Taco Riendo 3

I love this place. Their tacos are authentic. Trey the tomatillo salsa! It is more mild than the roja.

I went here last weekend before going to see a movie at the theatre across the street. I had heard people talk about this place a lot, and I am really glad I chose to check it out! The food was amazing, and is truly what Mexican food should be about! I got the carne asada platter which is steak, refried beans, rice, and lettuce with avocado. I also got to beef tacos as well. It was extremely fresh, and piping hot when they brought it out. I really loved how they gave me tortillas with my meal so I could make mini sandwiches from my meal. It included fresh lime that I could squeeze over my meat, as well as this gigantic jalapeño that I used to eat with my tacos. They don’t put cheese on your tacos so make sure you ask for it if you desire. Also, the tables in the corner were dirty, as that area wasn’t clean enough, but that was from afar plus I sat at a clean area. Overall, I liked this place a lot and will definitely be back, everything was delicious!

Most authentic tacos in Winston-​Salem.

I think it is possible that when I went on a Sunday night, towards the end of the shift the meat just wasn’t as fresh. Ordered 4 tacos (dos al pastor y dos de lengua). The flavor components were there, but since the meat was a little dry it didn’t quite do it for me. Great service, reasonable prices. I would consider coming again, but earlier in the day.

Tacos don’t get much better than this. Flavorful meats. Excellent homemade sauce. Good size. Burritos are also top notch. Particular kudos for the carnitas which are grilled crispy the way they are supposed to be. Yes it’s a gas station but I eat takeout so the lack of ambience does not bother me. If one seeks a nice sit down dinner, this is not your place.

Great tasting authentic Mexican food. The atmosphere is gas station chic and makes you feel like you’re someplace real! Oh, and the prices are fantastic!

Tables were all messy upon entering, with visible salsa and splatters. Food was okay at best, very bland.

We love to stop by for tasty tacos, I love the fresh real food, quesadillas are good too… I want to try the torta’s next.

Wow. Just wow. I was speechless after eating here. I had no idea how tacos were supposed to taste like until today. This place definitely lives up to all the hype. The flavors melt in your mouth and no words can describe how good this place is. This is by far the best Mexican restaurant I’ve ever eaten at hands down, better than any acclaimed Mexican place in town or East of the Mississippi River. I had to gather my thoughts after eating here because I had no idea food could taste this good.

This place wasn’t too hard to find and I felt that it was authentic. I had the tacos which consisted of carnitas, pastor, lengua, and asada. I would probably get all of them again except for the asada, the meat was just too tough. I love the salsa that they give you with the tacos and it also came with cilantro and onions. Overall, it was a good lunch spot and it was cheap.

Went last night – a solid 4 star. It will never win on décor or apparent cleanliness (92 Health score) but the flavor is fantastic!

This little dive restaurant is located next to a gas station which can make it hard to miss. Don’t! The al pastor and steak tacos are seasoned to perfection! I love the cilantro, onions and radishes that they top the tacos off with too. The quesidilla is huge and comes with a side salad and beans. One of the better mexican restaurants in the area. No they don’t really speak English but a smile goes a long way. Speedy service as well.

Love their tacos and the homemade sauce. Maybe this place not fancy as American Mexican restaurant, but they have real authentic Mexican street food and taste soooo good. Can’t wait for next visit.

I had been informed by a few friends of mine from work that Taco Riendo 3 (or «Taco on the Go» as they call it) was definitely a place to try. I was told not to be scared away by the fact that it is attached to a gas station. I decided to stop in for a quick to-​go order tonight on my way home from work.
There was no one inside when I got there except for a female employee behind the counter. She was friendly and greeted me with a smile. I was told by my friends that not everyone at Taco Riendo speaks English. The young lady asked what I would like and I decided to order an Asada Gordita (roasted beef). It was only a little over $ 3 and I decided not to order a ton of food since I was skeptical of what I would receive. I ordered it to-​go and my order was ready in about 3 – 4 minutes. That’s pretty impressive. Behind the counter looked clean and overall, the inside seemed to just be the basics, but there was nothing «scary» about it at all.
I made my hour long commute home and then ate my gordita… even a whole hour later it was very good. The corn tortilla was obviously handmade and tasted very fresh. There was a thin layer of beans, lots of beef, some lettuce, tomato, onion, and some chojita style cheese. All of the ingredients were of good quality and the beef and tortilla were the stars of this ensemble. The beef had a little bit of fat, which added a lot of flavor.
The food was great, and I will be back again. I will make sure not to judge a book by it’s cover in the future.

Might be the best authentic mexican place in Winston. Kinda said to say but it is. It’s connected to a gas station if you have trouble finding it. Authentic burritos tacos you name it. Place does it right.

The asada burrito is my go to. The beef is crispy but not burnt, which I like and the rice is tasty. For how much it costs compared to how big it is, I feel like it’s a pretty good deal. I’ve been getting the asada burrito almost weekly for a couple months now and it is always consistently good.
The staff can be a little cold but I ultimately don’t really care about that. I’m just there to have a delicious burrito and support a local business. As long as they keep cranking out good food I’m gonna keep coming here regardless if they don’t engage in superficial conversation.
I don’t know about Taco Riendo 1 or 2, but the 3^rd one is really the charm.

The food at Taco Riendo 3 is good, but it doesn’t nearly live up to all of the hype. I have passed by this place just about every morning for the last two years and was always curious about it. I had stopped a couple of times, but been dissuaded from entering because the place was empty or nearly empty every time. I finally decided to venture in after reading through some Unilocal Reviews.
Taco Riendo 3 is attached to a Citgo off of Reynolda. Many people would be hesitant to eat at a gas station, but from my experience this does not automatically count a place out.
Let me set the scene: As we walked in the establishment, we could hear people yelling in spanish back in the kitchen. There was no one in the front that even noticed us walk in and only two other patrons sitting at a table with their food. The small TV in the corner was blaring some news. Someone came out to take our order and she was friendly enough. Although it was clearly our first time there, not a lot was offered in the form of assistance.
I ordered the Chicken Burrito and my girlfriend ordered the chicken tacos. Obviously we didn’t venture out too far. We ordered water and watched as they turned on a kitchen sink to fill up our cups. As we were waiting on our food, the same person who had taken our order began to mop the floor right by us, which seemed odd since it was still about 2 hours until closing time. The odor of the chemicals were overwhelming and really took away from any atmosphere that had previously existed.
We got our food very quickly and also let me add that it was very reasonably priced. My burrito was around $ 6 and they also offer a 10% student discount for Wake students. The presentation was lacking, but that could be expected. My burrito came out on a paper plate. It wasn’t a humongous burrito but it was a pretty good size.
The burrito itself was average. The chicken was kind of bland and there wasn’t much else going on. I will say that the salsa that they provided to go on their food is very good. Both the green and red; I preferred the smokiness of the red, but they both had good flavor. The corn tortillas that the tacos were made with were delicious and you could tell that they were made in house.
I wouldn’t go out of my way to visit Taco Riendo 3, but it is a solid mexican meal for cheap. The atmosphere is lacking and the staff are not welcoming. This is one of the rare times that Unilocal has led me astray. The most redeeming qualities are the corn tortillas and the salsa. Other than that it is very forgettable.

Ok– so you’ve decided to venture into a restaurant attached to a gas station. You’re probably not expecting much, and perhaps this somehow makes the Mexican food seem more gritty/​authentic/​special? But I’m a vegetarian and there’s almost nothing here to eat. Yes, it’s affordable and «authentic” — they barely speak english, and corn tortillas, etc, but if you’re a vegetarian, go somewhere else. Also, the water tastes like chemicals. I don’t know if it’s just this part of town, but it was worse than the tap water I’ve had anywhere else in town, and I’m sure that their rice is made with the same water.
Yikes! Sorry Taco Riendo 3 but there’s other options for corn tortilla tacos in Winston.

Good stuff, but my first visit didn’t produce results worthy of all the hype.
After many recommendations and dozens of times driving by, I finally took the plunge and ordered some food.
An order of tacos, was good but somewhat lacking. The carne asada and al pastor were good and flavorful, but SINGLE tortillas? In my life, all the best taquerias use DOBLE. I always thought that a true street taco had two tortillas.
Single tortillas notwithstanding, our tacos were lacking the usual cilantro & onions one would expect. Instead, a few slices of radishes represented the only garnish on these puppies. [Could this be a circumstance of getting a «to-​go» order?]
On the bright side, the red and green salsas were both good and had kick.
The pollo burrito was decent, a little small, but also priced under $ 6 so we didn’t complain. But certainly not a monster slab by any stretch.
Finally, the quesadilla was pretty basic and boring. Serves me right for ordering a quesadilla in the first place. My bad.
For all the raves I’ve heard about Riendo, it just didn’t live up to the hype. I’ll eat here again, but for the money, Luciano’s taco truck still takes the trophy for best taco in the Dash…
3.5 stars

Taco Riendo #3 has been a lifesaver for a taqueria food addict like me. When I came to Winston-​Salem to study at Wake Forest, I was eating Mexican food five times a week at home in California. I assumed that would end (probably to the benefit of my health). However, the discovery of this awesome hole in the wall gave me the tacos, burritos, and tortas that I so desperately need. I’ve graduated now, but I will always regard this hidden gem as my favorite place in Winston. I cannot count how many times I’ve been here and how many of my friends I’ve introduced to this place.
The people are friendly. They even instituted a student discount solely for my friends and I (just show your student ID). The food is authentic all the way down to the pineapple in their al pastor. I’m going to miss Taco Riendo #3 as it will forever be linked with my college experience. Hasta luego!
Last thing, just go there. Yes, it’s inside a CITGO gas station. All good taquerias are dives.