täkō
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Lively, stylish taqueria with sidewalk seating serving inventive Mexican street food.
attractions: PNC Park, Point State Park, Market Square, Omni William Penn Hotel, The Andy Warhol Museum, Stage AE, Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown, David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Gateway Clipper Fleet, The Westin Pittsburgh, restaurants: City Works (Market Square - Pittsburgh), Gaucho Parrilla Argentina, Sienna Mercato, Texas de Brazil - Pittsburgh, Grand Concourse, Burgatory, Tequila Cowboy, Bakersfield Penn Ave, Nicky's Thai Kitchen, Proper Brick Oven & Tap Room
Ratings
Description
Lively, stylish taqueria with sidewalk seating serving inventive Mexican street food.
Posts
My dad and I are traveling around pittsburgh trying to find the best tacos in the city. Täkō is the third stop on our tour. Täkō is our new favorite shattering the competition. While pricier than the first two taco establishments, the tacos are not a terrible value. My dad and I went with some family to dinner here. We were greeted by a cramped, dimly lighted, modern, restaurant. My family and I were seated on the top floor. When ordering we decided to start with an appetizer of papas bravas. This potato dish was very good. The whole family gave it a universal thumbs up. For the main course we decided to get the taco board. This board of 12 tacos was a decent value. The tacos were 2 pairs of octopus tacos, a pair of fish tacos, a pair of carnitas tacos, a pair of chicken tacos, and a pair of chorizo tacos. All of the tacos were incredible. They were the best tasting tacos I have ever had by a long shot. The tacos were all very filling. My family decided to split the tacos so everyone could get a little of everything. The groups universal favorite taco was the carnitas. If you can only choose one taco I would recommend this. My second favorite was the octopus. The octopus was cooked to perfection and it melted in my mouth. The chicken tacos were excellent and could hold their own. The chorizo tacos were paired with an egg creating a very unique combination of flavors. The fish tacos were solid as well. The thing that stood out from Täkō is that the chef is so good at creating unique combinations of flavors that all blend together to create an incredible taco. Täkō served me the best tacos I have ever had. If budget is not a concern it would be ludicrous to pass up this restaurant. Even with a budget the prices are not terrible. A pair of tacos is very filling and is definitely a full meal. Täkō surpassed my expectations and showed that modern Mexican can compete with authentic Mexican
Nate PaulNate Paul
10
Tako is one my very favorite restaurants in Pittsburgh. I'm clearly not alone of that - this tiny restaurant is always booked! A reservation weeks in advance is pretty much always necessary. It's worth the wait though for the creative mixed drinks and equally inventive tacos. Tako serves its Asian-Mexican fusion food in a small, dimly lit space with creative decor and danceable music, making it feel as though you've walked into somewhere secret. If you go to tako and are of age to consume alcohol, I'd say a margarita is a must! The spicy cucumber margarita is fantastically cooling and hot at once. On my most recent visit, I had the coconut margarita - it was a like a margarita and a piña colada had a happy baby. You really can't go wrong, unless you don't order a margarita at all. As far as food, the tacos are a must. I have had the non-meat taco flavors. I used to love their mushroom taco with huitlacoche but the mushroom taco has since changed so on my most recent visit I opted for the shishito taco which was quite tasty and they managed to squeeze a lot of peppers into two tacos. Side note: the flour tortillas are not vegetarian but the corn tortillas are. My friends and family have also said positive things about the other flavors of tacos. The chorizo taco has been praised for being rich but it has been noted to not be very spicy. And the tako (Japanese for octopus) taco is noticeably octopus tentacle so you have to decide for yourself if that's fun or intimidating.
Kara DeGraveKara DeGrave
00
I'm so glad we FINALLY got to Tako! The tacos (and salsas) were amazing and the margaritas (I had the pineapple/jalapeno one without the jalapeno) were wonderful. We sat at the bar, since we didn't plan ahead months in advance. The service was great and all the food we saw going by us looked amazing, too. I couldn't decide, since everything looked so good on the menu, so I took the suggestion of our bartender and she definitely steered me in the right direction, though all of us enjoyed our food. The tacos were also a lot bigger than I expected and filled me up more than I thought they would. I can't wait to go back. There is so much I want to try! (Side note: I used their rest room and I recommend you AVOID THIS at all costs. I give the rest room ZERO STARS. They have two choices to dry your hands: an old fashioned towel machine - see pic below - that moves around with other people's germs, I hadn't seen one of these in decades... or a blow dryer that's just one step up from the Dyson germ machine. I had to dry them on my clothes and use clothing to open the door. As I was telling Bryan about the horrible rest room the one employee said I wasn't wrong as I explained that it was the worst public rest room. That's not a good sign.)
Kat VanckoKat Vancko
20
I was here at 4.55pm on Monday and there was already a bit of a crowd outside waiting for the doors to open at 5! Now that’s a sign! And sure enough, Täkō doesn't disappoint! In fact, I'm back again on Wednesday to try the other items on their menu that I didn't get to on Monday! This "getting full" thing is annoying. If only I was a bottomless pit.. I'd pretty much move in above Täkō! Their bartenders really know how to mix great cocktails. I'd recommend the pineapple-jalapeño margarita and the spicy cucumber if you like a spicy kick to your drink like I do. The mushroom tacos are the BEST ever! We also enjoyed the mushroom queso and butternut squash tostadas. Service is super fast and efficient. I like sitting at the bar here but if you absolutely need a table, reservations are strongly recommended..even on a weekday. This place is always packed! No wonder they don't do happy hour specials! They don't need do. But considering the upscale vibe that this place has, and their prices, I feel they needn't charge $1 to refill tortillas that come with the $12 Queso! That's my one peeve.. Don't get cheap on the tortillas, täkō.. come on now! Be above that!
Divya ParameshwaranDivya Parameshwaran
00
First time in Pittsburgh, walking around and find this cute little kitchen open to the street. Walk up, get seated immediately outside. The smells were great, and being able to see everything being cooked gave great insight into how the food would turn out. After ordering, I watched them make taco after delectable taco until finally one of the plates came my way. It tasted amazing, and was a very unique experience. The greatest part was that my steak taco had some balsamic vinaigrette, a really rich addition to the flavor pallette. Once I ran out of taco, I was happily informed that there were churros, which I promptly ordered. Served with chocolate and caramel, as well as an amazing passion fruit dip that tasted divine! The prices were high, but the quality was well worth it. Everything is made on sight, from the tortillas to the sour cream, and it shows in the craftsmanship of each taco. The cooks were very friendly, and struck up a conversation with me and a few others sitting outside. The aesthetic is beautiful, and really pulls the experience together. The next time I'm in Pittsburgh, I'll be sure to walk over here for dinner.
Ezri DonnangeloEzri Donnangelo
10
Me and my friends went to Tako on Monday night. The food is amazing, and I have been here numerous times, but the service is absolutely terrible. I took seven friend here and spent over $200 dollars & tipped 20% but only because of the lady in the kitchen brought us our food, and she was so nice but our server was in a terrible mood AGAIN, it seem like every single server here is always having a bad day and just not wanting to be there or help anyone do they all hate there job and people???. Food is amazing but every time I go here service is sooooo bad!!! Even the chef with the twits in his hair. Just bring us our appetizer and drop it like 3 inches on the table and walk away. It's like he threw the food down on our table then just walked away, we were all having fun and talking then he drop the food and walk away. We all stop talking because we couldn't believe it was so loud... food is great but service is the worst I have ever experienced in my life. PS bring back chorizo tacos.
Joseph SnyderJoseph Snyder
00
Nearby Attractions Of täkō
PNC Park
Point State Park
Market Square
Omni William Penn Hotel
The Andy Warhol Museum
Stage AE
Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown
David L. Lawrence Convention Center
Gateway Clipper Fleet
The Westin Pittsburgh
PNC Park
4.7
(7.8K)Click for details
Point State Park
4.7
(4K)Click for details
Market Square
4.6
(3.4K)Click for details
Omni William Penn Hotel
4.5
(2.4K)Click for details
Nearby Restaurants Of täkō
City Works (Market Square - Pittsburgh)
Gaucho Parrilla Argentina
Sienna Mercato
Texas de Brazil - Pittsburgh
Grand Concourse
Burgatory
Tequila Cowboy
Bakersfield Penn Ave
Nicky's Thai Kitchen
Proper Brick Oven & Tap Room
City Works (Market Square - Pittsburgh)
4.6
(2.8K)$$
Click for details
Gaucho Parrilla Argentina
4.6
(1.9K)$$
Click for details
Sienna Mercato
4.3
(1.4K)$$
Click for details
Texas de Brazil - Pittsburgh
4.5
(1.3K)$$$
Click for details
Reviews
Overview
4.5
(802 reviews)$$
Phone
+1 412-471-8256
Call
Website
takopgh.com
Visit
Deep Dive
A deep dive into täkō
