Taco Libre

I’ve been here a couple times. The first time the place was empty and we had great service and the food was good for the price.
Chicken is better than the steak forsure because the steak was wayyyyy too salty.
If there is a line of any sort, don’t go. My roommates and I went in and there were three people in front of us. I waited for my food for over 45 minutes! When I asked them about it they asked if I wanted my taco salad without the taco shell because that was what was taking too long to make! Who doesn’t want a taco shell with their taco salad?! I was fed up with them and just asked for my money back, they rudely gave it back to me.

the worst customer service ever!!!
let me tell you how this conversation went…
«can i place an order for delivery?»
«we don’t deliver.»
«but i live close and i order from you guys all the time»
«well nope sorry we don’t deliver anymore.»
«since when???»
«since a year ago.»
«lol i just moved here a year ago after june and ordered from you a week ago!»
«well we don’t anymore.»
«click… hangs up.»
**tries calling with my roommates phone because he won’t pick up with my 773 number…
i proceed to explain that i’ll pick it up and if i could use a credit card, he says they don’t accept it over the phone *anymore*
lol. what a joke, nick says he’s the manager there now… but he obviously doesn’t have the skill to be a manager, even at a taco joint.
that is very disappointing. don’t lie to a customer that lives 3 blocks away that orders from you guys through delivery as it shows on grubhub.
lazy lazy lazy???
nick the manager needs a new manager.

Got take-​out. Went inside to find a bunch of college boys being ridiculously annoying– no thanks for dine in.
Got chicken nachos & supreme carne asada supreme quesadilla sueza. Both were about ~$ 10 each.
The quesadilla was a lot better than nachos. The nachos were OK, but no melted cheese and a lot of chips were soggy :(Great portions!
Will try again & try something different to eat.
Very friendly front counter :) much appreciated.

Evoking visions of flying Lucha Libre in a festive atmosphere is a great way to get people in the door. But would you order Freedom Fries at a WWE restaurant? Hell yeah I would! But alas, El Santo and Blue Demon could not save Taco Libre from having bland fillin’s and dry chicken.
Maybe the juicy, tasty chicken was hiding somewhere in the back. Maybe Mil Mascaras was saving it from the Aztec mummy, I don’t know.
Zoey (age 7) ordered a simple cheese and black bean burrito. with Sour Cream. No one could mess that up, right. Not even the Las Mujeres Vampiro could wreck my little girls simple request. Sabado Gigante! Madre de cuervos! They couldn’t even get that right!
Why? Why!!!
The price would have been right had the food been as tasty as the walls were painted colorfully. But again, I’ve had better burritos in a food court.
Taco Libre? Otra ves no.

I’m really not a fan of Taco Libre. The only times that I ever eat here is when I’m absolutely starving and doing laundry next door. I have been to an abundant amount of taqueria’s, Mexican joints, whole in the walls, etc but this one just doesn’t do justice.
Personally, I’m a tacos al pastor fan. Unfortunately, they serve horrible al pastor and I refuse to order it from there. Pretty much the only thing I can stand at Taco Libre is some kind of carne asada meal (of course the typical white person’s Mexican choice).
Oh! And on a side note, the salsa could use a major makeover. Very bland, all the levels of spicy. Not too mention the employees often times look so dreaded to be there. Every blue moon there will be some people who are upbeat or actually happy to be there but for the most part, the cooks and person at the counter are very unenthusiastic.

As we speak (or as I type), I am using my tongue to try and remove the tough pieces of carne asada between my teeth.
Now I found out about this place through my friend who saw a bomb ass picture of papas fritas on Instagram. And granted, when I saw it I was totes drooling. So I decided to try these saliva inducing nachos.
Lemme just say, I’ve had better. The waffle fries itself were good. Can’t really mess those up, but my carne asada was stringy and tough. The carrots which I assume were supposed to be pickled were basically just steamed carrots. Everything together tasted super salty. I couldn’t even finish it. The price also left a bad taste in my mouth. Including tax, it’s about $ 11. Not worth it in my opinion. The carne asada fries at Araujo’s (San Bruno) are better in: taste, portion, price. And the red and green salsa that they give you is delicious.
Just not my cup of tea (or salsa) I guess. Won’t come back.

Carne asada fries are a MUST. («Papas fritas») They will blow your brains out. I always share mine with my bf & it fills both of us up and it’s only like 9 bucks?
Also, the «Huevos Rancheros» are the most perfect breakfast meal for me.
Eggs sunny side up w/​2 tortillas, cheese, salsa, beans, rice, salad and a Jarritos on a hungover Sunday? Perffff.

If you’re going to go Mexican food, something authentic should always be the better option. I should have known from the name of the place, that it was anything but authentic. I had the super burrito with carne asada, and honestly, it was the most bland and boring burrito I’ve ever had. There was no taste to it, if you could eat water, this is what it tasted like. The good thing is that they are massive, enough to feed a bear (not the gay kind, the animal!). Too bad the flavor of the day was cardboard. I guess for the portion, the value is right, but for the flavor, it’s overpriced. The layout of the place is also very funky, they have too much walking space. Probably because no one comes here is my guess

I was hanging out with a friend and we were hungry soooo we walked over to Taco Libre because he got curious about their tacos.
I ordered the carne asada torta because my co-​worker said it was one of his favorites. As a lover of good sandwiches, I was willing to try.
I didn’t really like this sandwich. I think if the bread was different, it would have been better. Overall taste wasn’t too bad but it was lacking something. Very filling though.
Worth a try. I think I’ll stick to carne asada fries. I do want to try the burritos though.

While my criteria for restaurants around the SFSU area are… shall we say a little more relaxed then for the rest of the city, this moderately-​sized slabhouse featuring neon-​green walls adorned with almost absurdist cartoon homages to Luchalibre (the finest of all entertainments), a couple of tables (read two) outside, and a near-​constant parade of proto-​hipsters in and out of its doors is just far enough away from campus to only receive a partial benefit of my generosity for their pedestrian burritos.
Meats are often well-​charred and flavorful, although can fall on the greasy side of the platter, which often has the result of rendering the lightly-​grilled tortilla (and occasionally my dress-​shirts) a vivid shade of orange. Slabwide temperatures are often on the cool side, and defined by unintegrated pods of sour cream in such quantity they seem likely applied with a fire-​hose, leaving any hope of melted cheese as improbable as a well-​balanced budget in the state of California. Rice and beans are acceptable (although refrieds are nowhere to be found), as is the guacamole. On the other (positive) side of the ledger, the maniacal gleam in the slab-​makers eye virtually guarantees that requests for extra-​spicy are heeded, and I never walk away longing for more food.
Credit cards accepted. Sangria, breakfasts and waffle fries adorned with Carne Asada (hell yeah!) all make an appearance on the menu. Chips and salsa are free, but watch for the taste-​bud searing habenero sauce, it packs a cruel punch.
Two stars, simply for being proximate to SFSU, and something of a godsend in the desolate culinary barrens of Parkmerced. Otherwise, burritos this bad simply don’t cut it, not on my watch.

p. s.-
I did mention Breakfast is also on their wall, didn’t I? –and the burrito bowl, for those of us who don’t want the large gordito tortilla?
Check out the in-​depth newspaper review 3 weeks ago.

I really want to give this place 4 or 5 stars for the food because it was really good, but
I need to make a few recommendations to the owner. You need to hire more people! You just had an article written in the Sunday Chron and there’s a line out the door. You have one guy cooking and one guy on the register. Your are completely out of diet coke, the salsa bar is almost empty, napkins and paper towels in bathrooms empty… c’mon guys, you really need to get it together. You have a great opportunity here. On a good note, the food was great, the guy at the register forgot to give us our chips but hey no biggie, next time… I got the super baby carnitas burrito and my husband got tacos. They were excellent. We did wait approx. 25 minutes. I will be back to check out the progress.

A friend recommended this place and brought us for some burrito. The best part of this place is the fact that they serve «baby» sized burritos just like how you would ask for a small instead of a regular. Now you would think that it’s crazy for someone to go smaller of anything. But when you’re a girl who does not have a stomach of steel, you would rather buy something that you can finish rather than seeing half of your purchase goes to wasteland.
So I ended up getting the Super Baby Burrito with Carnitas meat. I can describe this with only 3 letters «O.M.G.»
It’s sooooo good!!! I love their gracamole, the pork was tender and moist, and everything else was just a good mix! The guy who stands behind the counter is cool too. Which adds an extra point to this place.
The place itself is painted with fun Lucha Libre characters on the walls. Not really a fan of it, but whatever, who pays attention to the walls when you have a good a$$ burrito right in front of you.
P. S. I brought my boyfriend there within the SAME week and tried the Mission Dog, it wasn’t bad, but I regret not getting the burrito. I learned my lesson.

Finally! Oh my goodness gracious. It took me centuries to find good carne asada fries locally. (Besides Baldos which I have yet to try.) It was difficult to find non-​mushy, wet, not too plain carne asada fries. Here they’re called, «Papas Fritas.»
YOU HAVE TO GET Papas Fritas at least once in your life, and like I said this creation began in Chula Vista as I was told. Anywho, this place uses criss cut fries (same fries that are served at Carl’s Jr. if that helps). My holy, potato world! I COULDN’T BELIEVE that it was so crunchy, there was great amount of texture, the necessities were not too much, salsa, guacamole, didn’t drown the whole dish. I was SATISFIED!
These are one of the many additions that have made SF STATE a better place, that Fine Foods Plaza was freakin killing it.

Taco Libre has a Mexican wrestling theme going on in this restaurant. Parking is pretty good since they’re in a plaza.
The food quality is average, but they give pretty good portions for what they charge.
I brought nacho with steak, which turned out to be pretty okay. The steak isn’t that great, but it wasn’t bad. It was the cheap kind of steak that tasted like beef and that was it. The nacho came with quite a bit of beans, cheese, sour cream, and avocado. The cheese they used isn’t nacho cheese, which is a plus.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!
We went here today because of the $ 1 tacos for the festivities. I got a 3 tacos: carnitas, steak, and chorizo. The steak was my favorite. The carnitas was dry and my friends said that the chicken was also pretty dry. The chorizo was burnt too. I’m not sure if that’s how chorizo is supposed to be, but it wasn’t as good as I had hoped.
I don’t mean to be complaining, because they were $ 1 each.

I came here the first weekend the place opened looking forward to it finally opening! I live right across the street and was excited about the prospect of being able to walk to a neighborhood Mexican restaurant. I’ve been twice so far.
There are plenty of choices on the menu, all reasonably priced, including breakfast items. You can customize most items with various meats, beans, and type of tortilla if applicable. We got the Papas Frites with Carne Asada and the Mission Dog.
I’ve never seen Papas Frites before and am sad I’ve been missing out my entire life. Think loaded nachos but instead you have the option to substitute the chips for waffle fries which you MUST DO, it is killer The carne asada is the way to go. Its on the appetizer menu but I could split it with my fiancée for dinner.
The mission dog, as promised, is a hot dog wrapped in bacon. As good as it sounds I found it somewhat lacking in meatiness. I couldn’t quite get the taste of the bacon as the hot dog overpowered.
On this first trip the staff was a little lost but that’s to be expected the first weekend. I’ve been back since and they seem to have their act together now.
On my second trip I tried the fish tacos and I have to say I was underwhelmed. The fish was fried nicely but lacked flavor even though they say its marinated. The mango salsa was ok but didn’t quite do it for me. On a whole the taco wasn’t spectacular. I think I could have made it better by adding salsa but you shouldn’t have to rely on the condiments to bring the dish together.
I’m looking forward to going back and trying the Tortas.

Being a die hard Mexican food fan, the opening of a new taco shop has all the excitement & possibility of Christmas morning for me… Unfortunately, Taco Libre also had the letdown of being gifted (yet another) pair of socks from your well meaning, but oblivious great aunt.
My shrimp taco ($ 1.75+$ 2.95 for shrimp) had not a hint of flavor; garlic or hot sauce on the grill would’ve gone a long way. I think my bf thought his carnitas taco ($ 1.75) was lacking in grease & fat (aka that sabor mas delicioso.)
He liked that the menu offered a bacon-​wrapped hot dogg ($ 4.95) but said it doesn’t hold a candle to those found on a certain Mission Street cart.
My carne asada waffle fries ($ 6.95) was piled sky high with salsa, sour cream & guac. The crispy, potatoey waffle fries were layered with (very salty) black beans & got a little soggy towards the end of our meal. Naughty for my diet, but very tasty.
Areas for improvement: pico de gallo (needs heat & acidity), piña agua fresca (doesn’t taste homemade) & better/​more seasoning on their meats. Fix this & I’ll be a fan.

I’ve been wanting to try Taco Libre for quite some time and finally decided to make the drive over there. I’m glad I did.
I had their Regular Burrito ($ 5.25) with my usual Grilled Chicken and Al Pastor Pork combination. When I took my first bite, I was really surprised to find Chicken Breast in my Burrito. Now, I’m not particularly fond of Chicken Breast in my Burrito because most often it can be dry and bland. That wasn’t the case with Taco Libre. It was marinated pretty well and wasn’t dry and full of flavor. In my opinion, any burrito that uses Marinated Chicken Breast is a healthy burrito. Add to that a Wheat tortilla and we got something that rivals Chipotle. I’ll glady take Taco Libre over Chipotle any day.
Because it’s still Lent and I’ve given up Deep Fried Food, I won’t be able to try their Papa Frites till after Easter. I’m really looking for to that and their Burrito Cubano! I’ll definitely be back soon!

3.5 stars!
This week I went to checkout a new taqueria on Parkmerced shopping center near SFSU,
along the row of shops with Café Reina (Blue Bottle coffee), Papa John’s pizza, and the already famous Hall of Flame burger joint that opened last year.
The name is a play on «Lucha Libre» Mexican wrestling, so the walls are decorated with cartoon-​style wrestlers,
artwork by Sirron Norris (
), the same artist that decorated Jay’s Cheesesteak and Fabric 8, both in the Mission.
Service was really friendly and helpful.
The menu has the typical taqueria items like burritos ($ 5.25-$ 12.95), tacos ($ 1.75-$ 3.95), tortas (sandwiches, $ 6.95-$ 11.95), quesadillas ($ 2.95-$ 6.95), and rice plates ($ 10.95). They also serve breakfast (huevos rancheros, breakfast burrito, etc.) and have a few unique features: «Libre Style» allows you to convert any item into a meal, by adding rice, beans and salad for $ 3.95 more. Nachos ($ 6.95, topped with cheese, beans, guacamole, choice of meat, salsa, etc.) are available with tortilla chips or waffle fries — known as «asada fries» in SoCal. And they even have a bacon wrapped hot dog ($ 4.75).
The food is definitely good quality, well prepared, and service is pleasant. Probably the best Mexican food in this area, other than taking a long train ride to a far away Mission taqueria.
The mango salsa on the fish taco is delicious, but the carnitas taco was too lean and healthy for my taste.
I prefer crispy, tasty and salty pork.
The burritos come in different sizes to fit your appetite: baby and super.
Choice of white (corn) or wheat (flour) tortillas, and pinto or black beans, no refried beans. I got a super burrito (has sour cream & guacamole) with carne asada,
it was really good.
Other items I liked were: sopapillas ($ 2.50, fried tortillas with cinnamon sugar)
and the house-​made tortilla chips.
There’s a salsa bar to the left of the service counter, next to the soda machine. It contains lemon wedges, pickled veggies, red and green salsas, plus mild and spicy pico de gallo.
All the sauces were too mild and bland in my opinion, only the pico de gallo was decent.
Also the plastic containers at that salsa bar were too small, u need to fill up several to get enough salsa for your chips and food in a takeout order. And I didn’t see any plastic utensils. But this was just their first week in business so I’m sure that they’ll iron out the kinks soon enough.
I was told that aguas frescas and alcoholic drinks will be added in the future.
Hours: daily 10am-​9pm.