El Tapatío is a Porterville institution. if you have not been and are in the area, they are certainly worth the visit. Expect giant portions and delicious fresh tostadas to go with their house salsa. Even after eating a large lunch I had enough leftovers to share between my wife and I for dinner. They were very busy at lunch, so was a little bit slow, but that can be forgiven because the value is there.
Barbara Hughes
Best Mexican food in town.Parking: Large parking area. Some in shade.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Enchilada, Guacamole, Nachos
Shelley C.
Family owned businesses come and go with time, but the best ones live generation after generation with recipes and techniques that are handed down again and again. El Tapatio is definitely the best. Local family owned and operated....an owner is never far from front and center to ensure things are being operated as expected and customer service is top notch. While I have probably ordered each and every thing on the menu in my 40 years of coming here my taste buds inherently chose the "2 Flour Flautas with Rice and Beans." They tasted as amazing today as I remember them 40 years ago and were served with the same quick and polite customer service as they were back then. While the ambiance has changed over time with upgrades and improvements, the feel is still the same; family, friends, upbeat with a flare of local and community you won't get at any other Mexican Food restaurant in town. If you are a chips and salsa connoisseur...you WON'T find better...EVER! If you love "ever flowing" ice tea....you won't be sorry coming here, but the food is simply historic, delectable and beyond top notch.
Melissa C.
I lived and grew up in Porterville and have eaten at this restaurant several times with family and friends. and to be honest everything I have ever eaten I did not like, but the chips and salsa are legit! The first thing I noticed was the doors were wide open and flies were coming in like crazy. I had to go to the bathroom and when I got in there was no toilet seat covers and barely any soap to wash my hands, to be honest it was filthy. We were served chips and salsa which I have to say are the best anywhere I have ever been. They should pack and label that up. My decision on the food was based on fighting flies to gluey cheese that filled the burrito, right down to a very dry and boring torta. I was highly disappointed in the food. I guess when you think your food is good, you stop having pride in what you do, or keep doing it because no one has the guts to tell you otherwise. . We received a two Tortas and a bean and cheese burrito. The first torta I opened up and it had one little tomato on top that was the bottom of a tomato and a sliver of onion, with a very dried up meat, honestly you have to be an idiot to think that was ok! My burrito bean and cheese-had a gluey cheese that wouldn't separate it was clumped up with hardly no beans, I just couldn't eat it. My granddaughter torta was filled with huge chunks of meat, she couldn't even take a bite because the chunks were so huge, this is a sandwich by the way, no beans no vegetables just huge amounts of meat. Thank god she didn't choke on it. Well she didn't eat it and was unhappy! If a restaurant is going to charge these ridiculous prices at least know how to make the food you're selling ! When I tried to explain to the manager, she got really rude with me, and told me oh we're taking your money even if you unhappy. As a hole of a restaurant that's been around for years, at least take some constructive criticism and try to make your customers happy instead of attacking them. If you want a quality Mexican food save your money and go to a real Mexican restaurant, where they take pride in their food and ambience and treat customers with respect because this is the furthest from it! My family and friends agree this place needs to step it up! I will never go back because of how they treated me!
Collette Sweeney
Great food and excellent service. Great place to meet up with the family.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Penni Aufderheide Keck
This is a great restaurant. They have wonderful service. The thing you have to try is their warm mole sauce with chips . Of course they have all the traditional dishes however the sauce that is on the enchiladas is the same mole sauce and it is delicious. I've never tasted anything like it. It's not a chocolate mole but it is so good You've got to try it.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Yvette ..
if I can give them the smallest piece of a star, that's all I would give them or a negative they are the worst at customer service I asked for three tacos with Carne Asada with two kids plates. they served the kids tacos with more onion, tomato, lettuce, and whatever else is in that mix then meet the tortillas were actually soggy and white I think I forgot to take a picture they were disgusting. I told them that that was for kids and why would they do that and put all that crap on them but I know I was being polite and then they told us that's how they make their tacos there and we asked them to please remake them there for kids just put the meat like we asked initially and they totally refused and we're so rude and told us to leave my mother was so upset. Her blood pressure went up. I hate that place and I service their nasty soggy tortillas
silvia morales
Everything
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
paige l.
The food is alright, i mostly go for the Mole. We went on Valentines Day so they jacked the prices up. We ordered the exact same meal, his came on a bigger plate with much more Mole than mine. They charged us extra because we asked for shredded instead of ground beef. They charged an extra $5 for my meal, even though we ordered the exact same thing. Alright food, alright service, it gets pretty loud and is busy most days. Wouldn't recommend to a friend, wish we took our money elsewhere for our Valentine date. $51 for me and him to eat, outrageous.
Lauren F.
I would encourage anyone to eat at El Tapatio! Their food is so incredibly good and worth every cent. They have really good guacamole and salsa, that is freshly made every morning. If you're a coffee lover, they have really good coffee there as well! Their enchiladas are also to die for, I'm always hearing people say that it's they're favorite on the menu. Their staff are very welcoming and have great customer service. During the holidays, they even do dress-up weeks to celebrate!
Today I went to El Tapatio and found it to be very good. The price was good for the amount of food we received and the service was good as well. We did not need to wait to be seated and we were also able to pay and exit quickly. I would recommend this place to anyone in the area.
Luis Carrillo
Am visiting from Las Vegas but am from Porterville. Have been coming to El Tapatio since I was a kid, kind of one of my stops. Not much has changed.. Always for the Menudo..
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Maria Branch
DELICIOUS ??
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Super Burrito, Nachos Con Carne Asada Plate, Ground Beef Tacos Guac & Salsa Added, Baby Rice and Beans, Guacamole, Nachos, Deluxe Burrito, Asada, Burrito Supreme
Rick W.
Reasonably good with ginormous portions. Piping hot and tasty. Staff was very attentive and engaging. A nice local hangout for families (especially because of the portions. It seemed like a family style. I was looking for the 3 other families who were going to help me eat. I couldn't finish it)
Yesenia Frias
By far has been the worst experience ever.We waited 2.5 hours to get our food.But that wasn't the worst part, our food tasted disgusting.Our crunchy tacos were soggy, our sope crust wasn't toasty or cooked all the way and the chicken was super hard and overly salty.I went to the front to speak with a manager but waited over 6 minutes before someone finally addressed me. Once I explained that we were not happy with our food, the manager pretty much was short with me and said that it was because they were swamped and couldn't keep up with the orders. But I explained that we never had this problem at this restaurant before and we've came on other holidays. He just told us food was comped, so we were preparing to leave a tip for the waitress since it wasn't her fault the food wasn't up to par, but THEN the owner came out and rudely said, if we didn't like the service to never come back again. Which wasn't what we were complaining about. We said it wasn't the waitress fault, it was the cook who messed up our food.We were willing to pay for part of food since it wasn't all bad, but once the owner came out and made super rude comments, we just left AND WILL NEVER GO BACK FOR ANY OCCASION.
El Tapatío is a Porterville institution. if you have not been and are in the area, they are certainly worth the visit. Expect giant portions and delicious fresh tostadas to go with their house salsa. Even after eating a large lunch I had enough leftovers to share between my wife and I for dinner. They were very busy at lunch, so was a little bit slow, but that can be forgiven because the value is there.
Best Mexican food in town.Parking: Large parking area. Some in shade.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Enchilada, Guacamole, Nachos
Family owned businesses come and go with time, but the best ones live generation after generation with recipes and techniques that are handed down again and again. El Tapatio is definitely the best. Local family owned and operated....an owner is never far from front and center to ensure things are being operated as expected and customer service is top notch. While I have probably ordered each and every thing on the menu in my 40 years of coming here my taste buds inherently chose the "2 Flour Flautas with Rice and Beans." They tasted as amazing today as I remember them 40 years ago and were served with the same quick and polite customer service as they were back then. While the ambiance has changed over time with upgrades and improvements, the feel is still the same; family, friends, upbeat with a flare of local and community you won't get at any other Mexican Food restaurant in town. If you are a chips and salsa connoisseur...you WON'T find better...EVER! If you love "ever flowing" ice tea....you won't be sorry coming here, but the food is simply historic, delectable and beyond top notch.
I lived and grew up in Porterville and have eaten at this restaurant several times with family and friends. and to be honest everything I have ever eaten I did not like, but the chips and salsa are legit! The first thing I noticed was the doors were wide open and flies were coming in like crazy. I had to go to the bathroom and when I got in there was no toilet seat covers and barely any soap to wash my hands, to be honest it was filthy. We were served chips and salsa which I have to say are the best anywhere I have ever been. They should pack and label that up. My decision on the food was based on fighting flies to gluey cheese that filled the burrito, right down to a very dry and boring torta. I was highly disappointed in the food. I guess when you think your food is good, you stop having pride in what you do, or keep doing it because no one has the guts to tell you otherwise. . We received a two Tortas and a bean and cheese burrito. The first torta I opened up and it had one little tomato on top that was the bottom of a tomato and a sliver of onion, with a very dried up meat, honestly you have to be an idiot to think that was ok! My burrito bean and cheese-had a gluey cheese that wouldn't separate it was clumped up with hardly no beans, I just couldn't eat it. My granddaughter torta was filled with huge chunks of meat, she couldn't even take a bite because the chunks were so huge, this is a sandwich by the way, no beans no vegetables just huge amounts of meat. Thank god she didn't choke on it. Well she didn't eat it and was unhappy! If a restaurant is going to charge these ridiculous prices at least know how to make the food you're selling ! When I tried to explain to the manager, she got really rude with me, and told me oh we're taking your money even if you unhappy. As a hole of a restaurant that's been around for years, at least take some constructive criticism and try to make your customers happy instead of attacking them. If you want a quality Mexican food save your money and go to a real Mexican restaurant, where they take pride in their food and ambience and treat customers with respect because this is the furthest from it! My family and friends agree this place needs to step it up! I will never go back because of how they treated me!
Great food and excellent service. Great place to meet up with the family.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This is a great restaurant. They have wonderful service. The thing you have to try is their warm mole sauce with chips . Of course they have all the traditional dishes however the sauce that is on the enchiladas is the same mole sauce and it is delicious. I've never tasted anything like it. It's not a chocolate mole but it is so good You've got to try it.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
if I can give them the smallest piece of a star, that's all I would give them or a negative they are the worst at customer service I asked for three tacos with Carne Asada with two kids plates. they served the kids tacos with more onion, tomato, lettuce, and whatever else is in that mix then meet the tortillas were actually soggy and white I think I forgot to take a picture they were disgusting. I told them that that was for kids and why would they do that and put all that crap on them but I know I was being polite and then they told us that's how they make their tacos there and we asked them to please remake them there for kids just put the meat like we asked initially and they totally refused and we're so rude and told us to leave my mother was so upset. Her blood pressure went up. I hate that place and I service their nasty soggy tortillas
Everything
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The food is alright, i mostly go for the Mole. We went on Valentines Day so they jacked the prices up. We ordered the exact same meal, his came on a bigger plate with much more Mole than mine. They charged us extra because we asked for shredded instead of ground beef. They charged an extra $5 for my meal, even though we ordered the exact same thing. Alright food, alright service, it gets pretty loud and is busy most days. Wouldn't recommend to a friend, wish we took our money elsewhere for our Valentine date. $51 for me and him to eat, outrageous.
I would encourage anyone to eat at El Tapatio! Their food is so incredibly good and worth every cent. They have really good guacamole and salsa, that is freshly made every morning. If you're a coffee lover, they have really good coffee there as well! Their enchiladas are also to die for, I'm always hearing people say that it's they're favorite on the menu. Their staff are very welcoming and have great customer service. During the holidays, they even do dress-up weeks to celebrate!
Restaurantji Recommends
Today I went to El Tapatio and found it to be very good. The price was good for the amount of food we received and the service was good as well. We did not need to wait to be seated and we were also able to pay and exit quickly. I would recommend this place to anyone in the area.
Am visiting from Las Vegas but am from Porterville. Have been coming to El Tapatio since I was a kid, kind of one of my stops. Not much has changed.. Always for the Menudo..
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
DELICIOUS ??
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Super Burrito, Nachos Con Carne Asada Plate, Ground Beef Tacos Guac & Salsa Added, Baby Rice and Beans, Guacamole, Nachos, Deluxe Burrito, Asada, Burrito Supreme
Reasonably good with ginormous portions. Piping hot and tasty. Staff was very attentive and engaging. A nice local hangout for families (especially because of the portions. It seemed like a family style. I was looking for the 3 other families who were going to help me eat. I couldn't finish it)
By far has been the worst experience ever.We waited 2.5 hours to get our food.But that wasn't the worst part, our food tasted disgusting.Our crunchy tacos were soggy, our sope crust wasn't toasty or cooked all the way and the chicken was super hard and overly salty.I went to the front to speak with a manager but waited over 6 minutes before someone finally addressed me. Once I explained that we were not happy with our food, the manager pretty much was short with me and said that it was because they were swamped and couldn't keep up with the orders. But I explained that we never had this problem at this restaurant before and we've came on other holidays. He just told us food was comped, so we were preparing to leave a tip for the waitress since it wasn't her fault the food wasn't up to par, but THEN the owner came out and rudely said, if we didn't like the service to never come back again. Which wasn't what we were complaining about. We said it wasn't the waitress fault, it was the cook who messed up our food.We were willing to pay for part of food since it wasn't all bad, but once the owner came out and made super rude comments, we just left AND WILL NEVER GO BACK FOR ANY OCCASION.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1