East Coast Taco

Lol at the haters who are pissed that this isn’t authentic Mexican food. It’s called East Coast Taco. It can’t be more obvious that they aren’t making authentic Mexican dishes.
Probably closest comparison is Chipotle, but with way more options. The gorditas are fun if you want to try something new. Buffalo chicken nachos are habit-​inducing.
It’s affordable Tex Mex made with real ingredients. No shame in that.

horrible food. the rice was dried out tasteless and old. the beef could have been used for soles on the bottom of shoes. food is not made fresh. food was old. go elsewhere is my advise

What happened to this place?
ECT used to be really good. It had decent tex mex for a good price and outstanding service.
Unfortunately, that has really changed in the last year. I used to go 2 – 3 times a week for the last 6 years. But after my last few visits I won’t be going back any time soon.
Although they have now have a larger selection to choose from the food quality has definitely dropped. It seems like maybe they are cutting corners and trying to produce cheaper food. It’s also not prepared nearly as good as it once was. Yes, in the past the tacos were often a bit soggy and the food needed more flavor but you could live with it. But now you literally have to drain your tacos before eating them.
A lot has to do with the service and the people they employ. Are these kids even being trained? The service used to be great! The last few times I went in I had to repeat my order 2 – 3 times because the kid behind the counter must have just returned from Scooby Doo’s Mystery Machine.
Overall, the food needs to get better, the service much better, and the wait to get two soft shell chicken tacos shouldn’t take 23 minutes when there’s only six people in the dining room.
I miss the old ECT!

I love ECT and have been going for years. It’s our trusty place to grab a bite in the area. My last three visits have been kind of inconsistent, I know there was some change of cooks but not sure at what level.
I always get a chicken taco with the softshell when I go and last night the chicken taco I received had huge chunks of chicken in it that were covered with black char crunchy bits it was pretty gross I returned one of them. And the last few times I’ve got the guacamole which I love there last time it was missing cilantro it was pretty much flavorless the time before that there was a big air pocket in the container and it was obviously pre-​scooped so it was brown which was a big turn off last night it wasn’t too bad it’s getting back to the normal way that it used to be but you never really know what you’re going to get.
I hope they keep on top of their game because their food has always been really good and we always enjoy going there we’ve also had an issue recently where the pieces of beef and one of our friends taco was like beef jerky they had to return that.
Come on ECT don’t lose what you have we love this place!

I really want to like east coast taco but that last few time I tried it I received burnt nachos and soggy tacos. not sure what happened.

Do not order taco platter! The tacos, rice and beans were awful. I would rather eat at Taco Bell. At least, it is cheap.

I had previously written a negative review of East Coast Taco. I want to retract any previous statements I had made I that regard. I returned to the restaurant to see if my review was valid, and I ended up having a very good experience.

They have the best Mexican food! Everything I’ve tried was delicious! Can’t beat the price! There taco salad is to die for!

Best mexican place in the area. The brisket quesadillas are FANTASTIC!

Great little spot to stop and grab a burrito or snack on the go or sit at the tables and dine in. Similar to a chipotle but more of an authentic Mexican feel. Fast service and good prices.

The fish tacos were excellent. We were actually surprised with how good they were, considering the «divey» look of the shop. We’ll definitely return when traveling through!

I lived in Austin, TX, and had the BEST Tex-​Mex place ever basically in my back yard; so I’m a little hard to impress with tacos, and Tex-​Mex in general. East Coast Taco just doesn’t cut it for me with tacos. They were pretty disappointing. I love queso, and try it at most Mexican places. I have to say that I’ve never had queso that tasted like it does at East Coast Taco. And I’m not saying that in a good way. It just wasn’t queso. There’s a really weird flavor going on there, and the chips were blah. The saving grace eating here was the chicken taquitos. They were dynamite, and worth coming back for if I was in a pinch to feed my family.

Well, it started out promising with delicious queso and okay guacamole. They do have handmade chips.
After that it went downhill…
We waited over an hour for a burrito, and two tacos. When they finally came out they were horrible. The meat was cold, there was a overload of toppings on both the tacos and burrito, and they were falling apart. Not to mention the seasonings were bland. Or was it seasoned at all? That’s debatable.
We will not be coming back. Which is even more disappointing because I was dying to try this place! East Coast Taco needs to get it together. Apparently they used to be great.

I USED to go here once or twice a week. Key word is USED to… I live right down the street and would rather drive to old saybrook for mexican now. My favorite WAS the jerk chicken quesadilla with no tomatoes. The new staff is horrible. A bunch of teenage girls more worried about their conversation than their customers. I ordered a jerk chicken quesadilla with no tomatoes 3 times this month each time thwy put tomatoes on it which makes it soggy and gross. We asked for no tomatoes and the girl working said we dont put tomatoes on it. Sure enough, there it is, loaded with tomatoes. Gave it a chance twice more and just ended up throwing the food away. Complete waste of money. They need to retrain or hire new people because it used to be amazing and now they dont know there own menu and dont listen. They’ve lost me and my family as customers forever. Dont waste your time.

HIGHLY DISAPPOINTED.
Have eaten here many times in the past, in fact my bf and I had always raved about it and sent people there way. The last two times we have eaten there have sealed the deal that we will be going elsewhere from now on. Read on for details.
The main issue is quality control. The last few times we have been there our tacos come out so soggy and dripping with liquids. Correct me if I’m wrong but hard shelled tacos should have a hard crunchy shell, not be sopping wet and falling apart. Forget it if you order a soft shell, by the time you unwrap it your fillings are on their way to breaking through the bottom of the soaking wet diaper taco (best way to describe it).
The second issue, HUGE, is that when our order came out wrong and the girl went back inside to correct it, I saw her using her bare hands to remake my bf’s tacos, even though she had just been working the register handling money. Number one rule in restaurant business, never handle money and food without washing your hands first or at least having a barrier (glove intact). The girl that remade my taco was smart enough to put a glove on and I thanked her for that.
Request to owners, please make sure your employees are trained correctly or at least have a responsible (experienced) manager on duty that can correct situations as he/​she sees them. Food has been SO disappointing, please correct the situation.

Really loud. Like 10 kids screaming in my ear loud. How do two women have 10 kids?
Inside voice.
The food is really good though.

So, I’ve been here a few times now. I actually have a place in the neighborhood, not that far away.
The last few times I have been here, it seems that it is increasingly a place where neighbors take their kids by the busload, or the kids show up by themselves in busloads. I had to wait for my take-​out order outside because it was deafeningly loud with incessant chatter and screams from teenagers.
Last time I went, I ordered chicken wings among other things. I asked about the different flavors. I was assured that «Buffalo» was the standard Buffalo wing recipe. It is not. It is more like tomato paste with a ton of black pepper. It was not that good. In fact, I did not like it at all. On top of that, they had no blue cheese dip after offering it to me. Not sure how well blue cheese dip goes with tomato paste anyway. The chicken quesadilla was not that good either.
The liquor store next door is one of the most expensive around.
I was not happy with the food. While it seemed to be fresh enough, the recipes were not that good. Everything I have ordered here sort of seems like it was slapped together, by a low-​budget kitchen. Maybe that is why it is good with high school kids, it is a lot like school.
If you are hungry, and are hankering for good Mexican food I would go someplace else. If you need a quick bite, I would probably order take-​out Chinese food from King Garden to get some Italian for Illianos. If you have a ton of screaming hungry teenagers, take them there.

Thought it’d be interesting to try Mexican food down towards the coastline as compared to around the Hartford country area. Mhm, final judgement is… not up to par.
Place is fairly small and seating is limited. It got busier after we arrived so we were lucky to grab a booth. Not too much lighting so it was dark inside. Booth tables were colorfully tiled and the walls were covered with license plates from all the states. I don’t think the staff has time to come out and clean after customers because our table had crumbs and sauce drippings. Gross. Had to clean it ourselves. Also gnats flying around. Enough of that repulsiveness.
Order up at the window. No waitstaff service. Place can get cramped seating wise and as the ordering line gets longer. Tight fit inside so beware. Best to browse menu online before coming so you can get in line asap!
I got the fish taco because I heard good reviews about it. I really liked it! The fish was cooked well and it was what I expected out of a fish taco. Ordered the build my nachos with a chili add-​on. Terrible decision, their chili was yuck. Had to eat around the chili.
Other recommendations:
Chicken Taquitos
Steak Gordita

I will eat pretty much everything here no matter how they can make it, it’s good!
Hot or cold or spicy. East coast taco can make good delicious food and for a reasonable price. The one thing I don’t like much is the guacamole, too limy for my taste. Try the chips nicely fresh and crunchy

Been here several times with various friends and family. Everyone I bring is always satisfied.
I would probably fight a dragon bare handed for their fish tacos, that good. Haven’t had any better since California.