La Chingada Taqueria — Restaurant in San Jose

I saw La Chingada Taqueria in one of the weekly Yelp emails about Taqueria’s in San Jose. It was close by and seemed to have a solid 4-star rating so I decided to give it a try. At around 9:30 pm which is 30 minutes before their closing time it seemed that they had already shut down the seating area of the restaurant and were only serving take-out orders (but I may be wrong).

I wanted to get a wet burrito but I could not find any such item on the menu so I decided to ask the person taking my order. Bad decision. She gave me a lot of attitude and finally told me that what I wanted was the Banado ($8.75). I get all the having pride in your roots thing but expecting people to know what the original Spanish words borders on arrogance. For the meat I asked for Cabeza and was told they don’t have it. I wanted to check if they were out today or that they have stopped keeping that meat (as it was an option on the menu board) but after the bad attitude in just ordering the wet burrito I decided to let it go.

After ordering it was a short 10-minute wait and I was on my way. I got a decent sized container with a huge and I mean huge burrito, some salad and sour cream. The burrito was smothered with a nice thick sauce and cheese that was nicely melted to form a nice layer on top of the burrito. The fillings and meat inside was also good. Even a hearty eater like myself was not able to complete the entire burrito in one sitting.

Price-wise it was pretty cheap with the tab being under $10. Quality was also very good. Only the attitude of the person behind the counter needs a little adjustment for this to be a 5-star place. Till such time I will have to stick with a I’m...

Stay away from the this horrible place.

Customer service: On Tuesday 2/19/19 at 8:10 pm I ordered a burrito to dine in. The woman at the counter told me that I only had 10 minutes to eat because they were closing. I questioned that the sign says they close at 9 pm. So I sat down but the woman who also had her children with her were cleaning around me and turned off all the open neon lights and locked the door. It probably shouldn't be locked during business hours because it didn't have an emergency push bar to open but I'm pretty sure they don't care. So I got up and just took my food to go because I felt uncomfortable. This is my third experience that they close early and tell customers that they are closed before the hours posted. So enough is enough before I complain. If you want to close at 8 pm than set that as your close time but don't put another hour and close early making customers feel they are a nuisance to your early exit.

Food review: Carne asada is not grilled and at least in my burrito was probably cooked hours before and left in a pan to steam, meat tasted gross. Also this place uses the microwave as much as the hot grill. Bad sign.

Price: I was charged $3.00 for a drink that says $2.50 on the menu. I told the cashier and she just smirked. I continued complaining and she gave me some excuse about how the size of the cup changed. The menu says 24 oz and the cup they gave me was 24 ounces. What?!?! In the end it's obvious this is a staff that doesn't care about...

This restaurant is located on a long street that leads from Milpitas straight up into the hills surrounding San Jose. Come to this restaurant during sunset, enjoy how the setting sun illuminates the hills all orange and red, grab a burrito and drive up the hills to enjoy some awesome views.

Besides that, the food here is great. They have a salsa bar with warm chips that you can get re-fills for for just $1. I love the green salsa and their pickled carrots and jalapeños. They also serve several horchata drinks. Once you made your way through the chips, some delicious burrito or tacos wait for you.

The food actually comes out really quick even if it's busy. Their food is really on point - not too salty, not too oily, great flavors. Besides that, they don't give you a strange look if you customize things the way you like it. In fact, the lady who seems to always work there, is super friendly and accommodating. Vegetarian options are no problem either.

I also love the vibe of this place. They always blast some great music that makes you want to jump into a plane and fly over to Mexico. The walls are painted in warm colors and in the summer the outdoor seating is a real option. I don't know if something like this really still exists, but come here if you want to meet the locals. That fact alone makes...