Taco Tico — Restaurant in Claremore

So I was originally going to give this a 1 star from the experience but after I talked with the owner I will give this a 3 star only because of how understanding he was. So here we go I went to there last night and there was a older lady that was completely disrespectful to me apparently she runs the jewelry store and also helps out there. I ordered a lot of food because I had family come down. I called to be nice and give a courtesy about my order she immediately told me no and said they were 45 mins behind which I get but then she hung up so I was mad about that but still went. After finding out we needed more food through the drive thru I walked in to add stuff to the order. I asked about adding food to my drive thru order she looked it up couldn’t find it then asked if I was through the drive thru ( by the way they asked me and I’m not joking 10 times if I was in the drive thru). The jewelry store lady which I call her asked the girl how I got in right in front of me without acknowledgment and continues to lecture the girl about locking the door (there was 4 tables of customers sitting in there and it was 7 o’clock they close at 8). I asked to go ahead and pay for it thinking it might be easier for them they looked at me confused and didn’t say nothing after standing there for what seemed like eternity I said nvm I didn’t mean to make it difficult and walked out. I get home open the food and the three tacos are missing after all the non sense I still didn’t get what I asked and I even paid so I call in start explaining and the jewelry store lady starts going off so I start going off telling her that this is no way to treat me and that she needs to learn manners and customer service. I can only imagine why she has to have two jobs because if she treated me like she treats her actual customers then it makes since why she is failing. (by the way this lady actually owns the jewelry store and she was there working for her second job). If it wasn’t for the store owner being understanding I would never come back, but I refuse to ever go when that lady is there. The only good person that treated me well was the guy...

I grew up on Taco Tico. I been to a lot of restaurants, starting from locations Joplin, KY, Miami OK, Frontenac, Parsons, Fort Scott KS that are now closed that tells my age going to Taco Tico, travel here multiple times in the past.

We traveled here on Sept 15, 2022 to eat, since this one is closer than going to Wichita. It sure has went down hill since a couple of years ago. Dining room closed upon and no sign to say such when we parked. Lot of people came pulled on door and went through drive thru, until some employee put one up. Drive thru was only thing that was open. We was going to do 2 separate orders. No, only one order. So, had to loop back around to get 2nd order. SMH. People order and eat in parking lot. We went to a local park to eat.

Food what in the world happened? Meat don't taste the same in tacos. Just that taste you could possibly eat 8 tacos cause it was that addicting taste. Nope. Bean burritos, no. Bean and meat burritos was better than just bean. Beef nachos didn't have that taste either, stale chips. Jalapenos in small cup was going to add on top of it all, looked white and dead. Toss that in trash. Meat and potato burrito was okay. Mex beef dinner, stale chips too average quality. Mild sauce no "pop" in it, hot sauce was good it seem change also. Traveling back home, stomach didn't feel good either.

I sure like to give 5 stars, no it was not there. Don't make you want to travel 86 miles in the future again. Just hope it wasn't a change in recipe or just the lack of quality on that day. Change it back, me sure hopes. Wichita, if I ever get my Taco Tico fix it be a lot better traveling that direction or make it at home...

I have been a huge Taco Tico fan since I was a kid growing up in Wichita Kansas. I live in Broken Arrow Oklahoma and was so disappointed when they closed the Tulsa location. Coffeyville, Bartlesville, Guymon, and so many others have also closed over the years so Claremore became my go-to spot for a Taco Tico fix. Something was amiss though on my last visit in June of 2022. I hope it was a fluke but have not been back to test the goods. The signature beef was not right. If you're a Taco Tico fan, then you are all too familiar with that orange-ish colored grease all over your taco paper wrapper, and you love it. Makes your mouth water just thinking about it. Well, it wasn't there. The recipe seems to have been altered. Taco Tico has always used some type of filler in their meat recipe but it was an amount that gave it a perfect texture. The recipe on my last visit was not the classic Taco Tico that got me hooked all those decades ago. I am a Taco Tico enthusiast having eaten there hundreds if not thousands of times. There was definitely a change and it was not good. I am hoping for a reply to this review with an honest explanation as to whether my description was a once off or not.

Too much of a Taco Tico loyalist to be thrown off due to one less-than-perfect meat batch. Thank you very much for your quick reply and explanation. Will...