Taquerias El Chino

These tacos are delicious… best tacos I have had in Phoenix. I will keep coming. Customer Service is Excellent. Salsa bar is súper. Loved the lengua And cabeza tacos. Carne asada burrito is delicious. If you come You wont be dissapointed.

El Chino is my favorite burrito joint in Phoenix. Also a plus that it is close to my house. The meat is grilled and you can easily taste the difference. You also can fill the burrito with whatever you want from the bar before they roll it for you! So good!

Been coming here for a couple years now since they opened. I’m not sure what the restaurant was before this taco shop but whatever it was the universe is better off without it because it brought us El Chino. The tacos are delish. The burritos are delish. I’ve tried almost everything by now (several items I had never heard of and a few I never thought I’d try) and everything is delicious. Juan, I believe in of the owners, is very friendly. The cooks in the back pump out some amazing food like a well oiled machine. Even when it’s busy I don’t have to wait long for my order. Definitely recommend.

I work at the Arizona State Capitol and we’re desiring for great non-​cafeteria food. El Chino fits the bill and then some. The individuals as well as the food are excellent. El Chino is now a mainstay as it is modestly priced and consistently great Mexican food. Here is the best Capitol lunch area.

This place is good. Don’t be scared to come to this part of town. People live here too. There’s a great boxing gym next door so you should be safe. I liked the lengua and Carne en Salsa Roja tacos. The refried beans are very flavorful too. So next time you make a wrong turn & need a good meal, stop on in.

Good in an unlikely location. Thick and delicious corn tortillas… The Carne en salsa Roja is great and so is the beef barbacoa. Awesome salsa bar and flavorful beans. Friendly staff too. The red spicy salsa will make your mouth burn in a good way… But beware… They ain’t lying on the spicy level. Decent prices and a wide selection of fresh foods. Good spot for anytime you’re at the AZ state fairgrounds.

While its no secret Downtown Phoenix has quickly emerged as a destination for great culinary fare, the same really can’t be said for the area around the State Capitol. At least not yet. The neighborhood seems ripe for it with all the government employees in the area and it feels like all it would take is a few mom and pop shops to get the vibe going. Well, now folks near the Capitol have their very own culinary destination. It may not look like much, but Taqueria El Chino has all the makings of a neighborhood staple.
As I write this, Taqueria El Chino is currently rated as one of the top 40 restaurants in the city of Phoenix according to Unilocal.So investigate I must. And hey, today was National Burrito Day so why not. I arrived around 4pm just after work (before the dinner rush) and was looking to get some solid Mexican fare to go. The building is on the southwest corner of 18^th Ave & Van Buren in what (in all honesty) looks like a condemned building from the outside (parking is just around the corner). The inside however is pretty relaxed. The owner Rafael was manning the register for me, was super courteous and ready to guide me through the ordering process.
Any of you who’ve read my reviews in the past know that I usually try to get a full experience whenever I go someplace new. So while I was of course going to get a burrito today (a carne asada burrito in fact), I decided I’d go a few steps further. In addition to my Carne Asada Burrito (a.k.a. a grilled ribeye burrito), I went with a Barbecoa de Pavo Torta (barbecued turkey sandwich), a Barbecoa de Res taco (barbecued beef taco), a Barbecoa de Puerco taco (barbecued pork taco), and a Pechuga de Pollo Quesadilla (chicken quesadilla). Total cost for all the food and tax (no drink) came to about $ 24. FYI, I used the Unilocal check in to get one of the tacos free. Also, as other Unilocalers have noted, you can dress up your food anyway you like at the salsa bar at no extra cost.
Got my food to go in just under 10 minutes. One thing I appreciated is they separated many of the ingredients in the to go boxes so that no items would get soggy and gross on the way home. Once I got home and constructed my meal, it became clear to me that I went way too far with this order. The portions were clearly bigger than I could handle in one sitting. But I’ll give you the rundown.
First, the quesadilla. Awesome. The herbs & spices they used on the chicken were fantastic and the chicken to cheese ratio was probably ⁸⁰⁄₂₀. If you like the cheese to be the star, this quesadilla probably wouldn’t be your thing, but I was a happy camper. Next, the torta. The turkey was pulled so it kind of had the consistency of pulled pork, but I wasn’t complaining. They stacked it high on the sandwich with toasted bread and I dressed it up from there. Spot on. Next the two tacos. I would say the pork taco was my favorite of the two, but the beef was also excellent. And both go great with Chino’s green tomatillo sauce. And of course, the burrito. I didn’t dress this one up to much (just some rice and beans), but that was on purpose. The spices and herbs they use on the ribeye make this a tasty way to cap the meal (or at least what I could finish).
Taqueria el Chino is by no means the only Mexican food stop in the Phoenix area that will knock your socks off. But its definitely the first I’ve found around the State Capitol. I imagine many Capitol workers and staffers will be frequenting this place if they haven’t been already. The staff is friendly, the food is awesome, and the atmosphere is humble. Next stop here for me will likely be for a horchata run. I would say learn from my goof-​up and exercise some portion control. But when the food is this good, go nuts.

.yum. Went to El Chino over the weekend during my visit to Phoenix– and I can’t get these tacos off my mind! My fiancé and I visited from Portland and this was pretty much the best part of our trip. He’s from Cali and I’m originally from Phoenix, let’s just say we crave good Mexican food when we come to town and El Chino nailed it. I think together with my parents, we ordered five different tacos and they were all amazing. The consensus was that the carne asada was the favorite. The tacos were a lot bigger than we expected, but that was the best part about them. They aren’t anywhere near those dinky street tacos– so come hungry and ready to eat!
If we could pack up the restaurant and take it with us, we totally would. Open a location in Portland, please!

Friendly customer service and great food! Clean and well kept environment with a view to the kitchen. Full condiment bar to add items like pickled onions, salsa, and other favorite taco toppings. Reasonable priced good food!
Be sure to stop in and you will not be disappointed. (Unless you’re looking for Chinese tacos as the name may imply for some)
Keep pushing out the good food El Chino Tacos!

Had the Carne Asada burrito. They let you add what ever you want and then wrap it up for you. Definitely recommended!

Good food and quick service.

I’ve had better! Not the best in Phoenix! Del taco has better tacos! Service sux too!

Great little spot in downtown Phoenix for classic Sonoran tacos burritos quesadillas and tortas. Inexpensive good quality food with a great fresh salsa bar. If you’re around one of the better ones in town.

I’m from the east coast so when coming to the southwest, I want anything else besides pizza. So I took a 40 min walk from Downtown Phoenix to this place and holy crap, are these tacos super authentic and delicious!!! Got the ribeye, barbacoa and cachete (cheek) with the latter being my favorite.
The flour tortillas had that awesome bite to them, the meat was super flavorful and juicy and they let you add your own toppings at their salsa bar. You have to add the red onions and their salsa roja which is spicy (and they warn you) but so so so good.
The tacos run you like 2.50−3.00 so it’s pretty affordable if you ask me. The owner mentioned them opening up a location near Central and Grant in March/​April so I’m hoping its way closer to my hotel because I’m definitely going back.

Great tip on the horchata, very good, a bit of coconut as well
Fab street tacos — head cheek tongue if you’re not picky are great!
A new spot to go to every time I’m in Phoenix!

I came here on a work excursion and there were several scared and skeptical folks in the group when surveying the surroundings. Short end of the story is everyone LOVED every dish! I ordered the lengue taco and barabacoa taco. The lengue was savory, tender, and perfectly cooked. The barabacoa was worth killing a diet for seconds and thirds. I ordered a side of the beans and couldn’t stop talking about how happy my taste buds were, and then their sadness upon being done. Service was very friendly and efficient, and our party of 11 was able to get in and out in under the hour we needed to meet our appointments. Best street tacos I’ve had in such a long time! How I didn’t discover this place sooner is a regret and loss for me. Yum!

This is the best hole in the wall Mexican restaurant I’ve ever eaten at. very authentic and tasty! the food was delicious and the owner was amazing and helpful to us. my first time and he suggested the carne asada and it was the best carne I’ve ever eaten. I felt as if I was at home. if you’re looking to eat homemade Mexican food, this is the spot!!! well organized and very clean! thank you for your amazing customer service, I will be back!

There are few places that miss you when you are gone, and this place did. I came in after a long hiatus from tortillas as I was dieting and when the lady at the counter took my credit card, she realized it was me. She called to the back and couldn’t believe I was there. The kitchen staff said that we missed having you here during lunch and wanted to make sure I was satisfied with everything. Well I am. Its just food this good needs to be taken in moderation, because it is easy to get carried away here. Everything is good. I have crossed up and down the menu several times and when it come to cabeza and cachete (cheek) tacos and burritos, this is the PHX spot hands down. Plus they let you load up your burritos with plenty of fixings before they fold it up perfectly for you.
Its proximity to the State Capitol makes it my favorite quick taco between committee meetings or a great place to sit and debate policy over some tacos and horchata.
So thank you to a place that makes you feel like you been away from home too long.

Riquisimos tacos estilo Sonora. Me quede con ganas de comer mas. El señor Rafael buenisima onda muy atento con todos sus clientes. Definitivamente vuelvo

The street tacos here cost a bit more than at other street taco places, but they make up for it by giving you more meat or other filling, and the tacos are definitely the most moist you’ll find anywhere. Tastewise they’re OK, although I find that adding a bit of salt wakes up the flavors significantly. And there’s a good salsa bar offering lots of stuff to dress the taco with; definitely don’t forget to add the pickled onions on your tacos or burrito. You may find a line leading to the counter if you come around lunch hour, but the line moves reasonably fast.

Stopped here to eat on a business trip prior to a meeting. Fantastic food, great selection of meats and the best «burn» I’ve had from a salsa in a long time. I will definitely come back!
Had a carne en salsa verde burrito and a lengua taco. Definitely filled me up and tasted great!