Taco Palenque

All I know is that they make chicken mole enchiladas and it was surprisingly fantastic!

A little overpriced, the fideo was borderline spoiled. The tacos were ok, the service was slow on a weekday.

A stark contrast from its McAllen counterpart. Atmosphere is what you would expect from a chain restaurant: clean (sterile), open (absent of intimacy), and colorful (in that corporate cookie-​cutter sort of way). In other words, it is lifeless.
Yes, they have a condiment bar. But do you go to a restaurant for the condiments? Well, if you go here, you go for the clueless staff and the half-​rate food. I asked if they served botanas, which anyone in the Valley knows is a kind of nacho-​ish dish consisting of quesadillas, guacamole, fajita meat, tortilla chips, and loads of cheese, costing about $ 30 – 40 at local restaurants. Well, the half-​hearted staff said «yes, we have botanas» but served me a $ 38 sub-​par parillada dish instead. That’s a lot of chedda to fork out for a cheap botana imitation. The meat was simply… ugh. The dish as a whole lacked about 80% of what makes up a botana dish. Clueless.
The takeaway from this and the other reviews is that you either come very hungry so you can appreciate the food or you can do better at another chain restaurant or, even better, go to a local dive.

The quesadilla I had was tasty but when I asked for a cup of water they told me the water was coming out dirty. So either they lied & didn’t want to give me a complementary cup of ice water or they were cooking & cleaning with dirty water. Either way I won’t be back!

The tacos were so incredibly greasy! But, honestly, I didn’t mind it. It was good. It wasn’t the best, but it’s pretty much Mexican fast food so you can only expect so much from it. I’d say it’s better than taco bell but not as good as tacos from a taqueria.

I am shocked this place is rated so high on Unilocal.I was there a few days ago while visiting family in Brownsville and the food was terrible. As close as this place is to the boarder, you would think their «Mexican» food would taste more authentic. This place was worse than a lot of the Tex-​Mex places I’ve eaten at in Houston. I ordered the cheese enchiladas– big mistake! The enchiladas were cold and tasted below average. The rice and beans were average. Yes they have a «salsa bar» but big deal. So do many other restaurants, but that does not make up for the poor food. I can’t remember exactly how much we paid but I believe it was close to $ 60 for 4 people. Wayyyy to much for this food. We spent $ 20 less at Mr. Taco for far better food. Also, the place needed some sweeping and wiping down. The only reason I’m giving this place 2 stars instead of 1 is because my mom ordered some tacos and they looked somewhat appetizing. So maybe, I just picked the worst plate on the menu. Needless to say, I doubt I will EVER go back.

Good prices, food OK, nothing special. Fast food tacos… stand to order at register, same as Burger King and other commercial chains. Take a number and food brought to table…

The food here is good, but the prices are unbelievably low! If you are looking for tacos of any kind, this is a great place to go.

i love this place, one of my hidden secrets in BVille, secret from my wife that is, lol. I moved to BVille from LA, and when first going down there this place was the one place that reminded me of an LA mexican joint, before i grew a deep love for OG Brownsville style mexican food. Something about the style of this place, then i found out it was owned by one of the dudes that started EL Pollo loco, which is huge on the west coast for years now. I hope he expands this place to the west coast,
either way i love the fajita tacos or fajita plate, basically anything on the menu, the aguas frescas outside with refills, thats kind of unique, i went there for both my babies baby shower, right in the heat of my wifes pregnancies, i would drop her off at the baby shower and be like dam now that im alone what do i do with myself, the first time i went to Taco Palenque, the second baby i already knew before i even dropped off my wife where i was going, lol.
out the door for living in BVille like 4 years i only went here like 5 times though, cuz my tastes turned to the other taco joints, Mr Taco, Ms taco, El Ultimo taco, i think all the taco joints, another place thats a little akin to west coast style is Kikis, not that thats what they are going for, just a coincidence, but that kilo de fajita or pollo, bomb

This place is greasy inside and out, dirty, smelly, and serves mediocre food at best. Need to know more?
Um – no you don’t.

oh why oh why, must you be so delicious!
1. love that they have a cart with condiments, salsas and any other imaginable side to top your chips/​tacos.
2.they have parrilladas to die for.
3.any taco or taquito combo will be served with plenty of everything and just amazing flavor.
only sad thing… there is no taco in Austin… I will miss you…

The food was great and cheap. Free chips and chile. Which by the way was excellent and would love the go back when in we visit. Would recommend it for family and service is fast.

OH MY GOD the condiments bar is amazing!!!
But really, I know this place looks like a Mexican McDonalds or something from the outside, but accept the bad fast food ambiance and go to taco palenque.
Now that you’re inside here is what to do: order about 2 tacos (personal favorite are any of the egg breakfast tacos) and be sure to ask for extra tortillas (these are FREE). Done and you just spent $ 2.50 (but really you should tip, these people work hard). You can also just order the beans for about $ 1 and ask for the tortillas if you are really broke.
They give you a number and will deliver your tacos to you. Each taco has a ton of filling, so make the two tacos into four using the extra tortillas.
Then go to the huge, amazing, delicious, spectacular condiments bar and go. to. town. I recommend the pink pickled onions, and any of the salsas and you can take a million limes.

Very good salsa — even the hot could have been hotter for my taste but still very flavorful. I had a barbacoa and a parita taco, husband had cheese enchiladas. Everything was fresh and tasty. Chips, tortillas, rice and beans were all very good as well. Praise the Lard!

Taco Palenque has a wide selection and the food is pretty quick. For tacos and Mexican food in general for Brownsville, you can find better.
This ranks somewhere between a Taco Cabana and a good taco stand.

Yes.
Yes, says I!
My family and I would always get the mixed (chicken and beef) parrilladas. Personally, it was a race to see who could consume more of the deliciousness than anyone else at the table. I’d go with my cousin to Taco Palenque, and it was on.
The meats are always tender and juicy. And the rice and beans are full of flavor. The sauteed vegetables that form the bed the meat lies in in the parrilladas are great and pick up a lot of flavor from the meat.
You also receive free chips and salsa. There is a mini-​buffet set-​up near the counter so you can load up on all the salsa and pico de gallo your little heart desires. If you want more chips, walk right up to the counter and pick some up.
And as for tortillas, you can always head back to the counter and ask for more. They’ll ask you if you want flour (harina) or corn (maiz). I personally like flour tortillas best, so I’d load up on those.

Salsa bar and chips alone make it worth a visit :)
Great for kids, a bit noisy. There was one TV with the world cup, wish they had a larger one :)
Chicken fajitas plate seemed well priced and very good quality. Some prices, such as the Caldo de res, seemed a little high to me ($ 7.50), but I didn’t get to see the actual serving size.

i have to be honest and say that i can’t really remember the food itself but loved the salsas here so much. of course, the food was great– i just can’t recall specifically why. but it is so fun and delicious to have so many different salsas to try. i loved trying a different one on each bite of food. i’m sort of obsessed with salsa and tend to pretty much judge a mexican restaurant on the quality and– ideally, if i’m lucky– variety of salsas they offer. i can’t wait to go back!
oh, and when i do, i’ll remember more details about the food and update my review ;)

I landed at 11:30 pm and had waited all day to eat because I was saving my appetite with the hopes of enjoying some really good Mexican food. Taco Palenque did not let me down.
When I first pulled into the parking lot it reminded me (and probably was) a old McDonalds with playground and all. But when I entered the doors I was engulfed in the sweet aroma of carne asada and griddle warmed tortillas!!!
I was a little intimidated by the huge menu and decided to play it safe by ordering the Pirata tacos on corn tortillas (**** stars) When I asked «What was in it?» they replied «fajita», cheese and beans. Maybe I have been gone for too long, but it was some of the best carne asada I have tasted in a while.
The tortillas were flooding over with meat and cheese and their «salsa bar» is AMAZING!!! Two different types of chiles asados and 8 different salsas, was just to much for me to enjoy. I know they were staring at me when I would put a different type of salsa on every bite.
Oh how I miss my gente!!! I really hope I nail this interview tomorrow so I can find me a place a few blocks from here and never have to worry about cooking dinner during the again!!!
p. s. dont forget to get some free tortilla chips to enjoy the plethora of spices at the salsa bar!!!