Ta’Cabrón Taqueria — Restaurant in Berlin

After a good decade of being a fan of this place, I have to say that sadly it‘s just not what it used to be. Went with a friend yesterday and spent 44 euros for 2 cocktails, “Homemade” Nachos with Guac + Tinga, and the Tacos Camaron Capeado. The drinks were ok, but the food came out terribly.

Visually, both plates were very unappetizing. The cheese on the nachos was already heavily congealed when the plate arrived to the table. It was almost as if the nachos had been overcooked in an oven and then reheated in a microwave once the cheese was added on top, as quite a few of the tortilla chips were burnt. What‘s worse, is that it seems that kitchen lazily attempted to hide the mistakes by covering the burnt chips with cheese, beans, and the other toppings.

The guacamole was watery and bland, as was the pico de gallo. You could tell by the color of what little cilantro could be found in the pico that it was not freshly made. Not worth the 12,50 I spent at all.

My friend‘s (3) 12€ tacos were served with roughly shredded raw cabbage that was unseasoned, cumbersome and difficult to eat, and a bowl of chipotle crema on the side. They also put the same crema they serve on the side of the dish INSIDE of the tacos, so they were already soggy when they arrived to the table. No lettuce or vibrant and tangy slaw to be found, although that is usually what is served with fish or shrimp tacos.

In the end, we tried to make the best of it and ate some of the protein elements of our dishes but sadly left a lot on on our plates.

Unfortunately for me, the Tinga was more of a sweet tomato-y flavor and didn’t really have any of that chipotle kick to it, terribly under-seasoned. I understand that not all Germans can‘t handle spice but this was a new low in terms of of catering to the bland German palate….

Finally, we had to ask the staff for the additional red and green salsas available inside, and they were absolutely not fresh made as they used to be. Couldn’t see any seasoning, herbs, tomatillo seeds, nothing in them.

When I raised my issues about the food, rather than being offered a refund, we were offered shots of Jimador tequila…….

Which doesn‘t exactly equate to the money we shelled out for the cost of the meal, but better than leaving with nothing other than dissatisfaction I suppose. I will say, the staff were friendly (as they always have been) and respectful in their approach when I shared my disappointment.

Overall: Overcheesing, oversaucing with fatty cream- based sauces (is that not a cardinal sin in Mexican cooking?), burnt and unattractive looking dishes. The standard has unfortunately left the building here. There’s just not enough love and care being put into the actual food any more. I won‘t be back again anytime soon and it breaks my heart to say that because there are good people behind this business.

tl;dr: I‘ve been eating at this restaurant for years, talked the place up to a good friend, we went together for the first time yesterday, it turned out to be a total and utter...

As a Mexican living in Berlin, i find the food is just ok, nothing really special but is fine if you consider that Mexico is pretty far away from Germany, and you want to have a little hint of our cuisine.

But that's not the problem.

The problem is the terrible service, provided in this case by a small spanish speaking girl (allegedly Mexican) , with short black-and-pink hair. When we were placing our order I wanted to try different tacos ( i wanted to order six), but she was very inflexible about this (each order has three tacos of one kind), and said I couldn't change the orders. This part is still ok, i was surprised cause I have been to this place before and the personnel was always very kind and nice, and flexible. This was the main reason for me to go to this place. I mentioned that previously I had my orders mixed and she said "We have never done that". I understand if in their policies they have these strict rules (which is very surprising for being a mexican place, and small on top of everything), but i think even McDonalds is more flexible. The problem here is not what she said, but how she said. She was very unnecessarily rude when saying these things, almost like "if you dont like the way it is, there's the door". We order anyways.

I dont know if this is worst but at the end, when we were done with our not-so-special meal, as I was in the toilet and my girlfriend went to pay the bill, she told me later that that girl didnt ask her, but demanded her ("Sweeheart, It would be nice if you brought the plates; actually, you have to") to pick up our dishes from the table. I was already pissed that she was incredible rude since she was taking our order, cause she was so inflexible and she was behaving like "my way, or the highway", so what she did on top at the end really made me angry. Definitively never coming back to that place, because this is probably the worst i have ever had. Ah, and take into account we are in Berlin, where the service is bad by default. You have to be really rude to top that.

I hope she was only having a bad day and let it out on us, and is not going to make the experience of going to this place of anybody else as bad as ours.

Ta'Cabron means "it's difficult" or "it's bad". In this case their service...

Honestly really good food, especially for 13 euro a plate. You don't see that in Berlin much anymore with its stagflation rent economy of post 2020.

Ta'Cabron is situated on a well-traveled route of Skalitzer Str. before the big junction, but far enough away from other pubs, cafe's restaurants to feel kind of secluded. I sat outside on a damp, 20 degree July evening after working the entire day in the rain. The atmosphere inside was jovial and warm. Decorations are simple, guests are average, happy people.

I was told by the server that the side of red salsa I got with my enchiladas verdes was "very hot," a fair warning for locals who might consider even yellow mustard a bit sharp. It was just the right level of heat in my book, with a lot of cilantro blended in, and matched the dish perfectly without overpowering it. That's really important in the age of melt your face off hot sauce. They also have Modelo but you need to come earlier in the night or it may be sold out. The bloody mary and Mezcal margaritas seem good too. I got Pilsner Urquell.

Congrats to this place for keeping a quaint, but easily remixable menu, and the cash only tradition that is lost on most newer eateries in town. It's a little trip back to what Berlin used to be, when food like this was the most exotic thing one could come across in the city - alongside Kreuzberg bar-hopping and a groggy 4am entry to Watergate...and man I wish I could go back to experience that time. I'll be back...