El Patron Taco Shop — Restaurant in San Diego

A true treasure of south side San Diego! Let me tell you: carne asada fries (CAF) just hits different the more closer to the border you go and I don’t care what anyone says CAF south of Chula Vista is simply tastier - it tastes like the ORIGINAL GANGSTA OF CARNE ASADA FRIES LOL like for reals! El Patron used to be El AGUILA Taco shop more than 15 years ago and they had the best wet chimichanga! Ooo weee my mom would get that every Friday night! Then, in the last 5ish years, they changed to Cotija’s which was not as good but now that El Patron has taken over, I have observed nothing but improvement. So, I hope that if El Patron is reading this that they’ll take my next-steps to the next level so more people will come and dine in and order for take-out! I love that El Patron uses EXCELLENT QUALITY ingredients! Thank you for using Door Dash because that’s how I tried your food and decided to visit! Keep up the great work with your marinated meat! Your meat is so juicy and tastes like you took time to make it so tasty! Also, I love the way you cook your fries! All the fries are even and not too crispy or burnt! They’re JUST PERFECT! The fries tastes like from fresh potatoes! Some reviewers mentioned a “smell” when they walk into the restaurant! Figure out what that is - bleach? Sometimes too much cleaner is off putting when going in to dine in - you want customers to smell the meat sizzling and tortillas warming up! I love your salsa verde! Thank you for keeping all the salsas fresh! Reviewers have also said they feel welcomed and that servers are friendly! That is awesome! Also, maybe paint the bench in front of the shop something colorful that will match El Patron in the inside! I hope you have more El Patron Taco Shops all over San Diego more than Lolita’s! I mean I love Lolita’s also (their decor is more fresh) but I am telling you, your CAF are UNIQUELY delicious! Like more homemade!

What I order: Carne Asada Fries with only meat, cheese, guacamole and sour cream

5 Rolled tacos with only cheese and sour cream or only guacamole (depends on my mood)

What I am going to try next: El...

I usually go to this taco shop and the food is usually good. Today I ordered a shredded beef chimichanga that was all soggy and it looked like they just dipped it in oil and took it out without actually letting it fry. I paid $2.29 extra just for that tasteless piece of crap. I called in and told him then the lady told me that they did fry it and that they couldn't do anything about it . That if I wanted the chimichanga harder/crispy I should have told her yet she never asked. Oh and then she tried to blame it on that if I lived far that by the time I got home it would be soggy. Nope . . . I don't live that far so it wasn't a legit reason. I've had bomb chimichangas that I've bought from further away and they still weren't as soggy as this one. I assumed they knew how to make a real chimichanga not just toss guacamole and cheese on a burrito. To top it off as I'm eating it I noticed that it barely had any beef . . . There was more layers of tortilla than beef at all. I'm very dissatisfied with their service and their food now. Never had a problem before but they used to have better service and better cooks. Guess I won't be going...

We ordered here via Uber Eats on 06/15/2025. We completely got the wrong order. We noticed it right away and called the Taco shop. We spoke to a lady and she completely took 100% accountability. The lady we spoke with said there is nothing she can do about having our order delivered since they personally do not deliver. She did offer for us to come in and pick up the correct order however we declined at the time. The lady then told us that she will give us credit for the next time we came in. We just called and wanted to order take out and spoke with a different “lady” and she said too bad we should have reported it to UberEats at the time and that the lady we spoke with probably didn’t know what she was doing. VERY DISAPPOINTED that we took there “word” for it. These are the types of businesses with questionable business practices, lack of customer service and just out to make a buck. Stay clear. There are so many different taco shops in the area and no need to deal with a business that has...