Taqueria Lorena’s

Reviews

• Julie H.

  star star star star star_border 8 June 2026

  Contrary to a lot of the reviews here, our experience was very positive. After a work meeting, we stopped in around 10:45pm. There were a number of people enjoying their food and no line whatsoever.
  
  I ordered a veggie burrito, "ahogado" -- slathered in enchilada sauce (red or green options), then melted cheese. My husband ordered a plain veggie burrito and we got an horchata to share.
  
  After the cashier/server poured the horchata, he handed it to me, but realized that he'd overfilled the cup. Without me saying anything, he asked for it back, simply to pour the horchata into a clean cup that wasn't dripping at the sides.
  
  We got our food within 5 minutes, the burritos were huge and delicious. The sauce on my burrito was quite spicy, but luckily, I like that. The horchata was almost too sweet, but worked well at cutting the spiciness of my burrito.
  
  Overall, service was quick, friendly, and kind. The food was excellent and we loved that they were open late, but didn't feel like "fast food," which was a lot of what our other food options were at almost 11pm on a Thursday night. We'd definitely return.

• Lana W.

  star star_border star_border star_border star_border 1 June 2026

  It's a bit run down in an area of San Jose that I'm not familiar. You order at the front and while the display look nice, the place is more of a fast food place, with minimal upkeep, and low maintenance.
  
  You get an order number and take your items yourself. I think I like the sauces that they have but the food leaves me wanting more. I came with a friend who really likes their Supersized nachos. The meat doesn't taste great, and it's a bit too salty for me. They do have large portions and maybe it's really good when you're hungry, or super stressed, or just need that junk food fill. I'm assuming this is why they have reviews at the extremities.
  
  I was very tempted to give a 1 star rating and then I took a look of my past reviews and this qualifies.
  
  I think they could do better by putting time and money into making sure that the place is clean and sanitary. I think the large menu screens are really nice, clean, and crisp and it's a stark contrast to the rest of the place. There was a garbage bag of I assume cans and bottles by the sauce station, so maybe it would be nice if they are kept further apart and trash cans get emptied out more regularly. And of course, improve quality of the food.
  
  I was surprised that they take credit cards at all. They have this small screen thing for payment and it automatically asks you for tip. I tipped only to realize that I had to clean and bus my own table, grab the food from the front, and get all the sauces and such. They seem like they are in with the times, but I just tried to look at the menu from their website and it's not functional.
  
  Please, do better!

• Gui G.

  star star_border star_border star_border star_border 30 May 2026

  horrible rude staff and not that tasty food
  came in to chief starring at me saying i don't understand what you want.
  I said 3 tacos. How can that be so hard to get.

• F O.

  star star star star star_border 25 May 2026

  I have came to this place before but didn't yelp it.  I went basic with a chicken burrito. When you walk in the place looks very small. You can smell the fresh homemade tortillas. Yes, homemade. Brings back memories helping my mom in the kitchen. I was greeted by an older gentleman, very unpleasant. As you look around there's your basic homage to Mexico. Also be aware of the thief they are looking for. Plastered right by the sodas.

• Ahmad J.

  star star_border star_border star_border star_border 24 May 2026

  I got dinner from Taqueria Lorena's a couple of days ago as it was the only place open after 11 pm in the area. It is located in a pretty sketchy part of downtown San Jose which tends to get deserted after 10 pm. Even at such a late hour the place was buzzing with activity. There were at-least 3-4 tables taken and there were people waiting for their orders.
  
  The first prominent thing that I noticed when I entered was that this place was filthy. There was dirt and food particles on the floor and table surfaces looked sticky. I was in two minds about ordering but decided to plough ahead as there would be hardly anything open at this late hour. After going through the menu, I decided to get the Burrito Ahogada ($7.50) with Carne Asada to-go. To my surprise I could pay with card, which was great. After ordering I sat at one of the tables that needed a through wipe-down. I waited for about 10 minutes during which I saw that they prepared the burrito which was placed in a plastic container in a regular microwave. I really dislike this as the plastic from the container tends to bleed into the food, but I guess this is the norm in most of the Taqueria's in San Jose.
  
  I got a small container with the burrito. As it had been microwaved the burrito had literally fused into the container. There was a salsa bar that was pretty much empty except for two bowls one with red and the other with green sauce. I had gotten two small containers with salsa but it turned out to be wasted exercise as I did not get any free chips with my order. The burrito itself was pretty average. All it did was satisfy my hunger and nothing more.
  
  There are way too many negatives here. Small, average, microwaved burrito, bare salsa bar, dirty restaurant and no free chips. There are some positives like open late, card payment and slightly cheaper than other burrito places. Everything considered the negatives far outweigh the positives making this an ideal candidate for a single star rating so that's what I will go with.