The Smoked Taco — Restaurant in Bountiful

Went to Smoked Taco for an early lunch on a Saturday. We were greeted by the nicest guy behind the counter, who was really enthusiastic about taking our order, and were given our chips and loaded queso right way. We ordered the Bang Bang, the Fleeing Californian, and the Bird. One of the people in our party has Celiac, and the guy working there was awesome about confirming what they needed, like cooking surfaces wiped down and full gluten-free protocol followed-- no complaints, no issues, was super nice about it. We were thrilled!

The tacos took about 15 minutes to come out. Two tacos each per person plus the chips and queso was a great amount of food. If I was super hungry, I possibly could have eaten three, but they're decent sized tacos.

The tacos were SO tasty!! Cheese is cooked into the corn tortillas, and I'd order all three of them again in a heartbeat. Absolutely zero notes for the Fleeing Californian and the Bird. They were super flavorful and well cooked. If I had any suggestions, it would be for the Bang Bang, the shrimp taco -- the shrimp themselves were delicious and the sauce was absolutely awesome. I think the taco could use a bit more shrimp on it (I understand shrimp are probably a bit expensive, but there were only 5 or 6 small shrimp, so they felt a little scanty), and it would be totally perfect with the addition of something crunchy, like cabbage or the pickled carrots on the Bird. It came with pico that I didn't have on it, but even if it had been on there, I think I still would have wished there was another crunchy veggie on there for more texture.

Also, the lime wedge for the queso was placed in the cheese, which was just a little inconvenient and I would have loved for it to be on the side.

Oh, and the house-made tortilla chips were fabulous and the loaded queso was really delicious.

The little critiques I have are SO minor and honestly the tiniest nitpicks. I would still order all the same things without any changes. The service was great, we got our food quickly, it was DELICIOUS, and they were so good about their gluten-free protocol. The person with Celiac in our party didn't get sick afterwards, which is a super big deal and honestly a real feather in their cap.

Can't wait to go back! Thanks...

The idea of combining two American favorites is worthwhile and definitely a draw, so the expectations were high.

We walked in the back door and the kids needed to use the restroom. Restrooms were dirty, no trash bag in the garbage and the bathrooms felt dated/grungy. Not a great first impression.

We walked through the dining room and 75% of the tables had garbage accumulated under them and 25% of the tabletops were dirty. Fully understand that we were coming in towards the end of the night and there may have been a rush before we came, there were around 6 employees working, so probably some opportunity there.

The young man taking our order was kind, patient and helpful in helping us navigate the menu.

First impression of the food was with the soda station and the water there. Something seriously wrong with the water supply there, an awful taste in the water and subsequently the lemonade, just unbearable. Was super disappointed with all of the meat in each of the items we ordered. It was evident that the meat was cooked long ago and had dried out in whatever holding technique they use. While I respect that this is fast casual and items have to be prepped prior to, there is a lot to learn here. Zao is an excellent example of a concept who knows how to prepare and hold their proteins effectively, maybe the owner can learn from them. After spending nearly $70 for 3 children under 9 and two adults, we would have been better off down the road at Texas Road House.

Don’t know a lot about the concept but feels that they’ve grown and expanded beyond their capacity and gotten a little ahead of themselves. Probably a good time to lock things in a bit more before moving to that next location. I think a good indication of this is the way they respond to every review that’s 3 and below, a canned response asking people to send an email so they can fix it, seems to be an indication that the business has lost its personal touch.

Always a champion of local concepts and always cheering for their success, I hope with this one, the focus becomes more on guest experience and less on chasing quick growth and the idea of making a short...

This is in no way authentic Mexican food so if that’s what you’re looking for, get out of here lol. This is a fusion between Memphis BBQ and Mexican food. 🤤 Taco and Tequila Tuesday is a tradition in my house. I usually make the tacos but occasionally we like to order out. Today we decided to try The Smoked Taco. I have been following their progress once I found out they were opening in Bountiful, UT and I knew this needed to be apart of our taco and tequila Tuesday. When I walked in to pick up my online order, they were so nice and funny! We talked like we all knew each other and that is my absolute favorite thing for a business. I just finished dinner and WOW! — I am a vegetarian, their cornivore taco is so amazing and I was not expecting the Smokey on this one but I guess that’s their name, right? It was refreshing to find a menu item that was not just the removal of meat or replacement of beans, but something that was specifically designed for the enjoyment of those who are vegetarian. My girlfriend got their chicken options (The Hot Chick, The Banh Fire, The Bird) and she loved them!! We ordered this food with no particular expectation. We wanted to try something new and different. Some companies attempt to create a fusion and fail miserably, while others, set a new bar, a new standard for fusion food…this to me, meets that new standard! I have never had a fusion between these two types of food and they took the best elements of each to create something special! We will be eating...