Tacubaya

Although this place certainly IS pricey, I do think it’s worth it for what they offer. All the food they offer are authentic, fresh, and flavorful. When I am there, I usually get their enchiladas and they never disappoint. Staff was also quick and professional.

Boy, oh, boy was I excited when I entered the restaurant and saw the huge container full of horchata! Usually, this is a sign that the restaurant serves up some pretty good authentic Mexican food. Sadly, this is not the case, here. The beverage was a little peculiar tasting-​something was off, and I’m wondering if soy was used as a substitute ingredient.
When I read the menu items I was disappointed that carnitas wasn’t offered, and settled instead, for some beef enchiladas. Again, this dish was way off-​these weren’t oven baked enchiladas, but rather a stove top quick assembled and heated version which wasn’t anything near the actual traditional dish. The sauce wasn’t tasty at all, and the diluted sour cream stuff squirted on top actually ruined the dish even more.
For $ 13 I received 2 enchiladas and a cup full of horchata… no rice, beans, chips, or salsa.
I don’t intend on returning and don’t recommend this restaurant, at all. Some pretty significant changes would have to take place in order for this restaurant to be tolerable.
Bottom line: Food is way off.

Delicious, albeit a bit expensive. Their tacos are so good I haven’t really tried anything else. I typically get 2 – 3 carne asada tacos and a single fish taco. They are always well cooked, well seasoned and the sauces are perfect.

Tacubaya is one of our go-​to taquerias in the East Bay.
Sure, it’s a bit pricey, but you get what you pay for. The food is made fresh with more expensive cuts of meat. We usually get the tacos, which have always been delicious. True they are plain. They are also not swimming in oil and spice which, at other restaurants I have eaten at, mask old, poor quality food.
The pollo taco uses only white meat chicken, the pescado taco has beautifully cooked fish with fresh cabbage, and the al pastor’s pork is moist with a lovely avocado sauce. Fresh tortillas are a bonus. You can always add salsa or hot sauce to your food if need be. Seating is plentiful and bathrooms are clean. A great place to catch a bite after shopping on 4^th street!

Been coming here for years and still like it. Food is good but we come here as its less expensive than the other fancy places to eat nearby and we can always get a seat. The chili relleno was deep fried in a crunchy batter and it didn’t work but I like the idea. The lenqua tacos were good and the meat was delicious. The vegetarian tamale was unique and delicious.

I was expecting super over priced Mexican and instead I got deliciously pricy Mexican. This isn’t your cheap whole-​in-​the-​wall taqueria, however I find the prices to be fair and the food to be tasty. They claim to use great ingredients to boot, so there’s that!
The space is large — you order at the cashier — and wait for your food. They run the gamut from tacos to tortas to tamales to an enchilada plate and more. I opted for some guacamole and the chicken tortilla soup and I gotta say it… «YUM»
The soup was huge, filled with shredded chicken, avocado chunks and delicious melted cheese. Not quite spicy, but oh so comforting on a chillier evening. The guac was delicious. Definitely a smaller portion of actual guac (although they provide a plentiful amount of freshly fried chips), it was creamy, yet full of flavor.
They offer up a taco happy hour M-​# from 3−5PM and a taco Tuesday from 3−9PM if looking for a little deal!
If you’re around 4^th street and looking for some casual Mexican eats, I think you’ll be more than happy with Tacubaya!

The line was quite long, but the service was pretty quick which I appreciated. Ordered the churros, chicken tacos, and the Mexican ceviche to be shared among friends. I didn’t really like any of them. The tacos had a slight banana taste to them (which I can’t quite figure out why…). The taste of the oil on the churros was strong. And the Mexican ceviche left my friend feeling a little queasy afterward.
We might have just ordered the wrong things, because it looked like everyone else was really enjoying themselves. And we did too overall. But food-​wise, nothing special and a little overpriced.

What was I thinking with giving this place 4 stars?
Tacubaya is 5-​star all the way. Maybe it was eating al fresco in the balmy fall weather with the twinkling outdoor lights shining in our eyes. Maybe it was seeing my 4-​year-​old eating all his dinner after a day of living off of air and chocolate. Maybe it was simply my generous bowl full of frijoles con todos that was delicious down to the last scoop of bean broth. Tacubaya is consistently excellent and a great place for families to have good quality food.

I ordered the Chile Relleno off the seasonal menu. I must say it’s totally worth trying while you’re able to.
Make sure to wait a while before enjoying as its hot out the fryer. But don’t wait too long as the steam inside will wilt the crispy deliciousness that engulfs the chili. The first bite was amazing!
Totally recommend it.

The Chilaquiles are the best. I get them every time I go there.
Great place for a vegetarian meal.
Parking is easy.
Service is great.

Every time I come here I order the same thing. It’s always fantastic and I simply cannot help going outside my box when I already know will be amazing. I order a small primavera salad and vegetarian tamale. The primavera salad is a set standard… mixed greens with veggies, pepitas, avocado, and a light-​bright-​refreshing-​lime vinaigrette. The vegetarian tamale changes seasonally and is always served with a savory sauce. I’ve occasionally shared some beef enchiladas which have also been super but there’s no way I’m not going to order those veggies at Tachubaya.

Solid Mexican place in Berkeley! So happy I found out about it!
I had the veggie taco (was not very hungry that day) and it was very good. My friends ordered the tortilla soup and the enchiladas, and were both very happy with them.
The only reason why I would not give this place 5 stars is because I feel like it’s a bit pricey for what you get… But maybe that’s just me.
Anyway, if you’re in the neighborhood and craving Mexican food, this place is where you want to go to.

Stopped by on our way up to Sacramento. Our original choice was closed so we decided to give this Mexican food spot a try.
They mostly serve soft shell tacos filled with various meat and vegetable combinations. We tried several varieties of meat and seafood, and all were decent but nothing with any kind of «wow» factor. Guacamole was tasty but again, nothing all that special. Prices were on the high side for the type of fare they offer.

Really good authentic mexican food. Highly recommend for both lunch and dinner. Also have really good drinks like sangria! Have indoor and outdoor seating and are reasonably priced. Highly recommend

Small eatery in West Berkeley. Ate breakfast there. The eggs and beans were served with homemade tortillas. The stew was tasty and rich. The egg sandwich is also worth a try. Coffee was excellent. Rice and Almond beverage was also excellent.

As anyone who braves the entitled nightmare that is 4^th street on a weekend knows, bathrooms are scarce. Almost every shop will tell you that they dont have a bathroom which is obviously untrue. They will all send you to Peet’s where you can wait in line for 40 minutes… and then disgusting of course.
Enter Tacubaya. Yes, there’s a bathroom. That alone is probably worth the 4 stars.
And yes, they do actually have food here too, which is pretty good, and doesn’t wear a swanky price tag. Today we got the Pollo Pipian tacos from the seasonal specials menu which were great, and maybe cost 8 $ for two large tacos. They came on handmade tasting tortillas with a very generous amount of chicken and some cheese all melted and yummy inside. The outside was bathed in Pipian (sort of like a mole made with toasted pumpkin seeds) which was nutty and delicious
From the regular menu we had a fish taco. It was fine; the fish was battered and fried but not served to us right away so it was cold which detracted some (okay, a lot.)
The only other drawback was the music which was like square dancing music only in Spanish. It was very upbeat and kind of loud. I kind of wanted to relax after dealing with the horrible hordes and it wasnt really the kind of music I could relax to… oh well.
4 stars overall because the food is pretty good, and they let you use the bathroom.

I feel like this is probably a case of ordering the wrong thing, but I followed the recommendations of my fellow Unilocalers so I was surprised by how much I really didn’t enjoy my meal. Situated in the beautiful and emerging 4^th street Berkeley area Tacubaya is proof of how much looks can be deceiving.
I ordered the taco al lengua and taco al pastor, al pastor is always my go-​to at Mexican joints and lengua because why not? The lengua was bland and chewy because it was overcooked. Halfway through my small taco I really didn’t feel like eating it anymore [which is saying a lot because I love eating]. The pastor was just okay, the sauce that’s included soaked through my tortilla so it was impossible to eat with my hands, a big no no for tacos. The only saving grace was the diverse and impressive stock of hot sauces, I don’t think I could have finished my meal if it wasn’t for them.
It’s not that the tacos are bad because they’re really average to below average. But the fact that they’re four dollars each and I can get noticeably better tacos for a dollar down the street makes me know I won’t be back. It’s almost criminal the markup they put on the food when you consider the actual quality. Although I’m sad I didn’t get to try the veggie tostada [they were out of stock] it’s not worth it to me to play Tacubaya another visit.
Kind of a strange side note: the pickled pepper and carrot that come with the tacos were by far the highlight of the meal. Kind of funny that something so unassuming would be so tasty.
Til next time, keep eating keep learning!

On a mere chance that an internal source Tacubaya has been pestering me about the validity of my previous review versus a picture that I posted on my second time around via Unilocal mess., this one’s dedicated to you.
I ordered the cheviche on a late later noon, purposely to miss the lunch rush and possibly get in before the dinner bustle. Perfect timing. As I was making the order, I noticed the cooks making some fabulous chicken and decided to add a chicken taco for a later snack (which was a good idea).
The cheviche was alright. Not too fond of the partially soft chips, I can assume that the chips are made in house however I expected crispy chips at the least. The sabao was nice and zesty. The dish overall was A-​Ok.
When I got home I was able to consume the cold taco after two hours of ordering. I must admit that meat was tasty, lemony too so I can’t complain.

Great place to eat, selections are up big board, indoor and outdoor seating right next too market. Space gets limited right around lunch. Go after 2:00pm. Weekends are packed, thought pretty fast turnover to get a table. Food standard faire with a bit of love put into it. Plantains are pan fried, fish taco is good and cheap. Fresh Aqua fresca is yummy. Come check it out. Good fast service and people are cool.
Go early!

I really don’t care for it. It’s over-​priced for both the quality and the quantity of the dish.
I find it almost pretentious for a single crispy taco to cost $ 3.95, composed as it is of a single tortilla and a measly amount of filling, which in no way is offset by the flavour, or lack thereof, of the item itself, not helped in the least bit by a runny salsa that almost rivals my terrible run on this sentence.
The chicken tortilla soup was not my type, but I can’t rate it objectively as I have never really been a fan of mole — and it tasted like it was based on a mole sauce.
I’d rather dine at Picante anyday.

Maravilhoso! Um brasileiro que ficou encantado com a deliciosa comida do Tacubaya. Recomendo os pratos ‘Taco al Pastor’ e ‘Enchiladas’ =) Wonderful! A Brazilian who was delighted with the delicious food of Tacubaya. Recommend the dishes ‘Taco al Pastor’ and ‘Enchiladas’ =)

Tacubaya restaurante sirve deliciosos platos de pescado, pollo, carne asada con cerveza helada. Muy delicioso!