Tijuana Flats — Restaurant in Port Orange

I really hope that the food quality and experience we had here was isolated to just this location. We’ve been eating at Tijuana Flats for years and years all over Florida and always like the food. My two kids, husband, and I ate here tonight and the only reason it has one star is cause of the 90s music they were playing. It’s been a couple months since we’ve eaten at a Tijuana flats but how can it change so much in that amount of time??? This place was next to awful. The menu changed (no enchiladas?) and we still can’t figure out what my husband actually got and how. My kids tacos’ had dried-out “cat-food-like” textured ground beef, doused in pepper (only way I can describe it). My son, who loves tacos, couldn’t eat the ground beef.

My two fish tacos left me hungry and were more shredded cheese than anything else.

Had to pay extra and ask for salsa (cause you get only cold chips apparently, if you don’t ask for it). Their (jarred) salsa tasted old, like it had been opened and sitting out for awhile. And my husband attempted to order a Baja fish taco meal—what came out was a single tiny taco smaller than anyone else’s (including the kids meals) and the cold chips. He attempted again to order a second taco meal and again they brought out one single, tiny taco. All for 40-some-odd dollars. Whatever he ordered was $4 and they couldn’t understand that he wanted more than one? Needless to say we certainly won’t be back at this location, and I am crossing my fingers the whole chain hasn’t changed...

This place is often overlooked and should be more popular than it is. I'm not entirely sure if Tijuana Flats is considered fast food, but in my experience I've consistently been served without much waiting. I've only ever ordered nachos, but I can say that I enjoyed the nachos so much that I feel compelled to order it every time.

As I get older, I developed an understanding and appreciation for better quality ingredients. What I love most here is that they serve FRESH jalapeños, not the sad, soggy canned (i.e. pickled) variety that you'll be served basically everywhere else (even at the fancy sit-down restaurants). There's nothing quite like biting into a fresh, crispy, healthy pepper... and truthfully they're usually not that hot (a tip, I think a lot of the spiciness comes from the seeds, so if you can avoid them you might prevent a mouth fire... I've heard the same thing about the very tip of the pepper).

I also love the hot sauce bar. I try not to look like I'm having to much fun at it, and I never remember exactly which sauces I preferred from visit to visit, but half of the experience is figuring out which one you liked and which gave you an adrenaline rush.

All in all, based on dozens of visits of just getting nachos, I feel confident saying Tijuana Flats is criminally overlooked and is a great place to grab some Mexican food. It's casual, and way better quality food than the bell. Tijuana Flats certainly deserves way more spotlight than what...

When I arrived, the GM was staffing the counter. There were arcade machines in a row, which was awesome and kind of blew my mind. I've never been a fan of TF, not because of the quality of the food, but because I never order the right thing (my own fault). The GM patiently walked me through what I might want and helped me make decisions when I was indecisive. The food ended up being perfect for me (the tacos with hard and soft shell combined), as a combo for about eight bucks. I'm full! The quality was perfect, and I forgot to get sauce from the sauce bar (which I was disappointed about). The tacos ended up not needing it, the cheese between the shells and sour cream did the work. Very flavorful, filling, and simple at a great price. Taco Tuesday discount. Extra buck for an extra taco, I had three.

The only constructive feedback I could give is to place a small receptacle near the straws for wrappers. The vibe is that they clean up after you, so leave your trash wherever, but if you're like me you're probably not going to feel comfortable doing that with a straw wrapper on a to-go order. No reinforcing the litter muscle memory.

Anyway, awesome spot, much improved since my last visit to the franchise. I was impressed not only with the food and the manager but also the franchise rules that allow some freedom in operation for creativity. Very cool....