Lalo’s Taqueria — Restaurant in Hayward

I can't believe there wasn't a line out the door at 1:00 because the food is this good. Eat here as often as you can before this place gets too popular!

Lalos himself was working the grill and greeted me immediately when I walked in. My food came out quickly. I ordered carne asada, al pastor, and quesabirria tacos. Everything was so hot and fresh and expertly presented. Lalos obviously cares about the food he makes. He came over and asked me how everything was and chatted with me for a bit, which has never ever happened to me at a taqueria even though I speak Spanish. Dude gives a damn and it shows.

The most important part of a taqueria to me is the salsa/hot sauce. If the salsa isn't spicy or they're stingy with it, I don't care how juicy the asada is or how big the portions are--I'm out. Luckily, they brought out three different huge bottles of homemade hot sauce with my order so I could have as much as I wanted. And the red sauce was hot thank God. No tomatillos or other filler. Heavy on the chiles. They had a La Victoria style orange sauce, but like the replicas I have tried to make at home, it has the look but missing something in the flavor. Luckily the red sauce was so good I didn't even bother with the others. Gimme the hot stuff.

It was a little hot and stuffy in the restaurant because it was 1PM in August. The air conditioner and fan drowned out the music. Having said that, I brought a book and had no problem reading while I ate. There was another couple who looked like they were on a date and they seemed comfortable. I don't want to say this is a "you should order your food to go" atmosphere because it was so delicious fresh out of the kitchen. I'm a fast eater so who cares.

I'll be getting my tacos here...

I had a quesabirria, a steak taco, and super nachos.

All in all is was a pretty good experience. The quesabirria was my favorite. It had good flavor. I couldn't really taste the cheese, but the birria was good (maybe add a bit more cheese next time?). The asada from the taco and nachos had a little bit too much grissel for my liking, but not too bad. The taco was a bit pricy but was bigger than I expected so it made up for the price. The chips for the nachos are not made in-house (for those of you wondering), and I didn't expect the melted nacho cheese. Next time I'd like to try them with a different melted cheese. I was honestly imagining a similar flavor to what I get at La Chavez super market, but if you're craving nacho cheese nachos, you'd like these.

All in all I'd like to try some of their other dishes. It seems (based on the menu, but have yet to try more), that this small family owned restaurant has a mix of some more authentic Mexican flavored dishes and some that are a bit americanized to diversify the menu for multiple pallettes.

Atmosphere was nice and the customer service...

I found this place through a recommendation on Reddit. It's pretty new, but definitely worth a try.

The restaurant is on a corner lot with limited parking. Indoor seating is also limited--not ideal for large groups, but there's enough space for a few families of four or couples.

Their menu offers a bit of everything, and the prices are cheaper than many other Mexican restaurants or food trucks.

The guy who took our order was friendly and genuinely grateful for our business. It gave the place a welcoming, small local business vibe.

I ordered one birria taco and a super burrito. Honey ordered a regular burrito.

The birria taco was good--I wish it had a bit more cheese, but overall it was solid.

The steak burrito was also great. It had a lot of flavor, the meat was well-seasoned and tender, and the price was under $20. You won't find a super burrito this good for less. I reheated the other half the next day, and it was just as good.

Honey felt the same about her regular burrito.

Overall, we'll be coming back...