Taco Bar

The Surf and Turf burrito is amazing! Strongly recommend it! Service is fast and salsas are good, can’t go wrong ordering anything here.

Tacos are delicious! I especially loved the Al Pastor. I knocked down a star because if it isn’t Taco Tuesday, the street tacos aren’t really worth the full price. The quality of the meat however is very good. The décor is very different for a taco shop and looks like a fun place to eat.

This place is a must, if I lived here I would be a regular.
I highly recommend the Calamari tacos, simply amazing!
Good location, very friendly and knowledgeable staff.
One big taco ran me $ 5 and it was worth every penny. The free bean soup sample was very good too

Amazing tasty tacos.

I’ve finally had a chance to come here! I know people that just love this place so I was excited to try it. I showed up around 11:30am on a Friday with my boyfriend; wow it was packed! The line was almost out the door, there was no seats left. I ordered 3 rolled tacos and 1 pastor taco my boyfriend got the California burrito and a pastor taco as well. After we ordered, we got our drink from the machine, I hated it I first got lemonade but it only filled my drink half way then said it was empty. So I poured it out and got something else, there was a line forming already behind me as well.
We got our food about 15 minutes later, a little bit of a wait but it’s understandable since there was so many people. It’s hard to walk in this place without bumping into someone, while I was waiting for my food someone that just got salsa dropped it all over the floor and on my shoes, no one came to clean it up either.
Okay so I had to try the pastor taco since it seems to be really popular here, and I can see why! It was delicious! The tortilla was amazing as well, I wish I ordered more of them. The rolled tacos were disappointing 2 of them were really soggy no crunch at all, and the other one was extremely crunchy, yum. My boyfriend didn’t like his burrito, he said the fries inside were very soggy, the cheese wasn’t melted, and overall it just had an odd taste to it.
I’d love to come back here and try more of the street tacos! Although I definitely won’t be coming during lunch time again. unless I want to take it to go.

My go-​to place when I need a quick bite between appointments. The extensive Taco menu keeps bringing me back to try more items. Love the Gobernador. The salsa bar is fresh with a nice variety. Spicy carrots! YUM! It has more of a gourmet twist here which I appreciate. Highly recommend!

Very good burritos, fresh made tortillas, great place. A large choice of burritos and tacos and all that Mexican food can offer. Reasonable prices. Burritos are very big.

Coming from Texas your taste buds, relating to tacos, are very different. I have lived in San Diego for 5 years now and I have been trying to find a good taco place. My search never came close to my beloved Texas tacos. This time though, I was not looking for a place. My family and I were in the area, we saw the place and said, «lets just try it!» Best decision ever!
First of all when you walk into a place and you see a lady pressing the fresh masa and putting the tortillas on the hot flat grill, you know you are being steered into something that could be awesome. We order the street tacos (carnitas, al pastor, and carne asada) and the grilled shrimp tacos, and we were hooked. We came back the next day! These are the best tacos we’ve had here in San Diego. I really recommend this place!

This place is delicious, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for authentic Mexican food. We’ve been coming here for almost 2 years now, have tried almost everything on their menu, and can say we’ve never been disappointed.
It gets very busy during peak periods, and you’ll likely have to wait about 10 – 15 minutes for a table, but it’s well worth the wait.

My husband and I love this place. We used to live in the area, so taco Tuesday was always a must. Now we live in Temecula and we make the trip at least twice a month.
Taco bar has the most authentic food!
The salsa bar is always clean and the sauces are always fresh. The fresh made tortillas are also delicious. Service is super friendly. Even when the restaurant is busy food comes out in good time.
Taco Bar has the best Pastor in all of San Diego!

I’m going to keep this simple. This places wins in every category: Taste, Quantity, Creativity and Price. I eat A LOT of tacos, and this place is the winner-​winner-​chicken-​dinner. Those of you who follow me reviews, aka no one, may note that a few years ago I named the best fish taco I’ve had (at Kotija Jr in Encinitas) and said I’d keep you updated if I found better… This place takes the cake, or rather taco, because of the HOME/​HAND MADE TORTILLAS. YUM.

I found this place on Unilocal and I’m so glad I came in!
We for the California and Surf & Turf burritos plus two tacos de pastor. The burritos were very good and flavorful, plus they were a decent size. The tacos were ok. I was expecting more flavor from the meat, but those hand made tortillas are killer!!! I would go back just for the tortillas!
We had a sample of bean soup and it was delicious. The salsa bar was awesome! They had everything you would need, including cucumbers! I can’t tell you how much my two toddlers love cucumbers and being able to give them a few while the food was ready was a life saver!
Also a big plus, it’s next door to Nekter! My oldest doesn’t really like meat and my youngest has a dairy allergy so it was really nice to be able to go next door and get them a healthy, safe drink.

I am LOVING this place. Okay, I’ve only been twice because it’s in San Marcos and I’m in Escondido and lazy, but the two times I’ve been there, I was impressed. I’ve had carne asada tacos, carnitas tacos, and quesadillas. ALL delicious. The husband has had some tacos and taquitos. They cook the food right in front of you and they have a HUGE menu of options. The staff is friendly and clearly, I’m not the only one who likes this place because each time I’ve been there the place has been packed. They have a salsa bar that includes marinated carrots and cucumbers and they also have that Coke multi-​drink machine, so you have lots of drink options.
Overall, I totally recommend this place. LOVE IT! Will be back!

I love coming here on Taco Tuesday. Whenever I catch myself craving for Tacos el Gordo I can always count on this place to suffice my craving since it’s so far. LOVE the al pastor tacos, I can probably eat 10 of them if I want!!! I love how it comes with a little slice of pineapple on top, it really enhances the flavor of the taco. They’re also very fast with taking your order out, I’ve came during the rush before and they’re still really fast. I have yet to try the rest of the menu!

Taco Bar was the 2^nd stop on my self inspired, with help from Unilocal,San Marcos Taco Tour.
Their ratings are super high, and for good reason! They seriously have the BEST tortillas in town! So light, so fluffy, so deliciously tender, they probably have zero calories (inserting a wishful thinking emoji here)! Their Cabeza street tacos are the BOMB!
So this Taco Bar is located in a shopping mall, conveniently close to the freeway. Their menu is seriously huge. I like the fact that they do a bold and innovative range of tacos and burritos with varied fillings that you wouldn’t normally find at your regular Mexican place. Where else can you get a Smoked Tuna, Spicy Octopus, and Azteca (beef & cactus) taco all on the same menu?!
Service is awesome too. The couple of times I called in my take-​out order it was ready when I drove up and the counter people were super friendly! If you want to dine in, you need to know that this place gets slammed on the weekends and there’s only a limited number of tables. If you’re sitting down, you’ll have lots of people standing around your table waiting to place or pick up their order. Add to that, since it’s located in a shopping mall, this Taco Bar location can have limited parking, especially during the holidays or on a Sunday, with all the spots in the lot filled.
What’s to improve? The Chipotle Sauce that they seem to put on everything is pretty spicy so if you don’t like it hot, you may want to ask them to leave it out or to use tartar sauce instead. They even put the Chipotle Sauce on their Calamari Burrito which gives it a kick, but also leaves it rather dry. Perhaps a creamy type of sauce would be better? Also, the last time we were here, we ordered the Asada fries and, while the meat was great, the fries came out soggy and were a dark caramelized brown color which meant that the oil they were using was a little old. And, as some of the other Unilocalers have mentioned, sometimes when this place is super busy, the meat and seafood gets a little overcooked or dry.
All in all, I LOVE the HUGE menu at this Taco Bar and it’s definitely on my list of go-​to Mexican places in the area.

Meh!
Food was ok. I ordered 6 street tacos but I received them in batches, not all at once.
Service, was again Meh.
Seating was also Meh.
So, if you like Meh, this is the place for you.

In my never ending search for good eats in the San Marcos/​North County area, mycoworker took me Taco Bar to grab a few tacos for lunch.
First thing that caught my eye when we walked in? The huge trompo with the gigantic al pastor spinning beautifully around. YES PLEASE!
Their menu is endless but I settled on an Al Pastor Taco and Crispy Hard Shell Potato Taco. While we were waiting for our order, I piled up at the salsa bar (now that is a MUST) and grabbed a bunch of pickled veggies and grilled onions.
The Al Pastor was very flavorful and moist but a bit too sweet for my liking. I know it’s supposed to be sweet but I found it sweeter than most. Could be an off day. But that Potato Taco is what dreams are made of! Wonderfully spiced potatoes with cheese and salsa fresca.
Now if they could just open one up across from my office…
Definitely recommend!

Street tacos — aka the best food ever — are made from corn tortillas, meat, chopped onion and cilantro heated on a flat top grill.
Salsa, Pico de Gallo, guac, or perhaps a dairy topping can be added. Fresh and simple. Nothing more, nothing less.
Unlike the French, we only have a few rules about food: {you know,} No ketchup on Chicago Dogs if you’re over 18. Fogeddaboudit. New England Lobster Rolls can’t contain celery, etc.
The aforementioned street taco rules are likewise inviolable. Tacos cannot contain «meatballs, cheese and tomato sauce». That is a pizza. And what’s this about a Waffle Taco? Major party foul. No thank you.
The best U.S. interpretation of the street taco vendors of Mexico are: food trucks (L.A. taco trucks started the revolution); and taco bars.
This Taco Bar serves real street tacos — abiding by the aforementioned rules. They are worth the drive from wherever you are. One taco will set you back a few crumpled dollars. Even less on Tuesday. After a single bite you will realize that its true value is far, far greater.
The tortillas are hand-​made right in front of you. The food is prepared in plain sight, like a street taco should. There is an excellent salsa bar. The smoky chipotle, verde, and habanero salsas are terrific and deeply satisfying.
For those who are either paralyzed by choice or inspired by it – you can get your «standards» — such as: grilled chicken, carne asada, chorizo, or carnitas. Alternatively, get all «fancy» with lengua, tripa, birria, pastor, or cabeza.
You will likely inhale the whole taco on the spot. And then you will pull out a few more crumpled dollars and get right back in line to try another.
#FearThePizzaTaco
#StayCaliente
#ChooseTacos
#ForTheBeerMunchies

Great staff! Amazing customer service! I enjoyed this place every much! Best decision on my fiancés part!!! :)))
I will be back!

Was craving street tacos today and it just happened to be Tuesday. I sought help in my plight via Unilocal Talk and didn’t quite get the help that I needed. So I just searched «Taco Tuesday» in the search bar above and came up with a variety of options including Taco Bar. I’ve passed by and wanted to visit previously. This was my chance!
As I pulled up, I could see the place was crowded. Limited table space on a busy night for a small establishment, but they seemed to manage. It looked like most guests were pretty quick in and out. I managed to make my way to the cashier to order. There was a sign up front with the «Taco Tuesday» options. Quite a variety tonight including Pastor, Pollo, Carnitas, Birria, Veggie, Potato and Steak Ranchera. Each just $ 1.25! Load me up! I ordered 2 of the Pastor, Birria and Steak Ranchera. I thought 6 might just fill me up.
The Steak Ranchera was chopped beef sauteed with tomato sauce and onions. Not too bad, but lacking in excitement. The Birria had shredded beef topped with cilantro and onions. The meat was a bit dry my taste, so I added some salsa to help it down. Not bad flavor though. Lastly the Pastor. This was the most exciting looking of the three variations that I ordered, because it was topped with guacamole, onions and cilantro and some pineapple chunks. Very colorful with some pretty decent flavors.
After downing the six tacos, I was still hungry. Looked up at the menu to see what else I should sample. I ordered sides of rice and beans along with a pollo and a carnitas tacos. That should do the trick. When looking at the menu, I thought it said rice and beans. However, after closer inspection it was «or». Oh well. The more the merrier.
So the second order came out and was somewhat similar to the first. The meats were a bit dry and over cooked. But nice flavors and colors to the plate. The carnitas came with shredded pork, diced onions and cilantro while the chicken was diced in pretty good sized chunks topped with onions, cilantro and guacamole. The rice was also lacking in flavor but the beans were ok.
As mentioned in a previous review, the tortillas for Tuesday’s specials are store bought while the ones for their regular menu items were handmade when ordered. It looked as if the meats for the taco specials were prepared and set up in hot pots on the line for quick production once ordered. I guess it works out for timing, but the meat suffers in the end.
Overall a pretty good experience at Taco Bar. Tuesdays are very popular as evidenced by the standing room only at times. The line at the counter was pretty consistent while I was there as the «Taco Tuesday» special runs until 10 PM. They typically offer samples of their bean soup, but ran out earlier in the evening. Staff were friendly and helpful throughout the night.
Keep on Unilocal’n!