El Armando's Mexican Food Poway

If you're looking to get some quick Mexican food, this is a go to for me. I don't need the fancy plated food, I want to eat some good ol' burritos and carne asada fries. Every time I've gone it's been a good experience. I think their proportions to price is decent and they're very filling. I will admit that their birria tacos are very questionable because I personally didn't like it and I'm not sure if birria tacos are supposed to have beans in then. This place is more for take out than dine in.

This place charges $1.50 for jalapeños & carrots sides that are free in every other Mexican restaurant in the world ... now that's just pure greed ...taco plate came with literally 3 shreds of cheese on it and was all lettuce .... beans & rice were completely bland ... worst $15 I've spent in a long time .... absolutely disgusting terrible Mexican food....

Carnitas burrito!! Nice shredded and crunchy! Could feed up to 2 people. Does have pico I personally asked for pico on the side. Would order again..

I've been looking for decent Mexican food in the Poway / Carmel Mountain area for a bit and this is probably my favorite.

I've been here 7-8 times so far, typically for lunch, and the food has been fresh, quick, and tasty. The service has been friendly and I haven't had any issues.

It's basically a shack with a drive through, but honestly that's probably a good sign for a nearby spot to grab a burrito.

Love their grilled shrimp quesadilla!!

The employees there are wonderful and great at patience!

Poway , Poway , Poway !?!?! This is by far the best Mexican food coast to coast!!!!!!!
We drive from LA to eat here ! So people of Poway appreciate what you got . The food is made "after " you order it in the drive through. Wait time is 10 mins tops . It is consistently awesome. If you one stars think it is so bad move to Florida and try Mexican food there . This place is awesome.

If you grew up in Poway, you know it as 'The Barn' or 'Alberto's' because the name changed so many times you had to just stick with one and call it a day.

There used to be these painted outdoor wooden tables that hung around for decades like statues. When ownership changed they'd get a fresh coat over the stoner engravings left in the wood. One in particular that survived from 1990-to 2012 was the 'UL' symbol. The tradition was if u sat at this table u had to make sure to re-engrave it through this year's coat of latex. Over time, the carving was so deep that the numerous shades of paint: yellow, red, green, blue, back to yellow, etc., could be unearthed and observed like sedimentary layers of an archeological find.

Alas, I'm back here after over a decade of neglect. Much has changed but the core vibe is still 100% living and breathing. Pulled in by the gravitational pull of both nostalgia and hunger, I went today for the rolled tacos. I remember Alberto's was always the best as they put both grated cheddar and cotija atop the tacos. When combined with the salsa this formation of atoms was pure dopamine.

Today the tables are plastic. No carvings or nostalgic 'back in the day' graffiti., but I sleep better at night knowing she still stands.

I paid $4 for a drink that was literally all ice. When asked for a refill, I was told no because one they don't serve refills and two if I wanted my drink with less ice I should've asked for that before hand.

I don't have a problem with no refills but you didn't serve me a drink. You served my ice with a bit of juice and then made it a big deal for a refill.

The food is terrible and this was not the first time. Unfortunately it's the only restaurant opened (besides Taco Bell) on my way back home but next time I'd rather eat a piece of tire rather than eat their salty food. I will sis of heart attack before I even finished the food! Yuuuk!!

Hell yeah I'd recommend this place. Legit. Get it. (Needs to be 85 characters to publish well here ya go)