Atomic Tacos

Great tacos… Family friendly!!! Loved the habaneros sauce!!!

This was my first time at Atomic Taco. The service and food were great. I got the three taco platter, and would highly recommend the shrimp taco. The atmosphere was really laid back and would be a great place to watch a game. They don’t serve alcohol but the owner mentioned that you could bring in your own beverage, but I would call first to double check. I plan on visiting atomic taco soon and would highly recommend it.

I found this place while cutting through the mall parking lot, and decided to try it out for lunch later that same week, this was last Thursday. When I walked in the first thing I noticed, unfortunately, was that the place is a little dingy. It’s not supposed to be all shiny and new like a chain restaurant, but I think they could put a little more effort into keeping it tidy and clean.
I decided to stay and give it a try and I wasn’t disappointed. I was starving so I went ahead and ordered 3 tacos with rice and beans. No, the rice and beans weren’t extraordinary but they were cooked well and the rice had a homemade feel to it. I chose al pastor, brisket, and seafood tacos and each was delicious. The brisket was more akin to a Texas BBQ’d brisket, smoky and firm, which I really enjoyed. usually brisket tacos are filled with a more wet, barbacoa-​like meat, but this was a nice departure. The seafood taco was a mixture of shrimp and some tilapia, perfectly cooked and lightly seasoned with onions and spices. The pastor was dark and slightly spicy, with a texture like roasted pork shoulder or pulled pork. I’m a Mexico City style traditionalist myself, but I scarfed it down nonetheless.
The place was very quiet, only about 5 other tables came and went while I was there at 12:30. The owner took my order, also brought out my food, and brought me a take-​out menu, and I really appreciated the personal touch. However, I felt like he could have been spending some time wiping down the drink station or sweeping up the area in front of the condiment/​salsa bar. It was a little dirty, to the point where I’d rather not recommend the place to friends or family as of yet.
I plan on giving it another try in a month or two, I know the food will be good but I hope the atmosphere will have improved a bit.

Walking in around 12:30 on a Saturday I was the only one here until about 5 minutes before I left, so I was a little nervous about eating here. But I put in my three taco combo order and waited patiently. Again being alone, my order was the only one on the queue — so the fact that it took past 10 minutes to get to me, it’s clear that it wasn’t pre-​prepared.
I went with one each of the seafood, brisket, and picadillo tacos. Whatever you choose you will get your money’s worth on meat quantity — remember that the lime, cilantro, onion, jalapeño, etc. need to be added by the diner, and they really are what completes the tacos too. One thing for any fans of tomatillo salsa, the color of theirs looked a little off (reminded me of a green highlighter) but it’s still good.
All of the tacos were decent — brisket actually resembled barbecue meat. The seafood was plentiful and good with the hotter salsas. Also, with all the juices in the picadillo you don’t want to save it for last, it will go through both tortillas.
Skip the rice and beans unless you really like them any way you can get them. As others have mentioned they’re not noteworthy. Also at the writing of this review, I have been informed that the Kabobs are not currently available — which is unfortunate as I wanted to try them.

Perfect rice and beans, delicious Al Pastor and Veggie tacos, fresh guacamole. There is another photo on here of their chips, but that must be from way back because they served up some fresh kitchen-​made chips. Try the Salsa Verde. Awesome TexMex.

This place is awesome. I always judge a place by the quality of their sides, if they serve subpar sides like canned beans, I’m out. This place not only has fresh beans and rice but the tacos are great too. The fresh salsa bar is fantastic. Don’t think Taco Cabana, this stuff is fresh and has some kick. You should definitely give this place a try.

Yesterday I made my second visit to Atomic Tacos, having visited once the first week they were open. I wasn’t impressed then and I’m wishing I’d left it at that one visit. But to be fair I don’t feel it’s right to judge by a visit so early on when things may not be set up as the owners want and intend, and I like the adventure of trying out new places.
I got two «fajita» tacos. When the order came out I was surprised to see no veggies, however minimal, as in my experience fajitas include sauteed onions, green bell peppers, jalapenos, tomatoes, etc.. But these were just meat and tortillas. Well, when I was ordering the guy said «fajita meat tacos», not fajitas, so maybe that was what he meant – meat cooked like fajitas but not the full fajita treatment with veggies and even sour cream and a little dollop of guacamole. My misunderstanding. But he did say «fajita meat» and I swear this was unlike any fajita in my experience as a life-​long Texas resident, born and bred.
I opened the tacos to see the meat and surprisingly it had a reddish or pinkish color. Every time I’ve had fajitas the meat was brown and hot and sizzling from the grill. Not so here. Perhaps the atomic treatment turns the meat pink? The meat reminded me of canned dog food for some reason, and that impression didn’t go away. I took a sniff and it smelled vinegary. Maybe barbecue sauce of some sort. Again, not like any fajitas I’ve ever had. .I managed a couple of bites of the meat (the two tortillas per taco seemed like a carb overload – and CORN tortillas for fajitas??? — excuse me, not fajitas, just fajita meat. Still.) and decided, for just the second time in my life, to write a meal off as a mistake, and I left without eating any more. The pico de gallo that I loaded onto the tacos was good, but it couldn’t shut out the little red flags that were going off in my mind about the strange pink color and vinegary odor of the meat. I just left the plate on the table and walked out. I must say the can of Diet Coke was fine – nice to be able to like something there.
I should have kept driving around the mall instead of stopping in here.
In comparison to another fast food, casual Mexican place with «Taco» in its name, Atomic Taco is very sadly wanting. Same prices, much poorer food and presentation. I wasn’t expecting much, just a quick lunch, but I left hungry with just enought time to get to an appointment nearby and after that went elsewhere to get a decent meal.
I was a bit surprised that the place was still open, can’t imagine why, unless they get a lot of business during the weekday lunch times. The menu is somewhat confusing – you walk in the door and there is a blackboard, rather hard to read, with some specials on it and there are menus on the counter which I didn’t really feel I had time to read, so I picked up on the word «fajita» — fajitas are always good, aren’t they? So I asked for that. My mistake. Never again.

For $ 8.65 I got two tacos, rice, beans, chips, and a can of pop. Toppings bar was a nice touch: four different salsas, onions, pico de gallo, and chopped fresh jalapeño. Food wasn’t bad either. Service was good. The man working there even asked me if I wanted to read the daily paper. I was the only person in the restaurant. Not sure how this place stays in business. Maybe it’s a front for money laundering?

I can describe this in one word, NASTY! First the place looked dirty. The owner was the only person in the place and there were only 2 other people eating. We both ordered the taco plate with a carnita taco, barbacoa taco, and al pastor taco. When ordering we were informed the soda machine only had Sprite but there were can’s of Coke on the counter. Unfortunately I choose the Sprite which had no carbonation. The carnita’s were kind of plain, the al pastor had chunks of pineapple in it and was much sweeter than normal al pastor, and the barbacoa was totally disgusting. The homemade salsa’s had no salt or flavor. The salsa verde just seemed like ground up tomatio’s, no lime or salt. Everything seemed to have no flavor. The plate I was served looked like it had not been washed. There was sauce and food dribbled all over the edges of the plate. The rice on my plate was burnt, dry, and hard while the other plate had fresh rice. The only thing I can give them credit for is the refried beans. They were okay. I will be shocked if this place is still there 3 months from now. It was awful, awful, awful! Just hoping that I don’t get food poisoning from eating there.

Wow, talk about a shock. I brought some out of town friends here along with my parents (7 people).
The service was terrible, they didn’t get a single order correct, gave us other people’s food, and when we asked the owner about it he actually argued and said that is what you ordered. Same thing with the waitress. She just said «that’s what you ordered» and walked away!
He gave my friend grief when she said she did not order beef (she doesn’t eat beef. ever. why would she order it?) and had an attitude about the whole situation. He did not even try to make it right.
My parent’s don’t ever want to eat there again, and I have to say I’m not terribly motivated to go back.
I’m also somewhat embarrassed as we all went here on MY recommendation. Atmoic Tacos let me down, big time.

Please forgive me. I had an issue with this place before I ever went there. Forgive me. I ate here today because I had to run an errand at Collin Creek. I don’t think I have ever given five stars based on a first visit, but this place gets five solid stars. The tacos were fantastic, I tried both of the chicken ones offered. The habanero salsa is SO good! it sneaks up with a fiery surprise. This salsa alone gets five stars. It’s not a chain, had good Texas music playing, it was clean and down home. Loved it!

I’ve been there with my wife about 4 times and we always love it. The only negative is that in the evening it is slow and you wonder if this place will stay in business. After the evening rush, he shuts the place down. I suppose if it was crowded he would keep it open. The one time that I’ve visited at lunch it was busy.
I usually get some kind of taco plate and I’m never dissapointed. The tacos come with double corn tortillas with just the meat. There is a salsa bar with chopped onions, cilantro, peppers and severa lvarieties of salsa. Their salsas are all fresh and homemade. You usually get free chips.
Probably the only annoying thing is that he usually has some sporting event on tv in the evening and an alt country satelite station playing together. It’s a little distracting hearing them together.

Three and a half stars, really.
I love me some tacos, and Atomic Tacos is right by my work, although it’s hidden on the back side of a building so I only saw the sign and had to go hunting for the actual restaurant. The popular deal is two tacos with your pick of meat, and it comes with refried beans and spanish rice. The meat is great and the tacos come with doubled-​up soft corn tortillas. The refried beans are great and the spanish rice is… spanish rice.
The highlight is, of course, the fresh toppings bar. Load up with cilantro, pico de gallo, and various types of salsas.
Think about it. A cheap meal, very few carbs, no sugar, only a moderate amount of fat (really it depends on your pick of meat) and fresh veges.
I knock off a star for a space that looks like they really don’t know what to do with it. It’s bigger than they need and pretty bare, so the atmosphere is plain. That’s okay for a cheap lunch spot.

Tacos are excellent. My favorite are any of the beef, as I usually get one of each. The pico de gallo is always fresh and all you can eat. I highly recommend.

I finally made it here when they were open. :) I spoke to the owner for a minute while my order was being made (it was right before the «lunch closing» on a Saturday); very friendly guy, and we chatted about their former location in the West End (and the sad demise of the West End), and how the new «taco craze» is helping people recover from «Chipotle-​ification».
But, about the food: I ordered a to-​go trio of tacos (carnitas, picadillo and another one, shredded beef, I think?) that came with rice and beans to make a platter. The tacos come «undressed», on good quality white corn soft tortillas. A dress-​up «bar» features four kinds of salsa, including red hot, tomatillo and habanero (the latter being my fave), chopped cilantro, chopped jalapenos and some great little wedges of lime, very juicy. I filled some cups with these and headed home.
Upon opening, the beans and rice were fairly rudimentary, but not bad at all. The taco meats, honestly, would tend more towards 3 stars, with the pork being a little dry. However, the quantity of meat (pretty generous) and the flavor of those fantastic salsas, coupled with the very fresh chopped cilantro (and don’t forget a squeeze of lime) made for a very tasty finished product, hence the four stars. Another note: These tacos definitely lean towards the authentic Mexican (as opposed to TexMex) side, but they’re still gringo friendly, so don’t expect to be transported to Mexico here. Still, my food was good today, and they have a nice setup, so I’ll be back.

I generally make it out to Atomic Tacos once a week for lunch. The service I great, and every time I visit, I’m greeted by name. I love supporting local, small businesses especially when my support is rewarded with delicious, delicious burritos. That Chris gent knows what he’s talking about with the sauces. The genuine, homemade hot sauces are oh em gee amazing.
Pro tip: mix one scoop of habanero and one scoop roasted hot.
The meat selection is delicious on it’s on merits. I prefer the brisket, but the beef tips are great, too. Also, on occasion they serve high-​quality speciality meats like deer. For no extra charge.
I don’t know what that jef z. kid is talking about. The owner is a great guy trying to make his business work. If you start your own restaurant, I hope you would spend what limited resources you have on securing a fantastic chef, ensuring you have a clean shop, and managing the rest of the loan out to covering OVERHEAD. Not every restaurant can open and a few months later be rocking it like Buca or some big chain. I’m more than pleasantly surprised that I stumbled across a restaurant run by someone who knows what they’re doing. Establish yourself with a great reputation for delicious food at a good price first. Worry about fluff (like décor) later.
If you want a great place to eat in south Plano/​north Richardson — stop here. Support this small restaurant because it needs your business and you need its brisket burrito.

I found this place driving into Collin Creek mall from Plano Parkway. I feel bad for this location because it doesn’t seem like they get that much traffic, but hopefully that will change.
First of all, the food is delicious. I come here at least once a week and I’m never disappointed. The food is also pretty cheap. I usually get some kind of burrito ($ 5) which is definitely enough for lunch and should be enough for dinner. There is a daily special that will have rice and beans for $ 7, which is still pretty cheap, especially for a dinner option, though I’ve only gone for lunch because I live 30 miles away.
What really makes the food superb though is the salsas. There are 4 and all of them our fantastic, but my favorites are the habanero and the roasted hot. Most mexican/​tex-​mex restaurants don’t have a salsa thats actually hot, and if they do it just tastes like you’re sucking a pepper. That is not the case at Atomic. They manage to be both hot and genuinely taste good. There is also a tasty mild salsa if you’re lame.
Lastly, the owner is super friendly and really helps make it an enjoyable experience.

The décor is terrible and minimal which makes the atmosphere boring. The brisket tacos that we ordered could of been better and the 10 chips that we got while we waited were eh. Also, the after affects of the Atomic Tacos not so good. I will not go back.

Ok, look. the food is fine. the décor sucks. I got there with friends at 7:25 pm for dinner on a wednesday, and I guess that was problematic. At 8:05 the (presumably owner) got tired of watching hannity on the big screen and told us, «ok guys, i’m done.» So we left. I had a little beer left and my buddy half his (byob). I suppose if you are on Plano Pkwy by the mall, you might as well go there, but there are too many taco shops around these days who are happy you are there, so I’d not bother. Food wise, as a previous review, the tortilla soup is very good. The brisket taco was also tasty… but their’ $ 3 individual tacos are no better than the $ 2 tacos at Rusty Taco on Greenville and Lovers, for instance. So, in conclusion… go to a recently opened Fuzzy’s, or better yet, Torchy’s at Preston and Forest (the dallas-​douchey version of the awesome austin taco shop) instead of Atomic Taco. there are to many options in DFW to waste time being this underwhelmed. that’s why god made applebees.

I stumbled upon this place looking for a not as packed as Chipotle lunch option. It’s tucked away on the back of a strip mall, but there are plenty of signs pointing you in the right direction. When I first walked in, I was taken back a bit by the décor and lack of people (peek lunch time). It’s quite plain, and they are obviously focusing on the food and not the furnishings. The four star instead of five is because of the décor, the food is five star all the way. It’s a small local owned business, so I’m sure as they get more business they will improve this. The place is huge, so they have plenty of room to add more tables as needed.
Now for the food. The menu is simple with several combo options. I opted for chicken tacos and tortilla soup. I was not disappointed! These are not taco bell tacos, they are authentic Harry Hines Mexican style tacos. The salsa is made daily, and it’s superb. I believe they had four salsa choices, all were yum. The tortilla soup was the best tortilla soup I have ever had. The guacamole in the soup was a nice touch. Spices were perfect, the chicken was a good quality, and the tortillas were fresh. I liked Atomic so much I took my husband a few days later. I stuck with the tacos, he had the migas. It’s hard to find migas that meet my approval, but these were awesome! I’ll be having the migas next time I go.
This is an independent restaurant, and I really like the idea of supporting the small businesses in the area. Support local business and check Atomic Tacos out, you won’t be disappointed.