Taqueria Vallarta

Like some previous reviewer said, it’s Mexican as it gets so if you are non Latino and get nervous being the only non Latino in a place you might not care for it. My heritage is white boy as it gets but I enjoy myself every time I go here even with the kids. Kids like the quesadillas and I like every thing I’ve tried so far. You can get a big Corona especial, tacos, caldo mariscos, lots of other authentic Mexican dishes. Looks like a hole in the wall so don’t expect fine dining. If you want TX –mex go elsewhere. Want the real deal then bring some cash. I’ll continue to go here. Enjoy!

This place is amazing. The salsa is a little too much like tomato purée but the food is absolutely amazing. Chorizo is a must get. The red sauce is the perfect spice and the salsa verde is also good. Estuvo rico.

Good food… Small menu so it seems like they are specialized. I had the torta cubana. Seems to be a good place for a quick bite.

People really love Mas Tacos in Nashville, eh? Haven’t been. I don’t live in Nashville but I bookmarked it for some future visit. I’m sure it’s fine. Point is, I can’t really comment on the location of Taqueria Vallarta or how it compares to other taqueria joints in town or anything… but it’s
for a late breakfast on your way to a sweaty golf lesson.
So, here’s a fortune poem for you about Taqueria Vallarta. I feel like Taqueria Vallarta needs some love. If she was a loteria card… she might be la rosa. I call it Taco de Pollo:
Hey baby… yeah, you. Taco de pollo. You’re a stone cold fox… you know that? Not just meat and heat. You are… for real. You been messin’ around with the carne asada, I know. I can taste it on you. But in my midnight dreams we all commingle with that extra hot stuff and it’s all good. S – t! Curtido! Sneaky curtido! Where’d you come from?! You gonna’ get all up in my pollo too? Yeah you are. Don’t mind those two gringos who walked in and out with one look. Don’t let them hurt you. They dunno wazzup. You, taco de pollo are such a sweet rose. I just want you to know. Not as sweet as agua de fresa but there’s room enough in my heart for the both of you. Let’s just do this.
Yeah. I liked the chicken… all seasoned with the tripe and tongue and carne asada and pastor from the grill. Street style, straight up Socal strip mall/​3am taco truck. Cheap. Tasty salsa and curtido too. Carnitas was choice too (but didn’t blow me away). Cash only (as it should be).

Truly, truly awful. And expensive. The California burrito I had was small for $ 5.50, and the meat was just disgusting – no seasoning but salt, very low quality, and overcooked. The salsa was bland. The horchata had a funny aftertaste… lucky I didn’t get sick from it. Do. Not. Eat. Here.

I have spent a lot of time all around Mexico. This is the real deal — it’s like eating in a hole in the wall taqueria in Guadalajara.
This place is for people who like authentic Mexican low brow food, rather than Tex-​Mex or «Gringo» versions of the cuisine. It is also for people who, when they walk in and realize that they are the only non-​Mexicans in the joint, view this as a positive sign that «this must be the place» rather than one which engenders self consciousness. I can almost guarantee you will be the only native English speaker in the place (unless I’m there…)
As for ambience — there isn’t any, which is to say that it’s perfect. It’s flourescent lights, formica tables and steel chairs with red vinyl. Mexican tv blaring cheesy soap operas or soccer above the counter. Phone cards to call back to Mexico for sale. Just like Guadalara.
Now let’s talk food. If they don’t bring them to you, ask them for some grilled jalapenos. They are fantastic, but be careful. The chips are prepared fresh and the hot sauces in the squeeze containers on the table are home made.
The tacos are all-​world. «Al Pastor» (spiced pork), «Carne Asada» (grilled steak) and «Camaron» (shrimp) are the best, and come piled high with the filling, cilantro, onion and a lime wedge. At a buck fifty each, they cannot be beat.
The tortas are Mexican hot sandwiches. Order the «Carne Desebrada» — pulled beef. It is a meal in itself, with avocado, jalapeño and the most addictively flavored beef you will ever eat. I have friends that swear they are made of heroin.
Other standouts include Shrimp Diablo (spicy shrimp), Chile Verde (pork in heavily spiced tomatillo sauce), Burrito al pastor (a burrito with the same filling as the tacos mentioned above), and fajita mixta (fajita with the kitchen sink). There are also lots of other «deeper» Mexican dishes like shrimp cocktail in tomato juice, menudo, various «caldos» and mojarro (a whole fried fish that you pick apart with your fingers).
Drinks are Mexican beer, sodas, water, horchata or, if they have it that day, «agua de melon», which is cantaloupe juice that is out of this world.
The place is CASH ONLY. Manuel and Ana, the owners, speak decent English. No one else does at all. They will always be there.
Finally, back to the ambience/​clientelle. I am not going to get into a whole social commentary thing, but if you are the type of person who will get jumpy walking into a dive where the people eating are guys who work landscaping, construction, etc. this is not for you, as this is precisely that place. (I literally hired a guy to do some drywall work for me while having lunch there one day.) But to put your mind at ease, I routinely bring my kids, wife, friends there and we are welcomed like family. No one is going to bite you. You, however, are going to want to bite their food.