Bartaco Hyde Park

Update– We were going to come here again and we noticed they took cauliflower off the menu (replaced with turnips I think it was). It was delicious and the reviews on here show the patrons love it (even meat eaters). Bring back the cauliflower!
We just got takeout and loved it. We have just returned from a trip to Tulum Mexico and we thought some of the flavors reminded us of our favorite Tulum taqueria.
I’m vegetarian and ordered two tacos– falafel and cauliflower as well as the street corn. Yum! The cauliflower had an amazing grill flavor & tasty sauce. The falafel had a strong mint flavor. It was good but not as good as the cauliflower. The street corn was very tasty. (My boyfriend loved it as well).
My boyfriend ordered four tacos– he said he liked all four.
Pork el pastor. His least favorite. It didn’t taste as good as the el pastor tacos he just made (& he’s still not sold on pineapple with his pork)
Baja fish– good. he just tried it in Tulum and this tasted comparable, the mayo sauce was similar. His favorite.
Steak– Asian, funky, he liked it
Chicken– really enjoyed
We also ordered a small guacamole with (tortilla) chips. Very good. The best guac I’ve had in the states in a long time. It’s usually very bland and/​or pureed. This was chunky with cilantro pieces and a kick to it. Very similar to how I make guacamole (& mine kicks butt, if I do say so myself).
All of that for $ 25. Granted we didn’t order drinks but that’s a good price. We go to Taco Bus, which isn’t nearly as good, & pay $ 28 for two meals and two drinks.
We already plan on returning and eating in. During this visit we plan on partaking of their Mexican beers and tequila and/​or mezcal.

Went for dinner on a Friday night. The space is super cute, a little fancier than I expected. Beautiful décor, good lighting, nice bar. We were seated right away, sweet hostess, and our waitress came over immediately. Our drinks were filled quickly all night, our food was quick, staff seems happy… overall A+ for service. And clean bathrooms.
One weird thing: they played four (i counted) Sting songs, along with Genesis and some other randomness REALLY REALLY LOUDLY. Like, I joke yelled at the waitress loudly. Odd.
Bonus points for Kate Moss artwork. The location is in Old Hyde Park… the cutest.
Minus points for serving 7 tacos for three people on one Barbiesized metal tray.
I had a small guacamole (fresh, tasty, but small), fried oyster taco, and pork bahn mi (i think that’s the right name) taco. My lack of stars is for the value — for $ 6 and $ 7 tacos they are really tiny. The oyster had three baby oysters and a white tasty (?) sauce drizzle — I pay about $ 1/​oyster most places, and the tiny tortilla and sauce were not a $ 4 improvement. The pork, like everything else, seemed like really good quality, and was cooked perfectly and served hot. The beer I was ordering (Hop Nosh IPA) was $ 7 per can, which again, is about $ 2 more than other places in Tampa (DATZ it’s $ 5 per Bottle, not can)…the place is good, it just leaves you feeling gouged. Which is never a pleasant aftertaste. Go when you want to spend $ 100 on really good tapas for three people with drinks.

Love Love this place. I had a few tacos which were all excellent. The fried oyster one was my favorite. I also tried the grilled corn in a bowl and it was amazing. I would love to take all my friends here. A must try for anyone in the area!

Another great meal here. The spicy grilled corn is addictive! I do miss the cauliflower tacos but it’s apparently root veggie season. The nuts give a great flavor.
Please don’t tone down the heat… the level of spiciness is perfect. The tamales still «need something.» Pork pastor and oyster tacos are my new favorites.
Devin is a great server!

Three words: Pork. Belly. Taco.
Well, thanks to Unilocal,I once again filled another food craving as a result of the ROTD. I wanted tacos, and the ROTD was there to direct me to the right place.
I came into Bartaco on a Friday night. Retrospectively, I feel like this was probably a mistake since the place was so busy. Every table was packed, which I find honestly really surprising for the Hyde Park Village area.
Anyway, because of this, and because I was dressed like I was going to a college beginning English class (sweats and a hoodie), I opted for takeout. I ordered three tacos: the chorizo, the pork belly, and the pork pastor. I also ordered a side of salsa since I usually go pretty HAM in the salsa game.
Takeout was relatively quick. I was in and out within 15 minutes. Tacos were $ 2.50 each, with the pork belly being slightly more expensive.
Now, onto the tacos. These tacos are very no frills. The chorizo taco was seasoned to perfection, its flavor and spiciness amplified by the copious amounts of hot sauce I put on the taco (after taking a bite of the taco without hot sauce, mind you).
The pork pastor taco was just okay. I thought it was a little dry and it paled in comparison to the other tacos I ordered.
Now, onto the most important part of my taco order: the pork belly taco. My only complaint with this taco was that there was not more pork belly. I could have eaten it all night. It was a little crispy and seasoned and it was just really delicious. The crispy pork belly variety has always been a type of pork belly near and dear to my heart, so this one didn’t disappoint.
The chips and salsa that came with my order were alright. Their salsa is a green salsa, and it tastes pretty fresh. The chips were terrible though. Not good.
Service was friendly and fast. I would love to come back and sit down with some friends if I was ever in the area again! I would give my experience 4.5 stars, but for the sake of Unilocal (and because of the pork belly taco), I am rounding up.

I’ve had this place bookmarked for awhile so we decided to give it a shot. We came here for lunch and immediately fell in love with all of the natural light and décor. My husband told me he felt like we were eating in pottery barn which was true and not a bad thing at all.
We ordered the small size of guacamole. It was delicious! I wish we ordered the bigger size. If you love guacamole and there are 2 of you, I recommend getting the bigger size.
The menu was cute and neat. I like how you can order the tacos, reminded me of ordering sushi. I ordered them in lettuce instead of tortilla shells which was a great option. My husband and I did not like how we did not know what else was going on our taco. For instance like cheese, sour cream, lettuce, etc. I ordered the falafel, curry shrimp, and the chicken. They were okay, maybe it would have been better in the tortilla shells. My husband said his were okay. Our waitress took forever on bringing us water but other than that the service was good.
I was really expecting delicious food but to us it was mediocre for the price. I think I would give this place one more try for dinner ordering the rice bowls of salads next time.

I’ve been to far taco a few times and still have yet to write a Unilocal review… so here we go!
First off, Bartaco is in Hyde Park. There are a lot of reviews that are complaining about the price of the food, but realistically, you’re eating in Hyde Park. Nothing is going to be that cheap. The atmosphere in Bartaco is very hip and modern. It goes diverge from the typical high-​scale Hyde Park restaurant.
In regards to the drinks, I would HIGHLY recommend getting the margs here. Not too strong, but also strong enough to give you that kick before you dive into the copious amounts of tacos in front you. The actual tacos are delicious, my favorite being the oyster. Warning though, when they tell you the tacos are a one to two bite taco… they literally mean it. I ordered three tacos and ordered another round of three because I wasn’t remotely full. However, this means you have the opportunity to try different tacos! Mix and match!
If you’re looking for a place to get a small bite or drinks, Bartaco is your place.

Food: the food is great, the prices not so much. My friend and I shared a small order of guacamole. Their guac is delicious. I ordered the baja fish, shrimp banh mi, duck, and ribeye tacos. All were very good but you end up paying $ 3.50 each for a very very small taco. We each ordered two drinks: sashito, mojito, and then two hot spiked ciders. Each were around $ 8 – 9 and honestly I don’t think there was very much alcohol in each drink. But they were good ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Atmosphere: open restaurant. I think it’s an open kitchen? Not sure. We were seated on the other side of the kitchen. Everything is nautical themed. Open doors to the outside and big windows so it doesn’t really feel like you’re sitting inside but you are. Lots of small tables really close to one another, which I kind of don’t like if you don’t like hearing other people’s conversations and vice versa.
Wait staff: very nice and attentive. There’s a card that you put up to signal your waiter/​waitress if you need something. Pretty neat.
³⁄₅ stars only because I wish the tacos were bigger, or the prices cheaper. And for the drinks to be stronger, or the prices cheaper.

Tried a few picks off the taco Tuesday menu. They included the elote, ceviche and tomatillo salsa; All were winners. We also had several taco and the ones that made it to my plate that I liked included the falafel, oyster and fish tacos. Everything is definitely tapas style, so be prepared to order quite a bit if you’re hungry.

Cool, trendy taco bar. The servers are friendly and when it is not crowded food comes out quickly. Portions are small and so I would order at least two of each taco. My favorites were the Baja Fish, Mahi Mahi Fish which are different. The pork tamales were fresh and light also a favorite. Wine list is good, beer list is limited unless you like your beer in cans. The craft cocktails are original. Fun place to hang out at the bar.

Bartaco is awesome, and a very refreshing change for the Hyde Park area of South Tampa. Bartaco of Hyde Park Village (actually to be correct, it’s spelled ‘bartaco’ — all lower case) is a chain restaurant based out of Connecticut, though it feels as if it was designed and built specifically for the Hyde Park Village area.
You’ll find bartaco on Snow Street, near the Hyde Park Village parking garage, and surrounded by such well-​known places as Piquant, Cinebistro, Irish 31, and Timpano’s Italian Chophouse.
The menu is an eclectic collection of Southwest-​inspired soft tacos, tamales, quesadillas, and various sides, paired with craft cervezas and terrific mixed drinks. The idea being that you can grab a table with your friends (or sit at the big bar in the center of the room), order up some frosty cold Adult beverages, and then enjoy some very delicious and reasonably priced eats.
This last visit, my friend and I ducked inside on a Saturday afternoon and ordered a couple of Mexican cervezas while studying the menu. We decided that between the two of us we’d try chips & salsa, and the grilled corn appetizer, and then fill up on the inexpensive soft tacos. The chips were made fresh and served as fried tortilla rounds, so we just snapped off a wedge and tried their various hot sauces and salsa. The grilled corn appetizer is a must — phenomenal flavors, and a great appetizer to share.
The soft tacos are much more than the usual ground meat and shredded chicken. No, these were some exotic fillings like fried oysters, curried shrimp, duck, cauliflower, mahi mahi, wild boar, pork belly, spicy chorizo, and more. The prices of these soft tacos were about $ 3.50 each, and you can easily try 4 or 5 different ones for your meal.
The food was fantastic, the drinks were great, and the crowd was very lively. What a superb place to enjoy the afternoon and fill up on some very tasty tacos and other Southwestern fare.
bartaco is a five-​star winner for me!

Cute spot for happy hour or mid afternoon snack, but I would definitely not recommend for an actual meal. The servers tell you each taco is 2 – 3 bites, so depending on your appetite you could easily need half a dozen to fill you up. At $ 3 and $ 4 a piece, I’d say skip it.
The guacamole appetizer was great, although extremely spicy. I don’t know if we just got a batch that had a few extra jalapeños but it was really hot. For $ 9 it was a good portion.
Thumbs up for the dog friendly patio :)

This is a place I had been wanting to try so when one of my friends suggested we meet there for a charity meeting, I was happy. We got there before happy hour was over so several drinks were half price. I ordered the Granada. It was very tasty. For the main event, I tried three tacos. Cauliflower, curry shrimp and duck. I cannot resist duck dishes and it was the best taco of the three. The cauliflower one was great too and the curry shrimp was good. I love curry and actually was expecting this to be my second favorite of the three but the cauliflower one was way better. I wish I had ordered the pork belly one too because a) the tacos are small and I was still hungry and b) I love pork belly too. I regretted ordering the shrimp one over the pork belly.
My friend ordered some guac, which was fresh but I like it with a little more lime and a little more jalapeño in it so I added some of their jalapeño hot sauce to mine and that made it better. I am sure people who don’t eat as much spice as I do love it. Another friend loved their guac. I did not try any of the sides on this visit as we were having a meeting and I needed space to have my notepad.
I would say this is more of a good choice for happy hour or if you are not super hungry or for dinner. Maybe if you were going to a movie and wanted to hit Bar Taco before or after the movie for a snack, it would be a good choice. Also, another nice thing is they have inside and outside seating so when the weather is not too hot it is nice to sit outside (we did.)

Run don’t walk, skip, dilly dally RUN to eat here!
Drinks… Perfection juices not syrups and crap!!! Talk about how alcohol should taste!!!
Food… OMG IS FRICKEN AMAZING
Service… Polite fast friendly winning
Atmosphere… Open space airy just perfect

I was finally able to make it in to Bar Taco to and update my review from attempting to eat there within their first weeks of opening. My beginning was off to another bumpy start at just before noon on a Sat… I tried to sit on the patio but only the «tiny stool area» was open and it was teeming with «tiny children» so I opted to sit at a booth inside. While I was waiting for my friends to arrive & looking over the menu something happened behind me and I had a tray fall on my head from the server station. I handed the tray back and thought it best to switch sides of the table…
I had read fellow Unilocaler (& my good friend) Anna M’s ravings Bar Taco reviews so I just had to order a Watermelon margarita. My server asked if I wanted salt or sugar on the rim. I’m so glad she asked because salt would have made the drink undrinkable for me. The only thing that saved me from sending it back sugar on the rim. Please see my pic compared to Anna’s. It was watered down & had no garnish.
My server recommended the guacamole/​chips & the duck taco. I also ordered the corn (de-​cobbed), the Mahi Mahi taco, and the spicy chorizo taco. The guac and corn were some of the best foods I’ve eaten. Both had a bit of a kick and just the right seasoning. My Mahi Mahi taco was mild and delicious. The duck & chorizo did well with some of the green jalapeño sauce that was on the table. Otherwise they were tasty but a little dry. On the whole it was an OK experience and I will give them another try when Anna M drags me back. However, in the future I will know to be more specific with my seating arrangement and drink order & definitely get the guac & corn again. I was delightfully full at the end of the meal (Just a side-​note. The food prices are very reasonable but the drink prices are fairly high. My drink at $ 9.50 was the most expensive item on my bill.)

A fun enhancement to the Hyde Park area. Of course this restaurant is not «authentic» Mexican nor does it pretend to be. The idea of Bar Taco is to grab a drink and munch on decent American/​Mexican cuisine.
I usually order the small tray ($ 26.00 includes chips and guacamole) to share. This option allows patrons to try multiple items for a fixed price vs. going ala carte. Tacos range in price from 2.5 to 3.5 dollars per a taco and I can easily eat 5 before I am full. My favorite taco is the Portobello taco because the queso fresco is awesome. The chicken taco is also great. I am happy to have Bar Taco in Hyde Park.

Why 5 stars? Because I was very pleasantly surprised.
— — —
I’ll be honest — I pre-​judged Bartaco.
I expected a place with a feel that was much more like the businesses on South Howard: crowded, loud, and over-​priced.
Bartaco was none of that, and I apologize for the pre-​conceived notions. As for what it actually was — let’s start from the top…
The décor/​atmosphere? Freaking awesome. It somehow feels like a place you’d take a date, but also casual and beachy. As we waited for our food, I loved just looking around at the work of the artist who designed it. Bravo. Even all of the servers wearing navy and white plaid with converse’s was pretty neat. But eventually it was time to stop décor-​gazing and actually eat.
Chips and Salsa: Instead of traditional, bite-​size chips, you’re given giant tortilla chips, the size of taco shells. It’s then your responsibility to break said chips a part into something more manageable. It was kind of interesting, and definitely something different. The salsa was green, and pretty light — not too spicy for a couple of wusses.
The tacos:
Baja Fish — 4.5÷5 — All-​around solid.
Portobello — 4.5÷5 — Shockingly good. I would never order this, but the fiancé tried it, and it was quite the delicious bite. Tasted almost like the real thing (meat!)
Curry Shrimp — 4.5÷5 — Tastes legitimately like green curry from a Thai restaurant, on top of a shrimp taco!
Pork Belly — ⁴⁄₅ — I have personally begun phasing out pork belly from my life, but this was the fiancé’s taco. It definitely wasn’t bad!
Ribeye — ⁵⁄₅ — Perfection. Everything you would want in a taco.
Corn — ⁴⁄₅ — The cheese was a little funky, but this was definitely a nice way to eat corn with a little different flare than the norm.
I will definitely be back for more. Bartaco really impressed me.

Located in the picturesque Hyde Park area, Bartaco is an affordable option for a light and quick lunch. Although the prices can add up, their $ 2.5/$ 3.5 tacos is reasonable if you want to try a little bit of everything. The mango orange soda comes in a bottle and is delicious. The guac was okay. It needed more flavor and was more like avocado cream. It’s served with tortilla chips.
I tried the pork belly bowl which came with delicious assorted peppers and brown rice. It was probably the best brown rice I’ve ever had. The portion of the pork belly was very little and it was hidden underneath all the peppers. As for the tacos, I tried the duck, pork pastor, fried oysters, and spicy chorizo. The duck was extremely dry and the spicy chorizo was underwhelming. I was a fan of the fried oysters and and the pork pastor would’ve liked to just get a bowl of those two. The pork pastor marinade reminded me of Filipino bbq marinade. The tacos didn’t come with many toppings and were overall underwhelming.

You had me at taco. I love tacos! The idea behind Bartaco is genius, but the delivery fell on the mediocre section of the scale.
$$$
I ordered nine tacos: Oyster, wild boar, mahi, sesame ribeye, duck, spicy chorizo, baja fish, curry shrimp, and pork belly. My favorite was the oyster, it was really good. Coming in at a close second was the duck. Most others were okay, with the chorizo and baja fish being not so good. I didn’t know chorizo could be made bland. I also tried the mahi mahi ceviche, and guac. The guacamole seemed to be just chopped up avocados, missing common ingredients.
I want to talk just a moment on our seating arrangement. The only option available, because the place was so busy, was one of the outside tables. I nearly gave a two star rating for the seating alone, it was tremendously uncomfortable. On the one side, there is a decent cushioned bench, but the table is at the height to give torturous shin scrapes all night long. On the other side is a footrest they call a chair. I was about to just sit on the ground. It reminds me of «the kiddie table» set up family reunions. It’s the most asinine setup I’ve ever experienced in a restaurant. I was told this was copied from their Atlanta location. I’m not in the best health, but after sitting there for an hour plus, I could barely walk. My advice, wait for a normal table rather than sitting outside. Those tables are open for a reason.
They have a good selection of tacos on the menu, but being sized slightly larger than a wedge of lime, they are grossly overpriced. The fried oyster taco was phenomenal, but at that price everything should have been as good. Our server was remarkable, the décor was modern, and the atmosphere was casual and fun.
In summary, it’s a great place to pay entrée prices for appetizer portions. I wouldn’t recommend this place for dinner, but drinks before and/​or after sound fun. If you’re under four feet tall, outside seating is perfect.

4 stars for atmosphere and concept, 3.5 for the food.
We arrived for a date night without the Munchkin, and we were excited upon entering. The atmosphere is sort of Cape Cod-​ish: white washed walls, beach pics, navy Blues.
Our server described how it works: basically tapas style and gave some suggestions on what to order.
We started with the guacamole which was great. Lots and lots of chunks of avocado. We then got the Mexican street corn and that too was great. I ordered a side salad and really like it. It had a citrus vinaigrette so it was nice and fresh. We ordered a few tacos and the winner being the duck. The rest were good but not great. We finished with a rice bowl with boar and meh-​not worth the $ 8.
Would I go back? Yes but I thought it was a little steep for what we got.