Taqueria El Fuego

They did have some good tacos, but they’ve been closed for over a month

This is one of my favorite places to grab lunch but you NEED to order the right things. First things first, do not order some mundane texmex staples like burritos, tacos, etc. They’re ok here but what you REALLY should be getting is the stews they have in their lunch specials.
They’re almost always good, sometimes they can be standard, but occasionally they’ll have some fantastic ones like beef tongue. OMG the most well prepared delicious thing I’ve had in a while. Course it’s pretty random what they serve in the special so you’ll have to go a bunch ;-)

This is the first review I’ve written, and in most cases it’s very hard to disappoint me when it comes to food, but after today I know this is one Taqueria I won’t be visiting again, EVER!
When I walked in I wasn’t very impressed by the layout and décor, BUT it was nicer looking on the inside than the other taqueria’s I’ve been to.
I thought I ordered three single tacos (1 pork, 1 beef, 1 chicken) w/​flour tortillas ($ 1.60 each) with cilantro and onions and a Mexican coke. My order came to $ 11.80. My friend ordered the same thing w/​corn tortillas and his total was $ 7.58. I asked the cashier why mine was more expensive and HE TOLD ME (somewhat rudely) that I ordered the taco plate. I know what I ordered and that’s not what I wanted… I decided to let this slide because I figured it would be better than my friends. After our food was given to us I saw the difference in our orders. The reason mine was $ 4 more was because they gave me refried beans and spanish rice. SERIOUSLY!!! $ 4 more for beans and rice!!! And somehow my friend ended up with flour tortillas and I ended up with corn… I let that slide too…
Then the cashier told us about the salsas and saucers available. My friend and I prefer spicy food so he recommended the sauces in the back of the salsa bar.
After dressing our tacos we sat down and took our first bites. DISAPPOINTMENT SET IN QUICKLY! The pork was lame, the beef was better, and the chicken was so-​so.
It is now 2 – 3 hours later and I have a massive headache, my stomach is burning, and I’ve been to the bathroom twice. Definitely not going back here…

maybe my expectations were high, but El Fuego was very hit or miss:
Great–
1. handmade corn torillas were fantastic and worth the visit
2. salsa bar– all salsas and pico were excellent and had good heat
Average–
1. «burritos» — They are really taquitos (did not expect too much for $ 1.25). The filling was very minimal. you would need 6 to get a decent meal. Also, they are served on pedestrian flour torillas versus the excellent corn
2. Migas– almost comical. this was nearly nachos with a little egg. Good flaor but again very skimpy on the egg.
Poor–
1. sevice– ridiculously bad (and it counter service so I did not expect much) — we had a simple order but it was as though we were impossing on them to order. Ordered and paid for chips that we never got. When asked we were simply given a shoulder shrug.
2. Food quantity– I gues you need to order the buffet to get a decent amount of food. I don’t need a ton, but seriously I felt like I was on the old wendy’s commercial «Where’s the beef?» Or in our case where’s the eggs?!
I may try again and ask for corn tortillas and combine 2 «burritos» to get one decent one, but honestly there are far better spots.
Real jewel here are the corn tortillas.

This place is the real deal.
I get the chicken taco plate every time. Corn tortillas, onions and cilantro. Green salsa. Every freaking time.
Corn tortillas are a must due to the fact that they are hand made right in front of you. I don’t care if your one of those people who loves flour tortillas or are too stubborn to try corn. If you come to El Fuego, get whatever you get on corn!
The young gun working the register can sometimes have an attitude if you catch him in the middle of his favorite afternoon Telenovela or news program. Whatever. Come during normal lunch hours, and while you might have to wait in line, you will have great service.
Great, authentic, hole in the wall, Mexican restaurant. Give it a chance.

Great hole in the wall. Nothin fancy just quick and cheap. I recommend the chorizo torta for breakfast.

I discovered this taqueria via the Dallas Morning News, in an article that was listing the best taco joints in town. Having went to one of the others on the list and found it to be quite good, I figured I’d give this one a try, since it’s closer to my home.
The results are mixed. Sadly, the biggest disappointment was the meat. I selected one each of the beef, pork and chicken tacos on corn tortillas and a cheese quesadilla. I wondered where such terms as «barbacoa», «pastor», «pollo» were, as would typically be seen at a (at least leaning more) traditional taco joint. As it turned out, the meats were all a bit dry and too, well, uniform and «nice» looking. They had flavor, yes, but a lot of it came from the add-​ons (more on that later). When tacos are your thing, you’d better hit it out of the park on the meat. Based on this alone, my rating would have been 2 stars.
However, it’s not a taco without the tortilla and add-​ons, and here’s where that extra star came in. The white corn tortillas are made by hand, right there in front of you at the counter, and while they aren’t as «rustic» as some, they are very, very good. Perfect texture and moisture level, with none of that «mealy» or «gummy» texture that can happen sometimes. Cilantro and onion were fresh, the latter crisp but not «hot». Four salsas plus a pico de gallo are offered; I sampled a tomatillo based sauce that was very good, and the «heat headliner», a bright red sauce that really brought the heat, yet was bursting with flavor, too. I could just drink that stuff. Fresh lime wedges are also provided at the salsa bar.
I requested my quesadilla on flour rather than corn; these tortillas didn’t seem handmade like the corn, but were still pretty decent. The cheese was melted just right and the tortilla had a little crisp on the edge, and was quite nice when dipped in that red sauce.
Bottom line, I had hoped for higher marks from this place, but with the things they did right, maybe I just hit them on a «meh» day or something. I’ll definitely give them another try sometime to see if the meat situation has improved.

I’ve been meaning to come here for a while, since it’s right around the corner from the office, and on my way home. Since I recently got on Unilocal and started reviewing all my favorite Mexican places, I figured now was as good a time as any. I had read a lot of reviews on here and other places, and while most people agreed the food was good, there were a couple more ominous reviews, like that they hate white people (I’m paraphrasing on that one, but that was the impression I got from several reviews). With my long, golden locks and big blue eyes, looking something like a fat version of the Mighty Thor, the last thing I want to walk in on is chants of «¡Mueres, gringo!»
As usual, reports of my impending death were greatly exaggerated, and I was seated with little to no blood shed. A previous review said there were no chips and salsa, so I was surprised when chips and salsa magically appeared on my table. The chips were smaller and thicker than I’m used to, but I liked them, and while the bowl of salsa provided to me was an OK combination of hot sauce and pico from the salsa bar, I went over to the salsa bar myself and managed to whip up a delicious combination of verde sauces and pico.
I ordered the #5 combo plate, which is a beef taco on a flour tortilla, a beef gordita, and a chicken sope. Now, this is going to sound really embarrassing, but in my 27 years of gorging myself on Mexican food, I’ve never had a sope and the only gordita I had came from Taco Bell. Yes, heresy, I know, but I’ve always been an enchilada and taco man. The plate they brought out was huge, piled with way more food than I was expecting. The sope was loaded with queso fresco and lettuce on top of chicken and refried beans, and I wasn’t quite sure how to eat it, but I quickly figured that out by grabbing it with my hands and cramming it in my mouth (a lovely sight, I know). The gordita was equally stacked, and beef fajita meat fell out into my beans and rice as I folded it in half and inhaled it as well. For a second, I didn’t think I was going to have room for the taco, but then I found some (I think it’s somewhere in my love handles now).
The price wasn’t unreasonable ($ 7.99) considering the amount of food I got, though I imagine it’d be cheaper if it wasn’t smack dab in the middle of Richardson’s Telecom Corridor.

I’ve been for dinner twice now, and I still leave with mixed emotions. The food is good. The meat in my tacos were really tasty. I had al pastor, fajita, and a barbacoa taco. The barbacoa was pretty freaking greasy, but it still was pretty tasty. The fajita and al pastor rocked my mouth in the best way possible. Tortillas were good, beans and rice were better than average. My beans did however contain some odd black flecks of something or other this visit.
The prices are good. My 3 taco plate with rice and beans costs like 7 bucks. I think this is reasonable, especially for the quality of the meal. So with all that said, why 3 stars, not 4? Service, oh and maybe the chips. They are super thick, and kinda icky.
Both times I went, were for dinner during the week. There has been maybe 1 or 2 other tables while I was there, and the same lady working the small dining room. She comes by to drop off chips, take our order, bring us food. She then pulls up a chair, directly in front of the tv, and becomes engrossed in the show. During commercials, she will turn around from her stool and ask «everything ok?» before returning to her shows. I felt awkward about asking for anything with this behavior!
Meh whatever. I’ll probably be back if I get a craving for the food, but maybe next time get it to go. I wouldn’t want to come between any woman and her tv.

I have been back recently a couple of times in the past weeks. I always thought the food was terrific and it still is. The mole is some of the best I’ve ever had. I love the green rice. There is always something weird going on, though. Last time, it was a loud argument in Spanish between the guy working the counter and a customer across the room that went on and on. I thought I was going to be in the middle of a fight. And they were out of most salsas on the bar AGAIN. Is it that hard to make pico? Food is four and half stars, atmosphere is about half a star.

In lieu of the ‘DFW’s Best Taquerias’ post on Guidelive, I decided to venture out to one of the ‘best’ — Taquerias El Fuego in Richardson.
My mother and I arrived at the small shopping strip, where the restaurant was located. It was pretty crowded which I took as a good sign. Once we walked in, we immediately noticed the bright décor. It was very cozy and we were immediately greeted and seated by the owner’s wife. She took our drink order of waters, and came back with chips and our drinks.
One thing that stood out to us was the salsa bowl; it could be because we were ‘new’ and didn’t really know what to do, but it was sitting on the table before we got there and looked pretty used. We later figured out that they have a salsa bar, where you can fill your bowls up with different salsa, but my mom wasn’t particularly happy about not knowing if people double-​dipped or not. But their chips are really good, and aren’t excessively salty. The salsas were good too. There was one that was very spicy but oh so good. They were out of guacamole, which was disappointing, but the chips were good on their own.
Next, it was debate time! Everything on the menu looked so good and it was hard to choose. I asked the wife and son what they liked, but it wasn’t much of a definite answer, and more of ‘everything is good’. My mother decided on the three tacos plate — opting for their homemade corn tortillas, and a chicken, a pork, and a beef taco. I decided on the Tampiqueno plate, which consisted of a lean meat, a red enchliada, and a quesadillia.
We spent most of our waiting time, watching the ALMA awards with Spanish subtitles and listening for the ring of the bell the owner dinged every time a fresh plate of food was ready. Then our food came, and although not particularly gorgeous — it was fantastic.
My mom’s was very good. The beef taco was fresh and bursting with the flavour of the beef and fresh cilantro. It was a bit salty, but the combination of the hand-​made corn tortilla (which was delicate and light), beef and cilantro was awesome. The chicken was wasn’t as good; the cilantro was not as balanced in this taco, and it was somewhat overpowering with cilantro. The pork was the same way, but the pork was juicy and flavourful. The rice was extremely good. It was not packed with salt, instead it was colourful and blended with mixed chopped vegetables. The beans were great, again not salty (as I’ve found many other restaurants’ rice and beans salty) and had a nice texture. They weren’t remincient of the baby-​like and fully smushed refried beans. They had some chew to it.
Now to mine…
I really did not know what to expect with mine, but maybe having no expectations made it better. The lean meat, which was a carne asada, was very hard to cut, especially with the cheap metal silverware, but it was incredible. It was rich, chewy and juicy. There was so much flavor in the meat, and it was cooked perfectly. Then, my quesadilla was good. It had cheese and chicken (i am guessing here), and it was excellent. The enchilada was good, a tortilla was a bit soggy, but that could have been from the grease from the meat. We were full, but I wanted to try the Kahula cake, due to the high praise it got on the DMN review, so we got it.
High praise for this cake is deserved, indeed. It was moist, and it wasn’t overpowering with the alcohol. I normally hate alcohol-​filled or soaked desserts for the reason of I hate the taste, but this cake was balanced and just god… I don’t have the words for it. It was great. Get this. That is all I can say. It is homemade, and apparently it was fresh, according to the owner’s daughter.
This place is good, and it has so much potential. The corn tortillas, carne asada, and Kahula cake are among the highlights. The ingredients were fresh and we left satisfied.

The only thing I found strange was the setup/​layout of the restaurant. It’s a little hard to get in and out of the place because the tables and chairs are pretty crammed in. It also didn’t seem new-​customer friendly. We weren’t sure whether to sit down or go up and order under the sign that says «order here». When we walked in, someone told us to just grab any table. We went in for dinner not realizing they closed at 9pm. (I think we walked in at 8:45, so, yeah, we were THOSE guys completely by accident). When we realized, we apologized. Our server was so sweet and told us not worry and not to hurry just because they were closing. We ordered combo plates which were perfect because we were able to sample several things. Everything was really delicious. The salsa and guacamole were a little too spicy for me, but I’m a wimp.
Overall, it was very enjoyable. We will definitely be returning.
Oh — You can BYOBeer/​wine too!

Went to El Fuego this morning for breakfast. The husband and I each had three breakfast tacos with potato… each comes with refried beans, eggs, and cheese. At $ 1.25 apiece, you really can’t go wrong. I appreciated that the fillings were steaming hot and the homemade tortillas were tasty. I wish it was a bit closer to home, but on lazy mornings when I don’t mind a 10 – 15 minute drive, this place hits the spot.

Went to lunch today (Saturday) with the wife. We had a coupon so figured what the heck. It was kind of a drive from our place, but it was so worth it. We did not get the buffet and am glad we did not.
This is now, without a doubt, our favorite taco place, supplanting even the great Taco Joint. The place is small and unassuming, and seating is limited. But what a find!
I had the parrillos taco platter (maybe I am spelling it wrong) that came 3 to an order so I got one pork, one beef, one chicken. The meat was so juicy and tender. I liked the chicken and pork the best, although the beef was very flavorful too. The corn tortillas were perfect. It came with absolutely delicious refried beans (unlike I have ever had before) and rice, which also was excellent. There is a bar for salsas and pico, all of which were excellent. The wife got gorditas with chicken, topped with cheese and I think the refried beans. They were the best gorditas we ever had – meat was smokey and so flavorful. The bread had a nice crisp to it and was not greasy at all. On the drive home all we could do was talk about how good that place was and how we cannot wait to return, even without a coupon. By the way, prices are extremely reasonable. My tacos were 7.99 and the gordita platter was 6.99 – an absolute steal.
I hope this place stays in business a long time!

Went for the Saturday Buffet… was expecting tacos like al pastor, barbocoa, picadillo, etc.
Had better tacos at various gas station taquerias around town that speak no english. it seems the less English they speak at the place, the better the food tastes!
We had cactus with shredded beef, shredded pork, chicken mole, tongue, etc… I really loved the chicken mole but my bf wasn’t too impressed. We were definitely missing our al pastor.
the fresh corn tortillas were really good but we were expecting different meats.
good to try for the experience but not for us…

Off the beaten path but will worth the trip. Food was great.

Deliciousness at it’s best. The staff is welcoming and their food will make you eat your fingers off!

Saturdays only, ALL-​YOU-​CAN-​EAT… till 3PM!!!
Me and my lil’ bro were craving tacos on a Saturday afternoon so we came here since my bro seems to have a bottomless pit of a stomach.
You go to the back of the place and pay first at the counter or order your food if you’re ordering off of their menu. If it looks like they’re busy, I’d get one of your buddies to snag a table before going through the line.
I don’t even know all the names of the different types of meat that were on the line, but I don’t think I want to know since they all pretty much taste pretty damn good.
At the end of the line is a little lady that makes the corn and or flour tortillas and just tell her how many you want and you can watch her make’em fresh with the quickness!
The inside is a little small since it’s in a small strip so finding a spot to sit may be a challenge at times. The tables and seating here are bit eclectic, but that’s you know a place is gonna be good. They care about their product, not if the chairs and tables match.

I almost don’t want to write this review. El Fuego is off the beaten path and is usually just crowded enough that I don’t want to share it with others. I’ve been here a couple of times for lunch during the week (it’s close to my office). You can opt for the single serve portion or, for a couple bucks more, the «gorge myself into oblivion» option. It’s buffet-​style, served by the purveyors, and they often have a few items that change daily.
The food here is pretty damn authentic, being made by the family that owns the place. They also make their tortillias on-​the-​spot and I must say they’re the closest thing to authentic that I’ve ever had since I spent a few days in a hacienda in a coastal Mexican neighborhood. I don’t know why no one is able to get that smoky flavor into the corn tortillias, but this place gets it just about perfect.
It’s as casual as holes-​in-​the-​wall come and worth the visit. I have no idea what the calorie content is of anything they serve, but since I go here very infrequently, I’m not too worried. If it becomes a diet staple for you, just drink some Drain-​O and you’ll say goodbye to looming cholesterol problems.

I had 2 servings of food but did not feel gross, just full, but it was nice! The food has a ton of flavor and not salty or greasy at all. I tried almost everything on the buffet: chilaquiles, lengua, shredded pork, stewed chicken, chicken in creamy chipotle. The hot freshly prepared corn tortillas and chilaquiles were definitely the best part of the meal.
It is a small place, but such the bright and colorful decoration makes it seem bigger. It was $ 8 for the buffet which is only on Saturday. Good price. I wil go back and try something off of the menu next time.