El Tonayense Taco Truck

Rude cashier joked about 1 star rating, you can take your overpriced salty tacos back.

Why does everyone like this place so?
Don’t ask me, I’ll never know.
The carne Masada tacos are small in size,
And two bites later disappear before my eyes.
The service is quick, I’ll grant them that.
But, these salty tacos won’t get me to come back!

Absolutely the best carnitas tacos I’ve ever had. Every time I visit my company’s San Francisco location, I get 5 tacos with mild salsa. I try to re-​create them at home, but nothing compares

I should be comparing El Tonayense to other taco trucks. But I can’t. Because I’m comparing it to other Mexican food that can be had in SF. I know, I know. Part of its charm lies in the fact that it’s mobile and hirable. But I’m such a die-​hard El Farolito (the 24^th St. and Harrison location) fan that I can’t help comparing the food and the prices.
Here are my complaints with El Tonayense:
— Their «super» burritos have the length of a brick but the girth of a girly Asian pencil case. And not the fat round ones, either. The skinny ones that hold like five pencils or gel pens or whatever. When you hear «super burrito», you imagine something ginormous. Super, in fact. It’s very disappointing to get a skinny burrito.
— They have always gotten my order wrong. It doesn’t seem to matter if there’s no one in line or 50 people in line (my school hires the truck every year and we’ve had 50 people in line before). The last time I went, I had the opportunity to watch as they made 41 4^th grade students’ «super» burritos, tacos and quesdillas and even though the guy taking your order looks like he’s writing down what you’re saying, I think he’s just writing down the general category, like «quesadilla» or «pollo burrito» because when the guy making the food is making your food, he puts everything in whether you ordered it or not. Granted, San Franciscans are spoiled because we’re always asking for none of this or extra of that but someone asking for «no cilantro» should get a burrito with no cilantro. Also, if you ask for a burrito with beans, cheese and rice, you get a «vegetarian» burrito with everything but meat. If El Tonayense isn’t going to honor requests, they should make a sign that says «No substitutions».
— The guys in the truck are often surly. Granted, I wouldn’t want to be in a small, hot truck serving up food to 50 people either, but I’d be more willing to forgive a wrong order from someone who looked like he gave a damn. I just handed over $ 6 for a skinny «super» burrito! Give me some consideration!
— The food is expensive. Six dollars for a skinny «super» burrito from a food truck is just not ok. It’s not even a gourmet food truck (and even then the prices are barely palatable) and the food isn’t that good.
I was going to give El Tonayense two stars but after thinking over my review, I couldn’t see why I was giving the extra star. I will not be eating at El Tonayense again if I can help it. I’d rather drive to El Farolito on 24^th, look for parking, stand in a long line and get a super burrito that weighs a few pounds for almost the same price as El Tonayense’s. Oh, and the folks there are always really nice.

This place usually hits the spot. The prices are fair.
The carnitas aren’t really made right… it’s extremely dry (rushed preparation) but it’s a truck so what do you expect. The al pastor is and carne asada is probably your best bet. I haven’t given the lengua a try, but from the reviews I just might have to.
A great and fair under $ 10 lunch.

3.5 solid stars for the quality on the carne asada taco!
I downgraded El Tonayense Taco Truck to 3 stars because a food truck taco should not cost $ 1.75! I mean I would under if it was at a restaurant and there were all these overhead fees, but food truck tacos should be $ 1.25!
I strongly feel food trucks are overpriced. I understand there are overhead fees for food trucks (such as parking those trucks – running them $ 600+/month), but it is cheaper than rent!
Overall, if you’re craving for Mexican food, give this place a try!

Fantastic taco truck! Speedy service, a great bargain especially given its location, and fabulous flavors. I got 3 tacos for $ 5: carnitas, lengua, and al pastor. Usually, I end up liking 1 or 2 of the tacos when I order a trio like this, but I loved all 3 of them from El Tonayense. Perfect texture and flavor atop fresh soft warm corn tortillas.
I also appreciated how they had compost and recycle bins rig by their truck for a zero waste meal (they serve on paper plates).
Public service announcement: when they say spicy, they are not kidding around. The salsa is lively, and I set my mouth on fire with their roasted pepper. Wow, that was hot! I literally speed walked down the street to get a cool down iced tea while the hotness escalated.

Got a Lengua Taco.
Delicious. Strong, formidable tongue. Delicious.
No complaints, no problems. So happy it wasn’t a weird mushy mess like many other places!

My review is for the truck on 17^th and Harrison.
I’ve been getting burritos from this truck for a few years now, they’ve never been great, but at least the service was good and they could build a consistant slab.
Three times in a row now they’ve given me grilled chicken even though it wasn’t what I ordered. I asked the new gumpy guy if he was putting grilled chicken on my burrito while watching him put grilled chicken on my burrito. He said, nope. First bite I got a mouth full of rubbery, nubby, burnt, dry chicken parts and a tiny bone, aka. Grilled Chicken.
The worst part is, I can generally deal with wrong meats on my burrito, I actually like their pork, but their grilled chicken is the worst in the business.
So now I’m writing while picking cartilage out my burrito and teeth.

OMG I love love love this taco truck!!! I can’t tell you how excited I get whenever I head into Frisco. My mouth starts watering and my juices start flowing. Mmmmmm I feel like tacos. Right now. OK, gotta go, bye!

I had an amazing burrito al pastor the other day. Best I’ve ever had.
A bit pricey, though ($ 6 for a smallish burrito).

Fast service. On there feet all the time, literally.
They’re not the cheapest but they are one of the better tasting ones.
Get the Soft Tacos. That’s all I have to say.

Don’t get me wrong with my review I’m a fan of El Tonayense which is why I’m giving it four stars, BUT for the last four months and most likely longer El Tonayense has not been at this location.
Los Compadres Taco Truck parks at this location Monday through Friday. (not sure if they are there on the weekends.) More info on Los Compadres here:
Hope this helps some of you.

My love for taco trucks knows no bounds, but to be honest, El Tonayense really doesn’t hit that warm greasy lovin’ place. Shouldn’t taco trucks be inexpensive (if not downright cheap) and exceptionally tasty? This taco truck is a taco truck only in the sense that it has a vehicle with four-​wheels going for it. We got a mix of super burritos and tacos and none of it was particularly good. Al pastor meat consensus was that it tried to compensate for no flavor with max sodium, rarely a sexy tradeoff. And not to be a size queen/​king, but the girth of the burrito was kinda lacking. Burrititos, anyone?
El Farolito, come cuddle me.
They did have Mexican bottled cokes, so +.5 star?

Tacos? YES please!
I love this truck & its location. Perfect for taking your tacos to sit by the water on the embarcadero or to someone who lives in the Infinity ;)
The guys here are always so nice too.

I got (3) tacos and a Coke for $ 5.00 and it was excellent!
This place would compete with a lot of 5 star authentic /​fancy Mexican food cuisines, where you would need to put a napkin on your lap.
And, they got a 100 on their health dept. score card that is post in the front of the order window, next to the rear tire. Fast and friendly service! Try the El Pastor.
This place is AWESOME!
Mike

Ok, while admitting I am not a «taco truck» aficionado…
This is for the «truck» on Harrison between 19^th & 20^th… visiting an art studio across the street, hungry and there it was … a rolling food source. Visions of a basic but satisfying bite to eat were shattered.
Carne Asada burrito — meat is tough… and where do they get the poor quality pintos (actually I really don’t want to know). Staff like gangstas. Price higher than expected & quality much lower than should be allowed … even for a «taco truck». Taco’s were a little better (small … like in MEH HEE CO) and really kinda authentic, and better than the BURRRRITO.
Should have gone to Flour & Water a block away and waited for a pizza. Live and learn. Eat and learn. If it rolls like a truck, smells like a truck … must be a truck.
Convenient for the Harrison Street dwellers /​transients– ahhh yes.
If you are starving, don’t care about what you are eating or otherwise stumbling around… this be yo rollin food source.

I only found out about this place the first day I moved into my new office. This place is literally down the block from my building and I couldn’t be happier.
Who would have thought a burrito could taste this good without extra salsa or sauce nonetheless. As everyone mentions, the al pastor is def the burrito you want. Off to the taco truck.

I used to work right across the street from this bad boy and would come here inevitably every Friday (maybe hungover, maybe not). My accomplices and I would actually leave the office around 11am to get in line because it is *that* popular. From about noon onwards it has lines circling down the street and let me tell you, it’s 110% worth the wait.
A burrito will set you back $ 3.50. It’s huge, delicious and authentic. They also have the Super Taco for around the same price which I’ve been known to get on occasion, as well. Add chips and salsa for a $ 1.25 to munch on while you wait and you’re feeling good (I’m not going to say looking good, because I always feel like a stuffed sausage after eating here so would imagine I must resemble one, as well).
Whenever I come back to visit, I always go here with my buds, grab a big ol’burr and then sit on the Embarcadero in the sunshine. This is one of the only places that has the tendency to make me miss SF.

It’s 11am and the lunch-​call echoed down the office halls: «roach coach! who’s in?». Always up for new lunch options, I rode along with a couple co-​workers to get our taco fix. Parking is impossible, we went for the yellow zone and crossed our fingers.
The line was long but it moved quick. I went for two tacos with guacamole, one Carne Asada, one El Pastor (bbq pork). Good news, the price was right. I loves me some cheap eats.
When we got back to the office I unwrapped my steaming plate of deliciousness, only to find the guacamole I’d paid for was nowhere to be found. Punks.
Slightly disappointed, I bit into my first taco. I’m afraid I didn’t find the steak nearly as tasty as previous Unilocalers. Maybe they were having an off day? The flavor was a little mealy (like venison) and overcooked.
The tortilla on the Pastor taco was stained orange from the grease running off the pork. Looked a lot like the oil-​slick on top of a slice of late night pepperoni pizza. The flavor was good, but I generally don’t expect anything barbecued to be that greasy.
I’ll update my review when I give them another try. I’m surprised how disappointing my lunch was after hearing everybody’s rants and raves. Hopefully it was just a fluke.