Santa Madre Taco Shop — Restaurant in Tempe

I've been going there for at least 6 or 7 years. I've brought everyone I know there to try it out. I was introduced by a good friend who worked as a commercial exterminator who did their pest control. He's worked in MANY PHX restaurants and he said that their kitchen is the most immaculately clean restaurant kitchen he has ever seen in his 25 years in that field. Ok- so it's clean. Great, but how's the food, right? Every time I get 1 fish taco, and 1 full taco. The full taco consists of the fish, with shrimp, and a cheese stuffed pepper which is delicious. The tacos are served as just the tortillas with the meat in it- then you go to the immaculately clean salsa bar that has everything you need to take it over the top. All the cabbage, pico, 3 different salsas, roasted jalapenos, pickled red onion, onion and cilantro, avocado salsa, a creamy chipotle sauce... And too much more to mention. It's kept ice cold, extremely fresh, and again - always not just clean, but IMMACULATE! Ok, so it's clean,and the food is good- it must be crazy expensive, right? WRONG AGAIN! This place is not just a decent price, I think it's dirt cheap!!! In the last couple weeks I've had lunch there twice WITH a friend, and out the door (we didn't buy sodas or beer) for $10. Two adults and lunch was 10 bucks... If you took the time to read all this, you absolutely have to try them out. It's such a nice, clean, family owned business that I truly wish them all the success in the world. If anyone else knows a place to get better food at a better price, I'd love to hear about it but I don't see...

If you're hungry and love tacos, you're in luck. Santa Madre serves up tasty tacos and they do it with a smile. Be warned, the restaurant is small and the clientele knows how good the food is. So, finding seating can be a challenge. The carne asada tacos are favorites of mine. If I'm in a grab-and-go mode, it's the burrito version for me with a healthy squirt of the chipotle sauce to heat up the tongue. Their al pastor is amazing and some best I’ve eaten - it has the right balance of heat and sweet. One of the things I appreciate is the fresh condiments bar, especially their smokey chipotle sauce. They have a nice variety of toppings, including: cabbage, cilantro and onions, cucumbers, pickled onions, coleslaw, and jalapeños. They also had a balanced selection of salsas and other sauces. The chipotle is a "must-try." I like to pour it on top of the coleslaw you put on the tacos. Their rice and beans are not just something to take up space. They are simply good eats.

Nothing is hidden from the customer. Everything is cooked on the griddle to order, right where you can see what's going on. The only thing to remember is they close early at 8:00 pm. So if you want a late night snack or dinner, you're out of luck. The place is not fancy. However, Santa Madre is the perfect example that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. You get a great meal at a good price, with excellent service, from very nice...

My wife and I run Master Germ and Odor Removal AZ, we were treating a cigarette smoke vehicle at Bill Luke Tempe and decided today we would try the closest taco shop which happened to be Santa Madre Taco Shop and we LOVED IT!

My wife is pregnant and currently very very food sensitive so the fact that she killed her plate is the only part of this review that matters however here’s what we ordered!

(Wife’s order) “suggested by employee” Combo #1: 3 carne asada tacos, rice and beans with a drink. Pico, cabbage, avocado salsa and lime added at salsa bar. She absolutely loved it and that’s really saying a lot because she hasn’t held down food well at all during this pregnancy.

(My order) Combo #2: two (loaded) fish tacos, rice and beans with a drink. Pico, cilantro onion, cabbage, avocado salsa and lime added at salsa bar. First off I get a fish taco everywhere we end up that has one on the menu and this set an all time high score in my book, not only was the portion of fish beyond generous the fish was freshly battered and fried, still pipping hot by the time I started eating which was after dressing at the salsa bar.

Overall we definitely will be back, despite living north we often work in this area of the valley and will be trying other items off the menu next chance we get.

Only mistake was not ordering tres leches cake, we saw the sign and later read it was amazing but we will...