Taco Jane’s

Some of the best mole sauce, salsa and most importantly tacos that you’ll find in the Bay Area

Love love love this place! Amazing margaritas, friendly service and the best mole sauce and salsa ever! We drive over from Berkeley every few months to get our taco Jane fix.

Recommended by my sister-​in-​law, we stopped in here (with the much needed aid of our GPS) for a quick lunch. It was a true find. Off the beaten path, tucked at the edge of a residential area and walkable to other San Anselmo shops, it’s cozy and full of well developed character. We happened to meet the owner at our late lunch and it was so nice to hear the story of the restaurant and how it is named after the owners mother. I had the chicken enchiladas (gluten free) and they were tasty, rich in flavor, smothered in yummy cheese and accompanied by a flavorful delicate rice along with black beans. I could not resist adding the black tomato salsa that was placed on the table with chips prior to our meal, and it made just the right oomph to the already delicious dish. My young kids liked the plain chicken tacos so much that they ordered seconds! We even stopped back on our way out of town to get a gift certificate for our hosts because we just want to share this fantastic find with as many people as we can… and if you live local, you can buy the black tomato salsa and take it home with you!

Great food and great service! Always a pleasure to see Jose, Milton and the rest of the Taco Jane staff!

Great food, drinks, and service. Very kid friendly. I always enjoy their red snapper burrito.

I ordered to go and asked for a couple bottles of coke to be included. The food was terrible, the black beans had no seasoning and the chicken tamale had very chicken; the cheese enchilada was cheesy but had little sauce, so it lasted bland. The salad had absolutely no dressing. And, my fault for not looking, they left the bottles of coke out. When I called about this and said I could come by and get them as I live nearby, they said they would just take them off my card. That never happened. All in all, the worst Mexican food I have ever had.

Here is a place that takes full advantage of its ideal location and beautiful set up to serve you absolute garbage.
The food has zero flavor. My tacos tasted like cat food. My husband’s nachos were solidified by the time they got to our table. I hoped it was just our table, but everywhere I looked I saw seasonless, poorly cooked foods.
We thought the alcohol might help, but the drinks were very plain. All in all, I could have cooked a far better meal at home.
I absolutely would never ever ever recommend this place to anyone, ever. I gave it 2 stars for the location, but that’s it. Just don’t do this to yourself.

The two best Mexican spots in San anselmo are mi pueblo and taco janes. Taco janes is a little nicer environment and I tend to take visitors here whenever they stay the night. I love the snapper burrito. Their burrito sauce is really unique. You can tell they make it there. It’s tomato-​y like a marinara, but lighter. My description is not doing it justice.
I bought a margarita here once and it felt a little light for the price, but now I just stick to beer their beer/​tequila shot combo. That does the trick for me.

This is a 3 star joint that could be a 5 star jem. There is so much potential here that is not being tapped into. The location is great, right off the San Anselmo Ave, the atmosphere is great sitting on that outdoor patio on a warm summer afternoon takes you to Cancun or any other small Mexican beach town, the service was good, but what drags the rating down is the food. With a name like Taco Jane’s i was expecting a little more. As another reviewer wrote before me whats missing in the food is creativity/​authenticity and in a very comptitive Mexican food market creativity will help you stand out. Speaking frankly, i can get better tacos at Taqueria La Familia just up the street, but they dont have the space that Taco Jane’s has.
Right away we got their chips and black salsa the chips were warm and crunchy and the black salsa was «unique», it had bits of tomato and onion in it and was pretty good. We decided to order the griddled sweet plantains with sour cream as an appatizer, I went Tacos Conchita Pilbil, my wife got the Pinapple Shrimp Fajita, and we got the basic cheese quesadillas for the kids.
A funny side note tho, on the kids menu, they offer a Bean, Rice, and Cheese burrito with more rice and beans on the side, is that not a little redundant? Why not pair that burrito up with some grilled veggies on the side to make it healthy for the kids or a half of the corn on the cob? Something to break up the rice and beans… Anyways, i digress.
So my two tacos came with a salad but that salad had very little dressing and some bland little mandarin slices (from a can perhaps), and some rice and black beans. The tacos themselves had plenty of slow cooked pork and were topped with red onions, kinda plain. I am not sure how fresh the corn tortillas were tho, they seemed tough and very soggy, just uninspired. They have fish, grilled chicken, shrimp, steak, and veggie tacos as well but I would have liked to see some Al Pastor or Carnitas on there as well, those are taco staples, also i really wished my tacos were topped with cilantro and fresh salsa, maybe a little Cotija cheese on top. My wife’s fajita was not bad, the shrimp were a good size and the pineapple sauce they were in was pretty good as well. It came with the basic lettuce/​tomato mix some guacamole and sour cream, overall she seemed to enjoy it. The only problem there was the very bland «Chipotle» sauce that came with the fajita, it tased more like mayo and had no heat at all. I was however impressed with the homemade hot sauce. It came in a no label bottle and may not be the shot of spice some people are looking for but it was just scpicy enough for me and did add some flavor. The kids quesadillas were basic, nothing to write home about.
I think we liked the atmosphere here more then the actual foodj so we may come back to try a few other items i just really hope they make a few adjustments to really take a advantage of a good situation because like i said before, Taco Janes has the potential to be a 5 star jem.

Stopped in for a quick taco. They brought me water and chips with homemade salsa they make from
Scratch by blackening tomatoes in house. Yum!
The fish taco was awesome! Tasty, fresh and served on a blue soft gluten free tortilla. Perfect snack.

After four visits… the missing ingredient is creativity and/​or authenticity.
A very generous three-​star rating for a restaurant with so much potential. The third star is for the friendly service, location and cozy outdoor area. Food alone gets to 2 * * stars, not more.
Dear Jane, consider these to improve the food:
— Reduce portion size and with cost reduced, add labor to improve execution of the dishes. Portions are big, but not tasty
— There is no room for canned mandarin oranges in the standard salad that accompanies most of the dishes. It is superfluous, tasteless, and not compatible with your dressing.
— Drop the jack cheese on the fish tacos. Fish and cheese are a tough combo, and the jack just destroys the freshness of a grilled fish taco. Either smaller tortillas, or a single one will suffice. The whole dish is like a burrito with all the tortilla. Increase the corn salsa and seasoning (not salt)
— Pan roast/​toast the corn tortillas for the tacos. They are soggy and gooey now. This adds 60 – 90 seconds of prep time.
— Since the kids’ burrito comes with rice and beans, there is no reason to pile on more rice and beans on the side. Some roast veggies would complete the meal. If not, drop the redundant components.
— The fresca cheese on the salmon tacos is more palatable, but again, it is just not befitting. What could be light, fresh creative taco ends up tasting like piles of lettuce and cheese on the salmon. An onion and cilantro salsa or a few shreds of spicy, pickled red cabbage might make the dish more tasty.
— Your no-​brand hot sauce is not hot. If it is home made, change the recipe. If not, get a different one
— The black bean salsa is just not very fresh tasting. Considering all the food you waste with excessive ingredients and portion sizes, you could actually, instead produce a better salsa.
— Queso fresco, instead of being on the salmon, could fit well on the guacamole (just a teaspoonful)
— The mole chicken enchilada is too sweet
— Go to Grilly’s and order a few tacos for inspiration. Or to Marinitas.
If I am going to drive or ride to S. Anselmo, which is among the best foodie spots in Marin, this spot won’t be on my mind. There are just too many better alternatives.
I hope to read about changes and a new approach, which would bring me back.

Really disappointing! Wow!!! Stay away from the tortilla soup… it’s like a bad can of Campbell’s!
Ugggghhhhh…nice patio and nice server but the food is horrific!
Muy malo!:((((

Randomly found this restaurant after checking out downtown San Anselmo and was pleasantly surprised. One of the only restaurants with outdoor seating that we saw.
Service was great. They bring out chips and salsa upon seating. We never ran out of either, and they always refilled our glasses without having to ask for it.
The menu is Mexican inspired but actually filled with flavorful dishes you don’t find often. The chicken mole burrito was really large and very tasty. Chicken, bell peppers, onions, on top of rice and beans smothered in a rich chocolate mole sauce. Yum.

Super cute with lots of colorful food (black salsa, purple tortillas), Taco Jane’s is a quality spot to grab a mexican dish at reasonable prices.
I came in on an early Saturday night for a meal with my parents while visiting and we were greeted promptly and seated inside quickly (it was a little chilly, otherwise the outside seating is lovely). They don’t take reservations for small parties, go early on weekends. Bright, vibrant décor matches the food very well.
The meal always starts with fresh, crispy chips and the aforementioned black salsa. It is quite mild, so they must use a very mild chile to blacken and make it. I had a taco/​tamale plate that was filling with some rice and black beans on the side. The fun blue corn tortillas on the taco was a highlight. The tamale was filled with very nicely shredded chicken and a tasty, rich mole sauce. My dad had a shrimp or prawn burrito and my mom enjoyed her meal of enchiladas.
A wonderful evening out awaits you with delicious and unique food to fill you up right over at Taco Jane’s.

What a funky restaurant! I love the ambience but the food was so one note. We started with the ceviche which was thrown onto a plate — not only did the presentation look like a 3 year old plated it but also the acidity was a bit strong on the palate. Don’t get me wrong — I LOVE lime but it was a little over powering.
The next disaster was the chicken fajitas. Why do we order fajitas? (Well. why do I order them) Because we want that sizzling plate of chicken, onions, and peppers to come out with the side of warm tortillas and all the fixing… But no… There was no sizzle, not one peep was heard. Because these «Fajitas» were plated by the same 3 year old — heaping lukewarm on the same red plate with the rice, beans, etc by its side. Staring back at me– as to say– Yes! I am Child Proof!
Never Again. I want my food to be visually stimulating, taste to be on point, and I want my Chicken to SiZzle.

Good tasty food with some nice variety in the menu. Fast service even though fairly busy during our visit. Parking bad. Mixture of indoor and outdoor seating. Very informal, for me that is ideal. Will return.

I wanted to like this place. I’ve intended to go for many years and finally made it yesterday. I was so disappointed. I ordered a combo plate of chicken relleno and shrimp taco. Well do you know how when you eat a juicy hamburger the sauces all run together and drip? The shrimp taco tasted like a hamburger wo the meat. All I could taste was a mayonnaise and ketchup blend that over saturated everything The taco was extremely soggy thousand island mess. No spice. No heat. Zero flavor except for the overwhelming sense of mayo n ketchup. Even the salsa was bland. I have no idea why this place is so well liked save the patio. The relleno had no cheese. Not an herb or spice n sight.

Mi Nueva Amiga — Se Llama es ‘Pica Spicy’!!
My New Friend — Her name is ‘Pica Spicy’!!
A much needed night away from the stresses of life on a random Tuesday night this last week led my friends and I here. Their website says «everyday is like a vacation» — I would have to agree that the atmosphere fits that description exactly.
I had warned said friends that I didn’t think this place had a full bar upon my last «vacation» here. No worries — we have all loved the food and service here over the years — so it didn’t matter. Plus I wanted to get to this place in advance of the «#HellaStorm» in case they flooded and wouldn’t be operating for a while. (I’m pretty sure that happened a while back at one point).
Well, what do you know? They DID have a full bar! Could I have been wrong for once? No — this was relatively new — the server said they added it about 6 months ago. Amazing! We ALL ordered a round of drinks and everyone agreed that mine was the best.
Pica Spicy.
Everyone saw my eyes when I had the first sip. I knew I didn’t go wrong. Infused habanero tequlia, jalapeño, organic agave nectar, lime juice and a chili salted rim. Duh, love at first description. And sight. And then — at taste. And then — they tasted it. And then — TOTAL jealousy. Oh, man — what a perfect night — I love it when they get jealous!
The parking situation is not perfect. You can’t park in the spaces directly in front — you pretty much have to parallel on either side of the street alongside Taco Janes. Really, though? Not a big deal.
Parking «whiners» please just stop it. Let’s not act like we are in San Francisco. Pica Spicy and a Tuesday Night One Hour Vacation are totally worth a 30 second walk.

The good part is the food is amazing. The seating is cool. The place is really fun.
The prices are a little high for Mexican food and the parking blows.
Try the fish tacos and you will love them.
I would go back again.

I guess I should tell my husband I’m leaving him, because it seems as if I have found a new love in Taco Jane’s. Seriously, if I could run away into the sunset with this place I would.
Coming in on a Saturday night I was greeted by a wonderfully friendly server without any wait. Even though they have a great outdoor patio (my one requirement when choosing a place to eat BTW) I opted to sit at the intimate bar inside. I was given excellent service and was able to watch as Miguel (the owner?) was personable and welcoming to each customer that came in. He even recognized a woman who came in to order for take out and asked her about her children!
Taco Jane’s has been open about 6 years and now serves mixed drinks along with their selection of beer on tap, wine and sangria. They even have their own garden where many herbs are grown to use in their drinks. The Basil Paloma used newly picked basil and fresh squeezed grapefruit. It was truly an amazing drink. I also saw another drink go out with entire stem of rosemary in it.
I was given chips before I ordered accompanied by authentic Zanahorias en escambeche, pickled carrots and peppers, as well as a hearty black bean dip. The Mateo Cake I ordered was perfectly sweet like mama’s corn bread and the mole it came bedded on was just the right amount of spicy. I also had the Mole Tamale, even though I don’t normally like mole, it was so good I actually got food on my phone somehow.
Overall the staff was helpful, the drinks amazing and food was both great in taste and generous in portion. Plus my bill came in at under $ 25, Yay!