King Taco — Restaurant in Pasadena

This is going to be my go-to King Taco location from now on! For the longest time I thought the one in El Monte was the only one near me, but it turns out there is one in Pasadena! I was worried that parking was going to be an issue but I managed to find a metered parking spot right in front of the restaurant (which was great since I was only picking up an order). Otherwise it seems like the 90-min-free public parking lots would be one's best bet. The restaurant is comprised of two pretty large rooms (with nice tall ceilings) with a lot of seating. Like the El Monte King Taco (and all others I'm assuming) you order and pick-up from the counter.

The prices here are great! We ordered 15 tacos (3x of Carne Asada, Al Pastor, Carnitas, Lengua, and Chicken), 6 tamales (2x of Chicken and Pork and 1x of Sweet and Cheese/Jalapeno), along with a large horchata and the total came out to just under $35 after tax. What a great deal!

My friend Crystal W. loves the lengua tacos, but I didn't try them since the idea of eating tongue grosses me out :P I did try a Carnitas taco, but it was a bit dry. I will try Al Pastor next time... The pork tamale was okay, nothing special. The "sweet" tamale is with pineapple, which I thought was a bit odd, so while I ordered it (so I could have all four kinds) I didn't touch it. I don't think any of my friends did actually... but the rest of the items were popular and disappeared pretty quickly (it was for a book club that I was attending). I do want to try their chimichanga next time to see how it is...

The staff behind the counter were friendly and my wait was really short. What took the longest was figuring out what to order :P The line to order moved pretty quickly and our food came out really fast considering how much we ordered. Positive experience overall, although I did find it odd that they have a security officer inside. Do they have security...

I’ve been a loyal customer of King Taco for years, and while the food remains outstanding, my recent visit left me disappointed.

The Carne Asada nachos I ordered were fantastic—the meat was perfectly cooked, the chips were crispy, and the cheese and salsa verde had great flavor. I’d give the food itself a solid 5 stars.

However, my issue stems from the portion sizes and the restrictions on salsa. I was surprised to only receive one small cup of salsa for my entire meal, and when I asked for more, I had to pay extra. My friend ordered quite a bit—two quesadillas, two burritos, tacos, and a drink—and was also limited to only four salsa cups, despite wanting to take some home for his wife. He ended up paying almost $7 for a large cup of salsa, which felt excessive.

On top of that, there are no free refills on soda. My friend was told he had to purchase another drink at full price to get a refill, which added to the frustration.

Another downside to our experience was the bathroom situation. It seems like this location has become a gathering spot for homeless individuals, and there’s no door code or prevention technique for the restroom. While we were eating, three homeless people used the restroom, taking a long time in there, and customers had to wait because the restrooms were occupied for extended periods. It made for an uncomfortable environment, especially for those needing to use the facilities.

While the food at King Taco is always great, the skimping on salsa, lack of drink refills, and restroom situation take away from the overall experience. Hopefully, they can address these issues...

Something has happened with this place and it has nothing to do with the food because let it be known and CRYSTAL CLEAR: THE FOOD IS ABSOLUTELY GOOD , ALWAYS HAS BEEN AND IF YOU CAN MANAGE TO ORDER IT SOMEHOW BEFORE AND SOMEHOW FIND OUT WHEN ITS READY AND JUST SHOW UP AND EITHER DINE IN OR TAKE OUT THEN YOURE GOLDEN.

ITS THE WAIT BETWEEN THE SECOND YOU PAY AT THE REGISTER AND THE SECOND THEY HAND YOU YOUR FOOD THATS A PROBLEM .

MY REVIEW DOESNT GET SIMPLER THAN THAT.

I thought maybe it was that they were having a bad day and a cook hadnt shown up to work one day i went to eat there not too long ago , but then I went again yesterday and it was the same issue.

I feel bad saying any of this because the end result of the food washes away all the waiting experience and falls under the category of "it was worth the wait."

But I guess Im finding myself saying it to warn anyone whos looking to find something to eat on a short TIMED lunch break or who left a pet back in the parked car with only one cracked window in the summertime or who left a pregnant woman on her cravings back at the house .... BE WARNED. PLAN AHEAD. THE FOOD IS SPECTACULAR. BUT WORTH THE WAIT? go and decide on your own. Or ask your boss, your pet or pregnant...