Lamar Taco Shop — Restaurant in Oxford

Was excited to give this place a try after watching the renovations and prep work the past several months. First impressions upon arriving were good. They did a great job with the renovations, interior aesthetics, etc. Atmosphere was great. Sadly, I think they’ve missed the mark on the food.

Walking into this place, my expectation was elevated Tex Mex. We started with the guacamole which is a bit pricey but was pretty good. I also like the thin, crispy tortilla chips.

The entrees, though, were very mediocre. We ordered steak fajitas and a burrito bowl with steak. The “steak” isn’t steak. I understand this when I’m at an average Mississippi Mexican restaurant like La Perla or 95% of the Mexican restaurants in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, etc, but expected something close to actual steak meat here. The steak was cheap, thin little cuts of beef meat.

Also, the topping choices (and only allowing 2 toppings before upcharging) just do not work for a good burrito bowl. They gave a choice of two styles of beans, refried or Ranchero. I’ve had Ranchero style beans at a lot of places and I love them so I went with that option. Unfortunately, their version of Ranchero beans were unlike any I’ve had and not in a good way (and they bizarrely added slices of hotdog to them?)

My dinner companion was equally unimpressed with their fajitas.

I will be back to give them another shot and to try the tacos, but I’ll just go to South Depot (which has its own issues imo) or even Chipotle the next time I’m craving a burrito bowl.

Anyway, I don’t like giving bad reviews to new restaurants as I know they need time to find their footing and work out kinks. But my main complaints for this place have nothing to do with working out kinks. It’s a good spot to enjoy some margaritas and chips with queso or guacamole. But if they don’t overhaul their approach to the ingredients they use, I don’t see how they last in a town with seemingly 100 other options for this...

We took some customers to here. It was their suggestion. It is new. I will say I was very very impressed. The atmosphere is just awesome. I’m a huge fan of Volkswagen buses and they have two old buses there. One is part of the bar base. Another one is restored and sitting outside like a catering truck maybe? The staff was awesome and it was just a fun place to be at. The food was spot on. I got the combination fajitas. There was probably more meat on my fajitas than I have had in quite a while from anywhere else. I did get the corn tortilla shells, and they fell apart a few times. Not a dealbreaker, but it was a little awkward trying to eat with them. Still had a wonderful flavor. We will absolutely be back there and take more...

They did a great job remodeling. The only problem with the seating is that the bar stools are too short for the bar so we sat at a table instead. My wife and I took advantage of the 2 for 1 margarita special. They were very good. My wife had the birria bowl and I had the carnitas torta (sandwich). Both were excellent.

My torta came with fries. They were undercooked (raw in the middle). I informed the waitress. She brought another order of fries that were also undercooked. We'll definitely return but I won't be...