El Norte Taco Shop — Restaurant in Las Vegas

I've always wanted to try this restaurant every time I pass by on Oso Blanca Road, or if I happen to be in the same plaza this restaurant is in. Needless to say, my interest was increasing during the last several months until recently, I finally got to try this restaurant for the first time. My family and I ate here on 29 Mar 2024 and I'd say overall, I "liked" this restaurant. When we walked in, we were greeted very nicely by the two employees located at the front of the restaurant. The lady taking our order was super nice and patient considering this was our first time at this place and I needed a few minutes to decide what to order (it didn't help that I was starving and wanted to order everything on the menu).

We ordered the Quesabirria Street Tacos, Carne Asada Burrito, Regular Birria Street Tacos, Carne Asada Nachos, Chicken Street Taco, and Agua Fresca. The food was made to order and everything tasted fresh. I noticed one of the food preparers was a Dallas Cowboys fan, and although I'm not a fan of that team, I was extremely amazed at how quick he and the folks were at preparing our food - it was appreciated considering my hunger status. Aside from wanting to try this place for the last several months, one of my main reasons to visit this place was due to the Birria Tacos. I have never tried those and have been wanting to try it for quite some time. I've done searches within a 15-mile radius from my house and this was one of many that popped up. I was slightly disappointed that the Birria Tacos weren't the crispy shell I was anticipating and even though the consomé was delicious (yes, I even drank from the bowl), I felt that the onion chunks were excessive...considering that the tacos already had a tremendous amount of onions itself. Don't get me wrong, I'm normally the, "You can never have enough garlic and onions," type-of-guy, but in this case, it was a little too much. The Chicken Street Taco was decent, nothing to write home to Mom and Dad about. Also, the Carne Asada Burrito was delicious and massive (I think I'm gaining 3 pounds right now just talking about it); and the Agua Fresca was refreshing!

The décor was decent but slightly on the plain side. The price-to-quantity/quality was reasonable and adequate. I highly respect this business for supporting the men and women of the Armed Forces (including Veterans of course) - I appreciate this a lot. All-in-all, I can definitely see myself coming back to try other items on the menu. I wanted to try the carnitas but unfortunately, I can only consume a set amount of food in one sitting. I highly recommend this restaurant...

I have stopped at this establishment for every time I've gotten an oil change from the vehicle shop next door, today I'll be reviewing it with you. Every time I step foot in there, I have always felt a sense of welcoming; greeted with a smile and a heart-felt invitation inside. Automatically, you hear the music playing through the air as the lead chef sings along intermittently while working with his team in the kitchen. Listening and watching them work back and forth the open kitchen window; I feel this has added great value to the "home" feeling... The authenticity. It's genuine. The following will be rated on a scale between 1-10.

Quality of staff-10 Cleanliness-9 Menu options- 6 Options are fantastic, however the only menu I came across was displayed on tvs; The tvs are great but the glare from the sun from the front door is terrible. It was unpleasant reading between the sun's glare. Presentation- 10 Looked just as good as the pictures displayed. Portions vs. Prices-10 (you definitely get your money's worth here.) Lighting -8 Lighting is well suited for the location. Seating/ tables, barstools-8 I appreciate the very simplistic designs wood/ steel, its comfortable. The chair and table had a slight wobble to it but as I walked around and tested a few others and they didn't seem to have any wobble. So I bumped from a 7 to an 8 rating. Noise-8 Personally I enjoy the music at a lower volume like they have, I think it helps with conversation privacy and helps keep the environment at a more "regulated" volume. There is no need to raise your volume to speak and be heard. I do think a couple acoustic panels would help absorb some of pans in the kitchen. Parking-9 Store front with extra parking adjacent. Overall I give this establishment a solid 8.0 Very satisfied and excited to watch the growth. I will definitely recommend my friends and family...

So am in agreement with everyone here, including the Dark Knight one star review. The salsas are obviously weak and clearly not made there, and are your standard taco bell variety. Weak, and not reflective of the rest of the food and what potential there is. Second, the chips are the thin kind from a bag, even if they make them there, they are not the thick authentic kind. So why 4 stars, and why even care about those items? Because the tacos rock, including the berria (goat) and the torta milanesa was excellent. Al pastor, asada, and carnitas were excellent. The tortillas need a little work as well to be truly authentic maize tacos. THE REASON I"M NITPICKING: This is the best mexican I've found for street food style. I want them to succeed so that they can get better chips, make their own salsa, add elotes to the menu, and have some grilled shrimp (not deep fried) tacos that they personally season. The place is half owned by the 'surfer' Dark Knight mentioned, but the chef in the kitchen has years of cooking experience in a Mexican restaurant. I can only hope more people find this out of the way hole-in-the-pared so that they can grow and develop. This place is great, VERY reasonably priced, and will be my go to for...