El Taco Loco

I can’t believe I’ve never been here before. If you want true authentic Mexican this is the place. The food was fresh and we waited maybe 5 minutes. Server was very friendly and prompt. Starting with the chips and delicious sauce I knew it was going to be an enjoyable dinner. I had a steak burrito supreme and it was great. My friend had tacos and said it was the best he has had at any place in the ham. A bonus this place is open late for the bar crowd or if you just need a great meal. The only reason I didn’t give a 5 is the. If you don’t like the bar environment i would recommend eating before 10. Overall I would recommend if you like authentic Mexican.

TL;DR: this is not a vegetarian-​friendly spot.
The long version: I came here because of the excellent reviews, and normally Mexican food is quite friendly to vegetarians because it’s easily modified. When I ordered, I asked if I could have flautas with beans rather than any kind of meat. My waitress said yes. I was partway through my second flauta when I realized that not only did it taste weird, but the texture was weird too.
Because it wasn’t beans in my flautas. It was chicken.
I’m not upset that the menu doesn’t offer vegetarian listings. I’m upset that I was told that I could get beans rather than meat and was then given meat. This is not cool, and made my guts a little unhappy, the details of which I will spare you.
Telling someone you can accommodate them when you can’t or won’t could make them sick or possibly kill them. It is not an okay thing to do. Don’t come here if you are vegetarian or have a vegetarian in your party.

The best kept Mexican secret in Birmingham! Great authentic Mexican for a great price!
All of their tacos are tasty! Chorizo, pollo, al pastor, carnitas, and my favorite campenchano (steak and chorizo)! All for $ 2 each!
Incredibly fresh guacamole and love the sauces on the table to add to your tacos! I’ve also had the burrito loco covered in queso and it’s a favorite too!

Solid three stars, but wish I could do 3 stars++. Good Mexica staples at good prices.

Al pastor tacos were great! Service was very good. Will definitely be returning to try more of the menu.

YES! This place has the best tacos in Birmingham. The traditional corn tortillas, great meat, and vegetables. The Al Pastor was the definite best out of the three I tried, which also included Carnitas, and Barbacoa. The Barbacoa taco was a little too fatty for my preferences, and the carnitas was a little plain. The Al Pastor, though? Just right. Flavorful, and did I mention only $ 2 for all of them?!
The only thing I would change would be to add some pickled vegetables and avocado to them, just for some crunch and texture.
I highly recommend El Taco Loco. The location isn’t necessarily the best, but the food is!

This place is awesome! It is a little hole in the wall restaurant but it was great! The service was a little slow but that did not hinder our experience. The torta was really well made and quite tasty. The Al pastor taco was also really really good! Nice and quiet and comfortable inside, not too fancy and quite typical for a nice hole in the wall Mexican restaurant. Next time we are in the area we will be back!

Definitely hole-​in-​the-​wall Mexican. Good, tasty, quick, and the server was very nice! The servings were very generous and I wished I had taken a to-​go box afterward and not piggishly eaten it all in one setting. I took the server’s rec and got one of the steak plates. Most of the folks in the restaurant both times I’ve been have been Spanish speakers which would seem to hint at the authenticity. I’ll definitely go back.

SUMMARY: CHEAP, FLAVORFUL TACOS!!! The Tripas and Barbacoa tacos are out of this world… No more taco trucks for me!
Atmosphere: 3
Service: 3
Food: 5
Value: 5
Being around Southern California, taco trucks as well as mexican restaurants are plentiful. I was quite skeptical of Mexican food in Bham. My experiences at a few taco trucks confirmed this idea. However, after stumbling across this restaurant, I realize how naïve I was! I should note, this is now my favorite taco place.
The tacos are LARGE for ~$ 2.00 and come STUFFED with a LOAD OF MEAT!!! I’m a HUGE eater, yet I’m stuffed when I get two tacos and queso dip. Normally, I can eat 6 – 8 tacos from taco trucks… No exaggeration 0_​o.
The tripas tacos… oh god the tripas… are FANTASTIC! The fiancé and I are addicted. The tripas crispy, flavorful, and the flavor perfectly settles in with the amount of tortilla they give you.
The barbacoa tacos… words cannot describe the delight I get from the succulent fat and extremely tender meat that MELTS in my mouth… If you do not like fat in your meat, don’t bother getting this taco. But if you do… you are in for a promising experience. I suggest balancing the gooey texture with the tripas taco or the chips that come to your table.
Special tips:
The quality of their meat here is out of this world! Anything with meat and your good. I have not tried the seafood.
THEY GIVE YOU 2 BOTTLES of awesome SALSA /​sauce. Squirt away as you please! Both are very tasty.
On the other hand, I would not recommend the normal burrito. Although the meat is great, the other contents that are put in the burrito don’t enhance the experience. I cannot speak for their more unique burritos like the loco burrito.
Overall Thoughts:
I order 2 tacos and queso, my fiancé orders 3 tacos (yes she got one more than me, fatty right?). My total order comes out to ~$ 14.00 after a $ 2 tip. I come out absolutely stuffed and happy. $ 7 dollars per person for quality food and satisfying my gluttony??? Couldn’t ask for more than that… Give the tacos a shot, you’ll be hooked.
I should mention, service is shotty, sometimes you get an attentive waiter sometimes not. The food makes it worth it.

We always try to eat local while road tripping but I’m not sure this was worth the extra jog off the interstate. I would say it’s a little better than your average Mexican joint in a strip mall in that it’s fresher, more authentic, and higher quality but overall lacks flavor and the service is boarder line terrible. If we lived in the area I might go back but not if I was trying to do an hour lunch. However, I wouldn’t suggest getting off the interstate for it.

Best authentic tacos I’ve had in a while. Juicy and flavorful meats. Carne Asada and al pastor for sure.

This place? THIS PLACE! I have found a REAL Mexican restaurant in the Ham! This place is pretty amazing. If you have read any of my reviews you will know I LOVE MEXICAN FOOD! This place hit the spot.
I had tacos. 2 al pastor and one asada. Both where so good! There was a lot of flavor in both. Don’t forget to lime, salt, and sauce them. The sauces on the table are made in house and have a HUGE kick. Best part? These tacos are $ 1.90 each! This is what a taco should cost!
My man had this yummy grilled chicken dish with veggies and rice. We also ordered queso and holy hell it was DELISH! And it was only 3.50. Best queso in town for the price!
I will be back here again for sure. The service was nice. Our drinks and chips where never empty and our bill wasn’t sky high!

To everyone in Birmingham looking to find AUTHENTIC mexican food, this is the spot. If this spot was back on the west coast, I would be a regular. My other reviews about Mexican restaurants in Birmingham are accurate, but this place is unreal.
The street tacos are bomb and the salsa was incredible. I don’t even really have much more to say other than I will be going back and this is the hidden gem in Birmingham. Finally, I have found a place that reminds me of being back home.
You will not be disappointed with dining here. I don’t recommend this place for dinner. I recommend this place for a long lunch. Tacos at lunch OVER everything else!!!

El Taco Loco was some of the most authentic mexican food I have ever eaten. Starting with the chips and salsa, the chips were still warm and the salsa tasted fresh. The salsa they brought out was a mild salsa, but very tasty. The star of the salsa tho, was the green sauce that compliemnted the regular sauce with some heat. It tasted like a poblano sauce with some habenero kick (not quite sure on what was on it tho) I also ordered the queso sauce that didnt have any heat, but was at the perfect consistancy.
For dinner, I had 2 Carne Asada tacos and a side of rice. The Tacos were unbel.ievealbe. The meat was plenty and topped with cilatro and onion. The corn tortillas were some the the best I ever had. I could have popped those things like tic tacs!
If you are looking for an upscale and stuffy environment, this is not the place. I felt like I was eating at a friends house not a restaurant. This would be a great place to hang out with some buddies or a very casual date. Cant wait to go back

I’m from St. Louis where we have some good authentic taquerias, and this one would fit right in. I recommend the tacos al pastor.

Authentic Mexican tacos. Very good and very cheap. Double wrapped in fresh corn tortillas.
The local crowd is Mexican, another good sign for good Mexican fare.
Chips, salsa, guacamole are very good.
Don’t recommend the shrimp cocktail — too sweet and drowning in ketchup/​tomato sauce.

Solid food. Not amazing, just predictable tex-​mex. good choice if you’re just looking for a good burrito

Well, I’ve found a new a restaurant to add to my list of regular stops. I found the place by accident the other day and have eaten there every day since. I’ve can’t bring myself to order any gringo food while at a place like this. I’ve ordered so far the pambazo and huarache, which are dishes that I’ve seen on TV but have never seen anywhere locally. Both were fantastic. This place gives you the opportunity to try regional Mexican dishes that you’ve only read about or seen on some TV show locally in a sit-​down restaurant atmosphere.
The food is five star but have only rated the place with four since the service isn’t as attentive as a gringo is accustomed to. The waitress and other people that work there speak perfectly fine English so no need to bring a dictionary with you. It is definitely divey which is understandable considering the location of the place.
Bottom line: if you want to try authentic Mexican and even more obscure regional Mexican dishes in a sit-​down restaurant that is welcoming of locals, then this is the place. Plus you may run into some off-​duty workers from Sammy’s there, which never hurts the ambiance. :)

If you’ve been reading my reviews, you know that I went on a hunt for the best fish taco in Birmingham one Saturday. Well El Taco Loco was one of our stops. The salsa they brought out didn’t taste great so I was a little worried about the tacos. We got 2 fish tacos and 1 chorizo tacos. WOW — the fish was cooked so perfectly. I’m not a huge fan of tortillas but I could eat the corn tortillas from this place all day long. It was a delicious fish taco and the chorizo taco that we got was even better. I think I dreamt about it that night. This may not be somewhere you would normally stop if you passed by, but I highly recommend you do so. The staff was great and as I said, the food was delicious!

Delicioso! My friends and I went to Machu Pichhu but it was closed so we headed to this nondescript taco place.
The tacos were really good and cheap ($ 1.50). I had the chorizo, tripe, steak, pork, and tongue tacos. They were all good and I think the best was the tongue. You have a choice between a flour or a corn tortilla and the tacos are served with lime wedges. There are 2 homemade sauces on the table in squeeze bottles, which despite the fact that I couldn’t identify them were very tasty. I want to go back to try some of the dishes that I had never heard of before like the panvazos and huaraches.
On a semi-​related note one of the waitresses there was ridiculously hot.