La Nortena

“Decidedly not the place for vegetarians however.”

“This place is downright amazing…they should put a sign out front saying "what Calexico wishes they were".”

“Better for me and all the people who love coming here at 2am for delicious tacos, tortas, quesadillas, and enchiladas.”

La Nortena

Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes

Price range.

$ Price range Under $10

8 reviews

  1. Peas and carrots and green beans in a shrimp burrito?  Stale chips. No bueno.

  2. Reason for trying this place: Whenever I come home around 10:30-11 this place is always packed! I figured it had some mixed reviews but maybe the people going don't yelp So i figured instead of the standard Mexican Joint I'd see if this place was worth it. It's not!!
    I guess the crowd that comes here are the after party eaters.
    The food isn't horrible– I did like it but I could have gotten food much better for the same price a half a block away from this place. I have the Chicken Taco. The only thing that I really enjoy about this place is they way they serve the taco.
    My friend got the burrito and it was very dry. Nothing Special.

  3. the waitress told me the food here is authentic. i'm just a gringo, so i can't really tell if she was BS-ing me. however, she was very friendly and provided good service, so i don't mind so much being possibly hustled (just kidding).

    but seriously, really good and attentive service. the staff always make sure that you have everything, but they also allow you to take your time with your meal. you can relax while dining, which is a huge plus for me.

    it's very lo-key. you can eat in peace, but you can also watch tv (usually soccer games or telemundo) or listen to spanish music. it's a quaint set up. you walk in past the grill and cashier, then you'll see tables lining the walls and a plasma tv above your head. if you turn to the door, you'll see another plasma above your head. so whatever seat you take, you can watch the boob tube (again another plus).

    you get a hefty amount of food for the price. all their tacos are tasty. i've had the fried chicken w/ fries lunch special and the bistec special. i used to love their chips and salsa, but i don't like the new salsa they have which is sweeter (just not my palette).

    oh, you gotta try the mexican sodas, too! yum!

  4. Upon arrival at Night of Joy, my ravenous stomach was speaking in very loud tongues.  I asked the bartender for food.

    They could offer me none.  What he did hand me was a large pile of menus, which in my very hungry state seemed like a great solution to my urgent need.

    So flipping through, I tried some all-night-ny place, which ironically never picked up.  Then I tried Toro Tacos, and though they answered, explained that they had closed 30 minutes before.  Why answer the phone then, I thought?

    Next I tried Nortena, and the guy who answered was ready and patient to take my order.  Desperately I asked for a quesadilla, two tacos, and shared my address & coordinates.  

    Not long after I got a phone call and finally my food arrived, all packaged and ready for my eager mastication.  Relief finally …

  5. The food here was pretty bad. The salsa tasted like ketchup and the rice that was served with my meal was instant rice. Everything about the food was subpar. I would not recommend eating here.

    However, the service was very good. Our server was very nice and our water glasses were always full. Also, the portion size was not bad. The only thing that was really bad was the quality of the food.

  6. So I can chalk up the "please hold the onions" snafu to good old miscommunication, but, should you have to specify "no giant fucking hairs in the burrito because that's nasty as hell"? Because my husband just found a hair in his burrito that was about 4" long, tangled firmly around a hunk of meat, and holy fucking shit.

  7. This place is highly underrated! It was 2am, and I was dying to see if any place delivered other than Ganni's Pizzeria. I found this spot on Yelp; but according to Yelp, they don't deliver to my neighborhood, or they were not accepting deliveries at the time. I had ordered a Chile Relleno Cubano and a Chicken Mole Enchilada combo, and was surprised when I got a call at 3:30 am with my delivery. The food was wonderful. It lasted me a week of leftovers too since the portions were really generous. The only downside about the Cubano was that it had too much cheese- I can't handle that much cheese. Everything else was delicious, and I have found my new late night munchies spot!

  8. $5.25 gets you an unglamorous but filling plate of huevos rancheros. La Norteña is that private little spot for filling up on unpretentious Mexican, Jarritos in hand, while spacing out to a telenovela on the flat-screen.

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Monday, 6:00 pm - 5:00 am
Tuesday, 6:00 pm - 5:00 am
Wednesday, 6:00 pm - 5:00 am
Thursday, 6:00 pm - 5:00 am
Friday, 6:00 pm - 5:00 am
Saturday, 6:00 pm - 5:00 am
Sunday, 6:00 pm - 5:00 am