Guadalajaras Restaurant

Gudalajaras in El Centro, CA, has a wide range of dishes from seafood to my all time favorite, Carne Asada Tacos. Every member of the family will find something they’ll enjoy. Click HERE for the entire review!

OVERALL BITES:

Value: My Carne Asada tacos were 12.85 for 3 of them. They were a good size but as a whole I thought they were a little more expensive than other places. I did get free ships and salsa though. With my drink, and a tip, lunch came out to $20.

Taste: The taste was pretty darn good. What I enjoyed most were the chips and salsa. The meat in my tacos was good but could have been better. Read below for more insight.

Presentation: Wax paper kept the tacos separated and in place, the beans looked good and they were garnished with lettuce and a slice of tomato. Again, the chips stole the show in my opinion. It was a little bowl of chips but they had some beans poured on top of them. If you don’t like bean dip this might not be for you but you should try them as they tasted really good.

Vibe: I happened to go to Guadalajaras twice. Once for dinner and the other for lunch. Each time it wasn’t too busy. There are plenty of tables, there is some background music, and the staff as a whole is pretty attentive. If you come in through the side you may not get noticed as their main entrance is at the front (the majority of the parking is at the side though).

Accessibility: Very easy to find. Head North on Imperial Ave from the interstate and then take a right on Adams. They are just next to the McDonald’s. You can’t miss them.

Review – Guadalajaras

After a 2 hour drive to El Centro, CA, from San Diego, I needed a bite to eat. It’s been a while since I’ve been to El Centro but thought I’d visit one of my go to spots – Guadalajaras Restaurant. Since it was nearly 12:30 in the afternoon I thought I’d take a break for lunch.

I walked in from the side entrance, where the majority of the parking is located, and it took a few minutes to get greeted and seated. Once I got to my table my drink and food order was taken quickly.

Plates range right around the $13 range with seafood closer to $16 and up. Chips and salsa are included and they are served with a splash of refried beans on top which I thought was a different way of serving them. Both red and green were excellent. Just enough spice and tasty! The green had a little more lemon flavor to it which normally it seems like the red does other places. Both were good but liked green more. Just the right amount of chips for one person too.

My server brought out two small containers filled with pico and chopped cabbage. The Carne Asada tacos came shortly after with a side of beans and lettuce as garnish with a generous serving of guacamole. I fixed up my taco with the pico, cabbage, guac and lemon juice from the lemons and the taste was delicious. The meat was tender and seasoned well. No extra salt was needed. There were a couple pieces of gristle that I was able to remove rather easily which was a bummer but, again, they were easily removed. I had just had a wisdom tooth removed and was worried that tacos might not be the wisest choice but the meat was so tender it didn’t bother me in the least.

On the table you’ll also find plenty of bottled salsas. Eight different kinds to be exact. They could have been cleaned up a bit because it looked like they had dry salsa around the bottle. Next to the salsas you’ll also find extra napkins which I thought was good. I hate to ask for additional ones, when needed, so this took that hassle right out the window.

When I went for dinner I shared an appetizer with a co-worker. Stuffed yellow peppers with cheese, onion, and shrimp. Two of them were fried and the others were grilled. They weren’t hot, but not mild either, and the pepper taste blended real well with the cheese and shrimp. Think of them as a seafood jalapeno popper. Definitely worth a try.

To sum it all up, Guadalajaras Restaurant gets 4 Bites! The taste was good, they gave just about everything you could want on tacos (cabbage, pico, salsas, lemons and guac), the presentation wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, and they were easy to find. $20 for lunch (with the tip) seemed a bit high and the bottles of salsa needed to be wiped down daily.

Give them a Like on Facebook and if you’re ever in the area (as you’re driving to San Diego) make sure to give them a try.