El Portal Taqueria

This place has great food; the service is awesome and most importantly everything in the minor is crazy good! I am sorry I forgot to take a photo but it's off the hook.

We live in Sparks, Nevada and go down to Sacramento quite often. We have been on a quest for excellent Mexican food located just before we hit the Sierra Nevada mountains. I read the reviews for El Portal and they were not stellar, it seems mainly because people felt the staff were not friendly. As we walked in the restaurant, there was a sign apologizing because they were short staffed and doing everything they could to provide great service.We sat down and were properly provided with a basket of chips and a bowl of salsa. We immediately noticed that the salsa and chips were pretty exceptional. My husband observed someone in the kitchen using a commercial immersion blender to make a batch of fresh salsa. After talking to our waitperson we learned the chips are made fresh each morning. She also said there are new owners as if last January.Both my husband and I ordered a Quesadilla. His was Al Pastor and mine was Carnitas. Not only were both very delicious, they had the most elaborate presentation of a quesadilla we have seen. Additionally the quesadillas are huge - we both took half of it home. That is an extra bonus because neither of us feels like cooking, or going out, after traveling all day. My husband said the Al Pastor was the best he has ever had, and I concur. As travelers we were happy to see that the restrooms were clean and well stocked.We highly recommend El Portal and look forward to returning. ¡Buen provecho!

Too Salty! Use to be the best Mexican food in Auburn. The carne asada, carnival, beans were all very salty.

Good stuffYumm! Great quality and quantity. Loved my taco and quesadillas. The salsa was bomb

I never know what to expect.Sometimes the super burrito is $12 and sometimes the same burrito plus 3 salsa is $17!! Sometimes the asada fries are awesome and sometimes they are half cooked , oil soaked, not crispy. The food is never consistent and burritos always have a-lot of fatty meats and chunky gristles.The service is bi-polar! They actually argue with you, when they got the order wrong and charge you extra for their mistake. Unbelievable!

This place has awesome Mexican food! Although it is still a taqueria, they take extra measures to step it up a notch: they greet you at your table after you sit down (and are very attentive to when customers walk in), they add a little creativity in their food that sets it apart from other taqueria's I've eaten at, the employees dress very nicely, and they keep the place very clean! The employees are very kind and accommodating! I highly recommend.

Came in today and got my usual street tacos for lunch. I tell the server i like my tortillas grilled more, so its more on the harder and crispier side. She acknowledges my request, but continues to give me my order with non grilled, single tortilla and not doubled tortilla tacos. Midway through my first taco, the tortillas was already breaking apart cause it was so soggy (the reason why i like it grilled more cause it holds up better). Yes, this makes me sound petty but this experience made me decide to not come back anymore... which is sad cause i love their cabeza

Affordable, authentic, amazing food with a great staff. Can't go wrong with anything you order, and you'll be back for more!

I was so disappointed with this place :(. I'm teaching myself to cook and have been trying to perfect "bistec a la mexicana". I thought I'd try theirs. Bistec a la mexicana is finely chopped steak cooked with Serrano peppers, onions, tomatoes, cilantro and spices. I was served a full flat steak with a ton of onions on top and ,mostly raw bell peppers, no tomatoes or cilantro at all and was given a butter knife to cut the steak with. it was not a bad flavor, but it was also NOT bistec a la mexicana.

We've been going here for years. The prices have gone up, as with everything else these days. Good food, large portions and courteous staff.