gutfud – the food, es ist gut

For some time I’ve seen the reviews rolling in for the Ventura location, so when I heard the owners were opening a SB location, I got pretty excited.
I rallied some friends and rolled in one evening. Two things immediately stood out: we were the only gringos there, and it was hella busy.

We did the typical mouths agape gazing up at the menu for way too long and ordered a pile of food. Only afterwards I asked them what were the most popular items from the Ventura location and one guys said we’d covered it pretty well, so yay on that count. And the guys behind the counter were really friendly, even though we were pretty clueless and holding up the queue.

Al pastor, as nearly everyone has said, is one of Cuernavaca’s specialties, in the below photo in front. The pork is not only marinated with pineapple, but served with a fresh chunk of pineapple on top of the taco. Sweet and spicy all in one. It’s ridiculously good and just $1.60 each, so order two of them because someone in your group is gonna want a bite of it and you’ll be all, “nuh-uh.”

Tacos al pastor, and veggie taco with mushrooms, rajas, cheese.

I also really liked the veggie taco #2, which is mushrooms, rajas and cheese, in photo above, on right. Others at the table ordered the potato, rajas and cheese and it looked delicious, but I did not try (photo below). The more simple rajas and cheese was okay, a bit too soft and mushy for my tastes.

Veggie tacos with potatoes, rajas, cheese.

Onto the gorditas, we got one of the specials, which was a crispy fried pork, like the “fond” of carnitas, I really liked that. We also got the chicharron gordita, and their style is soft cooked in green sauce. I like my pork more on the crispy side, so I preferred the special gordita over the chicharron.

Gorditas, about $3.50 each.

The folks working there said all the Mexican drinks are made from scratch. We got horchata, which was spiced in a way I’d never had before. Perhaps a bit on the sweet side, but overall very nice. I don’t know how else to describe it other than a horchata reminiscent of bubble gum…?

The menu isn’t enormous, but there’s still a lot more I need to get to and I’m very excited to do so. The items I’ve had were mouth-wateringly delicious. No wonder the original location has such rabid fans.

A few logistical notes:

$10 minimum for credit cards. No worries, pair up with a friend and get a pile of tacos.

It closes at 8:30 pm. This is not meant for the late night drunk crowd. Think more for lunches and family dinners. This is not a complaint on my part. Just in note in case you’re browsing this review at 2 am, eyes unfocused, in a perceived state of dire starvation.

Parking is very tight. About 8 spaces, shared with Mel’s and the Grapeseed company. You will likely have to park on the street and walk the extra 50 feet, if you can bear it.

The interior, although nice for hole-in-the-wall style taqueria, is very small. There’s seating for maybe 12-15 people. The time I was there, it was packed, mostly with families. I think this is a very good sign for the restaurant, but be prepared to rub elbows with other folks, or get your food to go.

You know what? Those last two bits shouldn’t even be an issue, if you live downtown. Y’all should be walking more anyway.

Cuernavaca
201 W Carrillo St (corner of Carrillo and Bath)
Santa Barbara, CA 93101