Las Ahumaderas — Restaurant in Chula Vista

Visited today right after they opened. They were not busy at all and I had no trouble finding parking. Menu is pretty varied with offerings including tacos to tortas. Prices are definitely higher than expected even with inflation and the portions do not justify the price of each taco. They put more guacamole than protein in them and not a single drop of salsa on the taco. I ordered a carne asada and adobada taco. Flavoring was underwhelming, but edible. The adobada is really more of an al pastor. I could barely taste the meat in my tacos as every bite was overwhelmed by globs of guacamole and chunks of onion. They serve the tacos with a tiny serving cup of red chunky salsa that was tasty, but useless to fix the lack of flavor in the tacos. I also ordered a birria torta. The bolillo used was good, but the birria didn't taste like birria. It was just shredded beef with red broth and again, very underwhelming flavoring. Edible but just completely lacking in wow factor like the original in TJ. They don't serve cebollitas or maybe you have to ask for them? Who knows, the cashier was friendly enough but when we mentioned it was our first visit, they didn't bother to explain anything about their ordering options or food. They also don't mention there's a 75¢ credit card fee which can be avoided if the card is run as debit vs credit. The only thing I truly enjoyed today was the agua fresca I got. It was cucumber, lime, and chile. I left this place hungry and feeling taken advantage of. I should have known this place wouldn't be great when I walked in and couldn't smell or hear the typical ongoings of a real taqueria. Definitely won't be going back and will instead continue to get my money's worth at other taquerias in the area with more of an...

This place needs serious improvement.

1- Tacos were served at room temperature, not hot. 2- The suadero tacos were good. However, the adobada tacos were almost tasteless; they needed salt and a stronger adobo sauce. 2- The bathrooms are outside. Therefore, if it's raining, you must get yourself wet just to wash your hands? unreasonable. Imagine going to the Cheesecake Factory, only for them tell you that the bathrooms are outside. Go figure. 3- They served my drink incorrectly. I ordered a "Fresa con leche" drink and was served something else. The waitress later came back with my correct order though. 4- To order a cup of elote, I had to go to 3 different cashiers. Firstly, I went to the lady at the main entrance and tried to order the cup of elote. This cashier tells me that the cups of elote are ordered with the other lady that is making the cups. Once I went to the lady who makes the cups, this lady now tells me to order the cup with another cashier. Moreover, the main cashier at the entrance accepts cards and cash. However, the other cashiers only accept cards + $0.75 fee. Seriously, who designed the logistics of this restaurant? 5- Isn't the whole point of ordering tacos is to order your meal directly from the taquero? you go to any taco shop in Tijuana and your taco order is directly taken by the taquero. But, what's with taking the order at the front cashier and then serving your tacos to your table? It completely destroys the culture of eating tacos. This isn't McDonalds.

Having all this said, Tacos el Gordo is still the competitive leader; smoother service, great atmosphere, and...

Hello, I recently visited Las Ahumaderos the first days of April 2024 located in Chula Vista, CA. When you open a business it is to serve the well-blessed customers. I did not have any experience of good service, firstly because of the people behind the bar making the tacos, I remember asking a certain person for a mulita de asada and that person told him To a woman who prepared the mule, the woman, with no appropriate service language, answered, "Right now I'm not doing other things," and while I was waiting, they told her 3 times and all 3 times I answered the same. After a while I saw that The woman passed by and left the little mule next to the man I had asked for it from, the little mule stayed there for another while and this man was distracted on his cell phone in front of me. Obviously the little mule was cold. A staff of any service should always of having that touch of feeling that the client is well taken care of. In my case it was not like that. I left my comment with 3 extra points according to what I experienced that day. Asada taco 5 out of 10 adobada taco 2 out of 10 (It is not the original Adobo of tacos al pastor) I have a low level of being able to return and recommend. 3 out of 10. I appreciate the opportunity to express myself at the time. Note: there are different and respectable comments, I clarify that this was my experience. Thank...