Mr. Tepaches — Restaurant in Baltimore

There was a previous review mentioning that all the 5-star reviews for this restaurant may be fake. After my visit, I can only say that this might be the most honest review you’ll find for this place.

When we arrived, there was one person working in the front. She was bartending, taking orders, and trying to manage the entire place. We ordered two drinks, but only one arrived after waiting for 10 minutes. No water was offered or given, which seemed like a basic oversight.

As for the food, we started with chips and pico de gallo, but what we got was a sad handful of chips in a small basket and mediocre pico. When I later looked at the bill and saw that the chips were $7, I had to say something. To their credit, they did take it off the bill. Unfortunately, this is about the only positive thing I can say.

The half of our taco order that did come out looked outright disgusting. All the taco toppings were sitting out on a ‘serve yourself’ table with sour cream just sitting there, not even cold. We only discovered there was a topping station because we saw another table go get sauces, not because we were told.

The meat on the tacos (chicken and beef) looked and tasted like it came straight out of a can. It was taco Tuesday, and even at $1.99, these tacos weren’t worth the price.

This was, without a doubt, one of the worst dining experiences I’ve had in recent memory. I wish I could say something more positive, but honestly, Mr. Tapeches is a...

Today my goal was to support a local business and enjoy authentic Mexican food. I ordered the three tacos; 2 steak and I requested one carnitas. I was told they were out of carnitas so I asked for one chicken. The size of the tacos were disappointing as they were mini tacos in comparison to the competition. They only had onions and cilantro on them with very little meat. The steak had more fat and grissel on them than lean meat and lacked seasoning. I went back to complain that they were not what I expected…no cheese, no tomatoes, etc., and I was told the tacos didn’t come with tomatoes, cheese or anything else. So I was offered some shredded cheese. I went to the cooking area with the hostess and the cook was in the cooking area eating food in the cooking area with the gloves on which he wears when he’s cooking. He then proceeded to fill a container of cheese with the same gloves he had on while eating and it was handed to me. I was floored and couldn’t believe the audacity. Had I been the department of health, there would have been an issue. First impressions are lasting impressions! Very sad. First and very...

(Update: it seems they incentivize 5 star reviews, so take that into account with what you see)

I'm sorry, but this place is very disappointing. It seems like a catering operation that is just doing what was a beautiful bar space a disservice. That's apparent when the menu is full of "taco box" options offering 30+ tacos at once. I'm not sure why that's an option for a kitchen as small as this...I know the owners are well intentioned, but to sit at a bar eating out of cardboard boxes and squeeze plastic sauce packets into foil, then spend $50 doesn't feel right. It all feels temporary and half baked. I really don't like to leave bad reviews, but this could be done so much better, especially when you consider all the other similar offerings nearby and along Eastern Ave that either do it better or more simply. It's very confused. Is it a photo booth/party drinking spot? A casual corner bar? A takeaway catering operation? To me, it just misses the mark...