Taco Circus

Two visits in and I see no reason to go anywhere else for lunch. Or dinner. It’s close, locally owned, and beats the pants off anything in the area. I can’t get over the freshness of the ingredients. The guac is freshly made and mouthwatering. Tacos are a whopping $ 2 each. I’m in love with the taco salad with steak-​I mistakenly said beef and got ground beef, which my husband loved, but the steak is AMAZING. Tender, juicy, perfect. Try the tomatillo cream sauce. Thanks much to the owner who brought over a new taco salad for me, despite my ordering error!

Great canned beer selection. Exceedingly friendly staff. Tacos were just OK. They made me say something I’ve never said about a taco («Too much meat»). The meat to cilantro-​onion-​tortilla ratio was just a bit off. Also, go traditional and double-​up on the corn tortillas: trust me you’ll need it.

The Breakfast Tacos:
Chorizo and egg — Always a winning combo! ALL The sauces accented the tacos exceptionally well! Chorizo was cooked perfectly and drained before plating as there was not the familiar river of orange grease in my plate as I ate.
Well done guys!
Can’t wait to come back!
The Sauces:
Olé Mole — Savory, smoky, delicious!
Burny Sanders — Fruity Flavor explosion! Nice kick of heat!
Hot Sauce– nice creamy blend of tomatillo
Tomatillo — a tomatillo sauce that is fruity and flavorful!
Can’t wait to try these out on my breakfast tacos!

went here today for lunch and can i say so freaking good and cheap i tried the chicken taco the beef taco and pork taco all were good and the green sauce was good
ive eaten mexican at mariachis and spent way more and hated it
this is my go to for quick mexican

Neighborhood dive for tacos! Their food is exceptional — fresh and delicious. Everything I’ve had has been incredible — especially the nachos supreme (a secret menu item). It’s a huge serving of crispy chips, meat, cheese, guac, lettuce, etc. Yum!

Just ate dinner here with family and it was definitely well worth it. The food was amazing and definitely fresh. I have no complaints and we will be back.

This place is dirty… I mean truly filthy. The hot sauce bottles are sticky and it’s obvious that no one has wiped them down in like a month. There’s dirt and grime on the floor. The grill area doesn’t look like it’s been cleaned ever. The guys behind the counter are unfriendly. …not mean or rude just cold… like they could really care two sh@$$ whether you are there or not.
All that being said the food is spectacular! The ingredients are fresh and the flavors are out of this world! I have tried the pork steak burrito (big as your arm) and the beans are amazing. …the rice is amazing and the pork… mmmmmm melt in your mouth porky goodness! The chicken tacos are fantastic! Juicy grilled chicken and onions, tomato and cilantro on a corn soft shell. The «Burny Sanders» sauce is perfectly hot… I mean smoking. But the flavor is still there. A little sweet and sour to go along with that heat!
I have to say if you are looking for a high end clean restaurant then this place is most definitely not for you. On the other hand if you are looking for a great tasting take home meal for a reasonable price then go in, ignore your surroundings and get some truly delicious food.

Hangover? Go here.
Hungry? Go here.
Need comfort food? Go here.
Want immediate tastebud orgasms? Go here.
Low on cash? Go here.
Only complaint is space… not enough.

Taco Circus is a mixture of a dive bar, greasy spoon, hole-​in-​wall and taco shack all combined into one. Combining all these atmospheres makes for a fun dining experience. I’ve had TC bookmarked for a long time, ever since Chip K. had the Review of The Day for it on New Year’s Day 2016. Then in March, when Ian Froeb put it on his STL 100 List for 2016, I knew it was time to get up off my lazy ass and get to Taco Circus.
As I entered the circus, I was cheerfully greeted by the staff. When I walked up to the counter, the employee asked if this was my first time. I guess I had that lost boy look on my face. When I told him, yes and that I was there because they had made Ian Froeb’s list. I told him I wanted a beef and chicken fajita taco. I didn’t realize you could customize, so he led me through all my decisions. He recommended a flour tortilla with cilantro & onion on top. He also recommended the guacamole with chips. This man knew his stuff, he led me a delicious & filling lunch.
Both fajita tacos were good. I normally do not like cilantro, but I truly enjoyed it on both of these tacos. So much, that I didn’t use any of the sauces. The onion, cilantro and the seasoning of the meat were enough for me. Ian said the beef was a must order, but for me I’d say the chicken is a must order.
However, I did enjoy all four of their sauces on my chips. I sat there trying each and everyone of them on single chips. I’d squeeze a little out on a chip as if I were adding ketchup to a large steak fry. My favorite is currently called; Burnie Sanders. It had a nice kick to it, with no after burn. The guacamole was creamy and smooth. I found the chips to be better and less salty then some of the more popular sit down Mexican restaurants.
Addresses are based on what street your front entrance faces — if their door faced the main drag instead of the side street it would be so much easier to find. Morgan Ford is a better known street, but with GPS in my CRV I was able to find this little taco delight with no trouble.
I’ll be returning to try a Frito Pie, a Burrito and a breakfast taco as well.
For those of you who stay away from circuses because you are afraid of clowns, there are no clowns here. So come experience Taco Circus.

My husband and I have had this place bookmarked to feed my desire to complete my mission of eat all the tacos for quite some time now.
I read some reviews, heard some tips here and there, and decided to get two tacos and some guac. I ordered a pork steak taco and a chicken taco.
Taco Circus is a small hole-​in-​wall (corner) kind of joint — seating is INCREDIBLY limited and the place was filling up really quickly on a Sunday.
We sat at the little short bar attached to the back of the counters. There were peppers simmering on the stove when we got there and the place smelled amazing. And, they had a sauce on the table called «Burnie Sanders»… it was hot as hell and delicious!
First of all, you get a taco with meat in it and some onions. That’s it. That is all that is in that taco — maybe some cilantro. You have to ask for all of the extra fixings, like cheese, sour cream etc. The chicken taco was OK— but I think their focus needs to be that pork steak taco. I could have gone back for another pork steak taco. I added guac to it, and a little Burnie Sanders and it was perfecto!
Guacamole is served in really small portions, so if you are a dipper — order two servings.
My husband ordered the frito nachos platter and he said it was incredibly filling, and sinful. (Which translates into us spending a lot more time in the gym after eating delicious nonsense like that.)
Being able to see the kitchen, and the cooks standing right next to you cooking your meal really made for an interesting experience. Everything is from scratch… like… it appears that EVERYTHING is from scratch.
We will be back, because I need more pork steak tacos.

I love this place. Their sauces are fun. They have a frito pie. My chosen soda (apple) is in stock.
I, for one, am the biggest fan of their pork steak burrito. They char enormous porksteaks on their grill, chop ‘em up, and then add this St. Louis flavor to a burrito. Totally wonderful.
They now also have a ton of canned beer. A really nice selection of craft brews local to the region and from elsewhere.

I love little taco shops, so I was excited to finally try Taco Circus. The cool thing about this place is that you can customize your taco by picking the type of tortilla, fillings and toppings. So if you prefer a more traditional Mexican style, you can get a corn tortilla base with beef or chicken and cilantro & onions on top. Or if you prefer US style, you can get a crispy corn shell with ground beef and lettuce & tomato topping.
I ordered a trio of tacos. The bean and cheese taco was very tasty as was the chicken fajita taco. I couldn’t pass on trying the St. Louis meets Mexico-​pork steak taco. It was also good. The chicken and pork meat were juicy, tender and packed with seasoning. A variety of hot sauces were available in the squeeze bottles located in the mini-​fridge by the front door. The creative Bernie Sanders sauce will make you feel the burn.
I do wish the soft corn tacos would have come double shelled. The quantity of fillings was so much that it was hard to contain while eating. Overall, I’d rate this unique taqueria above average (3.5−4 stars). It’s well worth another visit in my book.

It’s reviews like this that make me wish I could give 3.5 stars; my experience at Taco Circus was positive and we will definitely be back but it just wasn’t enough for the full four star rating the restaurant seems to average.
My husband ordered the steak taco and his eyes nearly rolled back on his head — he loved it! His second, the pork, was also very good. I ordered a chicken taco and felt it really lacked flavor… I also ordered a side of rice and beans and they served them up as a second taco which was odd but I ate it (in fact, I preferred it to the chicken).
The staff is super friendly and when they found out they messed our order up, not only did they fix it right away, they brought us chips and salsa to make up for it and the salsa ROCKS.
The space is small, which I expected, and you better hope you can squeeze between the beverage cooler and the drink station to get your soda/​water because, man, is that a tight, awkward fit/​set-​up.
I really hope this place continues taking off and, thanks to a nearby customer, I already know what I want to try when I return — a burrito!

The employees are friendly and the food came out fast. The tacos are too stuffed where a lot of filling falls out all over or the tortilla is just to small, can’t decide. Obviously I got some tacos but I also ordered beans and rice as well. The beans were good but I thought the rice was overly seasoned. I think this place is ok. I noticed most other customers were getting burritos, maybe that’s the way to go. I’ll give it another chance down the road and update my review.

It is an honor to eat vegetarian food where they really love food and care about your experience. I tried one of each of the vegetarian tacos and the flavors were amazing. One of the guys even asked me what I thought. they also have meat for carnivores. While I didn’t partake in beer on this first visit, they do have a couple flavors of Urban Chestnut on tap and said they would be getting more beer on tap.

Taco Circus is a solid choice for reasonably priced quality tacos in South City. The tacos are small, however they are less than $ 2 so you won’t break the bank buying several to fill your appetite. The inside itself is small with limited seating, so there is a focus on carry out here over dining in.
As far as the food goes the tacos are delicious, you first pick your shell (corn, flour, or hard) and then beef, pork, steak, chicken, they even have a veggie option for those non meat eaters. I tend to think that three tacos are the perfect size for a meal, however I wouldn’t fault you for getting more and trying one of each! Taco Circus reminds me of Mission Taco only much cheaper! Overall this is a welcome addition to the neighborhood and I look forward to returning, hopefully soon to try their breakfast tacos!

I saw many good Unilocal reviews, and it’s in our hood, so why wouldn’t I try it out? I was thrown off by the name, but hey, it could be fun. :) warning it is a bit tight on space so if you have more than a party of two it might be difficult to dine in. The staff here was SO nice. I tried the tour de taco, trying one of each. A bit more food than I normally eat. But wanted to try them all out so for future visits I would know what I would like. Well that didn’t help me out, because I liked them all!!! I tried different toppings & different shells, all yummy! And I got a Mexican Coke. I don’t drink soda, but when having yummy street tacos– why not. And they also have a great beer selection. Anyway, will definitely be back.

Friendly staff, great food.
I had heard about taco circus and finally got to try this place. It did not disappoint. I ordered one of every taco — my favorite was the steak fajita but husband says the pork was the best I also got the guacamole and cheese sauce with chips — the chips were homemade and delicious All the taco sauce is homemade, the green sauce was by far the best green sauce I have ever had. There are several spicy levels of red sauce. I stayed away from the stooped hot and just got my hubby the plain ol’ hot, which he said was pretty hot. The whole thing with sides of beans and rice was like $ 26 bucks. You can’t beat that for fresh made food. We will be back, and you should check it out too!

Stopped in for a Saturday morning breakfast. We tried the sausage and egg taco and the chorizo and egg taco. They were both excellent. Thanks to Taco Circus for bringing a bit of Austin to the Lou. There were a few years in my early Unilocalhood when you could barely find a Mexican breakfast in town, so I’m also glad that’s been remedied. Personally, I can’t get enough.
All that said, a couple of aspects of this visit were a bit wonky. First of all, the space is small, so they really maximize their storage space by putting a haphazard stack of kitchen «stuff» out beside the little dining area. It was unsightly. for sure, but also made me wonder how clean everything is. The salsa is kept in a little fridge in the front, up by the soda. Several of the plastic containers were about empty. We were there pretty early, so I’m pretty sure nobody had a look at these before they opened that morning, which also means they weren’t wiped down. For a place that serves food eaten by hand, that might be a good idea. Maybe I’m getting to be more of a germaphobe as I get older. I don’t know.
As I said, the food was excellent and they guys working the counter were friendly. We’ll probably be back. Three and a half stars.

Small portions with big flavor!
At first glance, you may be curious why the tacos at Taco Circus are kind of small. However, if you look at the prices, it all starts to make sense.
Mikey Carrasco is a fascinating individual. If you ever have the chance to meet him, take a minute to chat with him. You will need it! A former employee of the Bailey people, Mikey, along with business partner Christian Ethridge, has set out on his own and exudes passion for his new project. His determination and charisma made me want to try Taco Circus.
It didn’t disappoint. The tacos range from $ 1.49-$ 1.99. You choose your shell (flour, corn, hard) and your protein (beef, chicken, pork, steak). They also have vegetarian and breakfast options. I tried beef, chicken, and pork.
Initially, I was a little thrown by the portion, but considering tacos at Mission are three plus dollars, I could technically get more if I doubled my portion. Three tacos seemed like just enough to satisfy, but I could see me ordering four or five tacos next visit.
You’ve persuaded me, Mr. Carrasco. I am definitely a fan of Taco Circus. Come support your local taco hut. They’ve got something special going on in Bevo Mill!