Yakko Takko — Restaurant in Ottawa

It pains me to do this as I've only ever given positive reviews (you can check my profile), but I've recently experienced horrible service by multiple businesses, and I feel like I need to let the people know.

For Yakko Takko, this review isn't about the food as I never had the chance to try it, it's about the service.

If you're bored, story is below.

The tl;dr is that I don't know how the food tastes. It may be good, but you have to be willing to wait at least an hour and 25 minutes, and have friends and complainers served ahead of you.

Story:

Went to grab dinner, food smelled amazing, chef was alone and jamming to Barry White, the place was a vibe. I ordered, and was told it would be 45 minutes, no problem.

45 minutes go by, multiple people order and get served, I check on my order and am told another 30 minutes. I walk to grab some wine for dinner, no problem.

I get back, guy who ordered before me gets his food, I'm pumped to be next.

Then, a group that ordered after me get their food before me. They spoke Spanish to the guy, maybe they're friends or family. I can understand that, no problem.

Then, another guy that ordered after me goes to ask about his order, complains a bit, and gets told his will be made now. Okay, maybe a bit of a problem.

I ask about my order, get told another 20 minutes (after waiting an hour and 15 minutes). Not okay. I ask the chef why two people who ordered after me are getting served before me, and get met with a deer in headlights.

He says he is busy and asks if I want to cancel. I say I'd rather get the food, and I can appreciate him being busy. I had no problem waiting, it's prioritizing orders at random that's the issue.

I have a 30 minute drive home and an early morning, so I tell him let's cancel and ask for my money back, along with the tip I had preemptively given.

He tries to blame the guy who was complaining (gave the guy a side eye to kinda insinuate that I can see what he's dealing with), tries to offer me a drink, which nice gesture, but kinda pointless.

As I'm walking away, he says he can have it ready in 10 minutes. It's been way to long at this point, and unfortunately, I no longer wanted to support the business. Also, some ownership would have been nice.

So, maybe the food is good, but be ready to wait over an hour and have friends and complainers served...

Steak and shrimp tacos for $7 each. I did not think much about the size but thinking back after reading some reviews they are kind of small for the price. One of the mexican restaurants I used to go to before they closed had 3 tacos and sides for just a few dollars more and I was stuffed with that meal. I think most would need 3 to 4 taco which would make it $20-24/28 to be full but I had a very nice mennonite ham and brie de meaux on bagel so only wanted 2 to try them out.

Shrimp was good but steak taco had small bites of steak with a lot of gristle in it, first bite was good but as I ate more of it, I got gristle in each bite of meat. While I do eat gristle, it did prevent me from enjoying that steak taco and I would have preferred to have less meat but gristle free or same amount of meat and more care to keep it gristle free. If I go back again, I would skip the steak taco and do one of the pulled meat or pork one I think

Tables outside in a parking lot with lamps. Had to ask for extra napkins since only 1 came with 2 tacos and they fall out, especially when it is already dark lol. The person, likely the owner was on the phone and had to wave to get his attention.

I would definitely not wait if there is a significant line and for the price of a likely meal rather than a snack, I know a lot of restaurants with good patio I can eat at for a similar price point vs looking at a parking lot with an apartment building behind us.

Larger sized dog is friendly initially but a tad more aggressive after smelling the leftover ham and brie de meaux I had with me. He/it attempted to go after the bag once or twice and I had to lift the bag high. So I sat down where his leash would not allow him to reach from my...

These are the best tacos in town, and this is not a bias statement. I've tried almost every taco place in the city and no one can beat Yakko Takko's traditional flavours. Portions are huge, tacos are loaded up with meat. The only issue is the wait time can be long, ranging from 20 minutes to 45 minutes. Sometimes I call ahead to place my order. He might not pick up when he's slammed with customers but you can always just go for a walk in the hintonburg/wellington area.

Recommendations: Pastor Tacos Cochinita Taco Shrimp Taco Chicken Taco Chorizo Chicken Quesadilla

You have an option of Spiciness from level 1 to 10. I personally like 4, where there is a kick but you can still taste the food. Beware of levels 7 and higher. I can generally handle my spice but 7 was so spicy, it was hard to enjoy the taste...