Torchy's Tacos — Restaurant in Austin

We were at this restaurant yesterday (Friday b/f Christmas) and the place was standing room only. Many work staff in the kitchen cranking out to-go orders and dining room orders. I didn't mind waiting for our 3 tacos that took almost over an hour. However, what did bother me was the big dog on a "LONG LEASH", inside the restaurant, with a girl wearing a ATX private HS shirt. At first, she was sitting down at a table with the dog. Then she got up and proceeded to greet a guy who was up at the front of the restaurant waiting on his food, along with the dog on a LONG LEASH in tow. The couple proceeded to literally grope each other up by the drink station with a whole lot of people standing around waiting for their food. Meanwhile the dog, on the LONG LEASH, was eating everything it could find on the floor. Mind you, the dog was very close to the entrance of the kitchen eating stuff off the floor. We finally found a table up at the front of the restaurant and by this time she, her friend, and her dog on the LONG LEASH had moved closer to where we were now seated. While she and her friend continued to be totally unaware of anything going on around them or what her dog was doing, the dog proceeded to come under our table and eat everything on the floor. Seriously & literally under my chair in between my feet! This was a BIG DOG on a LONG LEASH! Had I not been afraid that I would be called out for being a dog hater (WHICH I AM NOT), I would have notified management. I came very close, but the place was so packed and the Torchy's staff were so busy, I felt they had all they could handle. Not sure what the Health Department "laws" are for having a dog on a LONG LEASH inside a tiny restaurant, not wearing any kind of vest saying it was a "therapy or service dog", with a person who seemed to be pushing the envelope. My observation was that the dog was clearly not properly trained to be inside an eating establishment with people dining because he was under tables and up by the kitchen mopping up the floor...

First, I want to say that when I first visited this location it was really great. Everything is made to order with fresh ingredients. No salsa from jars here! They have a full menu of faves, but they also have a 'taco of the month", alongside numerous tasty sides! I love,love their special queso and freshly made guacamole. The chips are also made in house. They're served up warm,thin, crispy and perfectly salted. Unfortunately, things have declined lately for this Torchy's. The biggest issue has been the lack of customer service. I have several friends who also have been fans of Torchy's, and they too have had some issue's with incorrect orders, extremely long wait times, and inconsistent quality of food. I've received queso that's less than half full, on a large order. Worse, is that it was very obviously watered down, and I do mean "watered" down. It was thin, and lacked any flavor whatsoever. I've had far too many messed up orders and the employees seem very apathetic, at best. This kind of customer service, or lack of it, seems to be the prevailing standard. There's many times when there is no unsweetened tea,no straws, no lids for to go cups. When you ask about something(like the empty iced tea), you're coldly told that, "yeah, we'll fix it I'm just a few minutes. " After about ten to fifteen minutes, you end up leaving without it. Consistent freshly made, quality food is the reason Torchy's has grown like it has. But cutting corners in the food, and having no expectations from your employees in the way they treat their customers can cause those loyal customers to go elsewhere especially in and around the Austin area, where we have many delicious places to choose from. I'm hoping this is just a temporary problem, and I will definitely revisit my review when things get back up to those great standards again. I'm really hoping for that, because this has been one of my favorite places after work for...

Not Mexican and even calling it TexMex is a stretch. It's more of an Austin style evolution of TexMex. This is a favorite for me and my crew at work and we usually go every week.

Everyone has a favorite. Mine is the Baha Shrimp. Another co-worker always gets the Trailer Park, trashy. There are more than a dozen different types of tacos so you can find a favorite too.

They have sections for our vegetarian, plenty of options for the meat lover, some good choices for those like me who like fish and seafood. There are less traditional options like green chili pork and Jamaican jerk chicken. The only person who won't be satisfied is the one who can't eat spicy food because everything does have at least a little bite to it. Food ranges from a little hot to blazing, depending on what you get. The person who takes your order can help you pick what's right for you.

Their guacamole is flavorful with a bite and cilantro mixed in. Their queso is good and plentiful, and includes a scoop of guacamole.

Fountain drinks and tea are do-it-yourself and include free refills. Note that this location does not have a bar, but I think they had some bottled beer and Austin EastCiders available.

Indoor space is limited but there is an outside space that's good in nice weather. This location does get quite crowded in the lunch rush so try to go before or after the noon crowd.

Restrooms are the little one-person type , one for men, one for women. Usually clean but if the person ahead of you was a pig -- well there's only the one toilet, sink, and a tiny room. If you go, be considerate of the next person.

If you live in Austin and haven't made it to Torchey's...