Don Joaquin Street Tacos - Springville — Restaurant in Springville

A HIDDEN GEM!!

This taco joint is found sandwiched between Daylight Donuts and Dominos Pizza… but like any sandwich, the meat and fillings is what you’re going for.. and so the metaphors continue.

When you walk in, you exit Springville and enter Mexico… no joke… and for me that just adds to the experience. Lexi and I have gone there more than 20 times and for the price, speed and experience… nothing comes close to Tacos Don Jaquin.

We are devoted fans to the carne asada tacos (I get 8 for myself and will happily consume all of them in one sitting) topped with cilantro, lime juice, their secret sauce, and lots of Mexican Love. Those topped off with an old fashioned bottle of Coca Cola (with real  sugar) holy moly… como sentaleno, cada dia mas bueno!! In other words… it gets better with every visit!

Ricardo is our man and seems to work EVERYDAY except Tuesdays.

PROS: FOOD (Nothing comes close to the authenticity of these Mexican tacos) SERVICE (You’ve entered Mexico.. what do you expect? Broken english, lots of thanks you and a group of construction workers will always be present at Tacos Dan Jaquin) EXPERIENCE (Trust me… you enter Mexico… they literally don’t have a bathroom… they direct all customers to the bathrooms of adjacent stores) PRICE (To fully feed us, it costs us $15. MAX… and we feel good, not heavy, afterwards!)

CONS: Bathroom (But that’s nothing they can fix… so it’s more of a “If I could make one wish” kind of thing)

Conclusion: Quick, Fast and Experiential… just like a Mexican shoot off… One of those 'hole-in-the-walls’ that actually...

UPDATE 3: what hasn't changed at this restaurant over the past 2 years. Not a single recipe is the same, the cost has had 80% inflation, and every time I go something seems different. It can be great sometimes, but going there is a bit like gambling.

UPDATE 2: There once was a man named Don. At least that is what I had named him in my head. He made the best tacos around. It was a small shop and every time I went the same man would make my tacos. I am all for hardworking people getting some well deserved time off which is what I am hoping has happened. But I think it fair to let people know that the quality of dons is no longer what it used to be. The al pastor is being overcooked to the point of being more like jerky, the quality of tacos in general is dropping. The size of my taco varies greatly these days often much smaller than they used to be and the good weeks are just the old size. I am worried that this might be my last week going to dons for a long time. Hopefully, this message is seen and improvements are made. This has been my favorite place to eat out for years now, but I can't say that is still the case after the recent changes...

UPDATE 1: THEY SWITCHED BACK!! I left the review down below after waiting for a few weeks of too many onions. THE TACO IS INCREDIBLE!! BEST TACO IN UTAH!! Easily.

ORIGINAL: The al pastor is my favorite taco. I eat here at least weekly. They did recently change their al pastor to have more onions and less meat than it used to which is disappointing. The old recipe was...

Dear Don Joaquín Restaurant Management,

I am writing to formally file a complaint about a concerning hygiene issue we witnessed at your Springville location on Tuesday, July 8, 2025, at approximately 8:40 p.m.

The cook preparing our burritos used his hand to grab the rice directly — without any utensils — and place it into the burrito. When adding the meat, he was wearing gloves, but it raises the question: were those gloves clean? Had they been used previously for other tasks?

Also, we couldn’t help but wonder: was the amount of rice and meat handled correctly and portioned appropriately?

Shortly afterward, the same cook was seen sweeping the floor with a broom and dustpan. He then returned to the kitchen line and continued cooking without washing his hands or changing his gloves.

This behavior shows a lack of basic hygiene and food safety practices. The cook should have a valid food handler certificate and be fully trained in maintaining sanitary standards in a kitchen environment.

Furthermore, both the cook and one of the helpers seemed more focused on chatting and joking than on preparing food with the seriousness and professionalism required.

This situation is very disappointing and poses a health risk to customers. I hope this issue is addressed promptly and seriously to prevent similar incidents...