Taco Taco Cafe

05/25/2008 Posted by lbcTX

Don't believe all the Bon Appetit hype. In 20+ years in SA, we've visited Taco Taco a handful of times, but have never gone out of our way to eat there. In any case, breakfast last week was our FINAL trip. 8:00 am Sunday. The place is a third full. Several tables need bussing. The staff lingers in front of the counter chatting. My order, chosen from a menu with bent corners and salsa splotches, is taken within five minutes and arrives shortly thereafter. Huevos Mexicana has steaming hot eggs, but fried potatoes and gray refried beans are cold, greasy and bland. It's so early in the morning; are they leftovers? I can't catch the attention of my chatty server; another server wisks my plate back to the kitchen. I reach for the tortillas to hold me over, my original server sweeps by and takes them, saying she will bring fresh ones with my order. The warmer goes on the counter, then to another unsuspecting table. Ick. My food returns. The potatoes and refried beans are only slightly warmer than before. The problem has apparently been remedied via microwave, as the eggs are now dry and tough. The server refuses to look my way again. The restaurant is dingy. The white-tiled floor and counterfront are stained with shoe scuffs and ground-in dirt. A stainless steel serving cart parked by the door has food drips down the side. A female staff member at the counter is eating from a styrofoam cup. Another female staff member takes the large cup she just drank from and scoops up ice from the machine WITHOUT using the ice scoop. Woah! Taco Taco is resting on largely undeserved laurels. Slow service and cold food are one thing, but lack of cleanliness and staff attention to basic hygiene is completely different. There's a big difference between a hole-in-the-wall jewel and a disgusting dive, and Taco Taco has crossed that line. Bon Appetit should consider a surprise revisit and a much-needed update to their previous report. Shame on you, Taco Taco. No esta bien.

Pros: None noted

Cons: Slow service, cold food, unsanitary conditions

04/14/2008 Posted by ClaveJ

I have gone to Taco-Taco many many times and enjoyed the experience. A month ago we had bad service and thought it was an anomaly. Last weekend, we retunred and had the following experience: Our waitress did not bring out chips and we had to ask for them. We asked for coffee with cream and she brought us cups filled so high that they spilled on to the saucer. She would not refill our coffee unless we flagged her down. We ordered guacamole to have with chips and waited 10 minutes for a simple scoop. When I ordered my fajita plate, she asked beef or chicken? and I asked for chicken. She wrote beef on the ticket...It helps to repeat the order. When we received our plates, we did not get tortillas. We asked for her to bring corn and she brought them out after the table was finished with their meals. WORST OF ALL: When I complained to the manager at the register, he simply told me he would talk to the waitress and immediately asked for the money. Tells you where the focus was. For food we should all be able to cook at home, at least in central Texas, it goes to show that we like to eat out for the atmosphere and social experience. Once the experience is lost, there is not a strong reason to return to the establishment. I told the manager that when times are good, it is easy not to care, but bad service will ensure that good times will not last. We will never return.

Pros: Good prices - Decent menu

Cons: Poor service staff

03/13/2008 Posted by BOO999

I was very disappointed in this place. After hearing all the good things about this place it sucked. Service was slow ,food was bland,and cold. We were a party of 6 and 5 of us got sick I mean really sick. I will never go there again!

03/04/2008 Posted by vitesauce

I received a tip to try out Taco Taco shortly after moving to San Antonio from the Richmond, VA area. I was enamored with Taco Cabana and thought it was the best Mexican food I had ever had. I even turned to a friend one day and said, "How is a hole-in-the-wall like that going to survive so close to Taco C?" Little did I know that it was the hidden gem of San Antonio!! The food is absolutely amazing. I have gone through a couple phases, breakfast tacos, el norteno (both beef and chicken) and even a few different lunch plates, all are outstanding. The service is high quality, especially considering the volume of people that eat there each day. Do not let your trip to San Antonio conclude without a trip to Taco Taco!

03/01/2008 Posted by miami13086

One word to describe this diamond in the rough is phenomenal. As I have made a number of business trips to the San Antonio area, my trip is never complete without an El Norteno digesting before I catch my flight back to the Northeast. I was originally recommended to this fantastic establishment by a local and have yet to be so thankful to another stranger in my life. From the authentic service to the unheard of low prices one can only be satisfied after a trip to Taco Taco Cafe. Give yourself the pleasure of enjoying the experience of America's Best Breakfast!

Pros: Price, quality, service

Cons: Size

02/27/2008 Posted by lkoconnell

After reading about the great tacos I went and tried the famous fajita taco. It was very good. I then took my mother back this week and became very disapointed in the food. The enchiladas were cold and not much cheese and the service was slow. The crispy beef taco had pieces of chicken meat and sausage, very bad. Maybe the word is out and they can't keep up with the crowd.

Pros: Parking, Service, Small

Cons: Great flour tortillas

02/25/2008 Posted by JoeandAmyGarcia

We saw the sign boasting The Best Tacos in America, and being self proclaimed fatty's we wanted some of the action. We stopped and waited in the line outside for close to 15 minutes. Once inside we waited again for 15 minutes but lucky for us it was worth it!!! We ordered a little of everything, Puffy Taco's were the best we've had in like 20 years of eaing them. They stayed Puffy start to finish, they did not collapse at first bite, WOW. Moving on to Carne Guisada, again yum yum, scoring a A in my book, tender and flavorful and as of yet no indegestion. Tortillas were great as well. My only disappointment were the enchiladas, they did not taste very authentic nor were they even warm. Also sodas are served in the can and cost 1.39 each I would rather pay 2.00 for a fountain beverage. My husband drinks alot and you could easily spend 6 bucks on drinks alone.

Pros: FOOD WAS DELICIOUS

Cons: PARKING IS DANGEROUS, SODAS ARE CANNED AND COSTLY

09/29/2007 Posted by oneyear

We read about this place and took a bunch of out of town friends for breakfast tacos. The breakfast tacos were good- not great. After telling someone else about this experience, they said well you didnt get what they are famous for! So we went back and tried it again with their speciality taco- I cant remember the name- El Northete or something like this. It was amazing. It was one of the best tacos I have ever had- simple but great. The chicken was better than the beef.

Pros: great special taco

Cons: average breakfast tacos, wait on the weekends

08/31/2007 Posted by jodo_tx

I read about Taco Taco Cafe in Bon Appetit so I wanted to try famous tacos and to be honest I was really dissapointed.There is so many better places (for example Taco House on San Pedro). The true is that tacos are really big but is it enough to make a great taco? I don't think so

08/07/2007 Posted by scutler

Everything from the taco's to the enchiladas are amazing. The service was great as well as the atmosphere. You might have to wait in a line but it is well worth it!

Pros: excellent food and service