La Azteca

Hole in the wall type of place. Not very eye appealing so to speak. Simple menu with burritos, plates and taquitos. I tried the pork Chile Verde with beans burrito. The tortilla was a fresh homemade style, which was good. Although the filling was missing something, maybe a little more chile Verde. Seems like a local favorite type of spot. It's worth a try.

I stumbled into this no‑frills taco counter known for only one dish: red‑ or green‑sauce stewed pork tacos. It’s cash‑only and closes by 2 pm, so I arrived early—and they ran out of sauce before noon! The tortillas smelled impossibly fresh, and I added crispy chicharrones for that extra crunch. The beans were silky and well seasoned without being overly salty. For such simple food, it packed a punch—the locals practically treat it like a secret. Just make sure you bring cash

10/25/24: Excellent authentic Mexican that specializes in embarradas and gorditas. I had the embarrada with chicarron and chile verde. The inside is refried beans, chiles, and pork that is partly soft and partly crispy (how they do the chicarron here, it seems to vary in Mexico). Family owned place for 60 years. The outside isn't particularly inviting with a solid metal door but the owner's daughter is friendly!

Love to come here on the weekends, the embarradas are delicious. I always get the combination of chicharrón and it never seems to fail. Truly recommend this place. The atmosphere is outstanding with lots of vintage decor and service is incredible. Everyone is nice and greets you. I’ve been coming here for over 25 years.

It’s literally walking into abuelitas house. Home made tortillas are amazing! Embarradas chicharrones are great. Beans are refried in manteca and the rice is perfect.

La Azteca serves you great, authentic Mexican food. Right from the moment one enters, the warm decor evokes nostalgia. Full of flavor rich and traditional. Some standout items on the menu their chicharron burrito with delightfully spicy green salsa. The staff is friendly and observant. I highly recommended if you want an authentic taste of Mexico.

I've been going here since I was a small child. I know the whole family, and they treat you just like that, family. I am not giving them high ratings for this, but wow! The food has always made this small Mexican restaurant the best place to go to. The Embarradas are just out of this world. Even better and so glad Mari brought them back are the Gorditas. You may also choose a burrito from the menu with the ingredients below. There is Chicharron (green or red chile). The beef also (green or red chile) Saturday's Menudo. There are delicious combination plates. I highly recommend this establishment, and one last thing the prices are within anyone's reach. A little bit of Michoacan, Mexico in Atwater Village. You won't regret the trip here.

Stop looking at the review and go try it you will not regret it! Make sure to take cash also lol

Excellent family owned and run restaurant. Their embarradas are amazing, I suggest adding rice and cheese if you order one. My favorite is chicharron. Their enchilada plate is also delicious as well as their taquito plate! Red and green salsas are homemade and extremely good!! Very friendly staff. I visit once or twice a week. Will always come back! Always a treat to eat their delicious food. Very grateful to have this place in my neighborhood within walking distance. 5 stars

This place is amazing. Hands down the best chicharron I have ever had. You can taste that it's made with love and not just some food pumped out for a quick buck. The inside is also super cute with walls covered in knick knacks to check out while you wait. The staff is very friendly as well. Definitely my new favorite spot for good homemade food.

Had the menudo and the embarrada with chicharron plus homemade tortillas very filling. Flavors are awesome, service is fast and while you wait check out the decor They open early in the morning and close early afternoon. Seating is tight, turn over fairly quick. Looking forward to working my way through the menu.

Pretty good spot , they sell great embarradas de chicharrón , they're my favorite. This place really has a great ambiance as soon as you enter it smells like a restaurant from Mexico, I do recommend this place.

Great food. Freshly made. I did notice when I was there, that there was a huge amount of un cooked pork that sat at chopping table for around 20 minutes I was there. Not sure if that is a violation of health codes.

Been living in Atwater for over 17 years. I can't believe I just tried this little gem. My son asked me why we never tried this place before. Our favorite is the Embarada de Chicharon.

Love this place absolutely the very best, food is so authentic unfortunately I can go everyday because I for sure will gain weight because I eat a lot.

Rounding up from a 4.5. Having never heard of an embarrada before, I had to try it. I can understand some of the less than stellar reviews as the flavor profile is subtle... but also like amazing in its subtlety and richness. Also texturally, the embarrada con chicharrón with the green salsa is one of the best things I've eaten in a long time. The chicharrón offered a perfectly almost pillowy crunch that really stood out in the bites of delicious homemade tortilla and thick smear of beans and sauce. I got a side of the red salsa to add an even bigger kick to the meal. I came back to try the burrito with the chicharrón within the same week- also phenomenal! Thanks for serving up some wonderful, authentic Mexican food! And working hard to continue offering food up safely during this pandemic!

CLOSED during stated business hours. Even the sign on the door says it will be closed 8/31-9/2... it's the 28th! Drove from afar, disappointed.

This is the real deal. Local restaurant family owned. Menudo and chicharone tostada.

Embarrada de chicharron. Enough said. No but really, it was the first thing I tried, didn't look appealing at first but after the first bite, complete bliss. Add either salsa, and it's even better. Check this place out.

My first time in this place. It's a hole in the wall almost a hidden gem. The food is comforting and fresh and delicious! I had the embarrada with chicharron. SO SO GOOD

Hadn't been here in a couple years but really missed the menudo & the embarradas. I was only hesitant to stop by because the ladies (especially those taking orders & payment) were kind of not the nicest. It always seemed like they were in a bad mood or you were bothering them by being there. All of that aside, this is a positive review of the place! The food is great; Menudo & embarradas de chicharrón con salsa roja. I like that they have added more booth seating, they no longer use just one salsa container for the whole establishment.... You get salsas in small containers & they also provide condiments for the menudo in tight little plastic wrap balls. Sodas are available in bottles/cans & in various flavors. The decor is interesting, but it feels good. Definitely something different. I recommend the place. It's worth a stop by.

This is Glendale's best-kept secret, a hidden gem. The Best Mexican food in the Glendale period. Hand made tortillas and everything. Try the embradas with chicharron supper bomb little Mexican food and Menudo ( no hominy unfortunately . Bring cash!

Really great taste in food especially the tortillas because they are hand made. Prices are decent.The inside is crowded because they have so many gadgets around other than that great food !

Wow! This embarrada hype is for real. Let me start by saying this place is Super CLEAN! Idk what's the lady name working here in mornings, but she is the sweetest one I ever met! She stopped what she was doing to explain to me what is in her menu! I love coming to homey places like this that they welcome you so genuinely

The food is good but the customer service is pathetic for the amount of customers they have ther should take care of their customer. The front end employees act like they're doing you a favor for taking your order.

The food was good I lived in this neighborhood when I was a kid and enjoyed coming back to my roots. We had the menudo and the chicharon gorditas the food was flavorful really authentic . The only thing unfavorable was the cashier. She was rude and unpleasant. I'll go back for the food. Just hope for a better experience next time.

This place is literally down the street from my job which is great and convenient. I had their gordotas and their embarradas and both were good. But if I had to chose it would have to be the emabareado. That honemade tortilla was so good and overall the experience was great

Old school yummy home style cooking at this spot. I dropped by just when they were about to close so I wasn't able to sit down for long to enjoy the chili verde burrito. They close too early at 200pm.

The food here is authentic Mexican food. The prices are fair. The food taste great, but one thing that I have to comment about is the service. The people can be stingy when it comes to asking for more food and sauce, even if you are willing to pay extra but they will rudely object. I wanted to take some extra sauce To Go and the older woman who manages said "No!". On top of that, her other female workers ganged up on me thinking I wanted free food. They kept slapping the table and walls out of frustration for me asking. They is a sign that reads prices for extra sauce that they happen to not to see... They have an odd policy about handling the sauces. Sometimes they would pass one flavor of each sauce from table to table (By passing, customers would pick it up from other tables). Other days it would be only available at the front cashier. This is most likely because of health inspector protocols and they abruptly switch up their habits. One time the sauce has gone bad and tasted sour and when bringing it up to the girls they disagreed and thought I was trying to make a scene for other customers! The humbleness of this restaurant quickly diminished as the workers ALWAYS boast about the time George Lopez filmed an episode at the restaurant. To the people who manage this restaurant: George Lopez said in an interview that "La Azteca" was his second pick because his favorite restaurant of all time declined his request to film... Second pick... Enough with the boasting and treat your paying customers as if we ALL were "George Lopez". (Don't get me wrong, Lopez is a funny comedian, but he himself can't stand when people are treated "unfairly"). The restaurant has begun to lose it's roots and started giving me the cold shoulder. Every visit has always been the same and I haven't noticed any improvement.

Tasty home made meals, you see the mamas in the kitchen working to fix you a delicious meal! I wanted a veggie burrito, but everything has meat, so the mama suggested an off menu alternative.

Loved this little hole in the wall Mexican restaurant providing take out only due to covid. First time there wasn't sure what or how to order never tried emparadas before and they were absolutely delicious !! Ordered chili verde inside home made tortilla freshly made by a little grandma looking lady you knows it's going to be good. Green and red chili salsa so good honestly can't wait to go back drove from la Mirada just to try this worthy little gem hidden away ! A must

I tried this spot out cause it had a lot of good reviews. I ordered the popular chile relleno burrito with chicharrones,It wasn't what I expected. Maybe I should've tried it with real meat cause I almost broke my fucken veneers biting into that shit. Anyway I will update once I try something different but for now I give it 3 stars. Btw the service was pretty good and fast.

VERY, VERY good food....and prices pretty much match everyone's budget. One MUST try the Embarrada/chicharrón....it is probably the best although the "red burrito w/chicharrón is good also.

I'm from Glendale and I am so happy I found this hidden gem so close to home!! One of the silver linings of covid because I discovered this amazing place. Everything tasted better than expected. My friend got the Chile rellano with salsa verde and I ordered the Chile Rojo. We will definitely come back soon during taco Tuesday and enjoy this bomb Mexican food during quarantine and of course after Covid is over. Keep it up La Azteca fam!

Not your typical Mexican food but super Authentic! I recommend the Embarrada de Chicharrón with Salsa verde.

I had breakfast in this place for the 10th and last time. The food is good and I've tried to look past the service. The staff which is also the family who owns the business, was so bitchy this last time that it ruined my appetite and made me never want to step foot their again. No food is worth getting that kind of shitty service.

First time here and I loved the food. However, the service was horrible. The lady at the cashier was very rude and unprofessional. I've never felt so rushed and awkward placing an order. After getting our food a worker just stood in front of us and stared at us (creepy) until we asked him if he needed something then he finally said he wanted the salsa that we had on our table the same one that we had just asked for to use in our food, he wanted to take it back. He then took it to another table. Like really??? Is this the only container where you can put salsa for other tables?? And finally we got up to pay and never heard a Thank You from them. They obviously don't appreciate customers

Love this place. Family has been coming here for over 35 years & in the entire time I've been here I've never see the decor change. Their food is amazing (albeit not very healthy). And check out their collection of clocks above & around the entryway wall. Street parking can be difficult on a busy weekend morning. ***CASH ONLY!!!!!***

Authentic freshly made food! It don't get better than this! Also ran into George Lopez eating at this joint.

The food is amazing. Real authentic Mexican food. I got a chicharon embarada with green salsa. The cashier was so rude. Makes you not want to return to eat even if the food was good. CASH ONLY... I give the food 5 stars but 0 for the service.

Hole in the wall, Amazing food, cash only! All the ingredients you need for some top-class mexican food. I recommend this place to everyone I truly care about. It's awesome, go give them your business!

OK, I will start this off by blasting the negative reviews. Shut your pie hole, this place was fantastic. The Menudo was authentic and delicious. The service was great, friendly, and family oriented. It's the way every restaurant should be. We will definitely be back.

#authentic: or shall we say AUFUCKENTHENTIC! That's the way to describe this place. Good enough to have authentic Mexicans consume the food even though we may have an amazaing wife, mom, or grandma, father who is the best chef for authentic comida Mexicana. Good enough to make the "snobs" come out of their comfort zone to get some good food. Even the KKK lines up and wait to place an order. Hand down a spot/good I have to have every time in the LA. The Gorditas are awesome, u must try em. Get 2 a green and red salsa. This is reason # 765 why Russia wants to want to take over the US, and reason #123 why Russia hacked the elections. Jokes aside - you must try the place!

Simple yet delicious food. Nothing but good tasting food! Been coming here for years, the menu hasn't changed and yet quality and food is great. Inexpensive, just check hours because they close at 2pm for the most part-

This place, which is almost hidden along the busy streets of endless shops and restaurants, is one of the BEST Mexican restaurants we have ever had the pleasure of dining at! We lovingly call it "the cave" bc it feels like you are in a cool cave, especially off to the back right area of the place. It's definitely not your typical 'same old taco and enchilada' joint! The flavors are actually unique to any other Mexican eatery...especially their enchiladas!!! First time I've ever had melted Mexican cheese incorporated into the filling of your choice-OUTSTANDING!! Also so great to have Valet at the front, making the busy street with lack of ease of parking never an issue! Gracias La Azteca for being above and beyond the rest of the typical Mexican food options! Your loyal customer for life, Penelope B.

My family and I have come here for years and love that the decor has not changed the whole time because it is very nostalgic. Of course the embarrada de chicharron with green salsa is bomb. So is the menudo. Very authentic so if you don't enjoy real Mexican food this place is not for you. To be clear, you go up and order what you want, then you sit down and they bring you your food. Once you finish eating, then you go up to the counter again and pay. Highly recommend and is very much a family affair. Sunday breakfast kind of thing.

Came here for the first time, because I wanted to try the famous embarradas. I ordered an ebarrada, a burrito, and a menudo. When i ordered over the phone I felt threaten because I was given 15 minutes to pick up the menudo if I was not there within that time frame it was going back to the pot. Really, who does that? The menudo was good. As for the Embarrada it was just beans with a few chicharron pieces. The tortilla is flavorful, that was the highlight of the Embarrada. As for the burrito with carne verde, it was 90% beans, again a few pieces of carne. This restaurant was my first and last. Not just cause of the food, but the service over the phone and in person was horrible. I am sure they make enough money to buy decent to go containers, instead of a stapled Styrofoam plates.

So sad that I have to give such a low review on this restaurant I've been coming here since I was a girl and the family even knows my family it's just extremely disappointing because the food really is delicious and inexpensive but finding rocks in my burritos more than once is unacceptable and obviously I will not be eating there any longer!!!..

I love this spot!!! If you wonder what to order...try the #Red #Chile Burrito seriously the best I've had, tastes like #Gramma made it! The refried beans are dangerously delicious! 4 1/2-Stars seriously almost perfect burritos! Yes I've been updating my posts but I'm here NOW 1:20p w/ #BeautifulBeast & #MinorBeast! Now time for a Nap! Note: No Pic it wouldn't translate well #TrustMe -Blessings

I have been coming here since I could remember. This place always shmacks! The food is always prepared to the finest quality and the family who owns the restaurant has not changed. Always a loving and authentic Mexican family. I would recommend this place a 1000x over anything else.

Real good food made fresh home cooking. So expect to see an old location and you have to order at the counter and pick up your food. But the ladies that work there are very nice

Chile Verde embaradas with chicharrones !!!! Try to get there before 12pm to avoid traffic. Good spot for a nice quiet lunch. Staff are all very friendly :)

This is the ultimate hard to find hole in the wall. The deco inside looks like your mexican cousins back yard patio the day after a big party. Beer cans stacked floor to ceiling and mis matched furniture. The lady behind the counter is all business, taking orders, collecting cash, then off to the back to prep orders. They are best known for embaradas. Today i ordered one regular (pork chile verde) and one chicharron w red chile on the side. The to go packaging is ghetto as hell: styro plate with paper on top and a stapler to seal it up. But that doesnt matter. The first thing you notice when you open this thing is the corny corn scent of that giant handmade tortilla. Then inside refried beans and meat. Chile verde is good, but the chicharron is awesome! Perfect combo with the chewy tortilla, beans, crunchy chicharron and red chile (just wish that was hotter). Very affordable, very filling/satisfying, very authentic. I would give 5 stars if chile was HOTTER. Really good.... Go check it out!

I don't know who I love more right now: Yelp or La Aztecs. If Yelp did not exist, I would have never found this place and my life would have been forever short changed. I feel like I was transplanted right into a small town in mexico and the town grandma is cooking for me personally. Inside of this place is awesome. Enter through the sliding entrance door and little Mexico opens up. Embarrada is certainly one way to go, but I'm sure everything is authentic and amazing. Fresh homemade real salsa the way God intended. And to boot, there is an A in the window from the health inspection and believe me, I would STILL eat here even if I saw cocaroaches floating around (I did not see any to be clear). Please come here.

The food is really good here. The Embarrada con Chile Verde is the best on their menu. Add the green or red salsa for some kick. Nice garage sale decor with about 50 clocks. Not sure if any of them work though. I would put this up as one of the top 5 mexican places I have ever had (Los Cincos Puntos, Las Fuentes, Carrillos etc).

Mom&Pop shop, sweet lil place. Family owned. We got to chat with la Dueña, awesome lady..Just enjoyed some taquitos and refried beans. And we also had an order of their Embarrada's. Food was great! Didn't give them 5stars cuz my beans were a bit cold. But I'm still coming back! :)

Embarrada de chicharron with the red salsa was awesome (better than the "regular"). The tortilla was excellent, and the combination of beans and crispy pork was so good. Very filling. Just needed one despite being super hungry.