El Texate

Santa Monica, United States

3.5

Open now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

Contacts

QR code, vCard

Telephone:
+1 310-399-1115
Address:
316 Pico Blvd, Santa Monica, CA, 90405
Santa Monica
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
0.4 miDowntown Santa Monica
1.1 mi17th Street/Santa Monica College
1.7 mi26th Street/Bergamot
Categories:
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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations
Yes
Delivery
No
Take-out
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Good For
Dinner
Parking
Private Lot
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Good for Kids
Yes
Good for Groups
Yes
Attire
Casual
Ambience
Casual
Noise Level
Quiet
Alcohol
Full Bar
Outdoor Seating
Yes
Wi-Fi
No
Has TV
Yes
Waiter Service
Yes
Caters
Yes

Today

Today 10:30 am – 12:00 am
Open now
Local time (Santa Monica) 5:41 PM Wednesday, July 2, 2025

Business hours

Monday 10:30 am – 12:00 am
Tuesday 10:30 am – 12:00 am
Wednesday 10:30 am – 12:00 am
Thursday 10:30 am – 12:00 am
Friday 10:30 am – 12:00 am
Saturday 10:30 am – 12:00 am
Sunday 10:30 am – 12:00 am

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Vicinity

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Bicycleville
312 Pico Boulevard
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302 Pico Blvd
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Life Yoga Garden
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20 reviews of El Texate

No registration required
Place rating: 3
Bethesda, MD
Food was fantastic, but service was slow. After ordering, it took an hour for main dishes to appear. Overwhelmed waitress mentioned they were «crazy busy,» despite very few customers, so apparently they were understaffed.
Place rating: 5
Culver City, CA
Love this place & although it’s not far from me, I wish I could go more often.
Their molés, cactus salad, carne asada tacos & drinks are all good!
Their staff is friendly, the décor is awesome & if you happen to catch the owner there, great conversation! Good place to book a party & great outdoor space, especially when the weather is nice.
Can wait to go back!
Best Oaxacan place I’ve been to.
Place rating: 3
Los Angeles, CA
Sometimes a little criticism is good.
We returned today & everything improved greatly, from the service to the food.
Much better, thank you!
Place rating: 3
Chicago, IL
This rating is more like 3.5 and is just for carry out. We wanted to grab some food to take back to our hotel and this we very close. When walked in the place was pretty empty. They gave us some menus and I decided to go with the carnitas burrito with the green mole sauce. My friends ordered burritos and enchilada and everything was ready in about ten to fifteen minutes. They gave us some chips and salsa as well. When we got back to our hotel, we were pleasantly surprised by how tasty everything was. I am sure there is better Mexican food Southern California, but if you’re craving Mexican and are in the area, it’s worth a try. I enjoyed my burrito and ate the whole thing even though it was ginormous. The portions are large and the prices are good so this is a good value.
Place rating: 5
Santa Monica, CA
Five stars. Great service, kitschy décor and vibe, and great drinks and food. The banana and pomegranate margaritas are so good. I’ve been here plenty of times and for me the standouts are the shrimp ceviche served in a giant avocado, and the pumpkin mole. Try the pumpkin mole!
Place rating: 3
Sydney, Australia
Loved the ceviche and the «top shelf» Margarita here. The ceviche were the best I’ve ever had, but not sure why they’re served with crackers?!! This place has great chips snd salsa, why not put chips with it or a tostada? The beef enchilada was good, the chicken not so much. Tasted fishy… no bueno! My friend and I shared & we both agreed. Our waitress was lovely!
Place rating: 1
CHATSWORTH, CA
Never again! Taco truck outside construction site has better food. Most important items in menu were not available and server didn’t know what dish consisted of. If you only care about beer and margaritas… go somewhere else too. The place lacked ambiance as loud music drowned our conversations. Not ever going back.
Place rating: 5
Los Angeles County, CA
Great food for the price! The service is good and the atmosphere is pleasant, authentic, and relaxing. If you’re looking for a casual nite out with good authentic Mexican food without breaking your wallet, then I highly recommend!
Place rating: 5
Cincinnati, OH
Excellent service, great atmosphere, and authentic, region specific food. Highly recommended.
Place rating: 5
Santa Monica, CA
Best steak quesadilla ever, only $ 9.99 at lunch. Wonderful carne asada steak plate — best around. My husband loves the mole. The selection of tequilas is vast and wide. Owner, Michael will treat you right!
Place rating: 2
Santa Monica, CA
The food here is great, it’s awesome that they have so many moles made from scratch. That was theThe only reason they are not getting any stars. This is because the staff seems very confused in the art of 5 star customer service. I requested waters for my girlfriend and I upon arrival and never received them. We had to walk to the bar to get water! Also some more street appeal wouldnt hurt you guys. Then to top it all off our drink server told us he forgot to add the last round of drinks so we gave him a card to swipe. This turned into a mess. With the unclear writing and overall sketchyness happening we ended up not arguing cutting our loses and we will never be returning. This restaurant has great food and should try to train the waiting staff on the basics before cutting them loose.
Place rating: 3
Santa Monica, CA
Food was decent. Drinks not so much. Asked the waiter for a tequila recommendation to take shots, something well priced. Got the check and the shots were 17 dollars a piece. Service was mediocre for only being one other table in the place. Thought it was closed when we walked in. Very empty
Place rating: 3
Marina del Rey, CA
Their bean and cheese burritos are good but so expensive…$ 10 say what!
Lots of tequila… Not that busy though
Place rating: 4
Los Angeles, CA
Excellent food. Nice atmosphere. Lovely staff. They actually care. Got the El Texate Enchiladas with mole sauce. Yummy. Sunday lunch is a nice quiet time to go and relax. Really enjoyed it. Good chips and salsa and the drink menu is ginormous!
Place rating: 1
Phoenix, AZ
I rarely leave a restaurant with a sour taste in my mouth but I did here on cinco de mayo. We went at 915 and while busy, there were empty tables and it wasnt crazy given the holiday. Ambiance was … Eclectic with a mariachi band but seated outside the heaters weren’t on making it a little too chilly.
The issue was the wait staff was completely unprepared for any crowd of any size. Trying to get even silverware was like pulling teeth much less getting more chips, ordering or trying to pay.
The food itself was good but we spent half the meal trying to get service from one of three waitresses. Clearly they aren’t used to many customers. And frankly I’m not surprised.
Place rating: 5
Detroit, MI
Delicious food. I had a vegetarian burrito and a house margarita, my husband had a seafood stew. Both dishes exceptional!
Place rating: 5
WOODLAND HLS, CA
I’ve eaten here about 3 or 4 times, and can’t believe I haven’t reviewed El Texate. Their food is exceptional. The tortilla soup is like no other tortilla soup I’ve had. It’s a creamy purée of complex flavors — smoky, spicy, a little sweet, kind of cinnamony. I don’t know. I can’t peg all the flavors. I was too busy wondering how I could lick the bowl without anyone noticing.
The chile relleno is fresh and soooo good. Again, better than most I’ve had.
The last time we went, the man behind the bar (I think he may own the place, as he certainly seemed to care as though he does) came over and asked if I wanted another margarita. As I paused to consider whether I should or not, he answered for me, «Yes.»
So I laughed, «I like a guy who knows what I’m going to say before I say it. Of course I’ll have another margarita.»
I like the people who work here and the warm atmosphere. This is one of my favorite Mexican restaurants in the LA area.
Place rating: 1
Scottsdale, AZ
We walked in, sat ourselves when the waitresses took no interest in seating us even though the restaurant was empty. They brought us one cup of water for the two of us. And a sad bowl of broken chips with watery orange salsa. We ordered the quest fundido as an appetizer. It came out half liquid half block of solid cheese so the only way to eat it was cutting it with a knife.
For dinner I ordered the chicken fajitas. When the server brought them out there was an entire stick of unmelted butter on my fajita plate covered up by some raw carrots and onions and strangely brown greyish chicken.
Still on the hunt for some quality authentic Mexican in this area!
Place rating: 4
Santa Monica, CA
A hole in the wall hidden gem! I have really enjoyed going to this restaurant. Service is great and it’s usually quiet/​not crowded. The queso fundido is delicious (huge portion!) and the margarita had a welcome kick. Definitely not the watered down stuff you get elsewhere. I am surprised that they aren’t busier — but I guess that’s a good thing for me! We can always get a table!
Place rating: 4
Venice, CA
I’m amazed this restaurant is not bussier. Most of the items that we order were really really tasty. I ordered the dark chicken meat Pipian which is a Oaxacan Mole made with the pumpkin seeds and nopalitos, it was FABULOUS! I will come back to this restaurant for the other moles. The carnitas were good, the chips were fresh and not greasy, and l’m glad the salsa was not salty like in most places. The handmade corn tortillas were kind of disapointing, there were not soft. But besides that this places was awesome!
The service was great, her name is Melina and she was very knowledgeable.
Hopefully one day they use Cage-​free organic chicken and grass-​fed beef and pork and NON-​GMO corn tortillas and Organic /​pesticide free vegetables.