Taco Mama - Trussville — Restaurant in Trussville

The folks in the restaurant were friendly, helpful, and very attentive. Other than that we weren’t impressed. This is a place where you order at the counter, right after you walk in. If you are a new customer, like my wife and I were, you have to check the menus very quickly and decide what you want to eat on the spot. One of the employees very helpful and explaining how the menu worked. You could build your own tacos, burritos, etc. but this being out first time we ordered complete menus items. (If you plan to go to this restaurant, I suggest you look at the menu items on the Internet at home before going.

The first thing you have to know is that this is not a traditional Mexican restaurant, or at least what we Americans have come to expect of a traditional Mexican restaurant. My wife says it’s more of a taco bar. Which is fine, if done correctly. So the ingredients are not always traditional.

My wife ordered the THE SIZZLER (Tacos with grilled steak tenderloin, grilled onions, avocado, lettuce, tomatoes, red chile butter sauce, queso fresco ) with a side of black beans. I ordered the JUSTICE IS SERVED (Tocos with flounder (grilled or fried) or grilled shrimp with ancho chile slaw, avocado, tomatoes, roasted poblano tartar.). I chose the shrimp with a side of guacamole. We both chose the flour tortillas for our tacos. Sounds good, huh?

My first problem was that there were only two, maybe three medium sized shrimp on each of my two extra small tortillas. My wife said that she only had three small pieces of beef on each of her tortillas. The resulting tocos were good, but they were skimpy of their main ingredients. I am guacamole lover, but my Toco Mama guacamole side was not to my taste. It seemed to be heavy on the lime juice and something else I couldn’t place. Neither of us liked my wife’s side of black beans. On the other hand, the generous amount of chips were thin, crispy and very good. You can also refill your soft drinks as often as you would like.

I can best describe that the decor as Mexican funky and industrial. The industrial part due to two tall metal shelves parked against the front wall that seemed to serve no other useful purpose except a storage spot for bundles of paper napkins on the top shelves.

This place has a lot of good reviews, so maybe it just doesn’t fit our tastes somehow, but it earned my lowest rating of ant restaurant so far and I don’t think we...

Poor service. Not sure what changed but today I took my daughter and granddaughter there for lunch. Since the line was long I suggested my daughter and granddaughter go ahead and sit down while I got our orders. However, we were told we could not sit down until our order was given ? When I informed the associate I knew what they wanted and could order for them I was told they didn’t take reservations and it was a first come first serve ? This made no sense since we were in line and it only takes one of us to get our food orders. Can someone explain when this process became the new process and why there wasn’t a sign listing this new process ? Sorry we’ve ate there many times and this was a first time this has ever happened.

We also noticed an elderly man in front of us was ordering for himself and his wife. She had gone to sit at a table and male worker informed her she had to leave the table and get back into the line ? Wow I really felt for her and she was surprised and you could tell embarrassed. With this happened we left especially when I pointed out several other customers had done that and nothing was done to relay that same message to them. Wow - age discrimination to the fullest.

So if you have a family of two or more this may not be the l place to go since you all have to wait order even if this puts others out the door. There are better local establishments with better sitting area and food in the Trussville district. Believe me, when they made the elderly lady leave her table and she had to come back into the line, we left and went elsewhere. The food is good but the service and manners...

I am giving them a four rating. Why? So, everyone has been telling me, I need to go to Taco Mama🌮 in Trussville and take the kiddos. I was really curious what the restaurant hype was all about and the magnetic force driving my family and friends to this eatery. I had to see for myself. Since, it was my off day. I took the ride. Calling this dinner outing mommy and son time. I must say my son and I had a good experience. Though, I must acknowledge some minor flaws that bothered my pet peeves. Below is a breakdown of pros, cons, and pic’s.

Pros:

Food is tasty and freshly served

Meals served promptly

Variety of dishes

Variety of liquor beverages and Coca Cola fountain machine

Polite servers

Knowledgeable and professional

Friendly atmosphere

Ambiance align with theme

Handicap accessible

Conventional clean in reference to traffic coming in and out

Dine in

Dine outside

Cons:

Menu pamphlets are stained

Only one cashier

Customers will stand behind one another closely. Can I say alligator 🐊 length. It was a little uncomfortable. (Also, no signs requiring distance between customers in line)

Not so spacious dining inside (tables are close in proximity) no private conversations amongst customers 🤫

Pricey for the inadequate serving of meat to nacho chips ratio. This goes for burritos as well. It’s kind of disappointing because the food...