I like Guadalajara, actually a lot. It's probably one of the more authentic burrito places here in Davis. Portions are pretty big and taste-wise well, I REALLY rike it. Steak or chicken, the burritos are ALWAYS on point. It's always tightly packed giving it a perfect bite each time. The meat is always charred and well salted, which is always good for burritos. Don't like my meat bland hehe.
When it comes to tacos, I don't think it's worth it. It's so tiny and danky. But burritos, unlimited chips, and salsa bar is what makes it for me:)
The venue is just general and standard, kinda grimey, but clean. Flies here and there, but hey, that's what makes Mexican food taste good. The location is in the ghetto mall court in North Davis, but you can't miss it! Overall, good food and portions are just right. Super satisfying..mmm
This is the kind of place that does the job. Nothing delicious, just alright.
They have average tasting tacos, enchiladas and quesadillas. I'm not a fan on micheladas, but asked if they had just a regular margarita mix and they didn't. There aren't any amazing flavors in the foods that I listed above. They all taste like something I can make at home and out of a can. Their salsa bar had chips as hard as a rock and warm salsa's.
The service was fast and nice, but other than that this place isn't anything special that you are missing out on. They serve average flavored mexican food.
Service was excellente but my carne wet burrito did not satisfy me at all :( Maybe I ordered the wrong thing? But I usually love wet burritos sigh. It tasted so bland even after I added tapatio sauce. Suuuper disappointed.
But do download the opttown app to get a free taco. I got spicy pork and it was delicious!!!
But thank god we found this place on the way back from camping. We were rolling deep with my car, two huge trucks, each towing a boat, but we were able to find parking easily!
I would only go back if I happened to be in the area.
I never leave reviews on yelp, but i had to for this place. This is my absolute favorite Mexican restaurant ever! I recently went to Mexico with my boyfriend and this restaurant has better food than i had there! Something about their hard shell tacos makes them taste amazing. If you haven't tried their food yet, it's a must! I go here at least once every other week.
i recommend trying their hard shell shrimp taco, steak taco, chicken quesadilla, and steak quesadilla.
Sadly, I was hungover when I came here. From what I could remember the food and service was really great. Some of the best and most authentic Mexican restaurants I've been to. Their outdoor patio was one of the best and peaceful I've seen. Definitely coming back when it gets warmer just to eat on that patio.
Review Source:This was my go to spot when i was a student at UCD. I often ate at the location in North Davis and after I left UCD I would stop by this location on my way to/from Tahoe (right off the freeway easy to get to).
I love love love their chips and salsa bar! I can never get enough! The super wet burrito hits the spot everytime and their quesadilla suisa (sp?) is also another hit with me.
Very solid Mexican food here. Don't get here too late because they sometimes run our of food items on busy nights towards the end of the day. I have also come during the day when they are slow and my carne asada tasted like it had been sitting out for a little while. Otherwise, all of the ingredients seem very fresh and combined very well. I have only gotten burritos here and have not been disappointed. I hear that their specials are very good and their other meats are delicious. I don't live in Davis so my experience here is limited but they seem to have their act together.
Review Source:Tried this on a road trip - glad we did.
Pro:
* Really fresh taco shells, like just fried and fluffy. Â These are not your hard, been-in-a-bag-for-weeks shells
* Great salsa bar with complementary chips
* Very yummy fish tacos. Â The beef in the tacos was seasoned well, too
* Chunky guacamole, oh yum
* Outdoor tables and they will bring your food out (or you can eat in, ample seating)
* Right off the freeway
Con:
* Random Latin TV shows running inside.
Definitely worth a visit when in the area.
So I don't attend UC Davis but if I did, you can bet your ass I'd be at LA GUAC'S (my nickname for this heaven sent taqueria) all day everyday. Granted I've only gotten the tacos, I'm a sucker for street tacos, and they are made perfectly. My friends have gotten burritos, super burritos, enchiladas, etc that all seem/taste great as well! However... let us get to the real reason why I love this place so much... UNLIMITED CHIPS AND SALSA! I'm pretty damn picky with my salsa and I've gotta say this place has the best. I could probably just live off of their chips and salsa. Their horchata is something I could live without but hey you can't win everything. Reasonably priced foods especially for the amount that you're getting. I will return every time I'm in Davis! Love this place!
Review Source:I have tried several Mexican restaurants in Davis and I think that this might be the best Mexican food I have tried so far. I ordered a Super chicken burrito and NO LIE the chicken was flavored perfectly! Every bite was an explosion in my mouth! The enchiladas were VERY good too! Try this place please! you wont regret it!!!!!!!
ps they have TONS of YUMMY salsas!
I would give this place 5 stars if I didn't have the other Guad across town to compare it to. The salsa roja isn't as spicy here but the chicken tacos are just as good.
No diet Coke in the fountain, just diet Pepsi, which is pretty much the most useless diet soda ever.
Love the outdoor seating!
A nice place to enjoy a Mexican-style meal.
First off, I don't recommend sitting inside. It's cramped, a little loud, and a bit dirty. The outside patio seating is wonderful though! A fountain and adorable tables. I love to sit out on the patio for a quick lunch with a bestie. Good times!
The service is average. There are some excellent servers, some okay ones, and some below-average ones. They speak to each other in Spanish and most have poor English skills, but they're diligent and usually are prompt with serving you in any way they can.
I'm not a good authentic Mexican food eater, so usually I just order a simple burrito with refried beans and cheese. That's it. Their refried beans are soooooo yummy! The cheese is a little on the rubbery side, but the tortillas are good too.
This place also has good chips and salsa. Beware- the pico de gallo can be spicier than at other Mexican places in Davis. But it's delicious.
Overall, a great place with very few flaws! :)
We found this great Mexican restaurant today via Yelp. I recommend:
Menudo: 4/5 full of flavor, they even threw in some bone and tendon. I kind of lost my appetite when I saw this piece of grayish meat attached to the bone which resembled a peck peck. My husband on the other hand grabbed the bowl and gobbled down everything.
Asada taco $1.55: 4/5 good
Carnitas taco: 3/5 the pork was on the dry side, but had decent flavor
Lengua chimichanga: 4/5 this was not deep fried...it looked like it was lightly pan fried. It was good, but would have been better if it was deeeeeply fried.
Horchata: 4/5 hit the spot like it should
Bottom line: really good food, reasonable prices, nice surprise.
BEST Carnitas (deep fried pork) Burrito and Stir Fried Dinner Pollo (chicken)!!!
The carnitas here taste better than the Covell location for some unknown reason.
The place is authentic, even when you are ordering the flies are buzzing around you.
AWESOMENESS - Must fly in to eat here again!
I'm not going to complain, for a taqueria in Davis this place isn't too bad. I'm not a big fan of Mexican food due to the inevitable food coma that ensues after a meal, but the food here is authentic and surprisingly good. To be on the safe side, I ordered two soft chicken tacos here and it was good. I love how they pack the tacos with pico de gallo. My second visit here, I ordered a taco salad/tostada salad and wasn't too bad. My only complaint would be the taco shell and how it was overly oily, but other than that satisfactory. I really like how they give you guac and sour cream on the side.
The service and food here are good, which is rare to find nowadays. All the workers here are very kind and always seem to keep the place clean. This will definitely be the place to come to for my Mexican food cravings.
Can you say FOOD POISONING?
My GF and I visited her nephew in Davis and stopped by this joint because it was near his apartment. We decided to buy the carne asada burrito and a few tacos (chicken and steak). The food was below average.. nothing special. That was the only thing we ate all day and when we got home that night, she started throwing up constantly throughout the night. Yep, we both didn't get any sleep that night and I had to take her to the ER in the afternoon. In addition, she doesn't have insurance, it was the last resort since the food poisoning was that bad. Might be a ok place for someone to grab a bite to fill your stomach, but BE WARNED, it could happen to you.
Two Guadalajara's in Davis...awesome!!! I prefer the other one as far as food. They just seem to make things a bit better. Maybe I'm biased since I've been going to the other one much longer than this one. Oh well.
The food here is delicious. And they're just as quick as their counterparts on the other side of town. The one thing that sets this Guad apart from the other (to me) is the outside dining. Very nice patio area to sit, eat, and enjoy the day or night. The only problem here is the flies. There are lots. They should definitely invest in some blue light machines to kill the flies. On a hot summer day, you'll definitely get upset having to spend most of your time swatting them away.
Great prices on great Mexican food. The horchata is delicious. And the employees are nice. Just how a neighborhood Mexican restaurant should be.
The food is decent, the portions are large, but the service was horrible. It took forever, and while I was waiting, I saw one of the cooks wipe the table, and then use the same rag to clean the grill (where the food is cooked)
food  4/5
service 3/5
cleanliness 2/5
although it is cheap, if you're looking for quality, try dos coyotes or chipotle
I like this place so much more than the other Guadalajara in North Davis. I love their burritos! I always get the horchata and lengua burrito with no beans and sour cream. The burrito is super flavorful and even the regular size is big. The meat is reallly soft and kind of chewy. The rice, salsa and the gucamole are also really good. Â
They also have complimentary chips and salsa which I love. Maybe because I really like this place, but I like their chip and salsa more than other taquerias.
Definitely worth the try!
Wow, this was honestly some of the worst food I've had in my life. I can't believe the other reviews are so good!
I started off my meal with shrimp tacos. I got them and the shrimp had absolutely no flavor and just altogether wasn't good. The flavorless shrimp was hidden under a huge pile of cabbage and onions, neither of which added flavor. I ate one and a half of my three before giving up. But I was still hungry so I decided to give this place another shot and ordered Chicken Tortilla soup - that one's pretty hard to screw up. As I'm waiting for my soup my bf is eating his burrito and bites into a huge bone. We're talking two inches tall and one inch across. Huge chunk of bone. After that my soup arrives which is essentially seasoned broth with corn and garbanzo beans and a chicken breast floating in it. Seriously? They couldn't cut up the pieces so I could actually eat the chicken with my soup? Apparently I was supposed to stab the chicken with my fork and nibble off the sides?
If we hadn't been there for a friend's birthday, who I didn't want to make feel bad for choosing such a crappy place, I would've returned it all. Do not go here. If you're looking for a good Mexican food place, try going to Woodland.
This place is, in my opinion, very overrated. Â I came back after 2 years of eating Taqueria Davis instead and I probably won't be returning to Guads for the rest of my time in Davis. Â It's not BAD, but it's not nearly as good as people act like it is.
I ordered the fish taco and a super carne asada burrito. Â The fish taco was quite possibly one of the worst I've had; it was a big, flat fish patty on top of tortillas and a fat pile of greens (cabbage?) on top. Â It was very bland; the fish had no taste and the taco was very dry. Â Avoid.
The super carne asada burrito is what I used to go here for, and it was merely average. Â It's cheaper than the same burrito at Taqueria Davis, but also smaller and less filled. Â The meat has a decent "grilled" flavor when tasted alone but is drowned out by the beans and pico de gallo. Â It was also quite dry.
In conclusion, I feel that Taqueria Guadalajara, while not terrible food, is quite overrated. Â The price of the burrito here is lower than that of TD, but I feel that TD's burrito is much better tasting and filling.
GROSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS...
the WORST mole poblano with chicken... gross like no other.. flavorless like no other.. ugh.. what else.. oh yea.. it's the Special of the Day (Monday)..
I guess it was special for the day, since it didn't have that deep mole flavor nor salt, so I guess if you look at it that way, it was "special"
The chicken was cooked into the mole sauce but didn't obsorb any mole flavor, only the mole obsorbed the chicken flavor. Â The mole was anything but the common dark chocolate color sauce, it was a watered down light red colored sauce. Â I know there's different kinds of mole, but the whole point of mole is the backdrop of the chocolate. Â And this mole definitely didn't have any chocolate, it tasted and looked more like leftover red enchilada sauce from the pot mixed with gallons of water to produce enough "mole" for the night.
I gave them a 2-star rating because their salsa is decent and there's no limit. Â
Anyway, this place makes me appreciate Mexican food in Los Angeles even more..
this place FAILS my taste buds.. and for the price.. + coupon, totally not worth it..
This place makes me want to start snowboarding again. Srsly. Â
Because if I start snowboarding again, it means I'll start going to Tahoe again ... and I'll have a reason to come here.
For less than $11.00, Fred got an asada burrito (pretty massive) and I got the carnitas nachos. Â I think there were some chips in my nachos ... I never got past the thick, delicious layer of meat on top. Â
They also have a chips & salsa bar. Â The chips are the kind I like best- fresh and crunchy ... and I had to get extra to help with eating the meat off my nachos. Â It would be cool if they labeled their salsas.
Staff was super friendly, service was fast, bathrooms were clean.
When I walk in, I feel like I've walked into a mini Pueblo. This Guad's compared to the North Davis one has more of a "mexican" look to it. I love it. This was where I first ordered the:
1) Horchata: Despite it being mixed from powder, it is still excellent and all you can drink. It tastes like milk mixed with a churro. Literally, just without the chunks. Also, I can drink 4 cups! haha.
2) Chip Salsa bar: They make tortilla chips daily! They are a bit crunchy(think kettle chips but even harder). Also, they have pico de gallo (diced tomatoes, diced japalenos, diced onions, and sliced cilantro), salsa verde, salsa rojo, and a condiment mixed with japalenos, carrots, and onions. You can get full off of this alone.
3) Super Giant burrito: I always order this since I come here with a bud, and we split it. It used to be $10, pre tax but it is now $11. I've ordered the carne asada, but have recently developed an appetite for the lengua (cow tongue which is very tender). The pastor (pig meat that is spicy and wetter than it's drier cousin carnitas) is great as well. If you want more sauce and flavoring on your burrito, get it "wet." There is a sweet sauce plus cheese poured over your burrito.
Those of you that don't have a big appetite, half of a super giant, or a regular super buritto, can suffice you for 2 days. This place does not have a TV but has outside seating. I like to sit outside on warm days to enjoy the warm weather and relax!
Come here even though it's far!
I like the South Davis location better then the North Davis ones. Staff is alot friendly and I don't know..the food just tastes better here. Â
You can eat inside or outdoors as well, I remember warm hot summer nights where I would just eat outside while drinking a beer with friends.
The only thing that the North Davis location has on it's South Davis' store is that the chips and salsa is alot fresher. Other then that, I rather eat at South Davis' Guad anyday,
When you see a Mexican restaurant use the word "Grill" (or worse yet "Grille"), that is usually a sure sign that the place is whitewashed and watered down. But only the ambience is whitewashed here, with its moody lighting and presentable wooden tables (and even outdoor seating).
The food is pretty much the same as the North Davis location. On any given day, it might be a little better here or there, or perhaps portion size will surge or fall. The chilaquiles breakfast was disappointingly small last time, but I suppose it was actually a more sensible portion.
I guess that I still prefer the North Davis location as it's usually more convenient for me when I'm visiting central Davis friends or when I'm on campus. South Davis is still a little too Vacaville-like for me. I don't wanna hang out there too often.
Sadly, Davis is probably the most underserved community in the entire Central Valley when it comes to authentic Mexican food, and while either Guads rates a C+/B-, it sets the curve for Mexican food in this lame bastion of faux-celebration of diversity that is Docker-clad, weekend-tie-dyin' Davis. The original Guads used to be so much better. That was before they learned like every other restaurant in town that you can impress Davis eaters with a C+ effort.
EDIT: 11-16-08
went here for breakfast. had the huevos rancheros. DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!! such a big portion too. you get beans + rice! and my friend got the huevos con chorizo. They gave us 6 hot tortillas with that. soo good.... haha. so if you want a good hearty breakfast for ~6.00, Â guadalajara is a place to go!
I LOVE THEIR BURRITOS. sooooo good and not expensive AT ALL. you get 2 or 3 meals out of the burrito depending on how hungry you are. Â I've eaten quite a bit of Mexican food growing up since my dad LOVES it, but when I tried Guadalajara, OMG. I took my parents here and ever since, they always request to eat there when they visit me. The employees are very nice and happily follow simple requests (no beans, extra cheese) and the atmosphere is wonderful.
What's also great is their FRESH SALSA and Chips. Comes complimentary with your meal! I like this location better because it's not as crowded as the N. Davis one and I felt that the burritos tasted a bit better here... Their chicken rocks.
Now I remember why I love this place....oh yeah really GOOD Mexican food. I stopped in after I found one of my favorite burrito/taco/menudo/birria places opened up yet another restaurant....this time in North Davis, and dubbed it Taqueria Guadalajara Grill.
It all began with Taqueria Guadalajara in Woodland (the original)...there I tried tacos al pastor for the first time there and became addicted. If you've ever been to Woodland you'll quickly realize that each restaurant caters to a COMPLETELY different crowd. This one TGG is a step up from the others. Nice decor, nice outdoor seating if the weather isn't in the triple digits and I even spotted one of the cooks from the original in Woodland there! Again this place didn't disappoint, I tried their tacos dorados and OH MAN now I'm addicted to them. Al pastor, carnitas and carne asada, I tried one of each and with each bite I realized how much I missed these guys...it brought a tear to my eye.
BTW only the Woodland restaurant serves Menudo and Birria on the weekends, but get there early (before 9am) they usually sell out quick. Everything is still reasonably priced.
This is by far the best "Guad" (as we called it) in town. If I'm not mistaken, this is the original and first of the three. The interior is very festive and has a totally different feel than the one in North Davis.
I dream of the burritos. I often consider driving 60 mi. for it. I've had burritos in San Francisco and San Diego, but these are still my favorite. It's the perfect balance of wet and... not so wet.
Plenty of parking (part of the Nugget strip mall).