El Tarasco

Good service and good food. The bar area has a great selection of liquor. The service was fast and good

came in with a gift certificate that we received from the owners family friend and they gave us a hassle claiming it's fake. They were asking us questions like we were stealing from them. Eventually, they realized it wasn't so we were allowed to eat but food was pretty subpar. The initial experience just made everything awkward.

Just had one of my worse dine in experiences in visalia! First off in a regular at El Tarasco on main st and figured these locations were owned by the same owners which I'm going to take a guess and say NO because they operate completely different. I orders the alambre combo (steak and chicken) see picture and tell me if you can spot any steak?? It wasn't the strip steak like main it was more of a ground beef I think and they charged me extra for it. Ordered salsa of my food and they charged me $2.50 for salsa??? Didn't even ask for chip and salsa they just came and I ate them and there was a $1.99 charge for that lol I just wanted to get out of there and it took 30mins to get my check (it was busy). I placed my card in the folder and waited another 10 mins only to discover you have to walk up to the cashier to pay bill. NEVER AGAIN!!

I have family in Visalia, and we eat here quite often. In fact, it's my go-to because I know how fast and prompt the service is here. They had a remodel a while back, and the interior is not as you'd expect by looking at the building. The food, however, remains unchanged throughout the years. They serve classic Californian Mexican fare or what I've been told is Sonoran style. Pretty much no frills but what separates El Tarasco from the many other places in town is the intensity of the flavors here. I feel they don't skimp on the seasonings, and everything comes out just as it would from a relative's house. The crispy hard shell tacos are my mom's go-to especially with the shredded beef. Their carne asada is great as well. And I tend to get the taco salad with that. The best thing about this place is their consistency throughout the years: Despite new Mexican establishments popping every so often, El Tarasco is a reliable option when you just want a good and quick Mexican food fix.

So I can understand why this place could probably get 3.2 stars out of 5. There service is sometimes lackluster, but their quality of food is usually pretty consistent. I don't come here too often, but when I do I come to this location only because the food always has a better taste the the downtown location. Service isn't always consistent, but hey they always tend to be really busy so its understandable. Just keep the drinks flowing along with the smiles and I'll wait for the great food with a huge smile myself. I will still be your customer.

New to Visalia, my wife and I were looking for a place to have lunch. El Tarasco came highly recommended by my wife's friend for the drinks. Service: We were greeted immediately after entering the restaurant. The greeter was super polite. She ended being our waitress. We were seated immediately and had a menu, water, and chips and salsa almost as fast as we sat down.Drinks: Their drinks were awesome and delicious! Definitely an A+ for taste and presentation. So many alcohol options to choose from. Food: The food was very good. Chips and salsa are always a great addition to any Mexican restaurant visit. I give them a B on presentation though. Although the food was delicious, my plate looked like it was just thrown together. We hear this restaurant has a second location so my wife and I are excited about trying the other location soon. I recommend this place as it has been one of the better restaurants we've visited. Thank you El Tarasco for the wonderful service.

Food was very meh..bland, and barely warm. I'll just stick to the buffet. Service was amazing though!

The burrito I got was ok. The rice and beans on it were really good. The carne asada had a good flavor but the meat was really greasy

The food was amazing until the end when we received our check. They had at first put our whole party of 11 on one check. My sister and her husband asked to split the check but paid the 18% for the whole family. On their menus it says "part of 8 will be charged 18% service". When we got our new checks everyone was stilled charged 18% extra for part size. We told the manager and the server about it. At the register where you pay behind them was a big red sign that said "All parties of 12 or more people will be charged 18%". I asked the supervisor Rafael, when did that terminate. He grabbed the menu very rough and to show me the one that said 8 people. I told him no, i am talking about the one behind you. He turned around, ripped off the paper and said "RIGHT NOW". Very very rude people. I asked a simple question since there was two different statements and since that's the first thing everyone sees when they walk in, that is false advertisement and then still trying to charge everyone 18% after it was paid is fraud. Be very careful on your receipts and make sure to over look everything. If Rafael is working, prepare for horrible service.

My mother went here for her birthday and ended up getting food poisoning as long as well as two other people she went with and it ended up ruining their plans because they were severely sick throwing up everywhere so I do not suggest this place! even without the food poisoning, i still don't suggest this sorry excuse for a restaurant because every time I attempt to go here there's always a ridiculously huge line. It's always super busy and it's honestly overhyped. The food isn't even that good. If I could rate this negative stars I would. I'm so upset that my mother & her friends got severe* food poisoning especially on her birthday.