Taqueria Cresta — Restaurant in Philadelphia

It was my first night in Philly and all my plans got rearranged and I found myself with some time to burn and a hunger that was burning inside. LoL! Taking the time to scroll through my phone, I decided to do a date night.

Though it was Thursday, if you know me you know Tacos are my love language. Deciding to do a Taco date I hopped on Yelp to see what was in the area. After a few scrolls and top review reads, I decided to head to “Taqueria Cresta” to see what it was all about.

Arriving at Taqueria Cresta was cool as it sits directly off the main street. Walking in, you get the feel of a neighborhood bar, however, when you get towards the back, there is a Mexican decor deliverable that transforms the entire space… Greg welcomed us in and assisted us with seating. I opted for a table as I would be able to enjoy the sights.

Once seated, Greg welcomed us again and briefed us on the menu options and made some recommendations.

Starter: Tortilla and Salsa - this dish comes with 3 salsa options. I decided to get the base mild sauce, the pico de gallo, and I let Greg choose the third one and he decided to hit me with the Hibiscus salsa… The mild salsa is mild and bland. There was no true flavor profile to it at all. The Pico was fresh, flavorful, and spot on. The Hibiscus salsa changed my lifeeeeeeee… Though the fact that it was purple had me scared at first, the flavor profile of the salsa is amazing. There is a hint of heat and sweet, and best of all, the flavor profile is robust and has a secret ‘hmmm’ that hits you after you finish chewing and presents an added flavor excitement in the form of an after taste. For the record, I have never had this salsa before, but now I feel as though I have to ask for it everywhere I go. It was the bombbbbbbbbb!

Entree: BIRRIA TACOS • Beef birria, melted cheese, corn tortillas, side of consome. The Birria tacos were smaller than I am accustomed to, however, what they lacked in size, they made up for in flavor. Them things were hittinnnnnnn. Fresh ingredients, amazing flavor, tender meat, juicy meat, and the consomeeeeeeeeeeee… One word… BUSSIN!!!!

For the record… there were no crumbs left on my plate!

Taqueria Cresta was an amazing experience. If I am ever in the area again I will definitely stop in again. Make sure you add Taqueria Cresta to your list of must try places when you’re...

This was my second time here. I went a couple of months ago and I ordered the same type of tacos (cauliflower). The tacos this time were much more flavourful, had more sauce/seasonings. I also had the same margarita and it was also much improved.

I was there with a party of 8. Service was great and one of our party was running late. We weren’t rushed and were asked if we wanted to wait to order food, which I really appreciated.

Our party included meat eaters, vegetarians, and gluten free (celiac, not by choice). There were multiple choices for everyone. Everyone thought their meals were really good - and this is a crowd that frequents Mexican restaurants.

I have celiac disease and can tell within 30 minutes whether or not I got exposed to gluten. The server was very knowledgeable about gluten free options, from drinks to the food. I was assured that what I ordered had no cross contamination and they don’t put other items in the fryer that they use for tortilla chips. I had heard that they had stopped doing this a few months ago from an online review - but seems like they have a dedicated fryer for their chips again. I did not have a reaction!

The rooftop deck is beautiful and just a wonderful atmosphere. The entire restaurant though is thoughtfully decorated and the murals are gorgeous. Also really thrilled about supporting a local who clearly put a lot of thought into opening a restaurant here in East Falls and making it such a...

The food in terms of flavor was very good but as a whole the service, portion sizes, presentation, and hidden fees were the biggest killer. I came in on their second day and when my order was missing a few things I was told it was because they were running low on "runners". I saw one gentleman moving the food from upstairs to the floor. I understand an opening weekend can be difficult but 2 waitresses and 1 runner was not a huge help for them. The sizes to prize were very underwhelming. 14-16 dollars for 3 inch wide tacos seemed a bit sad. The nachos were also underwhelming in terms of what's on them. We had barely any cheese and a total of three jalapeno slices. Here's the biggest downfall: when our check came out all of the prices were higher than the menu price. When I brought it up to the manager he stated that they are working out a few things and there was a cash price which would have made the price cheaper. We were never told about a "cash price". We completely understand some extra tax on meals, maybe 30-40 cents but our nachos had 1.20 more than the menu price. I am worried how many people just paid without noticing. All being said the manager did change all of our pricing to the menu prices which is very generous. Definitely need to give a second chance but hoping they help their staff and proportion the meals...