El Tepeyac Cafe - Boyle Heights
| Address: | 812 N Evergreen Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA |
| Phone: | +1 323-268-1960 |
| Site: | manuelseltepeyaccafe.com |
| Rating: | 4.4 |
| Working: | 6AM–8PM 6AM–8PM 6AM–8PM 6AM–8PM 6AM–11PM 6AM–11PM 6AM–9:45PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 6
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Jason Lum
Is that a 5 lb burrito or are you just happy to see me? Finding El Tepeyac was a bit of a trek, especially if traveling from OC. If you use a gps navigator, it will weave you in and out of streets that you have never been too. When you finally get there you will see a restaurant that stand out on its own across the street from a church and a school. I not sure if the locals visit this place, but I am positive that there was a lot of anticipation going in to El Tepeyac. I think everyone in line was a Manuels virgin and everyone watched Man Vs Food. I tried not to fear the hype and give this restaurant a fair chance. I was praying that Adam Richman would not let us down. Mr. Manuel was very nice to greet all his waiting customers and insure that he would take good care of us. After about 30 minutes of waiting (not bad), I was finally inside! (no pun intended) On the menu, the legendary Manuel Special was staring me in the face. I thought I should know my limits and just order a regular. Everything look good on the menu and everything was around 8-10 dollars, except 20 ish for the Manuel Special. I saw a family of 5 try to take on this, but failed. Im pretty sure I could finish it with 2 or 3 people :P. I took on the Hollenbeck Chili Verde. The 2.5 lb baby version of the famous 5 lb. Man o Man was it good! The only reason I didnt finish it. I wanted to save a small portion for a friend to try. Honestly, I excepted it to blow my socks off, which it didnt, but man did it bring back memories of going to a friends house and getting homemade slow roasted pork at a friends birthday party. Everything in the burrito went together perfectly. MMMmm Cheese, gucamole, beens, and chili verde pork MMMM. I think I just made myself hungry writing this review. The service was exceptional. It was a little busy, so dont except 5 star service. The El Tepeyac staff made me feel like they actually wanted to serve and please the customers. Unlike, most restaurant where the servers have a "I hate my life" look underneath the fake smile. If I am ever in the LA area and my friend offers to drive. I will definitely go back. If you are trekking from OC, I suggest Maybe going... Highly recommend to locals. The best in LA? Thats for you to decide. I barely scratched the service of fine Mexican food dinning in LA. Best MVF restaurant so far... Orochon Ramen and Philippe The Original were okay.
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A Private User
I got turned onto this place by a street racing legend "Screwy Louie" Dawson from So. California; a friend of the legendary "Big Willie" Robinson and the Brotherhood Raceway on Terminal Island. The first time I was taken to El Tepeyac and I set my eyes on a Manuels Special was in 1982,it cost an astounding $6.99 and at the time weighed 5 1/2 pounds. I sat in amazement as I watched my new "buddy" Louie eat the whole thing. He went on to tell me the story about him at the counter; he ordered a Manuels Special...ate it,got a free one from Mama,ate that and ate a whole taco plate to boot....the counter stool snapped off and he hit the floor,all 420 pounds of him. The next time he came back they had fixed the stool,re-enforcing it just for him. The next time I got to go there with him I tryed to eat a whole one myself,he told me to start fast,do not drink anything unless you have to,and do not stop,not even to pee....I got 3/4 of it eaten....it was my best eating,never got that far again. I have told everyone here down South of this Legend in East Los Angeles,and no one believes me until I show them the picture I took of it next to a dollar bill at my Dads house....That is all it takes. I WISH I could have one shipped to Georgia...I WISH.
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nyx M
Sorry not trying to give them a bad review or anything just being honest. Drove 3 hrs to this place complete disappointment rude customer service at first. We were first timers so we walked in n someone stopped us a the door n said we need to wait outside with an attitude then we get called in and they had plenty of chairs n tables made us wait in the cold fir abiut 10 min or so.service was pretty fast drinks had no flavor u cant go wrong with soda so the soda taste as it should horchata n Jamaica was flavorless.my burrito was warm on the inside the sauce too which was horrible flavor enchilada sauce my tortilla was cold. The portions are pretty big but over priced food (TAMS BURGERS) R BETTER N BIG PORTIONS THEY ALSO SELL MEXICAN FOOD Brought the leftovers to feed them to my dog. To top it off it gave me really bad heartburn n gas for days. There chile verde meat was hard like if they cook it n freeze it or something.WILL NEVER TRUST MAN VS FOOD. Trust all these other reviews off bad customer service n super rude young guys eyeing my 14 yr old daughter n my 18 yr old sister in law n making comments of god knows what
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Deborah Chavez
My husband and I have been coming here for over 30 years. The food and service used to be the best you could find anywhere. Sad to say but ever since Manuel got sick and started spending less and less time there the kids got more and more greedy. Today you go there and the food has changed for the worst and the service, I dont even want to go there. But somehow they keep raising the prices. We used to go and there would be a line all the way to the driveway sometimes past. All the seating outside would be full. My son and I went there just the other day the parking lot was empty the outside tables were empty the service was lousy and the food was not much to write home about and the prices were crazy high. Sad to say but that was the last time well be there. I just feel bad for Manuel because he worked so hard to make it such a successful business and now the kids have just let it slip through their fingers. RIP Manuel
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Lucy Dee
truly the original! My family has been eating this food for generations. My dad and my mom used to come here when they first moved to LA in their 20s, and I remember them bringing it home from when I was little. So many families have stories like this of eating here. Get the machaca burrito, or the machaca bowl. You really get a bang for your buck, with delicious beef and onions and peppers piled high covered in cheese, and a wonderful side of guac with the machaca bowl. That paired with some chips is truly to die for. Friends have gotten the pollo burrito, and my dads favorite is the Hollenbeck. Taquitos and tacos here are yum too!
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Christian Davis
Hands down maybe the best Mexican spot in nor cal. I gave it 4 stars for taste and if i can rate how the place look, I would give it a 2. If i can rate cleanliness i will give it a 0. Place gets busy and for a first timer i really thought that the food was delicious up until i saw a F*****g HAIR in my burrito. I guess that gave it a lot of flavor. Yamaha. So for those guys that work there maybe u guys can wear a hairnet just to keep them hairs of the food. So as much as how i think the place is, i might not comeback. Ghats $50 out the drain for all the food i ordered.
