I came here for dinner on a Wednesday night based on great word of mouth, and let me just say everyone was right!
This is a very divey but cozy restaurant, be prepared for super duper casual, even more casual of an atmosphere than quick dinner at a friend's house. Â But it's also nice to know you'll get tasty and authentic food with no attitude. Â The neighborhood is questionable, the menu is completely in Spanish - takes me right back to the Mission in SF. Â Let's do this! Â Major points scored by serving chips topped with a green salsa and sprinkle of cheese - a yummy variation on the standard chips and salsa, and there's nothing wrong with basically free nachos! Â I wasn't even being a good conversational companion cuz I was too busy shoving those delicious chips in my yap. Â
My friend recommended the shrimp burrito, and MAN was it tasty! Â A slight curveball was thrown when our waiter asked me if I wanted mild or spicy salsa in my burrito, and I'll be damned if that wasn't the spiciest mild ever. Â We chatted with our waiter who immediately saw that the burrito did indeed have spicy and he offered to make me a new burrito right away. Â I felt a little guilty sending good food back, but I was very impressed with the service! Â My new burrito was absolutely perfect - tasty mild salsa, shrimp grilled PERFECTLY, rice, beans and a little cheese. Â I probably should have wrapped up half and brought it home but I couldn't stop myself from annihilating the whole thing - too darn good. Â
Thank you for the delicious food and superior service!
This is now my favorite Mexican food restaurant! Â The green sauce is the best! Â I buy it by the cup full. Â The carnitas is the best on everything. Â I recently tried their nachos. Â I have had them twice. Â Make sure and say NO HOT SAUCE! Â Its seriously hot. Â I ordered a burrito one time and forgot. Â I couldn't eat it. Â I threw it away.
Review Source:I want to thank everyone who posted about the BREAKFAST BURRITOS! They are just as everyone said AMAZING. I love the simplisity. I always ask them to add beans. SO GOOD!!! Not a lot of places do a good breakfast burrito. I appreciate that they offer sausage. Alot of places only offer chorizo. This place has both. I also love thier hot sauce.
Review Source:I'm disappointed! It's our first time ordering from here. we called it in and my husband picked up the food. Super easy order-carnitas plate, pollo asada burrito, side of rice and beans. When my husband got home, we noticed there was no side of rice and beans. :( Not worth it to drive all the way back for a couple dollars. Then I took a bite into the pollo asada burrito....and it was carne asada!!! They got the burrito WRONG!!! I was pretty annoyed because now I have no dinner! My husband took a few bites of the carnitas and he said it tasted bad and was really dry.
SO, the next day we went back around noon. My husband told whoever was there, seemed like the Mgr, what happened with our order. He apologized and gave him a free pollo asada burrito with a side of rice and beans, which is why I gave 2 stars. Also, the guy told him that the crew at night is not as good and they forgot to put salt in the carnitas last night! Ugh! No wonder it didn't taste very good.
We just moved up from San Diego a few months ago and have been in search of good Mexican food but can't seem to find ANY around here!!! Â I thought this place might be good since they had 4 stars???
Ps-the free burrito they gave us to make up for the mistake was so greasy it gave us heartburn!!!! :(
I can't pronounce it but it's hella good!  They catered a small birthday party I went to and the small carnitas tacos were a hit!  They were super friendly, though i don't think either of us knew what the other was saying.  A solid, local, family operated restaurant  with good food? - can't ask for much more.
Review Source:Best Mexican food in the Easy Bay, I moved up from Southern California 7 years ago and great Mexican food is third on my list of what I miss. I recently found this place 8 months ago and I haven't stopped coming here since, I eat here on average once a week. The first month I found this place I was eating here every other day. The staff is great here, and the food amazing. They really make you feel at home, they will go above and beyond to make your experience great, even to go as far as make you something that's not on the menu. I've had just about everything on the menu, my favorite breakfast item is the chilecelous and for lunch well anything in the menu makes my mouth water.
Review Source:This is, hands down, my favorite Mexican restaurant in Concord, but *only* for the burrito mojado (wet burrito.) it comes with a sauce that is unusually (but not overly) sweet. A Mexican friend of mine explained that this style is from one tiny region of Mexico, but sadly I don't remember which.
The police have been in here eating many times I've been in; if they're coming in it must be good food with good value!
The other items are passible, but why not order the best thing on the menu?
Oh, and they are NOT related to the El Grullense near Sacramento, although that place is really good, too.
Been going to this place probably for 15 years and just this past year have became just about a weekly regular!! We walk in & the cook knows what to make for us!! They have the best breakfast burrito, chips & salsa! Even when the chips are a little overdone, they are still great! Its kind of a whole in the wall place in an old strip mall (if that's what it's called when there's 3 stores)....anyhow! Try it out!! You won't regret it!! Ohh and you will get the best service if you sit at the bar!!
Review Source:OMG I love this place. I will go out of my way and pass numerous other mexican places to eat here. Burritos are great and their shrimp plates are my absolute favorite. They have literally the best hot sauce I have ever had, not for the faint of heart. I havnt found any other place that is consistently as delicious as this place. I wish they had some more veggie options (like black beans). Its not deserving of one star. I can easily spend $15 on a plate and $30-40 for a meal for two. Also tacos are ridiculously small. Almost comical. I think theyve cute back a bit on their portion size.
Review Source:BREAKFAST BURRITO HEAVEN!!! If you are in the area and want a breakfast burrito to hold you over until early afternoon, THIS IS THE PLACE! The burrito is simple, choices of bacon, sauage or chorizo. Â If you choose the chorizo breakfast burrito, you get a side of grease soup with it also (think about it, you'll understand). It has eggs, chesse and harhbrown and thats it. Â I can't explain it, but when you have one, it'll blow you away. Â Â
Anyhow, this place is your basic hole in the wall Mexican spot and if you want a hostess and bar, take your punk a@# to Chevys or El Torrito! Â I've always said, if you go to a Mexican Spot and you mostly see Hispanics eating there, thats the place to eat. Â
The place is run my a family and I think Ricky (who also cooks and drives the taco truck) is the owner. Â Ricky always has a smile on his face and treats everyone like he has known them for ever.
Authentic Mexican food. Â about 100 times better than los Panchos.
I sadly didn't know this place existed until I moved out of Martinez, but luckily my parents still live down the street. Â El G gives me more reason to make a trip home. Â The food is fresh, reasonably priced, the people are nice and it is open decently late.
Oh and one other thing... my favorite breakfast burrito. Â Hands down! Â It doesn't waste your calories with a lot of potato. Â It is only full of meat (my fav chorizo), egg, beans and salsa. Â They cook everything fresh and it comes out steaming hot. Â Their salsa aint no joke either. Â Full of flavor... so impressive I think it puts a lot of the famous SF Mexican eateries to shame.
The tacos are like really good taco truck tacos - simple meat/salsa $1.65 each.
The burritos are astoundingly flavorful.
I ate there 3 times last weekend - no joke (of course I had to hit the treadmill a few times to keep up).
If you are in the Martinez area and love real Mexican food (not that Chevy's bullshit), I implore you to try this place out.
I will return to this restaurant in a pinch. With the wide array of taquerias in the area, there are much better choices. The service was very friendly and I received my food within minutes of ordering. My nachos were fair. the chips seemed a little stale, and what little cheese was on them was only partially melted. My boyfriend got the super steak burrito. He did not get the sour cream and guac we paid for. Other than that, he said the burrito was decent, but nothing special. On the plus side a burrito, Nachos medium Horchata and a bottled beverage for only $16.00 was a pretty good price. Maybe we caught them on a bad day, or just didn't order the right things.
Review Source:I was looking for a new place to check out for lunch, and my co-worker stumbled upon this place online. We decided to check them out. I knew the tacos were going to be small (reminds me of what you get off a taco truck), so I ordered 4. 2 chicken, 2 carnitas. While the chicken ones were good, the carnitas ones I will definitely be going back for. While they had a little bit of a wait, it wasn't bad. Although I may call ahead next time.
Review Source:My favorite soft tacos in the area! Â The staff is very friendly especially the cook (I think he also might be the owner?) the times I stopped by at lunch, our food was done quick and delicious as always. Â The cook told us to call it in anytime and he will have it ready for us when we get there. Â I like a business that recognizes that the working folks have a limited time for lunch and caters to this. Â The only downside is its cash only if your under $15. Â A one person meal is typically going to be way under $15. Â I'm not a cash carrier so I don't get to stop by here as often as I would like.
Review Source:This place is great. I would give it 5 stars just for staying open so late. We were starving and went there to eat at about 10pm. We didn't want to eat at any drive-thru places, so we Yelped it.
I ordered the wet burrito special with asada. I got it with the hot sauce. They're hot sauce should be sold--I can safely say they have the best hot sauce around.
My man ordered the soft tacos with asada. They looked yummy, but are too small for my large appetite. 4 of 'em might do me good, or my waistline :)
The staff there work super hard and are the sweetest people. You need to make a stop and try it out...
I came in here after a terrible experience at Los Ponchos down the street. I'd seen the yelp reviews but never been here before. It was wonderful! So glad we stopped in. I really just wanted to get some guacamole to take  back to work because we had a ton of chips in the office. However, I was told they don't make guacamole.
We asked if any nearby places (other than Los Punk-os) :) had some but the guy quickly volunteered to fresh make some for me. I told him I wanted enough for a group of people and he filled up a drink container (20 oz maybe? maybe more?) It was very good! Fresh guac usually is! He had us taste it along the way to see what we wanted added. He charged us $8 which was very fair because there was a lot!
While we sat and waited I ordered a couple street tacos (can't remember what meats - probably carnitas and pollo). Both were excellent though the flavors were sort of the same, as if the meats had been mixed together and served as one... hard to explain. Still, very, very good.
Complimentary chips with queso and a bean sauce on top and 2 salsas were brought to us and we enjoyed these with a couple bottles of Coke. Total : $17.64
The place itself was open, airy, and clean. And service was friendly and fast. Â We'll be back next time we're out that way. Might not make a special trip though. Â They only lose a star because reflecting on what we ordered, and the fact the tacos are around $1 each, I now can't figure out why my receipt says $17.64 (pre-tip). I'm positive that's all we ordered. Maybe very expensive Coke? :) Either way, check them out!!
The staff was nice and service was quick. That's about all I can say good about this place.
Chips were stale. Salsa looked like it was fresh from a jar and had basically no taste. Chili-hot is not supposed to be only "flavor" (the mild salsa had no flavor other than "present").
Beans were tasteless, rice nearly so, burrito "eh" - I've tasted better almost everywhere else (including large international chains). Tacos - someone dropped a lime-bomb on them. Â And something very much disagreed with me.
The idea of beef brain (and other parts) tacos doesn't appeal to me personally, but the idea others can get them if they want them very much appeals. Too bad it had to be a place I cannot recommend at all.
The prices are low, and that plus their unusual selection of meats (and a high recommendation) had me very much wanting to like it. I just can't.
I won't be back.
First time I dined here was on a Friday with my co-workers during lunch. Â They take orders pretty quick, so lines are not a problem. Â I had a terrible craving for guacamole in my burrito, but they do not offer it on the menu. Â That was disappointing tor read. Â Despite that, I asked if they had guacamole. Â They said no, but made an exception for me! Â They put it in my burrito, generously, and gave me additional to go with free chips! Â This place is frikken awesome because of that. Â Great experience for a first timer.
This place is also great for breakfast burritos.
Today, before my very own, famished eyes, I witnessed the best thing since the development of pineapple Jarritos: the birth of my tacos' tortillas.
If your confused, listen closely. The tortilla dough for my tacos was scooped and hand-pressed, plopped on the grill, and then decorated with carne asada, onions, cilantro and salsa verde, like 5 feet from my foaming mouth. All while I did frontal stuffing with thee best complimentary chips and green salsa.
I am soooo in love, all over again. I've been a fan since 2003, and missed the place dearly when my job bitch-slapped me all the way to Richmond, even still making a point to stop by when I was in the area. Now, that I'm two exits away again, and I have seen the birth of my tortillas, I feel like we've renewed our vows... Aaahhhhhhhhh...
And, I digress.
So yes, it's a f'n hole in the wall, and yes, there's always Spanish-speaking something or other on the boob tube, like folks have said, but who the hell cares?! With great staff and tacosTHIS delicious, they certainly deserve your undivided attention.
PS- Tacos are $1.65 each. I also like the burritos, for about $6. YUM! Great carne asada, whole beans, no fuss, just right size. I don't want to be intimidated by the size of my burrito, I just want to be filled, You feel me?
I love El Grullense so much, I drive my ass all the way to this weird little area off the 4 just to eat there.
I was inspired to eat here because of a restaurant of the same name in Redwood City that had THE best soft tacos I've ever eaten. Considering it's a common name, I didn't really think it was owned or run by the same people, but I really wanted some soft tacos so I went and hoped for the best.
I go there allll the time now. I don't have to drive all the way to Redwood City to get delicious, juicy soft tacos. I can simply go to...Pacheco, Martinez, Concord, Pleasant Hill??? Where the fuck ARE you guys technically??
You have to try their soft taco. Carne asada or the carnitas ones. Mild. With everything. All the cilantro, onions, salsa verde sauce. It's so flavorful and just hits the fucking spot. And the burritos are so big and delicious. And the quesadillas! It's just good quality AUTHENTIC mexican food.
The woman who is pretty much there all day is the sweetest lady. I enjoy her. She makes sure you're taken care of.
AND ORDER SOME OF THEIR HORCHATA!!! A large cup of that will last you a long time, taste great with the tacos, and is pretty much decadent enough to be dessert as well.
When someone makes a bold bold claim, that this is the best breakfast burrito spot ever...better than Buzz's in SLO, I had to test that claim. Â I don't particularly like people putting restaurants on a pedestal without proof. Â But how do I make myself come all the way out from San Francisco to Concord just for a breakfast burrito? Â The idea seems silly of course. Â There's probably a billion breakfast burrito joints on Mission, but no one has claimed any best breakfast burrito there. Â
So, howabout making a unnecessary survey visit to a particular work site which happens to be 2 miles away from this restaurant. Â Done! Â
And the result: Chorizo and eggs and hash brown breakfast burrito with chips of course. Â Was it worth the unnecessary trip? Â Sadly no. Â The chips were by far one of the best i've had along with the salsa it came with, but that breakfast burrito is just a tad too dry and not really extraordinary compared to other places. Â I haven't even had El Farolito's breakfast burrito in the Mission, but I have confidence, that place would blow this out of the water. Â
Sorry "someone", I don't think you should be a yelper at this point. Â Or let alone make suggestions to a yelper. Â haha jk
MEXICAN DINER
After reading my friend T's review of this restaurant, I decided to give it a try. Â It is located in a tiny strip mall in the town of Pacheco. Â The food is prepared right in front of you like a diner. Â A large pot was simmering on the stove and rows of hash browns were cooking on the grill. Â I was in a hurry so I ordered a burrito to go.
Carne Asada Burrito
A large burrito stuffed with carne asada, beans, rice, and salsa. Â The meat was a little dry but I spiced it up with some hot sauce. Â It was very filling; the kind of burrito that you need a nap after eating.
I am still searching for contenders for the top three Mexican restaurants in Contra Costa County. El Grullense looked promising. It's in a run down strip mall with a liquor store and an empty building. At one end of the walkway there was a group of young men in their work uniforms drinking beer, and at the other end music was coming out of the empty building and everyone in the lot was speaking Spanish. The parking lot was full; pickup trucks were doubled parked and I had to park on the street. I knew I would like the restaurant  even if the food was not great. Inside the restaurant was empty. A very large pot full of meat was bubbling away on the stove; it was about 3 feet tall.
The menu presented a problem for my test, because it was missing some of my test dishes. They did not have enchiladas or chill rellenos. I had to fall back on Camarones Ranchero.
I sat at a table and rather than be distracted by watching men in shorts drinking beer, I faced the kitchen and that is when I saw what a treat I was in for. The cook/waitress took fresh dough rolled in and patted it into shaped, put it in a tortilla press, pressed down and took a perfectly shaped corn tortilla out and put it grill. When she brought them to the table they were warm and fluffy. They were better than any tortilla I can remember having. The dinner plate of Camarónes (shrimp) Ranchero was good too.
Taco War
So Jack's home. Â Let the games begin. Â Jack, El Grullense. Â El Grullense, Jack. Â Go.
Carne asade tacos please, cilantro, onion, hot sauce. Â Jalapenos and those yummy carrots on the side, thanks.
This time we ate in, and service was cute. Â I say cute, bc it's kind of a divey place trying to be all grown up. Â The woman taking orders, making your tacos, bringing you your tacos, taking your cash, was adorable, sweet, really friendly. Â She was able to do everything from beginning to end, bc we were the only ones in the place; it was about 6.30p on Wednesday night. Â
She brought us a bowl of (still uninspired) chips with a salsa verde (very good) and the hot salsa (awesome) while we waited for our tacos. Â We probably got two chips down each before she was back with what we came here for.
VICTORY: Â Even though he'd never ever admit it, Jack knew I was ahead in our war for The Best Taco.
Further cuteness: Â On our way out the door, the woman yells to us: Â "My Concord location has beer!"
I just moved to the area, and El Grullense is conveniently located right around the corner... Â I have been checking out the burrito hot spots from San Jose to the Pacheco area, and I would rank this place as my #2 favorite (the #1 would have to be El Grullo in Oakland)
Their super burrito (carne asada) is indeed VERY flavorful
So are all of the breakfast burritos
All of the salsas hit the spot, especially the green!
However, my only complaint is that they don't include avacados / guacamole in the super burrito unless I request it... Â (the price is the same, reguardless)
And as stated below, it is much better for take out vs. dining in  (depends on who is working there at the time)
Stopped in for the first time, tried the pork and fish tacos, and was unimpressed. I'm not a taco snob - I like eating at taco trucks, and I don't expect taco places to have ambiance or linen tablecloths, but El Grullense was a mixed bag in terms of food and service.
The tacos themselves were good. But everything else on the table was so-so. The tacos came with a radish on the side - great - but the radish was limp instead of crisp.
The chips weren't stale, as another reviewer noted, but were broken, small, and didn't have that 'freshly made' taste.
Service: friendly, but they forgot part of my order
So, sorry to say, but my recommendation is to skip El Grullense.
Tacos, tacos, TACOS! Â I love how they are open until 10pm during the week, so if I get out of class early, I can drive down the street and get my taco fix before heading home. Â I would have to say these are by far the tastiest carne asada tacos on this side of town, and for a $1.50 each the price can't be beat.
Mind you this spot is best for take-out, don't bother dining in, but most people would know that already!
I wanna love you El Grullense; I really, really do. Â You are close to my office, affordable and mobile (note burrito wagon located by the Solano Drive-In between 11a - 4p; yes, I've done my research) Â I just can't eat you anymore....
I've been to your little eatery. Â It's comfortably located by Montecito Pet Hospital right off the freeway by NO other Mexican joint for at least three blocks. (give or take) Unfortuntately, your in house dining leaves so much to be desired. Â The chips and salsa are hard (stale?) and your food is bland (zzzzz) or as my husband says "rode hard and put away wet" ummm, ok, what are we reviewing here???
I love that you have pictures of the meals you offer for us gringos that say, have never ordered a carne asada ummmmm.....what is that thing called? Â A burrito? Â Yeah, that's it, a burrito!
Yuck. Â Not good. Â I've tried you a couple of times and leave disappointed always. Â It's not your fault. Â I'm a pretty big deal when it comes to carne asada and all. Â J/K it IS your fault cuz your meat is really chewy and doesnt have all that much flavor. Â I might as well be ordering the special of the day at the animal hospital next door.
I was giddy (yup, giddy) when I noticed the El Grullense Taco Truck by the drive in! Â I could walk here from work if the notion struck me! Â It too failed miserably...... Â I don't care that my co workers question where folks working at the taco truck pee, nor do I care if they get/take the "required by law" breaks/lunch; I just want a fat ass burrito with whole beans that makes me return to work with a full belly and gas! Â FAIL!!!!
I've been to the "roach coach" (and I love me some roach coach) several times. Â More often than not they are out of product or skimp on the items they do have - and its not like I'm rolling up at 359pm with an order!
With Taco Bell listlessly sitting a couple of blocks away I happily keep on driving.
We randomly came across this place when we exited the freeway late one night because my husband had to use the bathroom. I saw El Grullense and due my Neverending-Search-for-the-Perfect-Carnitas-Taco, I had to try one.
Holy Hell, Batman! Are we in Tijuana? It certainly tastes like we are....wtf? Why are these tacos so damn GOOD? We ended up ordering 30 of them and killed half of them off right there on the hood of the car. Leftovers were still delicious the following morning.
There are other El Grullense taquerias, but the only two I know of that have the same owners are the two on Middlefield Road in Redwood City. Â Those are cash only, but the one on Pacheco accepts credit cards.
Four stars for reminding me of good old TJ....or San Diego....either or. :)
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