Taqueria La Cabana

Honestly this is a 0, but I have to give it a 1 star. My family and I decided to give this place a try. What we ordered were a bean and cheese burrito, quesedilla, pastor tacos, a burger, some type of veggie burrito and for drinks, horchata, and waters.
The food wasn’t so great, made us all sick about an hour after eating it. The water was from a cooler, and the cups were a little sticky and smelly. It doesn’t look like they take the time to really clean the place either. Never will we come here again!

First there was no asada or shrimp available yet half the menu has those two ingredients. I should have left then but… So we have carnitas enchiladas (with 2 pieces of pork in each enchilada) and chile verde plate (which was carnitas with verde sauce)
GROSS! To top it off the place is FILTHY. The chip baskets appear to never be washed. I am probably going to end up sick. Not to mention the smell from the napkin that was around the tortillas for the chile verde plate which smelled rotten.
Just say NO. Hoping my stomach doesn’t make me pay.

In a nutshell — go elsewhere. This is why.
I have been ordering from this place because they are close to work, but no longer! Not only is the wait time ridiculous every single time, but the food is never ever consistent. Last time I went not only was the pastor in my burrito burnt, but also extremely salty. I couldn’t even finish it. The tostada with carne asada was also awful because the shell was completely old and stale, leaving a gross taste in my mouth after every bite.
The time before, I had ordered a carnitas burrito and the meat tasted like it had been days old and microwaved a bunch of times. There has been some good food here, but it is not worth the disappointment to get a crummy order. I
I have called here too many times for to go orders and then upon pick-​up had to wait an extra 20 – 30 minutes, making my phone call in completely pointless. Today was a new low. I got there and say I’m there to pick up and the girl insists that they don’t have my order, that I must have called their other location — um, no. She finally finds that my order is on the line and rings me up, apologizing for the oversight. Twenty minutes later and after watching tons of food going out to other customers, I ask what is going on with mine, especially since I had called it in specifically to avoid this kind of wait. The response was that there were others in front of me — again, um, NO! It was more than half an hour at that point since I’d called it in, for one bowl of soup, one single taco, and a tostada. This is not the first time they’ve done this to me. Sorry, I don’t have time for this kind of awful service and gross food. Go to El Chipotle or Tacos Moreno instead. Seriously.

I think the food here is pretty consistently good for the price. The staff however is nice as can be and I like the ambiance, plus it’s in a convenient spot on my way home which doesn’t hurt!

comfort food in a casual environment. i’ve had really fantastic service, eg, i walk in sick, 5 minutes before they close and the woman behind the counter smiles warmly and says, «no problem. i’ll make soup for you.»
basically, you just need to know what to order and give them a minute to make your food. if you’re an anti-​carb, paleo vegan in a huge rush, you could probably skip it.
nopal tacos and caldo de pollo are great. the mole was too sweet for me, but if you’re into sweet mole, they’re very satisfying. burritos? meh. i’m not sure an enriched wheat tortilla the size of a manhole cover stuffed with sour crème, cheese, and lettuce is something you can find south of the border anyway. they’re the same as any other place in santa cruz, except cabaña has actual vegetable choices.
if you get the 2 for 1 dinner coupon, it’s ridiculously cheap. seriously. $ 10 for 2 full bellies plus leftovers?

We just ordered two large bowls of their Seafood Soup. There were few shrimp, tiny, tiny scallops, overcooked tough octopus and crab claws with no size. Their seafood broth did not even have a hint of the taste of sea in it. Without a doubt the worst «seafood» soup I have ever experienced. And each bowl was $ 12. so not inexpensive. I will never go back.

Two Star review rationale:
1. One star because the ambiance at TLC is quite nice.
2. Another star because the staffer was helpful, accommodating and a darling.
Now for the food: on paper this places looks like a score for the vegan/​vegetarian types. They have a large number of items on their menu marked as «vegetarianos». There’s even Boca Burger on the specials board. When I saw that on my scouting mission I was immediately endeared to the place. This is why it saddens me to have to give a two star review.
What’s on the menu for us? First, vegetarians & vegans can get the Super Burrito in any of the following formats:
* Spinach
* Artichoke
* Cactus
* Vegetables
* Mushroom
For $ 1 extra they prepare them «wet» with choice of red sauce, green sauce, savory molé or a combination of any two‼ Wha-​pa-​pa-​pa-​POW The Burrito is gigantic and so you won’t go wrong there. Oh, and do ask them to throw some jalapeño into the burrito. They’ll do that for you real good.
On special is their Azteca Burrito. It features artichoke hearts, cactus and many more unique ingredients. That’s what I ordered, hold the rice. Unfortunately the Azteca at the Soquel location did not live up to the expectations set by their sister store. The Azteca Burrito, billed by Taqueria La Cabaña as ‘Vegan’ arrived smothered in cheese. I’d had a conversation with the staffer there and she didn’t actually know what vegan meant. No big deal, she’s young and at least she was honest. Sadly, I don’t think the folks in the kitchen there know what vegan means either. If a dish is specifically called out as vegan on the specials board i think the management needs to take time to make sure everyone there knows what it implies. The Azteca was not bad but, for whatever reason, Taqueria La Cabaña on the west side of Santa Cruz (at Mission & Swift) makes it MUCH better. It’s quite simply the best burrito in town.
Two other things they could do to make this store rival places like Señior Jalapeño and other forward thinking restaurants:
1. Offer a whole wheat flour tortilla giving customers the illusion that they’re eating healthy.
2. Offer vegan mock meat protein like those from Gardein, Beyond Meat, Yves & Tofurkey. The TLC has Boca burgers on the menu already. Why not offer to add these to the vegan burrito?
In summary, The Soquel California location seems rough around the edges. Every problem that we encountered is fixable. I have hope for them and plan to return soon. I do appreciate their efforts to accommodate veg types like me

Two stars for a fairly creative vegetarian menu burrito wise but minus three for being so stingy with the chips and salsa like others have mentioned. When every other Mexican place in town can afford to put out 3 to five unlimited options, getting a two ounce cup out of these folks is like pulling teeth. Add five cent to the cost of the entrée give the people what they want.
But If I ever find an earthworm in my churro, there will be hell to pay.

The water container has a black look to the ring that keeps it water tight, the tray with the chips was dirty, and the burrito was cold, and mostly bland.

I am reporting this business to the Santa Cruz County Health Department. I have eaten meals in developing and under-​developed countries around the world, and I have never experienced something this disgusting in my life.
Since my last review on this restaurant, I have eaten here a handful of times… all with very mediocre results. I have just resigned to the fact that the portions of meats are slim to none, and that I will have to pay for an extra bowl of chips and salsa if I’m here with my family, as it’s «one per table», no matter how many people are eating. The problem is, it’s location is convenient for me.
Yesterday I came here with my son and fiancé. We were pretty famished when we arrived, and were surprised to find that at 5:30 on Sunday afternoon, the restaurant was relatively dead. We ordered our food, and sat down at our table to wait and enjoy our single bowl of chips and salsa. There were two other individuals ahead of us. 45 minutes later, my 7 year olds two chicken tacos came out. I’m beginning to growl. 5 minutes after that, my fiances enchiladas come out. 5 minutes later, my bowl of Siete Mares came out.
Bummed by the lack of flavor of the scalding-​hot broth, I asked the girl at the register for limes and jalapeño’s. «There will be an extra charge for the jalepenos». «Extra charge for jalepenos?» I asked in disgust…“yes”, she responded; «do you still want the limes?». Of course I said yes.
Upon returning to my meal, I began to sort through the various animal parts, including octopus tentacles that were literally like chewing on chunks of car ties. But, I continued braving through it. Finding a large clam in the bottom of the soup, I inquisitively opened it, hoping to find something edible. When I opened it, a dark black rot spilled from it, making the soup around it look like it was inked by a cuttlefish. The «clam» that was in the bottom of the soup was filled with what appeared to be brackish estuary muck, like something harvested from the mud under the Santa Cruz harbor. And, with it, a cooked worm sticking out. See my photo’s for more clarity.
Of course I shared my grievances with the young woman at the counter, explaining not only the disgusting nature of the meal, but also the very real dangers of it. The poor girl was afraid of loosing her job, and she insisted that I speak with the owner. The owner came out, and I explained to her that I will never eat there again because of the stingy business practice, excessive wait times, and now this nasty silt, mud and worm filled clam in my soup. Her response is really what disgusted me the most. «I’m sorry, no charge for the meal, but it’s Not My Fault. The clams were closed when I cooked them… it’s Not My Fault». This is absolutely terrible business. Rotten shellfish can not only make people ill; it can kill. This business is not only stingy, overpriced, under-​serviced, but it is putting myself and my family at serious risk. By eating here, you are seriously putting yourself and your families health in jeopardy. I hope to see the Santa Cruz County Health Department take action against their establishment.
Go to El Chipotle. They are honest, hard working, kind, generous people who ALWAYS have a full house.

Poorly managed. They screwed up four of the seven orders placed while I was there, including mine. My girlfriend was finished eating well before my order came out of the kitchen. Other guests were asking for refunds.
The meat was cooked so long it was as tough as jerky. There was over a quarter inch of oil the meat was drowning in.
I will never return.

We come here when we have the 2 for 1 coupon on the back of the Safeway receipt. The shrimp tacos are great and so is everything we’ve eaten here. The service can be slow so don’t go if you’re in a hurry. The place must get hit hard at lunch time when the high school students go there. Worth a try.

Waste of money and time.
Very slow service. The food is mediocre. You have to pay for chips and salsa, the chips were stale and the salsa was bland. The pico de gallo was a small bowl of onion with a few chunks of tomato that you had to fish for. Not worth it.
My husband ordered a surf and turf burrito mojado, it was supposed to include shrimp and carne asada. And he also added nopales to the burrito. I ordered nachos with carne asada. The nachos weren’t horrible but not great. It came with a tiny blob of runny guacamole and sour cream. The burrito looked decent, but after cutting a few pieces husband realized there wasn’t any meat or shrimp. He cut down the middle of the burrito to take a look inside and there was only cabbage, rice, nopales and sour cream. Instead of the cook acknowledging that they messed up his order, he decided to argue about it, implying that my husband ordered the wrong item. We got our money back. We will never return. Save yourself the headache and avoid this place.

Their spinach enchiladas are one of my all time favorite dishes! Great food at a great price.

Cactus tacos have a nice hot kick to them!

Worst Chile Colorado I’ve ever had in my life. It was like eating a cheap frozen microwaved meal– sticky, heavy, funky sauce texture. Obviously far from freshly made. Scarce tIny fatty pieces of strange overly chewy meat. $ 10 down the toilet.

Came here with a 2 for 1 coupon from Savemart. The food was just okay and over priced. Shimp in the enchiladas did not taste very fresh. Unfortunately, the service was bad too. We waited a long time for the food and when it arrived they’d forgotten some important things like serving torillias with the chicken fajitas. Next time, we’ll save our dollars for Taqueria Vallarta which would have been better and less money that we spent here with a 2 for 1 coupon.

really sorry Taqueria, but the beans really tasted crummy. the chips even tasted stale. Didn’t like my fish tacos, too watery or was that greasy? ugh. I really didn’t want to eat it. I like your table set ups, and having outside places to eat which I can also bring my dog (outside) and also the little kids. but the food sucks and I won’t be coming again

I want to extend a huge thanks to the staff at Taqueria La Cabana for their wonderful service, patience and great energy. My dad’s 14 & Under softball team had a tourney out in Soquel the other day. After finishing up, all the players and families decided to stop into this taqueria, more like a shock-​eria in this instance with a nice party of 40 walking in, before hitting the road home. The La Cabana staff toiled away and worked tirelessly and effortlessly all throughout our lunch. The nice man at the counter taking all the orders did a commendable job. He took each order with a smile, served everyone complimentary chips and salsa and kept everything very streamlined.
We all enjoyed the tasty Mexican food outside on their sun-​drenched patio. A flotilla of big burritos (sizable enough to be split by two), colorful tacos, fresh tamales, teeming nachos and sizzling chile rellenos and enchiladas floated by. My mom wasn’t a big fan of her chicken torta, which was drenched in mustard and a profuse amount of sour cream. No fault of theirs, since it was so busy she forgot to customize it. My dad ordered the chorizo and eggs plate, served with tortillas, which he enjoyed. Breakfast plates are only served till 2, but they let him order the chorizo and eggs even though it was 330, which was very nice. They got all the orders correct and brought everything out very quickly. Smile
The Mexican ice cream bars (mango, strawberry, banana, chocolate, cookies ‘n cream, coffee and more) were a great refreshing way to finish our lunch. I enjoyed my mango bar with large fruit chunks and creamy texture.
Thanks again, La Cabana!

The chips at this place are God awful…
Now that that’s out of the way, the burrito was solid. It had good flavour, though the beans seemed to taste a little «fishy» at times… At any rate, it was huge and well priced. Overall I enjoyed the burrito, and the people at the place were really nice.