Resident Taqueria — Restaurant in Dallas

Do you consider yourself a Taco aficionado? Have you been to Resident Taqueria yet? Don't worry. You will head right over after reading this!

Resident Taqueria is the perfect mesh between down home Taqueria and upscale, eclectic taco bar! Upon enter of this Lake Highlands eatery, you are immediately met with a line out the door! (Not to worry, these guys are on it and the line moves lighting fast) Once inside, you are warmly greeted by the cashier/bartender and embraced by a buzz of activity from the staff and patrons. The menu board(just to your left) offers a barrage of Residents standard tacos, as well as a smattering of featured taco and drink specials.

The Mr. ordered the Shrimp Tempura(battered shrimp w/cabbage, blistered tomatoes, fried leeks, and peppercorn aioli), Fish Taco(cabbage, fresh herbs, pickled onions, and mustard aioli) and a Pecan Smoked Chicken Taco(pickled sofrito, peanuts, cilantro, and salsa macha. The shrimp taco was well seasoned and all flavors worked well together, plus the shrimp was cooked PERFECTLY(None of that rubbery seafood here!). Except for the fact that the shrimp was unbattered? (Where is my Supa Suit!) However, it was made up for by the flavor bang that was the Fish Taco. (Come on now, how many times have you HONESTLY had a flavorful FISH TACO?) But, this was it! Well battered without being gummy, fresh kick from the herbs, and the mustard aioli put the smackdown boring Tartar Sauce! The Pecan Smoked Chicken was another winner, winner, CHICKEN DINNER! Super smoky pulled chicken(without being dry, mind you), peanuts, and pickled sofrito had a flavor pow wow in ours mouths!

Ya'll know me, I'll try anything twice! I had the Lamb Barbacoa with onion, mint, tomato, and mojo picon(a spicy pepper sauce) was all I hoped it would be. Juicy, tender shredded lamb, that was spiced, without being spicy(we'll leave that to the mojo picon), was accented by the simplicity of fresh mint, onions, and tomatoes that really helped round out the flavors of this taco. I also had the Pork Burnt Ends, which was everything I love about bbq burnt ends and pork belly. A little char, a little sweet, and a whole lot of juicy flavor! Cabbage slaw, cucumbers, cilantro, and agave, made me think of Bahn Mi without the bread. Did I mention that the tortillas are made to order? We also shared some chips and queso, but this was not your average queso. The queso was thick and creamy with a flavor that made me think of Cheez Whiz(but not that greasy, chalk, can stuff). I'm talkin about the offspring of Cheez Whiz that grew up, had a baby, and that baby became a mega star! It was so good!!!

But, you know what really put the whole experience over the top? The staff! Baby, when I tell you that them people was on it? They were ON IT! Friendly, efficient, and focused. It was a JOY to watch those guys have such a good time, cranking out orders.

I must say, I don't know what took me so long to come and check this spot out. I'll be the first to say; I was depriving myself.

Chef Savoie...YOU DID...

Saw this place after leaving a clients office it looked good from the outside with a traditional Mexican flair. The front counter cashier was friendly and explained the menu. I ordered a short rib taco and tempura fish taco. I grabbed my iced tea, they have a variety of sweetener options including agave syrup. I chose a booth to sit in (I always choose booths) placed my jacket on the hook and before I could sit down the server abruptly asked me “do you have 3?” I said no I ordered two tacos. He replied “no 3 people” I said “no just me.” He said I could not sit there unless I had 3 people. It’s 11:45 I look around and there’s only one couple is in the whole restaurant. Most of the other guest are out in the patio. He aggressively suggested I move to the bar or a smaller table. He continue to harass me with a bunch of questions like “where are you coming from” and “what are you doing in this area,” I’m like, who is this dude a cop I’m not even dressed like a thug I’m in a suit so I just ignored him. I really started to feel uncomfortable and unwelcome. I said you know what I’ll just eat outside. I scarfed down the two tiny flavorless tacos and came back in to return the plate and the server confronted me again asking can I help you! Not sure if this guy was racist or just having a bad day but his actions made the whole experience unpleasant. I mean if you don’t like Hispanics you shouldn’t be working at a taqueria. I left the restaurant at 12:00 and it still wasn’t that busy. I could’ve ate in my booth and been out. It’s not like this place is that popping. I would give the restaurant another chance but it wasn’t that tasty. I’ll stick to Torchys, Fuzzy’s or other authentic spots. Restaurant managers and owners please remind your team that customer service experience is everything no matter how good or not...

I have a super high bar for my food but I must say these tacos are amazing... no joke. I am on the ketogenic diet so i don't eat the tortillas and many of the options contained sugar which i was not very happy about. I avoided those options instead of trying to customize them. The chicken was the only taco we did not like, it was dry and flavorless. The cauliflower taco was super unique and delicious, and that's coming from me, a carnivore. I'm struggling to remember the other tacos... but trust me they were amazing. lol I will definitely be back. Oh yea my only real complaint is the service.. the young lady working there was not very friendly and made me feel like I was a burden rather than a customer. Granted this was early in the morning when they were still getting ready to serve the lunch menu instead of the premade breakfast tacos which were ok but i would not order those again. There was a guy, i'm assuming the manager, who gave me a sample of mezcal which was delicious, i had a couple more too. I had 3 shots and he mentioned they normally only give 2 or 3 before cutting people off which i thought is a stupid rule for people like me who have a high tolerance. :) Trust me i can handle my shots. lol EDIT Now i remember the tacos. Get the Lamb, short rib, cauliflower, mushroom, they are EXTREMELY good.. i dont know where in Texas i would go to get better tacos...