El Palomar

I always go here when ever I am in town! The brothers are the nicest people ever and they run the place excellent. Fast and efficient service with huge portions, free chips and salsa plus my food alaways comes with pico sour crème and guacamole for free! Cheese quesidilla is my fav!

This is a wonderful place to grab lunch downtown. When I’m in town my mom and I frequently walk here for lunch, or stop in en route to Macys or another downtown store.
What is great about this restaurant is that the food is delicious, but you order at the counter which is perfect if you’re looking for a quick lunch. The staff are always very friendly and will give you plenty of time to peruse the menu before ordering. On my most recent visit I ordered a shrimp taco and a side of beans — both were outstanding.
There is plenty of seating inside and also a nice patio out front great for people watching. You seriously wouldn’t believe some of the things you’ll see on 4^th street…
Also two thumbs up for complimentary chips and salsa

I ordered the vegetarian quesadilla and the tamarind Jarrito. It was soggy and the guacamole and salsa were also not good. It was a disappointing eating experience despite the generous portion and the wrong soda; a mandarin orange Jarrito.
Undecided about whether to give try this place again in the future.

Went on a Friday night around 7 with my girlfriend. The staff was friendly and quick in serving you food considering there were only 2 people working. The salsa was real good but the chips weren’t that great. Some of them had a weird taste. I ordered the tricolor burrito which was decent for its price. I thought the carnitas were a little dry and rough. My girlfriend got the shrimp fajitas and said some of the shrimp tasted strange (not fresh?). Overall it’s a good spot for fast and cheap Mexican food.

Just got YELLED at by the guy behind the counter. Bought a coke while waiting for a friend. Asked to use the key to let myself into the restroom. Accidentally left the key in the restroom. I was berated, screamed at and told that I cost him A LOT of dinero because he would now need to call a locksmith!!! I left the coke on the counter and left. Really? No extra key? First time this happened?! Don’t think so. We used to frequent this place for mediocre tacos. So… verbal abuse AND mediocre tacos??? Nah… never again.

I always get burritos at places like this, kind of hard to mess up, but they did it! Their special for the day was a pulled pork burrito, sounds good! But it wasn’t, the pork was doused with BBQ sauce. AWFUL! The combination of BBQ, rice, beans and salsa is just the worst. From that experience I won’t be back.

Its a solid taqueria all around. Went here with my wife and son for lunch the other day. Ordered at the counter and took a seat. Chips and salsa were given as soon as we ordered so we snacked on those while the food was prepared. About 3 minutes later I had my burrito and my wife had her chicken nachos. I had the special chicken fajita burrito which was nice and they use whole pintos in it not refrieds which I thoroughly enjoyed! My wife liked her chicken nachos a lot and they were loaded!!!
I would have liked a few other salsas and meat options and then I feel it would be a solid 4. For what it is though its a great spot on 4^th street to grab so cheap, quick, filling, mexican deliciousness.

Meh. The food here is subpar. Let’s start with the pros:
–no wait time for a table
–the tables were clean
–relatively quiet setting
–located in downtown Santa Rosa
–great salsa (if you don’t like spicy salsa like me)
–food comes with sour cream and guacamole without an extra charge
–they serve beer :)
Cons:
–shrimp fajitas were overcooked and tough to bite into
–steak burrito was extremely wet! It was coated in guacamole and sour cream… could’ve used more steak and rice
–the Mexican rice lacked in flavor and was dry
–bit into something hard in my steak burrito… and that was my last bite

Great food! I had the carnitas chimichanga and it was perfectly crispy! The cook put on the soccer game and was super friendly!

I frequent El Palomar often, and am never disappointed. The taquitos are to die for, and my husband loves the veggie burrito. The service is friendly and quick, and they even filled up my water bottle for me! Pricing is comeptetive for their prime Fourth Street location. All in all, a great experience every time we go.

Great food. Ridiculously good salsa. Cheap beers and a great selection. Best burritos in the downtown area — cheap too!

We were just stopping for lunch on our way to San Francisco. Reluctant to eat at unfamiliar Mexican restaurants, I went inside to find out if they were vegetarian friendly.
You got it! No lard, vegetable stock in the rice, and several veggie options on the menu. The gentleman behind the counter even went to the kitchen and brought out the vegetable base they use in the rice as proof.
The food was great, authentic Mexican and the salsa was Super!!!

Unimpressive.
I am a burrito fiend. I pretty much order the same thing wherever I go. Chicken super burrito. All day. Every day. Figured I should put my burrito expertise to good use.
The first thing I noticed was the size of the burrito. For 10 dollars I expected to be getting something significantly larger than a microwavable burrito. The cheese on the burrito was not melted, indicating that it wasn’t that hot.
The enchala sauce was unappealing. It had the consistency and taste of gravy. Weird combo. Did not enjoy.
The burrito was bland. The salsa tasted okay. Like something you’d get in a tub at cosco. The chips were also cosco chips, which would’ve been fine were thwy not also stale.
My friend ordered tacos. they came with avocados that were almost half browned. Not fresh. Not good.
This is currently the worst burrito I have had outside of taco bell.
Avoid.

For what it is, kind of like fast food, it fits the bill. We were walking around downtown Santa Rosa looking for food and decided to stop in.
The prices are mostly under $ 10 and we ordered the vegetable quesodilla and something else. After finishing we sat at our table for a bit waiting fir a friend and they left us alone which was nice.
Its a fast casual kind if ambiance with TV and beer. If you like soccer i bet this is the place to go.

Great enchiladas, chile rellenos, rice, and beans! Clean, nice décor, great place. Quick and made to order. I highly recommend.

Good food, really nice staff, great happy hour. A little pricier than other taquerias, but it is down town so you’re paying for location. I come here often.

20 dollars for two shrimp tacos and two carnitas tacos and a drink! What a joke, never going back. Next time I’ll just find a taco truck.

My limited experience so far has been good but not great. The food is good, solid, basic Mexican food, a bit Americanised. Meat selection is somewhat limited — they have ground beef but no el pastor, for example — and the dishes lack subtlety and are not exciting. On the other hand, all that I have had is pretty enjoyable and not bland.

El Palomar is located in a great place for just wandering around Santa Rosa and stopping for a quick bite. The addition of a license to sell beer definitely made El Palomar even better.
I’ve been a big fan of the crispy carnitas, but my carnita soft tacos today were soggy and soft. I’m going to assume that it was a one-​day glitch and will definitely return. The taco salad is always good.
The service is excellent and the happy faces of the two men who work/​own El Palomar are always nice to see.

Best casual mexican spot in town. Healthy and delicious. Great variety of choices and plenty of options for vegetarians (e.g. spinach and mushroom enchilada, tomales, veggie tacos, delicious veggie burritos). The owners put great care and love into their food. They only use the best ingredients, make their own salsa, and have fresh avocado available. They are willing to cater to special requests and dietary restrictions. Very friendly. And, they even have great happy hour beer prices.
When you want Mexican food, there’s nothing better in Sonoma County.