El Tarasco

Never again, ordered shrimp cocktail and the avocado was brown asked to change it and they had an attitude. Got the bill and was charged extra. Customer service? Waitress had an attitude all the time.

I came here with my friends once because we were in the mercadito and were hella hungry. When I walked in, i thought the place was nice and very big. We got sat right away.
All the waitresses talk only Spanish, which was fine with me but not convenient for non Spanish speakers. Ordered our food and it literally took 40 minutes to get what we ordered!!! We were left munching on the free tortilla chips and salsa that pretty much just filled us up.
What pissed me off the most is that there was a few parties that came in after us and had 6 – 8 people at their table. Ordered their food way after us and still got it before us!!! First of all, we ordered ONE fish taco and a burrito… Those things do NOT take 40 damn minutes to get ready! Right when we were about to walk out. Try said it was ready…
My first thought: «This good better be worth 40 min of wait!»
The food was not all that and doesn’t taste like authentic Mexican food.
Over priced and not good quality. Cheese wasn’t melted or cheesy, more like putty. Where if you pull it’ll stretch but tasted like plastic! NO WAY! I love my cheese so if they can’t get that right well deuces. Never coming back.

Long very long wait time!!! Expect over am hour waiting for your food and then it wasn’t even worth the wait. And steep in price. Waitress was nice if you ever could get a hold of her

It had been years since I had ventured into East LA. Aside from being in the part town that pays homage to my favorite gangster film of all time «Blood in Blood out», El Terasco was not a reason to venture back anytime soon.
The food isn’t very «authentic», it’s spruced up a bit. The music is loud and non-​stop, at one point I even stopped conversing because I found myself annoyed at the sheer fact that I had better luck engaging in a conversation during a Steel Panther concert.
My meal was anything but delicious. I ordered the fish tacos and oddly enough they damper them in mustard. Strange; I know.
The alcohol is cheap, but then again at this establishment you do get what you pay for.

i really enjoyed this place at the time. the food tasted great, while the dueling mariachis on either side of each restaurant were extremely cool. so, they’re getting a plus one star for that. unfortunately, i also left with a complimentary order of food poisoning. this happened last saturday night, and i’m still suffering from montezuma’s revenge almost a week later. bummer…

My experience at el tarasco was one I will never forget. I came here for an event my friend Oscar had set up this past Saturday evening. I remember coming in
As my friend Oscar and I arrived here. I immediately thought I had fallen asleep and woke up in Mexico, or Panorama City, but I didn’t I was in East LA at a Market Place. God, I felt like I was back in High School, yes, High School cause I’m such a chunt.
Hesitant to wear my poncho, cause it was hot as the devil’s crotch outside, we walked in and up to the third floor where El Terasco was located. The place is huge. You can hear the mariachi even from outside. It was really lively, and loud, I loved it. The restaurant is definitely different from your typical Mexican restaurant. This restaurant provides so much space and also caters to special events and private parties. I was lucky enough to take a peak of the other rooms they have available for those certain occasions.
The food was pretty good, I had a share of a little bit of everything from everyone and I was not disappointed one bit. The complimentary chips and salsa was good also, homemade I think cause they were so warm and fresh. The price isn’t so bad, a little more than your average Mexican restaurant but you get the whole deal! Great food, excellent and attentive service, a live Mariachi and some variety in your dining life!
I highly recommend this place also for dates, its so different and fun. I will definitely be back in the future and hopefully see that beautiful woman singing I saw this past Saturday… Jesus, she was angelic… *tears*

This place is a little slice of Guadalajara in L.A. It is located on the third floor of El Mercado, a collection of Hispanic shops under one big roof. It is one of two places that feature Mariachi bands at opposite ends of the cavernous space, the other being La Perla (but the menus are identical, if not the mariachis). If you are anglo, you will be the only ones here. Everyone appears Mexican, no one speaks English-​including the waitresses– and the menu is in Spanish only. Menu specialties include lots of shellfish and seafood, including octopus. I had carne asada platter with shrimp. The shrimp and the meat tasted marinated before cooking and each had a lot of flavor. The rice that came with the platter was some of the tastiest I can remember. The refried beans my companion had tasted authentically prepared with lard. The tortillas were good, the brown-​colored salsa was redolent with fire roasted peppers and had a fiery blast of heat. I was making my tortillas with a smear of refried, some guacamole, strips of beef, spicy pickled carrots, rice, salsa and lettuce… a very delicious combo! The service was kind of slow, despite many waitresses. They do take credit cards. If you want an adventurous evening of authentic, tasty Mexican food, you will enjoy this place. Don’t forget to walk around the 1^st and 2^nd floor shops beforehand-​they are interesting, and close at 9 pm.