Tacos el Cuñado at the Downtown Market

This is my go to place at the downtown market. My favorite is the chorizo taco. Food is great! However, be prepared to wait in line as they are usually busy every time I go. I’ve done take out but it’s best eaten right when it’s made.
The only other thing is if there isn’t a line and you are waiting a while make sure they haven’t forgotten to get your order to the back. The staff are always friendly and happy to correct things.

Update.
Food is still solid. BUT service. Is. Slow. Every. Time. I. Go. For. Lunch.
Time to hire another person?

My friends rave about the food here and there are so many reviews comparing it to LA taco trucks.
Meh.
Food: It was okay. Carne Asada Burrito with a side of beans and rice. The portions are pretty large– but no the cheapest. Was kind of bland that I added hella cheese to my leftovers to eat it later.
Location: Downtown Market. It’s cute, it’s hip, the upstairs greenhouse is a YES PLEASE! But so pricey!
Customer Service: Oh man. This is probably one of the worst customer service experiences I’ve had in Michigan. The people working there were so DGAF and so expressionless and SLOW. I waited at least 20 minutes for my food for one person. They forget a part of my order and I basically had to aggressively flag down the lady to get it fixed. So rude, no thank you.

This place is always so hit and miss as far as costumer service and condiments go. The food is pretty fresh and good. The service is horrible. They have trouble keeping the salsa bar stocked no matter how dead it is. And the hot sauce game is not really killing it.
That being said, this is the freshest tacos you can get in GR. I don’t eat most meats, but the vegetarian options are great! It’s the only place jn town nice found a temphe taco and I adore it. Their shrimp is from a Michigan farm but they’re usually out of it. The beans are better than other places. Don’t ask me how or why but since most Mexican joints taste the same to someone getting rice, beans and cactus I can definitely tell the beans are different! And delicious!
It bothers me that they won’t give me a cup of water. But I’ve just gotten accustom to bringing my own canteen into the downtown market, so don’t forget a drink if you don’t want to buy one!
Still cheap and delicious so I dig it and usually hit it whenever I go to the downtown market.

One of the better Mexican spots in Grand Rapids. Convenient location, authentic taste. fresh ingredients, fast, and relatively cheap. I also love that they sell Jarritos Mineragua (my all-​time favorite mineral water). My only gripes with this place is the that salsa bar is often empty, so you sort of have to arrive at the right time (whatever that is) and the service is not super stellar (again, I almost never rate on service). Also, they are often out of filling options, somedays no tempeh, somedays no nopales, and quite often, various meat options they have listed are missing (my brother raves about their chirizo, but it’s not always there…)
All in all, their food is fantastic, and their salsa bar is by far the best, when it’s stocked (they really know how to turn up the spice). You just might have to come here a few times before you can get the full deal.

This has to be one of my all time favorite taco places. Ever. I have yet to venture outside of the taco trio… however, I can’t help it when that is all I crave! The chorizo and pork tacos are my favorite and they do NOT disappoint. I have also tried the chicken and the shrimp, very good as well. I was pleasantly surprised yesterday when I visited and noticed the had changed up their chips. Before they were serving El Matador chips, which are not my favorite; yesterday they had a more homemade, deep-​fried chip that was awesome! Do not skip out on the homemade guacamole, either. It is seriously delicious. I love their salsa bar, too. Great options and flavors, but be careful. When they say HOT… they mean it.
Also, do yourself a favor and order a horchata.
All in all… GREAT Mexican!

One of my new favorite places for Mexican food. The food is priced well, tastes amazing and is very fresh. I have had the chicken tacos and quesadillas and both were awesome.

I really loved this little find tucked away in the corner of the Market. By far the longest lines of any of the stands we walked by. I like that there was a fair amount of seating right around the corner. I got the 2 taco combo with chips and guacamole. I’m kind of a guacamole snob because my husband makes it better than anyone I know, but I will have to say theirs was pretty decent. The ordering process was rushed due to the long lines and the girl at the counter was not very helpful. We were not sure of where to stand to get our order. We were directed to the salsa bar but it was pretty much empty, and needed to be cleaned badly. Why 4 stars then? Because we were there during an Art Prize weekend which = madness. And because of the food. Oh my gosh, the food was so good. The shrimp and the al pastor tacos were delish! It’s a great choice at the Market, I just hope for a little better service next time.

Consistently good tacos every time I’ve been. Just inside the Downtown Market, Tacos el Cunado makes effective use of their small space. Simple register, hanging blackboard detailing menu options and a kitchen area just visible to the public eye.
Typically I go for their tacos. Choose a meat, get it on corn shells with cilantro and onions. Add additional condiments as needed. Two only cost me like $ 5 so it’s plenty affordable, especially when you consider some of your other options at the market. For drinks, they’ve got your classic glass-​bottle colas and Mexican sodas to choose from.
Ingredients are fresh, meats are flavorful and their condiment bar is full of delicious salsas, juicy lime wedges and spicy toppings. Try them out next time you’re in!

Delicious tacos, overall, with a decent variety. The service was teetering towards the below average level due to a lack of enthusiasm of the girls working. They weren’t rude, just didn’t seem to want to be there. Prices were reasonable, I just wish the combos weren’t side OR drink. Obviously, I could buy a drink seperately, but where’s the fun in that? Speaking of drinks, they had a large selection of sodas that all sounded delicious. I loved their board that boasted where the ingredients were from, and the feel of the place, paired with the Downtown Market, made for a unique dining experience.
Getting down to the food, I had the taco trio — two asada, one al pastor — with double rice (instead of rice and beans) as my side. The tacos were filled well, tasty meat with cilantro and onion that I then topped with fantastic salsa and lime juice. As I said, they were filled will, and after two bites of the third taco, I simply ate the filling. The rice was a little dry, but the tacos made up for them. My girlfriend ordered a chicken quesadilla, which I then, of course, stole a bite of. It was delicious and wonderfully full of cheese. My only problem at all with the food was that a few bites of the tacos had relatively charred bits of meat in them, but it didn’t detract from the overall quality.

Very good mexican food… the only thing that was a little odd was that they did not make their own fresh chips… but everything else was fresh… and you could taste it. So that was the only disappointment (and you had to pay for them — first mexican restaurant that I experienced that). I had the tacos trio of which I had 3 different meats… all were great with the chicken, pork and chorizo… pork being my favorite. Really the whole market is really great. Only other weird thing… most everything closes at 7… but I think the new BBQ opening down there will have their own enterence and will have late hours.

A bit on the pricey side for tacos in GR, but they are the most authentic I’ve seen thus far. Everything is fresh, and I like that they feature a board displaying where they source their ingredients. While I wish they served margaritas, it’s all too easy to take your freshly squeezed limeade across the aisle to the Traverse Distillery store and buy a shot to spike your drink while you wait for your fresh Mexican fare.

The Tacos el Cunado in the Downtown Market is pretty good. Like many others have said, it’s not exactly quick, so if you’re looking for something fast, try another vendor in the market, or use their app or website to order ahead. Today I got the salad, and I asked if I could get steak instead of chicken or shrimp (which are the only two proteins listed on the menu for that item). The girl at the register said yes, so I was happy. The salad itself is a large portion. The menu board says it should include «seasonal Michigan vegetables» but all it had was greens, corn and black beans. A few more veggies would have been nice, but it was still good. The dressing is on the spicier side, so be aware of that if you don’t like spicy food.
The reason I give this 3 stars is because the same food (it might actually be better) is cheaper at the location on Grandville. Also it is usually a lot faster, and you don’t have to pay for parking :)

My favorite tacos in town. Period. The line here is the longest of any restaurant at the Downtown Market, which is a good indication of the high quality of food. The ingredients are all from local suppliers (there is a sign explaining exactly where to the delight of all locavores) with the option to order with an ice cold Mexican Coke (which, in my humble opinion, is how tacos should always be consumed). There are a multitude of different combinations of proteins, toppings, salsas, and beverages to please just about anyone.
Note that you may want to place your order to go, as the service is not especially fast and the market is (regrettably) changing their parking policies and only providing 30 free minutes of parking starting on 7÷20÷15.

I had a tempeh taco which was a good portion and tasted delicious and a nopales (cactus) taco that was solid also. I’ll definitely make this a regular stop during my travels. My only negative was the $ 2+ dollar side of chips was really small for the price. I attempted to order more chips asking if I could pay for a larger portion of chips and thats when the wheels fell off… lol. I was not able to order a larger portion of chips and I was willing to order 2 more sides of chips at $ 2+. The salsa bar was great also.
I love the DT market for food options, very diverse and all under one conveniently located roof.

The prices are good, the portions are good, and the food tastes great.
We love the Downtown Market and the pork tacos are one of our favorites.
Save some time by getting their app and ordering ahead of arrival!

Tacos are great here and so are the mexican salads. I love the pulled chicken and toppings they put on my salad. It was HUGE and after going to the salsa bar (on the side… don’t miss it) the pineapple salsa and etc made my salad spectacular.

I was skeptical of Mexican food in Michigan when my wife suggested this place… but…this place is by far downtown Grand Rapids best kept secret. This place did not disappoint. Authentic Mexican flavor. Very similar to a taco truck experience in Los Angeles.
The meat is tender and seasoned, the guacamole has a nice lemony taste and their selection of «Jaritos» sodas will impress you and the price is reasonable. I will be back Tacos El Cunado, Grand Rapids.

Ordered two vegetarian tacos with Guava Jarritos (Mexican soda pop) for only $ 6! My tacos were super tasty, spiced just right on corn tortilla. AND to top it all off (literally) they had pineapple salsa at the free salsa bar! Holla!
I left with a full belly and my wallet was’t empty.
Patience is a virtue that I know I need to work on but it does seem like they are understaffed and/​or the staff lacks a sense of urgency for how popular it is. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll wait for a well crafted taco, but the line moves a little slow with food coming out one plate at a time.

Good authentic style (cilantro and onion, not lettuce and cheese) tacos for $ 2.25 each. Inside the Downtown Market. Have not tried the other items (breakfast burritos, burritos, tamales) yet. We had the pork and chicken – slight preference to the pork.
We especially liked they offered roasted jalapeño and onions on the side.