El Abuelo – Super Tortas Chilangas

At the heightened price of $ 7.99, i got a «super» burrito that was 99% canned, refried beans. there was HARDLY ANY carne asada, the salsas were rancid and the burrito tasted very salty. i love greasy taquerias, but this one is the worst i’ve found on franklin blvd.
maybe i should have got a torta?

I’ve been here a couple times and I always order the torta cubana, and it is super delicious. The portion is HUGEEEEE, so I split it with my best friend. It was her first time trying it and she loved it, and craves it every once in a awhile, which is hilarious lol.

As a Mexican, sometimes you just want a torta, and this is where I come to get them. The atmosphere is a lot nicer to me than a lot of other Mexican restaurants. Feels cleaner, without feeling overly sterile. Not as crowded. The food is good and the service is excellent.

Never had a torta before tonight and I am so glad I ventured. Tried the Nortena with breaded steak — slightly spicy with picked pepper, creamy melted mozzarella-​like cheese, avocado and tomato on a light bun. It was amazing. Can’t wait to try the other tortas this little place offers. Also had a horchata, which didn’t taste like it was from a mix like other restaurants’ and had a creamy sweet flavor. Definitely will be back.

Great Food. Clean restaurant. We had a younger waitress who was very polite and nice but the other waitress on staff was giving me dirty looks… not sure what that was about but other than that it was a good place to eat

Great tortas. Great pambazos. Love their huaraches con huevo.
I love their salsas and their huge pickled jalapeños they have at the salsa bar.
I like how they keep them in hella ice, cause salsas do tend to go bad fast.
Just wished they added more chorizo to the potato mixture that goes inside the pambazo.
Over all this is another of my top places for authentic Mexican.
Service is great, very friendly waiters and waitresses, they don’t judge me for ordering like one of each from their menu.

Fui con familia domingo en la mañana. Solo dos familias más en el restaurante. Esperamos tanto por una simple quesadillas que tuvimos que irnos. Mi hija de 6 años no pudo comer. El mesero dijo que los cosí eros lo ignoraron y por eso la orden no salio. Este lugar dejo mucho que decir y no fue bueno.

Not bad. Place is small and kinda hidden. Service was fast and friendly. Tortas we ordered where great. A little expensive but well worth it. Will come back soon.

Second time at El Abuelo and both times I didn’t see him unless he is very young or doesn’t look his age. That aside==
I ordered the Chilanga Torta al Pastor and I have to admit it was among the best tortas I have eaten both in NoCal and SoCal. The al pastor was done differently than I have experienced. It was almost crisp with a perfect flavor and not overdone. The pickled peppers and avocado slices just added to the level of flavors.
Ordered a chico horchata and I don’t even want to think how many gallons are in their grande version.
You can’t judge this place from the outside, which looks very unappealing from a curbside view. Inside is nicely decorated (not dated as another reviewer said) and clean. The service was friendly and the waiter made it a point to come over and ask if I didn’t enjoy my torta since I only managed to finish half. Nice gesture!
Tomorrow me thinks that it will be lunch, or maybe breakfast if I can’t wait that long to devour the dang thing.

This place is delicious! It is one of the best spots in Sacramento on Franklin (aka Little Mexico). This place is specifically known for the tortas so please check those out! I always order the Rusa which is milanesa jamon queso aguacate jalapenos onion. Its huge definitely a meal that can serve two! Aside from this, the service is alright but parking sucks!

I had to give four stars! Personally I felt like it should be three, but I can’t deny what the people want. For me, it was a little on the unhealthy side. I’m not a health freak by any means. If has the words light or diet then it’s not for me, but these dishes take it to another level.
If you are a torta fan then this is the place for you! Large portions and authentic is what you can expect from here. My Mexican buddy brought me here and I enjoyed it. I was surprised at how big the tortas were and all the ingredients that go into them. Again they are tasty, but just not something I’m a huge fan of. This is why I can’t take anything away from them.

Update ³⁄₂₉ — I called Saturday asking when they closed. Told me it closed at 9 and anything after that was Togo only. I brought 3 people to try them out at 8:45 and there were customers already still in there. All the workers looked at us funny so I asked are you still open. The guy said only Togo orders. Umm I brought 3 new customers talking about the food and we drove pretty far and I called. We went down the street to Carolinas and asked if they had a problem because their sit in closed at 9 also and it was 8:50. They had no problem taking customers. I remember when I worked at a restaurant and customers would come in at closing time, but never would the owner turn down business.
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I have tried the Nortena and the Cubano torta, both were great. Horchata is huge. Service was fast and staff friendly. Downside is the parking spaces are minimal and location isn’t very good, but I love the food so far and will be back for more. You can miss it driving by if your not looking for it. Now I know its there I’m a look’n and I’m a like’n

At it’s best, a torta is a transcendent collage of flavors and textures. I have a minor obsession with them.
El Abuelo makes a good torta and has great service. But it’s not a great torta – maybe on par with Ciudad down the street, not as good as they used to make ‘em, when I was a more frequent visitor. Moreover, they now charge $ 8. Granted, they’re massive for the money, but I don’t need or want such a large over-​meaty sandwich. With tax and tip, paying more than ten dollars for street food at a South Sac hole-​in-​the-​wall? No thanks.
For what a torta can be – marinated, tongue-​tickling asada mixed with melting cheese on a perfectly buttered and toasted soft bun – go to the taco truck at Rancho Cordova Pick ‘n’ Pull, if you’re in those parts.

My boyfriend is a chilango (from Mexico City) and always says tortas are delicious. So when we came across this place, I figured I’d give this place a try. Best decision EVER!
We ordered the Tuloquena Torta, (it had chorizo, beans and Ham, Queso fresco, etc)
Pambazo (Wet Torta), (chorizo with beans and toppings etc)
Gringa (Meat Quesadilla with pieces of pineapple). The quesadilla was a little too greasy so I probably won’t order it again. I do however highly recommend the Tuloquena and Pambazo! They serve big portions so one torta or quesadilla will probably be enough for two people to share.
The location is easy to miss so drive slow! :)

Ay madre mía I’m home! This is as authentic and as delicious as tortas get. I keep coming back to this place because I cannot find something for this price at this great quality… and the tortas are HUGE! !!!

Worst burrito I’ve ever had.. More onions than meat. & very expensive for shitty food

Very tasty sammies and Fing huge. Clean place and sweet staff. Not cheap but because of the portions, you will have left overs.

I read all the reviews here and was excited to come try it. My only other experience with high quality tortas has been in a small town composed of primarily migrant workers, so I will preface my review with that.
You can eat sit down or to go. It doesn’t look like much on the outside and it’s a little hard to spot if you don’t know where you’re going. The interior, while nothing fancy, is clean and serviceable. We sat down and were given a couple menus. Before ordering, I made sure that they take credit cards, as neither of us had cash. The waitress looked at me like I was insane, but said that they do.
We ordered a plain ol carne asada torta with queso blanco. After reading the reviews, I decided to split one, as I wasn’t super hungry. Torta came out, and while good, it wasn’t as good as I was expecting or looking forward to. There wasn’t much meat, or really other filling for that matter. The bread was good. I definitely could have eaten a whole one myself (I am a small woman). It was also about $ 8. After being conditioned to better torta for cheaper elsewhere, I was disappointed.
I, sadly, have not found my local torta squeeze.

Ten cuidado con tu carro cuando comas en este lugar, Un amigo mio me conto
que su carro fue abierto, hoy decididi venir a comer a este lugar y a pesar de las advertencias que ignore, me sucedio lo mismo, los ratas de este barrio rompierron
el vidrio de mi carro.

Hole in the wall! But they have one of the tastiest Mexican food I ever had, been here many times and have taste a lot if different things from there menu and I haven’t been disappointed yet!

Unilocal once again showed me the way! I was a lost soul in South Sac driving around lost with 2 hours to spare. Knowing there were a number of quality Mexican restaurants in the area I wanted to try something new so I Unilocaled my way to El Abuelo. I didn’t know what I wanted so I asked the man at the counter what the most popular torta was. He pointed at one and I ordered it without any kind of knowledge of what I was getting myself into. After I ordered I noticed one of those vertical spickets that you normally see slowly turning large pieces of meat. I immediately asked if they make al pastor. He informed me that they only do it on the weekends. Just knowing there’s a place in Sacramento that makes al pastor the right way makes my mouth water.
Back to the meat at hand. I sat down and wasn’t paying attention to the behemoth coming my way. The sandwich was blocking the waitress holding it. If you want an idea on how large this monstrosity is put both of your forearms together. That’s how big the beast is! It’s filled with meats. What kind I’m not exactly sure besides bacon and sliced hot dogs. Yes, hot dogs. It is meat sweat heaven at its finest. There’s cheese, egg, and meat. If you can finish the whole thing you are my hero. You might also want to go check your cholesterol. Good luck.

WHY WE WENT HERE:
— Mexican roommate & I were craving Mexican food
— out of all of the Mexican places near us, we chose this specifically for the tortas
HOW IT LOOKED (OUTSIDE):
— easy to miss
— tucked in corner in a plaza off of a main street
HOW IT LOOKED (INSIDE):
— dated (décor)
— lots of seating
— clean
THE MENU:
— very extensive torta menu (totas chilangas and tortas combinadas)
— platillos
— other specialties: barbacoa, quesadilla, tacos, etc.
— drinks: water, juice, milk shakes, beers, soda (all Mexican)
— pastries
WHAT I ORDERED:
— Torta Alemana: Milanesa, jamon, quesillo (breaded steak, ham, & Mexican mozzarella cheese)
— horchata
SIZE & TASTE:
— torta alemana & horchata were both HUGE
— torta alemana was very fresh & fulfulling: bread was soft yet had a nice crust; milanesa was perfectly crispy without being overcooked & crunchy; jamon had a nice browning effect to it (from being put in a man); mozzarella was melted to perfection
— horchata was refreshing & not too thick or cinnamony
BATHROOM:
— lock on door, but none on stall (single stall restroom)
— old but clean
— when flushing toilet, you have to hold lever down until the water completely flushes
— had all necessities (i.e. toilet paper, soap, paper towels)
CUSTOMER SERVICE:
— Spanish is a must! (or maybe it was because I look Hispanic & because I was with my Mexican roomie who speaks Spanish)
— we were always addressed to in Spanish (by our host, who was also our server), so we replied back in Spanish
— VERY polite & attentive, but not overbearing
PROS:
— polite/​attentive workers
— extensive torta selection
— fresh food & drinks
— huge portions
— accepts card