Santa Ana Meat Market

Dropped in to buy a diet coke after eating next door at Las Brisas De Apatzingán and ended up buying marinated arrachera meat for carne asada. The friendly lady (owner?) behind the counter talked into taking me into getting some to take home. Guy next to me in line confirmed the quality and mentioned he was buying 60 pounds for a party.
Turns out they do a brisk business selling marinated meat for carne asada… the other cuts looked fresh and the prices fair.
So took it home to San Diego slapped it on the grill and indeed It was delicious. I will definitely take some home on my next trip to Santana. The lady tells me they have customers that drive from other cities to get their meat, I believe it.
I have to tell you the service is outstanding and they have a good selection of Mexican products including fresh and dried chiles and tortillas. Also beer is iced down in large bins. The nice lady also gave me some delicious green salsa as a bonus. Highly recommend this place. Yes blue collar neighborhood but what is wrong with that?

The guy working here are nice but it take them too long to wrap up time. I might come back if I have more time

We bought chorizo and el pastor both tasted really good and great price. Worth driving from Irvine. Definitely we’ll be back.

Super friendly staff and they all had smiles. The market was a little smaller than I thought, but that’s not their fault.
I wanted to try their marinated meats and went with some Al Pastor and Carne Asada. The Al Pastor isn’t sitting in marinade like I’ve always grabbed it at other places. Instead they cut up the meat and hand mixed in marinade/​seasoning. I thought it might be lacking flavor because of not marinating long but I was wrong. I ended up enjoying the best Al Pastor I’ve ever made.
The prices were great, meat was delicious. Even though it’s pretty small, they had all the staples. I would give 5 stars but unfortunately the area isn’t the best and there were people loitering about around other businesses and some may not feel safe. If you’re used to going to carniciera’s in Santa Ana area, don’t wory about it. :).

Friendly service offering free tasting of their cheese and we got free salsa. .Best marinated meat in town.

Excellent selection, excellent prices, excellent service! It’s hard to find «your» spot when you first move to a new area. The last great meat market I frequented was in Fort Pierce, FL a few years ago. After stopping in at a few meat markets in Santa Ana I am once again happy to have found «my» new spot. Service friendly and quick, unlike the other «meat market» [more like a small cramped counter] that sits virtually next door. I was even treated with a free piece of their store made chorizo and the Butcher even offered some tips for cooking the meats I purchased, like a real butcher is supposed to do. This is definitely the spot.

I happened to past by wrong turn and ended up in this meat market. customer service was excellent, very friendly and helpful. The meat i purchased look very fresh. I like the way its prepared with aluminium foil and sealed neatly. i was even given a free 2 liter Pepsi. Hey… I’m for sure will go back.

Been going here for over 15 years! My friend Edwin and his 8 brothers swore by this place and I know why. My friends can tell the when I change meats in middle of cooking (if I have to grab more from a local store). Best carne asada you can find in Orange county. Salsa is good and spicy too!

For anyone living local in my area, THIS is the spot and anyone who knows about the marinated meat. If you buy enough they hook you up with some of that mean salsa. Subway, FUCK your Februany. For 10 bucks me and the homeboy got two pounds of that shit and ate bombskies! Add to that a FAT BLUNT and some brews?! FOGETABOUTIT!

Great carniceria! The carne asada se preparada (marinated) was great — we bbq’d it when we got home and it was juicy, tender, and excellent. Not salty, just the right flavor.