Taco Bus — Restaurant in Treasure Island

This was once my favorite place, but I'm never going back. Had a horrible experience and their poor customer service is completely inexcusable. The quality of the food was below average on this visit and not one person in my party have anything positive to say about the food or service.

We ordered 5 adult meals and a kids meal. All 5 adult meals were a combo. AND PAID FOR ALL OF THE ITEMS INCLUDING TWO SIDES OF GUACAMOLE THAT WE DID NOT GET. When we received the food, only ONE of the adult meals came with the appropriate sides that were ordered as a combo. I had to approach the workers to get all of the items that were missing THREE TIMES before they could correct their mistake. The cashier was extremely rude, after I showed my receipt to get the items that I PAID FOR she and the manager were very hesitant about giving me the missing items. I even have to help count the number of meals and combos off from the receipt more than once because they could not get it together. Even when they knew they were wrong, they were very short with me and their attitude about the whole situation was disgusting.

Even the look and attitude i got from the manager was extremely offensive. (A word of advise, listen to the customer and have the decency to apologize when you have made a mistake.There is no need to challenge a paying customer when you are in the wrong.) I WAS JUST TRYING TO GET THE ITEMS THAT I FULLY PAID FOR. YOU DID NOT HAVE TO ACT LIKE I WAS TRYING TO GET A FREE MEAL OR TO STEAL FROM YOU.After it was all said and done, i was still missing a side of guacamole that they can shove up their @$$. They need to work on their customer approach. No apologies were given, they could care less. Again, I was not looking for a free meal, after paying good money for what we ordered, we just wanted to get what we paid for. They made me feel like i was stealing from them. There are way too many other excellent places in the area for me to go back to Taco Bus. I don't even want to get into the details about the quality of food this time around because I'm over this place and I'm never coming back.

I received a response from the owner on my yelp review about the manager of this location sending me an email to make things right. I never received any type of communication from the management team; and in all honesty, it is not necessary, since this issue should have been resolved when it happened.

Response from owner on Yelp: Ramon, we did, in fact, have someone from our management team reach out to you personally. If you did not receive the email like you are saying please check your clutter or spam folder. However, we would love if you could provide us with your email again so we can accommodate you with vouchers. Please send us a direct message here with your information or you can fill out our form: (website). Thank you, and we are looking forward to making this right!

Thank you for your response and for the fact that you care enough to respond to my review. I did not receive a single email from your management team and i did check "My Clutter" , Spam Folder and deleted messages. The manager must not have hit the send button. There was no response on my original message posted either. I don't know what to tell you. A voucher is not going to fix the customer service problem you obviously have at that location and quite frankly, it's insulting. Maybe you should focus your efforts in providing your staff with general customer service guidelines so that moving forward you don't have to make excuses for...

Expensive - Slow - Dirty

We were fans of the Central Ave location and were sorry to see it go (although glad we never got sick there since it closed for health violations). . The Central Ave location in St Pete had a neighborly, local vibe and was charming and unique. The food was good and served quick. . Today we tried the newer location on St. Pete Beach and were very disappointed. We went out of nostalgia for the experience we had at the Historic Kenwood location and have to say - Don't go if you think it will be like the shop on Central Ave. There is no reason to visit this restaurant other than an affection for Taco Bus in general. It is a lousy restaurant on its own. . Where the Central Ave Taco Bus had quick service, this one was very slow (with only five families eating lunch there today). The cut out bus inside the building is cheap and touristy and plasticky and fake and has none of the charm of the original bus. It reads like a gimmick rather than a local original. . Our lunch was two burritos, beers and chips and added up to $38. (I tipped $5 cash because the credit card slip didn't have a tip line.) It appears that Taco Bus has followed Publix down the InBev route to the hardship of our excellent local breweries. The local beers were cans (not on tap) and only Jai Alai from Cigar City and only Beach Blonde from 3 Daughters. . The cans were filthy. I have heard that it is smart to rinse off a beer or soda can before drinking out of it but I've never actually seen a ring of grime on the top of a beer can before. . On Central Ave, we were used to getting a large bottle each of the red and green sauce at the table. On St Pete Beach we got two tiny "to-go" cups of sauce and nothing at the table. . Also, there was a really crappy country playlist on the speakers for a room with several grade-school-age kids. After we paid and sat down to wait, we had to sit through "Kiss my Country Ass" and the playlist went downhill from there. Who thinks this is appropriate restaurant music? And for a handful of 6 to 8-year-olds? (They did change it to a Reggie channel after one of the dads complained.) . So, if you want to pay 40 bucks for a burrito and a couple beers in a room with sticky floors and general filth then knock yourself out, but we won't be going back. Really bad news after the loss of the Central Ave Taco Bus. It is especially a shame to see a strong local brand be so diluted and diminished in so...

Seems strange doing a Taco Bus review after all these years. In my 35+ years here I do not remember there not being one. I started eating their tacos from a bus on Hillsborough where they originated. With the expansion to 8 locations I have eaten at a few. I love the food and always have, menus vary and change which is inevitable but good eats is a constant. I remember ordering ceviche at the original store but do not recall seeing it at other locations.

My usual orders range from the tacos to burritos, tostadas, quesadilla and the cheesy fried chimichanga. Love both the red and green sauces now served at the newer locations but my favorite was a hot sauce I used to get at the original bus. It used to make my head sweat and tingle. But I have not been there in a long time. While I have tried all the proteins like chicken, shrimp, pork and beef (except the newer vegan ones), my heart is most content when I get the pork carnitas with everything including sour cream and guacamole. Love the flavor of that mojo pork. It does not hurt that pricing is great and I am always full and satisfied when done.

Nowadays you can get frozen margaritas which the wife and I enjoy. I like the traditional lime and she likes the sweeter flavors of mango and strawberry. There are desserts like flan, churros and dulce de leche. I always loved the fact that their corn tortillas were made from Mexican corn and not the genetically modified monsanto American corn that contains pesticides and poisons. But, Mexico lost the fight to keep American corn out of Mexico after threats of sanctions. So, that may change if it has not already. ☹️.

The location in Treasure Island is bright, colorful and cheery. The workers nice, helpful, friendly and humble.  The wife, an introvert, likes chatting with them. Do not forget $2 tacos on Tuesdays and it is one of my wifes favorite places for beef empanadas. Come...