Taqueria El Carnaval

Excellent! Last stop before heading back home to Texas! Wish Texas made true Mexican food

I liked this place for a couple of dishes: (fried fish, enchiladas) , but now I'm less likely to visit. They recently removed the PICO DE GALLO from their salsa bar. I LOVED their salsa bar, but not so much now - it's just like. Taqueria El Carnival Management: please don't be a cheap Scrooge and bring it back! Your salsa bar was 1/2 the reason I ate there. I'm now more likely to go somewhere else.

Fantastic food and service every single time. Highly recommend. The soup is amazing. Staff look after you very well without being overbearing. Love eating here and do so regularly. It's also super clean and has great bathrooms.

This is the fastest Mexican food place that is not considered fast food! Stopped on our way back from a snowboarding trip, we had a big group of 8 and by the time the 8th person was ordering the first person to order already had their food! It was so quick and tasted good too! The margaritas are huge!

When I walk into an eatery and see a diverse clientele eating there, I know it is gonna be good. Well I got that vibe while I walked into this taqueria for the first time. It was on a recent lazy weekend afternoon between lunch and dinner time. The place was hopping. The line was long but moved super quick. The food came out quick also. The food was pretty darn good and service was excellent. The staff was so uncommonly nice and welcoming. Feel good vibes. I ordered a crispy pork soft taco and a lengua soft taco. $2.80 each. They had a good portion of meats and topped with different salsas. Each one having its own crazy delicious, unique flavor. The pork was cooked so that the edges of the meat had that indulgent crispiness without the burn. Mmm. They had a complimentary chips n salsa bar. Yay... bring it on. The chips were crisp and sturdy. Not too thick and not thin n flimsy. The salsas had a nice variety and in varying heat levels. They even had green salsa which is my fave. Hubs had a crispy hard shell beef taco. He liked it. But our lunch companion had a wet steak burrito. It was massive and looked so good. It is his fave. Actually, he was the one that recommended this place to us. Hubs kept thinking about the burrito for several days later, so he broke down and went back on a solo trip to get the burrito. He luved it. Ha! Since know we know about this place, I reckon we will be back again.

The service was incredibly fast! I ordered the carnitas burrito and I have to say that this being out here in Placerville easily competes with meals of similar kinds in Sacramento. So if you are hungry for a quick bite while traveling to or from Tahoe this is the place to stop. The ambiance is clean and conducive with the salsa bar to add an additional touch of class to the food.

Good experience here over Memorial Day weekend. Clean restaurant, patio, and salsa bar. The staff are on top of it all here.The salsa bar has all of my favorite items - fresh chips, Pico de Gallo, pickled carrots, onions and jalapeños, whole radishes, nopalitos, lime slices with lots of juice, guac flavored salsa, many different kinds of salsas nicely marked.Lengua was delicious. Some of the carne asada was overcooked but not all and it tasted fabulous.The two individual restrooms are spacious, clean and well-stocked.Prices are a little steep, $2.85 per taco. Came to a little under $7 for two taqueria tacos. But, everything is becoming more and more expensive. Thanks America and politicians for your irrational response to rona.Thankfully, I didn't need a large meal and the chips & salsa bar filled me a little more.I'd return to eat at Taqueria Carnival. Especially with the El Dorado Trail a little further down the road for some good bicycling. Try it out for yourself, the patio is nicely shaded for the most part, too. Can easily set bikes near your table.

El Carnaval is still the best taqueria in the foothills! I hope they don't ever change as the food tastes great, the service is fast, prices are for a family are affordable !!I love the tacos, burritos and so many other items I can't list them all!!While I can't attest to authenticity- bestauthentic Mexican food

Food was ok but I couldn't get past the smell to even be able to enjoy my food. The smell of purple pine-Sol plug ins were everywhere..... in the bathroom and all over restaurant. I felt like I could taste it. I want to smell the good food your cooking Not pine-sol, it was horrible. Ate outside but didn't really help I could smell the purple plug in outside.Food was ok rice and beans were super salty and asada tasted like he had no flavor.Sorry but it's a no me!

This place is Clean, Quick, Authentic, Delicious. They do not bother with frilly service, instead put that effort into making it great. I have tried "the American" food and the True Food going out to local workers. The shrimp cocktail like you get in Mexico, seafood you can count on. And 9 to 9? Yes, Huevos to a Churo. Heading there now. Honest, I do not work there or even know anyone who works there.