Streetlight Taco — Restaurant in Tampa

We came to Tampa one evening for a concert. We wanted to eat some good Tampa food, so we browsed the Michelin Guide and found this awesome looking taco place. So we loaded up, made the trip, and arrived for a great meal.

Ambiance was excellent. Small and cozy, with lots of traditional Mexican decor all around. There was a lovely little bar that overlooks the open kitchen, really making the place feel very spacious. There were also sacks of different colored corn everywhere, imported from Mexico. Very cool.

Service was very good, too. A nice fella who was very attentive. Kept our glasses full. And the food came out very promptly, too. No complaints at all about service.

I also want to give a nice shoutout to the restaurant for having a nice little non-alcoholic drink menu. They were out of the Chocolate Horchata, but I did enjoy the very delicious Guava Horchata (rice milk, sweetened condensed milk, Mexican vanilla).

Onto the food. Man, we really pigged out here.

Started off with the Chips & Dips Sampler (guacamole, borracha salsa, queso flameado). Wow. Talk about elevating chips and dips. The chips are hearty and felt homemade. The guac was thicc and chunky, awesome. The Salsa was way beyond that bland free stuff you get elsewhere. And the queso was perfect, too. Don't skip over this app. It was amazing.

We went onto the tacos next.

First, the Flour Brisket Tacos (crispy cheese, puerco bean, cilantro, onion, almond / pecan salsa macha). Wow! Crispy cheese cooked right into the tortilla, fresh cilantro and onion, and the star of the show, that unbelievable almond/pecan salsa macha. That texture and that nuttiness set off the brisket absolutely perfectly.

Then we went a little veggie, to the Sweet Potato Stone Ground Heirloom Corn Tacos (scallion goat cheese, pomegranate, jalapeño, sesame macha glaze). Believe it or not, this one was better than the brisket tacos. Tangy goat, tangy pom, heat from the jala, and that unique dept of the sesame, really made that perfectly cooked sweet potato sing. Wow. I wanted to order more of these.

I don't see it on the menu anymore, which I like, because a seasonal/rotating menu is best, I think. But it was a crab and mango tostada with a delicious fruity cream cheese base and the crispiest, most perfect blue corn tortilla you've ever seen in your life. So good.

We finished off with the Seasonal Tres Leches Cake (blueberry, mango, elderflower whipped cream, elderberry powder), which was expertly saturated and accompanied by the real fruit, not artificial syrups, which allowed the fruit flavor to be a part of the party, but not overwhelm it. Lovely.

Overall, this place was lovely. Ignorant people knock the Michelin Guide, but those people need to get a life. The Guide led me here, and I had one of the best taco...

This is my first Google review. I love tacos and I live a few blocks away so had a lot vested on this place being good and somewhere we can frequent regularly.

There are 4 key issues with this place, all of which need to be resolved for it to be a viable option in the future…

1- As mentioned on many other posts, the price point is way too expensive for the food/service. This isn’t necessarily due to the price of the 2-taco meal on the menu, but the fact you are forced to order 2 of the same kind of tacos for $11. Given the size of these tacos, you need at least 3, hence, this approach doesn’t work. For example, Bar Taco is expensive, but I can order 1 at a time. Either sell 3 at a time for $15, or sell individual tacos for $5. Still expensive, but reasonable for those that want the atmosphere.

2- There is ZERO flexibility for food allergies (e.g. dairy), or diet types (e.g. vegan) or kids (e.g. non-spicy). Each taco order cannot be individually edited to remove some of the ingredients. For example, no option to remove the cheese to make the sweet potato vegan, or removing the spicy salsa on the pork to make it kid friendly. Yes, you can ask one of the servers, and we did, but that didn’t work. there is no way to document the request for the cooks.

3- The kiosk ordering system is a disaster and completely unacceptable for the price point of this restaurant. If I’m going to spend over $90 on dinner for 3 (yes, that was my tab for 4 taco orders, 2 drinks and guacamole), I expect to sit and be served by a waiter, not stand in line behind a family of 6 trying to decide what they want on the kiosk. If I want another drink or another taco, I have to get up, stand back in line at the kiosk, and place another order… this is crazy!

4- Why am I tipping before I receive my order/service? What exactly am I tipping for? I know the tipping situation on these credit card kiosks is getting crazy lately, but this is a perfect example where this has gone completely absurd. This isn’t a delivery order where I tip the driver. I should be tipping AFTER I receive my food/service and that tip will be based on that service.

I really, really want to like this place, but unfortunately my 50th birthday celebration here on Tuesday was a disappointment. The food is pretty good, margarita was small, but good, and the servers were nice, but no way I’m spending that kind of money with these...

Streetlight Tacos is about to become Street Fight Tacos

So.....

I paid $160 for tacos today.

Lemme 'splain

Guac (good but I make it better), two drinks -red sangria and a Mezcal Margarita (delicious), Crab and Cream cheese tostadas (way too much cream cheese) , and carnitas (great ) and brisket (absolute 🔥) tacos with tax and tip was $80. Nice try fishing for the 18% gratuity considering you don't have any actual wait staff (more on that in a minute)

Delicious but over priced. Ironic since they got a Michelin Bib for value 🙃

Place has you order and pay via QR code. No one explained that to us, staff pointed to what table we could take and we were left to figure it out on our own. Practically had to yell at us because it's loud AF in there. Turn down the music and invest in some sound deadening materials. We watched as the table next to us got an explanation of the process as well as recommendations.

I placed our order, got the notification for the charge but no order confirmation.

I flag down a staff member (won't call them waiters/waitresses because they are simply food runners despite expecting at least a 18% tip) and they tell me do it again but 'I'll make sure you don't get charged twice'

So I did it again and then got an order confirmation.

Checked my bank and sure enough saw two separate $80 charges.

Tell staff, they send manager, he says 'Yeah, that happens sometimes but don't worry, only one charge will go through'

I say No, two charges definitely went through, you currently have $160 of my money FOR TACOS and while you will probably give me back $80 your system is stupid.

'Sorry. Is there anything I can do?'

Don't ask me. Offer something, comp a drink, invite me back with a credit or something.

Also, how are you still using this system if you know customers are charged twice? And how are you going to assure me it won't happen when you know it happens? That should have been rectified ASAP.

We won't be back but I'm posting so they hopefully get better for future...