Taqueria Los Pericos

Just a consistently good cheap mex food joint with super burritos. What else to say? Open seating environment with salsa bar, couple video games for the kids, tv playing something in Spanish. Typically pretty busy but efficient/​quick. What every neighborhood needs.

Definitely a great spot for late night tacos. Tacos are FILLED with meat. Not taco truck prices but it is worth it if you rather go somewhere and sit down to eat. Free chips and salsa while you wait. Gets filled with the club crowd on the weekends but even then its not unbearable.

I love this place. I will drive from Fremont to San Leandro to eat here. Ha! Anyone that knows me knows that I like to stay close to home, if possible. The carnitas? The best!!! The salsas are all amazing. The chips always taste fresh. The house made red sauce? I could drink that stuff. It’s so good. The only tiny issues I have are: it is slightly expensive. BT and I eat here and the bill totals almost 30 bucks (without alcohol) for the two of us. Believe me, it’s worth the cost, but just want to put that out there. Additionally, the place is a little grimey at times. But, this is because so many people eat here that there is constantly traffic, in and out. The people that work here are very nice too. Oh, parking can be a pain at times, but you’ll find something eventually.

Disappointed :(
Saw the reviews and thought that we were in for a treat, but the meat was dry, the salsa was uninspired, the portions were mediocre and the price wasn’t cheap…
Not sure I’ll be revisiting…

You know the face Homer Simpson makes when he’s just finished eating something good? That’s how I feel every time I come here! Read all my recent reviews… The food is all so amazing.

I’ve had burritos and nachos from here. Love their crispy chips and the unlimited salsa bar. I’ve had the carnitas and while it was tasty it was also very oily. The grilled chicken was not my favorite, it tasted like boiled chicken and it was dry, it was also flavorless. My friend had the grilled tilapia burrito and he enjoyed it very much. I will need to come back and try other things but definitely stick with the nachos.

The service was okay, but a couple times, the person at the front taking our order told us to stop, because we were ordering too fast, which had never been a problem for me before.
The food was mediocre, it wasn’t bad but it wasn’t good.
The seating was okay it wasn’t bad quality.

Got a wet burrito here for the first time as I was just in the area and was in the mood for Mexican food! It is delicious! Full of flavor and on top of that, chips and all types of salsa are free with order! I love how spicy the sauces are and how they have fresh carrot or orange juice! You can see it right next to the cash register! Awesome! Will be back!

We go here often, but I need to check in more frequently. The place is consistent, and very reasonable for a quick inexpensive Mexican food dinner. The food is a bit greasy but overall is is tasty and good. We usually order the Super Nachos here, and a steak taco. The nachos are always very good. This time we ordered some carnitas tacos and the carnitas was a bit dry.
The chips are always good so we usually fill up quickly here and enjoy the casual ambiance. Los Pericos is always full of people so it has a nice energy to it. We get a out of here for under $ 20 for a reliable Mexican dinner fix. We will be back so.

I like the food, the taco servings are always huge and you can have as much chips as you want.
Cons: they have a hobo problem, been here twice where they know there’s homeless guys and women and they don’t kick them out, they just eat the left over food on the table and touch the salsa bar and drink from the soda fountain using used cups… that is not sanitary!!! You don’t realize how this drives me crazy#!##
Although I will comeback, knowing this I’d go for takeout.

PROS:
1) Pretty good tacos, got the carne asada tacos for $ 2.69. Wish they were juicier but they were still pretty good.
2) Very spacious restaurants. Plenty of tables
CONS:
1) Not as juicy as I’d hope
2) No taco Tuesday deals?!
3) (not really a fair con but kind of) Their NBA channel didn’t work so we couldn’t watch the Warrior game. Lolol
OVERALL: Good tacos. Not the best but it’ll do for being 5 minutes away!

Los Pericos is somewhat of a dynasty in San Leandro. On East 14^th alone, they have three taquerias within a span of a couple of miles. They have branched out to Hayward and Dublin as well.
We used to eat here more often, but we have cut down somewhat now that there are many more options in downtown San Leandro. Meals here are fairly inexpensive and quick, so it remains a popular destination in downtown San Leandro, despite the recent arrivals of Chipotle and The Habit Burger.
We almost always get their super tacos, either the carnitas or the carne asada. They give you a lot of meat on the super taco, along with guacamole and sour cream, so 2 of these tacos should be enough. Sometimes, the hubby will get the super nachos in lieu of the tacos, and we’ll share that as well. They use real cheese, not the Velveeta kind, and they pile on a lot of it with all the other stuff on chips. We never order the combination plates. Don’t need the extra carbs coming from the rice and beans. God know we eat enough of their chips! Their burritos are huge, so if you’re really hungry and want to get the ultimate bang for your buck, then order that by all means. You may even have leftovers for lunch the next day!
For about $ 17 for the two of us (without drinks as we don’t drink soda), our dinners here are very cheap. It’s not a full service restaurant, but they do deliver your food to your table and bus your plates. They don’t use the best of ingredients, but their food has flavor and we always leave completely satisfied. It’s also one of the very few restaurants open until 11 pm!

The lines may get long, especially on Taco Tuesdays, but the salsa bar is worth it. Located in Pelton Center, it is probably the busiest of the Los Pericos taquerias in the East Bay. It’s likely the biggest, too, though it’s no frills for sure. You order, take it to go or find an empty booth. Recently, my daughter and I were treated to a mariachi quartet singing classics, «y volver, volver, vol-​VERRRR!» We happily tipped the guys as we enjoyed our orders. My daughter had a chicken taco and I enjoyed a veggie burrito which was so huge I had the other half for lunch the next day. Prices have gotten higher over the years and parking sucks. Still a San Leandro fave.

Stars: 3.5
PROTIP: Don’t come here when you’re supposed to go to the gym later that day.
I chose this place for dinner, and sadly, my boyfriend and I went straight home instead of going to the gym, haha!
Their endless tortilla chips were thick and crispy… empty carbs… yet so addicting and delicious. Their salsa bar is awesome! They have a gazillion containers and caps, and the bar is situated so that multiple people could grab their goodies at the same time. Pico de gallo and cilantro sauce are always my fav.
I ordered a wet special quesadilla with carne asada ($ 1.50 more than the regular). Goodness… this thing was HUGE. I only ate ¼th of it and was stuffed. Leftovers for days! I recommend this dish wet for people who like it saucy!
My boyfriend got the same thing, but not wet. I tried a bit of his and it was crispy and delicious.
Mexican food is usually on the heavy side, but for some reason the food affected both my boyfriend and I a lot more than usual (as opposed to when we go to other Mexican restaurants). I could feel the food just sitting in my stomach. It made us both feel extremely blech for the rest of the night, and we both didn’t even finish all of our food!
Also, before we dug into our food, a homeless guy started talking to us, except we couldn’t hear anything he was saying because he was basically whispering… that made us feel really uncomfortable, but of course I can’t blame the restaurant for that… might just be the location?
But despite the fact… I would still come back here if I was ever in the area, cause it’s a solid Mexican restaurant!

Invariably, my reviews are going to be coloured by the fact that I am a vegetarian. Those that have a problem with this (and I know who you are) can go along with your lives — eating the flesh of living creatures and feeling no remorse about it.
If I were a meat eater, this place would certainly get 4 stars. As such, I must be satisfied with the fact that they have a vegetarian burrito that, while a bit expensive at $ 7 + tax, certainly satisfies the stomach.
The best thing about this place is the fact that they have ready to go bowls of tortilla chips warmed by a heating lamp, which you can simply grab and bring over to the well-​stocked salsa bar. Any mexican place that doesn’t have a salsa bar is kidding itself, but this salsa bar sets the bar (ahem) a bit higher than most, with an excellent variety of different salas, a delicious tomato-​heavy, homemade pico de gallo, and of course hot carrots and jalepenños.
I keep coming here for a reason, even if I only have one option to choose from.

Free chips + salsa bar?! Wait, you had me at free. The chips are super fresh, thick, and crunchy. Lightly salted. Multiple salsas to choose from and some pickled veggies. A ton of limes — WHO DOESN’T LOVE LIMES ON THEIR MEH-​HEE-​CAN FOOD!!!
I always get the carnitas. May it be a quesadilla, taco, plate, burrito… It’s that perfect blend of salty, fatty, crunchy, chewiness that I look for in my shredded pork. They also have beef tongue which is delish! I hear from the group that I eat with that the al pastor is bomb. I just can’t stray away from my carnitas. Not worth tasting more amazingness when I’m ALWYAS satisfied with my carnitas! By the way, buche is intestines (they don’t translate it for you so know what you’re getting when you’re ordering it).
If I were a fan of seafood, I’d probably try the ceviche. I ALWAYS see people with these ginormous goblets of shrimp. I’d be down if were into shrimp.
Pro-​tip:
Park in the shared lot + get 31 flavors after.
TLDR:
Get the carnitas.

Love this place so much. My friend brought me here when I first moved to San Leandro, because she knows I always need to have a solid Mexican restaurant nearby. This is definitely it! I am pretty picky about Mexican food and have eaten at a LOT of Mexican restaurants in my day, and I would say this place is in my top 3. They have lots of menu options guaranteed to please anyone in your group. I love their soft tacos the most. I like to get 2 carnitas and 1 steak, or 2 steak and 1 carnitas. They really pile on the meat and toppings, you get a lot of bang for your buck with these. The meat is always tender and tasty with minimal fat, just the way I like it!
Their super wet burritos are another favorite in my house. They are so big you can eat them for 2 meals. My boyfriend, who is a big eater, can’t even finish his when he gets one. They stuff it full of your choice of meat and all the extras, and top it with either a red or green sauce as well as tons of cheese. Both sauces are good but we both prefer the green sauce – its got a little more kick to it. While I do love the super wet burrito, its a bit too heavy for me most of the time so I generally stick with the lighter tacos and sneak bites of the BFs burrito.
My only issue with this place is that the salsa bar is ALWAYS messy. And I mean always. I dont know if they don’t wipe it down often enough or if people are just THAT bad at scooping salsa. But it drives me nuts. The salsa is very tasty though so I let it slide. It would just be nice if I didn’t have to worry about putting anything down on the salsa bar and having it get drenched in spilled salsa. A minor issue but they could definitely work on keeping the whole FOH cleaner than it is.
Also, call ahead if you plan to take out. They tend to get crowded and while they do get food out pretty fast, it still shaves off 10 – 15 mins and you can just grab the food and go. Since they get so crowded, there’s often no where to wait for you food if you order take-​out while there, so you just end up milling about awkwardly as you dodge servers and people trying to get to the salsa bar.
Overall this place is some of the best Mexican in the East Bay in my opinion and if you’re looking for a solid Mexican restaurant in San Leandro with a ton of options at great prices, Taqueria Los Pericos is the way to go!

There are two «Taqueria Los Pericos» on E14 st. Friends and I usually go to the other one, which is smaller and less decorative. This time we had a larger group and decided to try this other restaurant.
The inside is way bigger and has festive paintings on the wall, which help transport you away from California and perhaps to somewhere more exotic. The menu is pretty much the same (I didn’t notice any differences, but I could be wrong). Maybe it is loyalty, but we thought that the other Taqueria Los Pericos had better food. The food here is still great (except for the chips, which were old and stale with a weird lingering after taste) with heaping portions.
Might come back here if we have a larger group, but we will probably go to the other restaurant.
Ambiance: ³⁄₅
Food: ³⁄₅
Service: ³⁄₅
Overall Experience: ³⁄₅

On Saturday, 1÷17÷15, my girlfriend and I ate at Los Pericos for breakfast. We’ve eaten at this Los Pericos a few times. We were in the mood for some tacos.
Atmosphere:
This Los Pericos is located in the Pelton Center. It’s pretty big inside with plenty of tables to sit at. They even have a TV towards the back of the taqueria. They have a few arcade games you can play while waiting for your food. I had my eye on Street Fighter. I’ll hit up Street Fighter next time.
Food:
I ordered a carne asada soft taco, carnitas soft taco and a pastor soft taco. All of the soft tacos were topped with onions, cilantro and salsa. The tacos were really good! Their tacos are always on point. They are very generous with the meat. The carne asada had good flavor and the steak had minimal fat. It seems like they use good quality beef. The carnitas taco was delicious. The carnitas tasted fresh and had that perfect crisp texture. It was very flavorful as well. Best carnitas in San Leandro so far. This was my first time trying pastor at this Los Pericos and I’m glad I did. It was great! The pork was very tasty and had great flavor. I liked the salsa they put on the taco as well. There was a lil heat but it was tolerable.
Service:
The guy that took our order at the register was very nice and polite. Our tacos came out very quickly. We only waited a few minutes before our food came out.
Overall:
I like this Los Pericos located in the Pelton Center a lot more compared to the other Los Pericos literally right down the street. Everything seems so much fresher at the Pelton Center Los Pericos. Their tacos are very good. Their meats always taste fresh and flavorful. If you want some good Mexican food go give the Pelton Center Los Pericos a try.

Yahoo. This place is so good.
Very divey and chill. Everyone is there for some good Mexican food. Prices are AMAZING. Taste is right on.
Lots of kids running round :/​Not a fan.
Bathrooms are dirty.

I love a good taco, and I wholeheartedly recommend Los Pericos’ fish tacos and pollo asado tacos!
On the burrito front, everyone should try the pastor version once ;) Pollo asado also works wonderfully in the burrito — yeah, I’m a fan of LP’s pollo asado.
The fresh salsa bar is great, and I appreciate the foam beverage cups — great for hot days!
For breakfast, chilaquiles are as good as those at The Office in Cabo San Lucas (I order them without meat, and love every bite!)
I find the food is best from opening until early dinner — don’t wait until minutes before closing before getting your grub on!