El Gordito Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Murrieta

Update 5/21/2022 Before I move from the Temecula/Murrieta area, I wanted to write a review for the one restaurant that I always ate at in my teenage years. I even delivered their food back in the days of a fax machine through a company called Dine-In Delivery. Some of us my age will remember those days that predated Uber-Eats and the others. My desire was to have one last taste of this icon for me on a personal level before I depart with an unknown (if ever) return date. I always returned to this little place when I came back to visit Mom, but those days are gone and I have sold the house, yet one last memory in it seems fitting so I clicked on the mouse and here we go.

Alright, well, I wrote that first paragraph before I ordered my food. I now have a film in my mouth that I can’t seem to shake. I took the time to plate the food and make it look nice as I always do. I figure it helps people see something other than a Styrofoam container and what the food can become. I know this restaurant has changed ownership and the part that first upset me a few years back was a change to the house salsa. What I got today is even worse than what I tasted six months ago. I’m trying to figure out as I type where to best start as I don’t have anything positive to say other than the rice was good.

Here is what I’m going to do in this rare case that I actually don’t have anything nice to say. I took a batch of photos as I love this place. Can it go back to the place it was? I’m not so sure as what I see is cost cutting at its best and business declines when you cannot fulfill the expectations of customers who once frequented the establishment. All of us in my 40+ age group know what things tasted like many years ago and that place was packed. It saddens me that someone destroyed this “Icon” of a restaurant. When I think  that a taco from Taco Bell would have been more pleasing, there is an issue here. There are a million details I want to share about my thoughts, but I feel that this is sufficient to perhaps allow the business to make some necessary changes. First and foremost, change the oil in your fryer and filter it each night. If Del Taco can do it, so can you. I worked there so I know.

As far as photos go…you’ll figure it out, but I ordered the following:

12 oz salsa 1 bag of Chips 2 Beef Hard Shell Tacos 1 Beef Enchilada Combo w/ 2 Enchiladas (Rice and Beans) 1 Carne Asada Soft Shell Taco 1 side of rice

For the record, out of that list above, the Carne Asada Soft Shell Taco was the best

TOP REASONS FOR NEGATIVE REVIEW:

I still taste oil in my mouth from the tacos and the oil is old. One can tell by the horrible taste. The Salsa is pretty much near its prime and watered down, with no heat at all. The Sour Cream was curdled, and the Guacamole was brown and creepy to eat. The rice, while tasty, seemed like a salt shaker fell into it. The Enchiladas made me feel sick for some reason. Grease perhaps? Find a better cut of meat. As always this place does not dissapoint! The salsa has a good flavor and is enjoyable to eat on everything. Enchiladas are my favorite dish, but you can't go wrong with other...

Once upon a time someone created the Tamales. Found to be in many areas of our world under different names, it has now become quite popular. Representing the Mexican version of this famous food, El Gordito Mexican Food sells them. Always wanting to find the best tamales in the area, for when made well, they are almost addictive with fresh salsa, I finally used GrubHub and ordered a dozen from El Gordito at the tune of $2.29 each, plus fees, service charge, taxes, 20 % gratuity, but on the good side a $10 discount if Apple Pay was used. Delivery was smooth. Tamales arrived nice and warm, in an aluminum container, a couple of napkins, and zero introductory salsa, a gesture that would definitely cause a nice first impression, and practiced by a few similar operations, but not from El Gordito, a place that obviously do not do that. Tamales were Beef, red looking from chili 🌶 sauce, and Chicken, whiter made with green sauce? Both were slightly below average, the beef crumbly, which showed their lack of skills, or lack of concern which is infinite worst, and leaving a distasteful after taste that required Listerine rinsing, a bad testament to the fine tradition of the better Mexican Tamales, and the Chicken a close second, both wrapped in corn 🌾 husks. So yes, one item was purchased, and it failed miserably, enough to disqualify El Gordito from any future visits, since there are better places in the area. Nowadays all it takes is one fiasco to close the wallet, and El Gordito can be as fat as it wants, but they don’t know how to make a decent...

Don't go! My wife, daughter and I came here, it was empty on a Saturday at noon. Bad sign, but we were hungry and wanted to eat before we went to uptown jungle with our daughter. The guacamole on my taco was like flavorless paste and dark green from food coloring. I feel it was from a frozen bag. Cheap and tasteless. The carne asada burrito was more like a bean and cheese burrito with a little fake guac and red sauce covered chewy overcooked steak peices that honestly weren't even flavored which is surprising as it was covered with this red sauce that would lead you to believe it has some hint of taste to it. With every bite taken I was spitting out cartilage. My wife ordered the combo burrito. She was unhappy as it was bland and basically a bean and cheese burrito as well. The chicken tasted like it was overcooked, it was ice cold in the center. I tried a peice of the shredded chicken only from the burrito. It was covered in a red sauce as well. Not to my surprise, it was flavorless and dry. We both didn't finish our burritos. Our daughters bean and cheese burrito was the only thing I liked as I ate half of it because I was still hungry from rejecting the cold mess they served me. Only the tortillas were hot. Yet somehow my bill was 30 bucks? No thanks. Be warned. They need to fix their menu to serve quality food before they can...