I had heard about El Paisa and finally had the opportunity to try it today. Ordering and food pickup is cafeteria style and quick. If you don't want to be charged an extra dollar, bring cash. They are really generous with the meat. I ordered carne asada and birria tacos. The birria was bland but will definitely have the carne asada again on my next visit. Plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. I understand pigeons outside around the patio seating may be unavoidable but pigeons were roaming around inside around tables and the condiment bar too so took off one star.
Kat K.
First time here, Friendly service, welcoming, amigable, quiet. Food was great love the taco tripas delicious probably the best in the bay! The quesadillas I prefer white cheese they gave me yellow and it was surprisingly delicious! Rice and beans were made right!!! The chorizo & asada tacos were bomb! The chips and salsa were delicious and hitting the spot! The only thing I didn't like was the consistency of the green salsa necesita ser un poco más espesa, all delicious great flavors! I'll be back! Deliciosos platillos, tacos buen sabor regresaré. Olvidaba el agua Fresca de horchata, Jamaica y piña perfecto! Buen sabor ni dulce ni simple perfecto! The place feels like home welcoming and cozy. Gracias ps my first review isn't this spot they have a similar name sorry.
Avey S.
East oakland has some of the best Mexican food in East bay and it reminds me of LA/SD quality. Some things to consider (mentioning these after reading others' reviews): food workers don't wear gloves when handling the foods, some find this unsanitary but some also find this customary lol. $1 charge for using card so bring cash if you want. Most of the workers speak mostly Spanish so don't expect five star American service, it's a traditional Mexican restaurant. I ordered the bipolar quesadillas where you can choose two different meats. The chicken was BOMB so flavorful and juicy. The asada was a little more bland. But the plate came with salsa, chips, roasted onions, and half of a whole avocado. The condiment bar has many add-ons, and the horchata was really good. I would definitely come back here for good and authentic Mexican food. There's plenty of seating both indoor and outdoor and it's beautifully decorated.
Veronica L.
Really fantastic tacos in East Oakland as you will find the parking lot full and a line out the door. We just finished Disney On Ice's Frozen and Encanto with a bunch of friends and had a bunch of hungry kids and adults in tow. Food here never disappoints and they have a wonderful selection of drinks and a fully stocked and always fresh salsa bar. The music is popping and the decor is always on point too. Tonight they had a bunch of fresh flowers in front of their deity across from the registers. I also want to thank the chef for cutting my La Bipolar quesadillas into 4 pieces to share with my two kids. They ended up eating half my meal so I appreciated him cutting it into 4 pieces so I could eat half! Thank you!
jose hoil
Very good Mexican
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fajitas de Camaron Shrimp Arroz Y Frijoles Refritos, Tacos de Cabeza Y Carnitas, Lengua
Ronald
Beware....the area is horrible. Food was old and service was
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
roberto juárez
Good flavor, recommended tacos, good atmosphere, first of many
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jose guillermo Gerardo lupercio
I recommend the fish tacos, they were very good, with three I was satisfied
-stephen-
One of the best Mexican foods I have ever eaten! I always come over here when I was kid when they also had the truck before. Even though they don’t have their truck, there restaurants is one of the best. The burritos taste much better than other places I’ve tried.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jordan Edberg
This is a review for El Paisa’s all you can eat taco party service run by Abel Lopez.We enlisted Abel to help us with a summer pool house party in July 2023 in the hills in Lafayette. I got his number through a friend, texted him about two months before hand, he penciled us in for the date, time, and # of people and told me to confirm the week before. The week of the event, we communicated to confirm timing and the exact number of participants so he could shop appropriately.What we didn’t anticipate was it would be over 90 degrees that weekend. Still we pressed on. No complaints from Abel, he showed up promptly at the agreed upon time, we had him set up in a shady spot, and was ready to serve within twenty minutes of arrival. He did not require any water or electricity from us, his set up was all self-contained.The tacos, burritos, and quesadillas were made with love and care and were absolutely delicious. Lots of options for meat, fillings, toppings, and salsa. Everybody went back for seconds (and some went back for thirds). I started with delicious pork tacos and proceeded to love my super spicy chicken quesadilla in spite of the heat of the day. It really was all you can eat, we were all stuffed at the end. The kids and adults all loved the food. Wish I had a pork taco while typing this…As for the mechanics - Abel served for a 2-hour window and gave us a ten minute warning for “last call”. The price was $17/per person (I’m sure this may go up with this current inflation). 40-person minimum, we had about 35 so we just paid for the minimum and added a good tip for the friendly service in the heat and it felt more than fair. We provided our own utensils, plates, napkins, drinks, and snacks (not that we needed much snacks since we were gorging on tasty tacos). He really made our party special.Highly recommend! Will definitely book again at a future party!
Look no further if you want an amazing caterer!! We had a carnival at the school I work for in Oakland and Abel Lopez and his wonderful staff catered for 250 people. The food was delicious and fresh, the service was fast (there was never a line), and the whole team was super professional and friendly! The communication leading up to the event and day of was awesome. We will definitely be using them again for our next event!
Pam E.
Delicious tacos! Especially loved the carnitas, tender and exceptionally well prepared.
Gabriel De Leon
You guys have a good food done the attention of the customer is know the the time or the right way you guys need to teach the employers how talk to the
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 3
Terrie W.
We had a funeral service and reception for my dad with 70+ people attending. Abel Lopez did a marvelous job of catering the event... providing beef, chicken, and pork tacos, burritos and quesadillas with all the condiments including rice and beans for the entire group. The food was delicious. Abel himself has a great personality and it showed. He was so kind and friendly, and easy to work with. He did a fabulous job of preparing everyone's meals. Thank you Abel for a great job.
Juan Ledon
Good place to go eat fast friendly service, and the food is not expensive like the other restaurants.
I had heard about El Paisa and finally had the opportunity to try it today. Ordering and food pickup is cafeteria style and quick. If you don't want to be charged an extra dollar, bring cash. They are really generous with the meat. I ordered carne asada and birria tacos. The birria was bland but will definitely have the carne asada again on my next visit. Plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. I understand pigeons outside around the patio seating may be unavoidable but pigeons were roaming around inside around tables and the condiment bar too so took off one star.
First time here, Friendly service, welcoming, amigable, quiet. Food was great love the taco tripas delicious probably the best in the bay! The quesadillas I prefer white cheese they gave me yellow and it was surprisingly delicious! Rice and beans were made right!!! The chorizo & asada tacos were bomb! The chips and salsa were delicious and hitting the spot! The only thing I didn't like was the consistency of the green salsa necesita ser un poco más espesa, all delicious great flavors! I'll be back! Deliciosos platillos, tacos buen sabor regresaré. Olvidaba el agua Fresca de horchata, Jamaica y piña perfecto! Buen sabor ni dulce ni simple perfecto! The place feels like home welcoming and cozy. Gracias ps my first review isn't this spot they have a similar name sorry.
East oakland has some of the best Mexican food in East bay and it reminds me of LA/SD quality. Some things to consider (mentioning these after reading others' reviews): food workers don't wear gloves when handling the foods, some find this unsanitary but some also find this customary lol. $1 charge for using card so bring cash if you want. Most of the workers speak mostly Spanish so don't expect five star American service, it's a traditional Mexican restaurant. I ordered the bipolar quesadillas where you can choose two different meats. The chicken was BOMB so flavorful and juicy. The asada was a little more bland. But the plate came with salsa, chips, roasted onions, and half of a whole avocado. The condiment bar has many add-ons, and the horchata was really good. I would definitely come back here for good and authentic Mexican food. There's plenty of seating both indoor and outdoor and it's beautifully decorated.
Really fantastic tacos in East Oakland as you will find the parking lot full and a line out the door. We just finished Disney On Ice's Frozen and Encanto with a bunch of friends and had a bunch of hungry kids and adults in tow. Food here never disappoints and they have a wonderful selection of drinks and a fully stocked and always fresh salsa bar. The music is popping and the decor is always on point too. Tonight they had a bunch of fresh flowers in front of their deity across from the registers. I also want to thank the chef for cutting my La Bipolar quesadillas into 4 pieces to share with my two kids. They ended up eating half my meal so I appreciated him cutting it into 4 pieces so I could eat half! Thank you!
Very good Mexican
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fajitas de Camaron Shrimp Arroz Y Frijoles Refritos, Tacos de Cabeza Y Carnitas, Lengua
Beware....the area is horrible. Food was old and service was
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Good flavor, recommended tacos, good atmosphere, first of many
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I recommend the fish tacos, they were very good, with three I was satisfied
One of the best Mexican foods I have ever eaten! I always come over here when I was kid when they also had the truck before. Even though they don’t have their truck, there restaurants is one of the best. The burritos taste much better than other places I’ve tried.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This is a review for El Paisa’s all you can eat taco party service run by Abel Lopez.We enlisted Abel to help us with a summer pool house party in July 2023 in the hills in Lafayette. I got his number through a friend, texted him about two months before hand, he penciled us in for the date, time, and # of people and told me to confirm the week before. The week of the event, we communicated to confirm timing and the exact number of participants so he could shop appropriately.What we didn’t anticipate was it would be over 90 degrees that weekend. Still we pressed on. No complaints from Abel, he showed up promptly at the agreed upon time, we had him set up in a shady spot, and was ready to serve within twenty minutes of arrival. He did not require any water or electricity from us, his set up was all self-contained.The tacos, burritos, and quesadillas were made with love and care and were absolutely delicious. Lots of options for meat, fillings, toppings, and salsa. Everybody went back for seconds (and some went back for thirds). I started with delicious pork tacos and proceeded to love my super spicy chicken quesadilla in spite of the heat of the day. It really was all you can eat, we were all stuffed at the end. The kids and adults all loved the food. Wish I had a pork taco while typing this…As for the mechanics - Abel served for a 2-hour window and gave us a ten minute warning for “last call”. The price was $17/per person (I’m sure this may go up with this current inflation). 40-person minimum, we had about 35 so we just paid for the minimum and added a good tip for the friendly service in the heat and it felt more than fair. We provided our own utensils, plates, napkins, drinks, and snacks (not that we needed much snacks since we were gorging on tasty tacos). He really made our party special.Highly recommend! Will definitely book again at a future party!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Look no further if you want an amazing caterer!! We had a carnival at the school I work for in Oakland and Abel Lopez and his wonderful staff catered for 250 people. The food was delicious and fresh, the service was fast (there was never a line), and the whole team was super professional and friendly! The communication leading up to the event and day of was awesome. We will definitely be using them again for our next event!
Delicious tacos! Especially loved the carnitas, tender and exceptionally well prepared.
You guys have a good food done the attention of the customer is know the the time or the right way you guys need to teach the employers how talk to the
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 3
We had a funeral service and reception for my dad with 70+ people attending. Abel Lopez did a marvelous job of catering the event... providing beef, chicken, and pork tacos, burritos and quesadillas with all the condiments including rice and beans for the entire group. The food was delicious. Abel himself has a great personality and it showed. He was so kind and friendly, and easy to work with. He did a fabulous job of preparing everyone's meals. Thank you Abel for a great job.
Good place to go eat fast friendly service, and the food is not expensive like the other restaurants.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5