Santana’s Mexican Food

Good stuff! I had a chicken California burrito filled with nicely seasoned, fresh tasting chicken along with french fries, beans and pico inside… so good!
Carne asada fries are decadent and yummy with a ton of meat, cheese, guacamole and pico.
This place is turning into my go to spot and I’ve been coming here a lot lately so it must be good! Try it!

Santana’s has been my saving grace when it comes to Mexican food in the Inland Empire. I used to eat here so many times during my college years at Riverside, and it was always because they were open all the time. I never had to worry about not getting quality Mexican food at any time of the day. The best part about it was that it was so cheap! You could say that it fit the budget of a college student just trying to get a decent filling meal in.
The only problem with this particular Riverside location is that the further you go down University Ave (and depending what time you go), you’ll encounter some pretty shady looking people that will most certainly make eating here very awkward. Santana’s just happens to be one of their hotspots. One time, a few homeless dudes came in together and just hassled everybody sitting down for some spare change. Good thing I usually order my food to go, because I would think that this happens more often around here and I wouldn’t want to encounter these type of people while I’m eating. I would probably say that coming here after 9 PM wouldn’t be the best idea.
That aside, if I were to base this review solely on the food alone, it gets a solid 4 stars. Definitely miss this place!

Messed up my order. I think I got someone else’s food while going through the drive-​thru. They really need to pay attention. Last time I come to this location.

The only reason I sometimes consider going to this restaurant is because there is no other Mexican food place opened at 3am. I tend to order Carne Asada fries because its covered in cheese, but the fries have never been cooked to a crisp, even when I request «extra crispy». They come out soggy/​sad/​greasy 80% of the time. If you’re craving Mexican food after midnight, this is really the only place to go, but if you can wait until any other Mexican place opens, you should go eat there.

I’m going to try REALLY hard just to rate the food here. First off I love Santana’s Mexican food. There is a location in Corona and I hit it as often as I can afford it lol So I was already a huge fan before I walked into this joint. The service was fine. And the food itself was great, bomb just like the local Santana’s!
My only beef is the clientele that this location brings in… Mind you were we eating here at like 3am in the morning, so maybe we were asking for it lol But I would never come here past like 8pm ever again. There were homeless people hanging around inside waiting for table scraps, and pretty much every person that walked in was on drugs lol I guess this place attracts people who are on something, have nowhere else to be, or the skanky peeps who just came from the club/​bar. It was extremely uncomfortable dining in. I would suggest going through the drive thru if it’s past 8pm lol that way you don’t get stabbed or raped lol When we got up to leave one of the homeless guys on drugs followed us out to the parking lot… We basically ran to get our butts in the car and lock the doors. My review probably sounds exaggerated, but I promise you it’s not. Don’t come here at night and you will never have to worry lol That being said, the food gets an A+!

Carne asada fries are the best from this spot! They have a variety of salsas. Chamangos (shaved mango flavored ice with chilli), bionicos (fruit salad), and other Mexican snacks are also great!

This is a great place to eat at night being that my boyfriend and I work a lot I hardly get time to cook. It makes a good midnight meal I love this place it is so close to home and most of the ladies are so sweet and they have a salsa bar I love salsa! I love the carne as ads fries they hook it up it is so jumbo I never finish it I also love the torta and enchilada plates they have over all a good midnight place in my opinion.

I go there for their SALSA. They have the best salsa around so I order chips and enjoy them with my meal. They have good GRILLED FISH BURRITO, which is not easy to find in the area.

Santana’s Mexican Food has helped me during my years away from home. I had a fridge full of pickled carrots that I stored. Their bar also supplied jalapeños, pico de gallo, and three types of salsa. The time I spent studying the sciences could be measured in discarded bags of pickle juice.

Second visit to Castañedas and I thought it’d be different in the sense that the first time I came my food wasn’t great. Second time, wasn’t great. I definitely think that this place deserves 2 stars for their carne Asada fries. Being the «home of the carne asada fries» I would hope they lived up to the expectations but they don’t. Their fries are always soggy and if they fry them anymore, they’ll definitely burn them. More than likely after my second visit I will not be returning and won’t be recommending this place.

If you choose to eat here, do not order the chicken flautas or the carnitas chimichanga.
They’re both covered in cold sour yellow cheese, and the food is warm at best.
It almost seemed reheated, definitely not fresh at all.
The chimichanga was topped with a load of sour cream turning the (what should be crispy) chimichanga soggy. Something tasted off about the chimichanga, maybe the 5 Pounds of the yellow cheese stuffed inside.
The restaurant should really try their food before they decide to sell it, it wasn’t even decent.

Santana’s is now called Castaneda’s. Same everything but the name changed. Or at least on the outside sign. The food is not amazing. But most people go when they’re drunk so it usually taste pretty good. Well the food only tastes good when you’re drunk. Oh that’s the other thing. It’s open really late so when nothing else is open.

Got my $ 7.67, ($ 7.10 before tax) Carne Asada burrito. Touched it and found it was kind of cold. Opened it and found 60% pico de gallo, 30% beef and 10% guacamole. Very small and way over priced. See photo.

The ONLY Mexican restaurant open late near UCR !
Honestly, I only come here when I’m craving Carne Asada Fries after midnight. Be careful doe, sometimes you have the occasion homeless popping out of no where asking for money/​food. It’s a bit shady at night too, so I suggest just going drive thru instead of going inside.
If you do go inside, you will run into drunk college students. You can’t help it, people love those Carne Asada fries after a long night of drinking. Also to put it out there, I’m not a really big fan of their fries. Too thick and oily for my taste buds, but hey, I can’t be choosy when this is the only thing open late at night.
PS. You have the option to have your Carne Asada with half Nachos & half Fries ^^

Honestly one of the worse food spots near campus.
The only benefit of this place is that it’s open late. Regardless, I’d still pass it up after a party or night out. Based on the quality and taste of food.

Come here if nothing is open or if you are looking for a shorter line. This restaurant is alright.
The only great things about this place are the hours and the drive thru. I was too lazy to get out of my car and go to Los jilbertos, so I went here. I should have just not been lazy.
They were fast to serve me, but my fries came out so brown and distasteful. It wasn’t the potato skin; I don’t mind that.
Usually people who haven’t eaten all day just devour the food and believe it is yummier than usual. However, the hunger couldn’t even lie to my taste buds.
My drunk friends enjoyed my leftovers though, so thumbs up for that!

I don’t get the bad reviews for Santana’s, I think their food is great!
Hours are excellent, the salsa bar is one of the best around and I love their al pastor!
The restaurant itself is a bit run down looking, but clean.
Service is super fast, I had 2 al pastor tacos, at $ 3 each a steal, not expensive, they are HUGE and loaded with meat, add veggies and salsa from the salsa bar and you have a full meal for $ 6. My husband loves their burritos, again $ 6, but they are huge, breakfast ones are pretty good too.
For sure not fancy, but great after drinking or if you just want a good old greasy meal.

Do not go here! You will be both disappointed and still hungry. I came here once so I thought I’d give them another chance today… BAD IDEA. I ordered a simple order of chicken crispy tacos with the beans and rice. The first thing that I noticed were the terrible color of the beans! Why in Gods name are they whitish brown/​purplish? That is just not the normal color of beans. Took one bite into the taco and it was pure oil. The smelly greasy kind… that sorta reminds me of lard. What a total waste of my $ 8.50! Overpriced and tasteless.
So disgusting. Guess I’ll be having my lemonade drink for dinner.

So this place holds a special place in my heart for all my late night munchies/​drunchies. I have never came here willingly just because I was craving the food here… coming here is usually associated with drinking and etc. Wait I lied, I actually came here one time to pick up an order to share and study for finals with my friends, but other than that I don’t really come here for the actual food.
THE DETAILS: Located on University next to McDonald’s. I’ve been inside once after Spring Splash and I don’t remember much but it’s kinda small with tables and booths. There’s a stand to get your pickled veggies and the restaurant is not super clean but it’s not disgustingly dirty either; I usually go through the drive-​thru. The workers are okay and you’ll see a lot of UCR students here. It’s open ²⁴⁄₇ so that’s a huge plus!
THE FOOD: Carne asada fries are the only thing I have ever ordered from here! And I think they are good… partially because I’m usually drunk but for the most part I think they are delicious. The melted cheese… the guacamole… the salsa… it’s yummy and it definitely satisfies cravings. The portions are generally big and I don’t think they are stingy with the carne asada.
THE END? Possibly. Definitely would not be back because I was craving, but I may stop by if I’m in the area and have the drunchies.

MY FAVORITE BREAKFAST BURRITO PLACE!!! i miss this place so much after graduating from UCR :(i seriously wish i could go back to college just so i can get santanas every night ! i always get the breakfast burrito with potatoes eggs and cheese since im a vegetarian! what i LOVE about this place is their AYCE SAUCE !! i drench my burrito in sooo much sauce! just for one burrito i use 8 sauces !!! the sauces are actually spicy and have so much flavor in them. their burrito is so juicy and greasy that its just to my liking ! every time i visit friends in riverside, i always have to make a trip back here down memory lane!