Love this place, been going since it was Quito's. Very professional, clean and friendly. Love the pozzole, tacos, enchilada, chips and salsa, with plenty of time to taste all the rest.

I really like this place. The servers are nice, the food is out fairly quick, the servings are generous, and everything is very tasty. I had the burrito supreme with asada. This is a burrito with the heft of a small child. It is not a single meal, but two or three.

Excellent Pozole! Even though it was busy the food was prompt and the staff helpful. My wife enjoyed Menudo as well. The hand made tortillas were amazing. We are looking to return here next time we are in Santa Maria.

Tasty and affordable. Friendly, courteous service too.

I've visited El Palenque three times now, and have had a great experience each time. The service has always been good and the food has come out to the table quickly. Everything I've tried so far has been delicious on each of my visits. This is my favorite Mexican restaurant in the area.

Such great food and the service is excellent! Never have had a bad meal! It's in a great location with plenty of parking and seating.

By far this place is the best Mexican Restaurant in Santa Maria and there’s a lot of competition out there. The service is amazing, the food is the best in town. Their salsa has to be the best I’ve ever had. Food portions are big and the place is super clean. I’m always recommending this place to all my friends. It’s a must try!

Been here twice and have not been disappointed! Had the Chile verde plate both times and will make it my go to choice everytime! The rice is fluffy and tasty, beans are awesome...the pork is tender and juicy and delicious! The chips light and crispy and complement the salsa nicely...almost forgot the salad...very fresh and tasty...totally recommend

Very well done Mexican food at good prices. I loved the Palenque Nachos which is an interesting meal served as nachos. Everything we tried was delicious. And they they brought out the amazing desserts. So delicious. Definitely worth a stop in!

One of our favorites when we want tasty Mexican food. Love the chicken enchiladas and tostada's. Iced tea is great. Service is always done well and with a smile. We often have special family occasions here.

I have lived 6 decades in Cali and we tend to love basic strip mall Mexican over chains. Hole in the walls like this joint that makes Mexican food with love. The portions are the size of hubcaps. The food deliciously rendered, plated and served. Basic, but delivered in a 5 Star manner. Clean. Attentive wait staff.

Love this place. Staff is always super kind and attentive to customers. The food is amazing, full of flavor and always served hot. If you're looking for some good mexican food this is the place to go.

Great food! Fast and never disappointed. A go-to spot for their options and flavors

My favorite restaurant, nice atmosphere, good music, wonderful staff. You don’t have to wait long for your food, and it comes out hot and delicious!

This was second time for a group of 8 us to visit. Both times were great. Service and food were very good. Pricing was also reasonable. We will be back!

Never a bad meal. Excellent food and service. Price is very reasonable with the portions you receive.

I usually do not post reviews but this place was amazing! Every last bite was amazing! Hands down the best Mexican food spot in all of Santa Maria!

We love the food! Friendly staff. We ordered over the phone (due to Covid & picked up the order in 15 minutes. Update: 2021 ope again for in dining. Still great staff & food is still AMAZING!

Definitely one of my favorite restaurants in Santa Maria. The food is always hot and fresh, the service is always excellent. I've gone here many times over the years and I've never had a complaint.

Great food and friendly staff. Everyone in our party enjoyed their meals. We were passing through town, but would definitely stop again if in the area

Amazing Chilaquiles! We've been to this restaurant twice in the last year, pre and post Co-Vid. The food is excellent and the service is amazing. They do a great job at social distancing, wearing masks and sanitizing the restaurant. I love chilaquiles and order them often when we go to a Mexican restaurant. I love green salsa on my chilaquiles but this time I said chile verde. Well, they added the pork with chile verde and I must say, they were the best I've ever had! The service has always been friendly, prompt and courteous.

Very good service excellent food!!! I don’t know what’s up with the haters?! You must’ve eaten somewhere else because this place is really good and it’s hard for my wife and I to agree on a Mexican restaurant .. so trust me this place is the bomb!!!! 💣

I absolutely love this place. It is run by all women. They usually have a pretty long line there but it goes really fast but they get the food out in a timely manner so it's totally worth the wait. the pastor tacos are my favorite and they're hot sauce really is hot my husband was sweating from it and he loves spicy food

Fresh and tasty authentic Mexican cuisine.. staff was lovely to speak with. Loved it!

Excellent. Great service and good food. Don't overlook this place!

Great customer service you can just point to what you want in the head there very quick and delicious

Meals were very good. Albondagas excellent, shrimp Fajitas were jumbo sized and seasoned well. Only complaint is the shrimp could have been peeled a little better. A couple of them had more than just the tails on and it became a search and destroy operation to get everything off.

This place is absolutely worth to go, we ordered the burito and the carnitas,they were so good!

Great food and excellent service! Fried ice cream my fav

Love this place. Great Food Good Prices. Great Service

Good food! Super fast service, and friendly.

Great 👍 menudo and tamales 🫔 chips 🍟 and salsa 😋

Authentic homemade food. Always fresh. Waitresses are very nice and always asking if you need Anything. They greet you right away, you don't wait. What i love is that their constantly cleaning and it smells clean and disinfectant. I give the owner pure thumbs up, he take pride in his establishment.

The food is amazing! Fast service, and the servings could feed 2 to 3 people easy. It's definitely a place we're coming back to to try everything on the menu!

Such a nice staff! Old school Mexican style restaurant. We had the enchiladas, some of the best sauce ever! Very cheesy and gooey! Will be back again!

So up in Lompoc visiting family.. first time visiting this restaurant. We were greeted immediately and seated.. Staff was friendly and professional and the restaurant very clean. It has a very Mom and Pop feeling inside.. decorated nicely with Adobe walls. The food was amazing.. the portions were all huge and everything tasted amazing. Food was delivered quickly and the servers were constantly asking us if we needed anything else. I'm not exaggerating when I say.. this was the best fajitas that I've ever had. It was like they used an entire red pepper and green pepper.. So fresh and yummy!! The chimichanga was overflowing with meat and the nacho plate was huge. The chips and salsa (hot) were excellent. My only disappointment is that I don't live near this restaurant! If you live nearby you must try this place as it was amazing!!

Waitress did such a wonderful job for such a large party of people. Good food

Food was great. Got here right before 5pm and got seated right away. I'm glad I got here when I did because within 15-20 mins this place was packed with the dinner crowd (Friday night). Great atmosphere. I was just in Mexico back in June and the inside of this place felt very authentic. I ordered the Burrito Supreme, with the tomatillo. It was perfect. Probably the best wet burrito I've had since moving to California in 2018. BTW, the menu pictures you get when looking this place up on Google don't have the back of the menu with the burritos and quesadillas+ more. I'd give 6 stars if I could.

When I want good Mexican food, this is the place my family chooses. I have been to many Mexican restaurants, and nothing is as good as here. I have not had any negative experiences whenever I have been here. Also, great customer service.

Simply the best Mexican Restaurant I've ever tried. Came from Bakersfield and love me some Mexican food and this place lived up to the images. Although pricey. The food was delicious and was fresh! The plates were massive too 🤣😅

This used to be Quito's when Rudy owned it. It was not too authentic. Now it's fantastic. I have been there 3 times in a week. Normally wine margaritas suck, but these are pretty good. Give them a try!

If your ever in the area stop here. We drove by many mexican restaurants on the way here. Not one place was up to par. We are glad we stopped. Food is so good. I never eat the mexican rice ...anywhere exceptfor at home....I ate it here. Perfectly cooked, good portions, reasonable prices, and super clean. 2nd time I ate inside of a restaurant since covid started. We were in the area for businees from Riverside for the morning so we stopped to eat. I don't know the name of our server .....but it doesn't matter, because we had 5! Awsome teamwork here!! Table salsa is not spicy but so flavorful! We had a giant tostada, orchata, camarones al mojo de ajo, and chile colorado....all so good!

Beef and chicken Tacos and in front the Pozole, the food was very tasty, our order was ready in less than 10 minutes, I will return to this place! The flavor of the pozole was exquisite!

Fantastic Mexican restaurant. Food is great. Not to crowdy, good service and fantastic desert!

Based on the reviews I decided to check out this place. Fast and friendly service and delicious! I will be back! Thank you! 🌮

G PLETL

So up in Lompoc visiting family.. first time visiting this restaurant. We were greeted immediately and seated.. Staff was friendly and professional and the restaurant very clean. It has a very Mom and Pop feeling inside.. decorated nicely with Adobe walls. The food was amazing.. the portions were all huge and everything tasted amazing. Food was delivered quickly and the servers were constantly asking us if we needed anything else. I'm not exaggerating when I say.. this was the best fajitas that I've ever had. It was like they used an entire red pepper and green pepper.. So fresh and yummy!! The chimichanga was overflowing with meat and the nacho plate was huge. The chips and salsa (hot) were excellent. My only disappointment is that I don't live near this restaurant! If you live nearby you must try this place as it was amazing!!

tracy treppa

Waitress did such a wonderful job for such a large party of people. Good food

Robert “Bobby” Swieciki

Food was great. Got here right before 5pm and got seated right away. I'm glad I got here when I did because within 15-20 mins this place was packed with the dinner crowd (Friday night). Great atmosphere. I was just in Mexico back in June and the inside of this place felt very authentic. I ordered the Burrito Supreme, with the tomatillo. It was perfect. Probably the best wet burrito I've had since moving to California in 2018. BTW, the menu pictures you get when looking this place up on Google don't have the back of the menu with the burritos and quesadillas+ more. I'd give 6 stars if I could.

Dee Dominguez

When I want good Mexican food, this is the place my family chooses. I have been to many Mexican restaurants, and nothing is as good as here. I have not had any negative experiences whenever I have been here. Also, great customer service.

MasterMike117 (MasterMike117)

Simply the best Mexican Restaurant I've ever tried. Came from Bakersfield and love me some Mexican food and this place lived up to the images. Although pricey. The food was delicious and was fresh! The plates were massive too 🤣😅

Ron Lovell

This used to be Quito's when Rudy owned it. It was not too authentic. Now it's fantastic. I have been there 3 times in a week. Normally wine margaritas suck, but these are pretty good. Give them a try!

Anjnette

If your ever in the area stop here. We drove by many mexican restaurants on the way here. Not one place was up to par. We are glad we stopped. Food is so good. I never eat the mexican rice ...anywhere exceptfor at home....I ate it here. Perfectly cooked, good portions, reasonable prices, and super clean. 2nd time I ate inside of a restaurant since covid started. We were in the area for businees from Riverside for the morning so we stopped to eat. I don't know the name of our server .....but it doesn't matter, because we had 5! Awsome teamwork here!! Table salsa is not spicy but so flavorful! We had a giant tostada, orchata, camarones al mojo de ajo, and chile colorado....all so good!

Peter Mulder

Fantastic Mexican restaurant. Food is great. Not to crowdy, good service and fantastic desert!

Caro Bascour Henríquez (Caro)

Beef and chicken Tacos and in front the Pozole, the food was very tasty, our order was ready in less than 10 minutes, I will return to this place! The flavor of the pozole was exquisite!

This rating is for thier Palenque fries. Best carne asada fries I've ever had.

I was driving back from Guadalupe with sandy feet and real craving a Chili Rellleno plate. I called and they told me they were closing soon but that they would save me a table. When I arrived they serve me hot food and made sure my water was full. Service like that, 14 minutes before closing, goes a long way with me and I will be happy to give them my business whenever I have the opportunity.

I recently went to El Palenque as a guest of the Santa Maria Historical Society Museum volunteer luncheon. Then I got invited a week later to visit as a guest of the local SGI Buddhist group and for me I was thrilled to get the opportunity to enjoy excellent food and the best service not just once but twice. I was quite impressed and they lived up to their reputation of delivering the best experience in town Thank you very much for sharing your awesome restaurant with me and my associates!

Jason Jenkins

This rating is for thier Palenque fries. Best carne asada fries I've ever had.

Anthony Caligiuri

I recently went to El Palenque as a guest of the Santa Maria Historical Society Museum volunteer luncheon. Then I got invited a week later to visit as a guest of the local SGI Buddhist group and for me I was thrilled to get the opportunity to enjoy excellent food and the best service not just once but twice. I was quite impressed and they lived up to their reputation of delivering the best experience in town Thank you very much for sharing your awesome restaurant with me and my associates!

J C

Fresh and tasty authentic Mexican cuisine.. staff was lovely to speak with. Loved it!

Tristan Fuenmayor

I was driving back from Guadalupe with sandy feet and real craving a Chili Rellleno plate. I called and they told me they were closing soon but that they would save me a table. When I arrived they serve me hot food and made sure my water was full. Service like that, 14 minutes before closing, goes a long way with me and I will be happy to give them my business whenever I have the opportunity.

One of the best tasting food I've had in Santa Maria. My wife's friend says try the nacho fries. I did and they were good, amongst all the other food I've has there. Looking for mexican food this is the place to go.

Lovely place. Good, friendly service. The crispy beef tacos were delicious. The sauces can be very hot, so careful please :)

Pretty good food and excellent service. Had the chili verde and it was exceptional.

Very nice staff. I ordered chimichangas but they were different from the ones that i have had. These were 2 small tortillas with a small amount of meat . I guess that it depends what part of Mexico you come from. They were ok.

Can add a salsa bar and offer more varieties of salsa. The salsa offered was spicy n ok rating. Chill rellano plate size was good. Like the seating options. Parking is at the back of this restaurant which may confuse new comers. Can add a parking sign to combat the issue.

Just an opinion, the booth upholstery is getting shabby. The food is always good and arrives super hot.

This place has a good variety of lunch specials. I usually get the chili Verde enchilada lunch. Good pricing fast service. Some waitress could have a lot more smiles on there faces to easy the visit. Other then so I enjoy.

Service was good, food was good. My husband was disappointed in how much asada was in his fajitas. It was good, but mostly vegetables. My carnitas taco's were good, and street tacos. Since it was our first time there, I didn't know. I also forgot to ask. The food was good though and I'd go back.

On our way back from LA we were looking for a quaint authentic Mexican restaurant to eat. We found El Palenque and were pleasantly surprised by the quality and taste of the food. The staff were friendly and quick to make us feel welcome!

The food was good but not great. What gave this place 4 stars is their super fast service. Maybe because it didn't look very busy but I was really impressed with the fast service. From the time I sat down to the time I got my food it could not have been longer than 15 minutes.

Best Chili Verde in Santa Maria. Great food great service and reasonable prices. Wonderful lunch menu served hot and fast to your table. I would highly recommend. Four stars out of five.

We were seated by a very belligerent, noisy child. Otherwise, the atmosphere would've been great. The food, however, was very good! Will definitely return!

Only had one item on the menu. It was good but not outstanding. I need to go back to try more of their food for a fair report. Service was very good.

Food is good, but the salsa is extremely spicy. If they changed the salsa to make it bearable to eat, I'd give it 5 stars. Best rice I have ever had!

Was in town on business and went here based on some reviews. It wasn't overcrowded but there were a couple large groups for a Wednesday night. They seemed short staffed but the servers were doing the best they could. Really liked their Salsa it was a bit different and had a mild heat. Ordered the shrimp fajitas which came out quickly. The flavors were good but the guacamole served was minimal and tasteless. No pico, just rice and beans and only 2 flour tortillas. Overall it was good and well priced. I would go back and try something different.

My family and I love El Palenque! The staff is wonderful, we always feel so welcomed when we eat here. The food is honestly the best Mexican in Santa Maria. The food is excellent quality which is why it’s on the pricier side. I gave a 4 because I think it’s a little over priced, but you definitely pay for what you get!

Brought a couple of guests from out of state to get some authentic Mexican food. They were impressed. Good food and speedy service.

At first I was nervous when we pulled into the parking lot and the neighbors chickens were running all around the lot. We went in and this is a great place to get great Mexican food. I do not know if its family operated, but it sure has tat family vibe. Service is fast and friendly. I LOVE their salsa and chips.

Our food was well prepared, and service was outstanding, a cozy place to enjoy a meal I shall return

We visited this place based on the recommendation of the hotel staff. The food and staff are great. We had carne Asada tacos and Nachos

Came to town twice for work and both times enjoyed a delicious Mexican meal at El Palenque. The burritos and pozole we’re winning choices—fresh ingredients, good tortillas and tasty salsa and chips. This place was recommended by a local working at my hotel. It’s a bit on the pricey side but I also recommend it and am looking forward to returning.

ailynne pebenito

We visited this place based on the recommendation of the hotel staff. The food and staff are great. We had carne Asada tacos and Nachos

Robert Lopez

Came to town twice for work and both times enjoyed a delicious Mexican meal at El Palenque. The burritos and pozole we’re winning choices—fresh ingredients, good tortillas and tasty salsa and chips. This place was recommended by a local working at my hotel. It’s a bit on the pricey side but I also recommend it and am looking forward to returning.

The portions were good for the price and it's good food. Service started off great then we sort of felt forgotten. Had to ask for things twice.

The food was decent. We had good service. It was a little pricey but everything seems to be nowadays.

I got chicken fajitas that came with a side of rice and beans and a salad, and a large horchata. It totaled out to 24$ which I felt was fairly pricey. I’m wondering if I was charged extra for the salad (even though it said it came with the meal? ) as the fajitas themself were 16$. I don’t even know how much the drink was but 16$ For my meal and it ending up being 24 was a large jump in price, In my opinion. Maybe I was charged extra for the chips? I didn’t ask for chips they were just in the bag so I assumed they were included? Idk either way I feel like I was over charged somewhere. The food was decent but for the price I paid I’d say it’s not worth it. My fajitas had maybe 6 or 7 pieces of chicken in it and was 99% peppers and onions. So I paid 16$ for bell peppers… I’ve been to many Mexican places and I’m sure I can find a better value for my dollar with just as much flavor. If I hadn’t paid for just peppers in my dish I would say this place would be worth it, as the food was tasty.

This was a really hard decision for me to rate it this low. The food came out hot and fast. Salsa for the chip was delicious, spicy, and smoky. Portion of the food is incredible and I had more than enough for leftovers. So why did I rate only 3 stars? Ultimately, the service was too poor. Server never came to check if we needed more water or anything, took 15 mins just to give us the check after trying to flag her down for even longer than that. Then she left quickly before we could even ask for a box. It took her almost another 15 mins to reappear just for us to ask for a box. Worst part was they had multiple servers and it was dead at night. There was only 2 other people, otherwise I would have understood her absence. But this really ruined the experience for me. If you were to get food here, I recommend just getting it to go.

No customer service for the long black hair 😒 inthe middle of the big expensive tostada i realyliked and wanted and ,not to mention paid like 15$ for. Then could not eat any more concerned about cleaning quality and control. I said that I'm not trying to cause any problems.but i feel I should let you know about the hair. No apologies no humility ?El Palmhair did compensate for the tostada or replace or even a discount for the public pibic hair issue. Its sad not to see people unconcerned abut their reputation or customer loyalty , respect and service. Respectfully IX Flava P.s I would've forgiven them if they had shown any remorse 🤏🦴

Flavor to food is bland but satisfying if you want Mexican food

Very disappointed. Wanted a margarita but they don’t have hard alcohol. In looking over the menu, they have a nice selection but they are expensive!! We ended up ordering ala carte. The Chile relleno didn’t have much flavor. The pico de gallo was good. Very flavorful. The staff was very nice and helpful. Good service.

Not a bad place to grab lunch.. I couldn't handle the burrito. THIS TIME MAN LOST TO FOOD. Follow Google maps directions to avoid trying to access the parking lot from the busy street.

Dalia T

This was a really hard decision for me to rate it this low. The food came out hot and fast. Salsa for the chip was delicious, spicy, and smoky. Portion of the food is incredible and I had more than enough for leftovers. So why did I rate only 3 stars? Ultimately, the service was too poor. Server never came to check if we needed more water or anything, took 15 mins just to give us the check after trying to flag her down for even longer than that. Then she left quickly before we could even ask for a box. It took her almost another 15 mins to reappear just for us to ask for a box. Worst part was they had multiple servers and it was dead at night. There was only 2 other people, otherwise I would have understood her absence. But this really ruined the experience for me. If you were to get food here, I recommend just getting it to go.

David Carpenter (DCflava)

No customer service for the long black hair 😒 inthe middle of the big expensive tostada i realyliked and wanted and ,not to mention paid like 15$ for. Then could not eat any more concerned about cleaning quality and control. I said that I'm not trying to cause any problems.but i feel I should let you know about the hair. No apologies no humility ?El Palmhair did compensate for the tostada or replace or even a discount for the public pibic hair issue. Its sad not to see people unconcerned abut their reputation or customer loyalty , respect and service. Respectfully IX Flava P.s I would've forgiven them if they had shown any remorse 🤏🦴

Live Life

Flavor to food is bland but satisfying if you want Mexican food

Melissa Macis

Very disappointed. Wanted a margarita but they don’t have hard alcohol. In looking over the menu, they have a nice selection but they are expensive!! We ended up ordering ala carte. The Chile relleno didn’t have much flavor. The pico de gallo was good. Very flavorful. The staff was very nice and helpful. Good service.

JR WIlliams

Not a bad place to grab lunch.. I couldn't handle the burrito. THIS TIME MAN LOST TO FOOD. Follow Google maps directions to avoid trying to access the parking lot from the busy street.

We usually love this place but the chips were cold and didn’t taste fresh. My husbands ground beef tacos had grease pouring out of them and my chicken taco had boiled chicken with no flavor to it. We were truly disappointed.

Used to come here all the time. Til their prices went from 11.99$ for a lunch plate to 19.99. wild!! They're good but for that price...I'll go elsewhere.

We are out of Towners and we wanted to eat at Mexican place. Don’t be fool by the ratings… food was decent but very expensive! For the atmosphere and food we spent to much money. Place was empty, outdated, and funky smell. Never again! The waitress was very nice thought but that’s about it.

Ordered steak burrito was more like carnitas (shredded) and tasted like it was 3 days old. 3/4 of our party had diarrhea the entire night after eating here. One person ordered tostada was 90% lettuce little meat, pico guac and sour cream. Fajitas were bad... not one person in our party finished their food then we were asked if we wanted boxes but they charge for to go containers to take the bad food home. We were wondering why were were the only people in the restaurant on a saturday afternoon. 1/10.

Had the Asada Nachos, No flavor at all and they don’t even have salt at the tables and they also don’t offer service to the tables I am not going to say more but horrible experiencia also salsas are not good and no pican para nada

Place is awful nice people .but no brains messed up my order.over priced.take out food to get it home and its all wrong.bad for business. Owner needs to put people in that can communicate with public.very bad experience.

Menudo wasn't prepared right due to someone not liking a customer. Work on your professionalism towards customers please.

This place is disgusting i ordered a Chile Verde burrito we didn't even wait 5 minutes and our order was ready . The pork meat was extremely dry and not only that there was barely any meat inside the burrito . When I went to pay I asked for a discount he said you should have told me and I would have exchanged it for you.i I asked to speak to a manager and he said he was . And then he proceeded to say that I ate all the meat . Maybe if there was actually meat in there and it tasted fresh and good I would have eaten it. How rude the most disgusting place in Santa Maria . Don't eat there ever !! Not only bad food but extremely bad customer service to argue with a customer in front of your clients .

I took my family to celebrate my father’s birthday this weekend and our experience was not good. The food was good but the server was not polite and friendly she came every once in a while to ask if we needed anything and I understand she was busy with other customers but the place was not even full either. Once it was time to pay she just handed me a receipt and I always do leave tip based on how we are treated. Well I left my tip and until after I finished paying is when I saw that a tip was already included in my bill. I was charged twice for a tip that truly I feel the server did not even deserve.

Ordered drinks and then 15 minutes later when the waitress didn't return to take our order, we paid for drinks and left. They weren't even busy. The prices are way to high.

We went to eat Sunday evening. We got there at 6 pm. It was not busy at all. We ordered our food and it came out no more than 5 minutes later. The food looked tasted and felt like it was just microwaved. It was so incredibly greasy. The rice was so salty and cold and tasted stale. All of our meals came with salad that never came. Our total was over $150. When we told the staff the salads never came they didn’t even offer to compensate for their mistake. Really it felt unsanitary and we will not be back. The food was not good and not authentic. Also it took about 45 minutes to finally get out bill. We were there for 2 hours. Very frustrating

Worst place ever !!! I ordered a menudo and let me tell you that tasted horrible!!! Did not taste like menudo.

I really wanted to give 0 starts but it’s not possible ! I ordered a enchilada plate it was disgusting 🤮 beans were horrible very nasty enchiladas were a 0 out of 10 as well for the plate to be 25$ you would think you’ll get uur moneys worth