Woodland, like so many agricultural towns in California’s Central Valley has a large population of Latinos — nearly 50 percent of 56,500 — and an abundance of restaurants reflecting that demographic. Many of the restaurants are family-owned and prepare foods from the state or region the family came from, such as Jalisco, Nayarit and Guanajuato; and more than a few use family recipes.

A drive down Main Street and one block over on Court Street will show you at least a dozen places to choose from, and venturing a bit farther out onto East Street, Gibson and Sixth Street will expand the number to nearly 20. They range from grab-and-go taquerias to sit-down restaurants with full-service bars and occasional entertainment.

Residents here have a real affection for their Mexican restaurants. “Having been raised near Woodland, and having lived here as an adult for over 20 years, I think that I have taken for granted all of the great Mexican restaurants in Woodland,” says Mary Kimball. “There’s something for everybody.”

Look for big bowls of home-style pozole and menudo on the weekends and seafood specialties, especially from Nayarit- and Jalisco-style restaurants. Choices of fillings or toppings for tortas, burritos and tacos range from carnitas to lengua (tongue) barbacoa and al pastor (spicy marinated pork in sauce), and, in at least once instance, nopales.

Here are some local favorites:

Quetzal

On Main Street, backing onto the large parking lot for Woodland’s outstanding El Superior supermarket is the small, cheerful Quetzal, which features homemade gorditos and sopes as well as traditional tacos, burritos, tostadas and platillos with rice and beans. The owners are from near San Miguel de Allende in Guanajuato state in the middle of Mexico. Try the nopales gordito, a hand-held pocket sandwich of fried dough, slit open and stuffed with grilled nopales (cactus) and onions, and topped off with shredded lettuce, guacamole, and crumbly cheese, or a sope, fried flat bread, with a saucy topping like al pastor, plus lettuce, tomato and crumbled cheese.

2 West Court St.; (530) 666-4062 (no website). Open 9 a.m.-6 p.m. daily. G orditos, $2.50, sopes, $3.

El Charro Restaurant

One of the most popular places with locals, especially for dinner and on weekends, is El Charro Restaurant and Bar, on Woodland’s main street. There is often a crowd, both around the full-service bar and in the large adjacent dining room — singles, couples, groups and families. The atmosphere is festive old Mexico, with classic rawhide chairs and tall, exposed brick walls dating from the 1800s, giving the place a rustic elegance. The owner, Olga Ruelas, is originally from Jalisco state, just inland from the coastal state of Nayarit, and runs the restaurant with her son, Reuben. They both can be seen on most days, working. “I’m also the one who goes to Mexico and brings back the terracotta jars for serving the cantaritos,” he says of the deceptively easy-to-drink combination of Tequila (your choice of brand), grapefruit soda, and lime juice garnished with fresh pineapple and orange slice, rimmed with salt. Everything is made from scratch. It’s hard to choose here — delicate empanadas, feather-light chile relleno, or one of the specialties, like camarones a la diabla (shrimp in spicy red sauce) chicken mole or the molcajete, a lava stone mortar filled with a combination of grilled chicken, shrimp, steak, cactus and onions, and served with salsas, beans, rice and tortillas — plenty for two people.

415 Main St. Woodland; (530) 661-3166. www.elcharrowoodland.com . Open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday, until 1 a.m. Saturday and 8 p.m. Sunday. Full bar. Chile Relleno, a la carte, $3.95; empanadas (three) a la carte $9.95; camarones a la diabla, $14.95; cantaritos, $7.50.

Vince’s Mexican Restaurant

Standing on its own, set back from the street and surrounded by lots of parking, Vince’s Mexican Restaurant has the austere, confident look of a place that’s a local institution. And it is: family-owned for more than 30 years, with son following father. There is plenty of seating in two large, wood-paneled dining rooms, with wooden tables and carved chairs as well as booths along the walls. The menu is a solid one, with lots of variety. The lunch specials come with vegetable soup, which, with its touch of chile, is a good, classic beginning. The light batter of the chile rellenos balances with the fresh pasilla chiles, still with a hint of crunch, and the chicken mole enchiladas are rich and flavorful. The portions are large, the service welcoming and cheerful, and Vince’s is also noted for its margaritas.

140 W. Main St., Woodland. (530) 666-6049. No website. Open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Friday; 4:30-9:30 p.m. Saturday; until 8:30 p.m. Sunday. Lunch special: rice, beans and entree item — such as chile relleno or chicken mole — and soup: $7.29. Margaritas, $6.99.

Maria’s Cantina

Neighboring Sacramento calls itself the farm-to-table capital of the world, but more than a few of the farms that feed the city’s fine-dining restaurants are in Yolo County, and it’s seasonal produce from these farms that Maria’s Cantina prides itself on serving in a blend of California cuisine and Latino flavors. The restaurant has the feel of an old California adobe, with carved wooden chairs, wall hangings, colorful tile work, and upscale tableware. The salsa served with the chips is certainly among the best around, thick with roasted chiles. The menu, which has standard fare as well as more creative items, such as a seared salmon salad Veracruz style, that includes plump grilled shrimp, marinated and grilled eggplant and zucchini tossed with local wild salad greens, and a cilantro lime dressing. There is an extensive and informative Tequila menu, as well as plenty of cocktails, including an elderflower margarita. The menu’s on the pricey side, but on Tuesday Taco nights, it’s two tacos for $5, and they are not typical — chorizo with butternut squash or braised lamb for example — and it’s a good opportunity to sample some of the creative combinations that reflect Yolo farms and the chef’s inspirations.

306 Sixth St., (530) 402-1548. www.marias-cantina.com . Open 11:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. Full bar. Seared salmon salad a la Veracruz $16, casa carnitas $18.50, chicken burrito a la carte, $13.25, elderflower margarita (organic) $11.

Las Islitas Ostioneria

There’s no doubt that this is a seafood restaurant. Windows are partially painted in brilliant seascapes with octopus, fish and other denizens of the sea. Step inside to find the vast interior decorated with huge conches, abalone shells, and more paintings, aquariums and fishing nets. Established and owned by a family from Nayarit, the restaurant has a setting much like what you might find in a seafood restaurant along Mexico’s coast. You’ll be greeted with a bowl of ceviche, paper plates, chips and packets of saltine crackers, and if it’s on the weekend, a band might be playing (it can get pretty loud) and the TV’s muted. One side of the oversize menu is all seafood, from large or small (still pretty big) shrimp cocktails served in stemmed goblets to mixed platters of shrimp, octopus, crab and scallops and whole grilled red snapper. The other side has more seafood, plus steaks, chicken, carnitas and other non-seafood items, but Las Islitas is really about the fresh seafood. For samples, try the red shrimp and octopus tostada, which comes loaded with thin, almost shredded octopus and seven or eight large grilled shrimp, served simply with lime and a spicy green salsa on the side or the delicate shrimp empanadas chock-full of fresh shrimp.

1527 East St.; (530) 406-1503. www.lasislitaswoodland.com . 11 a.m.-8 p.m. daily. Shrimp and octopus tostada, $6.75, shrimp empanadas (three) $7.99, seafood platters start at $13.99.

Gerogeanne Brennan is an award-winning cookbook author and freelancer who lives in Yolo County. Her latest book is “La Vie Rustic — Cooking and Living in the French Style.” Email: travel@sfchronicle.com