Taco Time

Great food yummy haven’t had it in awhile until yesterday! Service wasn’t good but good was good!

A local institution that you should try. Order the crisp taco meal. $ 9, so not über cheap but it is great. Everything is made to order so it is always hot. Love that they do tots. The sour cream dip/​sauce is fantastic. No drive thru but I bet if they had one they would do a ton more business. It is dive inside and could use an update. The seating is ok but not comfortable. It doesn’t make you want to stay awhile. They are now selling their salsa/​hot sauces for $ 4.99 a jar. They do know hot. It is hot and tasty. Some places just like to try and burn your mouth and forget the taste. Staff are friendly.

Ok. I don’t live in Ames anymore but I always go back to Taco Time when I’m in town cause it’s delicious. Their taco meat is the best. However, it has started to become a frustrating experience:
–it is way overpriced, and I’m 100% positive the soft taco’s are much smaller than they used to be. My mother made the comment that we could get a large lunch from a tex mex place like La Fuente for much cheaper.
–The place is getting very shabby. They have not renovated in 25 years, and it’s starting to seriously look like a dump. Even the fountain soda labels are sun bleached and worn out. Why don’t you refurbish with the money you are making overcharging your customers while giving them smaller portions???
–It’s clear they don’t like or trust their customers. There is a large sign over the fountain machine that warns against people refilling old cups and not sharing their beverages with other people. Is this really necessary? Are you losing thousands upon thousands of dollars in lost soda profits? To top it off you got rid of the to-​go containers for the sauces because apparently people were stealing millions and millions of dollars in free sauce. It really makes the place have an adversarial vibe.
Get your sh*t together Taco Time. You have an awesome menu, you just have to learn how to make it a good experience as well.

Over priced small sides and my super soft taco was not even warm. Very disappointed after reading the reviews. It’s busy so might of hit an off day.

Holy Mother of God, do i love Taco Time. I can’t speak to anything on the menu except the crisp bean burrito with sour cream sauce, and the cherry empanada. So delicious, it makes the impending heart attack almost worth it.
Hotdish and i are both from this area, so we stop in whenever we’re in town. I seriously have never tried anything else on their menu. I can get a taco, and probably a better one, anywhere. I’ve never seen, however, the crisp bean and cherry empanada anywhere else.
I have no idea why I’ve only seen this *one* Taco Time in the midwest. It kicks Taco Bell and Taco John’s’ butts. But in a way, it’s kind of a fantastic Midwestern secret that only central iowans know about.

I like Taco Time. Not as Mexican food, but as my favorite among the Taco Bells, Taco Johns and Del Tacos of the world. Why? The quality of the ingredients is simply better.
I chuckled reading through other reviews, some critical of Taco Time for being too Midwestern. Taco Time originated in Oregon! And is owned by a firm located in Arizona!
I just wish they had a drive thru! No chance of that happening now with the construction next door. Oh well. Guess I’ll just have to get out of my car to enjoy a crispy taco and some cinnamon crustos.

Without question, the best mexican fast food in Ames, in Iowa, and possibly in the entire United States. Remarkably good. Crisp meat burrito: great. Mexi fries: yummy. Crisp tacos: thumbs up. And then there’s the sauce. It’s a proprietary Taco Time sauce, and it’s very good. Just the right balance of flavor and heat.
Disclaimer: This was one of my dad’s favorite places while I was growing up, so we ate here a lot. I’m sure nostalgia colors my opinion. But it is very good.

Best fast food Mexican in the state. Always fresh meat and veggies, great sauce, and the crisp burrito is phenomenal! I’ve been going there for over 25 years and its never failed to satisfy!

What’s to say about a Midwestern «Mexican» chain? It’s Midwestern bland. I got the taco cheeseburger and it tasted like a bland sloppy joe slapped with lettuce and cheese. Ground beef is American, not Mexican. But they get points for trying and cleanliness. This is Iowa and Iowans can’t handle spice, so they’re playing to their audience while trying to throw something semi new at them. Instead of Taco Time or Taco John’s I’d stick with Taco Bell — more flavor and spice.

Great fast mexi food — and I always get their bottles of hot sauce for home.

I like their vegetarian burrito. Very taste!

This ain’t no tex mex joint… their «burritos» and «empanadas» are more like doughy flautas than anything. And $ 3.25 for crappy flauta is pretty ridiculous since it’ll take at least 3 of them to fill you up. The two of us spent $ 12 even with their 4 for $ 5 deal and guess where we’re headed five minutes later? Mr. Burrito to get an actual meal…

Stuffed Mexi-​Fries… mmmmmm!
I no longer live in Ames, but I sure do miss the stuffed mexi-​fries… they are stuffed with cheddar cheese and jalepeno peppers and boy, are they delicious!
Their tacos are the only other thing I’ve tried, which were good, but the Mexi-​Fries are what enticed me to go…

Love this place! I no longer live on Ames but miss this place! There is not enough taco time restaurants. Please open one in DES moines!!!

I new this place was in Ames shortly after I arrived in Ames for college, but I never made the effort to patronize it until I had visited other Taco Time locations out in the Pacific Northwest. To my knowledge, the one in Ames, Iowa is the only one outside of the left-​coast.
I’m not sure if this one is operated by a different franchisee, but it has a lot of similarities and a lot of differences from the locations I’ve been at out west. They have the really good crispy burritos, which is Taco Times claim to fame. They don’t have the selection of tacos, or combo meals like I am used to out west, but they have their sauces. Their strength however is in their unique barbacoa meat option here. I’ve seen it at no other Taco Time and it’s very good. It’s hot, freshly prepared and genuinely different from the other big fast mex places you’re used to.
Taco Time is somewhat expensive when you compare it with the other national taco chain across the street, but the variety of ingredients and menu items here may be a well-​needed break from the norm.

Good fast food mexican in Ames. I love their Soft Taco and their mexi-​fries, sometimes I get their Mexi-​Fries with cheese on them. The sugar crustos are also delicious.

Taco Time is the best «fast food style» Mexican you’re ever likely to get. Try the vegetarian burritos — they’re amazing. Good food, cheap prices!