Tortas Rainbow

This little spot is super casual and friendly. Authentic Mexican flavors, excellent sandwiches and tacos.

Hidden away on the corner of a strip mall next to flashier and better-​known fast food stores, this place doesn’t look like much from the outside or inside, but wow, can they cook! We had a beef burrito that was filled with lean cuts and no rice/​bean filler, and chicken-​green chili tamales that were fabulous, just like homemade. Definitely worth a return visit!

in town for a week, glad we checked this out based on Unilocal.very authentic, very delicious. be prepared to wait about 10 min, but worth the wait! you are not coming here for ambience, you are here to enjoy perfectly prepared and seasoned meats.

Hidden gem of Española! High quality and great value. We had a variety of delicious tacos: pulled beef, chicken, and carnitas. They had a broad range of other taco possibilities, including tongue and tripe. Each taco came with a thick, generous slice of avocado and a pile of fresh pico de gallo. The caramelized jalapeños and onions on the side were buttery and decidedly out-​of-​this-​world. We also got a sandia liquado and it was fresh and flavorful. The owner was very sweet and checked in on us a couple times, making sure that we were enjoying our meal. I will definitely be back whenever I’m traveling through Española.

Thanks, Unilocal,for calling this place to my attention!
I’ve probably driven past this unassuming little hole-​in-​the-​wall a hundred times, but I never noticed it, tucked away as it is in the corner of an unpromising-​looking strip mall. But man, I’ve been missing some great food all these years.
The beef barbacoa burrito with pico de gallo and avocado is delicious, with wonderfully seasoned beef. The chicken burrito is excellent, too.
Another pleasant surprise: they have awesome Mexican-​style shrimp cocktails! I’ve been on the hunt for good versions of these in U.S. ever since I fell in love with them in Mexico. The ones they have at Tortas Rainbow are at least as good as my previous favorite — Mariscos la Playa, a few blocks to the north — and maybe even a bit better. The ones here have a bit of a spicy kick to them.
Atmosphere is divey fast food joint, with just a few fast-​food-​style tables to sit at, but the food is down-​home, wonderfully prepared, deliciously spiced Mexican. It’s popular with the locals, and so well hidden that they pretty have it to themselves. So coming here gives you a taste of «real New Mexico» — none of that Santa Fe touristy stuff here. Every time I’ve been here, I’m the only one not speaking Spanish, which I find kinda cool.
Pretty good fruit smoothies, too!
I’ll definitely be back whenever I’m heading north and need a quick fix of super-​tasty authentic Mexican (not New Mexican) food.

Ate here for quick dinner based on Unilocal reviews on a drive from Santa Fe to Espanola. Granted, I’m from Houston and married into a Mexican American family, so I have high standards and usually love strip, center, hole in the wall type places. But this was very disappointing. My husband and I both got tortas. The bread was soggy! I had only one (just one) very small slice of tomato on mine. The chile rellenos torta which I had was just swimming in grease. We also tried the refried beans, and they were also greasy without a good flavor. The strangest thing was the horchata. The flavor was sort of what it should be, but it was extremely grainy in texture, almost gritty and paste-​like. Perhaps we caught them on an off-​day, but we were very disappointed.

Very very tasty! My wife and I were in need of a snack before continuing to Taos. Glad she vetoes any fast food franchises, cause we found this place on Unilocal and it was perfect. Got the barbacoa torta. Melts in your mouth tender. Just right seasoning and the side of green salsa added a spicy kick.
Topped it off with fresh watermelon juice and we were happily on our way.

Modestly priced delicious food. Clean restaurant and bathroom. Very friendly staff. We had Barbacoa and beef tongue tacos and chicken enchiladas, and mango Luciano’s. All were good.

This place is so delicious. Although i’ve only had their chorizo egg burrito and the horchata whoch they make there. Oh man and must i say both are soooo good. I’m going to start exploring the rest of the menu now though. They have a very nice selection.

If you want NM chile and fast service this is not the place. I had their tamales; lack luster with watery red and green chile and not the taste of NM. This is straight up Mexican food.

Tasty, cheap, and quick. Who says you can’t have all three. Barbacoa and Carnitas were slow cooked goodness.

Quick, fairly cheap, and super yum. None of us tried the tortas, but I got a pork burrito, add chorizo, and it was terrific!
A small place in a strip mall, but good for a quick bite to eat. Beware the drug addicts in search of your money outside. Seemed like they had a little set-​up over by the side of the parking lot. They’re waiting for you!

Wow, what a hidden little gem! Probably the best Torta I have ever had. Very affordable and the portions are nice size. Had a Barbacoa which was loaded with meat, creamy avocado and L&T! The bread was spot on! Also ordered a side of fries. Now, I did not have high hopes for those, however they arrived nice and hot and perfectly crisp. Let me give you a tip if you go and venture into this gem. Put your fries on the Torta and you will not be disappointed! So the lady behind the counter asks if I would like the fresh papaya drink, so I agreed and was expecting it to be watered down. Nope that the case, it was spot on. Place does lack a little ambiance, however look pass that and try some great tasting food.

I agree with all the other reviewers; the service was great, the food was great, and the prices are great.
The only thing this place lacks is air conditioning. :-(

GREAT EATS right off the main road! The man that took our order was hilarious! He insisted that we drank out of these color changing straws and then showed us pictures of all the Tortas they had to offer. Anyway super tasty food YUM!!!

Good food and fast. I went there on the recommendation of other reviews of this place, and I was not disappointed. Yum!

Wonderful little sandwich/​hamburger/​burrito/​taco/​enchilada shop, with smoothies, horchata, flavored drinks from Mexico, juices, and more. Lovely owners who really try to make sure you are having a great dining experience. Go here rather than the gringo fast food spots that line the main drag; you’ll be glad you did. Excellante!

This place is great!
— Great aguas frescas. Not watered down and very fruity
— Tortas were incredible. Bread was fluffy and crisp in all the right places. Meat was cooked and cut in good size pieces.
— Prices are relatively cheap, especially since you’re getting a freshly cooked meal
— Great service

Torta milenesa– yum! This was the perfect place to stop for a quick on-​the-​road dinner with seven native Mexicans.
We arrived at 8:10 (they closed at 8:00) but the friendly man behind the counter welcomed all eight of us in and fired up the grill. The tortas were delicious, and we were offered red and green salsas in addition to mountains of chiles toreados.
They also had plenty of bottled Mexican sodas– Sidral, Sangria Senorial, Jarritos, Mexican Coke, etc. The décor is kitschy and cute, with a stack of free magazines featuring Jennifer Lopez and some posters of local sports teams and musicians.
And the milenesa I had beat the pants off of any fast-​food hamburger (or Subway from next door) that we could have eaten in Espanola. Thinly pounded meat breaded and fried on a well-​used grill, warm jamon, white cheese, veggies and a dot of mayo. And the bun was pretty scrumptious, too.
I wasn’t a huge fan of the mango licuado that I had (it was slightly sour) but I also probably shouldn’t have ordered something with fresh mango in December.
Don’t waste your money on a bland sandwich from Subway– be bold, and eat a torta!

Apparently all it takes to win my heart is stop-​in-​your-​tracks delicious, greasy, cheap tortas paired with refreshing fruit drinks (agua fresca). Oh yeah, and casual, order-​at-​the-​counter service, unpretentious wrappings, and generous spicy red-​and-​green-​chile straight from the squeezy bottle.
We got one carnitas and one barbacoa torta, with mango agua fresca. All of it was perfect — unable to be improved upon. Though we didn’t need the English menu, we were offered it by the friendly man behind the counter, who kept eyeing us to make sure we were sufficiently stuffing our faces. (Don’t worry, we were.) There was even a bucket of grilled whole chilies next to where the food came out that we could add to our plates as we so wished.
This a place you’ll drive right by if you’re not looking for it. It’s flanked by — I don’t remember exactly — something like Subway or KFC or something, which is one of the great mysteries of life for me: How is it possible for a given location of Subway/​KFC/​insert name of national mediocre chain here to still be in business when a place like Tortas Rainbow is right next to it??? Can’t be the price — TR is cheap (under $ 15 for the both of us). It certainly isn’t the food quality — TR is miles better. It isn’t that no one’s willing to take a chance on a new place, right? Because one would think that word would get around a small town like Española.
Who knows. This will likely remain a mystery. But I hope that there are legions of road tripping fans and locals alike, who will give this place the accolades and constant business it deserves.