Don Rafa Barbacoa

I left, no review. Walked in, totally ignored we seated ourselves. Next, waitress comes by to take our order. Hellllooo, we have no menus. Then, some weird guy comes over and gives us 1 menu, and there is 2 of us. Forget it!

Really bad service, but good food. The owner daughter roll her eyes on me when i asked if they were close or open. Never going back!

This place is out of sight! Definitely authentic Mexican. I don’t get why there’s complaints about service not being timely. If you knew anything about Mexican food, you’d know that it is cooked fresh when it is ordered and it takes time. The sopes, tacos, and tortas are my favorite. The quesadillas are overwhelming but good. The barbacoa tastes just like back home. ¡Viva México!

This is the best taco cart in SLC. The tacos are muy auténtico. I have tried the carne asada, barbacoa, carnitas, lengua and chicharrón con salsa roja. They have all been delicious although the lengua and chicarrón are not for everyone. Both are super fatty. The people at this cart are die hards. I have grabbed tacos during snow and rainstorms and they’ve just been grilling away. You can get a 3-​taco plate for $ 1.50. It’s insane.

I order barbacoa to go it took them one hour to get it to me. They cannot keep up with the service in a timely manner. Really bad. This is a problem that they have and the owner just sits and watches tv with no worries.

So. I live around the block from this place. They have this dish with cheeses mixed veggies and meat — almost looks like an omlet costing about $ 8 — soo good. They also have beef tongue tacos — Sounds gross but beef tongue their is cooked to perfection. Chicken and carne asada is really good as well.
Note — it’s not always clean here — they seem understaffed and food does take a little while to come out — luckily it’s a dive and everything besides the pork comes out fresh

Recently, I was recording some songs with my band. We were cutting four songs in one session, so it was a long day. After doing a lot of drumming, I was hungry. This place was next door; that’s how I ended up here.
I got two tacos: one barbacoa and one tinga. I wanted lengua but they were out. Frowny face. My friend and bandmate (who had just rocked the crap out of some basslines) got the tinga and the asada. We were both impressed: flavorful meats, spicy salsas, generous amounts of condiments, excellent prices.
I think I’ll come here some time when I’m not recording and sample more of their menu.

This place is ok. Their soda fountain wasnt working. The ice cream bin was empty. The service was pretty good. The horchata was pretty damn good. I ordered a cheese quesadilla for my son. He loved it. They stuffed the hell out of it with cheese. I ordered carne asada and barbacoa tacos. They were ok. My sister had the tongue tacos. They were ok too. The salsa was not bad. You could tell that the diced onions were a bit old. The whole experience was not bad. The little taco stand that is on the opposite corner is better.

Just had lunch here at the recommendation of my boss. Wow I was really impressed. Having eaten on the streets of Mexico before I was curious how this place would rate and ill be darned it rated high.
I had 5 tacos for 5 bucks. Simple small two tortilla tacos with a wide selection of meats. I had the chicken, asada, and barbacoa. The asada was my favorite. The chicken, least favorite.
The tacos come with a wide assortment of sides, green and red salsa, chopped onions, cilantro, and limes.
Not sure why Bart Simpson is on the front of the building but forgot to ask.
I’ll will definitely be a repeat customer.

I have driven by Don Rafa many many times. And every single time, I wonder to myself, «Why do they have Bart Simpson on their sign?» I finally stopped by yesterday but I forgot to ask if there was some significance. Maybe Bart really likes tacos?
Upon walking in, I was a little scared. The floor was a disaster. It looked like a bunch of messy children with neglectful parents just ate there and left their trash, food, etc. all over the floor. I’m not easily grossed out though so I pressed on.
As I got to the register to order, I encountered a random foosball table just off to the side. Kind of odd and seemed like it just took up space more than anything. But the restaurant is lined with tables and booths so plenty of room if they get busy.
The girls at the front greeted us and were really nice. She listed off the different types of meats like a pro. I looked up at the menu and noticed that they only had a handful of items to choose from. That may be discouraging to some but I don’t mind a small menu since I have a decision-​making problem. They have tacos, toratas, sopes, quesadillas, and a couple of other items. That’s it. I opted for carne asada, chorizo, and chicken tacos to go. Did I mention that these tacos were a dollar a piece? That’s including tax.
When the girl handed me our bag, I saw all of the delicious toppings sitting on top in little plastic baggies. As soon as I grabbed it, the salsa bag burst and dripped all over the boxes inside. She was quick to take it back and clean it up and get us more salsa.
It took a lot of restraint not to open it up and eat it on the way home but I made it. I LOVE how many sides (and how much) they give you! We got green salsa, red salsa, chopped onions, cilantro and lime wedges. I think they gave us two whole limes. Seriously.
I topped my tacos with all of the fixings and dove in. UH-​MAY-​ZING. So delicious. Okay yes I found some cartilage in my carne asada but like I said, I’m not easily scared. I just pulled it out and kept eating. That’s how good it was. The chorizo was a little salty but the flavor was to die for. The chicken was shredded and dry but the toppings made it better. I wouldn’t get the chicken again though.
I am definitely going back soon. How can you beat dollar tacos that are moist and full of flavor? I also want to try some of their popsicles I saw on my way out. Coffee, pineapple, guava and cucumber chile! Oh my.
The food was 5 stars but the dirty dining area and cartilage knocked it down a star for me.

I walked the dusty streets of Mexico for two years, sampling everything they offered me from the typical «tacos de asado», to the atypical goat intestine soup. I experienced a culinary adventure as wild and interesting as Poncho Villa himself. I grew to love the food and nowadays find myself quite often craving some authentic Mexican food.
Don Rafa Barbacoa is authentic. It’s just not GOOD authentic. The tacos are decent, but are easily out-​yummed by those found at taco stands throughout the valley. The salsa, a staple in any authentic Mexican food, was a bit bland and lacking in the rich, deep flavors you find in incredible, authentic salsa. The pork, sadly, was very tough, but the asado (beef) was good.
If you’re in the area and you’re craving tacos and you don’t want to drive a couple of miles for better tacos (maybe you’re almost out of gas?) then stop by and enjoy some decent, authentic Mexican food. Otherwise, there are a plethora of tastier Mexican dining choices within a few miles.

Ha! I’m first! Not the first Unilocaler to eat here, but the first to give them the mad love they deserve. Shame on those of you who have dined on the delectable offerings of Don Rafa without so much as a 3-​star review!
I stopped by there today and WOW! Sometimes the KISS (keep it simple stupid) method is the best and this place is a living example to prove it. I saw the giant $ 1 tacos advertisement on their window, so the only remaining question was, «which kind of tacos?» I asked the girl behind the counter which tacos were her favorite and she said, «Asada» without skipping a beat. I got 3 of them to go and they were stunning! Just two small corn tortillas with a smattering of carne asada on them. The sides: cilantro, lime wedges, diced onion and two kinds of hot sauce transformed these humble tacos into something special that will be haunting my dreams and incuding cravings for a long time to come. These $ 1 tacos (including tax!) were better than any tacos I’ve gotten from any street vendor/​cart and Don Rafa also has an ample dining area, so you can kick back and enjoy them at the restaurant if you want to. I personally think they should raise the price to $ 1.25 or $ 1.50 to cover the overhead, but I guess it’s Don’s call on that one. Bottom line: This place ROCKS!