El Tapatio Taqueria — Restaurant in Pittsfield Charter Township

El Tapatio Taqueria proved itself to be one of the best Mexican Restaurants in Ypsilanti. This is a long review, but their quality deserves the recognition online.

Firstly, there is minimal advertising or a dedicated website, however, their Facebook offers a look into their incredible food and drinks. The reviews so far are extremely accurate and reflect the high quality food offered here.

Secondly, here is an in-depth review of their most popular GrubHub recommendation, which is the Street Taco Combination: (I ordered the Carne Asada for reference):

Street Tacos: Some of the most flavorful tacos I have ever eaten. The Carne Asada was seasoned to perfection and was incredibly tender. Not a single piece had gristle or was overcooked. As for the texture/quality of the carne asada, it was the best I've had in Ypsilanti.

Rice/Beans: A hit or miss at many Mexican Restaurants, but a clear as day hit here. The rice was fluffy and flavorful. The beans were beans, they tasted great.

Salsas:

Pico de Gallo - The Pico was almost perfect. It had pretty minimal salt, but I can appreciate that they leave it to the customer to add it themselves. The ingredients were fresh and it seemed to be a recent batch! I highly recommend spending the extra amount for a side of it.

Salsa Roja - The flavor of this Salsa caught me off-guard. It is more similar to a marinara taste and consistency than other Salsa I have had or made. I wasn't a huge fan of it, but that doesn't discount its freshness.

Salsa Taqueria Roja/Verde - These are the two sides that come with the Street Tacos. They were both delicious and each one offers a different flavor profile + spice level.

The Salsa Roja has a strong Chile flavor and a higher spice level. It's for sure spicier than a Jalapeño, but pretty close to the Chile de Arbol. It tastes delicious on the tacos or with chips.

The Salsa Verde was also delicious and offered a nice tart that tomatillos are known for. It isn't as pronounced with chips or on the tacos, but adds a subtle flavor note.

The final verdict:

El Tapatio gets a 5/5 star review. Their staff was incredibly friendly. The restaurant was clean and organized. The food was fresh, delicious, and is going to be a competition for the other veteran restaurants here in Ypsilanti. If this review hasn't swayed you, then take this last sentence as your cue to order El Tapatio.

This was some of, if not the best Mexican food I have had the past four years living in Michigan (both restaurants and...

Bad customer service. Rude Restaurant owner. They seemed to tend to their White customers better. This is an example of Minority-on-Minority Racism.

What happened: The minute I entered the restaurant-everything went wrong. The hostess greeted me. In response, I asked her, "Hello! How are you?" She scowled back at me and demanded, "What did you tell me??" I said, "Hello! How are you?"

The waitress didn't seem to understand anything. She asked me what I would like to drink. I said, "Coke Zero." She was confused. I then named Coke, diet coke, Sprite..she seemed confused. So I wrote down Coke Zero for her. She could not read cursive.

Eventually, I got a beverage. I asked her if I could see the manager. She agreed.

I waited about fifteen minutes for a manager to come over. Or really anybody to come over. Nobody did.

Finally, I went to the bar and asked the gentleman if he was the manager. He said very arrogantly, in a gruff manner, "I am the owner."

I said great and said that I called a few times earlier (showed him my phone call history) and called because I was wondering if he would allow me to use a coupon. He firmly said No. As the owner he has the right. But there was something rude about the way he spoke.

I was barely waited on. The only time I was given some niceness was when the bill was given to me.

I noticed that the owner and waitress actually spoke to a table that consisted of all white people. Not only did the restaurant staff converse but they were actually nice to these patrons.

I noticed that all except one other patron was White. A lot of minorities have internalized racism and an unconscious bias towards other people of color. White is the standard. They really don't know what to do around other people of color-...

Had just finished a little golf at the driving range next door and was in the mood for some Mexican food. Having searched google to locate one nearby, I was delighted to see that I only had to drive about 100 yards(about 2x as far as a couple of my topped shots just minutes earlier) to score some dinner and drinks. We were greeted promptly, and had water delivered within a minute or two. Food and drinks once ordered were delivered quickly. I will say I didn’t go out on a limb and try something unique or exciting, my guest and I both ordered the 2 taco dinner special served with rice and beans. The tacos were okay, beef was not very flavorful and overall something I would rate as a pretty middle of the road. The rice and beans were equally mediocre. Chips and salsa was pretty standard too, salsa was good, puréed type and not very spicy. My guest did say the bathrooms were clean as was the rest of the restaurant/table from what I could tell. I would add, $11.50 for two hard shell beef tacos and rice and beans is a little pricey for what you are getting. However I didn’t have to cook or clean up so I won’t complain too much. But for two hard shell tacos, $10 max should be the price of that meal. I am willing to try El Tapatio again, however I think I may have to try something a little more...