Tio Alberto’s

So happy this place is no more.

CLOSED — I really liked this tio albertos, now the closest one is Pismo Beach
you will like it! I always do and have for many years! — Note it is only about 5 miles south of the closed location on 101 — take price street off ramp and continue down Highway one (dolliver) it is on your right!

Closed! The best burrito I ever had. Don’t listen to these crazy 2star rating people. How can they speak I’ll of the dead? More proof that collage rots your brain!

Haven’t had a TA’s burro since my college days. This was the go to spot on the way home from the bars for a late night burrito. Was in the cen coast and rolled by there for the late night munchies. Was disappointed to see that it was closed and boarded up with plywood. WTF Tio Albert? Had to roll to Taco Roco because everything else seemed to be closed. Midnight munchie staple is no longer.

ITS CLOSED. I haven’t had a TAs veggie burrito in well over 10 years, and since I was finally going through SLO I thought I’d get one. NOPE. One star for the failure to update business info, and for the fact that the Pismo Beach TAs number is out of service. They pulled this same crap when they left IV, and it is maddening to go through it again.

From what I remember from my Poly days, this was a decent place for burritos. I’ve had the carne asada burritos at El Taco de Mexico in Oxnard and TA’s doesn’t quite compare. Good if you’re drunk and on a budget (which I was considering I was a college student). Nothing fancy about the joint itself. I haven’t been in years but I can’t imagine the prices /​flavor profiles getting any better than what I remember back in the day. This is decent Mexican food considering it’s in SLO. Want better Mexican food? Head further south to Oxnard (El Taco de Mexico) or even LA area (Las Fuentes in Reseda).

It was late, we were hungry, it was open. That’s about the best I can say about this place.
To their credit, they have corn tortilla quesadilla’s, which most places do not. And their chips are made fresh, in store.
To their detriment, the cashier had NO clue what their menu said, or what different type of Mexican foods there were and acted as if she was either drunk or high. The kitchen person was surly to her (don’t blame him!), but was nice to me. And the clientele was mostly drunk, with an odd group of older adults sitting in a corner.
Unless they were the only place open, will never be going back.

This review is only based on one thing — veggie burritos.
I have deducted one star for the increase in price over the past few years, but the burritos have also increased in size. Perfect to split. Not bad to feed two for 3.50 each.
I continue to go there because this burrito flavor never changes. They have it down to exactly the right amount of beans and rice and don’t try to overflow it with sour cream or lettuce up my burrito even though it’s a veggie. I get the extra cheese on an already cheesy burrito because that’s the way I like it. Yep, that’s the way I like it.
You used to be able to stand there and they would ask you more questions as they were making it, but that seems to have gone away which was disappointing. And, the place was empty at 1pm on a Thursday. Not sure what’s up with that.
I hit this place every time I come through, but can understand the negative reviews if you aren’t just going for one item.
Oh yeah, I’ve noticed they now call their veggie burrito the ‘world famous’ veggie burrito. I’m not real big on that and would deduct from cool points if they existed.

I headed up to San Francisco last month and decided to stop off in San Luis Obispo for lunch. I tried to roll this vegetarian spot, but for some reason it was closed. Anyways I asked my friend who has spent a lot of time living in SLO and recommended Tio’s. Probably the biggest burrito I’ve ever had, so I wasn’t all butt hurt with the price of 7 dollars. The burrito was definitely legit and the only complaint I have was the salsa was far from the best I’ve ever had.
I was a bit surprised to see all these negative reviews and who actually likes to eat in a clean Mexican restaurant?

I came here at 2:30 am after all the bars closed to grab a late night snack.
I was glad it was open late, but my tacos were really bland. I’m pretty sure my beans were made with Soylent Green. Sadly I wasn’t nearly faded enough for this to taste any better.

When I lived along the Central Coast in the early 1990’s, Tio Alberto’s (aka T A’s, Tacos Acapulco, etc.) was THE place to get a carne asada or chicken burrito if you within a 30 mile radius of San Luis Obispo. I now live in Southern California, but over the past 15 or so years and through 1 month ago, I have revisited Tio Alberto’s about 10 times. On each visit, it seemed to me that the quality and flavor of the food was worse than on the visit before, and on my most recent visit, I decided that Tio Alberto’s has sunk to an all-​time low. The prices are nearly triple what they were in the 90s, the place is dirty — yes, there were flies buzzing around the restaurant’s internal flight pattern — the meats are extremely greasy and all of the ingredients, including the tortillas, did not taste even remotely fresh.
The fact that there was not a line out the back door as there once was, and that I was the only paying customer in the place on a Friday night (I am not counting the classy homeless dude with an open Steel Reserve in a brown paper bag and most of his junk hanging out as a paying customer) should have sent me looking elsewhere for grub. The problem is, the formerly excellent food of early 1990s Tacos Acapulco causes an addiction that is very difficult to break.
Addiction broken; I have reverse vomited Tio Alberto’s slop for the last time.
Oh, one more thing: A couple of the other reviewers raved about Tio Alberto’s fish burrito… of all things, why in the world would you order fish anything at such a dirty and struggling restaurant. Do you actually think that the Big Cheese of Tio Alberto’s kicks down to fly fresh fish in for your «yummy burrito» each day??? Almost certainly, your burrito’s stinky fish was interstate delivered direct from TJ, in a jalopy with no ac driven by a dude that hasn’t showered in over a week. Bön Appetit!

I’m drunk. I need a burrito.
Is Tio Alberto’s still open?

My husband used to rave about these tacos since his Cal Poly days. We’ve been here a handful of times in the last 10 years.
Times have changed. Prices have doubled in price and the flavor is not all there. Burritos were around $ 7! He remembered when they were only $ 3. I think when he first took me there it was only $ 5ish.
Our last visit. I thought it was okay, but not as good as the years past.

I know a couple of people who swear by this taqueria, but personally I never understood the fuss. The burritos I’ve tried have lacked flavor, are way too disgustingly huge, and, while not expensive, pricier than they should be for this quality of food at this type of restaurant. The interior is a bit run down, with no atmosphere at all.
They are open late and have a decent selection of good salas, so if you do end up going here because it’s the last place open downtown you can at least add some flavor with a spicy sauce.

The fish burritos are DELICIOUS. The salsa is pretty good too. I’m not a big fan of the chicken burritos though, I can find better ones at El Nabor.
A bit overhyped though

My husband really should be writing this review because he adores TA’s. I’m not sure if it’s the actual quality of the burrito that he loves, or the memories of late nights in college, stumbling to TA’s after the bars had kicked everyone out and noshing on the TA’s «famous» veggie burritos.
I’ve only had the pleasure of going to TA’s during daylight hours and it definitely has the feel of a college late night spot that was probably clean and shiny years ago, but has since been ridden hard and put away wet.
My husband is somewhat obsessed about the aforementioned «famous» veggie burrito. It actually says famous on the menu, which never ceases to crack me up. When I first met my husband, he claimed it was some sort of special cheese that made him dream of TA’s burritos. Now his theory has moved on to something in the rice that sets the burrito apart from the other thousands of mission style burrito joints out there.
Most of his college friends think he’s a little nutty to still obsess over TA’s. However, I see it as him being loyal, which is a good trait in a husband.

Alright, so I’ve lived in San Luis Obispo for nigh on 30 years and I’ve seen every iteration of this restaurant. It started out very very good although they were shut down for health violations and I believe it’s been the same ever since (the health violations, NOT the very good food). Cleanliness is NOT one of their strengths… come to think about it neither is quality or taste…
However, they have one saving grace: They are open till all hours of the night. [Edit] Well even this has been fixed by Tonitas:
which is 10x better and won’t make you sick in the morning. [/​Edit]
Which if you’re drunk and the girls that are still left in the bar at closing time have turned you down (you probably should not have hit on them anyway) you can always find saving grace in the burrito at TA’s as you will know exactly what kind of disease it will give you in the morning. Whatever you eat here will most likely make a run for the border in the morning… if not earlier. And if you’re THAT drunk it’s not like my one star review is really going to change your mind at 2am.
So cheers and take solace in the fact that you don’t have the herp-​a-​gona-​sipha-​litis from the girl at the bar… just the runs from Tio Alberto’s.

The place to go after Mother’s Tavern or DTBs on a friday or saturday night.
I probably wouldn’t come here during the day, but at night, its the best closest food there is. They got fish burrito and taco specials, but why bother? Just get your carnitas or carne asada and its all good.

I’ve been here 5 – 10 times and tried a decent variety of their menu. I would have hoped that food would be a dollar or two cheaper than it is, but it does have a good location so maybe I can forgive that. Burritos are enormous, I think I’ve almost finished one once and I don’t usually have trouble finishing a meal. The food is pretty good, not heavenly, but definitely one of the better mexican places in slo. Maybe they’ve changed since some of the 1-​star reviewers ate here… I don’t remember anything bad about the chicken.
Not the most enjoyable interior, kinda cramped and awkward to order but not dirty or anything. The cook works in full view of you

Burrito del mar was HUGE! In fact, almost too huge, so that the burrito just disintegrated and I had to take knife and fork to it! Great flavors though, with the black beans and whatever sort of sauce/​cheese combined with the white rice and mahi mahi.
Perhaps these folks should make a quick study of the Mission/​San Francisco-​style burrito (
) so their burritos won’t disintegrate so readily.