Cervantes Mexican Kitchen

One of my go-​to taco places. I really like Cervantes Mexican Kitchen on Center Street in Anaheim. This place is not to be missed for authentic fast-​casual Mexican food. Taco Tuesday is great here, also.

Stopped at this new trendy spot but surprised and disapointed the outside is not what you would expect on the inside. Outside is a trendy sitting area with herb planters. You think your about to walk into a trendy healthy restaurant. But walking in It’s almost like a mini food court offering Mexican on one side and healthy vegan options at another with a beer and wine bar in the center. An interesting mix. I didnt see anyone working the bar counter the entire hour i was here. I ordered tacos and disapointed they were American style like Taco bell. It had shredded lettuce and mixed white and yellow cheese! My partner ordered chili cheese fries and fries tasted from frozen bag. Wacamole was horrible. Did not taste fresh at all more like from a jar. I was going to order from vegan place but everything on their menu contains soy which I’m trying to stay away from due to health effects soy contains. We will not be back. So much potential but it’s got more work to do.

I’ve been here a few times being that it is so close to work. I always get their tacos which are really good. It’s not your ordinary authentic street tacos. It reminds me more of what you would cook at home.
I specifically like the carne asada and chicken tacos. It’s what I always order. The customer service here is good as well. The ladies are kind and attentive.

Living in southern California, you’ve got to had tacos craving here and then. I am glad there is one right by where i lived, but was disappointed that they are just a-​ok. I know I am not a taco expert, but this place it’s quite mediocre for me.
I am comparing to what I used to have from one of the famous taco trucks in Pasadena, maybe it isn’t fair, but the tacos from this place is on the dry side. I have come here for a few times, and the only decent experience for my latest visit on a Thursday during lunch time. Maybe they have more customers on Thursdays that the food turn over are faster that the meat are fresher prepared. I had their Carne asada, carnitas and lengua. The Asada and carnitas is ok moist, but the lengua is still on the dry side. I usually love lengua but not from this place. They won’t give you lemons if you don’t ask for them. And I wished they have radish slice to go with their tacos as well.
Like some of the other reviews, their servers doesn’t seem enthusiastic about her job. It was hard to ask for anything.
But for thursday $ 1 — $ 1.5 (for beef) tacos, it’s good enough for what you pay for to settle my craving for tacos.

I’m a little indifferent about this place. There’s definitely pros and cons — some I’m willing to overlook on some days, but on other days, not so much.
This place is located in the Anaheim Promenade. Right by the stop sign and at the corner, this place is located inside the building on the left hand side, right next to Healthy Junk.
The service is mediocre. But $ 1 tacos on Tuesday!
I got the carnitas and al pastors. The al pastor was absolutely delicious. The carnitas, it’s a tad bit dry for my liking. They didn’t give us enough salsa so we had to ask for more. They give a red and a green one. The red salsa was my favorite; it definitely has a kick but also has this roasted flavor.
The seating and area is very open and clear. You can choose to sit by the window and creep on people, sit outside, or inside with all the other restaurants.

$ 1 Taco Tuesday and Thursday’s people!!! What else do you want? I stick with the carnitas and al pastor with cilantro and onion. Cannot beat it.
They also sometimes have amazing watermelon juice that I can’t get enough of! Love Cervantes!

My mom and I love coming here for lunch! The staff is super friendly and the atmosphere of the location is nice. Nancy, she is the only person I know by name but she always greets my mom and I with a warm welcome and will make small talk with us. Since my mom and I are regulars, she will ask about my mom if I come in alone. I absolutely love this place!

Love this spot! I have only been for taco Tuesday but plenty of times. Inexpensive, delicious food and they don’t skimp on portions. Great value and I love that the taco Tuesday is all day! Location is great for lots of different food options for everyone in your group.

Usually I’m not very picky and I can tolerate Mexican food of any kind but I thought this place was ok.
I tried their carne asada nachos which I thought was not bad. But then I tried one of their wet burrito with the green sauce. Probably I’m not too experienced with wet burrito but I thought they poured too much sauce. Also the sauce wasn’t that great either, it was kinda bitter actually. I ordered it to «to go» and the box they put it in was kinda small. So there’s this pool of green mud with a big burrito sitting in the middle. It looked like something that Shrek would feed on at his swamp. The inside of the burrito was good, but every time I cut a piece the green sauce goes inside so I had to pour some out.
Also the cashier of theirs looked really un enthusiastic to serve their customer. Probably she wasn’t having a good day.
One cool thing this place offer is the $ 1 taco. If you’re looking for something cheap then you can get that. But I would probably recommend you to going to a taco truck instead.
This place was very mediocre. Just like that song.
I don’t want no mediocre…

Customer service can use some attitude adjustments. The only thing I like from this spot is the Pozole even if its too salty and if you ask for the sides to go along with it hopefully you wont get a look and attitude along with it as we did. We work down the street and ordered some pozole for today and I decided to try a Papa de Taco specifically ordered «Hard» not «soft» as the picture that I posted. My co-​worker ordered taquito platter and I don’t know if they forgot to fry the taquitos but they were soft tortilla rolled with chicken in them. I don’t know maybe this is the way they do it here but this is definitely not the authentic kind of Mexican food we are used to. Our fault for not checking our orders before we left but at the same time maybe they should get it right.

Food being good or bad almost doesn’t matter when the service is rude and you feel rushed. If you’re having a bad day, so everyone a favour and stay home, please.

I really don’t usually review a restaurant that wasn’t a great experience, but Cervantes was interesting enough to want to share. It’s located in a nice promenade in Anaheim.
They offer online ordering, which is great — and when I picked up my shredded beef burrito I noticed this was a much bigger burrito than normal (Awesome). The problem was that it was also a lot saltier than normal. Hopefully, this isn’t their normal seasoning and I happened to get a bad one.

Love this place! First Mexican food place who’s meat isn’t greasy of fatty (not a fan of either). Everything is fresh! The salsa is chunky which I don’t prefer because I like it thinner, but it’s still tasteful and a bit spicy which is nice! Personally I would recommend the wet burrito with Green salsa or their carne Asada fries. For tacos, their Asada, lengua, pork and chicken are the best. Free refills if you dine in as well. Everything is super good! So go try it!

Taco Tuesday’s are a great deal here. Dollar tacos for their chicken and pork each done two ways. Also, they stuff the tacos with lots of meat! They offer a homemade salsa in front of their registers that have lots of flavor and the red one is very spicy! I love it! Check this place out!

After making so many Food Truck visits for a while on Tuesdays with the occasional taco stops but at the normal locations, we decided to hit something new and more on the way home. My husband had visited before for a breakfast quesadilla but this time we came for tacos. This one is located with the other food court options in the GOOD FOOD court at the Center Street Promenade.
I tried a few options — carne asada, carnitas and potato. My husband had two asadas (one hard shell one soft), and a chicken. They all come in choices of hard shells or soft tortillas. The hard shell options come with lettuce and cheese while the soft tortillas come with your regular cilantro and onion. Although I am not a fan of onions, I usually leave them on tacos like this as they add to the flavor and are mixed in well enough. If they have big scary chunks of onion I will toss them out. This one had some of those so I removed some.
Be sure to check out the options for Taco Tuesdays. Some meats are $ 1 and some are $ 1.50. The more popular meats will run you at $ 1.50. I don’t remember as I didn’t pay much attention. They also charge a .30 cent fee to use your card. Also another downfall is they charge .75 cents for a refill. The machine is out and aimed right at you so be sure to pay before you get busted. I didn’t bother to get one. They also have salsas available in pico, red, or green.
The potato taco was odd to me. Maybe it’s just me. It was more chunks of potato which I picture as breakfast potatoes at a lot of places. I found this one to be a bit odd and not much flavor. I did enjoy the carne asada and carnitas tacos though. My husband also seemed to enjoy his options. They are small so be sure to get enough to fill your belly.
I would come back here from time to time. It’s local, cheap, and not bad.

Taco Thursdays!
$ 1 for chicken and pork
$ 1.5 for beef
I had carnitas, asada and pastor tacos and they were all good and flavorful. Since I don’t eat spicy, many times i feel like the meat is dry and bland if you don’t put the sauce on it but these ones didn’t need it. Meat was soft and tasty and i just squirted some lime and they were good to go.
I also tried my coworkers Quesadilla with shredded beef and it was very good too.
The Watermelon juice or «agua de sandia» was nice and refreshing on a hot day.
Check out the Farmers market right outside too!

I got the sopes. I wasn’t expecting King Taco but come on. This meal is nothing more or less than a filler for my hunger. Drove by this area to eat. I should have picked another place.
Edit* actually I couldn’t even finish. Too mediocre for me to continue. lost my appetite. I stopped eating at 50% fullness.

To be honest, I was skeptical about this place — only because it is next door to one of my favorite vegan places — so I didn’t want to try anything else — but since a coworker was treating me to lunch — I didn’t have much choice :)
I was pleased that they offered vegan items. Specifically — the soyrizo burrito. It had beans, rice, potatoes, cilantro and soyrizo. It was really very good. The salsa they have is also — really good. It’s so spicy that it takes a moment to sink in — and then — all sinus are cleared and you start sweating! So good, so spicy!

This review is solely based off their carne asada fries. I haven’t had a chance to check out any of their other food, but these were really good and were under $ 7.
Jaime was on a healthy eating kick and I wanted something super heavy and greasy. He of course hit up Healthy Junk next door and I went for the south of the border cuisine. Though I had my eyes set on their chilaquiles — the special of fries doused with meat, sour cream and other fattening toppings sold me instantly. I wasn’t sure if this was a meal or an appetizer portion and she assured me that it’s definitely a meal in itself and it’s recommended to be shared. I was eating this solo, so I decided to take on the challenge.
Sure enough, this heaping amount of French fries was presented on the table. It must’ve weighed at least two pounds. The fries were cooked well and did not become mushy after being used as a crutch for heavy, saucy ingredients. They stayed nice and firm until I tapped out about ¾ of the way through. Jaime just stared at me eating his kale salad. I showed no remorse for my choices and I’m sure he was jealous he wasn’t doing the same.
I’d order these again, but I think the sharing option is the best way to go. I don’t think anyone should eat a portion of these solo as it was sorta hard to breathe after the fact. I was also told that tacos are only $ 1 on Tuesdays, so I’ll have to check that out next time… with a side of carne fries of course!

Wow what a hidden gem, there is no way to go wrong with taco Tuesday at Cervantes. Their tacos were some of the best small soft tacos I can honestly recall ever eating. Credit their Abuela’s (Grandma) recipe’s, according to their website, for this cornucopia of authentic, rustic and simple Mexican fare.
I met a buddy at the Farmers Market they hold each Tuesday afternoon at the Promenade and somehow made out way to Cervantes. The sign out front certainly helped a bit as their small location in a mini-​food court can easily be missed.
I am sorry I did’t snap some more pictures. Here is one house chicken and a grilled chicken. I also tried the carnitas. These small tacos all packed a huge amount of flavor and the tortillas held up perfectly with the fillings. Their salsa’s too are a real traditional treat with a wide variety to suit your heat level preference.
The other taco choices include lengua, carne asada, shredded beef and potato. I am inclined to think those are just as tasty as the three I sampled. I would love to try some of their other offerings as well but for now definitely count me in as a fan.
A couple of quick things to help navigating to Cervantes. No signage outside they are located inside the «Good Eats» mini food court. No onsite bathroom for customers so you need to mosey over to the parking structure bathroom, now that is an odd one. Anyhow, count me in as someone looking forward to Abulea’s home cooking featured at Cervantes Mexican Kitchen.