Machete Taqueria — Restaurant in Redlands

Here's the crux of it: The food is delicious, but the environment and the serving size do not equate to the exorbitant prices.

The owners/cooks clearly care about the quality of their food. It is truly delicious and prepared with care. But when you get a bean and cheese burrito and a small cup of esquites for $16.50, I'd expect it to resemble what I'd get at a full-service restaurant, WITH a side of guac and sour cream and maybe even a beverage.

The burrito itself, was, as expected, delicious, but was SUCH little filling, the burrito was 3-4 layers of tortilla with a smidge of grilled cheese, very little beans, and a generous scoop of pico de gallo. Unfortunately, despite being told the tortilla used was a 14" tortilla, once folded, it was smaller than a simple bean & cheese from Taco Bell or Del Taco... which one can get for less than $2 (ADMITTEDLY with far cheaper and poorly prepared ingredients). If the fillings had filled the tortilla size, and made for a hearty, generous burrito, I'd likely consider this one of the best bean & cheese burritos in the area. As it stands, you can get far more food, for 1/2 the cost at any of the other local mom-and-pop Mexican spots.

The side of esquites was tasty, but I would've hoped for grilled corn for this price. What I received was previously frozen corn from a bag then microwaved or boiled with a smattering of cheese & crema. If cheaper/simpler ingredients are going to be used, use a larger serving size to make up for the higher cost.

The interior of the restaurant is clean and simple, but it is not a full-service environment. You order at a counter and then pickup your food from the counter. It is neat that you're able to watch the chef prepare the food through a glass window looking into the kitchen.

The service is kind, friendly and easy to work with - however, when ordering I had to repeat my (seemingly) simple order multiple times as they kept on attempting to add ingredients to it I did not want.

This spot IS worth eating at, provided you can get past their small portions and...

Excited for the new opening of Machete! Especially for a plaza are that doesn't have much besides Stell's, Machete is a welcomed edition. Just to see the owner herself hand-pressing tortillas, you know you're in for an authentically homemade experience. There's a lot of great things going for this little taqueria--the homemade tortilla, awesome al pastor, trendy design, and amazing salsas. That said, there were just a few things keeping me from giving them 5 stars.

Try their namesake for your first time, the Machete! I tried the al pastor per the cashier's recommendation and it did not disappoint! It's a deliciously marinated pork in a handmade, somewhat thick, tortilla. It's also filled with cheese and pineapple for a sweet twist. Pair it with some lime and an their habanero salsa! I also tried their Sope which was solid overall but the carne asada was a little bland in my opinion.

Something interesting is that they don't offer a cup for water. You'll either have to purchase a bottled water or have one of their frescas. I opted for the latter and turns out the pineapple fresca is delicious! Still, a little interesting that there's no water option.

When it comes to price, this is probably the priciest taqueria I've been to in a long while. You'll be baying $5+ for the Machete and $2.50 for a street taco. As much as I enjoyed the Machete, I can't help but feel that it was a little overpriced. I ended up paying about $15 for a Machete, Sope, and the pineapple fresca.

Overall, I enjoyed my meal here and I'm very appreciative of the work the owner and staff put into brining this taqueria alive. While I would recommend it, I can't see myself coming here that often just because of the cost. Take a look for yourself!

THE GOOD: Machetes are delicious Handmade tortillas Pineapple fresca is bomb Clean, trendy interior Outdoor seating Friendly and helpful staff

THE BAD: Your wallet won't like it No...

4/5= food and 2-3/5 for the service. My favorite meats: carnitas, chicken tinga and bistek all great but a tad salty. The kalabasa- which is a mexican zucchini is also good with corn and onions. Hurache, chapulas, tacos, machete and Muliitas are all good options with the fillings mentioned above as all the tortillas are handmade.. Why not 5/5? All the fillings have way too much salt, even without the cheese and salsa. The salsas are all wonderful and compliment the fillings. Service: I've been here two times in the past week. One time during lunch and the second time during dinner. Lunch time requires patience as no one answers the phone. So trying to call in an order ahead of time is quite impossible. I called 7 times between 11-11:40 am. I finally decided to go in an order. I was only the second person in line and it took them a good 10 min to take my order. I felt bad for the young lady as she was by herself taking orders, packing food and getting drinks. The front would be more efficient if the cups and lids were actually near the drinks. The cashier had to go to the back several times to find cups and the...