El Portal

Mexican was the name of the game for Friday's dinner. But the same old thing just didn't fit. So, we ventured out to Pasadena to find El Portal--a Yelp reviewers favorite. The restaurant is in a little mall on Green St. There is free street parking or you can pay for the lot. There is both outdoor seating with heat lamps and indoor seating. We were seated immediately around 7:30 on Friday night outdoors, I believe we may have had to wait for indoors but the atmosphere is nice outside. A mariachi band paraded around from table to table busking. The service throughout the night was a little rocky but the food is worth going back there for.

El Portal has a traditional Mexican menu along with some Yucatan specialties. Craving something new, I ordered from the Yucatan side. After looking at the dishes my friends chose, I was pretty sure I got the best value for my money. I ordered the Panuchos. They are little corn tortillas fried together with a black bean paste in between, then topped with chicken, lettuce, tomato, avocado, pickled onions and maybe even some cheese. I could not believe how tasty the pickled onions were. The whole dish had outstanding flavor.

My other dining partners ordered a burrito stuffed with shredded meat (similar to machaca) and a single crispy taco combination. While everyone left full, I think that still my dish was the thing to get. So, visit El Portal and try something different from the Yucatan Peninsula.





El Portal Restaurant
695 East Green Street
Pasadena, CA 91101
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