El Rey Taqueria — Restaurant in Norfolk

The GPS took me here instead of Jessys taqueria. I said to myself “hey this must be a sign,” so I tried El Rey on Chesapeake blvd, and it was quite the disappointment. I would like to highlight that the service was great, the cashier is a hard worker, and so are the cooks. I seriously wanted to enjoy it. I liked the vibe inside. I walked in to that place really hoping to enjoy it. I was served a big overcooked carne asada, barely any beans, the most unflavored rice. The steak tasted flavorful but the cook on it made it unbareable, it was so hard to chew that I wanted to return it but by that point I was already at home. The beans were tasty, but sadly they only gave me like a spoonful. I ordered chips and salsa and every single salsa was watery, tasteless, and had 0 texture which I’ve never experienced before at a Mexican restaurant. Not even grocery store bought, Taco Bell.. or Applebees for that matter. I had to mix habanero salsa with their chips and salsa so that it would taste like something.

I also ordered an Al Pastor taco which was very beautifully made! The corn tortilla was homemade and it didn’t fall apart at all which is major for me, so great job on that Cilantro and onions were the toppings, but sadly no lime was served. My taco was steaming hot when I received it too. Only complaint is the lack of flavor in the salsa and meat. The execution was spot on but the lack of flavor was so extreme that it took it down from being a 9/10 to a 6/10.

I would give this place 4 stars because it actually has a ton of potential, but my visit was not a great experience. Perhaps it was a bad day and they weren’t prepped well for the day. Will definitely return to try the tacos again, and hopefully that day the meat will be marinated in advance so I can be granted...

Never in my life have left a one star review but this place was just one thing after another at this place. We drove an hour in traffic to get here after we heard such good things about this place. We get there and the woman is stocking drinks. Completely ignored myself and my husband. I had to ask her if we were allowed to eat there (it was so small so I wasn’t sure). We were looking at the menu on the window up front and she says “the menus are right there” and POINTS to where the menus are. I’m like ??? but I let it go and we grabbed the menus ourselves.

We order. I wanted 2 carne guisada and 2 barbacoa. She says they are out of barbacoa so I ordered carnitas instead. After about 5 minutes she then calls me to the window and tells me that they are out of carne guisada. I asked for a Big Red and they were out of that as well. (I was over it at this point. We drove there and I was getting nothing of what I wanted). We go to leave and she hands my husband our bag and I told him to check it because it looked too small. Sure enough we were missing the carnitas tacos. I went and told her and she says “Oh you still wanted those?” I told her nevermind and we just left. I didn’t realize being out of something you ordered validates them deciding what else you do or don’t want.

Poor poor customer service in the long run and that is why we will not be coming back. I understand establishments run out of things but everything else on top of being out of literally everything I wanted is...

*Update 6/29/ 2022 Changed from 1 to 5 stars again.....Happy to say for the past few months, they are back on track and our favorite takeout Mexican again. We've been getting food here for 15 years. This place had been our absolute favorite place for Mexican takeout for 13 years. About 3 years ago the usual cooks/people we were familiar with left/retired as happens. Quality dipped for a month or so, and then right back to #1. We order 2-3 times a month. About 6 months ago, a few new people again. Quality dipped again. Loads of fat in the shredded beef, lots of gristle in the asada fries, portions shrunk and price increased. Tonight was the worst so far. Anytime they've been out of shredded beef, we've gotten shredded chicken. Delicious. Asked for that tonight on the El Rey. Didn't get it. After 8 bites, I was convinced there was no meat in it at all, till halfway through towards the bottom. The chicken was chunked, not shredded, and had a mushy/mealy texture and it was all on one end if the burrito. Hubby ordered 2 fiesta's for he and son. Made the same way. All smaller than usual and meat loaded on one end. What used to cost us 30.00 or so +tip is now over 50.00 +tip. I understand everyone has had to increase their prices and that's cool. But don't charge more for less quality...