El Chico

Omg I love this place. Steak and shrimp burritos with huge shrimp and juicy steak in every bite. Wide array of fixings. Phones are always ringing off the hook and customers adding extras to their order. I love that the food workstation is visible.

Weak as f%&@#… So dissapointed seeing the reviews for this place made me believe this place was a for sure thing but man was I wrong… I got the red snapper fish n chips, fries were mediocre fish was dry… got the steak n shrimp burrito which is my favorite style burrito and have had a bomb a$$ 1multiple times from «La Chole» a taco truck in Oakland… This burrito was tasteless and lacking steak n shrimp… Lastly I had the fish taco witch was I’m sorry to say way too fishy… smh this place is lacking the authenticity of flavors witch make a delicious steak n shrimp burrito as well as missing freshness that make the seafood taste great…

We got the large order of tilapia and fries, and it was so good! The cornmeal fry was light and crispy. The tilapia were great size filets. The fries were hot out the fryer. Everything is cooked to order, and fresh. There’s an Asian couple running the place, and a Latino cooking and prepping the fish. Great service, delicious fish and chips! PLUS they have burritos, and tacos, nachos, etc. something for everyone!

Good people, good food always come and get fish from here since discovering the place on a fluke. Have not tried their Mexican dishes but heard good reviews so I will try someday.

Man the owners decided to throw everyone for a loop and trick us all by disguising this fried fish joint as a Mexican restaurant… cleaver, but they didn’t get one past me, no way. El Chico you dirty dog you. Now I’m in love and I don’t have to go all the way to Oakland to Las Palmas to get my fried fish, shrimp and oyster kick. Let me tell you a little brief history about this establishment and what it use to be…
Back in the late 90’s and mid 2000’s before this place became what we now know as «El Chico» this was a Hawaiian Bbq joint simply called. you guessed it «Hawaiian Barbeque» exciting name huh? :D anywho, I use to come here all the time when it was that, or at least when I was in or around Pittsburg (Before I called the town home) the food there was pretty good, I had no complaints with it, so now sometime passed and my mother one day was ranting and raving about this «Fish Joint in Pittsburg that’s close to home and we now don’t have to go all the way to Oakland. yadda yadda» So when I asked her about the location and name she told me about this «El Chico» place and told me it was in place of my favorite Hawaiian Bbq spot… my heart dropped and I maybe even let go of a tear for the place that it once was… that is until now.
El Chico is in fact a Mexican restaurant, but it’s ran by Orientals or Asians if you don’t want to sound like this is the 1980’s. But don’t let that factor throw you off. These Asians know what they’re doing in the kitchen. From the looks of it people were in there to get burritos and tacos from them, but, I was there to satisfy my fried seafood craving, and that was what I was there to accomplish. On this visit I had the Seafood Combo number «4» which was priced at ($ 24.75) that menu option consisted of as follows… Fish (I choose catfish) Shrimp and Oysters. And let me tell you this. I wasn’t disappointed at the least bit. These people are masters of the fried seafood persuasion. The cornmeal batter they use had a really nice seasoning to it, they knew just the right balanced so the cornmeal didn’t burn or become too… clumpy and ended up in a mess. My seafood choices took well to it, staying hot and the best part was that it wasn’t oily like how some fried seafood’s can tend to get, that was a for sure plus in my book. The shrimp was nice and plump, and I got a lot of them in my plate. My oysters tasted really fresh and I love when you could still taste the ocean in oyster which these still had. They weren’t overcooked and they tasted wonderful battered. The catfish was the definite star here though, wow it was so good, it was hard not to sit here and eat every piece even though I was already pretty full from the meal in general. In other words, the potion size was pretty good and it made my ($ 26.98) total well worth it, only thing I wasn’t crazy about was the house made Tartar Sauce, it didn’t really compliment anything for me.
In my closing, this place is the bomb, and I look forward to going here to actually try the Mexican menu options in the future, that is if my seafood craving just doesn’t kick in. This place is located off Atlantic Ave right near Dollar Tree and La Superior to name more notable landmarks, oh Walgreen’s is in the same little strip as well. With the Atlantic Plaza shopping center being right across the street. This place is well deserving of the 5 stars I gave it, and if you like seafood like I do, I’m sure you’ll rate it high on your review as well. As always be your own judge, if you’re in the Pittsburg area I say give this place a try. Unilocal your own experience, till then I bid you «Good Eats» although I’m not Alton Brown, im the Gold Chain Foodie!

This totally reminded me of Las Plamas in Oakland Ca I’m so over joyed to know we have a restaurant like this not so far away from my home. I was hesitant when I first walked in as I saw Asian people cooking in a Mexican restaurant welp they surely put my bias to shame. Everything I ate was on point. The portion size was sooo large I couldn’t even finish it all. I had talapia and prawns. My hubby had the carne asada Buritto which was the best dayum Buritto I’ve had in such a long time. I would like to say I’ll be a frequent customer BUT the way my waistline is set up that just won’t happen lmao but when I do have a cheat day This will most definitely be my go to location. Very high quality ingredients and to top it all off the tater sauce was magnificent and I don’t say that all the time and tater sauce means everything to me so not as good as mine but definitely on the scale :) keep putting out great food I really had a great experience here!

Fried catfish and oysters extra crispy… Just how I like my fish, first time trying this place absolutely love it… Will be coming back for my next cheat meal

Hands down best shrimp tostadas. Especially with there hot sauce.

I always order the shrimp burrito with no sour cream extra extra jalapenos the burrito is always so flavorful. I have not yet found any place that serves a better burrito than El Chico!

Fried fish is soooooo good. I could live without the sides and even with that said $ 11 for the fish is still money well spent. Thumbs up.

All I have to say is… BOMB!!! Me my husband and my nephews favorite place for a good OL’ shrimp burrito! We’ve been going for years. They have literally (no joke) THE best shrimp burrito I have ever tasted in my entire life! The owners and cooks are super nice, it’s a little «hole in the wall» kind of place. But do not underestimate what’s inside. Yes it’s small, and in a ghetto area. But I swear their food is amazingggggg. I definitely would say they make the burrito better then mexican restaurants with mexican chefs. (Their Asian) I haven’t tried anything else, I’m sure they have other tasty things on the menu but yeah… My Shrimp burrito is made with I like everything except sour cream oh and I love extraaaaaaaa jalepenos on mine! (I’m indian) btw I’m a sucker for clean restaurants and they are definitely clean. Go try them out!!!

It’s ok. I didn’t get seafood, got Asada burrito instead. Not a taco truck, taqueria style burrito. Really salty too and at $ 10 for a burrito and can of Pepsi it’s pretty expensive too. Like is said, it’s not awful but for $ 10 you could probably do a lot better.

I’ve tried almost everything here. I have no complaints about any of the items on the menu. I usually get the catfish, prawns with fries. It almost comes with a couple slices of bread for a little under $ 19. A bit pricey but well worth the money. It’s feeds at least two unless your just one of those greedy bastards. Also the steak & shrimp burrito is one of the best you’ll ever have. This place is not stingy with the meat like a lot of taqueria’s are. A must try item in my opinion. They don’t sell beer here but there’s a liquor store right next door just in case. Overall I love this place & hope it never closes.

Best Mexican in northern california. Been looking for a place like this after going to college in Socal… Damn I miss it. I just wish it was closer to home… Would be nice if they had one near Sacramento

Good food at a cheap price. Great customer service. Food is made fresh and quick. Only had to wait 2 – 3 minutes for quality food to be served!

$ 10 for a steak & shrimp burrito that weighs over a pound. Seasoning is perfect and totally worth the price. Easily the best I’ve had in the area.

Place is pretty slow and idk why it’s sooo good here. The inside part looks a bit, a lot outdated and slightly dusty looking but it seems as if everything they made was pulled from somewhere basically nothing is left out or pre made. Fresh and made to order. So it has two names el Chico and a sign on window las palmas. The ones in oakland are soo delicious and I was hoping that they could match up to my experience there and yasss they did. The steak and shrimp super burrito was cheaper than The ones in oakland but smaller too. Flavor was on point. Yet oakland seasons their shrimp Alil more than this place but it was still amazing. Everything was portioned right into the thick roll of joy. So glad they have this place and wish there was more marketing or something to get the word out about this place. I hope it doesn’t close anytime soon. I will be coming again when in town.

45 min after placing my order for 3 regular burritos, nothing fancy other than telling the cashier guy I’d like the sour cream on the side, I then had to ask, «how much longer before u decide to MAKE my burritos?» The owner man says, «I will make it in 10 mins.» But I’ve been here for 45 min and u haven’t starred to roll my rice and chicken in a warm totilla? OMG this better b the best tasting burritos in the works bc I am near the point of tears! God be with me :/

Great food, I’ve had the oysters, catfish, ground beef nachos and chicken nacho fries. Everything was delicious. Friendly owners that give great service. Plenty of meat in your food, they are not stingy at all.
Best asada fries in Pittsburg !

The only place I know of where you can get decent deep fried fish, shrimp and fries this side of CoCo County.
The service here is fast and friendly, owned by Koreans like in Oakland but here they are nicer and patient. They are also not stingy with the complementary sauces. Plenty of free parking in front with a liquor next door to buy your sodas.
There is a Las Palmas neon sign on the window so hopefully this is a chain from the take out joint in Oakland. Which are famous for their shrimp and steak burritos.
I haven’t tried their burritos here yet.