La Sirenita

This joint is really good; been going here for years and I have never been disappointed. It’s a comfort food, and if you are looking for cheap Mexican food, this is the place to go. I would go with the Asada burrito or the Asada fries, burrito is less than five bucks, fries are a little over six bucks. Great place, great service.

OK yeah I’m from California. Lived in the bay area where good Mexican food was plentiful, and also made many treks to the Mission in San Francisco. I accepted the challenge of finding a legit Mexican taqueria in the Portland area, and La Sirenita helped my complete this challenge rather quickly. Huge burritos, great prices, and flavorful carnitas got my approval, but their ample stock of chile verde sauce by the bottle won me over completely.
Huge plus for it being in one of my favorite areas in Portland (though I live far from here), where other great restaurants I’ve been to exist. If you’re new to the area and you need a fix of good authentic Mexican food, come here. The ambiance of this place isn’t the best, but its usually places like those that have great food. I’ll be coming back!

I love this place. One of my favorite burritos in town! They are huge! I love the California Burrito! They have amazing salsas as well.

Been going to La Sirenita since 1994. Inexpensive, authentic & with vegetarian options.

Its so hard to find good, authentic Mexican food around the PNW! But $ 1.50 for tasty tacos and huge carnitas quesadilla for under $ 6… yes please! Admitedly, the quesadillas can be a little greasy, but its packed with meat vs filler and everything is just so damn good. Probably the best carnitas I’ve tried in the region actually… the guac is also so smooth, creamy and a good compliment to all food ordered! So glad this spot has managed to stick around over the years with all the changes in Alberta … and bonus: its just a few steps from my favorite donut shop, both of which are open pretty late! :D

I have a White friend (I am Black) that loves this place so much that he ate there everyday for two years. And, he still eats there a couple times a week. I think the food is okay, but nowhere close to what I am use to.
My friend orders the same thing every time-​the ground beef burrito. The first time I went there with my friend, I ordered the same thing. The short bald-​headed cashier told me they had just ran out of ground beef, after my friend ordered his food. My friend said that this was really strange to him. The second time we went there together, the same thing happened (same cashier). I said, «you must be kidding, right?» He said, «no.» This happened one more time.
Last night, we went in again. My friend ordered his usual. I ordered one soft-​shell shrimp taco. The same cashier asked me if I wanted three shrimp tacos. I said, «no, just one.» The cashier said, «We are out of shrimp.»
I will not go there again, except to talk to the owner. I’ll never eat there again! What do you think?

We’re visiting friends in Portland now and they brought in take out food from here tonight. Very tasty beans and rice… good fish taco, but would prefer grainier tacos and their Picco de gallo is blah. Our friends burrito was huge and my husband loved his half tongue, half head torte. The others had some peppers they ooh and ahhed over. All in all a great no hassle inexpensive take out meal!

You got to give it up for a restaurant that has lasted through the «Alberta Flip» era (you know what I mean). I started going there in 2000, when hood transition was in full forward. I was always told it was the real deal before visiting.
What is real deal Mexican food?
A restaurant that serves plate dishes along with Americanized Mexican food. But the main difference is that they serve Ceviche for there or to go… if you don’t have that then you’re rolling on fumes and fooling the unknowing.
I’ve visited Cali enough times to know what authentic tastes like, and in saying that, there are some joints in this town that are frontin:
Robo Taco (the Thai place next to them used to be a Mexican spot and they were way better than Robo… except the big drawback was they used a microwave to warm up some dishes)
Huge Honkin Burritos (they get props for being the 1^st food cart of Portland, but…)
Taco DelMar should be demolished…
Por Que No is somebody’s idea of chic Mexican
Muchas Gracias (I called it Muchas Nastias at one time) smells authentic but see my old review on them
The Original Taco House don’t know taste
There’s a few more spots I can’t think of at the moment, but you can get full for a decent price and legit taste at Sirinita. Funny thing is, there menu prices are a little higher for the same items at their Sellwood location.

A friend and I popped in for a quick lunch and were so happy we did. For $ 1.50 each you get any kind of taco, chicken, carne asada, carnitas and others, good sized and fantastic flavor, served up authentic style. There’s a counter with serve yourself condiments and sauces. Order at the counter and take a number for your table, the food is brought out to you. Drop your tray and trash in the receptacles, but the self serve makes it fast and cheap! Divey atmosphere, flavorful food!

Whhhhhhhhhy is the meat so weird? I ordered the pastor and it was so fatty, I couldn’t eat it. Gristly and chewy, just gross. The chicken tasted old and it was dry, clearly something that had been kept in steam tables for an indefinite amount of time. The best part was my sons cheese quesadilla, which was a great snag for two dollars BUT is also something I can make at home for under a buck. Overall, I say nay.

there are two dueling burrito shops almost next to each other on this block of alberta. this is the winner for me. it’s more athentic and old school down and dirty burrito shop. the other is more polished and catering to a different crowd. THIS is the type of place that actual hispanic brothers go eat lunch on their break.
the breakfast burrito was rock’n. full on bad for you greasy awesomeness. not my usual raw veg healthy crap but once in a while, man oh man… give me that breaky ‘ritto!
thanks la sirenita for being amazing. stay forever!

This was another high school favorite of mine that I haven’t stepped foot in since high school. They were known for their HUGE burritos and quick service.
They were closed down years ago for a period of time and I was younger so I didn’t know why, but I know they did some cleaning before they had reopened.
Upon entering everything looked the same, literally no upgrade, old tables, chairs, counter and water/​juice holders.
We ordered: carne asada nachos, a carne asada taco, a chicken taco, carne asada quesadillas and rice and beans. We always order too much food and end up with left overs times two! But, in our defense we hadn’t ate all day and our eyes are always bigger than our stomachs!
The food was good, not exceptional or mouth watering but not the worst we’ve ever had. I think they’re better for their burritos and it totally sucks that they don’t have tamales!
A little ant crawled across my napkin and from then on I was checking everything for ants, luckily we found none.
I won’t be going back here again because there are too many GREAT Mexican restaurants to settle for this one.
Happy Unilocaling…

My life has completely changed since having a baby. Now I usually look for convenient and easy restaurants for my child. I love this location because it’s near my house in walking distance, but the food is fantastic. not only is it inexpensive, they have good service. And even if you want to eat in and not take out, they have high chairs available for you. what I loved today is that I ran in and ordered my food and told him that I needed to sit in the car with my daughter and he said «don’t worry about it, I will bring the food to you.» What more could you ask for!

I love this place. It’s a two minute walk from my front door and I end up eating way too much Mexican food because of that. As someone who spent fifteen years in Southern California, I thought that would be impossible since I love Mexican food and ate it on a regular basis. But this place is so consistent and the food is so delicious that I can’t refuse an easy and cheap meal.
The prices are great and range from 1.50 for a basis meat taco to around six dollars for the more complex burritos. One of my favorite choices is the California Burrito with pork carnitas or asada as it comes with potatoes, guacamole and sour cream. They really load up the burritos, and they come out huge and very heavy. I don’t worry about getting mugged on the way home, because I could easily knock out someone with the heft that the burritos have.
Seating area is large and well lit, and the restrooms are interesting in that they are completely covered in graffiti and stickers. They also provide fresh condiments and peppers on the side, along with complimentary water. It’s the little things like that that make hole in the wall places like this stand out to me. The service is also friendly, fast and efficient and I’ve never had an «off» burrito.
I hope La Sirenita keeps up the good work, because I’m really digging them.

best tacos pastor in the US… hands down.
this is a must-​try for anyone who likes tacos…
you will not be disappointed! add salsa verde and lime and you are good to go!

If you want no-​frills, cheap, authentic Mexican food, look no further. This dive restaurant is going to deliver the goods on huge burritos, tacos, and sides. Will leave you full and satisfied. Even when my friend said he might have gotten food poisoning from here twice, he still goes back. That’s how good it is! I’ve ordered take out from here for 10 friends and they were very accommodating and gave us a great price.

I’ve been here a billion times and somehow I’ve never written a review. That’s a shame, because La Sirenita is, hands down, the best burrito place in Portland.
I’ve yet to have a bad thing from here. At worst, anything I’ve had can be called «good», but most of the time, it’s «excellent». My personal favorite is the fajita burrito, which comes with sour cream and grilled veggies and a choice of grilled beef or chicken.
My new favorite, though, is their pastor burrito. The pork is tender and isn’t overly pineapple-​y like many other pastor offerings that I’ve had in other places.
If you’re in a veggie mood, they have the cactus burrito, which isn’t listed on their menu above the cash register but is in their paper menu. If I’m not in a veggie mood, I’ve often gotten the cactus burrito with bacon added. It’s ridiculously good. Also, their chimichangas are fantastic, if you like your burrito goodness deep-​fried. Also, if you’re not in a burrito mood, their tacos are top-​notch, and I’ve heard from a friend that their tortas are solid as well.
Most importantly, this place is CHEAP! They even raised their prices recently and everything is still cheap! You can easily get out of there feeling stuffed for around $ 7.
Highest recommendation!

Quick and fast. The place doesn’t look the nicest but it’s about the people and food so I don’t care. Good cheap tacos and I like the Horchata, you can actually taste something ! Fish taco and the cow tongue is my favorite. Cow tongue is actually really well cooked and soft, sounds scary but doesn’t taste funky if that’s what you’re thinking.

I’ve been back to La Sirenita a couple times since my initial visit and have noticed that they’ve raised their prices in the past couple months (I get it! Ya gotta make ends meet!) and that the quality of my orders are wildly inconsistent.
Al Pastor Colorado burrito with hard, hard dried bits of meat in place of tender, marinated pork.
Partially-​melted quesadilla.
You get the jist.
It’s darkly lit, chilly, and not very clean in there too.
All this adds up to skipping over La Sirenita when looking for Mexican take-​out or eat-​in.

We go to La Sirenita at least a couple of times a month. It’s cheap, good and not that far from where we live.
BF normally gets the nachos, and I get the quesadilla, but the chicken tacos are good as well.
If you’re on or near Alberta, and want some cheap Mexican food that will cost under $ 10 a person (more like $ 5 — $ 7), then stop by here.