The Original El Taco

Best place in the Highlands for tacos.

Our server was nice. The margaritas/​tacos were okay… I tend to like more «authentic» but good regardless.
Would come back if I was in the area

One of my all time favorites! Been here a million times and it’s always delicioussssssss!

Great lunch with our kid! Fun atmosphere, very cool people and the food was awesome. I had the taco plate and really enjoyed each of the tacos I had — smoky chicken was nice and smoky, steak was quite good too. Had plenty of leftovers. Coming back again!

I thoroughly enjoyed everything about this place! Décor is fun and bright, service was friendly and prompt and the food was delicious! We tried every taco on the menu, the pork empanadas, three different margaritas and the queso dip; all were terrific! Definitely going back soon!!!

We arrived just before 6pm on a weekday. The parking lot in the back that El Taco shares with other stores like DBA had already begun to fill up. The host explained the tokens and «Wheel of Fortune» as he seated us. Each table has tokens and the wheel is spun 1x per hour (i.e. 6:00) for prizes like free queso or pitchers. If you were to win, you could either use it that night or you could rain-​check it for your next visit.
Our server was very friendly, albeit a little bit scattered. We ordered a pitcher of frozen margaritas and she brought us a pitcher on the rocks. She quickly apologized and brought us the right pitcher when we asked, though. She also didn’t introduce the free salsa bar and I only knew about it thanks to my fellow Unilocalers.
Frozen Margarita: Pleasant, but described by both of my fellow diners as «the weakest margarita I’ve ever had.»
Fried Chicken Taco: Plenty of sweet corn contrasted beautifully with the pieces of hot, crispy fried chicken. Served on a flour tortilla, this taco was my favorite.
Pork Carnitas: This had a surprisingly large amount of pork, but the pork was dry and bland. The slaw provided a great crunch, but not much flavor. I also didn’t notice any pineapple in the taco.
Flan de Coco: Oh my goodness, this was creamy, silky, custardy heaven! Seriously. I was so surprised. The passion fruit sauce gave the creamy dessert an aggressively acidic, fruity punch, while the coconut macaroon gave the dish some texture. If you have room for dessert, I definitely recommend going for this.
With the fun Wheel-​of-​Fortune, friendly service, and variety of pitcher options (frozen mojitos anyone?), El Taco’s a great place to go with friends. We luckily won a pitcher of sangria that we rain-​checked, so we’ll definitely be back!

This place sucks on food! The margarita was the focal point of the whole evening. The salsa bar tasted like watered down tomato and hot-​sauces. I definitely will not be back.

Really Good
We went for an early dinner and sat in the open patio area. The place was remarkably busy with young families and it had a boisterous feel.
Service was great with a helpful and friendly waiter.
There is a nice selection of Margaritas. I enjoyed the one with grapefruit.
The two of us shared a nice large salad and the 5-​taco platter. All the tacos were really good. The smoked chicken and the fish tacos were outstanding. I’m getting hungry just thinking about them!
The fried apple pie with cinnamon ice cream was also quite good, although the ice cream needed a little more spice.
Prices were very reasonable.

Service: amazing Mark was my server and recommended the smoke chicken taco which was amazing. He was very attentive.
Food: Smoked chicken taco was my fav. It was amazing. The crunchy jalapeños and sauce and the flavorful chicken. A winner.
Fried chicken taco also very good. Fried fish– umm not so much. I love a good fish taco but this one was too crunchy and greasy. Hence one less star. Otherwise, would’ve been. 5 star experience.
They even put me at the only table with an outlet because my phone battery was dying. Great covered patio. It’s pouring rain but I’m still able to enjoy being outside.

The bar pours great drinks and the food is awesome! Prices were affordable and portions were the perfect size (not too big that I felt stuffed after eating it all).
Took off one star because it took them forever to call our name when we were waiting at the bar. She said that she had called our name, but we didn’t respond (we were about 8 feet from the front). Our spot was given away twice before we finally sat down (after sharing queso and finishing off our first drink).
The atmosphere is fun, especially with the fun token spin. I would go again, just hope we don’t have to wait as long.

I’ve been to El Taco twice before and my wife’s been around 10 times or so. We came down for some of the fried chicken tacos, but they just weren’t happening today. No magical crunchiness, the corn wasn’t roasted and not up to snuff, and they were just generally deflated.
We also ordered a Mexican pizza which itself was ok but the carnitas we ordered for the top of it were so salty they were unpleasant. Tasted like they’d been brined to strongly.
Overall a letdown, hope they’re not slipping for any particular reason.

Food was good. I had the Short rib enchiladas, Mexican grilled corn & grilled scallions.
Service was good but I think the portion size should be greater. I would definitely go back.

I love tacos, good tacos. I love fish tacos even more so. Every time I try a new taco joint, I always grab a fish taco, mainly just to see if anyone can stack up to the fish taco at Taqueria del Sol. Every place was unsuccessful… but the fish taco here, OH MAN. It comes damn close. The fish is nice and juicy, fried just enough. The briny mayo and picked chiles complement it perfectly. It’s a real winner!
The other tacos I tried were the pork carnitas and mushroom. Both were equally as excellent. Usually veggie tacos are pretty disappointing, but the mushroom taco was flavorful and full of texture. I highly recommend it for any vegetarian.
The restaurant itself is great. There’s ample parking on the side of the building, a nice patio, and very friendly staff. The mojitos are extra cold and perfect for a hot afternoon. It’s a great spot for families and date nights alike.

We came across The Original El Taco on a list of the best tacos in Atlanta via Thrillist.
Came here on a Sunday for a very early dinner, so we beat the dinner rush.
What’s cool is that they give everyone a token with a number on it, and every hour on the hour, they spin a wheel to decide who gets a prize! We didn’t win):
I ordered the posole soup and their fried chicken tacos and shared a queso blanco appetizer with the group.
Queso Blanco– Love the chile lime seasoning that’s dusted on the chips! Ask for more chips if you run out.
Posole– This was my first time having posole. It was delish! The soup had a slight heat and was full of hominy, shreds of chicken, avocado and peppers.
Fried chicken taco– This taco is served on a flour tortilla with a fried chicken strip and Mexican corn. I loved this taco! The batter on the chicken strip was perfectly seasoned, and the corn was super sweet, just the way I like it.
Don’t forget about the salsa bar! We definitely didn’t see it until after we finished our food haha.
Service was excellent! Our waitress even gave us an extra token for being first-​timers. She was very helpful with the menu as well.
I’d definitely come back here for that taco!

Inside can be loud, but the patio is fabulous. If you like sangria and non traditional tacos, this is the place for you.
I trying to make it here once a week. It is a great place to unwind.

As a big fan of Fifth Group’s other restaurants, I’d been wanting to check out El Taco for a while now. Finally got around to it this weekend. Yay!
Here’s a rundown of the food I had:
Queso: So good. Cheesy and thick, my tortilla chips got a nice coating with just a quick dip.
Guacamole: Standard. Not mind-​blowing but pretty solid.
Salsa: Had a good smokey taste with slight spice.
Chips: Wasn’t a huge fan of the seasoning blend and it was distributed a bit unevenly.
Smoked chicken taco: The chicken was excellent! Great smoked flavor, and there were nice big chucks of it in the taco. Came with what looked like fried jalapeño slices.
Steak taco: It was fine, pretty middle-​of-​the-​road. Like the previous taco, a good amount of meat. Also came with crispy onions, which were good.
Braised pork belly taco: This was a really tasty taco. Came with ricotta made with goat’s milk. Also, I think this one may have been a special.
Fried apple pie: Pie was good, the dulce de leche & cinnamon ice cream was even better. I could take down a pint of that stuff easy.
Frozen mojito: Not normally a cocktail drinker and almost never a frozen cocktail drinker, but I tried this at the recommendation of my dining companion. These are delicious and dangerous.
I have a general objection to paying more than $ 3 for a taco and these were between $ 3;75 and $ 4. I concede that these tacos were better than others I’ve had in the same price range but I still grumbled slightly when I saw the prices. But overall, I thought prices were okay.
Service was really good. We had the bartender taking care of us and he was friendly and very patient, especially once those mojitos started kicking in and we got a little silly. The manager also came by to chat with us a bit.
I think this is going to be part of my day drinking rotation, although it’s also a fine spot for lunch or dinner. But the nice patio, great drinks, and friendly staff make this an ideal location to hang out with friends all afternoon.

We are regulars here and the tacos are OUTSTANDING!!! Fried chicken taco is a MUST have. The patio is nice and the service is AWESOME. Guacamole is always on point and we love getting tokens for the wheel spin.
Love the daily specials on the board. I’m always excited to see what the «board» taco is. Be SURE you look at the board!
Definitely our FAVORITE taco place!!!

I love this place because the ambiance is nice, the food is great, and there’s indoor and outdoor seating. As a vegetarian, I usually get the mole enchiladas with beans and cheese. Their mole is delicious. They also have a veggie taco. I once had the Mexican pizza but it was not as flavorful as the taco/​enchilada and came out fairly soggy – so I steer clear of that. We are chips-​aholics, and their chips and salsa are great. Chips are crisp and not super oily, and salsa is a roasted tomato with just a little kick. And, I especially like that I can supplement that with the salsa bar which has a habanero for the spice lovers (like me), pico de gallo (not too onion-​y) and chopped cilantro (can’t ever have too much cilantro!!).
The staff has been friendly always, and managers always visit to make sure we’re happy. We even won a queso on one of our visits here – they spin a wheel every hour to give away free food/​drinks. Great place for dinner, good for groups, and families, parking lot behind (shared with a bunch of places, so can be dicey on busy weekend nights). I only wish they were open during the day!

I love El Taco! As other reviewers have stated, it’s not authentic Mexican food, but then, it doesn’t purport to be. Come here for a tasty margaritas, delicious tacos, queso, and bottomless tortilla chips. There is also a free salsa bar with pico de gallo, habanero salsa, romesco salsa, salsa verde, cilantro, and limes. You can mix and match on your tacos, or order chips and indulge.
El Taco’s claim to fame is their prize wheel. Every customer gets a token with a number on it, and every hour they spin the prize wheel. If your number is called, you can win a beer, a pitcher of sangria, an app, or other assorted goodies.
My typical order is a house ‘rita, smoked chicken taco, fish taco, and queso blanco. YUM!

This place is fun.
I had fun. But my appetite did not. It’s not bad, its just not great.
The fun is in the drinks and the wheel! They give everyone some number chips and they spin the wheel every hour. My table won an order of queso which was perfect! The queso was good but what made it great was the salsa bar! That’s part of the fun too. They have a bar with salsas, sauces and fresh cilantro. I love cilantro and having the ability to do what I want with it is a plus!
But the menu is limited to some tacos, Mexican pizza, enchiladas. There is a board with daily specials. I picked the Salt fish fitters they had but it just tasted like potato balls. I also ordered the chorizo taco and it was okay. I added cilantro to make it better. I tasted the Mexico City grilled corn and the brisket taco and the flavors of both were just eh.
Service was great because I was with a picky demanding bunch that often has special requests and the server got everything as everyone ordered and was friendly and fun. I would go there for drinks and a spin of the wheel but I would probably eat before I get there.