TacoTaco ☆ JapaMex & Mexican Dining — Restaurant in Hakuba

I came to the restaurant with four people. I ordered chips and fresh guacamole as a starter appetizer. My wife ordered the three-piece chicken tacos, my mother-in-law got the three-piece beef tacos, and I went with the beef enchiladas.

Right off the bat, the experience started poorly. I ordered a Corona for my wife, a Corona for myself, and a water for my mother-in-law. The server told me that each person at the table must order a drink costing ¥600 or more. I explained that my mother-in-law doesn’t drink alcohol or soft drinks and only drinks water. They said water was free, yet still insisted I purchase an extra drink just so we could place our order. It was frustrating and made absolutely no sense.

Even more bizarre, the server later approached us and told me that we had ordered “too much food” and suggested I cancel the appetizer. I’ve never been to a restaurant where they discourage you from ordering food you’re willing to pay for. Completely unprofessional.

Cleanliness was also a major issue. The table next to us was left dirty for over 15 minutes, and the one behind us was also a mess. Even worse, I saw a customer leave a used plate—with their fork—next to the clean dishes and drinking water area. No one cleaned it up the entire time we were there. That’s just unacceptable and seriously concerning for hygiene.

As for the food: • Beef Enchiladas: 1/5 Absolutely awful. They tasted more like pizza than enchiladas, and they bizarrely included fries inside. It was a far cry from anything authentic. I couldn’t even finish it. • Chicken Avocado Tacos: 4/5 Surprisingly tasty. Not authentic Mexican, but the flavors were solid and enjoyable. • Beef Tacos: 4.5/5 These were the highlight of the meal. The beef was perfectly cooked, the ingredients fresh, and everything came together beautifully.

Overall, this place feels like a tourist trap with poor service, strange rules, and a lack of basic cleanliness. While a couple of dishes were tasty, the bad attitude, questionable hygiene, and weird policies made this a place I would...

My fiance and I found this place to be charming and well worth the effort of calling a second time to see if enough seats had cleared to fit us in and serve us.

We had the wagyu chili con carne, the shinshu chicken and veggies tacos, the shinshu chicken cheese nachos, and the vegan grilled veggies taco rice. For drinks we had the Nagano special apple juice and the guave and grape, both served with lime. Everything was scrumptious!

Everything but 1 dish arrived at our table only 12 minutes after ordering, and the last dish came about 25 minutes after ordering.

It gets very busy so you might need to book in advance or just keep in mind wait times may vary based on availability.

The price is reasonable for the larger portion sizes, the best Mexican themed food dishes in Japan, and considering that they use locally sourced foods in many of their dishes.

We also had a problem where food that a different table ordered arrived at our table. As we were so hungry after a long day on the slopes, we didn't think and just ate it. After realizing halfway through our meal we informed the staff and they of course didn't make us pay for it and accepted accountability.

My fiance and I speak some Japanese so we did use that to explain what happened. We were embarrassed, but they were understanding and apologetic.

The atmosphere is lively, the staff is kind, and the food is great! Would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a great...

The interior is lovely and the drinks are tasty!

My standards for Mexican food in Japan are pretty low. But the food was actually pretty good, although not authentic in the slightest.

There’s a few things that really let this place down…

The prices: I know it’s a ski resort, but ¥10,000 for a conservative order for 2 people is far too much considering the portions weren’t really that big. Hakuba offers much better food for a fraction of the cost elsewhere.

The wait times. The food takes far too long to come out. Taco’s are very quick to make when prepped properly. I was watching the chefs and they were in no hurry at all. The restaurant was not super busy. 45 minutes to 1 hour wait for 2 tacos is not ok.

Our Food was served without extra topping which we then had to ask for and wait again…

They charge a 10% service charge but the ordering process is done via an ordering sheet. You have to write the order down and then stand up and wait for the person at the till to take it from you… I was still charged the 10% fee despite the fact we received poor service which they were well aware of…

Unfortunately it’s an avoid for me at the moment. This place does have a lot of potential if they resolved...