Taqueria Santa Cruz

First of all this place doesn’t have real salsa with chips while u wait for ur food, the food is ready super quick so when I get my enchiladas the tortilla isn’t cooked right they don’t dip the enchilada in the chili it looks like they put a can of tomato sauce over it then add cheese plus the chicken doesn’t taste as good, they now have a new waitress whose fat and all she does is just stand next to ur table not letting u eat in peace! She’s there tryna touch and hug ur child and she once just kept asking my child where another baby was since she was so interested in another child that she saw with us once, she just fucking stood there for 20min not doing her job and not letting me and my family eat in peace nor letting us have our conversation the last time we went was without my child and this time she was having conversation with a guy sitting behind us plus she kept staring too the only reason we still go is for” carne en su jugo ”

Decent customer service and the food is ready really quick. Carne en su jugo is all i order from here but its the best plate ever. Theres this one lady a female waiter that really bugged us out she even picked up my 2 year old daughter and bought her a sticker… didnt want to be rude but just leave the customers alone and let them enjoy there food.

Most authentic el pastor in Santa Cruz and best tomatillo salsa, made just like at home in sayulita

I have been coming here because the food is relatively cheap and the food tastes ok if you get basic burrito or taco. Seafood is generally not fresh. They cook shrimp without removing the intestine. Carne en su jugo some times have mystery crunchy meat. The place needs a renovation. The seats are lumpy and the table is sticky. Over the years this place has become grungy. If you are lucky the salsa bar is clean and filled. Service is friendly if the owner lady is not working. Order the food over the phone and take it home to eat.

I just went there 30 minutes ago and I have never felt so disrespected. The cashier was such a rude bitch trying to blame me for a mistake that she did on my order. She charged me $ 20 for 2 nachos that I didn’t order, I ordered one. She said next time I should listen when I clearly ordered 1. Super rude and bitchy. SUPER FILTHY AS WELL. NEVER COMING AGAIN. FUCK YALL. FUCK THIS PLACE. FUCK HER. I’m out. Oh and idk what was more fucked up, her winged eyeliner or her attitude. Lol

Not sure why this place has such a good rating. The food is nothing special and the service is horrible.

Excellent Mexican restaurant in Santa Cruz! The 49ers Burrito is a MUST HAVE. (Burrito with enchilada sauce) This restaurant serves Mexican food Jalisco style, so I’m definitely coming back for the «Carne en su Jugo».

The food was decent but oh my god this place is filthy! In the back, there was a portable taco bar that had dried meat all over it.
The salsa bar is unkempt, the bathrooms are a disgrace.
The food is decent — good basic tacos and a solid enchilada. The guacamole seriously left something to be desired.

Wife and I were on the way back to the Bay Area from Monterey but didn’t want to get stuck in Friday rush hour traffic so we made a quick stop in Santa Cruz. We were both hungry for a burrito, so we Unilocal’d and found this place. Let me say, Unilocal was right about this one.
It was mid-​afternoon so we decided to share a burrito. Got the Al Pastor Super Burrito. Fantastic. Meat was seasoned and cooked perfectly. Very very flavorful. And it had the crispy edges that gives Al Pastor that extra kick of texture and flavor.
Other:
Service was good, friendly. Parking in the back. $ 12 minimum for using a credit card. Didn’t try the restrooms which looked a little sketch. Great salsa bar. Horchata was decent (a little too sweet). And it looked like they had a steady stream of regular customers.

I’ve been coming to this Taqueira for a few years for Carne En Su Jugo, which is absolutely incredible. I highly recommend trying it. Tonight we came and ordered the soup and a super burrito. The burrito was so disappointing. It was overwhelmingly wet, to the point of being gross. It was wrapped 7 or 8 times in foil to hold the juices in. With all the sauce you’d think it would be delicious and flavorful however, it was bland and to be truthful disgusting. Only 4 bites were taken, one by each of us at the table. One of the people in our party went up to complain and ask if it was possible to get another menu item. The man told her she shouldn’t have ordered it with salsa and refused her request. Stick with the soup, try nothing else.

Fiancé & my absolute favorite place to get super shrimp burritos with their amazing habanero salsa on the side! Everyone we have introduced to this place loves it. No other place can compete with their super shrimp burritos. They are big and plentiful! Never have ordered anything else.

Carne en su jugo!
First time I had carne en su jugo and I loved it! In fact, I had never even heard of it before I came here. So basically, carne en su jugo is flank steak cooked in its own juices with crumbled bacon, pinto beans, flavorful broth, avocado, onions and cilantro — packed full of flavor and so delicious! Went so well with the fresh chips and would have been great with a cold, glass bottle of Coke but since I gave up soda for Lent I had a Corona instead ;P
And if you’re into spicy, check out that pink habanero salsa — it has a nice kick to it!
Great, casual taqueria to check out when you’re near the Downtown Santa Cruz area.

Pork super burrito. Good size and shape. Good taste. Solid food but nothing stood out until I found that bright pink salsa they have in the salsa bar! I don’t know what it is, but it’s pickled and pulverized. Pickled red radish would make the most sense. Anyways, I added that to my burrito and the taste really popped. I’ll be coming back here!
EDIT: I just read someone’s one-​star review and I have three comments. 1.) Don’t knock the pink stuff till you try it! 2.) Yeah the place is kinda ripped up and run down. Frankly, I see that as a feature — keeps the price low. Maybe it was dirtier the night you were there, but it’s clean enough for poor li’l me. 3.) «Guacamole» in some parts of Mexico (e.g. Oaxaca) is very runny. The super-​thick avocado sludge that we Americans love is just one way to do it. Don’t judge a Mexican place because it didn’t serve you American food.

All I can and should say it get the al pastor.

All things point to no, do not go. I don’t like leaving reviews like this, but this place is soooo bad. It’s not clean, at all. Once you look around and see remnants of food and drink splatters all over the ripped booths and busted tables-that’s all you need to walk away. I wish we had done that but ordered anyways. Chips are not good, salsa is strange and something that is hot pink? Guacamole was runny and not at all guacamole. Someone called it a ‘soupy mess’ and that is spot on. Food was not good, atmosphere is dirty and we watched a passed out woman stumble around once she woke up.
I so wish we didn’t waste our money on this place!
Go to Salsa’s!

Don’t be fooled by the four star rating – the food was not very good at all. The guacamole is a soupy mess of onions and tomatoes with few avocados. The refried beans are not flavorful. I had an enchilada and taco combo. The shredded chicken was good and the salsa verde on the salsa bar was the best thing in the place.
Also, the best joints I go to make their own corn tortillas. No way a place can get four stars if they are using dried up packaged tortillas. And the chips are not very good nor are they served warm. Want good fast Mexican? Drive to SF and see how Pancho’s does it!

Best place to eat Mexican food in SC hands down.
I get Chili Verde enchalada with red sauce.
I’m here right now

Great find, thanks Unilocalers!
— Food: Good. Not amazing, broke da mouth kine, but like a good standard Mexican spot, with a decent salsa bar. (Details at bottom of post)
— Ambiance: Casual. Away from tourists. Yay.
— Large with lots of booth style tables. Large windows too as it sits at the corner of the block.
— Service: Alright. The girl was not that friendly and same goes for the server (I just adjusted my 4stars down to 3 because of this… i dont understand why lacking in customer service is acceptable in some establishments).
— Restroom: The «Occupied» notice on the Womens restoom door (similar to those on airplanes) was broken, so i missed the opportunity to relieve myself here.
— Parking: Private parking lot in the back, or street parking.
Large menu for single order items or combination plates. Order at the counter, grab a table, and a server brings your food out. I dont know how they track you has a customer since they dont give you a number nor take your name down (the tables are past a wall corner so no way they saw where we sat), they prob have descriptors? Lol.dunno.
— Salsa Bar: standard, however I enjoyed their regular salsa – just enough heat to add that layer to your meal (I like things medium spicy). The green chile salsa was okay.
* #21 Taco and Chile Relleno ($ 9.50): My steak taco’s meat was charred nicely with one bit i couldnt really chew. It was hot and a little slippery (from the sauce) so i had trouble holding it to eat for a while. I ended up eating it like an open faced taco. Standard spanish rice, refried beans (no choices), guacamole on sliced lettuce (this gives the illusion that there’s a lot more guacamole than there is). The Chile Relleno was alright – the crust was a bit soggy and the inside cheese was regular – i was yearning for vegetables so i ate mosy of the chile and tried to avoid the crust and cheesy inside.
* #24 Taco and 2 enchiladas ($ 10.50): got yo try a bite of the Carnitas taco and it had a nice flavor to it, charred nicely as well. Didnt get to try the enchilada.
— Beer/​cervesa: good amount of options to choose from, like Cornonas, Modelo, Pacificos and Dos Equis. You open them yourself at the wall mounted beer bottle openers to the right of the order counter. The beers were a bit warm, so i had trouble downing the whole thing. So maybe my love handles are happy about that.

My boyfriend and I were in the Santa Cruz area, and wanted to grab some good Mexican food for dinner. After reading reviews, we ended up at TSC and man oh man, were were happy.
I mean, it was exactly what I wanted. I got the shrimp super burrito & horchata (free refills)!!! Travis got the carnitas tacos. If you like spicy, you’ll love their pink salsa they have. Even their pico de gallo was to hot for me. I found out how spicy the pink salsa was, the hard way. That’s also how I found out there was free refills on horchata, lol.
Anyway, the food was good, the prices were reasonable! I have plans of going back, thats for sure.

A strong 3.
A very crammed (not to be confused w/​intimate), humid, and dirty place to dine at. Staff behind the counter did not seem friendly and the surrounding patrons kept to themselves for the most part although I can feel the stares/​glares from time to time. My dad taught me when I was 17 to scan my surroundings no matter where I’m at so it has embedded in me to do just that regardless of where I am at or who I’m w/​.
My no rice carne asada burrito was subpar. The meat was juicy albeit bland. Gavin’s kid’s bean and cheese burrito felt like it was cooked at about 1,000 degrees F because it was still piping hot by the time I was done w/​my meal. It was very cheesy and simple but tasty but Gavin only had the pleasure to take a few bites.
The restrooms seem questionable so I passed on using it.
The salsa bar did not look fresh.
I won’t be back.