Rosticeria y Cocina El Paisano

The reigning taqueria champ in White Center. (Don’t believe the pretenders, though even they are solidly fine.)The lengua and adobada are particular standouts.

Excellent spot in White Center for authentic Mexican food. I recommend the beef tongue in green salsa. Only one star was taken off because the plates weren't totally clean.

It was national taco day so hit one of my favorite spots and ordered one of nearly every one! Barbacoa was delicious but all were really good! Gone there several times and tried couple other things, the sopes are great!

Great experience! Outside does not look very appetizing but upon entering it felt very homely. Staff was friendly, food wait times weren't unreasonable with decent prices. Would recommend to others.

It has been awhile since I here. Food here is totally fresh and delicious. I highly recommend.

Their birria tacos are awesome! You can choose beef or barbacoa filling. Highly recommend

This is the worst rotisserie chicken I've tried in my life. They served me a stale chicken, the meat was dry. I asked for a couple of lime wedges, they were dry as a bone. I doubt any of the ingredients are fresh and doubt the food is made fresh to order.

Traditional Mexican food Roasted Chicken, Carne Asada, Camarones and good beverages. I’ll come back. Got some Tamales to go from the Carneceria two doors down. Had fun! Service is attentive and prices decent.

Solid Mexican food. These tacos are by no means comparable to SoCal, but by seattle standards it's the best place we have. Salsa is their forte. They have four different kinds you can try - verde, roja, cafe (tasted like a roasted mix of tomato and tomatillo), and a smoky red chipotle salsa. Chips are solid and give you an excuse to eat more of their spicy delicious salsa. Recommend getting their al pastor tacos (and if you come on the weekend it's 2 for 1)! Tacos otherwise are about $3/each. Their tortillas are okay. Rice and beans are solid and you get a huge plateful for only $3.99. Their wet burrito is also a solid choice and a ton of food. Service is good. Come hungry, leave full :)

The Birria Beef Tacos r absolutely delicious I repeat delicious flavors n the meat was sooo tender ! I hear the Goat is really good as well! Friendly employees for sure! A must try ! Definitely will come here again yummm!

This place was delicious. I ordered the birria plate. They have the option of beef or goat. I had the goat. The plate came and I was pleasantly surprised. It was a large serving. Every bite was delicious. I'm gonna need a nap after eating this much food. Highly recommend if you want delicious and authentic Mexican food.

This place is Amazing they take pride in their food you can definitely taste that. This place is the best as far as quality and price in the food. Definitely 5 stars.

A real Mexican spot that knows how to cook. Its not trendy or gentrified. Its in a very sketchy area. Everyone that works there speaks Spanish. I love it. The food and sauces have flavor and love.

2 Enchiladas $9.99: I was craving cheese enchiladas. These were good enough to satisfy my craving. The plate comes with rice, beans, and salad, but I asked for extra beans instead of rice. The beans were pretty good, but my main disappointment was with the chips and salsa. The chips had a weird taste to me. I can pinpoint what it was, but I wasn't able to hide it with the salsa either. ***** My Star Ratings: 1 Star - Terrible. Just thinking about it makes me angry. 2 Stars - Meh. Unlikely for me to return. 3 Stars - OK. Open to coming back, but wouldn't go out of my way to. 4 Stars - Yummy! Will definitely return if I haven't already. 5 Stars - AMAZING!!! Would plan my day or even a trip around eating here.

Stopped on for chicken on Sunday late afternoon but they were out. The lady at the register said they had albondigas ready so I got an order of that with chipotle and flour tortillas. It was delicious! Very rich and a little spicy. The meatballs and veggies in the soup were nice, tortillas seemed handmade and were delicous with a little butter. I'll be back to try the chicken but also would definitely order the albondigas again.

This place is awesome and the owners are very nice. They offer table service as well as to-go. I ordered the Wet Burrito and they were able to make it vegetarian for me by removing the meat. The drinks are also good! I tried the watermelon juice; it was very light and refreshing. My friend said the chicken tacos were a little dry, but the carne asada was excellent. Next door there's a market that has WAY better salsa than what you'd find at Safeway or another supermarket. Overall I'd recommend it.

Had a craving for pozole tonight and theirs totally hit the spot! I also got some chips and salsa, which are also super tasty! I was not ready for how hot the salsa was though! Such great flavors - I'll definitely be back!

Very good chili rellenos and a nice tamarind agua verde. Packed on a Sunday afternoon. I basically sat with a plant as I ate. Knocking off 2 stars as it took at least 30+ minutes to receive my food. At one point in time they came out asking the general dining room who ordered what. I probably wouldn't come back as that long a wait when you're hungry isn't a great time.

Wow, just got back from lunch and decided to write this review before the food coma kicks in. My co-workers had been here a few times and always boasted about the chicken. So I came in and ordered the 1/2 bird and damn!!!! that was a beautiful lunch. The chicken was flavorful, tender, and way more food than I could eat. My buddy had the carne asada and gave me a bite and now I know what I'm ordering next time. The staff is friendly and the place is clean. My new go to place.

I've gone here 10 years ago, food didn't have any flavor, was cold and looked old and gross. 10 years later.. still looks the same, but this time I faithfully didn't come to eat. I just came for two coffees to go. Guess how they prepared it... As we waited 18 minutes for them to serve us. I kept looking behind the counter to see if they were ready. Finally, we saw the lady getting two styrofoam cups, adding cold water in them, mixing instant coffee and throwing them both in the microwave!!! Just in case you didn't know, that causes cancer. Also, restaurants shouldn't carry microwaves especially right by the cashier. Shows a lot about a restaurant..

A favorite since right now! I'll be back for chili rellenos and salsa. Polo is perfectly moist.

Friendly stuff, tasty roasted chicken marinated with Mexican spices, low selection on drinks: mainly sodas

Last week I spent some time wandering around White center for the first time ever.... and, my friend decided to take me out to her favorite Mexican joint in the area. Perfect! I can't quite remember what she ordered for us, but I believe it was carne asada plates with a side of tortillas. We got the lunch-sized plates and those were ALREADY big enough to be two meals for both of us. I'm far from being an expert when it comes to good Mexican food, but this was definitely tasty and very filling. It's been a week now and I'm STILL feeling like it'll be weeks before I have any desire to eat any more beef. Drink-wise she enjoyed a Corona and I enjoyed my horchata. It wasn't the best horchata I've ever had, but it was tasty. I believe there's a small charge for paying with a card, so bringing cash is a good plan. The one thing that sort of bothered me was that there's ONE bathroom and the lock was broken. Not a big fan of that because it is WAY too easy to space on knocking before you open the door and... well, that's just not something I'd want to experience (from either side).

Best Mexican food around. We own a.place in Puerto Vallarta and eat a lot of Mexican food. This place is great.

I love this place coffee is very nice "cafe de olla". Today Wednesday there is a lunch special Pozole and Menudo. Two .Mexican soup that will help you to keep warm is this time of the year. They also offer Pollo asado o rostisado is coming with rice, beans and salad. They offer pork ribs. Customer service is excelente. They receive you with a big smile from the counter the kitchen personal was also willing to greet you

HOLY ROTISSERIE CHICKEN! It's soooo good! Salsas and tortillas are all made in house... both delicious! Tamales at their deli next store are amazing too! YUMM

If your looking for a Mexican food this is the place the food is so yummy and fresh. omg the pollo asado with arroz and beans Barbacoa de chivo,birria I give all the stars

Some of the best menudo I've had in the area. They have agua fresca de fresa, melon, jamaica and horchata of course. They also have bbq ribs. Yum.

Recommended from a family friend. Ordered 4 dozen tamales. Awesome work. There are 2 locations, the restaurant and the butcher. Both location fairly clean, quick and efficient.

Great home made salsa, free flow of freshly made nachos, excellent value for money, and soccer on the TV. What more could your ask for. It's now my go-to place for lunch. The lunch portion of carne asada is just perfect with freshly made tortillas. It's essentially a take-away place but with adequate seating. If you are craving Mexican food in White Center but don't want to go to the food trucks, this is an excellent sit-down alternative and when there is a party of you, there is much more choice than the trucks.

Looking for a breakfast place and stumbled into this little gem. Nice people and delicious food. Sadly, it was so good, I forgot to take pics! Best item we had were the tripa soft tacos. Ordered it extra crispy, and OMG! Finally! A great place for tripa tacos! We will be back!

What better place to give my first Yelp review than El Paisano? This place is something of a hole in the wall, and for those who want a stellar dining experience, this may not be the place for you. The restaurant itself does not gleam and glimmer of cleanliness nor does the decor scream of a fine dining ambiance, but if you want great Mexican food in Seattle, this is the place for you. Growing up, all I've ever had was the generic, overdone, greasy, cheese-smothered "Mexican" food served at places like Azteca. Don't get me wrong: there is a time and place for food like that (just like there's a time and place for Taco Bell...are we thinking like 3 AM late night munchies?), but El Paisano literally redefined Mexican food for me. Truthfully, I've only had three things on their menu: the carne asada tacos, wet burrito, and pozole, but this is more than enough to know that El Paisano's the place for me. Their carne asada was the first thing I've had here, and they were so good I wowed my brother by having 12 tacos in one sitting. Was that too much? Oh, for sure. Was it worth it? You bet. When El Paisano's carne is cooked well, it is on point. The meat is just barely caramelized on the outside, providing that delicious crispiness that harmonizes with the meat juices from the beef. The spices on the carne asada is not overpowering and juxtapose perfectly against the freshness of the pico de gallo or the spiciness and slight acidity of the salsa verde. On a good day, these tacos get a 5+/5 from me, and even on a bad day, they get a 4/5. The wet burrito is a beast. I can hardly finish it...and this is coming from the guy who somehow ate 12 tacos in one sitting. You absolutely MUST get the wet burrito with the green sauce. It is a game changer. That green sauce is angelic. It is spicy, savory, and altogether wholesome. It takes a humble burrito and launches it into great heights of culinary pleasure. The burrito has meat, rice, beans, lettuce, and guacamole with a little melted cheese on top. While I have noticed that the guac is missing sometimes, I actually don't mind too much. That's how amazing this burrito is (and trust me, I am die-hard fan of guac...). I've never had a bad wet burrito, so I'll give this a 5/5. I'm not going to lie. I've never been a big fan of pozole. Unlike with the tacos or burritos, El Paisano didn't blow my mind away with their pozole. It isn't that it was bad. It was probably quite good given their track record with their other food. I just don't like it. I will say, however, that a serving of pozole comes with a very healthy portion of meat in the soup, so it was extremely filling and the perfect complement to the rainy day when I ate it. Altogether, El Paisano is a restaurant I crave and desperately miss when I'm not in Seattle. Without fail, my brother and I make it a point to come here whenever possible. It is just that incredible. You have to give it a shot.

For those who say you can't find Authentic Mexican food in Seattle, I say you haven't ventured to the sketchy part of town, this is a dark nighttime photo of the front of El Paisano http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/el-paisano-rosticeria-y-cocina-seattle?select=yrhftyNNLkHdu17MU3OcZQ#je-WBwdcfv3w-g84elws8A not even a name, and place looks sketchy as hell, just what I'm looking for! I ordered Tacos which are served on hand made tortillas, they also offer a nice selection of meats which they get from their Carniceria two doors down http://www.yelp.com/biz/carniceria-el-paisano-seattle?page_src=related_bizes Tacos: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/el-paisano-rosticeria-y-cocina-seattle?select=yrhftyNNLkHdu17MU3OcZQ#5phNasvfsmscqjFClV8Lgw Birria de Chivo - http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/el-paisano-rosticeria-y-cocina-seattle?select=yrhftyNNLkHdu17MU3OcZQ#Nv7C5dduph1pgh5JS1lE0w Nice lean and tender goat meat with great flavor http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/el-paisano-rosticeria-y-cocina-seattle?select=yrhftyNNLkHdu17MU3OcZQ#XXOMg2_NUHaINtIgBDe24w on a fresh handmade tortilla, it doesn't get much better than this. 4.5-Stars Carne Asada - http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/el-paisano-rosticeria-y-cocina-seattle?select=yrhftyNNLkHdu17MU3OcZQ#thfZsJ3TIXbzwIjcPXSQQA It looks like they might use arrachera/skirt stake it's very lean and tender, also might be cooking on an open flame as it has great color, marking and flavor... did I mention some great corn tortillas. 5-Stars Al Pastor - http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/el-paisano-rosticeria-y-cocina-seattle?select=yrhftyNNLkHdu17MU3OcZQ#OVHYFmv9r3hpZf8smQ1_Kw Now that's some beautiful Piggy! nicely marinated great flavor with a bit of char, wish it had some bits of pineapple but still delicious. 4.5-Stars Carnitas - http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/el-paisano-rosticeria-y-cocina-seattle?select=yrhftyNNLkHdu17MU3OcZQ#yrhftyNNLkHdu17MU3OcZQ Oh how I love thy pig, this one had good flavor but just a bit dry. 3-Stars Salsa - http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/el-paisano-rosticeria-y-cocina-seattle?select=yrhftyNNLkHdu17MU3OcZQ#3uppi9Ci0uf9ZGsfwHv_VQ Some good stuff! You want some real deal Mexican food, come check these guys out!

Just Info about me ( I hope this gives me some credibility) Although I'm a slanty eyed little Asian kid, I was born and raised in Sunny LA and am a pretty damn proud Angelino (even though I dont know anyone from LA that calls themself an Angelino). AND most importantly I LOVE Mexican food. Love Love Love. I've been trying to find a good Mexican place to call home here in Seattle and to a large degree El Paisano has become my new home. For any LA people visiting Seattle, a word to the wise: The Mexican food here that people claim is good... is often gringo food. haha :) just FYI OK with all that said, lets get down to the nitty gritty ____________________________________________________________ Overall: El Paisano Roteceria y Cocina is just that, a rotisserie and kitchen. BUT the most awesome part about the restaurant is that the store is adjacent (well one space away) from the family owned butchery. WHICH means that the meat you get is taken directly from the store next door. WHICH is pretty bomb.com if you ask me. Tacos: The choice of tacos is pretty extensive. Carnitas, Carne Asada, El Pastor, Lengua, Pollo, Chorizo. The two best tacos are for sure the Lengua and the Carne Asada. As for consistency in tastiness... I think that the Lengua is pretty consistently good where as the Carne Asada is almost always good but sometime can be a little dry or a litle overcooked. BUT when things are good the tacos are solid. THey are simple street tacos made up of a tortilla, onions, lime, and meat. With a little of their awesome salsa the tacos are good. Chilaquiles The Chilaquiles were ok. Honestly I think outside of the tacos the rest of the menu is just alright. The food is of course authentic, but I was a little disappointed by the Chilaquiles. It was a simple dish, a little spicy, but without meat and without much depth of flavor Burritos: The Carne Asada burrito was good. Not the BEST burrito I've had but better than most. I had a dry burrito as opposed to wet. It was pretty typical and run of the mill, but a good kind of comfort food. All things considered, El Paisano is a good place to grab mexican, REALLY affordable (tacos are like 1.50 a piece) and pretty authentic. I'd order the tacos for sure but dont get your hopes up too high for the rest of the menu. Happy eats my friends!!! =]

I heard that there were no good Mexican places in Seattle, but boy did this place change my mind! El Paisano is a small, homey restaurant in White Center. Univisión was running in the background, which let me know right away that the food here has got to be good. When I walked in, I didn't see the menu sitting on the table so I initially planned on ordering from the wall menu (with the same classic discolorations and mid-grade photos as any other homey ethnic restaurant), which was entirely in Spanish. This was a good sign. The full menu was sitting on the table with all the dish names and descriptions. I ordered two asada tacos and one chicken taco. I definitely made the right choice. I came in with a relatively large group (about seven other people), so the tacos took some time, but the wait was reasonable. Definitely worth the wait though! The tacos were really flavorful and cheap ($1.50 each)! I would definitely recommend this place to a friend and would like to come back for more.

Oh man, this place is a hole in a wall. From the outside it looks slightly ghetto but that doesn't matter at all. I ordered the carne asada nachos and they were probably some of the best I've had. It was full of meat and toppings. The customer service was great! The lady was really nice. She offered me salsa Verde and Pico de Gallo, most places you have to serve it yourself. I will definitely be back again.

The butcher shop a couple of doors down (Carniceria El Paisano) opened up a lil "order at the counter" restaurant. The place is nice and clean with a good selection of dishes to choose from. You can get the usual types of mexican dishes as well as a large assortment of seafood dishes featuring shrimp, prawns, octopus, scallops, talapia and oysters. Plus, you can actually order a goat dish here! Since they are tied to the butcher shop, the meat selection is very impressive. Choices include al pastor (rotisserie pork), asada (steak), buche (pork stomach), carnitas (braised pork), chorizo (pork sausage), pollo, chicharron de lonja (pork rinds), tripa (cow stomach), lengua (beef tongue), cabeza (cow head), barbacoa (?), birria (goat), criadillas (pig testicles), and jamon (cured pork). Wow. I tried the Birria De Chivo which is marinated goat in chilis and spices and then baked. Served with rice, beans and tortillas. The portions here are huge! For the entrees, you can chose a lunch size of dinner size. Hell, I couldn't even finish my lunch size, I can't imagine tackling a dinner portion. I'll be back to try some more dishes. =) 1/08: Update - Their burritos suck. I had high hopes for it since I've had their refried beans but I didn't see any in my burrito! Plus they put lettuce in it which wasn't mentioned in the menu, bleah....

Mexican food. Delicious. As real as it gets. I was eating a torta ahogada and washing it down with an horchata, while watching the America vs Tijuana soccer game. I lost my sense of reality and actually thought I was in East Los Angeles; the food, people, and atmosphere was nothing I've experienced in Seattle. The staff was friendly, the food was great and not overly priced. The portions are on the large side but not exaggerated. I will definitely be coming back. The area may bring concern to folks not from the area but as I told a friend, "The place looks shady so I knew the food would be good!"

I came in yesterday night around 7:45ish, few minutes before 8pm or so, not realizing they were about to close! The lady was nice, she still greeted me, didn't say anything at all about closing. It was after I was seated and saw her continuing to pull things and clean that I realized they were trying to get out! I didn't feel rushed at all though! The special of the day was chicharrones and salsa. I actually came here wanting tripas tacos, but decided to give the special a try! It was a generous portion of fried chicharron chunks (pork belly), that had been stewed in a nice salsa type sauce. Just enough spice, a little spicy for me actually. For most, it's probably considered mild to medium. Served with a side of rice, beans, a small salad and fresh flour (option of corn or flour) tortillas! The dish was very good, not too fatty at all. You use the fresh, lightly toasted tortillas to sop up the extra sauce, it was delicious! I made a mess eating this because it was so juicy! After I ordered and sat down, I was brought a warm basket of chips and pico de gallo. It was awesome! Warm chips, fresh made pico de gallo. It was a bit spicy for me, I was crying while eating it, but couldn't stop! The horchata helped calm my mouth. The first cup was okay, you could taste the complex flavors of the spices in it, but my second cup was thick and grainy. Going back to it was closing time, and I think she had already dumped most of it before I came in. When I asked for a refill, she actually pulled a cup of it out of the fridge like she had saved in just in case I wanted more. I couldn't help it, I also ordered 2 tripas tacos for myself and 6 asada tacos to go for my son. The tacos were pretty big compared to some of the other places that serve the soft shell "street" tacos. They only had one layer of tortilla as well, but with the size and fluffiness of the tortilla, this was perfect. They don't skimp on meat either, both my tacos I had there and the ones to go were loaded full of meat! I would say they are probably double the meat of most places. I don't know how much everything cost individually, as I didn't really look at the menu, but $30 after tax and tip for 8 HUGE tacos, an entrée and a drink. Not bad at all! Bathroom was clean too, which is hard to find in small ethnic places (whether it be Asian, Mexican, etc).

Absolutely wonderful food. I'm from SoCal and I'm always skeptical about Mexican food outside of [Southern] California. I went to a lot of places in Seattle and this is by far the best. Their tomatillo sauce is amazing, so I would highly suggest getting the wet burrito w/ carne asada and green sauce. You will 100% not be disappointed. Their refried beans are also amazing. Since I found this place, I can't help but stop by at least once a week to just pick up beans since there's no way I can replicate the taste of theirs at home. I literally eat them by themselves sometimes. My family had a few other things while they were here including tacos, burritos, enchiladas, the rotisserie chicken, etc., but the favorites seemed to be whatever was smothered in the salsa verde. This place had absolutely great flavor in everything they touched, but I would highly recommend the above. Also, as an added bonus (because I only rate on the taste of the food), the staff was very warm and welcoming. They seem like wonderful people and are always very accommodating when I come in.

Very nice chicken. Nice and spicy. Nap time.

I've only had the Chicken and Beef Burrito multiple times and it's been solid every time and I couldn't imagine it could be better. I take away one star because El Paisano is not order-over-the-phone friendly. If you call its unlikely that anyone will ever pick up the phone so you have to go in to order take-out.

Been coming here for 6 years and I have never been disappointed. I always bring friends here when they want an example of authentic Mexican food. If you want truly spicy flavorful salsa, this is the place! They have slabs of ribs and while rotisserie chicken to take home which I highly recommend doing. The caldo de res, I could order as my last meal on death row. It's that good. Get yourself a Jamaica to sip on, sit back and watch a soccer game while you wait for your food. And if you are still hungry, which is nearly impossible, you can make room for their fried tacos and tamales that they sell next door at their carniceria. They are the best I have ever had!

Super nice folks and super good food with heart. A regular, degular place with just some incredible, affordable food cooked with love. The tortillas are homemade, beer is cheap, and it's the best birria I've had in a minute. True White Center gold.

Very very very good, authentic mexican food...like Los Angeles good. Also, everything tastes delicious! Amazing aguas frescas. It's cold, bring a sweater. Love the spicy green chilaquiles with asada. The beans are delicious too.

The food tasted delicious, but the dish I ordered was almost half bone and gristle. Again the flavor was great but the content was sub par. They asked if I wanted corn or flour tortilla and I said flour, but when I got home they had given me corn. My roommate had a torta and ordered a side of beans and rice, that they charged us for but didn't put in the bag. I may give them another chance and chalk it up to an off night, but I will also check my order before I leave next time.

Very authentic. Lots of options on the menu. Completely Hispanic clientele. Everything I've had here in my three visits has been scarfalicious. The breakfast burrito ($4) hit the spot, and a few varieties of tacos (lengua es muy bueno!) for a quick lunch have all been good. The tortillas are some of the best I've had. Horchata is bomb. They even serve chips for us gringos, but they gave me an entire salsa caddy -- to be reused, you know? Without a salsa dish, I wondered if people are supposed to dip their chips in those things, but I just spooned it on each chip as I went. Awkward. But that's what I get for being a gringo who likes chips and salsa. PROS: Very authentic, scarfalicious mexican food done dirt cheap. CONS: Shareable salsa caddies? Hmmmm.

This little gem might not look like much outside, one of the ladies in our party even said we might have stopped at the wrong place but don't be fooled, this place holds some of the most legit delicious Mexican food I've had. And I'm from the LA area and of Mexican decent so I know good Mexican food. Inside it's pretty clean, the chips were warm and crisp and the salsas were delicious. The food: we had a whole chicken combo to share and I ordered a couple asada tacos. The chicken was huge even between five of us we took home half and the flavor was amazing, legit, just like in the rosticerias you find in Jalisco. The rice and beans were authentic and delicious, the tortillas were massive, order half of what you think you'll eat. The tacos were good size and the meat was really good. Everyone in our group is a harsh critic but they loved everything from this place so much they wanted to come back for the pipian. I will definitely visit again next time I'm in town.

I used to frequent this place for the tamales. 12 years later I walked in to pay for a dozen of tamales and a cockroach walked across the atm machine, the owner literally flicked the roach off of the counter right I front of me. I will never go back again and I threw all the tamales away.

Mi gusta El Paisano! This little place is great and clean and in White Center which gives it street cred right there. Its an extension of the meat shop of the same name almost next door (they are actually separated by a laundromat). Since I am a vegetarian my order never changes. There aren't many non-meat options unfortunately. Let's see, there is a burrito. They do have cheese enchiladas (I will be getting into those bad boys later) but comes with a chicken leg on the plate. So, if you don't mind repetition this place is where its at. You meat eaters will have no problem finding something to enjoy here. The enchiladas are my ABSOLUTE favorite. Oh my god I can't get enough of these things. They are made with white crumbly Mexican cheese (I'm blanking on the name), onions, wrapped in corn tortillas, lightly coated with red sauce, and then topped with Mexican creme cheese (not to be mistaken with cream cheese for bagels). Its served with a heaping helping of beans and rice and then topped with the aforementioned roasted chicken leg. Thankfully you can just plop that sucker on a napkin. The serving plate is the size of a bike wheel, I swear. You definitely get your money's worth with that dish. They are one of the pricer items on the menu coming in at a whopping $9.99 but for the amount you get its reasonable. The tortilla chips are always light and crispy. They have THE best green salsa on the planet and luckily you can buy some at the meat shop. I put it on everything. You could put that salsa on a chair and I would gladly eat it. The salsa is just that fucking good. Once I did decide to try something new and got a burrito but was not impressed at all. I'm sticking with the chips and enchiladas from here on in. Come down to White Center and get your grub on at El Paisano. Your taste buds with thank you for it.

I am really shocked by all the glowing reviews. I know Mexican food, love Mexican food and live for Mexican food. I'm going to get to the point, people talking about "This place reminds me of California" are full of sh*t! Nothing locally taste like California. Most people can't handle the heat, spice or even identify with anything other than chain style cuisine like Azteca. There were 3 salsa, 2 of which were flavorful and one very spicy as advertised. My Carne Asada didn't look like the photos posted and in hindsight; I should have snapped my own polaroid. It was fatty and had more gristle than any other piece of meat I have ever seen in a restaurant. There was also no fried pepper, which for me is the icing on the cake when it comes to Mexican eating. It was 30 degrees outside and not much warmer inside. It appeared the only heat was spill over from the kitchen. I'm not sure if there was no heat or if they were too cheap to turn on the heat, but either scenario is bad. While eating, I saw a bug near the register on the wall and though, well, it can happen, but at least the kitchen looks clean. No sooner than that, a bug crawled across my table. That pretty much wrapped up the meal and every bit of skepticism I had about the neighborhood, exterior and interior came to life. I wanted to like these guys and I think this neighborhood is on the fringe of major revitalization. I suspect ownership doesn't frequent Yelp, but I am going to make suggestions none the less. 1. Increase prices. You may never hear me say this again and I assure you it's the first time I've said it. By increasing prices 15% it would allow for two vital things to ensure success. A) 10% should go to renovations of the interior to make the location look presentable. B) 5% should go to higher quality meats and vegetables to ensure the best possible quality and flavor. The prices were fairly low, so they would still be competitive with this reasonable increase. 2. Control the customer. There was a couple of street people hanging out in the back of the restaurant, most likely trying to stay warm. I can't imagine what it would be like to live on the street especially when it's below freezing, but a business is a business and you will lose customers when you allow the wrong element to loiter. I say put em to work. For an hours worth of cleaning and putting out the trash, let 'em get a hot meal and an Abe Lincoln for their back pocket. 3. To Go Menu, you can't be in business without a to go menu. It's also a great way to self-promote as well as encourage a vigorous take out business.

I'm sitting here in a food coma after eating at El Paisano My god. I went in for late lunch and ordered the Birria something or other. Goat. Which I was pleased as punch to find on the menu. Goats are adorable! And delicious! Atmosphere: Hole in the wall and clean. Spanish speaking television. Everyone who was eating there besides me were also speaking Spanish. Latino style music coming out of the kitchen. The sound was not overwhelming and balanced so I chose to listen to the music rather than watch the telly. Service: Great! Friendly and prompt. And by prompt I mean that my meal was on the table in like 5 minutes. Which was good because I was hungry. Finally, the food...the goat is marinated, then simmered and baked. It was tender...oh...SO tender. Just the right amount of spices so that it didn't overwhelm the yumminess of the meat. Served with very light crunchy chips, salsa that I'm sure I'm going to dream about tonight and a stack of warm, freshly made corn tortillas. When I ordered, she asked if I wanted the lunch or dinner. The difference being the amount. I ordered the lunch and holy cow! (Or holy goat!) It was HUGE...for 7.99. I thought, great. Leftovers! Two meals for 7.99?! Damn, you bet! What I didn't bank on is the fact that they must dip it in crack after they bake it because I could not stop eating it. I washed the whole thing down with a Pacifico. So instead of looking forward to left overs all I have to look forward to is an hour on the exercise bike...and going there again. Soon.

Occasionally I hear bitching from local SoCal transplants that they can't find any good Mexican food anywhere in Seattle. I generally send them down to Tacos Asaderos on Rainier (the famous taco bus in the Columbia City area), or, to be an asshole, to Taco Time, with promises that it's a great Mexican food experience. I just don't tell them that it's great in the sense that it makes you wonder how the hell it got the label Mexican food. Sure, if Mexicans came from Canada, maybe. El Paisano is my new send-to spot. It's a bit of a hike for the typical transplant, who generally moves to cap hill or queen anne or somewhere in the great white north like Fremont or Ballard. But anyone familiar with the wet burrito place on the corner of Hoover and Washington in the 'hood of Los Angeles will appreciate this place. Funky interior, loud spanish tv and conflicting radio, and good Mexican food. I had lengua (tongue), my buddy had carne asada, and we both wished we had gotten the other's dish. Not that we didn't like our own, but, well, let's just say we were happier when we were sharing.

On a quest for real Mexican food and was recommended this hole in the wall place. I accidentally went into their carnicería 3 doors down by mistake but this is the restaurant side. Genuinely great rice and a good selection of Tacos available at cheap prices (between $1.50 & $2.50 depending on the meat). I tried 5 kinds of Tacos and really especially enjoyed the Al Pastor ones. Chicken was next best with the steak and pork being merely OK, a bit dry. Salsas were clearly homemade and very flavorful. The girlfriend had a cheese enchilada and appreciated the real Mexican queso and the ability to get 1 enchilada sized plate at reduced cost ($5.99). Overall, pretty authentic. We were the only English speaking customers the entire lunch period. Honest good food and reasonable prices and very friendly too.

I went today to have a pollo taco for an early lunch. I expected just a tiny, few-bite morsel of food like one would normally get at a taco stand. Instead, I got a large taco in what looked like a homemade tortilla of some sort. The taco itself was filled with delicious, fresh roasted chicken, pico de gallo, and a lettuce salad. All of this was great, except for the lettuce - that was merely good, as it was the iceberg stuff. But, you know, for $1.60 I'm not going to complain too much about it! They also brought me a basket of chips and the salsa tray, which I didn't expect at all - after all, I just ordered one measly taco. But, it being there in front of me, I tried the salsas, and indeed the green one was just excellent. Ambiance was provided by Univision at high volume; the regional Mexican soccer teams are in full swing, so highlights were provided with my breakfast. I will be definitely going back.

I didn't find food heaven like some here did but the food was good. Tacos were good, carne asada not really special and a bit dry, chile rellenos authentic, tortillas were homemade. BBQ chicken meal was a great deal. Would feed 4-6 with the sides. Overall simple menu but cooked well. Better than most. Only problem might be lack of seating. Small place. Consider takeout.

Wet burrito with steak was so far the best burrito I've had in washington from California