El Taco

Not the best Mexican, however, was within distance from the theater and is reasonably priced. It was getting busy and it was one girl ringing the til and making the food, therefore, she was a little backed up. They do have calorie information on hand which is a plus.

Veggie burrito, huge and delicious. A selection of four different hot sauces to add as you gobble it down. Yum. $ 3.50 for a Corona is my kind of Mexican establishment. I’ll be back guaranteed. Not sure why the reviews aren’t higher… quick bite n friendliest staff.

Had better, in a city filled with pizza and fast Mexican I would give this place a miss. The food is mediocre and service to match. I would go into the details of the burrito falling apart but I’ve had some tightly packed burrito’s but this one was more like a wrap.
Nothing memorable.

I wanted to like this place, since its kind of a hole in the wall on Davie, and they can make burritos vegan if you ask, but I think the key here is quality over quantity. Sure, they have a one pound burrito, but it’s pretty bland. The veggie one is filled with beans, rice, lettuce, a couple diced tomatos and a small bit of cheese, at least that’s all you can taste in it. I slathered it up in the tomatillo green sauce that they had on the counter (which was the best part of my dinner).
The BF had the tortilla soup, which tasted a bit better than my burrito and was made with a tomato soup base, which is cool, since most soups seem to be made with a chicken stock. The prices were pretty average, except for the prices on booze, that seemed a bit ludicrous. We’re talking $ 30 for a pitcher of sangria, and almost $ 40 for a pitcher of margarita or daiquiri — that’s just crazy! I could sort of understand if it was a nice restaurant, but this place is like a self serve burrito joint. Ain’t no need to be ballin’ that big here!
In the end, I’d rather have a smaller burrito with better ingrediants, or more ingrediants for that matter. Thros in some sauteed peppers or onions, or mushrooms, or SOMETHING. I’d skip this place and just head up to Mucho Burrito instead.

This is a great place to have a good value on Mexican food. The staff are very friendly and gives you generous portions on some of there items.
I always go for the seafood huicho bowls which consist of rice, cheese, white fish, shrimp, lettuce, spices and four non wheat tortillas. This is the best seafood dish in the city for $ 10 this deal can’t be beat. There green salsa is to die for and everytime I bring a friend they become fans and come back again. I know I will be coming back again and look forward in that deal of a bowl.
Reason I give it this rating is that the décor could use some fresh paint and have glasses instead of plastic for water however there tequila prices are a great deal!
Oh yeah there tortilla soup is awesome!

I really like how they toast their burritos. A slightly crispy corn flour tortilla somehow makes burrito eating less messy for me. Intrigued by the cilantro pesto option, but didn’t go for it.
Advertised as a 1lb burrito, it’s definitely a generous portion. They let us try half turkey chorizo and half pulled pork for ours, but I think I could only taste pulled pork. Lots of black beans and lettuce.
Not exceptionally cheap, I think it was about $ 9 for the burrito which seems in line with Chronic Tacos and the other chains.

I’ve eaten here twice out of convenience. The food is unmemorable; mediocre at best. Recently received super shitty service. We ordered a salad and while the cashier was ringing in the order, we asked if we could change the order to the smaller size. I guess this was a lot to ask because she gave us a good old-​fashioned stare-​down and then rolled her eyes. At that point, we left.
El Taco is crappy food that’s not worth the attitude.

Mmmm mexican food is sooo yummy. The service was friendly and she was helpful in regard to my avoiding wheat and dairy. I had a chicken taco with a corn tortilla. I didn’t end up eating the tortilla since I didn’t care for it. It got kinda soggy but yet tasted dry at the same time. The other ingredients tasted fresh and flavourful though. The guacamole was very thin and watery — I wonder how much actual avocado was in that. It still tasted good. Both myself and the vegetarians who were with us were hoping that they offered an alternative to cheese — soy or something. Mexican food does taste better with cheese — even if it’s a substitute.
Also had the pulled pork nacho appy. She didn’t use the regular taco chips since she wasn’t sure if they were wheat free but instead used some homemade sort of taco strips. I loved the pulled pork — I ate most of it before the boyfie could get at it. He had a beef burrito and it looked pretty big — he thought it was good. Our friends were vegetarians and enjoyed their meal as well. They said the hot sauce that claimed to be super hot didn’t live up to it’s name.
Loved the décor with the colorful art on the wall. I thought it was a bit on the pricey side for the amount of food and style of the place. It always makes me think ‘oh I could just make this at home for way cheaper.’ But if I’m hungry and nearby I might go for those pulled pork nachos again. :)

Walking by and almost late going back to work, the sign «$ 2.50 Taco Everyday!» caught my eye. I walked in and ordered the chicken taco, which isn’t on the menu so just ask for it. It was a filling snack and had enough chicken in it. They also put beans in their tacos and I forgot to ask them not to. Ended up not being too bad.
Quick and satisfying. They made the taco in front of me and I was in and out in a total of 10 minutes.

Wanting something quick and not too expensive, we decided to go to the El Taco on Davie. I had been here once, or twice before, and remembered that they had gone over board on the sauce on my meal the last time, leaving it soggy (which I so hate)
I ordered the chicken torta (a bun with grilled chicken, cheese, with the guacamole & pico De gallo on the side. No mayo) it was pretty good. The bun was fresh, but not lots of chicken.
My bf had the pulled pork torta, it was pleasing, but sadly, the meager portion of pork was lost in the sea of lettuce.
He enjoyed the in house hot sauces — chipolte, haberno, jalapano, and the salsa verde.
We also ordered the beef Taco salad, but we took it to go. What a mistake, it was nasty !
It was super soggy, and the flavor was so gross, we each took a bite and threw it out. We had asked them to leave it open and refrigerate. We assumed that the tortilla strips would be served on the side, packaged separately. No we were wrong.
The service was ok… Not bad, not great.
Would of ordered a drink but at 7 $ a glass or /​37 $ a pitcher we skipped the cocktails.
Don’t think we will return, Mexican is yummy, but this left much to be desired.

I’ve had the vegan burrito twice here. Not bad. It’s really big and filling. Much better than Chronic Tacos, but could use a bit more flavour.
I’m a fan because it’s always there when you’re walking around Davie Street at night and easy to grab and go.
The staff are really friendly there and I’m glad that it exists. There sure are a lot of Mexican places in Vancouver and most are not that great!

As a 20+ year resident of Northern California I became very spoiled by the plethora of amazing, authentic taquerias. How do you judge if it is «authentic» taqueria? Do they serve menudo on the weekends, lengua and have only meat, beans, rice and salsa fresca on their standard burrito?
As good as the food offerings are in Vancouver, a really good burrito is still elusive. I would give El Taco’s chicken burrito a 2.5 — which in comparison to other burritos in Vancouver is really good. But lettuce on a burrito — really? The only thing that it contributes to is a small stream of watery juice running up your arm when you attempt to eat it by hand and the lagoon at the bottom of your food basket. The chicken was moist, plentiful but not as strongly flavoured as it might have been. The rice is just blah and the beans although healthier than their CA counterparts, seemed to be missing the lard component. I won’t even address all of the other superfluous junk they put on it. The salsa selection was the saving grace with the chipotle being quite delicious and adding the necessary zip to the somewhat bland burrito innards. I cannot also stress the importance of wrapping a really tight burrito because nothing is worse than leaning in for a bite and having the thing collapse. If you are forced to eat the sucker with a fork then IMHO it ceases to be a burrito.
I have rounded up the rating to a 3 simply because of geographic necessity. My 5’s are La Costena and Tacqueria La Bamba in Mountain View, CA and obviously not easy to get to. The décor is pleasant and the people behind the counter and who bring you your food are friendly and efficient. If I really need a burrito facimile then for the interim this will have to do.

There is not much I can’t get enough of but lately there is no end to the amount of Mexican food I will eat!
Their sign outside the restaurant claims to they have the #1 burrito in Vancouver… while I disagree that it is #1 in town is is still so damn good and if you think it isn’t good enough the first night it is WAY better reheated the next day!
Much of their food is quite unseasoned but with some homemade guacamole and salsas they have available it turns out pretty fabulously!
The staff are also very friendly although I have only gotten take out there.
…and now I’m hungry!

Every time I eat here, I see at least two people walk by, stop, look over the menu posted outside, ponder for a moment, and usually move on. As I sit inside nomming on my delicious burrito, I consider it a success any time someone decides «oh, what the heck!» and makes their way inside. Because seriously, the burritos here are amazing — especially in tandem with the «extra hot» salsa from the salsa bar (except for that one time when it tasted a bit off).
If it tells you anything, I’ve found myself calling this place «El Burrito» by accident instead of «El Taco». I’ve never been able to bring myself to order anything except for a burrito when I come here, so I can’t speak for the other menu items. The burritos, though, are tasty and filling, and one of the only things that I find myself craving on a regular basis. There are a variety of meat options as well as meatless, and they’ve even brought in whole wheat tortillas now! How can you go wrong with a burrito, customized to your hearts delight, and a cold Negra Modelo? I’m in love!

Hugely disappointed. I went once or twice when this place first opened and thought the food was great. Well, I went back tonight and came away very unhappy. My burrito was very good, but my partner’s quesadilla was completely lack-​luster. Moreover the service was appalling. She was rude and surly; made us feel as if we were bothering her entering the establishment. You’ve got one shot to loose me as a customer… I won’t be back. There are other cheap-​ish mexican places in town. I’d suggest La Taqueria on Hastings.
Oh yeah, and one more thing… the restroom needs some work. And is it really hygienic (not to mention legal) for the some of the food stuff to be literally right outside the door to the washroom? Bleh!

El Taco? El Delicious! As you can tell, my knowledge of Spanish is about as sparse as my knowledge of Mexican food, but the tastiness of the Taqueria fare at El Taco crosses cultural bounds.
I’ve been looking for good Mexican in Vancouver for years, and I think that with El Taco, it has finally arrived. The burritos are large, packed with flavour, and make you feel full at the half-​way point, like a burrito should. The salads somehow taste healthy and heavy at the same time. The day that I was there, bottles of Corona were on sale for 3.50!
Special tip: If you sit on the patio, be sure to keep an eye out for the Yaletown fitness freaks passing to/​from Fitness world just around the corner, while you feast on your burritos and enchiladas. Whether you feel bad or good about that is up to you…

If only it was socially acceptable to eat burritos all day long…
Their advertised 1 lbs burrito is an actual pound, I weighed it. Just kidding, but my pipes tell me it weighs quite a bit and I have always finished it. Beyond my insane compulsion to finish mass quantities of food, I also finish this because its so good I can’t stop eating!
I’ve tried many things at El Taco and even though most things are good, the burrito (I prefer beef) is phenomenal.
Now I hear a rumour that some people don’t like cilantro. I don’t know if this is true or not as I love the addition in these out of this world burritos but just a heads up, your mind is about to get changed.

I agree with the reviewer below who put quotations around the apparent «gaucamole» El Taco serves. It is seriously bad stuff. Pasty & strangely smooth, bland & totally puzzling. Definitely not fresh, which for a Mexican restaurant is wrong. It does at least have the coffee right by serving Oso Negro coffee from Nelson BC & also selling the beans by ½ & 1lbs. Will be back for the coffee, not the food.
Shared a 1lb buritto & drank mojitos. Pretty forgettable.

I’d say us Unilocalers have done a pretty good job scouring the city this summer for some Taqueria experiences worthy of a full house of stars. I haven’t seen any real banners flying yet though.
I spied El Taco the other day knowing that this was already tested ground, but took my roll of the dice nevertheless.
Cute little place, friendly servers, and a small patio. Yes, they do also serve as a local bar and people were enjoying Lime Slushy Margaritas, or in our case just Lime Slushys :-)
My Taco Salad was just okay but the big guy LOVED his Chorizo Burrito and is looking forward to returning.
One note is that there is a second location in… Nelson BC ! and guess what they carry? … Oso Negro Coffee from Nelson! How I luvs my Oso Negro. SO, bonus point for that!

3 stars is extremely generous, but I’m in a charitable mood. How nice of me.
Anyway, the ladies who worked here were really friendly and the service was speedy.
The chips were definitely from the bag and the salsa was definitely lacking in heat and in texture. It was mostly chopped tomatoes with chunks of jalepenos and onions thrown in, so the salsa was dry and unevenly flavored.
I ordered the taco salad, which was ok, but the «guacamole» they used was definitely not made from fresh avocados. In fact, it looked like a creamy green salad dressing that had a very strange aftertaste. The black beans on the salad weren’t seasoned, so they were super bland.
The guy’s burrito didn’t fare that much better. The overall burrito was ok, but they added that weird guacamole sauce to it, so the burrito tasted very odd.
We ended the meal with their flan, which was surprisingly good. It was definitely the highlight of the meal.
Maybe their other taco offerings are better, but I don’t think I’ll go back to find out.