Condado Tacos — Restaurant in Columbus

I visited Condado Tacos recently [on 6-20-2019] for my first time following their November 2017 opening [several months after my favorite Mexican restaurant of all time, La Patrona, had closed at that same location during June 2017].

The interior space at 2977 N. High St. has been greatly changed. The "false ceiling" is now gone; the actual ceiling [with all sorts of interesting ventilation and other air ducts that are now visible from below] is at least twice as high at the previous "false ceiling." I believe that the two stained glass windows in the north wall of the dining room had been there while La Patrona had been in that location.

I had, thankfully, visited the Condado Tacos website before my visit -- and had very carefully studied the menu -- which had ended up being quite helpful.

The main product of Condado Tacos, as one might imagine from their name, is tacos. There are many choices and combinations of ingredients. Customers place their orders by filling in circles on pieces of paper that resemble absentee ballots. Up to two different flavors of tacos [of any quantity] may be ordered on the same piece of paper.

I just happened to be visiting Condado Tacos for my first time while their tacos had been "$1.00 off," which had meant that the minimum price for their tacos had been $2.50 rather than $3.50.

The restaurant had been insanely crowded and had been extremely loud with the result that that location had definitely had not been a place to have a quiet conversation [which definitely had been possible while the previous restaurant had been in that location].

My carefully-ordered tacos arrived quickly, had been made to order, and had been absolutely delicious. However; it had taken approximately ten minutes for my bill to arrive which I can understand because they had been so insanely busy at that time.

After I had paid my bill and while I had been leaving, ten people had been lined up at the door waiting to be seated.

I definitely plan to return to Condado Tacos at some point but hopefully not while they...

This place was awesome. Loved it.

The food was excellent. Tried their Dirty Sauce, which was their hottest sauce. It was wonderful. I hate when a sauce is made simply for the sake of being hot, but this was not one of those cases. It definitely had heat -- a slow burn -- but it was also a very bright sauce, almost fruity.

The atmosphere was so comforting. It was truly a place filled with people -- staff and customers alike -- who love people and tacos. A breath of fresh air in a rather confrontational world.

The price amazed me. 5 custom tacos, a bowl of queso, 2 trays of chips, and 2 drinks for $33. For the quality of food you're getting, that's beyond reasonable in my book. Please remember, the service and atmosphere are added bonuses to consider when judging the price for yourself.

There are two things I'd like to add, that are less nitpicks and more fair warnings. 1.) The place is set up how I'd call "cafeteria style", with long tables and rows of chairs on each side. This means that when the place is packed, you might be sitting right next to complete strangers, which not all of us are game for. 2.) The acoustics of the place lend itself to being very loud, even when not at max capacity. Again, not a deal breaker by any means, but something to consider on a case-to-case basis. For example, my mother is hearing impaired, so as much as I'd like to show her this place, I fear her hearing aid would overload.

Overall, this place blew me out of the water. Fantastic food, fantastic people, fantastic vibe,...

I got the brownie so you don't have to (it's not good.)

So as with any chain restaurant your experience may vary by location and I would have to say this location was the least worth it of all the locations I have visited (downtown Columbus being my favorite so far.). I ordered my food to go using the website, so when I arrived I was told to go to the bar, buddy let me tell you there was no love for a carry out customer behind that bar. The bartenders were rude and very short with the questions I had about my order, and it overall made me feel unwelcome. Like I get that there's no money to be made by being nice to a carry out customer but damn. I wish that was the worst of it, but the food at this location seemed thrown together haphazardly and the mix served to me of my dirty queso was way out of balance compared to what I received at other locations. Oh and I ordered the brownie, why ? I don't know, it looked good on the website. I thought I was going to get a home made type of brownie, that had been baked that day. What I got was a mass produced, dried out, and very bland brownie. Honestly I'm not even mad about that, why did I expect quality baked goods from a taco joint ? Oh well... I ordered it. I'm ashamed about it. Now I'm warning people. Don't be like me, don't order the brownie, or maybe even from this entire location. But maybe you might have a better...