Taco Del Mar

They really skimp on the beans and meat, and just give you a ton of rice.
The dude working there was rude– bad customer service.

TDM is comfort food to me. I usually get a mondo burrito, If I ask for less rice, they give me less rice. I love the way they wrap them up — «peel as you eat». On all of my visits, this branch is clean — floor, counters, tables, and chairs arranged properly. Just waiting/​inviting customers… This restaurant is split-​level or two-​story, with some seating on both levels.

Eh. Cheaper than Chipotle, but definitely not as good of a value. The burritos are pretty thin. They barely put any guac on my burrito, and it felt pretty paltry– I was still kinda hungry after I finished it. Its location on the Ave is pretty convenient, though, everyone was friendly, and they made my burrito pretty quickly. I probably wouldn’t go again, though– I’ll stick to my Chipotle.

I’m usually a huge fan of Taco del Mar and I always order the same thing: Veggie Mondo Burrito. So I was really surprised when I visited this location for the first time and the thing I always order came with half the stuff on it, but for the same price. It tasted different too, like there was some weird spice in it. I realize these are franchises, but it’s still a chain and this location is not consistent. I definitely wouldn’t visit this one again.

I love taco del mar, especially this location. The service and the food are excellent every time. These guys are always fast efficient friendly helpful. They will even remember what you like in your burrito after you’ve come in a few times. The ingredients are always fresh. Store is super clean. But the service is what makes this store my favorite location.

I came to this place, thinking that it was a nice little place that epitomized the Ave… I was a bit sad when I discovered this was a chain, but oh well. This place is fairly solid.
Best time to come is during the weekend; they have a special deal that’ll get you a moderately sized and fairly tasty burrito for about 4 bucks, which is a pretty nice deal if you need to sate your hunger for a little bit.

Cheap, they don’t always ask what you want (don’t want) on items, and just slap it all on there before you can stop them…
Uncooked rice this time…
Unhappy
But cheap slop.
Sometimes very awesome.
Sometimes not.

I had a chicken taco salad. I thought how could I go wrong. It was tasteless, even with the salsa, guac, and sour cream. I wanted to give Taco del mar a try. Sorry to say this was my first and last time.

You get good value for your money, especially with their weekend specials. The staff guys have always been friendly. The food is decent for what it is.
I will say that I don’t enjoy the flavor of their burritos as much as those from Chipotle a block away, but Chipotle costs more and their burritos are smaller.

I would hate to go to the University of Washington if my food choices were this limited — and this was one of the places that I had to go.
The Mexican here was bland, overly large and just terribly boring. Hot sauce can make a meal better, but there seemed to be one bottle of hot sauce for many people.

Had a fish burrito here today. For a fast-​food, Mission-​style burrito, Taco Del Mar blows Qdoba and Chipotle out of the water. Their burritos are cheap, delicious, and actually fairly easy to consume, compared to their competitors. I’ll definitely be back!

Taco Del Mar is about what I expected it to be. The food is average but cheap, so there’s nothing to complain about. It is a simple fast food restaurant. The service is right, the food is right, and the price works. I’m going back if I’m ever in the mood for a taco or large burrito.

Well, it’s not the best, but it sure is cheap.
I pretty much always get the same thing here: spinach tortillas mondo burrito with chicken, rice, lettuce, a sprinkling of cheese, and tomatillo salsa. Besides the chicken not being great I actually kind of like it, though I like Qdoba better. But Taco Del Mar is definitely the cheapest for the quantity of food you get. I do like the ground beef better, I think they’re ground beef is pretty good, but it’s also a sh! t ton of grease, and My tummy can’t handle that all the time.
If you have the Pirq ap, they have a lot of deals through Taco del mar. That can help make the cheapness into the über-​cheapness, which is a real good reason to go there.

TDM isn’t the best place for Mexican food… at the most, it’s decent, and second to Chipotle. They have some pretty unique aspects about their menu — different flavored tortillas (wish I could’ve tried the red or green tortillas), shredded instead of chopped chicken, platters… but they just don’t have that unforgettable taste! But don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t taste bad… also, I wish they wouldn’t charge so much for extra sour cream and guacamole. The extra amount they put on in combination with the amount you get for free is a lot less than what you’d get at other places… for the same price or maybe even cheaper.):

*** Summary ***
1. Decent food, but not quite up to par with Chipotle.
2. Very quick service and usually a very short line.
3. Slightly cheaper than Chipotle, but really only worth it if you’re in a rush or happen to have a coupon (check the Student Survival Kit from the UW Bookstore or try Pirq on your phone).
*** Atmosphere ***
An eclectic mix of decorations on the walls, generally sticking with the sea theme implied by their name and logo. A mix of seating options, ranging from a one-​person table to booths that could probably seat eight or so. They were playing Star 101.5 on my most recent visit. While they seem to encourage sustainability through their signage, I couldn’t for the life of me find a compost receptacle and
*** Food ***
Mondo Burrito
— Large and filling, I chose a flour tortilla with chicken, refried beans, rice, pico de gallo, medium salsa, cheese, and added sour cream and guacamole. Very decent food, but nothing amazing and a slight notch below Chipotle — it just doesn’t taste as fresh to me.
Chips and Salsa (Combo Side)
— Rather disappointing. Instead of the usual ‘fresh’ chips one would expect at a Mexican restaurant (Chipotle included), these tasted like what you’d get out of a bag at the grocery store, if maybe a bit saltier. The salsa (actually pico de gallo) was fine, but probably about half the amount that was needed for the quantity of chips they provide.
*** Speed ***
Very quick and I’ve never had to wait more than a couple of minutes for the customers in front of me (amazing for those who are used to the line at the Chipotle on The Ave).
*** Why I Ate Here ***
I’ve been nursing a bit of a Chipotle habit for a while and wanted to try something different for my way-​too-​big burrito fix. About a month ago I downloaded the Pirq App on my phone and with an offer of a 40% discount, I decided to give it a try. Since then I’ve been back three or four times, using either a 40% or 50% discount each time. If it weren’t for the Pirq discount, however, I’d rather pay the slightly higher full price at Chipotle as the bump in taste/​quality is worth it.

Take note, entrepreneurs. If you want to run a business on the Ave, this is how you do it correctly. Wait a minute, five stars for a fast food restaurant? Yes, well I’m rating it on its own scale of restaurants that doesn’t try to impress or do anything fancy. Instead, this is the kind of restaurant that will serve you a ton of good food at a very low price. Perfect for college students, although pretty much anyone will have something they can enjoy from this Taco Del Mar. For this reason, I find it puzzling that this place is always so quiet. The tables are mostly empty and there isn’t much of a wait or line. Everybody’s probably over at Chipotle and not giving this store a chance, but if they’re ignoring Taco Del Mar forever, then they’re really missing out.
The service here is outstanding for a fast food restaurant. I always see the same two guys behind the counter at lunchtime on weekends, and I’ve been a customer for years, so they recognize my face. Even though business doesn’t look like it’s doing so hot, they’re always very fast and efficient with making the burritos. It’s obvious that they’re experienced and it’s fun to watch them neatly and cleanly fold the burritos up with astounding speed. If you come here often enough and get the same thing every time, they’ll remember your order, which you can’t help but appreciate. I guess it’s not surprising when you consider that their number of customers per day probably doesn’t even number into the triple digits. One other great thing is how the staff here will actually wear gloves while making the burritos, and throw them away and get new ones for each order. Some attention to quality and basic sanitation is always nice, but especially at a fast food restaurant.
They used to have mondo burritos here for five dollars, but they increased the price by fifty cents a while ago. Bummer. It’s what I get every time here, and basically it starts with a tortilla of your choice for the burrito (flour, wheat, tomato, spinach). They come out of plastic bags and get steamed for a few seconds to make them soft. You also get rice, beans of your choice, and a meat of your choice in there. Then you can add cheese, tomatoes, and hot sauce (mild, medium, hot). Guacamole and sour cream are also available, but they come at an extra cost. All this delicious stuff gets wrapped up as a burrito in aluminum foil for you. Only flaw is that their hot sauce tastes like mild sauce. Seriously, their burritos are not spicy at all!
However, the burritos are otherwise great and quite filling, so that’s a LOT of food for six dollars. It gets even cheaper – with their punch cards, you can get five dollars off the next burrito after ten of them. It’s basically free at that point. I’m honestly not sure how they haven’t gone out of business yet, so I always make that money go toward their tip. I have a feeling Chipotle is going to make these guys go bankrupt pretty soon, so I’d suggest going to get what they have to offer before they’re gone.

Taco Del Mar is my favorite of the fast food Mexican places because I love the fish burrito! Just not the calories hence why I no longer order the mondo. The shrimp is not so solid. I also like that they have different tortilla flavors to choose from and they have double punch Mondays.
I have been to many locations but back when, this was my favorite to-​go lunch spot in the Ave between classes and work!

I love getting vegan burritos from TDM.
Sadly, this is the worst TDM location that I’ve ever been to. The employees seem to be pretty nice and all that, but the food just isn’t as tasty here and the burritos tend to be smaller and disappointing.
Meh. I wish they put more effort into making it good. Just because they’re on the Ave doesn’t mean that they should slack…

I come here once a week or so because it’s cheaper and closer to my work than Chipotle. It’s not BAD Mexican food, and I like that the mondito burritos are not incredibly gigantic, that you can get various flavored tortillas, and that they have punch cards. I don’t like that their corn tortillas are kind of meal-​y and their fish is battered and fried, which means their fish tacos are not as exciting as advertised. Service is fast and usually friendly.
I should probably just spend the extra time and few bucks to walk up to Chipotle, but the double punch Mondays and ease of access keep drawing me in. Overall not my favorite U-​District lunch destination, but I’m still a regular.

$ 3.99 Mondo Burrito? Sounds like a deal to me.
The staff were less interested in their jobs than I’d like, but it’s a nice change from Chipotle and the price can’t be beat.