Almaden Tacos al Pastor — Restaurant in San Jose

I honestly suspect that most of the negative reviews on this page are fakes from competitors or something, because $30-$50 for a meal is an outright lie. I'm getting a meal plus leftovers for $20 each time i go here.

as for the bland flavors, that might be true if you compare it to other restaurants that pack their food full of sugar and other flavor enhancers, but when it comes to home cooked food this stuff is pretty nice quality. (if you know how to cook you could likely get rather stronger flavors at home, but keep in mind that this is a business that needs their food to cater to a wide range of people. I might enjoy a cup of chilipowder per a taco, but not everyone else will). also the 3 salsas they have are pretty strong, so if you want more flavor try adding those.

as for the rude staff, well im curious how these customers are speaking to them. The tall guy that used to work here years ago started to have parts of my meal ready before i ordered or even showed up, and the woman who works here seems rather friendly and smiles every time i show up. maybe all it takes is to be respectful to receive respect?

as for wait times, place is faster than most fast food places i've gone to.

another benefit is i believe this might be a family owned business (not certain on that, but i hope im right), so no megacorp middleman siphoning off my money.

outside of that stuff, salsa has got to be the best i've had, and actually spicy unlike other "spicy" salsas. place is really clean, tables are clean and such. the chips are high quality, not $3 plastic bags bought from a supermarket with excessive salt and yellow food dye. easy to find a place to park, two massive parking lots that are often...

Don't ever try using the restroom in this place (particularly the Almaden location) unless you order something otherwise the wait staff will bounce you right outta there. I was a frequent customer until I went in a few times just to use their bathroom to change (after a rough bike ride) & didn't always buy something when I did. Then one day in particular the wait staff decided to call me out, even going so far as banging on the restroom door while I was using it, yelling at me bathrooms were for customers only. Sad thing is that on that day I actually HAD placed an order. I was mortified since they created a big ol'scene in front of other customers while the guy who runs the place had to explain to them (in Spanish no less since it was apparent they weren't quite catching my explanation) that I was indeed a paying customer & that it was fine for me to use the restroom. One of the worst experiences I've ever had not to mention the food is sub-par while they scimp on the meat dishes. Would NOT recommend this place to my worst enemy - okay maybe to my worst enemy but wouldn't recommend to...

Terrible Food and Rude Service - Avoid at All Costs!

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ (0 stars, if possible)

Review:

I recently visited Almaden Tacos al Pastor at 6469 Almaden Expy ste 50, San Jose, CA 95120, and my experience was nothing short of horrendous. To start, the food was absolutely terrible. The beans tasted like they were straight from a can, the rice was bland and unappealing, and the meat was clearly old and lacked any freshness. The entire setup felt like a cafeteria, with nothing prepared fresh or with care.

However, the worst part of my visit was the service. I needed to use the restroom and was confronted by an employee loudly and rudely in front of other customers, while I had my headphones in and didn't hear their initial objections. This kind of unprofessional behavior is unacceptable and made me feel incredibly embarrassed and disrespected.

Overall, Almaden Tacos al Pastor is a place I will never return to. The food is trash, and the service is even worse. Save your time and money and find somewhere else to eat. If I could give zero...