Tahona Tequila Bistro

One of my favorite places to eat in Boulder. I am obsessed with their green chile cheese fries and chile rellenos. Don’t miss out on their infused margaritas (I’m basic so the strawberry one is my go-​to). Great ambience and location on pearl street and the price is right.

I wanted to like this place, I really did. The first time I went, I had a very snarky server. She was very abrasive and dismissive. However, since I am a server as well, I gave her the benefit of the doubt and recognized that maybe she was feeling overwhelmed or upset that night. The food and drinks were decent enough and I was with good friends, so I didn’t let our server affect the mood of the evening.
I went back on Tuesday around 4:00. There were only 2 other tables in the entire restaurant when my friend and I showed up. We had the same server that I had on my previous visit, and right off the bat, she was very rude. She rolled her eyes about everything, was very short and snippy, slammed things down on the table, and didn’t check on us once. I noticed this happening to the tables nearby as well. Given that it wasn’t busy, I can’t even chalk her attitude up to being overwhelmed this time around.
My order came out wrong, and the food runner was nice about it the mistake, but our server came up behind her, was upset that I pointed out the mistake, took her anger out on the runner, and begrudgingly went to the kitchen to have it fixed. The food was only mediocre when I finally got it.
Overall, the cheap happy hour is SO not worth it if you’re getting bland food and crap service. I doubt I will be returning :/​
Side note: If you are going to treat people poorly and cop an attitude with anyone and everyone, then the service industry is not for you!

My first experience at this sexy little tequila/​taco spot was the day right before Colorado’s spring blizzard. It was 65* outside, so the open-​air setup felt amazing. It’s a long restaurant with a pretty small bar and some nice tall bistro tables for couples. It pretty much screams Boulder to me minus the ski & yoga pants.
The best way I can describe how delicious their tacos are is to say… I forgot that I had the option of ordering guacamole because they were SO good by themselves. That’s right. My avocado loving brain was shocked at this revelation too. I went on Taco Tuesday and I think that has convinced me to make the 30+ minute trek to Boulder on a monthly basis just to partake in this restaurant.
The Wonderfully Delicious…
— A few veg-​friendly options
— Mondays have all-​night happy hour
— Taco Tuesdays have $ 2 street tacos!
— Almost too many infused tequilas & margs on their menu to choose from
— Fresh! I do Not like heavy/​cheesy/​bean-​covered/​greasy Mexican food, so the freshness of these street tacos was one of my favorite aspects
— We had 6 street tacos shared between 2 people and spent only $ 18! (no drinks included)
— The quinoa/​zucchini veggie tacos from the $ 2 menu were amazing
— If you get the fuller/​meatier street tacos for $ 4, then try the duck, it’s heaven
— The atmosphere was an average evening buzz — not distracting like a sports bar, but not quiet either
— The wait staff seemed busy, but made good suggestions
— I didn’t experience any of the dance-​atmosphere, but I find it cool that it’s an option on weekends
The Tolerable…
— It’s in the Pearl Street mall-​ish area of Boulder, so parking isn’t free
— Not overly-​personable staff, just Ok
Seriously… just go. I know I’ll be back.

Came here twice in a week because I loved it so much. The grilled chicken tacos were delicious and just the right level of spicy. Also, their infused tequila margaritas are bomb. I prefer the pineapple infused over the strawberry, but they’re both so good. Oh and happy hour makes this place even better. $ 4.50 for a margarita! But don’t get the spicy salsa. It has a weird sweet flavor that I can’t put my finger on. Our waitress was nice enough to bring us the medium salsa since we didn’t like the spicy one!

Good price for guac and margaritas. Next time I’d do the hot guac since mild needed some more kick for me.
Awesome atmosphere and staff was very helpful.

5 stars for Saturday Happy Hour! Their specials are the best thing I have stumbled upon in all of Colorado. We just happened to stroll past it walking through Pearl mall — we were craving street tacos and low and behold we found ourselves in tequila paradise! The drink and food specials were so cheap and included all of their infused tequilas.
$ 2.50 per street taco and the $ 2 chips and salsa was fresh and light. We left to go and try to get a rooftop patio seat and turned around and came right back!
A couple margs & beer, a couple infused tequila shots, a couple bites to eat and we were buzzed, satisfied and all under $ 40. They are lots of great places to choose from on Pearl St. but this little Mexican place is quite the gem! They have a small patio space (about 4 tables).
TIP: The lychee infused tequila and pineapple infused tequila were good but are served room temp unless you request them chilled.

I have been here many times over the years and always take visitors here. The food is consistently good and the service too, so the higher-​end prices don’t bother me much. However, during my last visit, I felt that the quality of the food/​drinks diminished significantly. The hour-​hour drinks (non-​well quality) were weak and the food wasn’t what I have come to expect from Tahona. Additionally, the waiter’s gratuity was already included in each bill, but ranged from percentages of 19−45% (automatically included in the bill). The waiter re-​printed the receipts without those additional charges, which was fine. However, when my credit card was processed with the tip I left, more money was taken off then I had left. I am sure that I was no too inebriated to remember as I mentioned the drinks were weak. It looks like I will find another place to take visitors and will not be returning to Tahona any longer. What a shame.

Ordered enchiladas and chile chicken with a couple of margaritas… Everything was delicious. 2 off the drinks were not in the menu but they were really good. The staff were all polite n cheerful. All in all no complaints. A lil pricey ., but they had the menu out at the entrance… So we knew what we were going to be paying! Overall a good experience

My girlfriend and I were wanting to go to Centro prior to crossing the street and trying this place instead. Centro apparently only serves lunch on Fridays, and it was a Sunday that day. We were definitely not disappointed when we got our food here. Girlfriend had the vegetarian tacos, which we thought could have had a bit more kick to it. I had the spinach and mushroom quesadilla, which was really delicious. Portions were a bit small, but we were there for happy hour (without realizing it), so tacos were only $ 2.50. Definitely a great deal! Most certainly wouldn’t be opposed to visiting again!

I loved the margaritas! Especially those with some spice. We also had chicken nachos and wrapped things up with a tequila flight. Overall great experience. My one criticism would be that they brought us the check and we would’ve easily stayed for one more round. We left and went elsewhere but only because we felt a bit pushed out. Otherwise it was good and I’m sure we will go again.

Went here on a Saturday night after recommendations from several locals and I was not impressed. The drinks were terrible!!! The bartender recommended a mango tequila pepper shot after they did not have the items to make another shot and it was just awful. Then order a pineapple tequila and pineapple juice drink… yuck! Don’t understand why it tasted like lime. The drinks were just bad.

Last weekend I had family visiting from out of town and we decided to go out for a bite to eat while walking around Pearl Street. Finding a decent place for dinner on a Saturday evening with no reservations? Mission: Impossible? Nope. Tahona Tequila Bistro to the rescue.
We were able to get a table by the front patio and order a round of some excellent beverages. Seriously, if you’ve never been here and are considering stopping in, the drinks alone make it worthwhile. I had the white wine sangria which was light and refreshing, and of course the rest of the family had margaritas of various flavors /​infusions. Everyone was very happy with their drinks.
The food was quite good as well. We shared some chips with guacamole and salsa to start, then we each happily dug into our meals which included: grilled chicken tacos, a veggie enchilada, chilaquiles, and a carne y camarones poblano.
We left just as the vibe started to change into more of a nightclub-​esque scene so I can’t speak to what it’s like once the DJ starts spinning. But when it comes to a reasonably priced place to stop in for a good meal, everyone at my table was pleased and we had a great view of passersby on a beautiful August evening in Boulder.

We were happy to see that Tahona had no wait on the night that we arrived and could accommodate our party of 7. We quickly ordered drinks and a salsa trio and all came out quickly. We had a mixture of different cocktails around the table from sangria to beer to flavored margaritas and everyone enjoyed their different beverages. The 3 different flavors of salsa were nice to taste. I personally liked the spicy salsa with a bit of a smoky taste, but it is not for everyone.
For our meals, there was a variety of orderings at the table. I got the steak fajitas and I thought they were just great. The steak was cooked just right and all of the veggies were seasoned nicely. Others at the table ordered tacos (which got mixed reviews) and nachos, which we heard were good.
Personally, I thought that Tahona was pretty good with the food that I ordered but others really did not enjoy so much so I would say this was a 3 star experience. Definitely a fun atmosphere but more consistency with taste and quality would have made this a bit of a higher review!

This review is just for the bartender, Colin.
Colin is the epitome of a great bartender. He is attentive and makes some damn good drinks. Every great bartender immediately becomes a trusted friend and Colin… well…Colin has a gift. A gift that should be cherished. Cherish the gift of tequila. That is all.

I’ve been shaking a leg at Tahona since I moved to the area back in 2012. My friends and I have always found the doormen/​bouncers to be very nice and effective at removing rowdy students and drunkards.
The crowd is a good mix of students and young professionals and the music is typically top notch (not just your regular top 40 spot). The dance floor is a little on the small side but there are a row of tables as well as counter space to set down a drink or put down a purse.
The biggest qualm I have is the lack of coat check. As the dance floor can become cramped it isn’t always convenient to hold/​carry your jacket while gettin’ down. I’ve had multiple friends lose their coats which is unfortunate but hasn’t kept us from coming back.
More recently I’ve discovered the happy hour which I consider to be top notch. The daily dos (small plate of the day and drink of the day — from house marg to dos equis) for around $ 7. The small plate has ranged from veggie tamale to duck taco. To put it into perspective the house marg is around $ 6 on it’s own so the daily dos is a stellar deal.
The wait staff are attentive and a bit friendlier than the bar staff (Colin is our favorite bartender though we haven’t seen him there in awhile). For example our table of 3 was expanded to accommodate 5 and our waitress was more than happy to not only dole out separate checks but also to go out back and get us some additional chairs.
I definitely recommend connecting with Tahona via their newsletter (a couple months back they had free Margarita with FB check-​in) and social media.

Mexican bistro by day, dance club by night. There aren’t a lot of places to go dancing in Boulder, so that’s cool if you’re into that.
I’ve only been here for food a couple of times and though it’s always good… I left feeling very ill after consuming fish tacos. Gross.
Our server was sweet by very aloof. After delivering our drinks, she was MIA for a half hour before asking if we wanted food… and we definitely did. At the end of the meal, she brought our check automatically split. Maybe she was trying to save herself work because it is a college town and a common thing to do, but it made it awkward at our table. But it’s never good to make assumptions.
On a positive note, their red sangria is delicious and refreshing, although slightly pricey!

I think this is the place to get the best tacos in Boulder hands down. The margaritas are also amazing, much better than the Rio in my opinion.
For starters try any of their house infused tequilas in a margarita for a different twist on the regular margarita. Next try the guacamole, it’s spicy and delicious. The tortilla soup is also a great starter. But for the main course I always get the chicken tinga tacos, they are probably the best chicken tinga tacos I’ve ever had.
The space itself is great and in a good location, it is on the smaller side so be prepared to wait.

The queso fundido is interesting since it came with apples and carrots. Considering I only order it to clog arteries and have melted cheese in my face this was sort of a let down. At least there is all night happy hour!

What a fun place to come for an evening out! It was hopping! Sampled two different fruit flavored tequilas– both tasted fairly similar to me. The food was very good. I wish they had this place in my area!

Only reviewing happy hour.
I was there for happy hour on a Saturday night and really liked it. First, there was plenty of available tables in the back of the restaurant (it’s a fairly big place) so that was nice. The infused tequila margarita was good, and I liked that the waitress asked if I wanted my drink it more or less sweet. The quesadillas and tacos were very good. A great place for happy hour!