Reviewer: Jason
Total Reviews: 1040
Reviewed: 6/12/2004
Rating: 8.5
My photo gallery
My bay area burrito roots belong to Taqueria El Grullensa. It was the 1st burrito shop that I frequented before I knew about the others taquerias in Mountain View and San Francisco. Their carnitas burrito is good and servings are above average. Meat isnt as crunchy but very flavorful. Taqueria El Gruillensa burritos are sloppy and can be a chore to finish in one sitting.
This place is usually crowded during lunch and dinner. They have an outdoor window for ordering if you're in a hurry. I've seen other Taqueria El Grullensa restaurants in Palo Alto and Hayward but not sure if they are owned by the same person.
Reviewer: Terry
Total Reviews: 739
Reviewed: 6/13/2004
Rating: 8
My photo gallery
Just happened on this place while driving down El Camino. Walked in and ordered a green wet veggie burrito. The place itself was a bit dirty, and not very well lit, but for a mexican place I can't complain too much.
The food arrived quickly. It reminded me quite a bit of Los Gallos in Fremont, but a little bit different (a bit spicier and more parsley?) Anyway, the burrito was large and very tasty. Cheese was a little sub-par however. I would return again to try their burritos but would probably not get it wet anymore due to the cheese.
It was reported to me that the carnitas is pretty good here but I didn't verify it firsthand.
Reviewer: ne00
Total Reviews: 187
Reviewed: 9/25/2007
Rating: 6.5
My photo gallery
It’s been a while since I last wrote up a review. Today I hit up RWC to visit my friend and get away for lunch. We stopped by Taqueria El Grullense for lunch and then hit up Beard Papa for some cream puffs.
The parking lot is packed around 12:30. There aren’t a lot of spaces to begin with. Luckily my friend found one right in front of the main entrance. There is the option to eat outside or inside. I probably should have gone with the burrito but instead went with the three soft tacos. I ordered the steak, carnitas, and pollo. My friend went with the steak, pollo, and tongue. We helped ourselves to the free chips and salsa. The chips here are good as it’s the deep fried kind, and they have some good salsa. They also have help yourself lime wedges for whatever you need it for.
The waitress brings out the order and calls out the number. It was hard to hear her but someone directed her to our table. My first thought when I saw the tacos “man these are small tacos.” The tacos are small, the meat on the tacos is skimpy and there are barely any onions, salsa, and cilantro on the tacos. In some ways that may be a good thing if there was more meat added to the tacos. The steak was tasteless and the worst of the 3. They chopped it up into bits and still burned it. The pollo was the boiled kind and was pretty good. The carnitas was the best. It wasn’t crunchy on the outside and the meat was skimpy but the carnitas was not oily and had good flavors.
The tacos were $1.25 each but some how I was not full when I left, in fact I felt a little sick about 10 minutes later. The cream puffs helped ease my stomach ache. Eating three cream puffs helped fill me up.
I should have ordered the burrito or some plate special but I probably will not go back based on my experience here. This is out of the way for me and plus there are better Taquerias within the area.
Reviewer: Dan
Total Reviews: 84
Reviewed: 1/28/2008
Rating: 7
My photo gallery
Not sure why this is on Jatbar since this is a chain, but I guess it's a bay area only chain. I live pretty close to this particular El Grullense, so it is super convenient, but I don't eat there very often. I haven't been able to find anything I really love here. Another one of my main issues is the appearance and cleanliness of the dark, indoor seating area. Table and chairs are integrated, picnic-style units in yellow and orange linoleum. Half the time they are not very clean. The floor is usually dirty too, and sometimes there are flies buzzing about. Two TVs blare Spanish programming from the corner of the room. Personally, I find this room uninviting, unappetizing and depressing, and I almost always get food to go. They do offer outdoor seating, but it faces El Camino and a busy parking lot. It's been a while since I came here, so I visited a few times recently just to refresh my memory.
First visit - Ordered the regular pollo asado burrito with green salsa (I usually get the standard red salsa but this is a bit hot for me). The tortilla was pretty good, but not amazing. Tortilla texture was fresh and chewy. Meat quality was pretty average. I could barely taste the sauce, so I wouldn't get this again. All in all, this was a pretty average burrito. One positive was that it came with some nice chips, which were quite thick and tasted homemade. Maybe a 7.5 for this visit.
On my next visit I just asked for the regular chicken burrito with guacamole, to go. Total cost was $5.25. Not bad, until I realized later there was no sign of guacamole inside. And I was super clear about my order. Klingon bastards! The burrito itself was one of the worst I've had in a while. The chicken was not very flavorful and had some fatty chunks. The onions were chopped too large. More confusing was the fact that they did not include the regular red sauce that normally comes in this burrito. I guess they changed things? A 6.5 for my experience.
On my next visit I ordered a two taco combo plate, with one carne asada and one carnitas taco, to go. Once again I was very clear about my order and confirmed I could order two different meats. Yes, yes, it was no problem. Even so, when I got home I realized they still flubbed the order and gave me two carnitas tacos. Not a big deal for me, but c'mon guys, get with the program! Here's the meal breakdown: Carnitas tacos – Delicious, very flavorful, slightly crispy pork. Only a few super fatty pieces. The only issue was these were tiny tacos, some of the smallest I've seen. Beans – Nice. Good texture and flavor. Rice – OK, pretty average. Chips – Definitely homemade but these were a little cold and stale. I was really hungry though, so I ate about half of them before tossing the rest. Total cost was $5 even, a pretty good price. If and when I do eat here again I may have to stick with the tacos, but I will have to order more. I might even try their carne asada next time if they actually get the order right.
