Tacos Luca #1 — Restaurant in New Taipei

I want to give the food a 4.5 but Google doesn't offer that option

Food - Great! Definitely try the grilled lingua! Service - Legit. Luca's service is great. Though he was the only one there when I was there. Atmosphere - Small and cozy. Feels like walking into a hole in the wall.

TLDR: Tacos Luca serves great homestyle tacos with amazing service. The standout is the grilled lingua. Tortillas and meat are sperated when ordering take out so you don't go home with Mush. Spurred on by a reddit post, I decided to make the journey down to Xindian to try out Tacos Luca. Reddit did not disappoint. Arriving into a small hole in the wall restaurant on a side street, Tacos Luca is completely unassuming. Decor wise, it felt like walking into a dive bar except it smelled delicious and was relatively well lit. Similarly to your favorite dive bar where the main staffer was is the bartender, I had arrived at a time when only the owner, Luca was there.

Luca was very personable and welcoming, speaking a mix of Mandarin, English and Spanish, while explaining the menu. The menu is almost everything a taco lover would want. The offerings were simple, succinct, with a focus only on tacos along with a few specials that were off menu.

Originally wanted the Octopus tacos but Luca was out of Octopus, i had to settle for the Lingua and Carnitas. While slightly disappointed, I was immediately delighted when I had a taste of the Carnitas.

The carnitas tacos came as simple simmered pork on a hand made corn torilla and some white and yellow cheese blend that did not taste like costco taco blend cheese. Along with the tacos were a plate of grilled slightly caramelized onions, chopped cilantro, a few cubes of lime, spicy tomato salsa, two slightly grilled jalapenos, and small bowl of salt. The carnitas tasted great, it was almost as if I was transported to Mexico, particularly when you add a sprinkle of salt and the lime.

But the killer dish of the night was the Lingua! Instead of getting 3 normal Lingua, Luca suprised me with 1 grilled Lingua taco. Oh the grilling of the tongue changed everything. The texture, the flavors. I ended up ordering another 3 but he only had enough for 1 more. If I only ate the grilled lingua, this place would had have a full 5 on my scale!

After devouring my tacos, i had a quick chat with Luca. Turns out, Luca originally from Mexico, was never a cook/chef! He had turned to this line of work when he arrived in Taiwan and at one point had a taco stall out in Maji Square in Taipei. I don't recall ever eating his tacos before in Maji Square, or that there being any good tacos there to begin with. He moved to Xindian and started Tacos' luca a few years back, and has since honed his craft.

To add another twist! He's actually brothers with the man behind the tacos at Tacos and Taps. Unfortunately that's where the connection stops, because Tacos and Tap's food can't be compared to Luca's tacos.

Highly recommend. He mentioned he'll be opening up shop in Taipei proper come 2024. I'm looking...

Most authentic tacos I've had in Taiwan so far. The music, ambiance, and of course the food will make you feel as if you're in Latin America eating tacos. Definitely worth a visit if you've never tried tacos before, you won't be disappointed.

If you're not sure what flavor tacos you'd like to pick, there is no need to worry. You can ask the owner to give you a variety of their different meats on your tacos so that you can try everything. Your order will also come with a side of toppings for your tacos as well.

The owner is a super nice guy, and will make sure your food is served at the best quality.

Only downside is that the place might be a bit small for some, as this is a fairly new restaurant. It is definitely worth trying regardless, as I believe their business will only...

This hole-in-the-wall serves flavorful, traditional Mexican tacos. As another reviewer has said, the chicken and beef are great but the carnitas is in a league of its own. Luca, the proprietor, usually cooks and serves customers all by himself. His Chinese and English aren't the best but he is very friendly and receptive to feedback.

A few things to note before visiting: The business hours stated here might be inaccurate. Luca prepares his ingredients in the morning so when the shop first opened he could only start serving food around 5:30 pm. He also joins pop-up events and the shop is closed whenever he does. I suggest sending him a message before...