Torchy's Tacos — Restaurant in Altamonte Springs

I lived Houston, TX for 2 years. Back then Torchy's was new to Tomball. There would be lines out the door for lunch and diner. I was surprised to see that was not the case at this Torchy's in Altamonte Springs. I guess the locals haven't found it yet, because it's a hidden gem.

Torchy's tacos is one of two restaurant chains that I know of in Florida that serves FRESH Tortilla's. When you're serving taco's FRESH is KING and Torchy's is FRESH. The bartender serving me said if they don't sell their tortillas within 30 minutes they're tossed. It's such a different expeirence from most "mexican" and "tex-mex" places in FL. I'm sorry but if you can't serve fresh tortillas ... the base of almost all your food items then you aren't a true tex-mex joint.

If you don't get Torchy's green chile queso then you're missing out in life. This queso is the BEST queso you'll put on a chip. (and then in your mouth) It's packed with flavor. The base has green chile's, they serve it with a dap of their awesome guacomole, fresh cilantro, and a sprinkle of white crumbly cheese. It's perfection in a bowl, and now they've added an option for chorizo! Your family will fight over it. Speaking of guac this is also some of the best guacomole you can get in a restaurant. It's chunky, has fresh cilantro, lime, and is another favorite appetizer for your chips. If you don't like queso then get the guac. They're both worth every penny.

I haven't even talked about the taco combinations. These combinations of meat and fresh cheese, cilantro and more is what makes them so flavorful. My favorites are the trailer park which has fried chicken on it and making it trashy with some queso, the brushfire with jerk chicken and mango slices because like a brushfire it's really hot with the sauce it comes with, but it only last for a bit, and the Hogfather it's got the whole hog in it. Make sure you try a taco with the green sauce too if you can't take the heat. Also, I prefer the flour tortillas, but if you like fresh corn tortillas they have those too or I think you can get both. The portions of the taco's are great. It's not a burrito, but it's also not a tiny street taco either. They fill it to the brim.

They also have a full bar, soft drinks and fresh made healthier fruit drink options. You cannot go wrong at this taco joint! Especially, since it hasn't been discovered by the locals yet!

Atmosphere is great and the staff were super friendly and helpful at this location. I made it out here when they first opened and recently on a business trip. If they don't come to Viera, FL soon I'll have to make another trip to one of their other Orlando locations.

No, I wasn't paid, coerced, or compensated in any way by Torchy's. I just love this taco shop so much I felt I needed to support since it doesn't look like they've exploded like I thought they would by now. I don't want them to leave FL. I want them to thrive! Go in and don't stop going till you've tried each taco. Other favorites are the Democrat (beef barbocoa), Republican (smoked brisket), and Mr. Orange (salmon). They used to have one with Adouille sausage on it, but I didn't see...

It makes me so sad to write this review, but I hope it’ll help to turn things around. I went to Torchy’s today for the first time in a few months. It’s about an hour round trip drive for me, so I don’t go as often as I’d like.

I should start by saying I lived in Austin for over 10 years and started going to Torchy’s when they were just a food truck and then watched as they expanded with brick and mortar restaurants across the city. I was amazed as they expanded that they were able to keep up the original flavor/quality and always had excellent service. 5 stars on every level.

I was ecstatic to find out after moving to Florida that there was a Torchy’s close enough to treat myself occasionally, in between trips back to Austin. This location has always been reasonably good until this last visit today.

The issues started as soon as we walked in. The cashiers have been replaced with a large touch-screen kiosk. Everyone was taking a while to figure them out so it was very slow to order. I was happy that at least the secret menu items were still available.

After ordering, they had cups for the fountain drinks by the kiosk, but there was no indication whether the drinks from the cooler (Mexican Coke, etc.) would be brought out to us or if we were supposed to help ourselves. It was a bit awkward since the cooler is behind the register counter, so I waited, but nobody ever brought anything, so I went and helped myself. I don’t know how they’ll keep track of who paid for what.

We ordered chips and queso and 3 tacos. The tacos came out before the chips, and they were the saddest looking Torchy’s tacos I’ve ever seen. Usually I’m cleaning up my plate with a fork because they’re so loaded up with ingredients. These tacos barely had anything on them. My wife’s Trailer Park only had one chicken tender about 2 inches long on it. Barely qualified to be called a nugget. Mine were a bit better as far as the chicken, but still nothing at all compared to what I’ve grown accustomed to over my years going to Torchy’s.

We told the waitress when the tacos came out that we had chips and queso as well. She apologized and said they were coming right out. We watched several tables who ordered after us get theirs and after waiting half an hour, we finally asked the bartender. She said they were making a new batch and then finally brought it out a few minutes later.

Long story short, this experience REALLY bummed me out. I’ve been a huge Torchy’s fan since day 1 and I can only hope this is localized problem and not indicative of a new penny-pinching corporate strategy to milk what’s left of their reputation...

We went on a Friday night at 6:45 and there was availability inside and outside for seating so that was a nice surprise. We chose outside as inside while not packed as already very loud. We ordered 4 tacos and once cocktail and our bill was $40 so no, this is not a good value comparable to other restaurants. The tacos are small, and while they are tasty some items said they came with sauce but then didn't have any. The queso is good but they give you a metric ton of chips and you end up sad when you run out of queso. It took 3 different food runners (I can't call them servers, this is not a table service restaurant as you order at a counter and are expected to tip before you are even handed any food or drink) to get our order right and the food all came out long before the one cocktail we ordered. When it finally came out the girl wandered from table to table trying to find out who it belonged to even though we had the device placed on the table properly, I guess she didn't look up where it was supposed to go. The drink itself was weak and served in a glass full to the brim with crushed ice, there was maybe a half of a real drink in there, if that. Our tacos were tasty but $6 for a very small portion is silly. We were really hopeful as we'd heard a lot of great things from Texas friends about Torchy's, but it just wasn't the value for money or time that we expected. Maybe we'll try takeout or something someday on the way from one thing to another, but I don't see us coming...