Taqueria Lorena's — Restaurant in San Jose

I got dinner from Taqueria Lorena’s a couple of days ago as it was the only place open after 11 pm in the area. It is located in a pretty sketchy part of downtown San Jose which tends to get deserted after 10 pm. Even at such a late hour the place was buzzing with activity. There were at-least 3-4 tables taken and there were people waiting for their orders.

The first prominent thing that I noticed when I entered was that this place was filthy. There was dirt and food particles on the floor and table surfaces looked sticky. I was in two minds about ordering but decided to plough ahead as there would be hardly anything open at this late hour. After going through the menu, I decided to get the Burrito Ahogada ($7.50) with Carne Asada to-go. To my surprise I could pay with card, which was great. After ordering I sat at one of the tables that needed a through wipe-down. I waited for about 10 minutes during which I saw that they prepared the burrito which was placed in a plastic container in a regular microwave. I really dislike this as the plastic from the container tends to bleed into the food, but I guess this is the norm in most of the Taqueria’s in San Jose.

I got a small container with the burrito. As it had been microwaved the burrito had literally fused into the container. There was a salsa bar that was pretty much empty except for two bowls one with red and the other with green sauce. I had gotten two small containers with salsa but it turned out to be wasted exercise as I did not get any free chips with my order. The burrito itself was pretty average. All it did was satisfy my hunger and nothing more.

There are way too many negatives here. Small, average, microwaved burrito, bare salsa bar, dirty restaurant and no free chips. There are some positives like open late, card payment and slightly cheaper than other burrito places. Everything considered the negatives far outweigh the positives making this an ideal candidate for a single star rating so that’s what I...

Found this place via googling “Best Tacos in San Jose,’ and I wasn’t disappointed. My gf however, was disappointed because they didn’t serve enchiladas, but we didn’t google ‘best enchiladas,’ now did we?

I want be I be very clear that I ordered basic tacos: 1 carne asada, 1 chili verde, and 1 lengua. All three came with hot sauce already on them. One even had a dried red chili pepper. I didn’t mind and even asked for extra hot sauce because some like it hot and I’m some.

However, my gal’s mom also ordered two ta os and could t finish them because they were too spicy. She’s Salvadorian, and I feel like that makes a difference.

My gal ordered a burrito with everything. When you say everything, that includes hot sauce. See the pattern? She is not a fan of hot sauce, but starvation pushed her through like a champ, but they may need to restock the napkins at our booth since her nose was rubbing like it had robbed a bank.

The place was nondescript, which usually means quality in a Taqueria. Places that worry too much about how they appear usually don’t give enough attention to quality.

The restrooms were a little messy, but it was nearing dinnertime. You will need a key to use the restrooms.

There were high chairs available for children. Our toddler had rice - no hot sauce was added.

Parking is limited, but the street is also available.

Pricing was very fair, I thought. But don’t look for free chips and salsa, because they may has well have been on the back of a...

Would only return as a last resort because they are close to home and offer fish and seafood options. The cashier was nice but the cook was not friendly at all. I dined in, they didn’t offer me salsa or chips, he didn’t smile, he just handed me my food, he acted like it was a problem when I asked for salsa and a bag to-go. I don’t like places like this that don’t make people feel un-welcome. Small parking lot in the back, bathroom but must ask for the key. The chicken was moist and very flavorful. I do like how they offer two meat options for burritos. I don’t like how they don’t give you a copy of your receipt. I find places that do that often overcharge or add in little extra charges when they do this. The burrito menu is a little confusing when trying to confirm prices as my total was w lot more than listed but I don’t think super burrito costs are listed just regular two meat and vegetarian.

Everyone coming in after me came for tacos so if I ever returned I would return for tacos. Their meats appear really good. I had a lot of shrimp and chicken in my two meat super burrito but I believe it was missing beans. The red salsa is spicy and smoky and better than the green salsa. The burrito def...