El Chino Mexican Restaurant - Mexican restaurant in Santa Cruz - 2525 Soquel Dr STE A, USA

I made sure to eat here on three separate occasions before leaving this review to ensure my experience wasn’t an outlier or luck of the draw. I love El Chino. Each of my visits have been excellent. I have ordered a variety of items, including different types of enchiladas and tacos. The food has been consistently delicious and fresh. I cleaned my entire plate every time. Keep in mind that I visited El Chino for lunch, so I cannot speak to the service later in the evening, but I was happy to be seated and served very quickly on all three visits. The prices are fair and reasonable. I enjoyed the quiet atmosphere. There are booths and tables to sit at. This isn’t the most fancy restaurant you will ever visit, but you can expect a tasty meal and friendly service. The food arrived to my table hot and well cooked. Pretty good chips and salsa. Full Bar available, beer served in pint glasses. I will be returning to El Chino regularly. The front parking lot is small but you can access more parking in the back.

Been a long time since we'd been there. Still delicious. Service was quick and reasonably priced. They have great lunch specials.

Who doesn’t love some delicious Mexican food. I am a very picky eater, but when I find a favorite, they are my place. El Chino is a long standing Mexican restaurant here in Santa Cruz, and I guess you could call it a hole in the wall. The shredded beef is to die for. My ultimate favorite is the ranchero burrito with shredded beef. When I get bored with that, I change it up to shredded beef crunchy tacos. But everything they have is delicious! I have never been dissatisfied. Salsa is excellent. I always get a 16oz to have some at home for the week. Check them out next time you're craving delicious Mexican food.

Excellent food. The waiters and waitresses are so Kind and friendly. They make sure you are comfortable and happy with your meal. I've been coming here since I was a kid. I really love the food here. The 1 1/2 pound borrito is my favorite. 😊

This is the most important restaurant to my family and I. When we moved from Memphis, Tennessee to Santa Cruz in 2001-2002, this was the first restaurant we stopped at to eat. Therefore, we’ve been dining here for over 20 years. We still regularly dine here. We appreciate that the staff treats us like family and remembers us always since we were little kids. The most amazing thing is that after 20+ years, the food tastes exactly the same. El Chino is extremely consistent with how they prepare their food and likely where they source their food as well. We would truly be heartbroken if this business ever shut its doors.

Best sit-down Mexican food in Santa Cruz! No contest.

It was Our 1st time Visiting this Restaurant, and we were craving Good Mexican Food! So we were Lucky we found this Place when I got out of my Dentist Appt! I Ordered the Enchiladas Rancheras and they did not disappoint! My Husband Got the Plate with a Taco(Asada) and Enchilada(Pollo) And He Also Loved it! And yes we are Picky when it comes to Good Mexican Food! And again this Place did not Disappoint!!

Got a taco in each of the 4 meats and was very disappointed. Waste of 24 dollars, the man looked appalled when I asked for some chips with my terrible overpriced meal.