Santiago's Taco Shop — Restaurant in Lake Arrowhead

TLDR of below; eat here, lots of good food.

So, I'm not the type of person to leave reviews. But this place was so worth it, it would be a shame to let their work go unnoticed.

To start, the items on the menu seem pretty basic, and a little overpriced. I was hesitant to say the least. I pushed forward and ordered a plate of nachos and horchata.

In the process of making my meal, the nacho-rista added a layer of chips, quite a large couple handfuls. She added on the layer of cheese, melted it, and then added a SECOND handful of chips. Followed by a very generous amount of meat. Like she went back for multiple scoops of meat generous.

I'm already sold on this place at this point. Now onto the extra toppings. Multiple scoops of everything, including the guacamole I thought was overpriced. Three scoops of guacamole. Can you recall the last restaurant you dined at providing that much for an extra item? I can't. I tried hiding my amazement while she piled on the condiments I asked for. It's a rare event to get a satisfactory amount of condiments when you ask for extra.

The flavor was pretty good, not bad, but not amazing either. Good enough to go back for more even after my stomach was telling me to stop. Of course nachos are never good after an hour, but I plan on sticking them in my fridge and eating the leftovers in a couple hours.

And finally, the horchata. One of my nacho-rista's colleagues went to the back to fix it up, and brought it out in a very large 32oz cup. Now, I'm no horchata expert. But this was the milkiest, sweetest, creamiest horchata I've ever had. It was dessert in a drink.

If you're deciding or questioning if you should eat...

My family and I have eaten at Santiago many times and we always loved their food and loved getting the rewards. Many times we have a discount and we don’t even always realize it. But had to share my experience about the other night visiting the restaurant in person. The manager Anthony went above and beyond as they had run out of chicken and I needed a chicken bowl he went ahead and gave me the steak at no extra cost also they had run out of the juices for the kids and let me get to Waters for them instead. He was very friendly and knew what he was doing. I highly recommend eating at this restaurant the food is authentic and very well-made and you can’t beat the customer service.

Sadly I have a new update I’m not sure if that manager is gone and there’s somebody new in there now but they have gone downhill my family and I just went there the other night literally spent $48 on Barely any food. I always loved getting their bowl because I do low carb and their meat was salty and there was not nearly enough food in it I normally would have some left over but not anymore lettuce was also on the brownish side my girls got chicken tacos and the chicken was extremely spicy they couldn’t even eat it it was never like that before I miss them having their soft drink machine in there because now you’re forced to get overprice bottles of soda or beer just so sad used to love this place...

I ordered the beef birria tacos and bean n cheese burritos. While waiting, I noticed the sous vide running in the back of their kitchen so thought this place ought to be good. Upon packing up my to-go order, I saw that no consommé was in the picture so asked the lady if she could pack up a cup. At first, she said they were out but then realized she just got a pot off the stove so got one for me. I then asked her if I could get one more since I was sharing the tacos with my wife and she gladly did so. She mentioned that the shredded beef sits in and soaks up the consommé so I was lucky to get extra. I thanked her kindly and left for home. When I got back to our cabin, I could smell the food and was eagerly ready to sink my teeth into the tacos. I added some of the raw diced onions and cilantro into the consommé and dipped my first crispy taco in and made sure it had soaked it up and took a monster bite. I could not believe how darn good it was and immediately took a sip of the consommé along with a bite of the fried jalapeño I had added on the side. Pure bliss!! I had some “marinated” consommé left after the tacos so finished it off my dunking my bean n cheese burrito and left me full with a huge smile on my face. Super bomb food, Santiago’s!!! Lovely staff as well!! Thanks again!! We’ll be coming back the next time we’re...