Mario's Taco Shop — Restaurant in Merced

Mario's is officially dead. This place has gone completely down hill since covid. Clearly they're just trying to stay afloat. However, while I would believe that cutting portions could be a quick solution, cutting quality is not. They have cut the quality down to absolutely disgusting levels. Here is what i ordered Fajitas quesadilla - steak had tons of fat and gristle I had to throw out. Was also overly salty and didn't even taste like steak. The vegetables were okay, but tasted extremely generic. They also seem to have used something other than butter on the tortilla. It tasted slightly chemically or just odd. Definitely not butter.

Taquitos/rolled tacos - these went from large diameter, "home made" tasting ingredients to now extremely pathetic looking AND tasting tiny little things. The crisp level was decent but definitely not like they were. The filling is also some unknown paste now vs what used to be delicious shredded beef.

This has been without a doubt my last visit. Been eating here...

I have been searching for delicious Al pastor made with pineapples, and I am always looking for Delicious enchiladas... It seems I'm particular about the enchilada sauce. Anyways, this place has both and they were both so good. My son got a birria and the consomme was absolutely amazing. So much flavor, I just wish there was more than the tiny little cup he had, that way he could share more with me lol. The marinated carrots were perfect as well. Not too spicy but not too mild either. Outside, the place looks small with only outdoor seating available, but when you order inside it's got two indoor areas that are pretty nice with interesting wall decor. After trying so many Mexican restaurants in Merced, it's nice to finally find one that has 3 of my favorite menu...

Since we aren't from town we order different food to try it, we ordered alpastor and carnitas tacos, tacos dorados(flautas), red enchiladas, and hamburger with fries. My kids won't eat anything but they left the container empty. They said it was delicious. In my opinion I would of add Mexican cheese like seco or fresco to the enchiladas and tacos dorados instead of the "quesadilla melty cheese" and I would add more cilantro and onion to my tacos but I mean if I wanted my way I guess I can make it at home 😊The flavor was good, customer service was polite and we thought our food was going to take a long time since I order 6 different dishes but it was...