El Pelón Taqueria

Only reasons for going here was to use the restroom. I paid for my food first and then asked to use the restroom and was told no. Had to go in and out of every business to find a bathroom as I'm a school bus driver and this is a daily struggle finding a restroom. The billboard out front was cute. I originally planned to go into subway and decided on Mexican because of the cute chalk sign out front. It said vegan tamales. I'm not vegan but love vegan/ vegetarian food., I bought the vegan tamele and Al pastor tacos. Tacos were great. But let's just say I tried to vegan tamele so you don't have too. It was awful. It was just Masa. Literally just dough mixed with corn. There was no filling. I dipped it in salsa Verde sauce just to get it down because I was honestly starving. And I complained the whole time. I love that they offered a vegan option but if you can't do it right then don't. Could have filled with with jackfruit or oyster mushrooms. They did offer vegan cheese too I saw on the menu. This was a one stop kinda of thing I don't know if I'd go out of my way for this place but the tacos were good.

I got a Fish burrito yesterday and I told them just a little rice.. got chips and dip also. I walked 10min to bus stop and had 13min to eat and I opened half of the foil and the burrito exploded with rice 🙆🏽... food everywhere.. then tried to continue eating on bus and made a mess. I just left there again and I wanted to tell the manager what happened and the cashier told me sorry about yesterday and the manager is not here. I paid $21 for chips and burrito and queso... I will not go again for their lack of an apology also. Easy instructions just bad service

Love this place, must-visit if you’re in the area. Was there this past Saturday at 11:45AM just before the Boston College football game. Walked right in and ordered. If you go after the game lines are literally out the door. My favorite is the caramelos but they might be too spicy for some.

I have had alot of tacos in my days, this was really bad, just fell apart, just gross, honestly i would rather eat cumberland farms gas station food than these tacos right now Hard dried out old steak. Waste of time and money

Okay just to start out I'm only rating this a four-star because there is no decent salsa and no alcoholic beverages served. Aside from that, super extra delicious loving comfort Mexican food that I will go back and seek out again every time I am visiting my daughter in Boston. It's very convenient to the Boston College campus and is always lively with students. Don't go there if you're not expecting to get some food on your lap. The burritos come wrapped in aluminum foil and that is a great thing until you unwrap it and start biting into that burrito which ends up on your lap and on the floor and on the table and on the napkins. That's the way it ought to be.

Great burritos and quesadillas. Comparatively smaller portions than other places, or similar to the small/regular option of other taquerias with large options. The food I enjoy: The burritos are simple but satisfying and filling. My favorite is the El Guapo, which has steak and plantains. The two ingredients make it a sweet and savory burrito which I surprisingly enjoyed together very much. The quesadillas are on the smaller side, but very delicious. The enchiladas and tamales are also good. Their guacamole and hot sauce are tasty additions to your food as well. I've eaten here many times and every ingredient has always been fresh. The food that wasn't to my tastes: I enjoy fish tacos, but I wasn't of fan of the ones here. The shell was fine, but asides from the small fish pieces, the only flavor was from some chile mayo. They were filled with blandness from six whole slices of cucumber that I didn't think went well with the tacos and a bunch of pickled cabbage. The tortas have a generous amount of the same great ingredients, but they are not executed well. Both times I've ordered them, including eating in, the bread was soggy and the torta just fell apart outside of the aluminum foil. I didn't have this issue in other places. If they would get rid of some of the extra liquid, I think they'd actually be really good. The Calabacitas (veggies) was okay, but nothing special. It was very liquidy. Service: The atmosphere and employees here have always been great and I would recommend this place for most items. Atmosphere: There are several tables here, most college students since this is right next to Boston College. Parking: It is difficult to park in the small area right out front. There are about 10 spaces, but it's for several stores in this area. There are a few more spots on the side, but you'll be driving down the side street filled with one-way residential streets, which may make it inconvenient to back on your route.

Moving my daughter in to BC, I thought we would try some Mexican food , good choice, right down the street from the BC campus ! Small place but pleasant ; food was fresh and tasty . When going back to BC I will certainly stop in again fir them delicious food ! Enchiladas were great! Burrito was excellent , according to Victoria . 😁

The tacos are ok. The carnitas are dry and the cucumbers don’t really add onto the tacos. The fish tacos were decent and so was the carbs asada tacos.

My go-to place in college. It's always so busy in there with a line but it moves fairly quickly. The food is amazing with lots of sauces to choose from.

I love me a good burrito. I'm talking loaded with flavors, one that doesn't fall apart in my hands, and one that doesn't ooze out a ton of juice that fall down my fingers. Pretty normal standards I'd say! El Pelon has fabulous staff. They are very hard working, friendly, and the overall service here is wicked quick. The parking can be tough as it's located in a little strip of 4 stores located between the green line train tracks and Comm Ave. Usually if I need to go anywhere in this small strip of stores, I'd plan to park up Comm Ave and walk down. :) My burrito was huge and loaded, but not my favorite to handle. It was super messy to eat. When I was done eating, our table had a huge puddle from all the juices that dripped down, and when I was done eating my hands needed to be completely washed and wiped before leaving. Not ideal but a tasty burrito for sure. A huge staple to all the BC Eagles out there. Always poppin inside. Great burrito joint all in all.

Might be my new favorite burrito place. It feels like all the big chains are really tanking. Moe's is now complete garbage. Qdoba is slipping hardcore. Chipotle is hanging on barely. It's time for the other places so shine, and this place is doing it. Love the fresh ingredients of the burrito. Hot sauce was good too. I really felt like the ingredients were quality and I enjoyed every bite. Prices are reasonable. The down side is the salsa served with my chips. It was mostly tomato so I didn't get the onion or cilantro or even a bit of spice. It was painfully bland. Chips were ok but nothing to write home about. Lack of Mexican coke was disappointing for me, on a personal level. Overall the burrito was the star. I will be back for the burrito The interior seating is tight but they made the most of the space. I think there were 4 tables and also a counter. Parking is ok with a handful of spots next to the building, but the intersection is weird with the T stop there.

I be there twice and try different options, but it want my favor. Drinks definitely, yes.. Appetizers is the better option.

Can't speak to the parking etc., because we just walked right off the BC campus, but great fresh tacos and burritos. You can taste the homemade quality. Highly recommend for a quick meal.

Easily the best burritos we've had in Boston. The service is great, and the quality of the food. Just superb. We really enjoy coming here.

Never had Mexican like this before! Such a treat when visiting Boston from California! We have some amazing Mexican food where we live is great, but this was different! It was so good!

Today I tried the "El Guapo" burrito from El Pelon taqueria on Commonwealth Avenue, which is with steak and plantains and salsa and crema. Interesting mix of flavors-- I applaud how fresh a and authentic their steak tasted. I would like to provide, however, two criticisms: (1) everything had the same texture, which was kind of mushy, especially the plantains. An easy solution would be some fresh pico de gallo or another sharp vegetable (there was lettuce but not enough to combat the lack of texture). (2) there was not enough cheese, since I only noticed it in my final bite, likely because it was clumped together and not evenly spread. Surprisingly, the rice and beans stood out as two of its best elements because of their full flavor. A good burrito for 10.95 before tax, but not worth the praise it receives on Yelp. It did not taste as unique or eye-popping as advertised.

This place is really hit or miss. Today i got a burrito where the flour tortilla was raw and weirdly hard to chewy and the steak was so over cooked it hurt my jaw. The pico was strangely icy! It was just so unpleasant! I think there is a lot of good things about this spot, but the past few times I've eaten here it's not been great. I wish it would do better! Especially because sits getting expensive!

Friendly staff and low-priced, yet delicious food! Definitely recommend the quesadillas.

This place was our first attempt at trying mexican food in Boston and unfortunately had to order as takeout to be delivered to our airbnb.It was also one of our first attempts using the yelp order online feature. Ordering online/delivery: My boyfriend made the mistake of going by pictures which seem to not coordinate with the actual meal description and got salsa rather than the plantains he wanted. This I could see being a glitch so I don't necessarily blame the restaurant for its just something to be aware of and hopefully get corrected. Quality: I believe the quality was unfortunetly lowered with delivery. We were missing an item and the food was a little cold but otherwise the the food was yummy and worth giving a second try but next time we'll check it out in person!

Quality control has gone way down. Many times you get meat that is burnt and barely chewable in the burrito. It is not that hard to not have that happen!

This was one of the worst, driest burritos I have ever had. I used to frequent the Boston location which was amazing. I have this location a try and it was terrible. Burrito had no flavor, I asked for extra spicy and it was mediocre and mild at best. I had really high hopes, Please improve.

Been searching for a new burrito place and I'm excited to say I might've just found it! I had the Pollo Burrito with a side of chips and can of Coke (wanted a Mexican Coke, but they ran out). The burrito tasted fresh and delicious, chips were a tad cold but they were nicely salted (a big plus in my book) and you could tell they were made in-house (another plus), and the Coke with a cup of ice was the nice finishing touch to top it all off. The ambience was warm and welcoming (seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis for those who want to dine in), and the staff and service (super quick) were great. Only negative thing to say is parking could be problematic during the day time, but it's certainly worth your time if you're in the area. Will be back to try the "El Guapo!"

It pains me to say this, but El Pelon has really gone downhill. Their main problem is consistency. You can order the same thing each time and you have no idea what you are going to get. Once in awhile it will be good, but you are mostly going to get some combination of burnt meat that can't really be chewed, ingredient proportions that are way off, lack of seasoning, and poorly rolled burritos. I really hope they put a new emphasis on quality control of their ingredients and training staff to make a consistent, good product. Right now they are all over the place and it's not very good.

This is one of those spots that BC students love! It's so convenient to order from here, both in store and online. They're usually always busy and I can see why. They have amazing burritos and their chips are also bomb. My favorite is the fish burrito. It's packed with fried fish, rice, beans, lettuce and just so delicious! Plus, add guac just because guac is great too. Their tortas are okay. It looks pretty smushed and doesn't have as much meat in it as I'd like. It also gets soggy quickly. Their quesadillas are pretty good and their plates as well but I would always go for a burrito. You can never go wrong with that! I always prefer the chicken over the steak as well cause the steak can be tough and hard to chew at times.

Different and tasty. Good portions. Love they put fried plantains in their El Guappo burrito!

A bit disappointing. I will say that the tortilla is cooked well and the cheese is good but the steak I had was a little burnt. You definitely don't want any crunch meat in a quesadilla. Should be tender and juicy. Also for the pico de gallo, I found it to be bland and watery. I put it in my quesadilla but made it a bit mushy. Then the last part is that the pico wasn't even that great, tasted as if an amateur made it. The elements didn't jive well. It tasted like I was tasted separate ingredients as opposed to a sauce. Then, they had a lack of side hot sauces. Either they're hiding them for the sake of the coronavirus or quite simply, they just don't have it.

Great takeout spot by BC! Inexpensive. Easy to order online. Friendly workers at register. Try El Guapo burrito. It has plantains inside...yum! The lemonade from the soda fountain was amazing. There are a few tables inside, but the vibe is definitely takeaway. Head across the street to picnic on the BC campus.

Ordered takeout from here tonight for the 3rd time. Very good, as it has been every time. Food: 5/5 We got chips, guac, and fire roasted salsa to start. Their chips are thick, and nicely salty. The guac is tasty & reliable, while the fire roasted salsa is served warm, smoky, a little heat and good flavor. We also tried both the chicken and fish burritos. Both very good--especially the fish (unusual to find such a good fish burrito at a fast casual joint). Definitely our favorite burritos in the Boston area, that we've tried! Service: 5/5 Food ready quickly and on time. Haven't had much other interaction with staff since we've ordered online.

The burritos are excellent, I love the El Guapo. Plantains belong in a burrito! Also, delivery is fast. Love this place.

Located across from Boston college , good location bordering newton and Boston . If you like authentic Mexican food this is one of the place to come. Been here so many times since I worked in the area. I usually get the el guapo bowl which is consistently good and you have to request for the green hot sauce to go along with the meal. The burritos are also good here. It gets pretty packed after 12pm and seats are limited inside. Decent price and affordable.

This spot has been a staple to the Boston College community for years before my arrival and I hope for years following. The burritos and quesadillas are pretty decent no matter what protein you choose. The fillings are very evenly spread and you get a good amount of each. The only thing was that I wish there was more salsa inside of them....but that's why they give you some salsa on the side to drizzle on top before each bite. May be worth asking for some extra though, sometimes what they normally give isn't enough. They are relatively quick in getting orders out, but they can get crowded during peak lunch and early dinner times. They close sort of early for the college crowd but it's worth going earlier for. It may not be the beeeest Mexican food I've ever had but for Boston area and with it being right next to campus it is more than enough.

This is a favorite of BC students and local residents alike. Great for a quick bite, bringing back to your dorm room, or a sit down meal. The meat is full of flavor, only complemented by the homemade hot sauce. The guac is homemade and a perfect balance of lime and cilantro. The quesadillas are bursting with cheesy goodness and the chips are clearly homemade and given to you warm. The decor is authentic and homey with tons of friendly faces to greet you. There are even some some wonderful succulents! Stop by to get your favorite meal or a t shirt to be known and respected by the BC community!

For a small little hole in the wall joint, this place packs some serious flavor into their food. Shockingly cheap for what you get IMO.

We hit up El Pelon before a basketball game at Boston College (Go Heels!!!). Found the restaurant through Yelp, and was lured in by the food pictures. The chips, salsa, and guacamole were excellent. My fish taco was good, although I'm not a huge fan of corn tortillas & things got a bit messy. Only three stars because parking was a bit tough (street parking), we initially had no place to sit (very limited seating), and it was really cold inside with people coming in and out constantly. May be best for take out, but still a great location near the college.

Somewhat busy around 6:15pm on a Wednesday. Pros: -Fried plantains. Yes. Cons: -Chewy steak. -- El Guapo Burrito ($9.58 with tax) Easily 2 meals. I requested no cheese or sour cream but I think they also left off the salsa, which was unfortunate. (EDIT: thanks to the manager Lucia for the hyper fast reply and pointing out that the salsa is hard to see since it's super liquid-y and it was probably included since that's the only spicy component). The plantains are clearly the best thing about this burrito, and they're great and abundant. There's a slight spice that's a perfect compliment to the sweetness. The downside is that the steak is too chewy. I'm not sure if it's possible, but ideally swap the steak for chicken (or maybe pork).

Delicious burritos and they're the perfect size. Stuffed but not to grotesque. My favorite is the guapo burrito and their chips are the best! Super crunchy.

I think this place might be getting away with murder because it seems that most of their customers are non Hispanic college students that don't know any better. I'm from Miami and tried this place out and I've never been so appalled by "Mexican" food in my life. The quesadilla had literally no filling. They probably put like two strands of cheese for the whole quesadilla and they have the audacity to charge you $6 for that. It was like something you make at home around 2 AM when you're a kid and have nothing else. Rotting mushy pico de gallo that's been in a fridge all day served as "salsa," flavorless guac, and the burrito was so wet and mushy and poorly wrapped that it completely fell apart before taking my first bite. So wet and yet not a single bit of cheese, salsa Fresca, nothing. It was just meat and rice. You're literally better off getting Taco Bell, but it seems like that's not even near here

Hands down, One of the best burrito places in Boston. Authentic, Great tasting food that blows the super-bland tasting Ann's taqueria out the water.

I ordered from their website, and then picked up. Love the décor inside- lots of cool Mexican items. I ordered a burrito and an horchata (sweet cinnamon-y rice milk). They didn't have horchata, so I ended up getting a Mexican coke (made with cane sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup). Got the el guapo burrito. It was well wrapped- stayed warm, even after the long walk home. Had really nicely grilled and flavorful steak, all the fixings, and sweet fried plantains. I think this will have to become my new go-to burrito spot in the area.

This place is cute. In a neighborhood. Very limited seating inside. Plenty picnic tables outside. Street parking but limited due to it being in a neighborhood. The food was amazing. Great portion size, great flavor, didn't take long to make food. It was filling as well. You don't have to break the bank to eat here. Very good prices. If you're in town take a walk over enjoy the scenery, probably a doable walk from nearby hotels. Yelp $5 flan, it cost $5 even without checking in. It's small. It was okay. Just stick to the food no flan.

Steak was tough and not very seasoned. No sauce neither cilantro on the tacos. But there was too much of the pickled vegs with the vinegar overpowering the taco. Chicken too was lacking in seasoning. The rice was very good. Can't say same about the plantains some of which seemed not quite ripe. Service was quick. Fair pricing.

Good burritos typically. Catering however is atrocious. They charge full price for the burritos but only fill them half as much. They also make them far in advance of your pick up time so they're cold by the time you eat them. The owner then berates you for daring to say something. I typically get their burritos twice a week on my own and was highly disappointed with the quality of the catering. Every single person at the lunch agreed that the catered burritos were nowhere close to normal size and were cold.

Food was meh and an ok value for the price. Service was mediocre. Apparent that not much is done to maintain cleanliness and operations of front end of store where patrons dine.

Literally a glorified del taco. In no way is this an authentic Mexican restaurant. Prices are definitely too high for such low quality food. Never again

Just as good as the location in Fenway. There is just something about the char on their steak that keeps me coming back! I usually do the El Guapo burrito or fish tacos. I wish they had an option for salads but I'm not complaining.

I'm definitely a regular at the El Pelon by Boston College, but this is my first time writing a review. Yesterday, I got the El Guapo burrito which has steak, plantains, and other toppings. It's my go-to order because it's the perfect mix of sweet and savory. This time, I also got a side of plantains, which I can't believe I have never done before because they were absolutely incredible!!! They were soft and perfectly caramelized. They come with a salsa, but I preferred to dip them a side of hot sauce.

Food was pretty good but for the price it was amazing. Considering it is right near Boston College it is a great option for hungry college students that need a good meal. The service was quick, but I can imagine come fall it will be packed.

I got a carnitas taco and the steak torta. Both were good sized portions at a fair price. The taco was actually so stuffed that it broke through the double layered tortilla. Very tasty would definitely order again, just wish they had included a little salsa with the taco like most places do.

Good food. Nice flavors. Limited vegetarian options. Super hot sauce is amazing. More of a take out place.

A lot of foot traffic through here, it's also located so close to Boston college. I ordered the fish burrito and the chicken quesadilla. I wasn't overtly impressed with the fish burrito, some pieces were soggy/stale and hard to chew. The chicken quesadilla was good but only had chicken chunks and cheese, wish they put some veggies in it. Overall not a bad Mexican food fix if you're in the area, but I wouldn't make the trip again.

I come to this place for one thing and one thing only. FISH TACOS. You won't be able to find fish tacos anywhere in Boston that taste as good as the ones here. What makes the fish tacos so amazing here is the pickled cabbages. They are so flavorful and juicy and really well complements the fish. Make sure to ask for the green hot sauce on the side. Its really hot but if you put just enough, it makes the tacos even better. Also, make sure to check in on yelp as well and you will get free chips and salsa! I'm not sure how long this deal will last so make sure to use it asap!!!!

After hiking Mount Monadnock, when my roommates and I arrived back home we were craving Mexican food for dinner. I've been to the Fenway location of El Pelón, so I was pleasantly surprised to discover their other location near where I live in Brookline. We ordered about $100 worth of food to share (take out) and let the feast begin. We sampled the fish tacos, steak tacos, chicken quesadilla, steak enchiladas, chicken enchiladas, steak platter, El Guapo burrito, plantains, guacamole, rice, and refried beans. We also got some chips but no salsa. You would think having spent $100 on food they could have given us some complimentary salsa but no. They wanted to charge extra for that. Lame. The fish taco was good but had way too much pickled cabbage on it and it overpowered the rest of the flavors. The steak in the steak platter was tough and chewy - definitely over cooked. The rice and beans were decent. My favorite thing was probably the chicken quesadilla. The guacamole was average for Boston standards. All-in-all, for the price, El Pelón is just average in my book. But then again, when you're from SoCal, no Mexican will ever truly compare.

Working on the weekend, I get to expense lunch/dinner up to $30. I saw that this was open and I thought to myself, hell yes. So down for Mexican. I've been here once before and it was great, but knowing that I could get delivery...amazing! I ordered the chicken plato with plantains and the taquitos. Chicken Plato is soooooo good. Chicken is moist, pinto beans were so flavorful and the plantains were cooked perfectly to be melt in your mouth and crispy on the side. The only downfall was that the taquito was soggy. It left a soggy taquito on one side and crunchy on the other. Still, it was delicious, but you would think they'd put more effort into packaging it with salsa in a container instead of next to it. Either way, super delicious and well worth it!

Carbs on carbs on carbs = the El Guapo. I'm not kidding; we're talking plantains and rice inside of a freaking tortilla here. In all seriousness, I found the El Guapo to be a kickass combination. Very beefy steak, well seasoned beans, melted cheese, fresh salsa and sour cream contrast quite nicely with the sweetness of the fried plantains. Why don't more places put plantains in their burritos? The place is a bit cramped, especially given the volume of customers they get, but that's just a testament to how good it is. Having had most burritos in the area (Anna's, Boca Grande, Felipe's etc.), this place may just be the best. Highly recommended.

Located by the Boston College stop of the B line is Crazy Dough, and beside it is El Pelon of Fenway fame. Yes, they now have two branches and one of them is closer to the BC population. We managed to score a table as one opened up at just the right time. They don't have a lot of tables, but there are also a few seats along the counter along the wall by the soda fountain. Order at the counter and they'll call your name when your order is ready. Careful though if your food arrives in a tin - the bottom might be quite hot! Speaking of which, the Plantains - Lightly fried until golden brown. Served with fire roasted salsa.$4.25 - was a generous portion of the sweet sliced fruit. I ate it without the sauce since that was hot and I'm a spice wimp. I came for the Pescado tacos - Crispy cornmeal and spice encrusted Cod topped with arbol Chile Mayo, limed Onions, pickled cabbage and cucumbers $6.95 - which arrived two per order, but was sad when the tortilla all too easily crumbled underneath my fish. I wasn't crazy about the flavors either as last night's version at the bar at 51 Lincoln (though twice the price) was much preferred of the two. The Pollo (grilled chicken) Quesadillas $4.95 was simple and served with a fresh tomato salsa. They have hardly any veggie options so we added the Calabacitas (veggie) Butternut squash, zucchini, tomatoes & Onions $2.75 to our order to round out the meal. They were well flavored but rather mushy in texture.

Just a very below average burrito. Typically served cold. Chips are good, and salsa is OK. But I would stick to Anna's.

My go-to spot. Never really had a thing for burritos or Mexican food in general until I tried El Guapo burrito from El Pelon. My friends and I used to go to Ana's Taqueria but after trying El Pelon we haven't gone back since. Service is super fast. The restaurant is decorated with authentic Mexican decor (I think) and there's a great vibe. Their green tea with ginseng is literally my favorite drink ever. I only drink water but this is an exception.

El Pelon is some of the best food in the area. You get amazing Mexican food with fresh, quality ingredients. Sure, you could go to Chipotle and get a burrito with basically the same ingredients, but El Pelon feels so much more fresh and flavorful. I've basically loved all the food I've gotten here (except the tamales, they're a bit dry, so I'd skip those), but here are my favorites! -Pescado tacos. These give me life constantly. The incredible combo of fish, spicy mayo, pickled cabbage, and limed onions has so much contrast in flavor and texture. I love these. -Burritos. Super great value, I love El Guapo (beef and plantains) and pescado (comes with spicy mayo type sauce inside) -The HOT SAUCE IS EVERYTHING. Make sure you get the green one. It is spicy but not too much, but it also has so much peppery, vibrant flavor. This is a must every time. -Breakfast of Champions on the weekend. Chips (nice and crunchy and freshly made), cheese, beans, and fried eggs make for an amazing breakfast after a night out. -Wash it all down with some horchata (rice milk drink with lots of cinnamon)