Taco Bartina — Restaurant in Charleston

Their wait staff was courteous. Unfortunately the food we had was bad.

The tamales tasted like reheated frozen food that had been kept too long or freezer burnt, and I suspect that’s exactly the case, like something from Kitchen Nightmares where Gordon Ramsey calls them out. The sides that came with the tamales also tasted reheated.

I had the Thai taco, which was ok, and the taco with blue cheese (can’t recall the name), which was dry and boring. The double tortillas should have been heated in oil or steam or something to soften them up, but they were thick, dry tortillas with dry chunks of meat inside that needed a healthy amount of beverage to wash them down. The flavors did not meld. When I eat a taco, I’m looking for a fresh pop, or unashamed greasy deliciousness, or sizzling smokey flavors, or something fun. Nothing here but dry boring flavors.

Their “Trio” salsa selection was not great either. The queso was ok, but the guacamole and salsa were pretty bland. The salsa was particularly flavorless and not spicy at all. It was served with cold chips, and cost $8 for the small portion.

I also noticed the server accidentally sat someone at a dirty table, and the customer had to wipe all the previous party’s food up before they started their meal.

Two stars instead of one because the food was served quickly and courteously and one of my tacos was ok but not great.

I won’t be going back to give them a second chance. They don’t have enough going for them...

If you are local or live in West Ashley, then this place is no stranger for you! Taco Bartina that used to be known as Taco Spot, is famous for their blackened fish tacos and we ordered it with soft flour taco and hard shell taco. Either way they both are equally delicious. We haven’t try the beef birria taco and it wasn’t my favorite today. I felt like they need more seasoning on the beef but the juice that came in the tiny sauce container actually pretty flavorful! I tried to pour it on the taco but it made my taco fallen appart…boo. Nevertheless it’s probably because I love seasoning and punches on my taco so this beef birria is just okay for me. Try to come on Tuesday for their $3 taco gringo special and today, they had slow cooked chicken tortilla soup with corn and cut up avocado. Such a perfect flavor and warmth on the chilly day. We also ordered the Memphis hot chicken taco in white flour tortilla and it was the bomb! Overall, this place in a must visit if you are in West Ashley and they expanding the inside of the restaurant too. The place is very roomy now and can accommodate a lot of people. Or if you just flying solo then sit at the bar. Buen Provecho amigos!

Taco bartina is now offering free salsa bar (three different flavor...

Arrived well over an hour before their closing time (I had called ahead to make sure) -2 guys behind the counter, one of whom almost seemed bothered that we were there- he was obviously more interested in getting ready to close up shop than to serve people or even pretend to be friendly. Never offered any chips while we waited- no biggie, whatever.... food came pretty quickly but unfortunately was not hot. Or even warm. We're talking 3 separate orders (one of which was wrong AND served in a To-Go container) that were room temperature at best. And when the check came the guy had the gall to ask if i wanted my change -which was over $10... I shouldn't have even left a tip but did The food itself was nothing special- everything I tried was somewhat bland, and the portions were on the smaller side compared to other taco spots in the area. Oh yeah- after asking for whatever hot salsa they had (because none was provided) the guy "forgot" about it for about 5 minutes, and then when reminded brought me back a packet of tobasco sauce. Lame. Based on this I would never go back here or recommend this...