Sabor Latin Street Grill

Best tacos ever. I am astonished that it took me so damn long to get over there, especially given my supreme love for tacos. Don’t make my mistake — go now and eat all the foods.

After almost a year, I decided it was time to give Sabor another shot. I had gone a long time ago for their $ 1 Taco Tuesdays, and I just left feeling … meh. I think I was so psyched up for it because of the rave reviews, and it just didn’t deliver. (to be fair, part of my disappointment was that $ 1 tacos only include corn tortillas, not flour. I’m a gringo… gimme my damn flour shells).
This past week, I felt it was time to give Sabor a shot a redemption. I’m glad to say I left much happier this time around. I got a shredded chicken, ground beef & a veggie taco (reluctantly on corn tortillas). The chicken is awesome (especially with the pineapple salsa) and the beef is fantastic (especially with their spicy ranch-​y style sauce). The veggie taco was just alright, in my honest opinion… nothing special or yummy flavor to it. That whole salsa bar was just better this time, too. The pineapple salsa is great, as is their medium green salsa. We opted for queso & chips again. The queso has a great flavor, but it’s basically the consistency of water. I’ve never seen queso so thin before, it was almost hard to eat without dripping everywhere.
I must have been in a bad mood last time, because this was a complete 180 experience. I would definitely be back for Taco Tuesday, and definitively to try their ‘normal’ menu.

Their name is Sabor (for you gringos Sabor means flavor/​taste in Spanish) and my goodness does this place live up to their name. Their name should really be El Sabor Mas Rico y Perfecto en Todo El Mundo because this place is spot on when in comes to capturing the true sabor of Latin Street Food.
When you walk in you can tell this place is the real deal. Latin flavor fills the room. The boards are chocked full of Latin Street Food Favorites: Tacos, Arepas, Empanadas, Elote, etc. (I just named all my favorites). Thankfully, I came here on a Thursday at 4pm when the 3−5pm $ 1 Taco and Thursday’s $ 6 arepa and empanada special were going on. On top of that, I had a Unilocal check-​in offer for free chips. Altogether I ended up ordering: the chicken arepa, beef empanada, Queso, chips and a Colombiana and it cost me under $ 10. Unfortunately, I had to make the tough decision to save the Elote and tacos for another time (tears, sniffles).
After collecting some delicious house made salsas off of their complementary, chilled salsa bar (I opted for the verde and spicy pineapple), I settled in to my chair with my super lofty expectations hovering above me.
(A little background here: In my family empanadas are serious business: my cousin and my cousin’s wife’s Mom (keep up with me here) have this unspoken competition around who makes the best empanadas/​pastelitos. Every holiday/​family gathering, they are hashing it out over the empanadas. Each of them goes around the room watching each person savor their first bite hoping to be professed the family champ (Which no one ever does because duh then we wouldn’t get twice the empanadas every holiday. Whose going to stop that gravy train???) I LOVE empanadas. I could eat them everyday forever and never tire of them. I eat them EVERYWHERE I travel including abroad. I just thought you should have some context here.)
After about 7 minutes, my feast arrived in all of its glory and splendor. I took my necessary pictures (you’re welcome) and dug in to the arepa first. This delectable masterpiece is stuffed to the gills with flavor. The meat was moist and juicy, the sauces and toppings melded perfectly and packed a punch without overwhelming the palette. The true star here was the arepa itself. It was flavorful, hot, perfectly crisp with the right amount of softness. It was heavenly. I couldn’t stop eating it. I wanted to move on to everything else but I couldn’t pull myself away even though I knew I was getting full!
When I was almost to the end, I moved on to the empanada. I bit in and while delicious but it wasn’t beef it was chicken. I am super biased to beef empanadas so I had to let them know. They were super generous and let me keep the tasty chicken and made the beef fresh.
Wanting to save room for my beloved empanada, I decided to chill with the arepa and nosh on my chips and queso instead. I truly love chips and queso (despite queso’s mostly American roots… honestly I just love melted American cheese, so shoot me). This dip was perfectly creamy and smooth and served piping hot. It was fabulous but the chips stole the show. Served warm, they were perfectly crispy but not greasy or over cooked and tossed in house seasoning.
After ¾ of the arepa, chips, Queso plus some of my Colombiana and a ton of water, I knew I was nearing my belly’s end but I couldn’t leave without tasting my beef empanada. Sure enough it came out right on time (cue angelic music). This one was even more beautiful than the last. A bit browner with the light sheen of warm oil still enveloping it, she was a sight to behold (sorry no picture… I was in a state of complete euphoria by this time).
I took a deep breath and bit in and fireworks started to explode. The crispy pastry shell lead the way followed by the piping hot and flavorful ground beef and cheese filling, and laden with authentic flavor. It was truly outstanding. I was completely blown away. Definitely the best pastelito I’ve ever had (given my author’s note this is no small claim). It was perfectly fried, stuffed AND seasoned and (yes my Latinos) greasy juice was coming out of the bottom!!! I normally get three of the above criteria met… but all, almost never, only here at Sabor.
After reveling in the glory of my my first truly great Unilocal!find here in Charlotte and literally prying the empanada from my own hands, I decided to take the rest of my feast in a doggy bag that could easily last me a day and a half!!!
I always know when I’ve truly had a first rate experience because I’m beaming. I always tell the staff about it and then I have to relive every detail for my fellow Unilocalers! (Ok, Ok for myself too!)
This place gets my official stamp of approval. So YOU, (si, tú) looking at this review and still wondering if it would be worth it, put down the phone, get in the car and drive on two wheels, ehem, I mean very safely and cautiously to get some of this Sabor Latino!

This place used to be my favorite, but for some reason they now add raw onions to every single ingredient, even if you specifically ask for no onions. When I say onions, I’m not talking about a few, either – half of my last two burritos were literally made of only raw onions. Raw. As in, uncooked, unseasoned, just raw. Not even marinated like in a good pico de gallo. Raw.
When I brought it up, they argued with me and treated me like I was stupid because how could I not know that the shrimp came with raw onions, even when you say no onions at all? That’s when I decided I don’t need this in my life.
Too bad, because it used to be great.

Taco Tuesday was amazing. Tacos were pretty good not amazing, but can’t beat the price. One dollar for every taco. However, the other items offered on the menu were fantastic. Just be ready for a wait!!!

I like the fusion of several Latin favor… Really good and good price.
I got the Arepa and Empanada… Delicious!!!
I will definitely come here again.

It’s really a 3.5 right now. I love the food at Sabor (see my 5 star review of the Indian Trail location)! But the popularity of this place has really started to affect how well it runs. It has become too noisy to understand what names are being shouted out. Ordering ahead can also be hit or miss.
I’ve tried calling and online ordering with both really great experiences (i.e. order was ready and fresh) and not so good ones. Most recently, they had run out of guacamole (which we realized when we got home meant ALL avocado), and assumed we’d be ok with queso instead. Those are not interchangeable. I asked for a refund for the side of guac instead. I would have appreciated a call letting me know ahead of time that things were not available. I do not appreciate the failure to tell me about no avocado.
I thought the opening of the NoDa location would help alleviate some of the business, but it doesn’t seem to have happened yet. Again, the food is great and there are daily specials (though I avoid $ 1 Taco Tuesday like the plague now), the logistics of getting the food are just becoming a real hurdle.

There are two places to get legit Mexican food in Charlotte. One is owned by a Mexican family with La Unica, the other is owned by hipsters with Sabor Latin Grill. Coming from South Florida, authentic Mexican food is one of the only redeeming qualities of the place, so having another option that pays respect to authentic Mexican food but with some unique twists is as refreshing as the Quinoa and Avocado bowl I’m currently shoving in my face. Both offer no compromise killer food, but Sabor is more low-​key with a walk-​up order counter while La Unica is a sit down affair. So that means no matter what mood you’re in, you can always scarf down some solid Mexican chow.

I have been searching for a good Latin restaurant here in Charlotte, and Sabor delivered! It would match up against places in Miami it is that good and authentic.
From Tacos to Burritos Sabor has great ones! Or if you are in the mood for something a little more authentic and adventures they have that as well. On top of all of this they also have the best salsa bar I have had in Charlotte!

Boyfriend asked what I wanted for dinner. Opened Unilocal app and tacos was already typed into the search bar so we went with that. Answer is almost always tacos, why does he even ask? To be polite I guess.
You know a place is good when the line is out the door on a Sunday evening. The whole menu looked amazing, but my man friend and I decided on carne asada fries, elote loco (corn on the cob smothered with deliciousness), a taco each, and chips with every salsa from the salsa bar– no shame. All of that came to just $ 18 since the chips were free with a Unilocal check-​in– and it was a lot of food.
Wait for the food was a little bit due to the crowd. Only complaint is I wished they would have given us the chips when we placed our order not with the rest of the food so they were more of an appetizer. I bet if I asked next time they would.
Thought the carne asada fries were going to be one of those novelty items you order once just to try. Nope. I will have them every other time. Fries topped with steak, cheese, guacamole and sour cream– too good to pass up.
I’ve never had street corn like that before, but have seen many a picture on on Instagram and it did not disappoint. Tacos were great too, and pretty large!
Was pretty uncomfortably full when I left, but so worth it. Nothing fancy about this place at all, which is A-​OK with me. I wasn’t aware they had so many locations! Goal next visit is to see how I can incorporate more guacamole into my order.

The best Mexican food I’ve had in Charlotte! And so cheap!!! How did I not visit this place sooner?!!
My boyfriend and I came on a Saturday night and we were starving. I repeat, starving. The place was full but not too full and the line moved quickly. I loved the cooler of local beer next to line. They have half price craft beer on Saturdays, um what? We were instantly sold.
The salsa bar is a nice touch, but just ok.
We ordered the corn, chips and guac, a shrimp burrito, and the avocado/​quinoa bowl. YUM YUM YUM! I am obsessed with guacamole, and there’s was great. And affordable! Everywhere is $ 10 now a days, but you can get a large serving here for $ 4!!! The avocado/​quinoa bowl was delicious and filling. Just enough food. The shrimp burrito was huge! And full of shrimp! I had several shrimp per bite, so they did not skimp us on this! The corn was absolutely to die for. We got our food very fast, even on a Saturday night.
I can’t wait to come back! We want to try the Arepa and the steak fries. I feel like lately we have been spending so much money on Mexican food just to be disappointed, and we wonder how this happens. We had chips and guac, free salsa, a burrito, corn, and the avocado/​quinoa bowl with 2 craft beers for $ 35! They even have cheap margaritas/​mixed drinks. We will try these next time as well.

I’ve read and loathed over the rave Unilocal reviews. Came here for lunch with some friends. The line was out the door bit it moved fairly quick. I ordered the chicken empanada which was delicious. And it had real oozing delicious cojita cheese, not that nacho cheese. like some places like to put in their empanadas. I had a small side of rice which was just enough, chips, the corn and or course queso. The quest was delicious. Don’t forget to fire up your Unilocal app and check in so you can get some free chips. They have great customer service, I asked the manager if they were going to put plantains on the menu and he informed me that they had them but they were no longer on the menu and he bright me some complimentary fresh rips plantains!!! Which were delicious by the way. I’ll definitely be back and I’m glad that they have a few other locations around town.

A spin off from the Central Ave favorite Three Amigos. This place is LEGIT! I visited this restaurant at 9:45 on a Tuesday night (15 mins before closing)…the place was packed and had people coming in the door till 10pm.
This is almost like Food Truck food… but SOOOO MUCH BETTER.
I had the Burrito Espaciale… it was a generous portion loaded with flavor. Delicious! I also had chips and Salsa. They had like 6 or 8 different types of salsa ranging from Mild to Hot… some with Jalapeño (which was my fave… one with pineapple which was awesome too.
This place had about 6 – 7 booths, 4 or 5 tables for 4, a couple of 2 tops, and a food bar with stools at the window.
Price was around $ 10 or so with a drink.
I will definitely go back.

I have attempted a few times to eat at Sabor and I am so glad I finally did ! The parking has been the main reason I have not ate here sooner. Peak hours, it’s hard to find a parking spot but circle around a few times or park on a near by street.
There was a lot of items I wanted to try based off of many great reviews but for my first visit I ordered 2 authentico tacos. 1 with steak and 1 with al pastor pork… The steak was amazing !! And the pork wasn’t that bad. I also ordered a side of rice and refried beans.
The atmosphere was great, the music had me dancing in line and the employees were friendly. I can’t wait to go back and try more favorites !!

Taco Tuesday Review
I am so glad I found Sabor. a couple of blocks away from work! Score! I’ve been looking for a closer Taco Tuesday place, my reg is On the Border but that is all the way in Concord. We walked in here Tuesday after work for the $ 1 specials, we ordered the chicken and veggie tacos (so glad they had veggie!). Must hit the salsa bar before chowing down. I loved the veggie tacos, filled with zucchini, yellow squash, and onions, very hearty for a veggie taco. The chicken tacos were also good. These were very authentic street tacos, corn tortillas all the way. Definitely coming back for Taco Tuesday.
Also, my coworker got a burrito from here during lunch break, it was huge! I will have to try it and possibly split with the bf. or not. Cheers!

I may have been hungry and went crazy ordering everything I wanted to taste in one trip. Next thing I know I am stuffed. ;) We ended up $ 35 deep at a taco place.
We ordered the elote, guac and chips, three tacos and an arepa. I also had a Paloma because it’s Saturday!
The corn was good; it always hits the spot. The guac has tomato in it — beware. I’m not a big fan of tomato in my guac because it makes it watery. I would order the shrimp taco again — soft and generous. The al pastor was good — it has pineapple, not just the basics. I didn’t really make it to the steak taco (see above). I nibbled on the meat and it was spicy. It tastes like all the meats are spiced with different blends not just taco seasoning. I would say the highlight of the visit was the arepa. Get that, an order of elote and a shrimp taco.
They have a ton of canned beers — local and import. NoDa and Corona sit side by side. There are a couple other cocktails — I was surprised they had cocktails at all. If you can call a drink in a plastic cup at a taco place a «cocktail».
Not bad for a Saturday afternoon but nothing too fancy to write home about.

This is how a local business should be ran. Friendly greeting, easy to understand ordering, clean premises (even after «the rush»), and staff happy to see you. Alan, the GM, explained the menu board and it’s cultural influences, while delivering my food table side. He even commented on new locations opening and those around the QC. Cool.
The food popped with flavor living up to the Spanish sabor, which translates «taste or flavor.» Yepper, they nailed it! A return visit is quite frankly a no-​brainer. Thanks, Unilocaler’s, too, for recommending Sabor Latin Street Grill!

Sooooooo… as I’ve mentioned, I love Three Amigos. So when I heard they opened Sabor, I made it a priority to go. The people working there were super nice. They have a wide selection of drinks. I ordered a shrimp burrito and my fella ordered a tilapia one (we are still doing the pescatarian diet or else he would’ve gotten steak). We also shared some queso. It was yummy! I loved everything about our food. It was fresh, hot, packed with flavor and a ton of food. It was the only meal we ate that day because it was so much food. I can’t wait to try more things the next time we go back.
Thumbs up.

It’s not often that you can visit a restaurant and leave completely satisfied without a single critique, but this just happened for me at Sabor. Let me tell you why the meal was so great!
My girlfriend and I had never been here before so we decided to just get a sample of a few things to start with to see what we liked. We ordered an empanada, an arepa, and one elote loco ear of corn. I didn’t expect a lot of food for only $ 12, but by the end we were full and didn’t want more than this initial «sample». The corn was good, but the arepa and empanadas were heaven! The chorizo empanadas (2 per order btw which we didn’t know) had great flavor and the rosada dipping sauce was incredible. The arepa, however, was even better! The shredded chicken was so good, and all of the flavors just went together perfectly. The service was excellent, and they have a free salsa bar with 5 – 6 different salsas you can try (although everything was so flavorful we just ate them on the side but never on our actual food). The price and flavor are both on point, and I left extremely impressed.

Let’s TACO ’bout this joint.
Coming into the restaurant, I was pleasantly surprised to see that they take the orders at the counter, as opposed to getting seated first. Advantages of this would be not having to wait for the server to come to you, and getting your food faster (of course?!!). The menu has a variety of items that range from street food, tacos, burritos, and more. I decided to get tacos, and they are priced at about $ 2.75 for one. For me, 3 filled me up. I got the grilled steak, chicken and al pastor tacos. I was a little skeptical about how good they would taste especially since the tacos only consisted of the protein, onion, cilantro and lime, but simple must be better in this case.
Even better news, there is a salsa bar! There are many different types of salsa and I recommend trying as many as possible. Mixing the salsa together on my tacos actually tasted pretty good. Also, when you check in on Unilocal,you get an order of chips so don’t forget to do that! They are very generous in how many chips they give you. Even with a party of 4, we didn’t even finish the basket. I highly recommend trying this place out, you will not be disappointed!