Casa Taco — Restaurant in Albuquerque

Let me start out by saying that Casa Taco should be like a coffee shop; on every corner!!! Now honestly, I'm glad they're not. The food quality is so spectacular that having so many locations would hurt this! A few folks mastering a recipe is possible, but to have hundreds do it............ Well I think we all know how that goes. It will simply become average. Having a handful of locations that could be strongly monitored? OF COURSE!!!! Would I like to be able to get this delicious, mouth watering, palette satisfying, stomach filling, soul comforting "fast food" every where I may travel? Yes. Yes I would, but then it'd wouldn't be a appealing. Is it hot sauce covered tortillas with boiled meat? NO, oh, not even close. Is it basic traditional style Mexican or Southwest recipes? Nope, not exactly. Yes, they have nachos and tacos and burritos and... (laughing). Listen to me, the lunch size nachos are sharable (but you won't want to share). No dry toppingless chips covered by soggy mess. I don't want to lie. Like any chip covered in hot cheese gets soft and soggy if not eaten. These nachos usually don't last long enough so no need to worry. Their sauces, yep. The lettuce, not ice burg left over, but rich green leafy lettuce. No day old diced tomatoes, all fresh!! Ok, you are wondering why I am taking you about vegetables. If you garnish tacos, nachos, etc. with blah toppings, the food quality goes away. This would be devastating!!! The Acapulco tacos are so freaking delicious, fish and Serrano slaw folded into a soft flat top fried corn tortilla. If I tell you more, then there would be nothing to look forward to. This goes for their enchiladas, burritos, tacos, nachos, and all. Just go try. Just go enjoy. Just go get satisfied. Just go see and taste for yourself. I'm not going attach pictures simply for this reason. Well, why are you still reading reviews? Go! Now. BTW, cleanliness is top notch. Open kitchen concept as well. They don't hide behind doors. Want a beer, sure. Got you covered. I said stop reading and go...

Their tacos are great, and we order from them frequently, including a couple catered luncheons or work related events recently. Over the last 6 months or so, there have been more occasions than not where I've picked up the food, their cashier has repeated the order to me correctly and I've returned home with part of the order missing, including for one of the catering orders where there were about 20 people waiting. For example, order chips & queso and they send a big bag of chips but no queso, or no shredded cheese on the tacos, or queso but no chips, or the order of tacos is mixed up. The prices charged often dont match up to the prices on the menu, and depending who's in charge that evening, you may or may not get a discount for ordering a larger quantity. And, sometimes the 15-20 minute drive there and back isn't worth it to pick up what was left out of the order. I've called and spoken to staff members several times, and there is never any offer to refund what was left out of the order, or anything else to make up for the frustration, meaning many times I've paid for items that I never received. It's the restaurant's responsibility to check their orders and make sure the correct food goes out, and they have read the order to me correctly as they handed the to-go bags but must have been reading the receipt and not paying attention to what was in the bag. As often as we've ordered from Casa Taco and had this problem, I would have to assume we aren't the only customers with this experience there. Again their food is great, and service is great at their original Elephant...

(See UPDATE below)

Good tacos…but not great. They are a bit pricey for what you get. For example the three carne asada tacos pictured, with a cup of rice and a cup of beans came to over $12.00. They should not be over $10.00. Other places offer them for even less and the quality and taste are comparable.

I did enjoy the crispy shells. That makes them much more tasty. Mine fell apart from the juices, but that’s to be expected with a corn tortilla. No big deal.

UPDATE (11/4/2021): In response to my previous review, the store owner invited me to give them another try. He assured me that my experience was not the normal. So yesterday, I went back and tried them again. I have to say, this time my experience was much better. I ordered two brisket tacos and one Yucatán, all with crispy shells. The flavor on the crispy pork of the Yucatán is amazing! You can tell that the meat has been marinating and the flavor is outstanding! Also, this time it seemed the tacos were fresh and made to order. On my previous visit this was not the case. So, bottom line… Don’t write them off. Give them another chance. They’re trying hard and their food is excellent! I understand that during the pandemic the cost of ingredients has arisen so the prices reflect this. However if you want a really good, homemade crispy taco, give them a try. James really stands behind his restaurant, and with goof reason. Excellent customer...