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El Cilantro Mexican Grill in El Cajon draws thousands of people for 99-cent tacos

Thousands of people in the eastern San Diego County community are raving over 99-cent tacos from El Cilantro Mexican Grill.
Credit: CBS 8

EL CAJON, Calif. — No, your eyes aren't deceiving you – an El Cajon taqueria slips Tijuana-style tacos for 99 cents.

El Cilantro Mexican Grill in the El Cajon area of San Diego County has drawn many food lovers and curious individuals to see what all the hype is about. 

The hype? 99-cent Tijuana-style tacos.  

Al pastor, carne asada, chicken, carnitas; the list goes on for the self-dubbed Mexican grill. 

Lines wrapped around the establishment in the 1200 block of East Madison Avenue, located just about five blocks southbound of the North 2nd Street exit of Interstate 8. 

"The carne asada was nice because it was NOT all chewy and horrible, and the birria was a little bland but still good; I would get it again, and I LOVED the fish tacos. The carnitas were yummy too! I won't try the El pastor today; I'm stuffed," said Jaymie Lee, who rushed to the restaurant after seeing so many posts about it in a community Facebook group called "El Cajon Happenings."

Credit: CBS 8

A quick search in the group of the keyword "taco" yielded dozens of results pointing to El Cilantro Mexican Grill in El Cajon. 

Some posts within the group yielded thousands of responses which a cashier at the Mexican grill told CBS 8 is where an influx of traffic came from. 

"New owners took over about two weeks ago, and ever since then, we've been pretty busy," a woman taking orders, packaging food to-go, and assisting with guests, told CBS 8.  

Editor's Note: I was enticed by all the frequent posts and had to try the tacos myself. They're tasty!

Dear Customers, We thank you for your patience as we’ve been making some changes to our menu. We hope to see you soon!

Posted by El Cilantro Mexican Grill on Tuesday, November 1, 2022

Some posts in the El Cajon Happenings group pointed to previous ownership that may have allowed less-than-perfect food to be given to customers. In contrast, other group members expressed how new ownership placed the Taqueria on the map. 

"Tacos are good. Not greedy with the portions, and the first Mexican shop where I noticed did not have anything over $10 except a dozen of rolled tacos which were $10.99. Thank you, El Cilantro, for keeping it decent," said Nellie Rod. 

You can try the tacos, amongst other tasty dishes, at 1285 E Madison Ave in El Cajon most days between the hours of 9 a.m. and 10 p.m.

WATCH RELATED: South Bay birrieria taco shop owner honored to proclaim 'best taco' in the nation

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