Cal Taco

We are long time customers, thought it was about time we published a review.
Great hard shell ground beef tacos, tostadas, and char-​burgers.
This place can get busy at lunch time; however, it is worth waiting for…
Highly Recommended!

Great burgers though the worker didn’t quite describe the burgers quite well but overall a great place to eat. I enjoyed the Double Char Burger more than I expected! Coming back for more!

My girlfriend received a salad with a fly in it. It was very gross and I will never go back there again. Their restaurant is not sanitary and their food is subpar at best. The habit is much better than cal taco which is strange because they are owned by the same family.

I’m not sure about all the bad reviews I come here all the time and I quite enjoy their burgers. Their ranch is great for dipping if you like to dip your fries and yes it’s quite similar to The Habit but I like that. Thumbs up for me

I’ve been here countless times and throughout the day at that. The food always amazes me especially the muchaca breakfast burrito. So delicious. Very clean dining area and salsa bar. Bathroom is small but clean. The people are always nice and there is plenty of natural light to enjoy the food. This is my goto for breakfast burritos.

I ordered a double cheeseburger and was pleasantly surprised when is given a choice on cheese. I got cheddar and it was a nice change from the ubiquitous American.
Overall this place was a similar experience to the habit but less crowded and I’d say the burger was a little beefier. Fries were good too. I left feeling nicely satisfied.

Yes my Fav burger spot !! Great menu, I have tried most items and love the portion size.

Cal Taco has always been a mystical place for me. My first memory of Cal Taco was my coworker raving about how the best burger was at Cal Taco. I thought that was strange because it’s called Cal Taco. For awhile I spoke of Cal Taco as a wonderful hope for a good burger.
My best friend and I finally descended on Cal Taco one day and discovered the burger was in fact not the best and the tacos were average at best. I later would meet the original owner in Santa Maria, the name coming up again 70 miles away made me curious again. Were my expectations too high?
Living in Goleta now, I thought it would be good to try Cal Taco. I wanted breakfast and a burger. Decent breakfast burrito but one could do far better in Goleta/​Santa Barbara. Fried zucchini is ²⁄₅. The burger was much better than I remember but it’s definitely like average too. It’s actually Habit burger! Habit burger is served here! The two are indistinguishable.
Not a bad place to eat overall, they have some good deals. Cherry Coke too.

This place is pretty good for breakfast burritos. I was annoyed that when I was getting salsa from the bar to take home. The guy said I would have to pay extra for more than 3 of those small cups to put salsa in. I was annoyed by that cause the burrito is huge and it comes with tortilla chips. 3 small little cups isn’t enough in my opinion

Delicious, fast, and cheap. I had a steak burrito and it was delicious and full of fresh ingredients. Everything you expect for a sub-​$ 10 dinner.

I have mixed reviews so I figured a 3 is middle of the road. I got a burger and fries. Keep in mind I did not try the Mexican food.
I found the service pleasant. The place seemed clean though it’s small so I don’t know that if wanna bring the family to eat there. Prefer to get it to go.
It was also happy hour so it was cheap. Just a little over $ 5– for burger fries and a bottle of water.
Burger was decent and hot. So why the 3? I found the bun to be a little too cooked.(almost burned) And the fries weren’t good. They were way over cooked. It tasted like bad oil or like the had already been fried and were fried a second time. Most of them were super crunchy and dark brown.

It’s like the Habit (my all time favorite local burger place) but even closer to where I live! Yay! Delicious charburgers and the fries are just how I like them. The burgers aren’t gourmet~ they’re just the classic burger that you crave after a day at the beach. The staff are friendly and the dine in area is easy going.

Best chicken taquitos I’ve ever had. Light and just right. Guacamole on the side.
Great salsa. Nice beachy atmosphere. Saw lots of regulars stopping. That’s always a good sign. Clean and also nice music… bluesy that day.

Things were a little rough during the change of ownership so we haven’t been here in a while. We were hungry after dropping off some recycling so I had a choice when hitting Hollister. Turn left and go to the Habit or turn right and stop at Cal Taco. Well, I took the direction towards home and we ate at Cal Taco.
Walking in the first thing we noticed was how much brighter it was. The backlit menu added a lot of light to the place. Nice and clean. I had transitioned from amerimex to burgers when they had the 1.99 sunday burgers but today I went back to the amerimex menu. I had a steak taco and a chicken taco. My wife had a pair of fish taco’s. My son had the double cheesburger with bacon he usually has plus an order of fries.
Wandering over to the salsa bar I noticed they eliminated the fire roasted salsa. That is a shame since I really liked it. My wife went for the regular red salsa and I had the salsa verde. The food was ready shortly and the first thing I noticed is the portions had increases along with the prices. The taco’s were huge. The steak tack was dissapointing with the steak being dry and overcooked. The chick tack was sliced, grilled chicken breast. It too was a little dry but nothing a splash of salsa verde couldn’t fix. My wife said the fish taco’s were fine and my son reported the burgers as «about the same as before» which was decent.
So, in summary, the new management has not changed things much. You can still get a bargain if you go during happy hour monday-​wednesday. Otherwise, three of us ate for 25 dollars which isn’t bad these days.

Ok burger at a cheap price from a place who’s name is taco.
Not sure how I’ve missed this place, working down the street from it for years. I read reviews claiming the Cal-​Taco burger is an acceptable replacement for The Habit. I can’t get behind that statement. Let’s see why.
Location
This all depends on where you’re coming from, right? So I’m looking at parking and there’s more options at The Habit even if it does fill up at lunch.
Atmosphere
This too is not a strong point between the two. Cal Taco is sterile with no character and very limited seating inside with better seating options outside. The Habit’s backdrop is Old Town Goleta with only cramped, outside seating. No winner in this category.
Before I get to a taste test, lets discuss the bottom line.
Burger comparison, dollar for dollar, Cal Taco/​Habit (²⁰¹⁵⁄₀₅)
Single $ 3.50/$ 2.95 (CT increase of 18.64%)
Double $ 4.50/$ 3.95 (CT increase of 13.92%)
Cheese $ 0.50/$ 0.50 TIE
Single Combo $ 6.95/$ 5.95 (CT increase of 16.81%)
Double Combo $ 7.95/$ 6.95 (CT increase of 12.58%)
Taste
Cal-​Taco adds fresh lettuce, tomato and onion on a cheap bun but there does not seem to be any seasoning in the charpatty. It is juicy and drips down your arm so that’s a good sign. There’s just not much taste to it. The fries are good. I like a larger fry and these fit the bill.
My final thoughts on Cal-​Taco is they are no way a substitute for the highly regarded Habit by price alone. Toss in that I feel there’s less seasoning in the meat here, I’ll give it a solid 2 where the description fully fits, «I’ve experienced better.»
If you need a quick fix from a mediocre burger and are West of Los Carneros Road, it will be easier to hit up Cal-​Taco. But is your happiness worth it? I think not.

I don’t want to write bad review, but I have to say something this time.
I wanted to use axxess card for late lunch.
The ugly lady who is working as a cashier told me that it is buy one get one free, WHAT DO YOU WANT??? That’s big no no!
The ugly lady doesn’t know how to talk to customers.
You should NOT to ask WHAT DO YOU WANT???
You need to say what can I get for you? Or how can I help you? Just do not say WHAT DO YOU WANT period. Am I right?

The ugly lady called my #, then I pick it up.
I didn’t want to see the ugly lady when I am eating. So I decided my food to go.
Then the ugly lady didn’t put my chips in the bag.
I saw my chips on the tray, But not to go bag.
Beware of this ugly lady, if you order to go, open your bag, make sure what you get.
I will not return this restaurant never again.

Pretty darn tasty (cheap) food, served fairly quickly (5−10min) and not bad prices if you don’t spring for the add-​ons like bacon/​guac…
One of the best $ 5-​ish cheeseburgers I’ve ever had, hands-​down!
The breakfast is also a fairly good deal. Love the 2×4 combo with eggs over easy… Breakfast burrito is tasty but would be better if they stuffed some hash browns in there. Also I ordered bacon and received sausage instead.
The chicken burrito… just decent. Not as delicious (or as big) as what you’d get for a similar price at Chipotle or Freebirds.
No major complaints, though… service is friendly, they consistently hook it up with the ranch dressing, and the green salsa es muy bueno.
This is one not-​quite-​fast-​food joint that will probably receive an absurd amount of business from me in days to come. It’s not the healthiest option, I’ll admit… but sometimes it just hits the spot.

Decent burger reminisce of The Habit; a bit pricier but perhaps better portioned and more going on between the buns.
Companion had the turkey burger which was definitely a good choice; plenty of burger and flavor.
Definitely need to explore more of the menu.

Recently, they began advertising they now serve breakfast… so I decided to give it a try.
Pleasantly surprised. I ordered the 2×4 breakfast plate for $ 4.95. What a deal!
2 bacon + 2 sausage + 2 eggs + 2 tortillas and hash browns smothered in melted cheese. Where can you get a deal like that anywhere?
They cooked the eggs to order, over easy, and they came out perfectly. The salsa bar was clean and very fresh with many offerings.
Service is a bit sterile. For instance: I was the only person in the place waiting for an order, but they still call the number like the place is packed. And someone cleaning the tables made no eye contact or smile or said hello.
Overall the place was very clean and organized. Best to come before the lunch crowd ravishes the place.
So, I would give this place another try if you’ve been here before but weren’t impressed. They have recently changed hands and offer a new menu.

Was in town visiting my folks for the day and decided to get a quick lunch. Cal taco is near my parent’s home and was always a hidden gem to the neighborhood.
Ordered three steak tacos, a cheese quesadilla, and a steak sandwich with no mayo and no onions to go for my gf and I. Get home and start grubbing. Steak taco was good. Opened up the steak sandwich and didn’t see any jack cheese that should be in there based on the menu description. Bite into the sandwich and immediately notice there is onions and man-​sauce (mayo). Childhood memories SHATTERED.