recommend this restaurant for its variety of vegetarian choices and quick service. The taste of the food was excellent, not including that is was delivered instantly.

SCW and I stopped into El Cantato while staying in Monterey Bay. This place was a priority for me…read moreas it's all plant based and Mexican. Parking is sparse in front of the restaurant but paid parking is nearby. We entered and wow, the place was busy. Not overwhelming but lots of people in the indoor dining area enjoying their food. The menu is overheard and we decided what we wanted and ordered. The employees were kind and helpful, we probably were the only people that didn't speak Spanish well in the restaurant but that wasn't an issue, SCW got the number 2 combo, I got the mole. Also ordered an appetizer. Seated and waited about 10 minutes and our order came out. Everything was freaking amazing. Such great flavors and so fresh. Even SCW who doesn't necessarily gravitate towards Mexican food made nom nom nom sounds the whole time. The mole was incredible, the best I've ever had. The whole time we were here it was an endless stream of customers, even late lunch hour. SCW was impressed by the contrast stream of people coming in. We even walked around the wharf nearby for a while and drove past again and it was still packed with people. Do yourself a favor and visit El Cantato. I know I will.

This is an amazing Vegan restaurant. I was in the area for the day and found this place. I haven't…read morebeen to many Mexican restaurants with any vegan options let alone a full Vegan menus. It took our party (8 people) a while to decide as we were spoiled with choices. But we had time as it was pretty busy for a Friday around 1. I ended up getting the carne asada nachos and the aqua Fresca that they had that day (mango and watermelon I think). Both were absolutely spectacular. The picture included might not show the best scale but I had 2 others helping me to eat this plate and otherwise I would not have been able to finish it (even as a larger man). The crunchy jalapeños with the chips, beans and guacamole were the perfect balance. As a meat eater, the texture of the faux meat was a touch odd, but the flavor more than made up for it. The staff was helpful and attentive even as they were balancing supporting customers, answer phone orders, and taking regular orders. My wife and will definitely be stopping by here more often!!

This place is for people who are all in on hardcore taqueria vibes and plentiful, delicious,…read moreinexpensive food. There will be a match on the TV, broadcast in Spanish. There will be no bathroom available to you. The service is transactional -- pay for food, receive food. You'll order at the counter and you'll sit down wherever you can manage and you'll pull your own basket of chips. Then you'll bus your plates unless you're a jerk. It is freaking perfect. If it doesn't sound perfect to you, don't go.

¡RACIST! Went with…read moremy family and unfortunately had a disappointing experience. The staff appeared more focused on watching a football game than helping customers, and the overall atmosphere felt unwelcoming from the moment we arrived. We were first-time guests and did not feel encouraged to return. When ordering drinks, our IDs were repeatedly questioned, which felt excessive and uncomfortable given that everyone provided valid identification. While I can understand staff needing to verify IDs, the interaction came across as distrustful and unpleasant. The food itself was decent, and the complimentary chips and salsa at the bar were a nice touch. However, service plays a huge role in the overall experience, and in this case it overshadowed the positives.