Taqueria El Pastorcito — Restaurant in New Kensington

I’ve been coming to this spot for a while and always raved about it to friends…authentic, casual, order-at-the-counter style Mexican food with great flavor, free chips, and a fun little salsa bar. It used to be one of my favorite low-key spots.

Unfortunately, they’ve changed things up recently, going “full service” and adding a bar, and it’s honestly gone downhill.

When we walked in today, the woman at the counter first told us to order there like the old days, but then told us to go sit at the bar and she’d take our order there. We sat down, but the bar was unmanned the entire time. If you want a drink, you still have to walk to the counter. So much for “full service.” The bar area itself is not exactly inviting either: a loud TV blasting Spanish music videos and constant Mint Mobile ads with Ryan Reynolds every few minutes. It completely kills the atmosphere. It’s honestly depressing sitting at an empty bar with a tv playing ads.

The food was also pretty disappointing. I’ve always loved their pastor burrito, but today it was 80% rice, barely any beans or cheese, and the few bits of pork in there were charred and overcooked. No salsa bar anymore, and they brought exactly 4 chips with my meal….seriously, four. My wife got five. Want extra chips? That’ll run you $11 to $15, depending on what dip you pick.

The place was also just dirty. Most tables were cluttered with half-eaten meals and nobody was bussing them. We had to sit at the bar because there literally weren’t clean tables available. We stayed for nearly 40 minutes and didn’t see anyone clean a table until we were about to leave. I even had to reach behind the bar to grab napkins because they never gave us any.

It honestly feels like customers are footing the bill for their full-service remodel. Higher prices, lower quality food, no real service, and a worse experience all around.

Sad to say, but I won’t be back anytime soon. It’s just not...

My husband and I moved to the Pittsburgh area in 2019 after having lived in San Francisco for 40 years. For most of that time we have been on the hunt for really good Mexican food, which is abundant in San Francisco. We finally found it at Taqueria El Pastorcito in New Kensington. The restaurant is family owned, the servers are welcoming, and the dining room is pleasant. My husband, who enjoyed their offerings a couple of times before, loves the tortas (Mexican-style sandwich). As it was my first time, I went with the three tacos (order at the counter and they bring it to you), choosing 1) Al pastor (marinaded pork shoulder and their self-proclaimed specialty), 2) Carnitas (cubed steak), and 3) Chorizo (cured pork sausage) and chicken combo. Each of these street taco gems was double wrapped in fresh corn tortillas. I helped myself to the very fresh salsa bar for the fixings, which included diced pineapple (a must for the al pastor), spicy salsa (red or green), marinaded onions, quarters of lime, and plenty of cilantro. For the house-made beverage, I opted for my favorite, the delicious rice-based drink known as horchata and my husband opted for a cucumber lime drink, both of which were very generous pours served in charming pottery cups.

I can't wait to return to try their pozole, a traditional soup made from hominy with meat, with seasonings and garnish.

Taqueria El Pastorcito is the real deal and I highly recommend that you give it a try. This restaurant...

I don’t believe in giving one star, as I feel businesses can always redeem themselves and having worked in food service, I know how it hurts seeing a low rating.

That being said, I have been wanting to try this place as many have raved about it and I knew Saturday’s have Birria Tacos. I ordered those and an order of chips and queso.

The Birria Tacos were bland. Shells a bit dry. Maybe I am spoiled by another location’s, as I craved it often during my last pregnancy, but these weren’t great. I could only eat one.

The chips felt close to stale. Queso was just melted cheese. I felt like I was just eating nachos with cheese.

Now, the service. My husband was treated very rudely by whomever “greeted” him as he picked up my order. She first refused to give him change, saying they didn’t have it (he finally got it, but was shorted $2). They didn’t have carry-out bags and her attitude left little to be desired. I understand having a bad day, so I can’t always blame them, but my husband is typically a very tolerant man but even he was kind of irritated by his enounter/treatment.

Being that this is a local family-owned business, I hope this doesn’t sway people (based on ratings, I highly doubt it will) - I’m just chalking this up to a bad...