El Compadre Taco Shop

I love this place. Every time I come to San Diego to visit I stop by to get my carne asada burrito fix. Their customer service is amazing and friendly. Everything taste fresh and the verde salsa is so delicious. Before leaving town I always grab a few carne asada burritos for the plane ride home. Can’t go wrong eating here. Never been disappointed in my orders.

This is the first ever taco shop where I enjoyed what has become one of my favorite food groups. Back in the day it was a Los Pancho’s and before that a Der Weiner Hut. I recently hit their drive thru in the wee hours after a night out and got the rolled tacos. I was also pleased to find out I got a free drink with a Unilocal check-​in.
The rolled tacos were hot and fresh, covered with guacamole and cheese. It was the perfect way to compliment the libations from earlier in the evening. It was reminiscent of my younger days cruising Second Street and stopping for vittles at the cool looking building on the corner with the good grub.
There are plenty of other options for south of the border cuisine in the immediate area, but the quality of the food, the friendly service and the late night drive thru make this one a keeper. I will definitely return!

I ordered the potato tacos with a side of rice and an horchata. Very greasy tacos made with fried potatoes, lettuce and cheese. Very little flavor and every bite was filled with oil. The horchata tasted pre-​mixed and not very sweet. Next time if you’re hungry and it’s late cruise through the jack in the box instead.

I thought it was a good Tacos shop. I ordered an Adobada burrito. It was hot and juicy. But then came my wife’s Carne Asada Torta. Kind of Bland. My Burrito was probably a 4 and her torta a 2 – 3. So I give it a 3 – 3.5 star rating.

BY FAR THE WORST CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE I HAVE EVER HAD.
Why the hell does Unilocal not let us give 0 stars?!
I will try to keep this review short (keyword try) but I want all you Unilocalers to know how ridiculous the employees here are. So I went Christmas day after spending all day at the hospital, looking for something quick to eat as I was starving. The drive thru line had about 8 cars in it so we thought getting off the car and ordering was faster. I went up to the window and ordered. Kid you not, 20 something minutes later still no food and I have seen those first 8 cars all get their food plus a good 5 or so other cars come and go. I go up to the window and not one of the 3 employees inside goes to the window. They all stare at me here and then but ignore me for about 2 to 3 minutes. I finally talk to the cook who I have to almost yell at so he pays attention to me. I politely ask if my food is almost ready and he says to me in Spanish «yea its over there» and points to a place inside where it’s just sitting. He then yells for the other employee to come give me the food. I asked this girl why is it that my food has been sitting there getting cold and no one has called it out for me. She then tells me, with an attitude «it hasn’t. He just put it there.» Obviously this is a lie as by now I have been by this little window for almost 5 minutes and I clearly saw since I walked up, that the cook did not walk anywhere near where my food was sitting. I told her this to which she replied that the drive thru lane was priority and that I should have gone in the drive thru lane if I didn’t want my food to get cold. Are you serious?! I asked for a refund and throughout this whole conversation, she kept rolling her eyes. She then turned around and starting talking to an employee about me in Spanish as if I didn’t understand the language. I asked her for her name and she said, «you don’t need to know my name. for what?!» With a BIG attitude and more eye rolling. I told her I was going to call and speak to a manager or the owner about her because she was so rude and I didn’t appreciate the way she treated her customers. She then told me again she was not going to give me her name and walked away. Another employee inside was trying to figure out what was going on and in the midst of it I heard the name Jessica, so I’m not sure If this is her name or not. Anyway, after her walking away from me I was pretty angry and I walked to the other window, where the car drives up to to get their food since she decided to ignore me. We exchanged a few words, she ended up cursing at me and called me couple of names… Girl, don’t let me catch you outside of your little tacoshop because then we will see how big and bad you are when you’re not behind a window.
I will be contacting the owner about this and I’m going to see what I can do about it through the laborers comissioner as I think there must be a regulation about employees withholding their names. I am extremely dissapointed with the ‘service’ here. And to top it off, my grandma didn’t get a refund for her burrito so she did try it and she said it tasted like shit! STAY AWAY FROM THIS GHETTO NASTY PLACE!!! and someone please tell Jessica I’ll be waiting for her outside the taco shop when her shift ends one of these days. hahahaha J/​k… sort of :)

I used to eat from here once a week. Hands down the best bean and cheese burritos and the salsa verde is perfectly spicy.
I don’t know what the hell happened in the last couple weeks but I’m done eating here. There is no consistency anymore. Last time my tortilla was borderline raw this time it’s cracking and flaking like a dead bitch. And when I pay for extra cheese I want extra cheese, meaning dump that bag in or it’s still just a basic bitch bean n cheese burrito.
Btw the salsa verde isn’t spicy anymore, kick the bitches out and bring the good guys back. This place sucks now.

You knw when you check in here you get a free drink with your purchase. The employees make great eye contact and are very personable. I enjoy coming here because they will ensure that your order is correct before you leave and repeat it back to you. They really spend their time with their customers, it is not like a fast food place where there are assembly line type work and things get mixed up in the mix of things. You get what you pay for; hot fresh food.

Friendly service, tasty food and great hot sauce. I ordered the California burrito and added guacamole. The burrito had cut up potatoes instead of fries and I really liked that and the meat was amazing .It was delicious. My mom ordered the breakfast burrito and said she enjoyed it. I highly recommend checking them out.

A familiar old spot where I enjoyed many a burrito. Having worked in the area for several years and having family who lives nearby, I have visited El Compadre for years. I can tell you some important things. First of all, there are two entrances to the drive thru. There is an entrance on Oakdale (this is the main entrance) and if you drive in that way, you actually get to park next to a menu before you order. If you enter from Second Street, you are left to the mercy of the overhead menu which is barely visible by itself unless you know to look for it. Also there is usually confusion on who gets to drive up to the window next. And sometimes this adds to the confusion of the staff, as I have received the food that the car ahead of me ordered in the past.
This go round, we got a California burrito (which is made with real potatoes instead of fries) is full of delicious cheddar cheese, and plenty of beef! The meat is flavorful but the quality is spotty. Sometimes it’s amazing, sometimes it’s a little crunchy. Take that for what it’s worth. The staff is courteous and actually cares if you enjoy your food, are quick to correct their mistakes, and gives you plenty of salsa cups without any issues.
We also ordered the Carne asada fries, which are bomb from this spot! Plenty of everything, just look at the pic! Another word to the wise, don’t frequent the walk up window, unless you enjoy interacting with the numerous street wildlife who seem to live and loiter on every corner in this part of El Cajon. Just stay in your car and order yourself some of the best Carne asada fries in east county.

Just moved to El Cajon and was trying to find a good Taco Shop. Decided to try this place out and I’m sorry to say we won’t be returning!!! Extremely long wait in drive thru despite only having 2 cars in front of me. I wanted to drive off and just forget my order but I was pretty much trapped. I finally ended up getting my order and headed home. I live approximately 3 mins away from this place and when I got home and took out my order of 10 rolled tacos to feed to my kids, I was grossed out. Usually I’d be annoyed if they were skimpy on gaucamole (which they were) but I didn’t even care seeing as most of it was brown!!! The cheese was completely melted and all clumped together. Just absolutely horrible rolled tacos!!! How the hell does a Taco shop screw up rolled tacos? Never giving this place another cent of my hard earned money!!!

Solid 5 stars for outstanding Customer service, I visited El Cajon location 8÷28÷15 and met lively Gabriel, very friendly and enjoys talking to customers. I showed him my Unilocal check in and received my free drink. He only works 10 to 6 so no wonder I never met him before. I usually come here at night but now that he RESTORED my faith back in El Compdre I’ll return very soon!
Thank you again for listening to my order and great food this time around! Awesome Service!

The only good thing about this place is that it’s 24 hours. Other than that their service is horrible and they are very stingy with their food portions. I think I paid way too much for their carne asada fries because of how little they served and how much they sucked. Instead I go to Santana’s or sombreros now.

If you want awesome rolled tacos, this is the place to be!

It’s hard to find a bad Mexican food joint in San Diego, but this place takes the cake. I’ve been here many times for a late night fix, and the food was usually decent enough not to complain about. Tonight I ordered a carne asada taco combination with rice and beans. Pretty simple, uncomplicated order. After ordering, I waited over 20 minutes in the drive-​thru, even though there were just two vehicles in front of me. From the looks of the food handed to those folks, the orders did not seem complicated. But who knows. Then I pull in. They were about to hand me an entirely different order. I told the girl that I actually ordered the taco combo and she asked me if I was sure. Then I saw the girl walk out orders to two drivers behind me. I waited another 10 minutes. Wow. No apologies, no complimentary flan or anything. 30 minutes waiting for taco shop food. Unacceptable.
It got worse. When I got home, I noticed scorched/​overly-​cooked pieces of carne asada in the tacos. I took a couple of bites, but they were entirely inedible and bland. Did not taste any seasoning of any kind on the meat. I had to toss them. The red sauces they provided were watery and flavorless. The rice seemed overcooked, and I was given a portion that appeared scraped from the pot or pan in which it was cooked. The beans were disgusting and looked like they had been cooked in lard. No flavor at all. This is definitely my last visit here. There are simply too many good options around town. Sombrero’s is just down the street and it’s food is always good. They even have health conscious options.

The taquitos are THE BEST! Friendly service, good prices, & generous portions, AND a free soda for Unilocal check in! We shall be back! ¡GRACIAS!

Good taco shop. Open 24 hrs. Right off the freeway. And theres a drive thru. Doesn’t get more convenient than that. I’ve never had a bad burrito from this place. If it’s 2 am and you’re leaving an establishment that was open until 2am, this is your stop.

Good food! This is our go-​to for a California or carne asada burrito. They are always yummy.
The best thing about this taco shop is that it’s open 24 hours, drive thru and walk up window ordering. There is no inside seating. There are only three outdoor tables with umbrellas.
We have ordered at the walk up window before, and the service was even better. Such friendly staff!
I’ve also ordered the taco salad in a tortilla shell, and quesadillas. All very yummy!

I used to love El Compadres food but I hadn’t eaten there in a couple of years due to the fact that after a couple different times after ordering a mixed burrito and only getting a beef burrito, I asked the punk kid cashier at the time to make sure that I did in fact receive a mixed burrito, but nope, I got home and once again only a beef burrito, I would of gone back and threw it in his face but it would of been a long drive back.
Well, today I thought enough time had passed to try them once again and yes, I did get a mixed burrito for $ 4.50, but it was one skimpy burrito with whats becoming a trend with most taco shops in El Cajon, a burrito with mostly bell pepper and onion slices along with chunks of canned tomato with hardly any shredded beef or beans. I give up, I won’t try them again, there is better out there for sure.
May update: Well, last night as I was leaving the big city about 11pm after a long day and nothing to eat since a late lunch, I thought I’d give em another try as a few months had passed and my options were limited, so I swung by for a mixed burrito to go and as I pulled up to the window, I repeated my order to the nice girl due to the price she quoted me and she said to me that she thought I ordered a bean and cheese burrito and I told her no, A mixed burrito, a «bean and beef» burrito, and she said ok, she then said that will be, I believe $ 5.25, and then I said to her that thats a lot of tax for $ 4.50, but ok, and she said wait, no, my bad, $ 4.90 I believe, so I paid. Then this nice girl came back to the window and asked if I wanted cheese in it and I said no, so she said he will remake it and I told her it was ok that way but they remade it anyway and I was on my way home.
Now the funny part, when I got home, I reheated my burrito and started eating it only to realize that I once again I had a beef burrito and not a mixed burrito as El Compadres history repeated itself once again, unbelieveable!
I will be nice enough to mention that this time the shredded beef wasn’t choked out by too many bell peppers and onions as it was last time and my beef burrito was tastey, but a bit heavy without those precious beans.

One star because of being open 24 hrs! 2 star because the carne asade fries! It was also cool barely fitting the big truck in! The shredded beef chimichanga was really gross, and had too much sour cream, and too much guacamole! It made it soggy!!! Can I get a chimichanga with that sour cream, and guac please!!! Really I had to throw it away, it was that gross!!!

Great cheap food! My favorite when I’m drunk or high, friendly service, and is kinda cheap not like super cheap but alright to kill your munchies need