Don Ruben — Restaurant in Hawaiian Gardens

Don Juan goes to Don Ruben's for some Nom Nom

Lotsa food por poquito dinero, Don Ruben's serves the Mexican classics in filling portions. A walkup window greets hungry customers when they visit Don Ruben.

Large signage underneath the menu helps in deciding what to get.

Chicken tortilla soup (medium)- An item not on the everyday menu, I knew I had to order this. The chicken tortilla soup was full of chicken, corn, large carrot spears and the rest of the good stuff. The broth was hearty, not too salty, & the portions provided definite bang for the buck.

El gigante breakfast burrito- Unbeknownst to me, a 40 cents surcharge is added to breakfast burritos after 11am. Of course, that small caveat was nowhere to be seen on the prominent El Gigante signage, nor was I told that by the cashier prior to ordering, but the 40 cent surcharge was present on the bottom of the breakfast burrito menu. Sigh. Anyways, about the burrito, it was a tummy fillin, stick to your ribs bargain. Beans, potatoes, salsa, rice, eggs, bacon & cheese, the el gigante was stuffed like a goose feather pillow. Rice comprised the main component of the burrito, with the crunchy bacon providing that mouthwatering crunch. For $3+, it's a steal. The red sauce on the side was deliciously thick, like a ragu. Not a watered down sauce, as at some other places. Roasted chilis are complimentary, too.

Service was good. Although the cashier didn't notify me about the surcharge, he was friendly & welcoming. 2 customers were ahead of me, with my wait being about 5 minutes or so. Seating is via a small patio to the right of Don Ruben. I enjoyed my Mexican feast surrounded by a nice cool breeze and sparrows anticipating a few morsels of flour tortilla supplied by yours truly.

Parking is in private lot, shared by a pawn shop and other businesses. Don Ruben's is across the street from the Hawaiian Gardens Casino.

Cheap, fast & filling! Don Ruben's offers authentic Mexican food at inexpensive prices. Whether you're in the mood for breakfast burritos, loaded nachos, flautas or gorditas, Don Ruben can satisfy your hunger with any of their well-portioned menu items.

Highly...

Was craving a chile relleno burrito from Rosa Maria’s which is unfortunately only in the IE. It’s pork verde meat and a chile relleno inside. I asked my husband to get me the chile relleno burrito from here or a chile verde burrito and add a chile relleno to it. He ended up getting me both the chile verde burrito and a chile relleno burrito. I’d the chile verde burrito just pork with beans and insane amount of cheese because there was absolutely no verde sauce! It completely lacked any flavor besides cheese and little meat. Might as well have been a been and cheese quesadilla. The chile relleno burrito was ok but again lacked flavor but cheese and the smallest chile. That was just a bean, egg and cheese burrito. I don’t know why it’s so hard to find a good burrito out here. I tried Nick’s Deli II since we live closer to it but they use potatoes like this place uses cheese, way...

EDIT: I've held off on making this edit for a while because I love the place, but I finally had to take a star off because they're constantly running out of their habanero salsa, which is their only salsa I enjoy.

Before I continue, I must reiterate that the food itself is great and the prices and service too. This change in rating has nothing to do with that. It's purely for the salsa issue.

The habanero salsa is amazing, I don't enjoy the red or the green. In my last 6 visits, they were out of the habanero salsa for 5 of them. Now, I call to check if there's salsa before I place my order.

Once the supply issue is fixed, they're back at 5 stars for me. Great food at the best prices! This is my favorite Mexican spot in the area. The tacos are huge and are a dollar less than all the...