El Taco Grande

This place infuriated me!!! I had to return my food 3 times and after the third time I simply asked for a refund and left without eating. There is something very wrong going on with this place. BE AWARE!
I was excited at first seeing a veggie burrito with actual veggies in it labeled the Garden Burrito. So I ordered 2 of them and was stoked there was cauliflower and zucchini and carrots and not just the standard rice and beans and pico de Gallo with some lettuce.
On the menu the garden burrito is labeled vegetarian, and can be vegan without cheese and sour cream. Being a plant based eater I opted for these being vegan and exclaimed no cheese or sour cream and lots of veggies please.
After ordering I got a funny feeling I should confirm the vegan-​ness of my meal. I asked the girl at the front if the rice in the burrito was vegetarian, she said yes without hesitation but I felt she might not even know what that means so I clarified the definition to her and she said «yes yes» to get me to go away. 1 minute later when the burritos were ready, I asked her to please confirm with the cook that there was no «caldo de pollo», chicken broth used when making the rice. So she did reluctantly with an annoyed attitude and then I see the cook nodding his head yes.
So the rice has chicken broth and is not vegetarian. The girl didn’t apologize and continued to be arrogant. So they start to remake the burritos with no rice. I get the new burritos and drive home. I take a bite, I’m excited. It’s full of cheese an sour cream. AHHhHHHHHhh!!!
So I drive back super annoyed call them on my way and they apologize and remake them again. When I arrive to exchange the burritos I ask the girl at the counter what happened and she blames it on the cook. So I grab the newly made supposedly vegan garden burritos and drive home.
The third attempt at making a vegan garden burrito is a flaccid pour excuse and is half the size and barely has anything in it but whatever, I’m starving and this whole debacle has taken over an hour. I start eating and then the wife spits out a bit and says I think that’s meat. Sure enough a chunk of grey meat.
I am so disgusted and mad I drive back and show the girl the meat. And she shows the cook and he says yes he cooks the beans with pieces of meat.
How the heck do you serve a vegetarian burrito that had rice made with chicken broth and beans cooked with chunks of meat.
So the manager girl comes out of the back to approve my refund I ask for and she doesn’t do anything but say oh well and give me my 20 bucks back.
Will never return here and highly advise everyone to stay away. Something is seriously wrong with food quality here! Even you meat eaters I would be worried about the food quality

We like the food here and it’s close to Carpinteria State Campground. Its located in a shopping center with Albertson’s, hardware store, laundry mat, pet store, UPS and more. Great location for us RV’ers.
The Chili Verde Combination plate is good and the Chili Relanos are very good as well. Really nice customer service.

If your looking reeeeeally good Authentic Mexican food, this is the place to come. I’m live in Oxnard and trust me this place is worth the drive. This is my mine and my wife’s second time here, and this place is so good and the workers are very friendly. A must place to come to.

We drove to a couple of food places only to find out they were closed before finally stopping here to eat.
I ordered the #6 Carne Asada-​Steak Dinner. I was not satisfied and wished I had order tacos instead. The meat was really hard, making it tough to chew. Rice and beans were okay.
Ice machine was broken that day
1 Unisex bathroom
Lots of parking

I visit Carpinteria a few times a year (it’s my favorite beach and town). I am camping here and went out for supplies and decided to have a bite. First time I tried the ceviche… very fresh and yummy lime flavor. The salsa is so good I had to take extra back to my campsite. I had to return the next day and decided to try a carne asada taco. Delicious and plenty of meat… I could be back tomorrow. :-)

El Taco Grande is an unpretentious family owned Mexican restaurant frequented by working class locals. The friendly staff are helpful and keep the tables clean. The menu board is thorough but not overwhelming. The authentic food is well prepared and provides generous portions but presentation is not a priority. If you’re looking for good «home cooking» without having to dig deep into your pockets, this is the place.

My husband and son and I come here often. Customer Service is always great and comes with a smile.
Even if it’s busy your order comes quickly. FOOD IS ALWAYS GOOD. I personally like cheese enchiladas. … And Taco Salad

Ate lunch here just now… got enchilada and crispy taco combo plate… taco was really good, crispy shell seemed fresh and home made… enchilada sauce tasted like out of a can tho, no seasoning at all… good authentic mex, but I’ve had better

This place doesn’t really look like much when you walk in so I really wasn’t expecting much. I was pleasantly surprised as the food was great and my burrito was huge. Great-​tasting food, big portions and good prices. 5 stars in my book!

Small place but definitely hopping. We stopped by for lunch and they had a constant line of folks. Tables were cleared and made ready for the next group immediately. The food was awesome and the portions big. My boys shared a burrito and my daughter had a huge nacho plate which everyone mooched off. I had the carnitas taco plate and ended up digging around my plate to make sure I got every last piece of carnitas, it was that tasty. The salsa is amazing and has a kick but of course that didn’t stop us. The folks working there were very friendly. We will definitely stop by again.

We found this place by accident. If your looking for authentic Mexican food stop here. I ordered the jumbo burrito & poured the house salsa over it, yum yum.
Thank you Sophia & Stephanie for your service & smiles.

I have been coming to Taco Grande since they opened. I used to live in Carpinteria and would come once or twice a week. Now I live in Oxnard and work in Goleta so while I still pass by I don’t come very often. They have excellent chile rellenos but what I like the most is a tostada with tripas. I like tripas but I like them crispy, not soggy and chewy, which is why I put them on a tostada rather than in a burrito. It is soooo good! The only thing I’ve had here that I didn’t like is the chicken. I can taste the cinammon in it and I don’t like it, but others do not seem to mind. Carnitas and chile verde are good. Prices are reasonable and the service is always good.

Over priced burrito mostly filled with rice. Not a lot of the other ingredients it was supposed to have. The salsa was just ok. Wish they had a salsa bar.

I’m sad El Taco Grande used to be one of Carpinteria’s best restaurants sadly they are now among the worst. the Burrito Loco is named loco, because You would be crazy to pay 8.99 for this large amount of rice and beans with a small amount of tough meat, hopefully, the pet store a few stores down is not missing any dogs or cats. Come on bring back the good food you use to cook.

The macho burrito and the loco burrito were definitely not worth the $ 8.99 each for the massive amount of rice, a few beans, and bits of meat in a tortilla topped with sauce, a dab of sour cream and guacamole and some cheese. Most definitely not worth the multiple trips to bathroom for my spouse and I in the hours that followed.

I was hungry for Mexican food. I know, I’m always hungry for Mexican food, so I looked back at my previous Unilocal tip to see what I liked at this place, which was the soft shrimp taco and the cheese enchilada. I read some of the other Unilocal reviews, and branched out to a vegetarian burrito that was full of fluffy rice, refried beans, lettuce, salsa and cheese.
My to-​go order was ready when I got there amazingly since I had just phoned it in a few minutes before.
Since they don’t have a salsa bar I asked for their super hot sauce and it delivered a good burn. It went well with the fresh chips they included in my to-​go sack.
Solid 4 star place, nothing fancy, but has outdoor tables with a view of the parking lot and strip mall. I enjoyed everything I have ordered so far.

A decent Mexican place in the township of Carpinteria. Every time I come to this town I feel like I’m in another state… perhaps Oregon, I digress.
I found that their pastor or carnitas was very well executed. Tender, juicy, flavorful and unique. I had them in the form of crispy tacos with a side of rice and beans. For some reason, the rice and beans tastes like mamma used to make… my momma… so draw your own conclusions there.
Altogether, two crispy tacos, side of rice and beans, and a soda was about $ 15. That is a bit pricey! I would recommend sticking to a soft taco and just enjoying the meat. (e.g. 3 tacos from Lilly’s and a soda = $ 6.xx)
Other notes: the taco shell was perhaps just a store bought taco shell that was then deep fried… a handful of shredded lettuce to ensure you don’t taste anything else… ice cold sour cream and guacamole on top… free chips and salsa.
Everything tasted great and I would definitely return again, but probably not on my own recognizance.

if you dont like this place, you basically dont know anything about good mexican food. this is hands down one of the best burrito and quesadilla suiza spots in the country. tied with El Farolito in the mission in SF…
Definitely try some tacos, a MACHO burrito or a Quesadilla Suiza. Chips and salsa are free and plentiful.

Demasiado feo ese lugar pedi una michelada eso no era michelada era sevesa y clamato lo demas bien feo y el serbisio orror la muchachita que trabajo hoy mal caracter la verdad recomiendo que cambien de jente

Burritos are crackin. That green sauce make you deaf. In a good way.
Pastor and pollo asado for the win.

YUM YUM YUM
I love this place!
Favorites to order:
–California Burrito
— Enchiladas
— Veggie Burrito
Their service is great, dining room is always clean, they have never screwed up my order, and my husband and I can eat here and still spend less than 20 $ total!
Love it!