Arturo’s Puffy Taco

I have been enjoying this place for over 30 years! Love the people & that it’s family. I just moved back to the area & found that the food is better than ever! Gloria, my lovely lady… you all still rock!

The thing to get here is the ground beef puffy taco. It’s gringo (Americanized) tacos. It’s Tex-​Mex. It’s Tito’s Tacos and Taco Bell on steroids! You don’t come here expecting authentic Mexican food.
The origin of this taco is San Antonio, Texas. I’ve been to San Antonio and tasted a puffy taco there and these taste so much better.
I loved the puffy shell and the fillings that remind me of my youth when I ate Taco Bell supreme tacos more often than I do now.
I was told that the burritos and tostada are also really popular.
We left saying that we would drive out to Whittier just for this puffy magic taco of our dreams.

This place is aight. I think it’s one of those places where you gotta be comin here since you were a little ass kid to like. I got a asada puffy taco and a bean and beef burrito. The taco was better than the burrito. Taco was aight. I straight up almost choked to death on the meat. That’s my own problem though. The burrito was some slop. I wasn’t really feelin the meat in it. My friend said his food was aight too. You know when the foods just aight. Like it ain’t really a destination for you but if you around the corner you might show up. You wasn’t disgusted but you wasn’t delicious’d. Knowwhatimsayin?

Ive been here lots of times to get my puffy taco fix. But over the last year or so i’ve liked it less and less. Food used to be delicious! Now Food is flavorless and tacos are a greasy mess. Service used to be great! Now its meh at its best. What happened to you puffy taco?

This was our first time here. Several friends kept telling us how great it was. Ok so were in the area so we stopped in. The puffy carne asada tacos were so good! The meat was tender and it’s so nice to see them cooking our taco shells when we ordered. The red salsa isn’t very hot at all but the green is. The gentleman behind the counter was so nice and helpful because I wasn’t exactly sure about the puffy taco shell. We loved our lunch and will definitely be back again soon.

OVER RATED!
Visited this place for the first time tonight and was sadly disappointed.
I was going to this place with an open mind even after seeing pictures on Unilocal.
My mind was set — fake mexican food and that is what I found.
Or maybe Tex-​Mex not sure, but it was not good.
We got the 2 taco plates with carne Asada — over cooked! Rice was horrible.
Over priced but then again maybe it’s over priced because I didn’t enjoy the food.
I ordered a quesadilla the cheese wasn’t melted but my son didn’t seem to mind.?!
But hey he is 1.
The service was horrible– the guy who took my order looked like he was annoyed and didn’t want to tell me what comes on the taco but he did anyways because that’s his job, the girl who called my number out was unfriendly and was irritated because I asked for salsa.
If you don’t like people don’t work in food services.
Oh and I ordered two medium drinks and got two small drinks.
Overall not the place for me
If your looking for BOMB crunchy tacos try PePes!

There are very few things in life that I can eat that make me happier than eating Puffy Taco. Of course it’s not fancy or clean. But that is part of its appeal. I have been eating here since the 80’s moved away and look forward to eating here whenever I am back. I normally get the ground beef (Piccadillo) or carnitas. I feel that the asada gets a little dry.
The whole idea if you don’t know is a taco made by frying the masa (dough) instead of a tortilla. A tortilla is pan cooked masa and a puffy taco they put the raw dough in the fryer. It puffs up and you get a light crispy she. These got it start in Texas and this is the only place out in LA area
You should also try the taquito dog and regular taquito a with guacamole. It’s funny, because the taquito a are not high quality nor is the guacamole, but it is a tasty add on. The Mexican rice is very well season and well cooked.
Please come out and support this little family restaurant.

Had these chicken and asada puffy tacos yesterday. Wow !!! So good !!! I am definitely telling everyone about this place. Yes, a little pricey but I’m ok with it. The food is well worth it.
Very friendly service.

Service is great, food delicious!
This place hasn’t changed a bit in 20 years! Food is priced nicely, especially for the portions.

Puffy Tacos.
Decent tacos. The shell is really greasy and heavy. Asada tasted somewhat lacking in flavor and I really didn’t find this place to be a 4 or 5 star taco.
Its quick and convenient, service was friendly as well. I might give it a go one more time just to be sure.

Good old sloppy greasy Mexican food with a twist. Instead of the standard soft shell or hard shell tacos theirs are deep fried and puffed up, hence the name «Puffy Taco.» We also ordered enchiladas which were perfect! The sauce was a little whitewashed, but that’s the way I like it. Totally reminded me of another place I would frequent, so much so that I came back a few days later for more enchiladas. I am definitely addicted to this place!

The tacos are great and overall the food is good. But the younger guy working the window is RUDE RUDE RUDE. This is the second time I’ve come here and he has a little snappy pissy attitude. If you don’t like your job then QUIT.
This place has good food but you’ll leave there with a bad taste in your mouth from the horrible customer service.

I had to come back and bring my partner and have another taste of these puffy tacos. I needed his stamp of approval that I wasn’t crazy about how delicious they were the first time I had them. And so we both agreed that the tacos were amazingly delicious.
By default, their picadillo won me over and it’s the best one you can get!
The flavors are there, the crunch is fresh.
We will for sure recommend this place to ALL our friends and family.

For some reason, my puffy chicken tacos were not as awesome as I remember. The shell wasnt as light/​puffy/​flakey (just thick and hard) and the inside was a bit more soggy from the extra chicken juice the cook forgot to drain off. Guessing a different cook was on duty.
They were still ok but now I question if they are worth the trip. And dont us started on the chicken enchiladas… hahaha

first of all, I love puffy tacos!!!
I went for a super late lunch on a Saturday (3pm to be exact… it was not crowded)
we ordered the taco combo plates
bf got ground beef and I got carne asada
food was cooked fresh and super yummy
service was quick and friendly since we were the only dine-​in customers
there were still a line for people to pickup/​takeout outside
the carne asada is very tasty but I have to say the ground beef is the best choice for puffy tacos
I usually always prefer carne asada over ground beef… however, the way they seasoned the ground beef is just so good with the freshly fried taco shell!!!
if it’s gonna be your first time to try the puffy tacos… go with the ground beef!!!

The puffy taco was just ok for me. I wouldn’t make my way to come try it again. It tasted like a sope but not as doughy and had way too much lettuce. Hardly any meat but once I got a taste of it, it was seasoned well. The salsa had a nice kick to it too. A little on the pricey for the size in my opinion also.

Seriously can’t go wrong with puffy tacos I brought my hubby for the first time & he was in such denial that they’d be so good. Well he is now a puffy taco fan! 3 tacos and 1 quesadilla later! He even thanked the cashier lol.
If you’re ever in Whittier or even in ontario take the drive it’s well worth it!

I probably would’ve never tried this place if it wasn’t for fellow Unilocaler Andrew K. He invited me and few other Unilocalers to check this place out. I initially didn’t even want to go because I’m not too big on Mexican food, especially when it’s not even authentic. This is more like Tex-​Mex or Americanized style but thought I’d give it a shot since it was featured on Food Network while back and has a very long history. To my surprise I actually liked it. The puffy tacos weren’t as greasy or too crunchy like I expected. From the pictures I thought the shells would be too crunchy, to the point it would hurt my teeth to eat them. They weren’t like that at all. They were lightly crispy and kind of soft at the same time. It’s like there’s a puff of air between the layers to make them almost flaky. Only draw back is you have to eat these right away or they get very soggy and the shells just fall apart.
I wasn’t sure how filling these would be so I just ordered two. Most people will probably need about three of these to get full. I got the carne asada and carne guizada (per Andrew’s recommendation). The meat on both of these were flavorful but I liked the guizada better. It had better flavor and texture. It’s kind of like the meat you find in a beef stew. It was very flavorful, juicy, and tender.
There are few tables and chairs inside but you cannot order from inside. All orders are taken from the outside window. It’s cash only.

I guess this is what Taco Bell was trying to copy with their gross chalupa. Imitation is the highest form of flattery.
The classic ground beef puffy taco is pretty much a one of a kind american-​mexican 1950’s creation.
And one worth going out of your way for.

Puffy tacos are basically crispy shell tacos but the shell is freshly fried to the point where it gets puffy. They’re alrighttt. They are also very fragile and you can expect to eat taco droppings with a fork.
I guess they are popular in Tex-​Mex cuisine but I prefer more authentic Mexican tacos without lettuce, tomato and shredded cheese. But I can see the appeal of these too. Maybe a notch above Taco Bell. The hot sauce was nothing special.

alright food, SUCKS they dont take ATM!!!