The Taco Bar — Restaurant in Lago Vista

Went at 8pm on a Friday night. It was not busy when we got there. It took quite a bit of time for server to take drink order. It then took a minimum of 15 minutes to get two drinks so we placed food order right away because we sensed something was “off” that night. We placed order for 4 meals which included two burrito bowls. FIFTEEN minutes later we were told they were out of barbacoa meat. So we ordered steak bowl instead. TEN minutes later 1 of 4 meals came out and at that time we were told they were out of rice and avocado for one of the bowls. Placed order for steak tacos instead. One meal was delivered and sat getting cold while we waited for other meals. (I am not sure what was up that night but the restaurant is literally next to a grocery store to get extra rice and avocado.) They didn’t know they were running out of this stuff before order was placed? Anyways….we then asked server for silverware and napkins. She never came back with them and went to another table. We had to ask one of the two hostesses.

The manager was kind enough to comp our food without us asking, and we will go again because food is actually good by the time you get it, however, training needs to be revisited for kitchen management and attentiveness from servers. In addition, drinks are a money maker for restaurants. For the amount of time we sat there, we could have purchased 3-4 rounds of drinks….but only had one.

I am only posting this as a learning tool for managment. We want this restaurant and others in our small community to succeed. I am hopeful this was an “off” night and...

This was our second trip to the Taco Bar in Lago. We always want restaurants in our area to "win", so we were excited when they opened. So I hope the owners/managers take this constructive criticism with an open mind. I'm not sure who trains their employees, but management needs to get a handle on it. Prices are a bit high and food is good, but not exceptional. That combination with mediocre service will put you out of business eventually. We were there at lunch on a Saturday and only 10 or 12 customers were there. Our waitress, as pleasant as she was, was not attentive. Drinks went unfilled, things we asked for went undelivered, etc. The queso is pretty tasty and although the chips were indeed cold as some others have mentioned, they held up well to the queso for dipping. What stunned me was they do not serve salsa with the queso. Well, not for free. What? The other odd thing is that the beef fajitas were served on a hot iron platter with plenty of beef and was good but came with no sides. Weird for a Mexican Restaurant. No rice and beans? The flour tortillas came out hard as a rock. We flagged down our waitress and she brought out fresh ones which were good. But why would they serve cold, crunchy flour tortillas in the first place. We'll still come back another time or two but they've been in biz long enough not to have ironed out the little things. Most of the issues are solveable. Management...

We're from the pacific Northwest where good Mexican food can be found, but it's not easy. We are visiting for early Thankgiving and my in laws brought us to The Taco Bar and we loved our tacos so much, we were thinking about them the next day.

So what did we do?

We went back the next day. PHENOMENAL. I had the chicken and waffles taco, chicken fajita taco, and steak fajita taco. All three were glorious but I will say the chicken fajita taco wasn't just food, it was an experience. I can still take it just by remembering it. I kept shaking my head after every bite, as if I couldn't believe what I was tasting. And yes, I am not over-hyping it. It's that good.

My wife was a HUGE fan of the queso, and I will say it blows any queso I've had in the past out the window.

The service was above and beyond. Wonderful staff at this place from the moment you enter until you leave. Food and drinks came out quick. I had the non-alcoholoc Jeffarita (I probably spelled it wrong) and it's super good.

My in laws spoke extremely highly about the owners and talked about how well they've been doing with their restaurants. You all deserve a very big pat on the back for being so good at this. It's not easy, but what you're doing with the staff and the food is just out of this world, and I hope your success continues.

Thank you again for such an...