Mad Tacos — Restaurant in Town of Nelson

My wife and I took a spur of the moment trip into Cazenovia. After, we decided to see some friends in New Hartford. It was after noon and we hadn’t eaten, so we decided to correct that and look for good food. She found Mad Tacos on Google Maps. It had fairly good ratings, so we figured we’d give them a try. It’s a cute little bar with some indoor and outdoor seating. We looked over the menu and picked what we thought would be quite tasty. I have never had a problem admitting when I’m wrong. Yes, I was very wrong. The sodas were handed to us in lukewarm cans. No offer for a glass with ice. I’m sure the bartender had to feel how not cold they were. Anyway, we sat and waited for our food.

The first to arrive were the chips and salsa, which we had to order. The name of the place is Mad Tacos. Every “Mexican” joint I’ve ever been to has offered complimentary chips and salsa. Even if this place did, I still would have been angry. The chips were super salty dollar store version of Walmart tortilla chips. The salsa tasted like chunky water - it had no taste. None!

Then, suspiciously quickly, our food arrived. We were so ready for something that tasted better. Well, we’re still waiting for that. The beef had the look of taco beef with the seasoning on it, but it had no flavor except that of plain hamburger. No spice whatsoever. Ketchup would have been spicier than this food. Most restaurants have some sort of condiments at the table. Ours, and looking around, every other table had napkins and some form of playing cards. Not even salt or pepper. Nothing in sight to doctor our meal.

We just quickly ate our food, swallowed our tears of disappointment, and left never to return. The one thing we can agree on is the name. Mad Tacos is appropriate as I assume, people with actual taste leave mad for spending so much money for a...

A perfect little restaurant, really. Tucked away in the town of Nelson, just past Cazenovia, sits this affordable, clean cut, and absolutely to die for taco shop. The seating is limited, so going during lunch hour will ultimately have you standing to eat your tacos. While this place doesn’t have a ton of menu options, the items they have are unbelievably delicious, and are sold at a fair price. I mean, 3 hearty tacos for $10? Count me in. I personally had their Chorizo burrito with the “Mad Mac” sauce (which in my opinion added the perfect amount of heat to the burrito, and I love heat). The beer selection they have on tap and in cans is not your typical Bud Light, Blue Light, Guinness draft picks. The only name I recognized up there was Modelo, and the rest seemed to be very lively microbrews. The service was kind and considerate, even coming over to our table to ask us about the food and briefly discuss the origins of their “Mad Mac” sauce (which is named after one of the owner’s very hyper son), and to thank us for coming to their restaurant. They even thanked us when we were headed out the door, and it wasn’t a scripted “thank you, come again” you’d get from a fast food joint. It was a genuine statement that showed these guys really cared about the food they are making and the service they are providing. To make a long story short, I will be returning to this restaurant time and time again. Dates, meet ups, dinner with friends, family gatherings, you name it. I’m bringing everybody I know...

My husband and I decided we wanted to try a “hidden gem” type spot for lunch while in the area, and the “overall” rating for this restaurant drew us in. Plus, who doesn’t love good tacos?

The many reviews at the top from people stating “best tacos ever” make me sad, because that means those people have clearly never had good tacos.

While the person behind the bar and taking orders was friendly, and the service was quick, the positives end there.

The drinks - soda in a can that came from a fridge were far from cold. Ok… no big deal.

I ordered 3 of the “OG” beef tacos, husband got a beef taco salad and we also got a side of chips and salsa. The chips tasted like off-brand Tostitos and the salsa had almost no flavor.

The meat, despite looking seasoned, had absolutely no seasoning or spice level whatsoever.

We could have overlooked this as we realize everyone has different preferences for spicy-ness. HOWEVER…

There was no hot sauces or even salt and pepper anywhere in sight to make the food more flavorful.

We ate our food due to not wanting to waste the money and being hungry. We don’t mind paying for good food, but $35 for three small flavorless tacos the salad, chips and salsa (which would normally be complimentary) and two warm sodas seems steep…

We left pretty disappointed and confused as to what all the...