Carnitas El Rey

Friendly staff and amazing carnitas. We ordered the 1 pound family deal. That is more than enough for 2 to 3 people. The homemade corn tortillas were soft, thin and large. Delicious. The Mixta carnitas had cueritos and buche, also delicious. They serve Jarritos and mexican Coke. The salsa Roja was sweet and slightly spicy.the pico de gallo was yummy. The combo has rice and frijoles de hoya. These are authentic Michoacan carnitas .

They specialize in carnitas. You can just walk in and out with POUNDS of the stuff for group events. I like to get a container of carnitas and a container ''mixed'' (with skin and stomach lining)

Best Carnitas around. I have always loved carnitas though it is very hard to find good carnitas. The taste is definitely key but the meats and the different types are key. Personally, I like them to include a good amount of fat not just the meaty stuff as I find it dry otherwise. If I must say, I'd say that I like Michoacán-Style carnitas which appears to include cuero and buche. I am sure there are other differences. Luckily for us, they will ask you what you want included and the ratios. I get everything except the buche and like a 60/40 carnitas and cuero ratio. As far as the experience, I have been here a couple of times with my wife whom is not a big fan of the carnitas because of how fatty they can be but she likes them here so that gives you an insight into how good they are. We came today and we took 2 lbs ($11.99/lbs) to go and as always, they are delicious. Came at around 9:30 in the morning and they were already pretty busy for being and the fact that they only sell carnitas with limited options for eating them, tells you how good it must be. Plenty of people eating inside and many more standing on line waiting to be helped. Yes, you have to order upfront but they're fast. They don't have many options; basically carnitas by themselves (add an order of tortillas and you can make yourself tacos with as much carnitas as you want). You can get them with rice and/or beans, or tacos already made and I believe they now serve burritos. I can't say everything is good (rice, beans, salsas and tortillas) because they don't standout except for their tortillas which are big and handmade. You have to pay for them (unless you get the tacos) separately but considering how good they are, it is worth the extra cost. Overall, I'd say it is a little pricey but totally worth it. I do have a complaint since you have to pay for their salsas...at least to go and i find the cost expensive. I believe the salsa is part of the Michoacán-Style carnitas, I personally don't care for it so I probably won't keep buying them. If I recall correctly, the salsa bar is available for free if eating inside but to pay for it to go? Come on, if anything I'd say salsa should be limited but free based on what you order. I'd totally recommend this place though they should look into serving beer. The only better place, I'd recommend a place in Baja California (Rosarito Area) that I recently found on one of our last trips otherwise this place is your place. Realistically, no one is driving hours just for food so I am super glad we found this place and only half hour away. If you know better ones, let me know and we might be willing to drive there to try them out.

The best food place In Oxnard taste wise and cost wise. I recommend adding a lot of lemon to your tacos. Also try the Taco which only has the cheeks meat in it, i personally think they are better than the tacos which have the skin, cheeks and meat mixed.

This place is all about the carnitas. And the homemade tortillas, salsas, fresh beans and rice. Tasty and the staff are friendly and helpful. Jarritos and Mexican coke, and a few other options for beverages. A vending machine inside in case you want some chips or different beverage. Will be back next time I'm rolling thru Ventura

Favorite Carnitas Spot in all of Southern California. Had to stop by to eat on my road trip from Oregon. Te amo Carnitas El Rey.

Quick and efficient service. Small menu but they provide quality, which is always good. I like the family business and I hope they do good and opening another location. A lot of locals walk in and enjoy their food. Enough tables to eat and also the salsa bar is really nice. You cannot beat the price and 1 taco for $2.50 + tax is worth it, because they have homemade tacos that are the size of a burrito. If you like to take out, no problem and also they provide meat to sell by the pound $8.99+tax. Provecho! (enjoy)

Great and fast service. The carnitas, chicharrón, and innards area are slow roasted and falls apart. The corn tortilla and salsa are homemade. Had the 1 lb. family meal.

Best carnitas in town definitely!!! Whenever I'm in the mood for carnitas, El Rey is the first place that comes to mind !

I really liked the carnitas here!! They ran out of skin for the mixed carnitas, but the meat alone was surprisingly tender and still juicy. It's definitely better than any carnitas I've had in the Bay Area. They also LOAD the taco up with meat. I came in thinking that this was really pricey for two tacos, but these are way bigger than your average street taco. I can usually eat 12 street tacos, but 2 tacos here got me moderately full. Compared to Carnitas El Momo, it was slightly more bland. However, paired with the salsa, I didn't have much issues. I definitely suggest salting a bit more though. The staff was friendly. I'll definitely come back!

Great food. Fast service. Good price. I always order the two taco combo. Soooo yummy! Highly recommend!

Best place to get carnitas! The service is always FANTASTIC!! Super friendly and family owned restaurants. I have only been to this location, but I'm super excited to see that they are opening a new location walking distance from my home!! The carnitas are always so flavorful, tender and fresh. Everything is so good! The tortillas are freshly made and huge! I love their green salsa, pico de gallo, rice and beans too. Their portions are very generous! My family have been coming to this location for years and we'll always be faithful customers. The restaurant is clean and the decor is cute! My mom is from Michoacán and I tell you that the food here is very authentic!

I was told that this is the Carnitas spot of all Carnitas spots in the 805. I had been eager to try this place for awhile now and finally had the chance to come in for an early lunch on a weekday. The restaurant itself is small, unassuming, and a real local treat. There is a parking lot behind the restaurant which made it easy to get in and out. The restaurant itself isn't too big and we were really in awe of how crowded it gets here, even for an early lunch on a weekday. So definitely come early so you don't have to wait in line too long and so you can grab a table. The layout is simple enough, order at the counter, they chop up the carnitas servings fresh and build your plate. Once done ordering you pay at the register and grab a seat. Pricing is average, a two taco combo plate with rice, beans, and a drink ran me about $15+. The portions are a really good size though, they don't skimp on the meat. Staff were friendly and kept the line moving, no issues. The carnitas are solid but I personally found them to be a tad overhyped. I don't cook a lot well but I prefer my carnitas over theirs here (and that's shocking to say). I think while they give a good portion of pork and it was juicy, there lacked any real seasoning or flavor to the meat. I also prefer a bit more of a crunchy skin. For carnitas tacos they were definitely good but not a place I'd rush right back too. Another good bite was the rice. Traditional Mexican rice it was moist and flavorful. The beans were average, not bad but not my preferred style but that's more a preference thing. Lastly I was a bit disappointed that the Jamaica drink wasn't freshly made, comes out of box soda stream thing in the back. Bummer. All in all the service was friendly and the atmosphere felt very family like and inviting. Good classic neighborhood vibes which I can appreciate. And clearly their carnitas are good to the general public, I just like mine with a little more seasoning and crunch. It's nice to have a spot to go to for some good carnitas tacos when I'm not in the mood to cook them myself. If your in downtown Oxnard it's definitely a staple taco spot to try out at least once.

First timer! I had friends from Australia visiting and they wanted authentic Mexican food. They loved the tacos! They even had a vegan option for me! I definitely recommend this restaurant.

Family Dinner #2 is our perfect meal for 4 adult eaters ordering bonus lg size salsa roja, salsa verde and pico. Comes with 2 lb carnitas, lg whole beans & delicious rice and homemade tortillas- had some tortilla chips at home to scoop up all the great flavors! That's how we do Taco Tuesday!! Service is friendly and efficient and there are some inside tables but I always take my order home. Carnitas are flavorful and perfectly roasted without drying out meat. Consistently good and can't wait for the new Ventura location to open on Main St!

I go here all the time simply cooked carnitas tacos is all you're gonna get but you won't want anything else

I've been coming to this place since they first open. I've tried other places, but I like this one the best. Inflation has cause prices to go up but it is still worth the value. Carnitas are tasty, costillas are also available upon request. The staff is always friendly and place is well kept. Definite a place worth trying.

Staff was helpful, since this was our first time here. This restaurant serves ONLY carnitas. Tacos. Burritos or family style,carnitas by the pound or combo plates. The atmosphere was chill and relaxed, family friendly. The carnitas were tendery delicious. We will be back.

Great food , love the carnitas, I try to stop by at least once a month and feast like a king

The best. Nothing comes close. Get the Two taco combo, one with all Carnitas and one "Surtida" with all the different cuts. Enjoy!

We usually go to Carnitas El Brother, which is delicious, but a neighbor recommended this place to us so we thought we'd try it for our Dia de los Muertos party. The menu on their website wasn't working and the only one I could find on yelp was from April 2023. At that time, 15 lbs of carnitas was $289.99. So I figured the price was going to be at least similar now. I sent my roommate to pick it up and I just saw the receipt and it came to a total of $349.59! So the price has gone up to $319.99. I looked an an older photo of the menu from January of 2022 and the price was $100 cheaper at $219! They've raised thier price for 15 lbs of carnitas by $100 in less than 2 years. The meat, while tasty, was not at all crispy and had way too much skin in it (which I don't like). We asked for it to be put on the side and they sent it all mixed in. Not a difficult instruction to follow. So, we'll be going back to Carnitas El Brother.

It true two stars Why .?? Money had changed this business not in a good way for the customer.!!! The food is low quality and it's measured like we are animals.!! They have kids working there so expect that kind of attention on your order m

Definitely the king of carnitas!! Awesome place! Fantastic food. We've been going there for years and now we are extremely excited that we'll have a new location close to us in Ventura. If you are visiting for the first time don't be afraid to ask them for mixed carnitas (all the different textures and flavors complement each other). We love the 2 lbs family combo, for $50 4 people eat well for lunch and dinner (we also eat more than the average joe, so make that 6 people... ). I can't say enough about their food, in fact, let me just go get me some Carnitas El Rey right now... bye!

Came back for a second visit 1 year later. They keep racking up championship trophies and even added another location! The carnitas are still luscious, the tacos are still huge and loaded up with meat, and the salsa bar full of awesome salsas and chiles is open now! Highly recommend this place!!!

Wow how things have changed since my last review 6 years ago. The food itself is still excellent tasting, the carnitas are soft and I still stand by that they have the best mexican rice I've ever tasted to the point where I will come back just for the rice. Now the not so good. Prices have increased dramatically, I get that inflation has increased prices everywhere, but I feel like this place just took it too far especially compared to their competition not more than 5 miles away. Within a year their 1lb family meal increased by $6. It used to be the family meal was a pretty good value, but if you price everything out now, it's just the normal price of everything included in the meal, no savings at all. I mean a large rice is now almost $8! For rice! Another issue is portion. My last visit I ordered 2 tacos and a small rice. The rice container wasn't even filled all the way, used to be that thing was filled to the brim. The tacos were a little light on the carnitas is the kindest way to say it. It used to be the tacos were big enough to make 3 separate tacos, but recently it's about half of what they used to give you but at nearly double the price. I still contend that this is a good spot, they have a great salsa bar(dine in only), the tortillas are still taste homemade, and once again, the rice is worth coming back for. My suggestion would be just to buy the carnitas by the pound, get an order of tortillas and eat in to take advantage of the salsa bar instead of getting charged the ridiculous prices they're charging for those things. For a more affordable option, Carnitas Mi Rancho on Saviers. They're rice is not as good and neither are their tortillas, but the carnitas are on point and everything is still affordable.

They're all wearing mask! Anyway, this place is consistent!!! Consistently the best!!!

If you want carnitas? this is the only place in Oxnard to go. It gets INSANELY busy here around lunch time. So be prepared. And or go early or later to avoid the long lines. Their carnitas are fresh and absolutely cooked and marinated to perfection. Their options on salsas are great. They have MANY. Their pico de gallo is fresh. I overlooked the old look inside that needs to be remodeled. I would of given it 4 stars because of this. But the fact that the food just outweighs all of it. You look past it. The staff is very friendly and always helpful and I've never had an issue here. Been coming here for years. Would I recommend this place? without question YES. This is the GO TO spot for carnitas. PERIOD.

El servicio es bueno y rapido, y de la comida ni se diga, Simplemente las mejores carnitas que hay en el condado de ventura !!!

I love Carnitas estilo Michoacan, the tortillas are good and salsas delirious, friendly service

We got the 1lb combo for 2 people and loved it! We got a mix of carnitas savory carnitas and creamy buche. The tortillas were warm and soft, way different from tortillas I'm used to, and they were halfway between street taco and burrito sized. The salsa was bomb! The rice, beans, and pico de gallo were fresh but about what you'd expect. My friend and I were stuffed and could only finish half of the food. This place was delicious and I highly recommend! Parking is street parking or in the lot behind but it can be full fast.

Holy moly are these tacos delicious! For more than 40 years, I thought I didn't like carnitas. After eating here, I realized I was wrong. I just hadn't had GOOD carnitas. These are moist and delicious. They fall right apart and just kind of melt in your mouth. Get the spicy sauce. There is usually a line, but it moves quickly and these tacos are worth the wait.

Outstanding carnitas, tortillas, beans, variety of salsas and Mexican rice. No nonsense type of place. Just delicious, simple food!

Very AMAZINGLY GREAT Mexican food. Very nice people inside too. Very friendly. Got a taco combo and burrito. Honestly, again, asked what was good.

Best Carnitas I have ever had!!! Highly recommended, I recommend you at least have a taco there, fresh tortillas and the portion on one taco is super generous!! Get a mixto taco you will not regret it.

I'd you're looking for authentic carnitas and birria, look no further. Their carnitas are amazing but their birria and consomé are amazing. The service was great and the cashier was friendly. But that birria..sheesh. They're doing it right

Tasty, Authentic, reasonably priced, simple, and fast! Carnitas El Rey was everything I was hoping it would be. After reading some reviews online, I called in to place an order. I went by around 3pm on a Sunday and it was pretty crowded. I was the only white guy in the entire place, and clearly out of my element. However, due to the simple menu it was no problem placing an order. I was passed to a couple different people since quite a few of the workers didn't speak english. I ordered 2 lb combo and it was enough to last a family of 4 for 2-3 meals! The food was just really really good. I had run the M2B Marathon earlier in the day, and this was just what the doctor ordered. Although the M2B Marathon was very poorly planned and I barely missed by BQ, Carnitas El Rey made me feel much better. I look forward to my next time in Oxnard so that I can stop by again and double up. I can't stop thinking about the food and really need to get back!

Great carnitas and really large portion provided, I could only finish two tacos. Wish there was a bit more flavor, but the salsa bar is a plus

Plenty of food. Tasty. Packed well for delivery. Timely. Plan to order again. Would recommend.

This place is great. It's carnitas estilo Michoacan! The owners are humble and often volunteer their time/food to church festivals. I really enjoy their homemade tortillas and the delicious salsas. What I love about the salsa is that it is not watered down at all . I highly recommend it. What's amazing about this place is that it started off as a home business and with hard work, delicious food - it had now grown into a few locations through VC. I think they're in Oxnard, Moorpark, Fillmore and maybe be in other cities as well. They sell food until they sell out and they often do.

My family and I love getting the family pack for take out. Carnitas are truly delicious. We like the mix. Rice and beans are good. It's a good deal for plenty of food.

Delicioso limpio el ambiente es agradable y los precios razonables las mejores carnitas de Oxnard

The tacos are amazing!! I only ordered one and it was like a burrito. I had the taco mixto and I was so satisfied. One of the best taco mixto I've had.

Awesome food and service. Don't bring your vegetarian friends here. Best carnitas I've had in a long time. The reviews don't do this place justice. We need a scratch and sniff sticker for reviews lol

Orden familiar 1lb de carnitas, arroz, frijoles, salsas y tortillas, Salsa bar for dine in, riquísimas carnitas. Se los recomiendo!

Bomb carnitas! Their specialty is carnitas and they sell rice, beans, tortillas and salsa to go with it. Fantastic flavor!

This place is awesome. For the amount of portions and taste to price ratio this place is at the top. Simple menu and quick service make for a great lunch spot. Ordered a one taco combination plate based on the size of tacos. Thankful for my decision as I was barely able to finish my plate. The carnitas were full of flavor. Admittedly some big fatty pieces but easily able to distinguish and remove if necessary. For a little over $6, this is a steal. Recommend if you have wandered into old Oxnard.

If you are looking for carnitas this is the best place I have tried north of the border! There is always a line on weekends so prepare to wait. It's worth the wait though.

Good and tasty Highly recommended!!!! Great place to bring the family food is mouthwatering and friedly service

This place used to be very good I just recently purchased a pound of carnitas with half an order of tortillas and salsa, the carnitas were not hot and the tortillas didn't seem to be fresh made. Not the same place as far as food goes. I have to say the service was very good. This place used to be jam-packed with people, now it's completely empty, not giving you a very good feeling as before, the lines were out the door. Granted the parking is horrible.

Best carnitas in Oxnard! Most authentic!! Not fancy but delicious to the last bite. If you love carnitas...which I do...El Rey is a must !! You're missing out if you don't visit. Decent price. Generous servings...quick service.

I like about this place because the food is good nice juicy and tender the service is also good

We stopped by again to try. Not surprisingly is just as good as we remember if not possibly a little more impressive. I bought a one pound combo they came with six tortillas... Delicious! So the very next day we stop by again because I have a rental property by the beach and had an electrician coming do some work. I ended up buying 2 more 1 pound family Combo boxes. I gave one to my tenant and the other to my electrician. They both thought it was fabulous! My electrician told me he had heard about this place but had never tried it until now. As good as it is and as super-friendly as a staff had been... I can only give it 4 stars and not five. Their location and a dining inside is a bit of a penalty. Lack of parking and quality facilities for an "in restaurant" experience come up low. Otherwise for some really super delicious homestyle carnitas this place is the bomb!

Carnitas had tons of fat...It was super busy and very popular place but I don't like Carnitas with fillers.

I have tried manny carnitas spot , but I think this is the one. I'm from Southern California and was in the Oxnard area and this place was recommended by a friend. Wow what a spot. Guy serving up the food gave me my first taco free since he could see it was my first time. The carnitas are plump and juicy , the cuerito was perfectly cooked , and the buche was amazing. I had 2 mixto tacos, that's the only way to go. Highly recommended and probably the best carnitas in California. And can't forget the home made tortillas. Amazing location

Carnitas are on point ! Every Sunday catch me here ordering some juicy buche, cueritos

Delicious, the meat has a nice saltiness giving it enough flavor to eat with no condiments at all. Great tortillas. Worth a detour if traveling near Oxnard!

There's a reason why they received so many good reviews; they are one of the best in Oxnard. Parking is limited to the street, but I found that I can park across the street at the public transportation lot. Carnitas El Rey is known for their home-made corn tortillas which are slightly thicker than "normal" corn tortillas. They sell these on the side. That way one does not need to double up tortillas to prevent the juice from dissolving the taco. Restaurant is colorful and clean. It is always busy so you might have to wait in line, but it moves quickly.

Delicious carnitas. Their tacos are huge! Not a fan of the flour tortilla tacos, the tortilla had a bit of a sweet taste. We drive from Santa Clarita to eat here! Area is very shady so be careful