El Paisano Tamales

in it’s heyday it was the best
I was sorry when I went by and they were closed
I had been going there for years, but not recently…

I’m so sad to read that one of my favorite places is closed. I have been eating burritos from El Paisano since I was a little girl. My father used to bring them home from the truck in San Jose and the we would drive the hour to Santa Cruz just to get burritos. I was looking forward to visiting this weekend… I’m very sorry to hear of the closing and I wish the best for the family.

Seems they are closing this Saturday. Looking at the recent reviews it is not surprising. At busy boardwalk times it can be packed, though the food is average at best. Slower times, I would guess they struggle as there are certainly better alternatives nearby.

Always in search of the elusive, perfect tamale. We had to try this place. I would recommend to not bother with El Paisano. The food was average, but the place was an absolute madhouse. It was sweltering hot, packed to the gills, and nearly every sitting space was occupied by a person who probably spoke no English. I might deal with all that if the food is good, but it really wasn’t worth all the hassle (and this place is not cheap). The report back from the women’s bathroom was that it was one of the worst (I’ll spare you the details). Like another reviewer said, the conditions in this place are definitely «third world.»

Spanish spoken here – this is not Chevy’s or Chipotle’s
I thought it was totally authentic. The food was just like what I’ve had in Mexico and the conditions were also completely third world.
The chile rellenos made me cry in a good way (very hot).
The sopa de pescado looked really good – wish I had ordered that.
Genuine Mexican sodas.
It did take a long time for us to get our food.
I’d go back and try some more of the menu.

Came here with a group of friends thinking the food would be better and cheaper than what we could buy across the street, inside the Boardwalk. Wrong! The line and service was slow and it definitely didn’t come with a smile. The guy at the register seriously looked like he didn’t want to be there. He forgot to give a beer to one person in our party who ordered it and messed up another person’s order, as he totally didn’t hear it. Maybe it was for the better, as prices are expensive here for what you get. $ 3.50 to add chesse, guac, and sour cream to make it a super burrito? CRAZY! That alone is the price of some normal burritos! One guy in my party order the especial super burrito and it came out to be like $ 12. It was looong, but skinny. Definitely not worth it. I ordered two tamales with rice and beans ($ 8.95), which was a little better value, but still, everyone in our party just thought the food was so so. If you’re looking for a run down place serving mediocre Mexican food that’s really expensive and comes without a smile, this is your place.

what i ordered… super burrito w/​carnitas
what a total dissapointment, i went to this place thinking it was better than the boardwalk food but…
my super burrito was half the size in width of what you get in the bayarea. the carnitas was so different from all the carnitas i have ever had… sliced pork in sour marinade though weird tasting it was edible.
ambiance… good (clean with nice wooden furnitures)
service… ok
cost… $

I have been coming here with my brother since I worked at the boardwalk back in the 80’s. May I suggest the Giant Especial? A couple times a year, I take orders from my work and bring them over the hill. The largest order was 117 Giant Especials.
Its the same friendly family running it, and if your lucky, you can flag down the tamale truck.

One word to describe: FML.
The only reason this place is still functioning is the proximity to the boardwalk, it’s either El Paisano Tamales, or some kind of processed crap on a stick from the boardwalk.
One of the dirtiest restaurants I have ever been to: dust everywhere, cobb webs in corners, sticky tables and the floor is just ick. Food-​wise is OK, nothing special.
Service is S L O W… waited 30 mins for 4 to-​go tacos. Service with a smile is asking too much.

Grabbed a bit here on a busy Saturday; thankfully we got there just as the line was starting to form.
Portions were large and yummy. There was a bit of a wait but the food was worth it.

I have read some of the others comments and disagree. I really like their food and small town atmosphere, not to mention being the closet’s Taquaria to the Boardwalks Free Beach Concert! The Shredded Beef is my Fav! Keep up the awesome food Paisano…

authentic mexican food and it’s right across the street from the boardwalk. If you wana enjoy a day at the beach, or the boardwalk and not have to drive around after parking, this is a far better bet than some vendor action and way closer than the pier…

All I can say is «Thank God they serve beer!» I had heard so many great things about how awesome their tamales are but sadly I am greatly disappointed. I ordered the pork tamale and there was only 3 (yes I counted them) small, tiny, diced up pieces of pork; no sauce, no cheese but most of all NO pork. All I got was a wad of steamed corn dough. I made the best of it and just drank beer.

A disappointment… I had a carne asada burrito. Granted it was huge the meat was pretty much unseasoned and a bit on the dry side. The tortilla of the burrito wasn’t even really «cooked» (meaning it wasn’t put on a comal or griddle to brown it up and warm it up.)
The interior was decent though.
For the price it definitely wasn’t worth it.

My fam and I stopped in on a Friday and grabbed lunch on a quiet afternoon. The staff was friendly, the meals were reasonably priced and we all loved our food! I found the place a bit dodgy inside, but I suppose that adds to the authenticity. My Central American grandma loved the tamales so much that we went back the next day to grab a dozen to take home!

They have a burrito that, I shit you not, hangs off both ends of a dinner plate. The biggest burritos in town, hands down. Not really all that great, though. But hey… if you want to feed your whole family for under $ 6, you hit the jackpot.

It is one of the nearest places to the boardwalk which is a plus. The fellow behind the counter was friendly and chatted with the customers he knew. This was actually a minus. This means that it took crazy long to get the opportunity to order. After ordering, the wait was forever.
The food was OK, nothing special (we didn’t order the Super Burrito). My tamales were actually cold.
The dining area is a little run down. Our table rocked back and forth.
The prices were not cheap either. This is an ordinary hole-​in-​the-​wall local Mexican restaurant. Would I go back there? Maybe.

Wandered in here hoping to avoid the pricey lunch options at the boardwalk. Wrong. So wrong.
2 Coronas and 4 dinky little taquitos on a bed of lettuce was over $ 22.
LAME.

I only had one item from here, but as soon as I bit into their chicken taquitos (covered in lettuce, tomato, cheese, guacamole, and a healthy dose of Mexican crema), I was instantly transported to my favorite taco shop in San Diego — Adalberto’s over near Point Loma.
And that is SUCH a good thing.
I saw some giant burritos coming out of the kitchen… and the rice looked amazing (fluffy and just the right color)…I would definitely recommend this place above any of the mediocre overpriced fried seafood joints along Beach St.

Yo quiero tamales!!! Love the location for this place as it is right across from the Boardwalk!
My sister said that the tamales were delicious, so I had to go try them after the Santa Cruz Half Marathon.
We were too anxious to eat tamales, since we arrived at the restaurant at 10:25am. It’s too bad they opened at 1am on Saturday! Ha!
Anyway, we ended up ordering 6 to-​go tamales for $ 9.95. Even though we didn’t do a to-​go, the tamales were warmed for us. You can only order pork or chicken for the tamales.
No sauce for the tamales, so you can order the tamales with sauce a la carte.
The chicken tamale was SO MUCH better than the pork. The masa was moist and the chicken was flavorful. The flavor of the pork fell flat.
Next time I would try a burrito or something. I’ve had better tamales at Lucy’s Tamale Factory in San Jose.
Credit card can be used if purchase is over $ 10.