Taqueria El Balcon — Restaurant in California

A friend recommended this place so we decided to give it a try. First impression is that this place is huge, taking up 2 storefronts in a strip mall. The menu was quite extensive, with us choosing the chicken enchilada and chili verde plates. The atmosphere is inviting and our server was very nice. The plates came out quickly and the first thing I noticed was the huge serving of frijoles and rice compared to the chili verde. These sides should be smaller compared to the main dish. I took a bite of the chili verde and immediately noticed it was lukewarm. It must have been premade and refrigerated only they didn't heat it up enough before serving. The taste was good but heat would have brought out more flavor. The flour tortillas came out a little later but we're piping hot and tasty. The frijoles and rice were very good. My wife had no complaints about her enchilada plate. The taqueria has a chips and salsa bar plus an ice cream parlor in the back (bonus). I wanted to like this place but the lukewarm chili verde only deserves 3 stars. This place is a little beyond our regular taquerias we visit so not sure if we'll be...

My supervisor wanted to buy me lunch on Friday so we went to Sizzlers on Madison Ave. Near Manzanita Ave. But the wait was more than an hour. So we went to Taqueria El Balcon across the street. The restaurant was clean and spacious, there was a wet bar to the right and lots of tables available... there were free nachos and salsa while you wait for your order. I ordered the daily special, steak with red sauce and peppers and onions with refried beans, rice, lettuce, guacamole, 2 tortillas, and sour cream on the side. It was fantastic! The employees were friendly and professional, they cleaned and set the tables as soon as the customers finished eating... I was surprised by how fast the food was served, about 10 minutes... the kitchen staff must be very organized and efficient. My supervisor and I had an excellent lunch and we were back to work in an hour... If you want great food, fast service, and a pleasant ambiance go here to eat... bring your family. You won't be...

Moved into the area recently and thought we would give this a shot. We were not disappointed! Chile relleno is something I order frequently. To be honest, I pick off the batter and just eat the chili with the cheese. Usually batters have no flavor, they are just pointless blobs of grease. This is the first place where I ever actually wanted to eat the batter! It was fluffy and flavorful, not greasy at all. The sauce on top of it was out of this world. It was a slightly creamy tomato sauce, and it was full of flavor. The salsa bar was great, and everything seemed fresh. The chips that were sitting and being heated were perfectly crispy, not stale. My little daughter raved about her enchilada sauce. The staff was kind and patient with me as I tried to figure out what I wanted. We are very lucky to have this...