San Diego’s Best Mexican Restaurants: Tacos El Gordo
For years Tacos El Gordo in Chula Vista has been one of our favorite taco stands. In recent years we have watched new locations open, including in Las Vegas, Nevada. This is the place to go for carne asada and adobada/al pastor street tacos.
UPDATE: In October 2022 Yelp released a list of top 100 Taco Spots in America. Tacos El Gordo was number 41!
WEBSITE: http://tacoselgordobc.com/
- Type: Taco Stands/Street Tacos
- Location: multiple locations, we go to Chula Vista
- What to Order: Adobada/al pastor, Carne asada, fries (also more exotic offal meats)
- Salsa Bar: 1 star
- Drinks: Soda fountain
- Prices:
- Fish Taco N/A
- Carne Asada Burrito: N/A (taco is $2.60)
- 2 Beef Taco Plate: N/A
Be sure and look at our guide to Mexican Food in San Diego. There are several types of restaurants. Tacos El Gordo falls firmly into the taco stand category. These are places low on frills but high in quality.
Be sure and check out our complete guide to Mexican restaurants in San Diego!
The original Tacos el Gordo opened in Tijuana Mexico in 1972. The first San Diego location opened in 1998 on H Street in Chula Vista. This is the one we have been visiting since 2003. In 2018, a larger location was opened right around the block on Broadway.
Several years ago, when we visited Las Vegas we were surprised to see Tacos El Gordo listed in a local guide as the best taco shop in Vegas. This is the same Tacos el Gordo. They opened in Vegas in 2010 (we have not been to the several Vegas locations).
The new location operates pretty much the same as the old location, just on a larger scale. Tacos el Gordo is a casual place where the ordering is cafeteria style. This system is very efficient at handling the large crowds that flock here.
There are three main meat lines. One for carne asada, one for adobada (aka al pastor) and one for offal meats. There is also a line for French fries.
The offal cuts include cabeza (beef head), sesos (brain), lengua (tongue), tripe (guts), buche (pork stomach) and suadero (they describe this as rose meat, I think it is a form of brisket and not offal).
We have never tried the separate offal cuts. They have their own line and there is almost always no wait.
The longest line is usually for the adobada. This is often called al pastor. It is pork cooked on a rotating spit topped with a pineapple. Netflix had a recent series the Taco Chronicles. The very first episode was entirely on al pastor tacos. They also had an episode on carne asada.
The adobada, like most of the meats, can be ordered in several variations. The basic taco is $2.60 and it is stopped with onions, cilantro, salsa and the creamy avocado sauce (they ask to make sure you want “everything”). You can also get tacos as a mule. This is basically the meat between two corn tortillas.
My favorite is the vampiros. This is basically a meat quesadilla. The meat is served between two corn tortillas with a layer of wonderful crispy melted cheese. The cost is $4.60.
Tacos El Gordo lends itself to ordering multiple items. This is done cafeteria style. For example, on our last visit we waited in the adobada line, got our tacos, went to the carne asada line, got out tacos and then went to the fry line and ordered some carne asada fries.
On future visits we would likely reverse this process. The tacos are prepared instantly, but the fries are cooked to order and can take about 10 minutes. Fries can be topped with any of the meats. A massive full order of carne asada fries is $14. Our medium order was $7.50 and with two people we had plenty of leftovers.
There is no salsa bar. The cooks put salsa on each individual taco. They do have radishes and limes
On our last visit my son and I ordered two adobada tacos. I ordered a vampiros adobada taco. We split a medium order of fries. The total meal came to about $25 with drinks and tips (you can tip each cook separately).
That was our first-time getting fries. Normally we would order 3 to 4 tacos each, with a mixture of carne asada and adobada. Adding the cheese is a luxury I afford myself every once in awhile.
Tacos El Gordo is right down the street from the Living Coast Discovery Center. Over the years it has been a family tradition to combine a visit to the center with a meal at Tacos El Gordo.
For our recent visit to the new location, I was afraid that Tacos El Gordo may have gone too upscale. However, this location retains all the charm and quality of the original. It was packed but we were sitting down and eating within ten minutes.
The secret to the success is focusing on a limited menu of meats. At Tacos El Gordo there is no fish, chicken or veggie offerings. Everything is served fresh off the grill or rotisserie. For best in class carne asada or al pastor, Tacos El Gordo is the place.
