El Sombrero

We were greeted with chips n salsa. The salsa was really good, so of course I overdosed. I ordered the shredded beef fajitas wih black beans. The shredded beef was very tasty but the ratio of vegetables to beef was off. There was a lot of vegetables. Beans and rice were standard.
Staff was extremely friendly and I appreciated that!
The guacamole made it all dissappointing. For such an authentic tasting meal, the guacamole was lacking. I think they use ready made guacamole. Blech.

Hole in the wall places usually rand to be the best. Believe me rhisbplace is a hole in the wall. So far i’ve only had the chips and salsa and the guac. Sonnets start with the chips. They taste store bought. The salsa is good bur the guac seemss like itncame from a can. Let’s hope the fajitas can save this place.

My friend and I came here after a photo shoot and really enjoyed ourselves. I had the mango margarita, it was delicious. The cheese enchiladas were delicious as well. The rice and beans were fabulous. The service was nice, helpful and welcoming. I will definitely be back.

My dad was working down the street & he was hungry so I checked on Unilocal what was close by & came across this gem. I got the chilaquiles since I had went in the morning & OMG were they amazing. I usually don’t order them at most places because the salsa is always bland or the chips are soggy. But this place was perfection! The salsa had a little kick to it & the chips were nice & crunchy. I don’t live around the area but I would most definitely come back here!

Three of us visited on a late afternoon Tu. We had a guest. Ordered two tacos, one chicken, one beef, three soups, a chicken tortilla and two vegetables, and one beef fajita. The chicken was dissapoiting. The chicken had an odor like old chicken or mother chicken! The beef taco and fajta were ok. The vegetable soups were very good. Considering they are selling hotdogs close by for over $ 9!, the prices were reasonable.

Mango Margarita — 4.5÷5
Viking Burrito — ⁵⁄₅
Service — ⁵⁄₅
The Margarita had the right blend of mango and liquor neither too overwhelming. The Viking burrito was flavorful and deliciously perfect blend of cheese cream meat and salsa verde. I’m glad I chose this place for my dinner at manhattan beach on new years day. The service is great too. They came by several times to ask about the meal which in my eyes is staying on top of your customer needs

This place is amazing I’ll had the Viking burrito it came quick was huge and was extremely tasty. I’m definitely going to be coming here often! Chips and salsa so good too!

This place gets five stars due to their absolutely amazing customer service. My boyfriend and I went there late one night for dinner and we truly have never had better customer service. It was as if it were a fine dining, five star restaurant.
We ordered the wet burrito, a chicken tamale and cheese quesadilla. We asked them to make it spicy, so the chef came out to ask us how spicy we like it and if we had any other food requests. After we started eating, the manager came out to make sure everything was great. Our waters were always full and we didn’t have to ask for anything. At the end of the meal, the chef came and made sure we liked it.
Truly amazing service, great food, nice & quiet atmosphere. We will definitely be back!

A true Manhattan Beach classic and local favorite, you can’t go wrong with anything you get. All of the employees are beyond amazing and they never cease to make you feel right at home!

This casual Mexican restaurant sets itself apart from other restaurants nearby for being casual, affordable, and downright filling when you are starving. Each dish was packed with flavor. The service was great. The timing was quick. And I am downright ready to explore each dish on their vast menu.
Try the chicken fajitas and beef enchiladas!

I really enjoyed El Sombrero. The chicken enchiladas with Chili Verde were outstanding as were the shrimp tacos. The shredded beef taco was very good and the Carnitas Taco was very decent.
Very good salsa and excellent service. I am very happy I found this place.

Service was the main reason why I give this place only 3 stars.
Went in for a michelada and I was impressed with how good it was, however.
Place is rather small in size– was somewhat busy– Two other tables sat down well after us and were waited on first before us.
Three separate people came by to give us chips, napkins, and menus, but neither of them took even our drink order.
When we finally managed to wave someone down she took her time to come and help us with our order.
We decided to order the taquitos plate and it was pretty decent.
Chips and salsa were just ok.
The drinks were the only thing i’d come back for, but wouldn’t go out of my way to go back.
Better customer service would have made this a better experience for me.

Amazing service, great prices and very very filing. Some of the best Mexican food I’ve had in the States!
If you’re by Manhattan beach or even by Hermosa, it’s worth thé walk or go American and drive.

We were in MB for the day for the sunshine and vibes. Perfect day to get good Mexican food. We are Mexican, so let’s just say we are picky about our Mexican food. This place was really good! My husband had the shrimp tacos and fajita shrimp burrito, both of which he said were really good. I had the wet beef burrito and it was humongous! The salsa and chips were awesome with the chips nice and hot. Service was on point and we didn’t run out of drinks or need for anything. We sat outside on the patio which was nice. Prices are remarkably cheap considering the neighborhood. We will definitely return!

I only went for Taco Tuesday and I was impressed. The ambiance for the area needs a lot of work but pricing and friendliness gets an A in my book! I tried the fish taco and the shrimp taco and for future reference, it’s all about the shrimp! I maaay be convinced to try the Al Pastor next time but on the whole, the shrimp was flavorful and filling. the salsa was pretty good too with a nice kick and they were great about refilling (though I thought it was weird that they didn’t clear it, just stacked inside the old one). I’ll be back when I want a delicious low key taco tuesday night!

I can’t say enough great things about this place! I fly down to California from Canada nearly every month and I always go out of the way to stop off at El Sombrero for lunch. The staff are amazing (especially Jose!). I’ve tried nearly everything on the menu and haven’t been disappointed yet. When I have no idea what to order, Jose always brings out something new.
After my second visit, the staff remembered me and always asks about my job and family. Considering how rarely I can visit, that’s VERY impressive. You can’t get that kind of service in Canada.
If only El Sombrero could open restaurants in Canada. They’d make a killing!

I’ve been eating here since before I was born. My mom says I was raised on El Sombrero salsa. I find it impossible to eat anywhere but here when I’m in Manhattan Beach.
YES, parking is impossible nowadays … but if you really are craving Mexican food, this is my favorite place to go in MB. And, as a vegetarian, they make really good vegetarian mexican food. It’s been owned by the same guy forever, which makes me happy.
THERE IS NO LARD IN ANY OF THEIR COOKING.
SOME GREAT THINGS TO GET HERE:
#1 OR A #12: Enchiladas are great. Order it with black beans and get an order of tortillas and make your own little burritos! Ask to get your enchiladas with onions in them.
#7: Order it with a chile relleno to mix things up! Can substitute a veggie taco into the mix.
VEGETARIAN BURRITO: Yum! A perfect amount of lettuce and rice and beans. Travels well.
QUESEDILLA: I love the quesedillas here! Get with onions.
BLACK BEANS: I love black beans and I’m happy to report that they have them at El Sombrero.
TACO SAUCE: Make sure you get the taco sauce. I’ve been eating it since I was little and it’s a staple to have in my fridge. They sell it to-​go by the pint.
HORCHATA OR ORANGE BANG OR LEMONADE: Yummmm. Tasty!
GET DESERT: Their flan here is probably my favorite thing. It’s one of the best flans I’ve ever had. They serve it with chocolate sauce. I ask to get it without and let the flan truly shine.
I’m also happy to report that the old crew is back. We went for lunch the other day and found that there were some waiters that had worked here forever ago, and they were back! The service since then has gotten better.

I was really impressed with this restaurant! We were promptly seated and the customer service was great! For this location the pricing of the food was pretty good! It so tasted very good! I also tried the strawberry lemonade and it was delicious! This place is a must try if you’re in the area!

I really really don’t know why this restaurant has such a high rating. But I’m convinced that those like this place do not know what Me on xican food is or how it should be.
I ordered a chicken tamale. It took forever for the food to come. I’ve been to many many Mexican restaurants and they are ALL fast, even days where it’s super crowded. Passing by time by eating their tortilla chips didn’t make things better because they were stale.
So I was thinking, okay, maybe they cook things fresh. The chicken of my tamale was very dry, chewy, and bland. It was such a disappointment. Tamales are my favorite Mexican food and this place ruined it for me.

I was excited to try El Sombrero since I work in MB & LOVE Mexican food! I dined-​in on a Thursday evening around 8p & parking was easy along the metered streets of DT Manhattan Beach. El Sombrero has a simple, casual décor… perfect for good tacos & a margarita.
So I ordered a margarita, but… bummer! — they’re made with wine instead of tequila :(While I guess it was good for a wine marg, I will definitely skip it next time. I’ve had better margs at chain restaurants like Acapulco.
The complimentary chips & salsa were nice — salsa had good flavor though not spicy. I went with the fish tostada as my entrée & it wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for. While it wasn’t bad, the guacamole, beans, & fish lacked some serious flavor & I needed to ask for hot sauce to spruce up the dish.
For convenience, I may return to El Sombrero in the future for lunch or a margarita-​less dinner. The burritos look yummy so that’s next on my list to try.