Miso Taco — Restaurant in Vancouver

There are plenty of overblown and overpriced restaurants in Vancouver, and I'm happy to say, Miso Taco is not one of those restaurants! From the moment we stepped inside, the staff were warm and welcoming, getting us water as soon as we sat down and taking our drink order.

This Sunday, they had mimosas on special, which were perfect, and we also tried the featured beverage, the Chalo 43, which I believe was created by our bartender/server, Hunter (who was exemplary). I love cocktails, and this was easily one of the best I've had in recent memory, so be sure to talk to your server to see what the specials are because you might be pleasantly surprised!

For food, the portions were big and delicious. Actually, the dishes were a lot bigger than I expected (believe the warning on the menu), which was great, as now I have tasty leftovers to enjoy.

We ordered the kimchi nacho fries for a starter and also got the chashu carnitas tacos and birria-dilla for mains. All three dishes were exceptional. The kimchi nacho fries were piled high with all the fixings, and the kimchi gave them a great tangy kick.

I love carnitas tacos, and I'm pretty picky when it comes to that particular dish, and these tacos were amazing. I wouldn't say they're traditional carnitas (obviously, this is a fusion restaurant), but Miso Taco's twist was insanely delicious. I wasn't sure how the pineapple relish would go with this, but it was the perfect flavor to cap this dish off with. Would order again in a heartbeat.

The birria-dilla is probably the best thing I've had while eating out in recent memory. Packed with cheese, meat, onions, and cilantro, this dish was large and perfect. I've had lots of birria tacos in my life, and I love Miso Taco's take here. The consommé is kind of reduced, so it's a little thicker than I'm used to, but it was fantastic and perfectly paired with the quesadilla. Be sure to complement your dish with a side of ramen (which is served dry, and can be dipped in the consommé).

Combined with their fresh salsa options (6 to choose from, we had the green avocado, macho chili oil, and Diego's salsa), these dishes were perfect. Wish we had room for dessert, but with drinks and these dishes, we were absolutely beyond full. They also had a fun brunch menu that had some tasty dishes, so I'd love to come back and try some of those options in the future.

Seriously, do yourself a favor and check out Miso Taco. Easily one of the tastiest options in Chinatown, and with great service, and a fun atmosphere, I can't imagine not having a great time at...

I want to start off saying: The food here is good, we genuinely enjoyed every taco option we tried. A decent blend of Asian and Mexican flavours. The service was acceptable, but nothing beyond the basics: a quick check-in after the food arrived and the occasional water refill.

Unfortunately, the experience took a turn when it came time to settle the bill. The happy hour menu itself is underwhelming. You can mix and match tacos for $6 + tax, which is essentially the same price as individual tacos during regular hours– the only difference is that you can’t mix and match outside of happy hour. A few taco sets are a dollar or two cheaper, but after tax, the savings are minimal.

The bigger issue was the confusing pricing around the happy hour taco sets that come with an option to add a discounted drink — $2 off beer and $4 off wine. However, when we asked for wine in the happy hour taco set, the server offered a 9oz pour without clarifying that the discount only applies to the 5oz. As a result, 3 out of 4 of us were charged full price without being informed beforehand.

We weren’t trying to nickel and dime anyone, but the lack of communication led to an uncomfortable situation. Rather than taking accountability for the oversight, the server was defensive and only agreed to apply the discount after some back and forth, adding, “We’ll honour the happy hour rate for the 9oz wine this time, but we won’t do it again.”

That kind of response left a sour taste. A good server typically owns the miscommunication and resolves it without making the guests feel like a hassle. Sadly, that wasn’t the case here.

In summary: decent food, standard service that ended on a frustrating note. We left feeling unwelcome over a few dollars and likely won’t return.

Suggestion: It would go a long way to better train your servers on what actually qualifies for happy hour pricing — and more importantly, to ensure they clearly communicate those details to guests.

We still tipped, but only out of courtesy. If we were tipping purely based on the experience, it would've been...

Update from my last review (read below): Came back for another brunch at the place and once again the food is on point and this time the service was incredible and the music volume was nice and still allowed us to chat without having to raise our voice too much. will come back, will definitely recommend, great tacos, great drink and great entries too 10/10

----Previous---- I'll start by stating that the food in this place is just great! love the food, and as a Mexican I really appreciate the flavor in this place. today it was no exception, got their their Tokio campechana and my wife got the chicken enchiladas. taste on both was 10/10 would keep coming just for the food.

sadly though this is the first time it happened to us, the service was way below the average for the place. we got seated and we saw how the 3 tables that arrived after us got menus, water and service at least 5 minutes before we did, we stayed waiting for a while until one of the servers finally noticed us. then when we got the plates we were only adviced to be warry of the enchiladas plate which was really hot after my wife burned her finger. was a bit of a bitter sweet taste considering we've always felt the service in the store was great not sure what happened this time. I noticed they didn't had a hostess managing who gets seated, probably would be useful for the servers to manage the tables easier, we understand the job and that it is not easy to keep everyone happy.

anyhow the food is hecking amazing, and i love their taste in music. will still come back...