El Sanchito — Restaurant in Thousand Oaks

Okay, I'm going to add my kudos for El Sanchito Mexican Restaurant in Westlake Village, near trader Joe's.

We ordered hard shell tacos and a huge burrito with ground beef. The tacos came with rice and refried beans.

First, the basics; the rice was tender, not overcooked or dry, spiced mildly with a hint of finely chopped cilantro. Delicious 😋 The refried beans were really authentic, like the beans I had in the kitchens of my friends homes growing up. ¡ Muy delicioso !

The tacos were well filled with chicken, lettuce and pico de Gallo. Crispy shells, cooked in house. Well prepared meat. Enjoyed!

The burrito was not only huge, but it was tasty, and not greasy. I had refried beans in mine, rice, etc. I tried the salsa verde and salsa rojo, both house made from scratch. I loved 😍 the salsa rojo!

The chips they serve are a little thicker, crisp and freshly made in house.

The menu? I mean, come on, they have pretty much everything!

Nicely decorated, feels like a restaurant in Mexico.

Will I be back again? Heck yeah 💯👍

Authentic Mexican food in...

We tried El Sanchito a couple of times when they first opened, and the food was dry and bland. We gave them another try today on the recommendation of several people, and we were surprised at how much better they've gotten. We will definitely be back.

EDIT: Unfortunately it seems they're still having some issues with consistency. When the food is good it's truly excellent, but in at least half of our orders since I submitted the original 5-star review the chicken and steak have been tough and dry. The owner hasn't acknowledged or responded to our private feedback. We'll stick with the competition...

*Edit- I ordered the other day from Uber Eats for pickup, rode my bike to the location and spent almost $20 for a California Burrito. My first 2 times here were great, last one made me not want to come back. Unfortunately they didn't cook the fries in the burrito and it ruined it. Had I not ordered take out and was home already I would have returned it for raw French fries, under cooked and not not soft and crispy but green tasting and hard as F. Sad face.

I'm from San Diego and super happy to order a real Mexican California Burrito. Will be coming...