EL ALTENO, Watsonville

Can't understand why this place always seems empty and gets less than excellent reviews. Beautiful interior, very good and authentic Mexican food. Dining in Watsonville is always like actually going to Mexico: English likely not the first language spoken, and perhaps not spoken at all....Ordering and business conducted often in Spanish, and to that extent it is an adventure, so expect something different, and out of the ordinary. Park nearby and wander around checking out the various stores selling to Mexican customers. The "southern border" is already here, no need to drive past San Diego, Tucson, or El Paso.More

Date of visit: April 2019

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Daisy M

41 reviews

Reviewed March 15, 2016

Good Decor Average food

The Place is super cute. They have outdoor sitting area that looks gorgeous as you drive by but it seems that they never sit customers out there. The food was Blah..... I had purchased a Groupon for this restaurant so I don't know if the...quantity of the food went down with our coupon... Yummy chocolate ice cream. This place is also good for dancing, sometimes they have spanish bands playing.More

Date of visit: November 2015

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eadam

15 reviews

Reviewed February 18, 2016

Small town hours

We really, really like the Mole here. We live here in town. And yet, we have come here a number of times, when they are closed for a private event. Sooooo... Food = GOOD Hours = unreliable. If you are in the area, worth a...check, to see if they are open for business! Mole is yummy!!!More

Date of visit: January 2016

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lowell159

56 reviews

Reviewed September 28, 2015

Viva El Alteno!

A good spot for lunch, dinner or just a drink after work. Lots of Mexican regional specialities. Plenty of parking in the adjacent public garage.

Date of visit: May 2015

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Anna R

116 reviews

Reviewed June 18, 2015

No bueno

I went here with family and ordered the huge seafood platter the service was not too friendly and I was told the food was ok. Towards the late evening it seemed like there were some looks with two groups and I was made to fell...like I had better leave they even had security guards there....More

Date of visit: July 2014

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ftlauderdalenative

98 reviews

Reviewed July 11, 2014

Very poor excuse for a Mexican restaurant

We hadn't been here in ages (and were never very impressed), but decided to try again. BIG MISTAKE. Walked in for lunch at 12:30 on a Friday - there were 3 other tables, not a good sign. Slow service, we think maybe the cook was...helping wait on tables? Bland salsa, lunch special (chicken enchilada) was VERY boring and there was a big 'hunt' to find the chicken in the enchilada! My husband said it tasted like one of those frozen meals. Salad with 'marinated' chicken had chicken right out of the freezer & into the frying pan - yuck. Very slow to process our credit card. We will not go back and frankly don't know how they are in business.More

Date of visit: July 2014

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LMacDee

80 reviews

Reviewed July 8, 2014 via mobile

Alteno Average

After searching on Trip Advisor for Mexican Food and driving by our choices we chose El Alteno. The restaurant has character and was clean. For a Thurs. night at dinner time the restaurant was pretty empty. The servers and staff were extremely attentive and friendly....No fault to the restaurant, you had to get a key to use the bathroom, so apparently they've had some issues. The food was rapidly delivered as well. The chips and salsa and dinners were average. My margarita was good.More

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Coveoona

18 reviews

Reviewed July 26, 2012

Margarita ripoff

Ordered pitcher of margaritas with dinner Should have been 19 dollars, ended up costing 29 dollars, they decided to add patron, not at our request, I would never use patron in a mix, shots yes! Felt taken advantage of, sneaking in premium tequila was a...bad choice won't be back.More

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RCuevas

62 reviews

Reviewed June 11, 2012

Oysters in Watsonville? Yes, Fresh too

We just stopped on a whim while headed to Monterey. Good chips and salsa, an excellent margarita and a dozen oysters! Hey, we took a chance, after already eating FROG and pigs ear on the trip. Oysters at a Mexican restaurant seemed a bit out...there. They were fresh, meaty and delicious. The server was great, attentive and it was a nice find.More

Date of visit: May 2012

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Emily F

72 reviews

Reviewed October 11, 2011

Follow-up to previous review, credit card problem

Within a week of our visit, where we paid with our Visa card, we had fraudulent use of our credit card and it was cancelled by Visa. Not usually a big problem, but we were heading for Europe by then and REALLY needed our credit...card.More

Date of visit: August 2011

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