Happy Taco

Great food. Great value. We all loved our meals Very fresh. Friendly service. Lots of choices.

Stopped here on the way to Big Sur from SF and the tacos were (apparently) quite tasty according to my friend. He ordered tacos that all had contact with or contained pork (and I don’t eat anything from a pig except on rare occasions) however he’s quite particular when it comes to his tacos and so I trust his judgement. We agreed that their assortment of free salsas along with the chips was quite tasty and for a snack break along the way, this place did the job.

Always tasty, very reasonably priced, with convenient location and parking. I’ll never understand how a taco chain restaurant can be successful in this town when an awesome place like Happy Taco is so nearby. This has been our family’s go-​to Mexican fast-​food restaurant for several years.

food is good but DO NOT GO HERE. they put glass in their burritos and I have gotten one of those glass burritos. very disappointing since they have good food but there are neighboring restaurants just as good but more friendly

Bummer! It was just ok. My husband and I were looking for a casual place to get a bite in half moon bay after our long hike and we thought of giving this place a try based on Unilocal reviews. I ordered a plate with 2 tacos: Fish taco and grilled chicken taco. The fish taco was deep fried and looked super greasy. Since I had asked for grilled fish when ordering they replaced the taco with bbq pork since they did not offer grilled fish. It was very nice of them.
Why 3 stars? Except for the green salsa, the salsas did not wow me. Neither did the chips. Nothing really wowed me. The place is clean, has friendly service, and is reasonable but does not grab me to go back. My husband ordered a carnitas burrito and was happy with it.

No frills but excellent Mexican food. We intentionally stop by every time we are in the area. I have liked everything I have ordered and the prices are so good.

We ordered burritos from this place on the way to the beach in half Moon Bay. This was the most tasteless chicken I’ve ever had from a burrito place. It literally had no taste. It tasted like it was boiled in water without salt or spice.
Ah well…

I’m going to make this short and simple. The service is wonderful! Really kind and you can totally tell they want you to be super pleased with your meal. The food is a bit better than decent, it’s not bad at all, it’s just not like «OMG ITS AMAZING». If you want yummy Mexican food with good service and a chilled environment, come here.

I like enchiladas, and I’d never tried chorizo in my enchiladas.
Don’t think I’ll try it again because I just didn’t love it.
The side items and bottomless chips and salsa were plenty yummy, and I loved the blast from the past with the Stewart’s Orange n Crème soda.
Thank you, come again? Newp.

Nothing special in my opinion about this local taco shop. The carne asada was over cooked. The taco shells aren’t fresh or home made. And their salsa bar salsa’s were unimpressive. Not sure why this place is rated so high, but I will certainly take a pass next time.

Da bomb! I’m from LA and I used to think Bay Area didn’t have as good Mexican food. Better Asian food but not Mexican. Proved me wrong! The tacos and quesadilla were so friggin good! I’m
Coming back here every time I visit.

Due to my previous encounter with La Mordita down the street, I decided to give happy taco another shot.
I’m glad I did. While not much has changed, eating at mordita for the past few months really made me appreciate the size and taste of their burrito hear. The meat has a good charbroiled flavor, which means they don’t have to use lard/​butter/​oil, since its on a charbroiler.
I can’t speak for anything else, as I simply got a super burrito, and thought it was solid for what it was.
Just wanted to update my review as my other one was a little old.

Who knew strip mall taquerias were hella good? Upon walking in, I was a little skeptical, but the people we were rolling through with are from Mexico so that’s an indication the food is good and as authentic as Americanized Mexican food you can get. I ordered a pork tamale and a chicken enchilada– both hella good. Too bad there wasn’t a chip and salsa bar but we were given some chips for free anyway– can’t complain.

This is the best Mexican restaurant I’ve ever had. This family owned restaurant consistently makes the best Taco Al Pastor. The teenage cook in the family nails the cooking duties every time. Their salsa bar is fresh and has wide variety of sauces. The place is so unassuming and so authentic that it’s often patronized by constructions workers during lunch time and I’m usually the only non-​Hispanic eating there. It’s well worth driving further down the 1 for Happy Taco over their more well-​known competitor Tres Amigos.

OMG. Amazing tacos. I don’t get why this place has earned only 4 stars. Authentic Mexican cuisine, that serves fresh local ingredients at in-​expensive prices.
We ordered a couple of tacos al pastor and carnitas. The meat was fresh, tender and well seasoned spiced. Salsa, served with the home made chips was not watered down like in many places in San Mateo, but rather well bodied bursting with fresh latin flavors.

Great, authentic, and cheap tacos. Came here after a beach day in HMB and was not disappointed. We tried the chicken and carne crispy tacos. Four tacos total plus chips and guac for $ 12. Can’t beat that!

While trying to cool off on a hot, lazy and late Sunday afternoon in Half Moon Bay sipping and enjoying a large cup of Javiva at Peet’s, Wifey and I were deciding where to stop for dinner before we head back home. We saw this «Gay» place from across the strip mall, so Wifey decides to check the reviews. The reviews were mixed, but mostly rated good and decent for a 4 star average.
We strolled on over here and wanted to see their meat options to determine if it’s legit or not, and I was glad to see that they offer Lengua, Cabeza and Tripas aside from the Carnitas, Pollo and Carne Asada. This is one sign that it’s the authentic Mexican rather than the Gringoized Mexican version. I also noticed that they had a great selection of cold Mexican Cervezas in their fridge. The vibe was truly authentic Mexican joint that you can find in the Mission. The sweet abuelita that was taking our order couldn’t be more pleasant.
So we ordered the following: Ceviche Tostada, Grande Burrito, Crispy Taco (Cabeza) and three tacos of Lengua, Carne Asada and Carnitas. You also get your side of chips and choose your salsas at the salsa bar. By the way, this is one of the better salsas I’ve ever had and I actually got a few more containers to go after our meal.
The first to arrive was the Ceviche Tostada. It wasn’t as tangy as I would expect a ceviche to be, but they had extra limon to squeeze some more juices to your desired taste. It was a good start — not great, but decent. (3 stars) Then the Crispy Taco came, and this one blew us away. The fried, crispy tortilla with the delicious filling of meaty, gooey goodness was a perfect combination of flavor and texture. (5 stars) For my burrito, I should have ordered the regular instead of grande as it came with sour cream. Totally my fault, but the burrito had plenty of meat and I added extra salsa on every bite to enhance the flavor. (3.5 stars) Then the platter of three tacos came and every taco was filled to the brim, and they didn’t skimp on flavor either. These tacos were really, really gay. (5 stars)
I’m not talkin’ about «Maricon’ gay, I meant contento gay… as in happy. Get your mind out of the gutter. Although a Maricon Taco might be fabulous.
Oh lawd, I’m going to get crucified for that comment.
After all is said and done, we were happy with our meal and we will definitely be back here again.

Rarely do I feel compelled to update a review, but this taqueria has been consistently serving up good food with quick service the last few years I’ve been on the coast. The tortas are huge and can easily feed 2 people for lunch. I also recommend the al pastor and carne asada tacos.
Tip: they take credit cards.

Hole in the wall places like this are ALWAYS the best place to get tacos. The good tacos I mean, not the ground beef and cheese ones that fast food offers.
Happy taco came up when I searched for cheap eats in the Half Moon Bay area. A few friends and most of Unilocal had come to the same consensus that if you’re looking for tacos, this is the place to be. The place is small and the people aren’t super personable, but the food is freaking fantastic.
Two carne asada tacos, and a civiche tostada for about $ 7.50. Considering that the tacos were still street style yet still quite big and full, this is an amazing deal. The carne asada is grilled and has that amazing, crunchy, bark. It was flavourful and cooked to perfection. It has diced onion, cilantro, and there obviously homemade salsa (that does have some kick to it).
The civiche tostada has a mixture minced shrimp and some kind of white fish. It tasted amazing as expected, and was a light, balancing out the tacos from earlier. It had four avocado slices on top, adding to the already fresh, freshness. It also has hints of lime and a very spicy salsa that had me panting for at least 10 minutes after.
Definitely worth a check out if you’re looking to get your taco fix on.

Small hole in the wall with great Mexican food. Had two carne asada tacos and loved them. They had a nice clean heat to them that complimented the meat and didn’t over power. I’m lame though when it comes to spicy food so it probably isn’t very spicy for others.
Overall, good food! Would eat there again.