Velvet Taco — Restaurant in Austin

•Food-wise, if you were looking for a review on this aspect alone-it’s an alright place for fusion tacos, and the kitchen staff here are great in terms of getting through a busy full screen of orders in a timely fashion, even late at night with crowds of loud drunk tourists regularly rolling in from Dirty. Now that’s all the positive I have, for those looking for a quick Yay or Nay for the meal you’re searching for. Flour tortillas could be better though

I’ve been a customer here since prior to the pandemic, along with couriering literally Hundreds (more likely in the four digit mark) of orders for this place on numerous apps primarily via bike, just about every weekend; often times coming in during a delivery shift to have a seat in the corner when it’s not too busy to also charge my phone. All had been cool in that regard. ..However, last night I was told by a shift manager for the very first time ever after given an odd look-over than I, “can’t be in here if you don’t have an order, dude!” despite just haven taken multiple orders for them earlier that very same night, & tonight (& will probably still be assigned many from here to tomorrow too). Awkwaaaard😬 I politely asked if it was a new policy, and she said no, “you just can’t be in there unless you Have an order, as long as I’m here” Well I obliged while also trying to mention that I had been doing this for years, and not gotten in anyone’s way, but she cut me off mid-sentence and did not want to hear more about it. I picked up my insulated delivery bag and continue on out of the store to wait for a new order from them, outside- and not 3 mins later, came right back in with an active order that I’m assigned to pick up from them, and get to awkwardly tell her the name of the customer I’m here for.🥴

So I’m fairly certain every single FOH worker has seen me pop in for orders for the latter half of every single workweek they have, as well as every friendly security guard greet/know me/chat multiple times each shift of theirs, while I’ve easily delivered Five figures worth of revenue in deliverie$$$ for them, in rain, sleet, or shining sweltering sunlight. Multiple times a night also helping confused customers use the Correct glass door when trying to exit the restaurant (and still don’t know why they haven’t posted a sign on the one that stays shut after Years) when security is too busy to do or on break….Seriously, put a 🪧on the stage right door so customers don’t go all the way to the register to tell you they think it’s “locked”.😅 -But incase there are other delivery personnel still reading this- a heads up to anyone taking orders from here, that One shift manager in particular isn’t so keen on couriers waiting inside for new order assignments on these hot summer days/nights.

•Also, for additional constructive criticism please ask delivery personnel to actually swipe and tap in-app to “Confirm pick up” so you don’t have new drivers/bikers coming in several more times for any long-since-stolen orders due to negligence 😔 it’s hurting your business and countless customers each time that happens, and not just an annoyance that also sets your FOH back when having to interact with the ones being sent in all for the same old stolen order while being confused by it not being there after they drove/biked all the way over for it (I’ve witnessed some drivers get rude about it, and FOH uncomfortably unable to explain why it’s gone).

•Additionally, for prospective customers still reading this-probably not the best place to take any elderly family or friends at night, since they crank the music up Loud, despite the intercom cutting it off when calling out orders.😵‍💫

Only real gripe I have about any personnel is just regarding that onnne shift manager, who seems to somehow pretend to have not seen me working orders here/waiting to receive new ones several evenings a week for the past several Yeeears, and suddenly isn’t cool with me quietly waiting, while also often helping bussing or guide customers when possible. But things change and I guess “it’s just...

The food is great. Not traditional tacos in any sense but that's not what they're trying to do and it's good. On the service, Velvet taco drops the ball in several areas. First off, at a restaurant where you order at the counter, get your own food, and bus your own table, asking for a 20-25% gratuity on top of your ticket, before your food is even cooked, is crazy. What exactly is the staff doing for a tip? They're cooking the food and calling your name on a loud speaker. That's what I paid for when I paid for the food and that's what they're paid for by the restaurant. I'm in the service industry and I'm more than happy to tip people but not for doing nothing. Of course we still tip but definitely not 25%. That's what people get tipped for full table service. If you order appetizers and tacos they don't really make any effort to get you your appetizer any amount of time before your tacos come out. They're also extremely stingy about plates or trays. If I order $50 worth of tacos and appetizers I need some kind of way to carry that to my table. Get some trays. Also when we're sharing items amongst people we need something to eat that off of. Insisting on just paper boats while they have a stockpile of small metal trays is silly. If I spend a bunch of money on food and ask you to use one of the trays that you're already serving food items on just help me out and give me a tray to use. Items like the tater tots are filled to the brim. It's almost impossible to eat them out of the container let alone share them amongst a group without making a huge mess. They also have little fork spoon combos which are definitely cute but are very difficult to use effectively to eat. When you ask for to go containers they want to give you a different container specific for each item you have which forces you to make them a list of which items you would like to take home instead of just having one or two reasonable boxes that you can take and use. Overall this is a great spot but these issues make it difficult to be a five star dining experience in my humble...

Rating: 3.8/5 [dine in]

Velvet Taco has so many interesting taco choices, so I was excited when our friend picked this spot for dinner. They feature a new taco flavor every week, which is fun and makes you want to come back to try more. It's a very casual dining spot where you're expected to bus your own table.

We ordered two combos which each come with two tacos, a side, and a fountain drink. You can upgrade to a boozy drink for extra.

Combo ($14.95) + Large Rocks Kick Ass Margarita ($9): My husband got the Fish 'N Chips and Korean Fried Rice tacos. The beer-battered cod was super crispy and delicious. The Korean Fried Rice taco, made with slow-roasted pulled pork and gochujang egg fried rice, surprisingly lacked flavor compared to the cod. For his side, he chose the classic guac with blue corn chips. The guac tasted fresher than the avocado in my Mexi-Cali Shrimp taco, but it didn’t have any kick from the jalapeño or brightness from the lime juice. The margarita, made with tequila, orange liqueur, lime juice, and agave nectar, was easy to drink, though I preferred my frozen version.

Combo ($14.95) + Regular Swirl ($6): I got the Quesa Birria Duo and Mexi-Cali Shrimp tacos. They forgot the birria consomé for dipping, which I didn’t realize until I reread the menu afterward. The birria tacos were just okay—light on the filling—and probably would have been much better with the consomé. The Mexi-Cali Shrimp taco was generously filled, and I really liked the blackened shrimp, but the avocado wasn’t ripe. For my side, I chose the elote, which came with blue corn chips. The elote was average, and the chips were borderline stale. The Sangrita Swirl (a red wine blend mixed with the frozen Kick Ass Margarita) was unique, tasty, and had a lighter alcohol taste compared to the original.

Our friend also got a combo and shared her queso blanco side which ended up being my favorite. She found it spicy, but I...