El Taco Tote

Their tacos are so good and remind me of vacations I’ve had in Mexico. The hot salsa is hot but I can’t help but get it every time. I also get the guacamole salsa.
For a family dinner get the bulk portions.

I’ve eaten here a couple times now and have been satisfied each time. The food is good – a bit pricey maybe – but plentiful and good. Lots of options for tacos, of course. I’ve tried the sirloin, barbacoa, adovada, and fish. I enjoyed the adovada the best. They make their own tortillas and you get your choice of corn or flour. They also have plated dishes, burritos and options for kids. Free chips and the extensive salsa bar are a nice plus.

This place has amazing tacos. We had the beef and pork tacos. The help yourself bar is pretty sweet which ensures you have everything you need for the perfect taco our ensure each taco on your plate it’s different.
Definitely will keep this place on the short list.

Salsa Bar! If I could leave it at that I would, because they have the best in town. But El Taco Tote is so much more than that.
Freshness is key to the deliciousness of this place. The kitchen is open and you can see them cooking while you wait in line to order your food at the counter. Choices of meat go from sirloin, adobada, bistek, shrimp, barbacoa, asada, chicken and even some veggie options. They also serve a variety of breakfast including bacon waffles.
There are about 7 different salsas ranging in taste and heat to go with fresh chips, all you can eat.
I love this place. 2 of us can eat, have a soft drink, drown ourselves in salsa and still have left overs for around $ 20.
Taco Tote is one of my favorite restaurants in town, I LOVE THIS PLACE!

We pulled into Albuquerque and were looking for a place to eat rather late at night. We luckily stumbled onto El Taco Tote. The food and staff are wonderful, on our first visit the woman in the drive thru was so patient with us as we read through the menu. The tortillas are great, the salsas are all tasty and the carne asada is amazing. You can’t go wrong.

Simply put: this was one of the best meals I have ever had, bar none.
I am as shocked to say it as you are to read it, but it is true. I ordered the Tote Plate which came with a baked potato, two soft tacos, and a drink for $ 8.99
Chips and salsa is complementary and self-​serve
The chicken in the taco was so perfectly flavored that I never wanted it to stop. There was also a LOT of meat in each taco. The beef was really good as well, but not as amazing as the chicken. The potato was nothing special, but who cares because the tacos were sooooo good!
The toppings bar had lots of options and was fresh and clean even at the odd hour I went in (mid afternoon).
I hope this delicious experience was not a fluke. I will definitely be back!

Terrible food, high prices. Beverage machine dispensed water for lemonade. Not ver clean.

I should have known what I was getting into when I waited a few minutes at the drive-​thru before finally saying, «Hello?» and getting a response. It was near impossible to understand each other through their drive-​thru speakers.
I pull up to the pay window to get my order repeated… after waiting a few more minutes to have someone arrive. Apparently they are short-​staffed.
I paid $ 17.17 for a chicken fajita combo and two beef tacos. The chicken fajita is just fajita-​seasoned chicken on a tortilla. The beef taco is just beef on a tortilla. A bit expensive for that measly meal! The combo came with a small scoop of rice and a small scoop of runny refried beans. They forgot the chips that were supposed to come with the combo. Good thing I got 5 different salsas and a liquidy guacamole for no chips… Also, no lids for the ice waters for my 2 and 4 year old children. If we weren’t in the drive-​thru, no big deal, but really?
This was my first and last time going there. I recommend Taco Cabana a bit further down the road.

Yes, it’s a chain, and no, the location is not ideal. But the food is so good! (However, you need to remember: They make tacos. Don’t come expecting Jennifer James in the kitchen.)
Service here is basic. Come to the counter, select the platter size you want, name your meat, pick your meat, and then move to the salsa bar. The meat is grilled in front of you and they have a nice selection. The chicken adovada and the top sirloin seem to be the most popular. Personally, I like the Tacos al pastor, but I hear the shrimp and fish are pretty good as well.
The borracho beans are great. Sweet, with chunks of pork and jalapeños floating in the broth. I could dunk tortillas in this and be happy!
Oh yeah, the tortillas. They make those right in front of you. Corn or flour, your choice, and you can watch a sweet señorita pat them out and cook them up. So fresh, so good.
Finally, the salsa bar has what you need to make a great taco. Five salsas, poco de gallo, cilantro, onions, radish. It’s good, man.

Nothing beats a good taco; whether it is breakfast, lunch, dinner, a snack, etc. So it was only natural that I try El Taco Tote.
My wife and I arrive towards closing but they were happy to serve us. We ordered a wide assortment of tacos, all on flour tortillas plus a single corn tortilla to try.
Let’s talk about the tortillas for a sec. On the tacos, it was a bit crispy. Not stale-​crispy, but well-​cooked crispy. Probably more than it should have been but I really liked it. And the corn was very moist and a nice texture, despite its thickness. Next time, I’ll mix it up, some flour, some corn.
Like I said, we got a wide variety of meat. The tacos are just meat and tortilla with the salsa bar for you to make the taco what you want (careful, some of it is HOT). Sometimes I like it all done for me, but others, it is nice to do it myself. The meat was all good EXCEPT (!!!) I had a piece of chicken that was very thick and clearly undercooked. If I get sick soon, we’ll know what it is from (11 hours so far and no issues). That happens, but shouldn’t!
Still, I’d go back (with a keen eye on the meat before I bite). Flavorful meats, large salsa bar, and nice (if not slightly overcooked) tortillas.

Had the Carne Asada/​sirloin tacos x 2 alacarte. …$ 7.53 …they were really good but had unequal meat in each. The homemade tortillas are the bomb!
Great salsa bar.

Don’t listen to the gringos, I’ve been to real Mexico, and this is as legit as it gets. The place is simply hands down the gold standard for tacos in fine city of Querque. The Brochetta is second to none, and if you know of some other place that serves taco meat by the pound, I don’t know of it, and that’s coming from a guy who eats taco meat by the pound. The salsa bar is delicious, and the chicken adobada is just amazing, get a platter for two, you won’t regret it.

I just watched an employee eating in the food prep area, then realized in horror that she was making my son’s waffle as she ate. She then proceeded to lick her fingers after pouring the waffle batter! At that point I asked for my money back and reported it to the city.

Anything I have ever ordered from here comes out fresh and delicious. They have the best top sirloin tacos and salsa bar!

Love this place. But really annoying how their hours on their website are a TOTAL lie. Like what even are their hours? Do they just choose their hours whenever? Really confusing.

I love the brocheta. I love the salsa bar. I started eating here because all the Mexican cooks at Los Cuates eat here. Do I stalk barely english speaking mexicans all over town to find out where the best mexican food is? …of course not that’s just crazy! I prefer the term ‘undercover taco lover’ instead of ‘stalker’.

Food was good, but super expensive! We ordered the 5.99 specials but when we looked at the receipt the combos were 9.00, we asked about it when we realized, but were told that we got the 2 taco combo and 2 sides, but the cashier never even asked us which one! The bathrooms were disgusting! The men’s was flooded and the women’s was pretty raunchy! I don’t like being cheated, but mostly this place is too pricy for a taco joint!

I don’t understand why people eat at places like this and expect fine dining. Heres my list of reasons why I love El Taco Tote:
1. Not all of the workers here speak that much english. They usually call your number in spanish AND english.
2. I FLIPPING love their salsa bar. Every kind of salsa you could ever imagine putting on your tacos is RIGHT THERE.
3. They have family meals. When my brother used to live in town I would take him and my sister to dinner here. I could afford to take my lovely spoiled older siblings out for a meal, because I’ve always been more flossy than they have. We could all eat here, and I could afford it. If you have a big family, but small funds for eating out go here. You get enough food for everyone, and probably even some to take home.
4. This isn’t taco bell (Even though I love Taco Bell). You get actual strips of meat in your freshly made tortillas. Holy bajesus. You can stand by the counter and watch them cook up your meal with their magic hands.
5. Gold Peak iced tea. I don’t think I have to any more than that for all my iced tea lovers.
6. They have a drive thru! That’s right, you can order your tacos and get your butt back to work or to continue sitting on your couch while you watch netflix. Doesn’t matter if you want to eat there or take it to go; they’ve got you covered.
This is one of my favorite places to eat when I’m in the mood for tacos, beans, and rice. You may get an upset stomach from shoveling as much salsa as you can into your face, and you may get stuck on the toilet for half an hour. El Taco Tote is one of those things that you know probably isn’t the best idea, but you do it anyways. You do it over, and over, and over. I LOVE YOU EL TACO TOTE AND EVERYTHING YOU STAND FOR.

Mmmmm El Taco Tote! I don’t take the opportunity to come here as often as I’d like, but if I’m in the mood for tacos this is the place! Everything here is cooked to order. They start with very fresh-​tasting (soft) tortillas to which they’ll add your choice of a variety of seasoned and grilled meat: beef, pork, chicken and fish. From there, you’re on your own with their ample toppings bar. Pickled onions, fresh onions, fresh lettuce and about 6 (I can’t remember the actual #) different salsas. It’s worth returning just to try different combinations.
The atmosphere here is somewhere between fast food and authentic mexican. This is a counter-​service, fast-​food restaurant. The lights are a bit too bright. The room is really big. The music is often loud. That said, this is not fine dining, so I won’t take points off for that!
Anyone caught going to Taco Hell with this place in town should be ashamed!

I’ve discovered Nob Hill. Really, there’s not much of a reason to go anywhere else.
This is the same street that Kerouac walked, or hitched on to get to California… okay, now that that’s over with.
My hotel is by nothing. That’s irritating. So, I drove the other way, kind of remembering where Nob Hill was. I’m glad I found this place. It doesn’t break the bank. I have to get used to tacos without cheese. But I suppose I can.
The prices are right, and the tacos are good. I ordered enough food for 2 nights. I didn’t pay over 13.00 for it. Cheap and good. This place has a hella big salsa bar. I’ve not seen so much different salsa in one salsa bar before…(Kansas City places, take note of this). Oh yeah, there’s the computerized Coke machine.
Nob Hill, you’ve got my heart. I intend to spend bunches of time there. But, for tacos, even though it looks commercial, El Taco Tote is good, and best of all, it’s open on Mondays. (A problem with some of the Mexican places around here).