El Conejo, RIP

Unfortunately we have another closure to announce. The Register's Irvine Retail Blog has reported that El Conejo in Irvine has closed down. The entry states that it was because of slowing business. It always seemed busy when I went so I wonder how much business it takes for a restaurant to survive. No word on if the smaller El Conejito has closed down too but I'll presume it's still open until I hear otherwise. UPDATE: It has been confirmed that all other locations are still open for business.

El Conejo - Review #1

January 24, 2008: El Conejo has closed down. Read more here.

El Conejo
14715 Jeffrey Rd
Irvine, CA 92618
(949) 559-1176

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No known official website.

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Went to lunch at El Conejo the other day using a coupon that shows up in the Thursday edition of the Irvine World News. The most recent coupon is for a torta with your choice of meat for $3.79. El Conejo has another location in Santa Ana and a third location in Lake Forest called El Conejito. There may even be a newer location in Laguna Hills now but I have yet to confirm that. This Irvine location is in one of the area's oldest shopping centers (south-west corner of Jeffrey and Walnut) and the parking lot was obviously designed before everyone bought SUV's. If you go during the lunch rush prepare for some serious congestion and tight squeezes and people rolling down their windows to yell at each other. The inside seems much like the outside: old and cramped. I presented my coupon and asked for a torta with al pastor pork as my choice of meat then had a conversation that went something like this:

Me: And I'll have some bunuelos.

Employee #1: We don't have bunuelos.

Me: You mean you're out of them today?

Employee #1: Yes. But we have cherry burritos and flan.

Me: Okay, I'll try the flan.

Employee #1: We also have apple burritos.

Me: Well, I'll get the flan.

Employee #1 to Employee #2: Can you get him a flan?

Employee #2: We don't have flan. We have bunuelos.

Employee #1 to Me: We don't have flan. We have bunuelos.

Me: Okay, I'll have the bunuelos.

So, there you go. I got the dessert I originally asked for. I've never reviewed bunuelos for this blog yet but they are simply flour tortilla strips fried up then sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon. Simple yet delicious. Of course I had to eat my torta first. Filled with marinated al pastor pork, guacamole, onions, and cilantro this Mexican sandwich filled me up and left just enough room in my innards for half my dessert. It didn't even matter that they forgot to give me my free chips and salsa.

Don't throw the coupons away

The food is decent, they get a half Speedy Gonzales for having Orange Bang! to drink but then lose half again for being a tad on the dumpy side. Not awfully so but they could use a little renovation. Overall, El Conejo earns a three Speedy Gonzales rating:

El Conejito - Review #1

24331 Muirlands Blvd Ste 1
Lake Forest, CA 92630-3623

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No known official website.

While looking for a Mexican restaurant that I could go to on a lunch break that wasn't in the city of Irvine I stumbled upon El Conejito in Lake Forest. With a name like El Conejito, though, I wondered if maybe it was a smaller version of El Conejo in Irvine (anyone know?). Since I was pretty hungry I ordered a bowl of albondigas soup, the chile relleno plate, a large Orange Bang!, and an apple burrito as a dessert. Everything was served on paper plates or in plastic bowls with plastic cutlery. The food was standard, but standard in a positive way. The apple burrito was stuffed with an apple-cinnamon filling, then fried, then topped with cinnamon and sugar. I only ate about two-thirds of it before I was stuffed.

Albondigas soup


Chile relleno plate




Apple burrito

For being a little better than its non-descript strip mall trappings would seem to indicate El Conejito earns a three and a half Speedy Gonzales rating: