Tina's Tacos — Restaurant in Philadelphia

Oof, so much to dissect here. After seeing all of the 1 and 5 star reviews, I figured I would chime in. But first, let me say that I want this place to succeed. I live in the neighborhood, love the theme, and genuinely think the owners are trying their best (despite their ill conceived replies). Anyways, onto my review...

My girlfriend and I visited this establishment on 4/13. We ordered two boxes, the corn, and a plethora of drinks. The margaritas were not great unfortunately (overly sweet, no salt, etc. etc.) so we switched to cocktails and beer (which were a bit better).

The ambiance and decor was confused to say the least. I'm a huge fan of Bob's Burgers and loved the BB paraphernalia. However, it seemed to be warring with the basketball signage. Tina's Tacos seems less like a clear concept and more like someone's decked out basement. Also, the music was unnecessarily loud and some of the patrons seem perturbed by it.

As for the wait, it took approximately two hours for us to receive our food. The owner was apologetic and guaranteed that the food would be worth the wait. He also mentioned that his girlfriend was working in the kitchen for the first time. About an hour and a half into our wait, we were informed that they ran out of corn (which was a bummer because it sounded really good).

Once we received the food, we were pleasantly surprised. Despite the drinks, wait, ambiance, etc., the food was scrumptious. Granted, we were both incredibly hungry and scarfed down our food, but it was unique and flavorful.

We received our check and neither our food nor our drinks were comped. We left the establishment saying we will return...in a few weeks once their issues are worked out.

I wanted to email the owner with a few of my suggestions, but I can't seem to find their contact info on their website. Since the owner obviously reads these comments, I'll list them here...

-Go all in on the Bob's theme. People love it and you have support from the creators of the show. You'll attract a ton of attention if you get rid of the basketball posters and put the BB theme front and center.

-Perfect the margs and just do margs and beer. No one needs a cocktail with yellow chartreuse at a taco joint. You're offering too much variety and that's taking up too much of your time as the owner. Also, I'd recommend hiring a bartender so you can focus solely on the customers.

-Comp some drinks for people who have been waiting an hour or more for their food. Your customers understand that you are new and will be forgiving...at first.

-Find a quicker way to make tacos. I know Birria tacos take longer to make, but customers expect tacos to take 10 minutes top.

Overall, this establishment seems like a victim of early success. While chatting with the owner, he mentioned how he dreads negative reviews online (which I commend). However, Tina's Tacos has a lot of issues to resolve and I would encourage them to do quickly. I will be back (so long as the owner doesn't verbally...

My lady and I went there mid-day 4/26/24, we had been there previously about 4 times. When we walked in, we immediately noticed the atmosphere was a bit different. It was almost empty, the staff had completely changed, and the music was different. We tried sitting at the bar, but tho there were only two couples at the bar…the rest of the bar was covered with bar supplies so there was nowhere to sit, we decided to take a rocky unstable table towards the back of the establishment. A waiter takes our drink order and comes back minutes later with our drinks. We sat with our drinks about 10 mins before the manager takes our food order. We sit there taking, sipping, and on our phones for another 25 minutes before we realize that the place is now empty, no one has come to check on us…and we don’t have any food. At this very moment, the waiter is walking up to our table and ask us if we wanted to put an order in for food. We inform him that we had put an order in over 20 mins ago and that we were waiting for our food to be brought out. He went back in the kitchen to check, came back to tell us no such order had been placed, and that he would take our order. I informed him that we placed our order with the guy who he had been talking with and asked the waiter where he had gone. The waiter replied with hands in the air, that he didn’t know. We place our orders again, and our food comes out to our table 5-6 mins later. We began eating and immediately notice our food is very salty. We are not complainers, so we try to eat it any. No one comes to check on us after our food arrives. We finish our drinks, and nibble on what lil food we did eat leaving almost our whole order untouched. As we finish up our drinks, I ask for the check so we can pay and leave. As we are waiting, I see the guy who first took our food order, so I ask the waiter if I could speak with a manager…I was going to then complain about the service and how salty our food was…even tho we ate a small portion…I was still going to pay. The waiter said he’d get the manager. The guy who first took our order walks over, I ask if he was the manager….he says yes. I told him he has taken our food order, but had not put it in, leaving us waiting 25 mins for food that wasn’t even being prepared. I told him his cook was using way to much salt that we couldn’t even eat most of our order. I was not rude about it. I did not make a seen…I was really trying to help this guy out by giving a bit of constructive criticism and/or feedback. He then told me I was being “Extra”! My lady and I looked at each other like we were in the twilight zone. We immediately asked for the check so we could leave at once. He goes to settle our check, but comes back to tell us that because we didn’t have a pleasant experience and didn’t eat our food, that it was on the house. We still could not leave fast enough. The place is under new management or something. I’m here to tell u all…don’t wait ur time. I will...

Tina’s Tacos 2327 E. York Street Philadelphia, PA

Monday closed Tuesday 3 to 10pm Wednesday 3 to 10pm Thursday 3 to 10pm Friday 3 to 10pm Saturday brunch 12 to 5pm

I recently visited Tina’s Tacos in the heart of Fishtown, Philadelphia, and I must say, it was a delightful experience. The atmosphere is vibrant and welcoming, perfect for a casual night out with friends or family. The staff were incredibly friendly and attentive, making sure we had everything we needed. The place was spotless, not a crumb left on the table and the wait time for food was no more than 5 to 10 min.

Now, onto the food – it was absolutely delicious! First, we had the nasty nachos as an appetizer with a fresh queso dip. Next we tried the famous Birria Tacos, they were packed with flavor. The meat was tender and juicy and the sauce added an extra layer of richness. The portions were generous, and everything was served hot and fresh. I also loved the variety on the menu, with options like jerk chicken tacos, Birria ramen, and a Birria rice platter that caters to different tastes and are absolutely delicious. All the meat is Halal meat and they do also offer vegan and vegetarian options.

Tina’s also host special events every Wednesday they have Open Mic Night 10pm to 1am. Tina’s has brunch offered now on Saturdays 12pm to 5pm, reservations not required but encouraged to get the $60 pp deal. This menus includes chicken churro waffles, shrimp and grits with endless mimosas along with other items. Do not even get me started on the desserts! The chocolate churro oreos just melted in your mouth. Happy Hours are from 3 to 6, so after a long day of work stop on over to get your Birria fix with a nice fresh tropical margarita.

I would definitely recommend Tina’s Tacos to anyone looking for tasty, well-flavored tacos with a great...