La Azteca Mexicatessen

They’re closed down!!! Wahhh! She retired and shut it down. Now I have to go somewhere else for my pupusas :(

There is not usually mexican food in redwood city that I don’t like, although when my bf and I went here for dinner on a week day night we did not even experience the food. I was craving a burrito, and we waited for 20 min when there were only two other parties seated. The waiter went to the other two tables that were occupied after ours were, and pretty much ignored us. We had water and chips and pretty much walked out with no one even noticing us. Worst service ever, I am sorry to say.

This used to be my Mexican food mainstay. My mom grew up in redwood city, I grew up in redwood city and for generations we ate here more than 30 years. The green salsa is my thing, I crave it!
I came in today to get a quick breakfast (I don’t live here anymore so I was unaware of the change), and I saw a HORRIBLE and tacky remodel. Fake wood floors, dirty colored «gold» walls, poor quality gold decorative wall pieces, a useless bar, no more salsa bar, cheap bar chairs. Ugh my list can go on, hire a professional to decorate if you’re gonna invest and try to upgrade.
The daughter/​owner was there, she was very curt with me, she was busy getting supplies delivered to the kitchen and the service was not good. If you want to make La Azteca a sit down restaurant have a legit waitstaff. I was sad to see my green salsa no longer had cilantro in it, it is still wonderful but not as good as it once was. My chilaquiles with egg, boring. No potatoes offered even though that was on the menu, no tortillas.
I hope someone is reading this that can make this a better restaurant again. So sad!

Dude! Chile relleno burrito!!! Stopped in before the Peninsula Roller Girls performed at the roller rink a block away. Substituted the chicken for carnitas (pork) and added guacamole. Was blown away by the fact that you can get a burrito stuffed w a cheesy chile relleno! I ate the whole thing (well, I haven’t eaten for a bit at that moment.) Love that they have Negra Modelo on draft too! Awesome food!

we came later in the evening, not crazy hungry but still needed some sustenance.
Super chicken quesadilla. the chicken was moist, and had lots of cheese in this. but overall a bland dish. probably need to eat with salsa and the other toppings.
Carne Asada soft taco. this was huge! 1 taco it was filled w/​rice and beans too, so really it was just a mini burrito.
the meats were all quite tasty.
Next time we’ll have to come hungry and try their special, the Molcajete.

Authentic Mexican food. Tasted great and my bowel movement was amazing afterwards.

I have eaten here many times, and must say I really enjoy their food. The quality has always been the reason I come back. The service quality is something I live with…
They are not the least expensive Mexican food, and for that I expect a great tasting meal, and I believe they are working on bringing the service quality up to par. I also enjoy the outside patio seating, which with some chips, salsa, and a cerveza, can make for a great evening!

They deserve zero stars except the food is pretty good– me and my family have gone here for 20 years and this place has very sadly completely gone down hill to the point where I wont go there anymore. It’s mainly one reason why; the old owner was a very good hard working respectful man and I never see him… Now its his sister I believe who «runs» the place and is a complete total moron! Ive seen her drinking wine at a table while customers wait and wait and wait in line. Ive had such HORRIFIC attitude form this woman I cant even match it and I have dam strong attitude! She never ever wants to help you or anyone at all. the last time I went in she gave me a hard time about getting the right salsa I wanted that she has moved to behind the counter for some unbelievable pointless reason. That was it I had to blast her and I dont know what they have done to that place. Its not nicer since the remodel its just smaller and more croweded and your picking up to go orders right over customers who r sitting at the bar trying to eat!!! RIDICULOUS!!!
I WOULD COMPLETELY HAVE THAT PLACE RE DONE AND IT WOULD BE THE MOST POPULAR PLACE TO EAT IN REDWOOD

Sadly, my boyfriend and I won’t be returning here. Since they decided to change their décor, atmosphere, and service, the quality has really gone down. They continuously mess up on our orders, the food does not taste as good as it used to or very good at all, and the service is not good either if you decide to dine in. They take 2 – 3 times as long to put out an order than they ever had in the past, even on a busy day. Their food is not as flavorful either. The employees are not experienced or trained in sit-​down dining services, and the building itself (as well as their location) is not well-​equipped for the type of restaurant they are attempting to transition into. Their overall feel is confused, scattered, and inconsistent. It’s definitely NOT what it used to be. This was our favorite burrito place in town, but now we won’t be coming back because the changes they’ve decided to implement are so bad and really hurt the restaurant rather than help/​improve it. If the food were still just as good, I think we would be able to put up with the other changes that aren’t working out very well, but the food is also going downhill and fast. It does not taste good anymore. We have given them quite a few «second chances» but each time are very disappointed, so we won’t be returning again unless they start upping their game to how they used to be.

This was going to be my first 2 star review but since I didnt get food poisoning Ill be nice.
La azteca is having an identity crisis.
It used to be a traditional burrito amd mexican food p[lace where you walk down cafeteria style line and they build your burrito or you order a meal and have a seat in a booth.
Now they think they are a sport bar or grocery store and karaōke joint.
I called in an order and got put on hold and disconnected.
I called again and told the grocery clerk that I got disconnected and she said she would relay the order.
I showed up 15 minutes later and no one had my order.
I had to wait 10 minutes while the cashier/​bar tender/​kitchen supervisor dude oopened beers for customers and gave them their bills.
Then, I ordered again and had to wait for my burrito and mendo (which was horrible btw)
Never going back again.
I will drive a couple of miles go to Mi Hacienda Taqueria on 2^nd ave.
And theres a bar connecting them next door !
Adiós la Azteca!
You suck now!

Table of 4 for lunch today. No refill on the chips. Took forever to get our drinks. Food was mediocre at best. Chili relleno burrito was tasteless except for the oil used to fry the relleno. No good salsas to go with the meal. And the service was abysmal… the waitress sat and talked to someone she knew behind the bar and completely ignored our table. Brought our tortillas after we had finished the meal. Had to beg for the check. As one of my companions stated: «They really should try their own food.» And the last impression: the smell of chlorine as they ran a washing machine or something in the back. Never ever going back.

This place has amazing food. Living in the area, I’ve had a lot of Mexican food and this is truly a great place to get super yummy stuff. My husband always orders the Azteca burrito, make sure you haven’t eaten in about three days if you order that. It’s just sooooo good!

I returned here today to indulge in the La Azteca burrito, but left without it thanks to the incredibly crappy service my bf and I received today. We noticed the owner wasn’t present. That likely had something to do with it. Nevertheless, this guy (bald on top with hair around wearing glasses) shouldn’t be in the service industry. He was nice enough but totally clueless. We won’t be coming here again.
The place wasn’t packed, but my bf and I decided to sit at the bar. We must’ve sat there for approximately ten minutes before someone actually acknowledged our presence. Five more minutes went by. This bald guy brought us chips and salsa, took our order and asked us what we’d like to drink. I asked for water and my bf asked for some melon juice which was stored in a large glass jug sitting on the counter behind him. I kid you not. After he takes our drink orders, he walks off and starts doing other stuff. We’re sitting there watching him go back and forth to the kitchen in front of us serving other patrons and doing stuff like putting glasses away for a few more minutes. Huh? Who does that? My bf says we should have gone to Chavez Market to get burritos instead. I told him it’s not too late and took the lead to make our exit. My bf was nice enough to tell this guy, who totally lacks cognizance, to cancel our order. Then, we strode out of there to Milagros.

Maybe it’s just the glossiness given to memory, but I seemed to remember it being better in days past.
Tonight I ordered a chile verde soft taco and super taco (la plancha) with carnitas. The chile verde was salty as hell. It almost made me sick; kinda wish I had thrown it away half-​eaten instead. I’d call this a freak occurrence if not for the previous visit, when the enchilada also came with some disgusting over-​salty sauce.

I’m not sure if they switched owners when they did their remodel, but unfortunately I think this place has gone downhill. You used to order at the counter off a big wall menu (a la Pancho Villa) but now it’s casual sit-​down service. This used to be my go-​to place for fajitas — whatever marinade they used for the beef fajitas and carne asada was yummy goodness. When I looked at their new menu, I did not see fajitas anywhere… so I ordered the carne asada burrito. The burrito was a nice large size and tasted fine, but the meat definitely no longer had that distinct marinade which no longer makes it different than anywhere else. And at $ 10 a burrito — it needs to be different than anywhere else.
So I have to sadly say that this place went from a big YAY to a nice A-​OK in my book.

They serve tasty Pozole & Menudo everyday of the week.
I ate my Pozole while sitting at the bar, watching the 9er’s game, and having a cold beer. What’s not to like? Lady serving me seems to be the owner and she was very helpful. After getting my pozole, she asked if I would like their dark red hot sauce. OMG, it boosted the sopa’s flavor a bunch! I highly recommend doing that if you don’t mind the heat.

This is certainly not my go-​to Mexican place because I can get better tacos elsewhere (say, certain taco trucks), and also because Huipil is just down the road.
I got the pozole just to try. The pork was very tender, which I appreciate, but the soup was way too salty and lacking in other kinds of flavours.
However, it’s not a bad place to stop by if you are hungry and happen to be in the neighbourhood. Just not that great.

This is our go-​to burrito place between Mountain View (La Costena) and San Mateo (Pancho Villa.)
My favorite burrito here is the Burrito Relleno, with chicken, rice, beans, a chile relleno, and guacamole. Too few places seem to have chile rellenos as a burrito option, but La Azteca has perfected it.

Yum!

Another Mexican food market/​taqueria combo in Redwood City, it looks like it was a taqueria first and the market was added on later. The taqueria side is spacious, with indoor and outdoor tables, a fountain, vinyl booths and bright walls (green & yellow). The Budweiser bottle vases with fake flowers add an interesting lowbrow charm.
The menu is extensive and reasonably priced: burritos, tacos, quesadillas, tamales, flautas, fajitas, enchiladas, tortas, nachos, seafood dishes, soups, tostadas, desserts (tres leche cake, flan, fried plantains), breakfast items (variations on huevos rancheros, chilaquiles, breakfast burritos), aqua frescas. Prices gone up recently and are higher than the menu on their website. Burritos are 50 cents more now and combo plates are $ 1 more.
You order at the counter. It took awhile for the food to come out but this gave me time to look around and help myself to their salsa bar (about four kinds of salsa, radishes, limes, onions, cilantro).
* Fish taco ($ 1.99 on the old menu): Very little tilapia on a small corn tortilla. Fish was in teeny bits not chunks and was accompanied by warm, cooked tomato and onion relish. Not only was it messy (too much liquid), but it really needed the flavor from the extras I added: cilantro, onion, lime, salsa rojo.
* Soft taco with chicken ($ 2.75 on the old menu): This was about twice the size of the usual taco due to a large heap of meat. Including refried beans and rice in the taco was a strange idea. Rice does not belong in a taco. I did like the grilled chicken but the taco needed the extra flavor that I added from the salsa bar.
The portions are smaller and the prices are higher than Chavez. Chavez has better tacos too. La Azteca does have a salsa bar (!) and spicier salsa (salsa rojo). The salsa rojo is really good (get extra). But it doesn’t make up for the smallest fish taco ever and the rice in the chicken taco.
I tried to call my order in but no one answered the phone despite several attempts during the lunch.