El Jalapeno’s Mexican Food

So my friend and I happened to drive by here and decided to give it a try. I got their carne asada tacos and they were so good. I don’t remember the price anymore, but I remember getting A LOT of food for the price I paid for. I’m definitely coming back here again if I get the chance.

Not sure of the business hours for Sunday but I just finished eating there. On a Sunday! So they definitely don’t close at 4pm…
While Unilocaling for some carne asada fries in Tustin, I came across this place. They do accept card but their machine is a bit slow.
We ordered taco al pastor, carne asada taco, lengua taco, fish taco, horchata and flan. The al pastor was quite flavorful. The carne asada, on the other hand, was really bland. Lengua was like retry good too! It didn’t taste like tongue at all. The $ 3 fish taco was bigger than anticipated! Got it fried and it was delicious. The batter was light and it was so fresh.
The horchata was good. Beware of the flan though! It’s more like a flan flavored cheesecake. Really thick and filling. Will definitely come back for more tacos.

Great place!
You get what you pay for, and the food is fantastic… almost authentic!
Great, nice, competent, fasted-​paced employees & cooks.
Food is hot. Portions are good.
Carne Asada WAS pretty tough though… not getting that again. Beans are awesome.
Salsa is great.
I’m coming back.

Recommend this place love the Chicken taco plate and for breakfast the Huevos Rancheros are bomb and can’t for get about the Jamaica drink. Thumbs up to this place. Recommend this place to everyone its always good to try something new.

It was great. But it appears to no longer exist. At least, I can’t find it…

Love coming to el jalapeños, there food is really delicious, restaurant is very clean and the staff are very nice. I enjoy going there to have my lunch the chicken hard tacos w/​extra sour cream, rice and beans oh and can’t forget the Jamaica. I will sure continue going there. I recommend this place it’s really good.

I went here after boxing at RoundersMMA and had a great torta. This torta really hit the spot and did i forget to mention their al pastor is pretty good there.

Great service and good food! Great find and would come back here again.

I started eating at Pena’s when it was reviewed in the OC Register. Ordered the cochinita pebil and it was outstanding. Next time I came back, I ordered the same. Outstanding again. Then they changed to Jalapenos … guess what I ordered: cochinita pebil burrito … another winner. I asked them to cater an event at my business and we had chile rellenos, chile verde enchaladas, cochinita pebil tacos. Everything was amazing, including the low prices!
I live in Irvine, so it isn’t exactly around the corner, but every time I am in S.A., guess where I go for Mexican food! Hopefully one of these days I will try something other than my reliable Cochita Pebil Burrito.
The owners are extremely nice and helpful. It’s one of my all time favorite restaurants.

I wish I read Yoshiki K’s review from 3÷26÷2011 saying the (previous) place has gone out of business and changed ownership. I don’t know how I missed it last night! This place is totally not the same place the old reviews refer to. And it is not easy to find; it’s hidden in some small plaza by 1^st and Grand and lacks a proper sign.
I came here wanting to try the sweet tamales and pozole that the Unilocalers were talking about. It was bigtime FAIL. Those 2 items were nowhere to be seen on the menu. So the only choice was to try cochinita pibil stuff which the new owners have kept.
So we got a cochinita pibil torta and cochinita pibil burrito. They came out cut in half so I got to try half of each. I can’t say I was a big fan of the slow cooked pork, which tasted like mushy carnitas with just tad more flavor. Nothing really special about the flavor however. On my second bite of the burrito, I bit into a huge piece of fat and had to spit it out. I put on a happy face and continued on but that left a bad (or greasy rather) taste in my mouth. The torta was better than the burrito at least, but both were nothing to write home about.
Definitely not coming back here…

Nice clean restaurant. Small Mom and Pop establishment. The food is good, not the best I’ve had but was decent for the price. Presentation was good. Portions are a bit on the small size. Good menu. Friendly staff, all food is Authentic and homemade fresh. Not a bad place if you happen to be in the area and want a cheap inexpensive tasty meal. I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat there but am curious to try some more of the entrees. Nice intimate place to get your Mexican grub on. The host was friendly and was tentative to my needs very good service. I have a feeling that this score may go to four stars eventually? At this time three is about right for me.

Bless Unilocal mobile! We were looking for some decent Mexican food close by the DMV and this little gem popped up caddy-​corner to it.
The name changed to El Jalapeño’s. I don’t know when it changed but it must be recent because they have a wooden arrow sign hanging on a tree by the road. Look close because it doesn’t have a sign above the door yet.
It’s family-​owned and hole-​in-​the-​wallish but very clean and pleasant. They have a large menu, good prices, and these other Unilocalers were right about the cochinitas!!! Fantastic! Comes with red onion and habanero on the side so don’t get too zealous unless you are a professional spice-​head. You could just do what I do and get the abyss-​boy-​size horchata to extinguish fires.
Chile relleno special was great – stuffed with cheese. Refried beans are nice and light. Shrimp taco cost a little more but it was bigger than the street tacos – and was worth it! Carnitas was also tender and juicy. The tortillas seemed homemade but I didn’t ask if they are done in-​house.
The service was outstanding. The staff were very attentive and nice, and got us everything we needed. Definitely friendly guys. I get the sense there are a lot of regulars here too.
I can’t wait to go there on the weekend and try their menudo/​pazole!

So, based on the reviews for this place, the boyfriend and I decided to pay Pena’s a little visit. Except it’s not called Pena’s anymore (thank goodness for them) and (I think) it’s called Los Jalapenos now, at least that’s what it says on the sign now. If it’s otherwise, please correct me.
Tacos are $ 1.25 each, except for the fish and shrimp tacos, which are slightly more expensive. They have a variety of different kinds of tacos, but definitely try: the cochinitas (they aren’t just amazing — they’re a REVELATION) and tacos de pescados. The salsa is pretty good. I was a fan of the salsa verde, not so much the pico de gallo.
The service was super nice, super great. Also very helpful with us newbies, when it came to ordering the food.
They also serve breakfast and open at 7am, so we’re probably going to take advantage of that and try their breakfast burritos before trudging off to work.
Too bad they have such a terrible location. The building faces inside the parking lot with no signs, we were the only 2 patrons in the restaurant and all the incoming traffic went to the Subway next door. They deserve more business!

I really wanted to like this place — I really did. The place had all the right «ingredients» — somewhat hard to find in the heart of Santa Ana, small and cozy, «authentic» décor, friendly waitress who didn’t speak any English and my favorite Mexican dishes on the menu…
We had multiple tacos — Al pastor, tongue, chicken, beef and chorizo. I just couldn’t get into them. Al pastor taco was somewhat dry and lacking flavor, tongue taco was «slimy», beef was beef and chorizo is lacking some spicy. Maybe my expectation was little too high given all the right «ingredients.»
Cheers,

I think I came to the wrong place when my friend told me there was a tamale place at the intersection where I stumbled on this place. Quaint, hole in the wall, I didn’t even look up reviews when I came in here. I ordered one of the lunch specials, chicken cooked in a green chili sauce (on the menu, it wasn’t listed as a pollo con chile verde). Excellently prepared and cooked very well. The meat was fall off the bone, salty and mild peppery from the chile verde. Served with rice, beans, and a small green salad.
Now that I actually read the reviews, I guess I have to try the pork.
This place takes Visa and Mastercard.

I’ve seen the features in OC Weekly and various other prints regarding Penas. I wanted to try it and so my friend finally took me to try Penas. We had the Cochinita pork tacos which had a sprinkling of shallots, shredded lettuce, and the pork which appeared to be slowly cooked where it is fork tender. The tacos were good and I enjoyed them. I was gonna get more but I also wanted to try their carne asada and al pastor tacos. They were good but I have had better but it was nice to finally try their famous pork tacos. I want to come back to try the rest of their menu such as their soups and flautas, nachos, and more.

Kathrine [my roomie] and I wanted to grab a cheap dinner right before heading to YOCHH at Proof. Of course, being the awesome [haha] Unilocaler I am — I consulted Unilocal.Once again, it is because of Unilocal we went here.
It is located in a small shopping center and yes, like the rest of the rest of the reviews said — it’s in the Western Dental plaza and if you miss this — you’ll miss it. The inside is small and a bit narrow. There is an area with saddles as seats [it is clever and cute, I must say]. When we came there were only two people in the whole establishment. Later on though, another family came in to eat.
I ordered two crunchy chicken tacos with beans a rice, Kathrine ordered three soft tacos with pork [I think] with beans and rice. I really liked the chicken tacos and the rice was good too. Honestly, I’m not a big spanish rice fan — but this was good. The beans were okay, nothing spectacular. They do give chips [and if people know me, they know I love chips!] and this wasn’t an exception — chips were good, but the salsa was just meh. Kathrine enjoyed her food as well. The bill wasn’t too bad $ 16 for our meals, drinks, and tip. Service was okay and prices weren’t too bad either.

After reading all the rave reviews here, hubby and I decided to stop by for lunch today. It’s in a small strip mall and you won’t be able to see it as you drive by. However, it’s in the same strip mall as Western Dental and it’s on the corner of 1^st Street and Grand Ave… try not to miss it as it’ll be a bitch to come back around if you’re on 1^st Street.
The restaurant is super small and there is counter seating with these really cute saddle seats. I’m sure the young man would love to sit on one if he came.
We got a couple of menus and went to sit down. The owner and his wife were working behind in the kitchen with one helper. The wife came over and said to us in Spanish she’ll be right with us and asked us what we wanted to drink. We got a horchata an a diet coke.
I didn’t see the goat stew on the menu even after perusing it 3x. I had read about the goat stew and I really wanted to try it. When the husband came over I asked him about it. He told me that it either comes in a soup or with beans and rice. I said I wanted the latter. We also ordered 2 cochinitas pibil tacos, a sweet tamale and pozole — his recommendation.
The pozole arrived first with the sweet tamale. With the pozole comes a plate of condiments which included sliced radish, diced onions, sliced cabbage, avocado, chicharron, 2 taquitos, a grilled jalepeno sliced down the middle and stuffed with queso cotija and some lime wedges.
After adding the condiments we took a taste and it was THE best pozole I’ve ever had to date. There were generous chunks of tender pork and hominy and it was very flavorful unlike the ones I’ve had before. The stuffed jalepeno was one of the spiciest jalepenos we’ve ever had but I enjoyed it tremendously.
The sweet tamale (huchepo) was made with maize, sweet corn and topped with creama (sour cream) and queso cotija in a tomatillo sauce. I liked this a lot because it relied on the natural sweetness of the corn and wasn’t laden with sugar. I thought it should’ve come out last but oh well.
The goat stew arrived next and I could already smell the intenseness of the meat. I took a bite and then added the condiments provided: diced onions, cilantro and lime wedges. I sprinkled it generously all over the goat stew and tried it again. I thought it was really flavorful and not even a bit spicy as the name suggests. I basically ate this entire dish on my own (minus the beans and rice) apart from the bite hubby took to taste.
The accompanying beans and rice were awesome and hubby was eating it like a child shoveling food that was so amazingly good that he was fearful someone else was gonna eat it all. It was so obviously laden with manteca because 1) it tasted so good and 2) I can taste manteca a mile away. The same goes for the fresh hand-​made tortillas … yup … made with manteca!
The house specialty cochinitas pibil arrived last. I liked the pickled onions and the shards of cabbage sprinkled on top. It gave a nice contrasting texture against the soft pork. Alas, this was my least favorite item of all. The pork was very greasy and mushy and there wasn’t the least bit of heat to it. I was expecting a nice kick especially since there are bits of habenero in these muthas, but nope… the stuffed jalepeno from the pozole plate produced more heat than the specks of habanero. Nope, it just didn’t do it for me.
The owner was very kind and stopped by our table several times asking us if we’re enjoying the food. We did! We even bought some beans and rice to bring home for the young man.
Best of all, they take credit card and believe it or not, there’s not even room to leave a tip for them. When I mentioned this to them the owner just smiled and waved us off.
Service is just excellent!!!

Cochinita pibil is the specialty of the house. My reference for comparison is the version made by Chichen Itza in LA by USC. Both versions are good. I’d say Pena’s is comparable, but a little less expensive.
The cochniita pibil tacos I ordered were $ 1.25 each compared to $ 1.80 at Chichen Itza. They were topped with cabbage, picked red onions and orange flecks of habanero chilis. Chichen Itza ‘s tacos comes with only picked red onions and you can splash on a dash of their own habanero hot sauce. Pena’s meat is a little more wet and drippng with juice compared to Chichen Itza’s. That’s unless you get Chichen Itza ‘s cochinita pibil entrée, which the meat is swimming in a bowl of porky orange meat juice.

This place is fun. It is not a hole in the wall — they added nice black and white photos on the wall and have little saddle seats at the bar where the kids can sit. Very good service and very clean (unlike some of the places that I like in Santa Ana).
The food is good but not perfect.
One reason to come is the cochinita pibil — pork slow cooked in banana leaves with spices. Unfortunately, they serve it with big chunks of raw red onion, which overwhelm it. I recall that red onions in the Yucatan are pickled when served with this dish and a quick glance at Quintana’s The Taste of Mexico confirms my shaky memory.
We also had friend tacos which were good and chicken mole which was less sweet and different that other dark moles I have had. Interesting but not über wonderful.
Worth a trip especially if you want real Mexican food but don’t like dives. The saddles were a huge hit with my kids.