Taco Guild

Really damn good duck tacos. Service staff was awesome. A must try for anyone going there must be the Deviled Eggs w/​Longiniza that was epic dynatmite.

Taco Guild is awesome, as always. I don’t post new reviews every time I go there, but I did want to add a new review to mention one of their new tacos, the Ono Taco.
The menu describes it thusly: «Tropical Ono menonita cheese, roasted-​tomato salsa, coconut slaw, mango, tomato, cilantro.»
I was not familiar with ono. I found it to be a pleasant, fresh-​tasting fish. The Taco Guild grills it. The taco featured a heavy amount of coconut slaw; I’m not a fan of coconut shreds in food, but I really enjoyed this slaw! It had a pleasant crunch without a lot of flavor. I couldn’t really taste the cheese, but the mango and tomato complemented things nicely. I’m not sure if I would get this taco again because it’s not up to the level of my favorites of lamb and duck, but it’s still good. This would be great for folks practicing Lent or wanting a healthier taco.

Saturday night ambiance: mood lighting, crosses in stained glass, cherubs staring lovingly across the walls at each other, live music from a guy and his guitar in the corner. He’s playing covers of 90s, 2000s, and today. A bar at the front dimly lit and with architecture vaguely reminiscent of a dungeon. Everything about it is unique and eclectic.
Loved the generous serving of chips and salsa. All the salsas offered were fresh and delicious. The chips we salted a little for taste. My hand kept reaching over for more.
Tacos themselves were okay. Most of our party of 13 got the 3 tacos combo — select 3 tacos and get a side for free, or street corn for $ 2.50
Al Pastor Pork taco — super greasy, dripped all over my hands. Flavorful.
Pork Adovada taco — large slices of avocado. Mango jicama relish was delicious.
Yucatan Shrimp taco — a crowd favorite, generous with the shrimp.
Local veggies side — soft, salty, lacking in oomph
According to dinner companions:
Tropical Ono taco — Ono was dry and lackluster
Crackling Lamb taco — too many flavor combinations that didn’t work well together
Street corn — awesome presentation but not the best ever in terms of flavor. I wished I had gotten it when I saw it, but according to my cousin, the corn wasn’t spectacular and could’ve spent a little longer on the grill.
Our server was really accommodating and friendly. I’d be back to try some of their other tacos, probably on a Saturday to enjoy some of that live music.

This place is a great lunch spot. The atmosphere is great, especially knowing it really was an authentic old church. The food is great starting with the appetizer trio (queso, guacamole, and bean dip…), then try the traditional or new wave tacos, but I like the grilled romain with shrimp and the slightly spicy Caesar dressing. Drinks are large and they refill often. This is one of my favorite lunch places.

Amazing Tacos, and fully stuffed too. Their guacamole with serranos was great, and then there’s the corn, wow super Delicious. The bar is just Beautiful and completely stocked specially with Tequila. Really a Great place to go for lunch and even better at night when they have live music (on saturdays)

Great spot to hang with friends or take a date. The inside gorgeous. They took what I’m assuming was an old Spanish mission and turned it into a bar. The liquor rack is perfectly positioned at the pulpit. The ambience and vibe are perfect pitch. Taco selection is great too. They do Old World tacos which are the classics and New World tacos which encompass a modern flair. Come here soon!

What a unique setting. Stained glass windows, Chandeliers, candelabras. Host and waitress were friendly. Meal was served quickly (I visited at lunchtime and it was fairly busy). Always love chips and salsa, burritos are quite large and tasty. Check them out!

Set in an old Spanish church this cool restaurant was a pleasure to visit earlier this week. My company had a dinner for my department here.
Taco’s are the dominant menu item but there are also burritos and salads offered here among other items. I ordered 3 different taco’s along with a side of borracho beans. We also had chips and salsa. I thought this was a weak part of the meal. Plenty of chips but the salsa servings were small. However I gave them a 3. The taco’s arrived in a timely manner and were very good. I wish I could remember their names but one had duck meat, another was chicken and the third had pull pork as the meat. These high end taco’s were very good (4).
I really like the interior décor of this place. Being in an old church gives it such a nice ambience with the stained glass windows and original furniture. This is a restaurant that I would be happy to return.

Last night my wife and I went to the Taco Guild to allow the restaurant to redeem itself. Our previous experience was not positive. On this visit, we were begrudgingly seated. Then it took close to ten minutes for someone from the staff to come to our table with water and chips. We found this to be unacceptable. Once the waiter did come to our table, we asked that he summon the manager to our table so we could air our grievances. She arrived at our table and we explained our dilemma. We promptly left, never to return.

What do you get when you cross an old church, craft beer and cocktails, and modern mexican food? Perfection. I just took my out of town guests here for my 2^nd visit and I realized how much I need to make Taco Guild a staple in my life.
The staff is super friendly, all the waiters help eachother out and ensure that every diner has what they need super fast. I’ve probably ordered every taco on the menu at some point and they’re all delicous. My friends got the guac and loved that too, although I’m weird and don’t partake myself. The lamb taco reallllllly stood out to me last time, I wish my entire platter was just those. The drinks are as good as the food and everything is reasonablely priced. After Gallo Blanco closed and changed names on me, I’d been on the lookout for another modern mexican place and I’d have to say that Taco Guild is even better! Check them out, its awesome.

Found this pretty cool lunch spot with some coworkers one day. Really digging the theme with the church stained glass still intact. The tacos were great especially the shrimp taco. The salsas were okay, good for Phoenix standards but I’ve had better in SD. I’ll be coming back for more tacos and tortilla chips (which sprinkled with lemon and salt are heavenly).

I’ve been hearing a couple times, because many of my friends rave about it but I’m not sure what they are loving. The ambiance is great and I love the candles, crosses, and all the fun accessories hanging on the walls! Also, I like that they sometimes have live musicians playing in the evening. However, it is a restaurant and the food is mediocre. I have tried the vegetarian and various seafood tacos here and they are okay. I enjoyed the beans and corn more than the tacos. Plus the prices are a bit costly considering the portion size. This restaurant is in my neighborhood, so if I do return it will probably be for happy hour drinks and side dishes.

While the tacos are decent, I much prefer getting The Guild Duo (guacamole & queso). The queso is some of the best I’ve had! My fiancé and I like to go during happy hour and get beer (they have the Papago Orange Blosson on draft which is a huge plus in my book) and share The Duo.
4 stars because we never know what we’re going to get from the staff on any given visit. We’ve had a couple very nice waiters but also a few very awful ones (to the point where we had empty glasses, an empty chip bowl, and cold queso because we had no chips to eat it with so we had to sit there awkwardly for several minutes until we could continue our meal).
Overall, the ambiance is wonderful and I love what they’ve done to the inside of the old church. The food is good and I’ll happily continue visiting.

Had the GRILLED ROMAINE SALAD with chicken and it was fantastic, such a unique mixture of flavors, highly recommended.

I never thought that I would get tipsy in church, but alas… it happened. This was hands down one of the coolest places places that I’ve ever been. My boyfriend and I went on a Monday for happy hour after work. I ordered a house margarita on the rocks and he had a Cartel Double IPA. Both fantastic!
We were given a plate of chips and salsa that came with four different types to try. If you’re a salsa junkie, make sure to ask for your complimentary basket. Their spicy red pepper sauce was my favorite.
For our meal we ordered three tacos: the ono, the shrimp, and the al pastor. For our sides we got a house salad and street corn. The street corn made us both say hallelujah. It was the best part of the entire meal.
We both agreed that we would be back with a large group of friends. What a fantastic place!

First time here. Kept an open mind.
My mind was blown! I got the Soup of the Day and The Guild Chicken Taco. The taco itself looked pretty good but when I tasted it, it was gone within a matter of seconds. After I wanted another one it was that good.
The soup was a beef and veggie soup, overall it was soup. The beef had a good taste to it and the cast iron bowl it came in was convenient and kept my soup nice and hot.
The Hubs got a smoked pork torta. Which he thought was good as well.
My favorite part was the chips and salsa. I make homemade salsa all the time and am usually doctoring up restaurant salsa but this one. Nothing to change it was great! Spicy, Peppery. And just right!
The only reason why I did not give a 5^th star was due to the long wait. We asked our waiter for the check and it took him about 5 min to do so. Which we were in a rush that’s why we asked. But besides that everything was good!
Next time I will plan better but definitely going back.

So I finally checked out Taco a Guild after reading an article that it was voted one of top 10 taco restaurants In America. Couldn’t believe that I was holding out so long. Plus I heard that it was at an old restored church. Super cool!
Came on a Sunday night and sat down at the bar. It was happy hour all night so I ordered a local beer and my wife had the house Margarita. Both very good. I love local breweries and was happy to see that Taco Guild carried all local taps. Went with Historic’s Pie Hole Porter. See my review
View of Historic Brewery in Flagstaff for more on that brewery!
We shared the 3 taco plate. Went with the cherry steak, shrimp, and pastor. All three were amazing with the cherry steak being my favorite. Wife liked the shrimp the best but you can’t go wrong with any of them. If you order 3 tacos you get a free side which we chose the rice. Also when we sat at the bar we were served chips and salsa which was really good. All the salsa’s were tasty and the chips were quality.
What I really liked best with Taco Guild was the building. You can read all the reviews on here but it’s really cool that it’s in an old church. The bar was the alter and they kept the stained glass windows. I took a few photos of the inside and share them on Unilocal.
I was really impressed with Taco Guild. I can’t wait to show my out if town friends and family that Phoenix does in fact have some quirky and unique restaurants. I can’t wait till I come back for the food and the ambience.

Ambience is always a nice addition when entering a restaurant or anywhere for that matter. This place is awesome. Situated in an old Church, they have remodeled but kept a lot of the character traits such as the stain glass windows and everyone has to sit in a pew. I am kidding about the pew.
The food was great, very authentic and fresh. We had the beef tacos and burrito along with street corn (which was phenomenal) and then we also partook in their delicious chips and salsa. My daughter loved the salsa so much she asked if we could have some to go (she is 6) and our waiter brought us a huge bag of chips and a large to go container of the salsa. Needless to say we were both very happy!
I think I am going to go there today!

It’s been a long wait for me and my first time at Taco Guild. Part of the reason is, well, there’s taquerias pretty much around every corner in the valley. But the biggest reason for my hesitancy was the lackluster early reviews. The complaints were pretty wide ranging but the price point of the tacos seemed to be the biggest beef Unilocalers had with this place. Lately it seems like the trend is much more positive so I can only assume that means they’ve gotten themselves into a better groove with their customers. My brother-​in-​law suggested we go here for dinner on a Wednesday so off we went to the northwest corner of Osborn and 7^th Street.
The biggest selling point about Taco Guild is and likely always will be the building. Its everything you’ve heard. Its gorgeous. A spectacular rehab and preservation of a longtime valley Church building that has been transformed into a beautiful restaurant space. The multitudes of unique features from the stained glass to the murals, to the woodwork and chandelier are enough to make for an entire dinner’s worth of conversation by itself. When we arrived around 6:30pm the place was packed, but fortunately there was room at the bar which was where we were headed anyway.
We started with the usual chips and salsa, though here you get three other sauces to go with it. One of which tasted like a cilantro veggie sauce, another tasted similar to Tobasco, while the other I’m pretty sure had a tinge of habanero. Nice variety and I was quite fond of the cilantro option. The menu here is pretty straight forward with a heavy emphasis on the tacos (appropriately enough), but also with some other Mexican fare including burritos and enchiladas. The 3 taco plate seemed like an appropriate opening salvo for my first time so I went that route. I went with a Pork Adovada, a Guild Chicken, and a Yucatan Shrimp taco with a side of rice. Total price for the tacos, tax and tip came to about $ 16.
The tacos were terrific with the Pork Adovada being my favorite of the bunch (I think the relish was the biggest reason why). The rice was a lot spicier than I had expected (I only later discovered the rice has green chiles plus two types of peppers). In the end Taco Guild provided me a tasty, filling dinner served by friendly staff. Yeah, the price per taco might be a little steep, but not completely out of line. The quality of the ingredients and the tortillas were such that I was still quite pleased. And as mentioned earlier, the environment and the aesthetics were outstanding.
As I write this, Z’Tejas Inc (Taco Guild’s parent company) has filed for bankruptcy so I hope I’m not going to be among the last to write a review about this place. I can’t speak to the current condition of the Z’Tejas restaurant chain (admittedly I haven’t dined at a Z’Tejas in awhile). Though if tonight was any indication, it doesn’t seem like Taco Guild is anything but a success story for Z’Tejas. Even if Taco Guild itself doesn’t survive, there is absolutely no reason any other business shouldn’t be able to succeed in this breathtakingly beautiful space.

I thought the food here was fine. I want to start by saying that. It all looked/​smelled good, and I would go back to explore if I had friends that really liked the place. For a taco place, they have a good selection of beers.
But, I would also say it’s a very hipster place trafficking in food that’s «elevated,» which I think just means «more eloquently described and expensive.» Vegetarians will have the option of two salads, a pepper-​and-​hummus taco and standard sides (beans, queso and rice, my veggie ppl). If you’re there for tacos and down for the meats, there are a few «new school» tacos that might piqué your interest, but breaking $ 5 for a street taco is something I just can’t get behind, even if they are created by self-​initiated taco guildsmen creating flavors «worthy of the masters.»
Real talk, I’ll probably go for the «all you can eat tacos» on Sundays at some point. It’s got a good vibe for hanging out, I can eat a lot of tacos, and there’s a church altar stocked with booze. But I cannot overlook that this place makes me laugh out loud. It is a parody of itself — the hipster gastropub where an exclusive guild of prodigy taqueros fulfill their destiny of re-​inventing the street taco into something more perfect not ere discovered, perfectly situated next to the Starbucks and Buffalo Exchange, across the street from the place where a starry-​eyed young man fell back in love with the enchilada by redefining it. (Seriously, you can’t make this stuff up. It’s like they forgot we turn it into poop.)