Taco H Mexican Grill — Restaurant in Albuquerque

Tac-oh-No! My wife and I tried this place out since it’s in our neighborhood and has been open for a little over a year now. We pulled up to find the front door was locked. Then drove to the back where there is additional parking to find the waiter and some other guy just hanging out. Walked back to the front to be let in. Place reeked of Pinol and was hazy. Sat down and wife ordered coffee, which they didn’t have. So she got a bottle coke which was room temperature. I ordered a Jamaica agua Fresca which was served to me without ice and had too much mix added so it was sour. I ordered Tacos de Birria, they didn’t have it. So I ordered a combo plate. Wife ordered a burger. Went to wash my hands, no hot water, waiter came back and said they also didn’t have Chile rellenos. So I ordered another enchilada. Plates came out 20 minutes later. My taquitos were cold and the cheese wasn’t even melted in my enchiladas. Chile had no flavor or spice, I ordered Xmas so I got both. Beans were from a can. Rice was ok. Wife and I shared the burger which was decent. Fries were not hot and lacked flavor or seasoning. The waiter didn’t clear our plates, but I guess this is actually a normal thing to leave finished plates with napkins on the customers table in Mexican joints. We were the only people there the whole time on a Monday during the lunch hour. Ended up paying $38 before tip for...

I only got around to trying this shortly before moving out of Albuquerque. I did try one additional order, but there was no answer. Then my car was stolen just ahead of moving (really, Albuquerque!), so I didn't make it back again. But I can recommend what I had: tacos barbacoa and horchata; and the nopales chile rojo. I wanted to get back for more of the barbacoa, as well as to try more of the menu, but it just didn't work out. The tortillas and salsa were pretty good. I suppose I would prefer more kick in the salsa verde, but it was still good.

The first time I went, I ate in. They turned off some noisy cumbia they had been playing (but the noisy cumbia was fine), and put something else on that I could not identify at all, kind of folkish (but with what I thought were subtle hints of banda orchestration--and, I know, how can that be subtle?--but it was). Then someone from the kitchen put on some more cumbia that really hit the spot.

Baby H, Mommy H, Daddy H, Grandma H, Grandpa H, Tacos H, Torta H, Burrito H, Sandwich H. . .

I wish I could have tried the taco H, because bacon, ham, jalapeno, and shiitake sounds like a great...

While there are only 4 basic things on the menu - platillos, torta, burritos, and tacos (plus a few miscellaneous things) - there are a bunch of options for each of the four categories. I ended up choosing the carnitas platillo, which was large and delicious. The carnitas were not what I expected - I'm used to carnitas being shredded pork, but these were small, juicy, tasty pork cubes. Also, I usually prefer flour tortillas over corn, but the corn tortillas that came with the platillo were particularly good.

The green chile salsa that came with the chips was also very good. It had just a bit of kick, and was not as watery as many green chile salsas I've tried, so it stayed on the chip well. The only problem I had was getting down to the bottom of the pig-shaped salsa holder to use up all of the green chile without breaking my chips. I actually should have asked for more green chile to go with my platillo.

I look forward to returning to trying more things on the menu. I think I will avoid the tripitas tacos, although I may recommend that item to grigos who don't...