El paisa taqueria — Restaurant in Oakland

This is a review for El Paisa’s all you can eat taco party service run by Abel Lopez. We enlisted Abel to help us with a summer pool house party in July 2023 in the hills in Lafayette. I got his number through a friend, texted him about two months before hand, he penciled us in for the date, time, and # of people and told me to confirm the week before. The week of the event, we communicated to confirm timing and the exact number of participants so he could shop appropriately.

What we didn’t anticipate was it would be over 90 degrees that weekend. Still we pressed on. No complaints from Abel, he showed up promptly at the agreed upon time, we had him set up in a shady spot, and was ready to serve within twenty minutes of arrival. He did not require any water or electricity from us, his set up was all self-contained.

The tacos, burritos, and quesadillas were made with love and care and were absolutely delicious. Lots of options for meat, fillings, toppings, and salsa. Everybody went back for seconds (and some went back for thirds). I started with delicious pork tacos and proceeded to love my super spicy chicken quesadilla in spite of the heat of the day. It really was all you can eat, we were all stuffed at the end. The kids and adults all loved the food. Wish I had a pork taco while typing this…

As for the mechanics - Abel served for a 2-hour window and gave us a ten minute warning for “last call”. The price was $17/per person (I’m sure this may go up with this current inflation). 40-person minimum, we had about 35 so we just paid for the minimum and added a good tip for the friendly service in the heat and it felt more than fair. We provided our own utensils, plates, napkins, drinks, and snacks (not that we needed much snacks since we were gorging on tasty tacos). He really made our party special.

Highly recommend! Will definitely book again at a...

My 2nd favorite taqueria, the first being El Paisa further down the road! Cash only, and you pay after you dine. I like to eat the 'nasty bits' or offal at taquerias, because I can make carnitas or carne asada at home, but the rest of my family isn't as wild about tongue, brains, or head as I am! The offal tacos are flavorful and very tender, never dry. At the other location the meat sometimes has a little more crispness to the bits, but that's a minor tick against them.

Self serve accompaniments are kept chilled by the counter, I only wish they had the pineapple carrot escabeche and the simmered nopales here too! The darker red salsa packs the most heat but lacks better flavor than the less smoky, lighter...

Come on in! The staff if very nice, and the locals love this place. Fast service and quaint little place with music pumping in the background and occasional staff singing along.. Sit down, and grab an Horchata, Pina or Habiscus drink or fountain drink. Great authentic Latino food as close to street food as you can get. Grabs some pickled carrots or fresh radishes and salsa bar for chips. The street tacos were...