Tacolicious

Maybe it’s because where I live, there seems to be a cheap, delicious taqueria every 5 feet, but overall, not really impressed with this place in terms of price, service and food.
Overall atmosphere is cute and trendy, modern looking with a huge bar and plenty of space to dine (or mingle at the bar). The list of drinks has decent variety, and the place looked like it had a lot of yuppie types for happy hour. The wait staff seemed to push for us to take a small table that would have been somewhat cramped when a member of our party suggested that we take a tall table, and the dining room was fairly empty aside from the barhoppers. Sangria was ok, nothing exceptional. Guacamole and chips was not bad, and tacos (mole chicken, carnitas, and fried cod) were fairly good, but not really justifying a price close to $ 5, and the chicken and carnitas ones were a bit salty. If you get 4 there’s a deal for 17. There are also a few «fun» taco types such as butternut squash but I did not get a chance to try them. We also got handed the bill before we took a bite out of the first taco, lol. Overall, it’s what I would expect from the downtown area — overpriced and so-​so food, but convenient to the University and some local companies.

Amazing tacos. Loved the short rib and filet mignon tacos, plus the queso is out of this world.
Only drawback is the parking (or lack thereof).

Eclectic menu and beyond just «tacos». We shared a plate of 4 tacos and a shrimp appetizer and they were all delicious. Fantastic service, open and airy, we will definitely be back!

If you’re into Americanized Mexican food, this is the place for you. This place has awesome chips and salsa and I’ve come here a few times just to grab a beer and snack on their chips. Tacos are delicious, hence the name, but they’re pretty pricey. And the quantities they choose to give for discounts are weird (you can buy 1 taco, or 4, or 10.) What if I just want 2 or 3? I would recommend their nopales taco — unique, and the cheese and cactus combo were so good together.

We love this place — Awesome atmosphere, killer free chips and salsa, and an even better happy hour. Great to go during the week — Happy hour is between 5−7pm.

This review is for 3.5 stars
As far as the actual food goes, I thought everything was pretty good! I am no taco snob, so I found all the taco flavors to be very tasty. We also had an order of churros with chocolate dipping sauce, which came out piping hot and crispy, which was a good end to the meal. The ambiance is nice — it is a large space with lots of tables and our waiter was pretty attentive especially given the restaurant was quite busy.
The primary problem I have with this restaurant is the price. These tacos are small — you probably need to order three for a substantial dinner. At 5 bucks a pop and possibly more if you choose a pricer option, this can get a little pricey. Again, I am no taco expert, but I think I’ve had some tacos that are just as tasty for a smaller price tag. Likewise, the churros were yummy, but was a little bit pricier considering the portion is small and the dipping sauce tastes just like melted chocolate.
Overall, a good dining experience, just docked a few stars off because I am not convinced that I am willing to come back regularly for these pricey tacos.

This place was delicious! My friend and I ordered 4 shot and a beer braised chicken tacos and 4 Baja style pacific cod (fish) tacos. The tacos came with 4 different salsas there were really good. We also had a Michelada and The Mucho Gusto. Both drinks were really good and the presentation was very nice. The service was good and the wait was not too long either. Def recommend this place and will be back!

I’ve always seen pics of Tacolicious’ awesome tacos so I decided to check it out while I was in town!
Pros:
+ Yummy tacos! I really enjoyed the mole chicken taco and the cod taco.
+ Very clean and nicely designed place
+ Free chips and salsa
+ The free sauces that come with your tacos!
Cons:
— Parking can be a hassle in this area
— Service wasn’t all that great
— Pricey: 1 taco/​$ 4.95, 4 tacos/​$ 17.95, 10 tacos/​$ 39.95
Overall: It was nice to try Tacolicious once, but I don’t think that the price was worth the food, and the service made the experience more forgettable than it already was.

Love this place! Very solid and has an awesome menu with tons of variety. My absolute fav is the ahi tuna tostada. So. Bomb.

Be careful here! My credit card statement was $ 1 higher than my receipt. Basically, someone charged an extra dollar in tip. No, $ 1 is not a lot of money, but it’s the principle. Very dishonest practice and after reading previous reviews by searching the word ‘charge’, it looks like I’m not the first to be overcharged.
I tried calling once to get the charge reversed and spoke to someone at their corporate call center. A voicemail was left a few days later by someone at corporate; not the Palo Alto location. I don’t have time to play phone tag for a $ 1, but I think customers should be aware this could also happen to them.

I love this place – solid atmosphere, terrific homemade salsa, great house margaritas, nice, funny wait staff, and a tasty, varied menu.
It’s overpriced, yes, but this is to be expected in downtown Palo Alto. I recommend going for happy hour and getting the taco special, which is enough for one person (not enough to share) and maybe the cheesy dip or the house quesadilla. The only downside to happy hour is that you can’t sit in the regular restaurant area – you have to sit at the bar or outside, which seems like a silly restriction when the place is completely empty, but whatever.

When I arrived it was pretty bare, not too may customers inside, and oddly no one greeted me. When someone did greet me, about five minutes after standing at the front; I politely asked if this was a self seating restaurant (as it is very open and cafeteria style restaurant), and the staff member said no and then oddly walked away.
I waited a 4 – 5 more minutes and then decided to grab a menu and went to go sit down in the restaurant. (The restaurant at this time had only two other tables occupied).
The bar had three small groups of folks/(or couples); total of about 7 – 8 folks in the bar.
After a few minutes after self-​seating myself, I was approached by a staff member who suggested I might want to move seats in order to utilize the bar menu, of which is only available in the bar. This staff member was also nice, similar to the first staff member and was more attentive. (Still find it extremely bizarre that the first staff member did initially approach, but then walked away shortly afterwards.) (??)
Anyways, moving along– I decide to move to the bar as the bar menu had items that appeared much more fairly priced as well as some items that were not on the original menu.
Upon arriving at the bar, the bartender took about 6 – 7 minutes to greet, but once he did, he was also nice.
Ordered the guacamole first, which was very fresh.
Ordered the chicken tacos and the quesadilla second; which were also both very tasty. However, I did ask to add lettuce, and cheese, for the tacos, and neither came with. (Still delicious without; but if a customer would use what they ask for, you should provide it. If it costs extra; just say so. It’s so simple).
As for the energy of this restaurant. the energy is not as inviting as it could be or should be. Although the staff members are nice, they are honestly not very welcoming or too worried about being super attentive.
The bartender/​waiter was attentive enough to not have customers waiting to order what they wanted to eat or drink; so this staff member was pretty on point.
Also, there was something I noticed when some other bartender came in, (I think this person may have been the owner since they seemed to be more in command with certain things, but I could be wrong), anyways– the point I’m trying to make here is that when this person came in, there was no greeting of co-​workers /​or employees, and there was no smiling or anything relatively friendly offered to anyone in that environment. Although this person was doing their job; (refilling machines, napkin holders, lighting candles ect…), this person did these duties in such a harsh and irritated way. It is honestly not difficult to see that someone is negative when they do their job tasks in a very harsh way; especially around the open cafeteria restaurant environment of customers. (Unless you are a person with a complete lack of emotional intelligence, then perhaps you may not notice the actions of others and how it corresponds with their choice of energy).
Continuing. If this person is, in fact, the owner, (or the manager?), then I would like to suggest for this person to just be happy. We all either choose to be happy or choose to let negative thoughts affect us. Understanding that not everyone can always be consistently outgoing, but, I’m pretty sure you could try.
Or, at least pretend to be at least somewhat pleasurable to be around, since you are around customers. If you can change your attitude; then I am positive that you will not only make the customers more comfortable in your restaurant– but also your staff. If you can learn to help yourself and fix your attitude; then you can inspire your staff and then they will probably really appreciate it, which will lead to them caring, which will lead to a very happy/​trusting/​respectful team of co-​workers, which will in turn attract more customers as well as more regulars.
Restaurant business is a service industry, and if you can become more accepting and outgoing, you will gain so much more than you could imagine!
This review is coming from someone who also has to organize people, and jobs, and still maintain a positive mindset around others who can be negative, hence, difficult to work with.
But I choose to love, and I choose to care. And that, for the folks working at Tacolicious in Palo Alto, is what is going to make you not only attract more customers, but feel more fulfilled in the line of work you’re in.
This review I give a 2.5÷5.0 stars.
Food was good, some staff were nice.
However. good food and nice staff does not equate to 4 or 5 stars. A genuine kind attitude (positivity), attentiveness (care), and warm welcoming (love) to your customers, as well as co-​workers/​staff members, is what would make this review a top notch ⁵⁄₅.
Hope to come back next time I’m visiting Palo Alto and try a meal here again in order to have an opportunity to give more stars.
Take care.

Trendy tacos and the price reflects this. Great atmosphere and decent selection of Margaritas. The complimentary chips and dip are addictive. We were there on a Sunday afternoon and our order arrived in minutes.
Overall, would go to again if I were in the area.

I am a fan of any place that offers frozen margaritas! (even though the ones at Tacolicious are a bit pricey at $ 10, i wish they had a happy hour for these)
SCORE with Free chips but very watery salsa to go with!
—Passion fruit frozen margarita: this ones good
—Fish tacos: also pricey but tasty and fried nice & crispy
Tacolicious is a pretty casual spot, the atmosphere reminds me of a fast food joint but there’s waiter service

I’ve never gone to Tacolicious for anything besides happy hour, but I can say their happy hour is as good as it can get! Drinks and food are all $ 6.
Their tacos (2 for $ 6 during hh) are all delicious and very filling. They come with a side of sauces that are all very good, too. The margaritas are perfectly good, too. Next time I go I’d like to try their quesadillas and sangrias.
And last time I went I got their deal of a beer, shot, and taco for $ 10. The beer is Tecate, so nothing great, but the shot is veryyy generous (almost looked like a small drink itself). It was a fun deal to try out and I’d definitely do it again!
The service is fast and friendly, and the outdoor seating is great on a nice day.

Great food, great drinks.
The food is SO so yummy. SO yummy! I can almost guarantee that you would be happy with anything you get here. The tacos are all amazing and you can get a few. The only downside is it is really expensive. After tax each taco probably comes to about $ 5 each, but they are reall god. Drinks are good, but expensive and small.
Service? Didn’t interact with our servers too much but they were nice and they came into contact with to check in fairly often.
They did a great job designing and decorating this place, it looks great!
There is also outdoor seating but it is limited. The place is loud, when it’s crowded, just a warning.

Pricey and the food was bland.
Service was exceptional for a slow Tuesday lunch.
We got the cod, carnitas, short ribs, beer soaked chicken and filet Mignon
My cod did not come with the slaw.
I did not ask for caramelized onions and I definitely would not have wanted them for an extra $ 3 each.
$ 40 for four bland tacos which came out to $ 65 because of the onions.
I only enjoyed the fresh chips and salsa.
You get the option of paying $ 5 for one taco, $ 18 for 4 or $ 40 for 10… 6 tacos would have been enough but we said why not pay a little more and just get 10.
Don’t really care to try this again.

This place is not, by any means, a legit Mexican taco joint — I think we need to get that point across first. So there is no reason in comparing this to any Mexican taco stand/​truck/​shop or home cooked meal from your friend’s abuelita. You can pretty much tell when you walk in (if the name doesn’t already give it away) that Tacolicious is an Americanized joint — a little modern, even kind of Tex Mex — mainly meant for social snacking. So with that said, there are some things that you just have to accept like:
(1) the portions are itty bitty for the price — def. wouldn’t recommend this place for the Hangray or Starving — more so a HH light snack/​lunch
(2) some things can get a bit too salty — I always find this issue with Tex Mex food for some reason
On an upside, I’d say the food is not bad — I do love the interior décor and the margaritas are freakn addicting.
Be sure to make use of their triple sauce, which I recommend trying all — you’ll probably need them since the meat can be a little dry. Consistency of food quality is also something they’re lacking, countless times I’ve gotten a taco that was perfect then ordered it again and it’s drowned in salt.
Food:
— albacore tuna tostadas: this can get too salty, on many different occasions the saltiness of this somehow changes from OK to unbearable
— camerones al diablo: no joke this was pretty damn spicy, although I can’t really say if it was good — there was no real flavor, just spice… probably wouldn’t get it again
— house made chorizo: pretty good, tasty and spicy
— baja style pacific code: can’t really go wrong with fish tacos when they’re fried, these were pretty good
— braised chicken: it was okay although lacking a little in flavor
— braised beef short rib: tasty, but too dry
And if anything, be sure to eat with one of their many margaritas in hand — they’re dangerously refreshing and tasty.

I’ve had better tacos, but they aren’t bad. I liked the ahi tuna tacos. I’ll have to come back to try the drinks.
The restaurant is well decorated so that’s a plus.

Aesthetically very pleasant taco restaurant, no shop! Very pretty tiles on the floor, reminds me the ones you see in the Art Nouveau houses of downtown Barcelona more than anything Mexican style. I liked to be there, watching that immense mural plastered with a photo of the Valley when there was no silicon in it.
Everything is nicely set in Tacolicious (even the name sounds delicious) but what is going on with the super dark atmosphere? I had to light a couple of candles to be able to check the menu!
My friends and I ordered several tacos to share and they were very good (yet small). I like the presentation ‘family style’ and the salsas were amazing, especially one super spicy that left me without being able to say a word (to the delight of my friends who finally could express themselves verbally:). The calamari tacos are very recommendable. They are supposed to come from Santa Cruz or I think I read that on the menu.
Chocolate con churros was the chosen dessert to share. We were 3 people, and it was enough for us. I was not expecting much, but I liked them (I am used to Spanish churros that are utterly delicious) and the chocolate was thick and perfect blend. I will go back, but please lighten up! that is not a romantic bar, I want to be able to see my tacos face to face!