Taqueria El Taquero Guzman — Restaurant in Santa Ana

I enjoy supporting mom & pop places, esp. local taquerias. I kinda got baited by the promise of $2 tacos, but caved in to the homemade tortilla upgrade.

The tortillas were ok but just slightly thicker than your standard corn tortilla used for street tacos. But I can't say it was worth 2x the cost at $4-5 each. I would have much preferred to just buy another street taco with the $2 extra. Plate was nice with all the fixings, plus radish & cucumber slices.

But with a water bottle, my $2 taco venture came out to be almost the same as a 3 taco plate with rice & beans elsewhere. I'm still hungry...

the biggest criticism is that though the meats were very well marinated, cooked, tender & juicy...both tacos were extremely salty. Idk if it's cos I haven't had a taqueria taco in almost 4 months & forgot how salty they can be,or if this spot just happens to over season the meats.

Left feeling disappointed & not full. I'll keep searching for other local OC spots. But when I drove past a few taco trucks with lines 10 deep, & pulled into a nearly empty lot & only 1 other customer, I should have trusted my gut & tried the taco truck instead.

At least the homemade salsas were nice...

I liked the food. They had a variety of Mexican dishes and even had a few options for vegetarians and vegans (vegans very limited). The person working the register was both helpful and friendly in helping me construct my order. They have indoor and outdoor seating for dining but you order at the counter. They offer a delicious cucumber drink (I tried), as well as a strawberry drink and horchata. They appear to have other standard canned and bottled drinks in a refrigerated case but I didn't inquire about them. I had the Veggie burrito and was shocked at how good it was. It has avocado in it which helps everything in my book. I also had a papas taco and a soyrizo taco. Both were good as well. They offer a green sauce and a red sauce. I've always been partial to that style of green sauce. I would definitely come back if I'm in the area. In fact I'll probably make special trips there. The biggest con I found was a very limited parking lot with a single driveway that only accommodates one car regardless of direction. To exit the lot you must either back out or do a tight 3-point turn...

Being one of the very few places in Costa Mesa that serves tacos and burritos with cabeza and tripa, I really couldn't wait to try this place out. Like other reciews, the parking lot is really small and tight. Luckily for me I came late night and didn't find it too hard to drive and park. I got two cabeza tacos and two tripa tacos. It really fufilled my cravings. The cabeza was soft and tender, lacked some taste but the cilantro and onions and Verde sauce helped. The tripe on the other hand was a bit over cooked and tough to eat but had so much more flavor. If you CANNOT handle spicy , make sure to ask for the sauces on the side! Speaking of sides, I got some chips and guac which complemented the tacos well! They were thick and fried chips is such an upgrade from the regular thin tortilla chips. Overall good experience! Will definitely come back for their quesadilla and...