Chronic Tacos — Restaurant in Laguna Niguel

You don’t come to Cronic Tacos for polished interiors, starched napkins, or some abstract attempt at “modern Mexican.” You come for the burrito—dense, overstuffed, and unapologetically messy—the kind of meal that leaves you wiping salsa off your chin with the back of your hand and wondering why you ever settled for less.

At this outpost, tucked inside a nondescript strip mall, you won’t find the grit and counterculture swagger of the original Newport Beach location. There’s no punk rock bleeding through the walls, no sun-fried surfer bumming a free water cup while arguing about skate decks. It’s cleaner, quieter—corporate, even. But what this version lacks in edge, it makes up for in substance. Because despite the sanitized setting, the Cronic burrito still tastes like the beach.

That burrito—stuffed with tender, marinated carne asada, smoky grilled shrimp, buttery avocado, and rice that actually tastes like someone gave a damn—hits a nerve. It’s a throwback to days soaked in salt air and cheap beer, wrapped in foil and devoured on the tailgate of a sand-covered pickup. Every bite is a sun-bleached postcard from Southern California, and the fact that it arrives in a tidy corner of suburban sprawl somehow makes it all the more surreal.

The street tacos here are no afterthought either. Carne asada, pollo asado, carnitas—nothing reinvented, just done well. Charred, seasoned, nestled into warm corn tortillas with a sprinkle of onions and cilantro. No frills. No fuss. Just the classics, delivered with confidence and restraint.

The staff, for what it’s worth, was gracious and upbeat, the kind of crew that makes you feel like a regular even if it’s your first time. The service moves fast but never feels rushed. There’s no ego here—just people slinging tacos like their job depends on your second bite.

To be clear, this isn’t the Cronic Tacos of old. The strip mall setting dilutes the grungy, sand-in-your-shoes essence that made the original a cult favorite. But the soul of it—the flavor, the attitude in the food, the sense that someone behind the line still gives a damn—is very much intact.

It may not look like Newport. But if you close your eyes and sink into that burrito, it...

Wow! We just ordered through Uber eats and our order was missing the Queso Dip we ordered ($6.90), and the pico de gallo that was supposed to come with our "family taco dinner" oder. The other containers we not even full, and there's NO WAY this feeds families of four. I called to let them know they'd charged us for and did not include these items, and Jonthan told me "sorry about that, there's nothing I can do". Overall, it was carelessly packed, missing items, and skimpy portions. I'm not sure how I'm going to get my money back for the items I didn't receive, but I do know one thing. I'm going to tell everyone who will listen that this place has taken a serious turn for the worse! Im not a jerk. This is my first Google review, and it's because the service and food was THAT BAD. I would never do this during COVID-19 if it weren't...

I've given this place several chances and they've blown it. The first bad experience was when I ordered shrimp tacos and they didn't even cook the tortillas; I'm not sure how they even folded them because when I got home and tried eating them, they just all fell a part (and not the saggy falling apart). Yesterday i ordered 2 burritos and not paying attention to the 2nd because I was telling the other guy my toppings for the 1st; not sure if they completely forgot the protein, or they took it off, because the kid was struggling to fold it, so he took it to the other end of the counter, for who knows what; thought maybe to swap out tortillas because it ripped on him was my first guess. Unfortunately, that burrito was for my wife and it basically was a bean, rice and guacamole burrito. Thanks Chronic tacos for your...