Taco Del Mar

Man, I don’t know why I used to like this chain. It’s either gone downhill or I’ve gotten old and bitter.
This is a sad establishment with bored robot employees and below average food. Mondo burrito, listed for $ 5.99, is really a $ 10 meal after tax by the time you do it right by adding a healthy portion of meat plus sour cream and guac. That’s a lot for a mediocre burrito.
Flavorless meat is sitting out in lukewarm vats all day long. The place feels old, dirty, and dated.
Skip this and go to one of the spots on California a block away.

I had 2 tacos– carnitas and chicken. I could hardly tell for sure which one was which. Each was a soggy, mushy, flavorless big glump of meat. The chips and pico de gallo were good, but that meat was pretty awful. I don’t usually give bad reviews but it was hard to find any redeeming qualities. I was really hungry but only ate about half, just got grossed out. Maybe a burrito with beans or a cheese quesadilla — but that shredded meat was horrible. Sorry to say Taco Bell would have been better — and I don’t eat at TB.

Seems pretty spendy for what you get. Food was not very flavorful. I probably would not go back and instead look for a better local place.

It was a very nice experience! Keven is working right now. He is alone in the store and still is able to keep up and help everyone in a nice and timely manner! You should be thankful to have such a nice guy working for you guys!

Bad food, bad service, dirty dining area. They shouldn’t be in business, terrible. It was stupid of me to even wait for the food…

What the hell? I come here all the time and it’s usually fine, but today they were out of white sauce at 2pm and «didn’t have any more». There was actual garbage on the floors and sour cream and rice all over every single table.
Both guys weren’t wearing uniforms, aprons or gloves. Fuckin nasty man.

DO NOT EAT HERE! Service is horrible and my burrito almost out of my hands because the tortilla was soggy. F this place.

This location blows. I ate here a few times when I worked down in the ghetto and was constantly disappointed. Sometimes the rice would be dried out, other times the «guacamole» would be old and stale. There was always some suck in my burrito somewhere.
Most recently, the employee told me that he couldn’t make me the quesadillas that I had ordered because they already turned the grill off. It is one of my pet peeves when employees turn off appliances and put things away when they’re a place is still open. After this happened I left and actually drove north, out of the ghetto, and went to another location where the employee was more than happy to make my food for me.

I love this place. Really fast and friendly service, good burritos, and you’d never have to wait in line for long just to order. 4 stars because the last 3 times I had their burritos, I had some kind of oil from the beef drip into my pants. It’d be nice if they can somehow minimize the amount of oil is in their burritos.

I’ve been to other Taco del Mar’s and don’t remember the food being so bland. Worst burrito ever, no taste to it at all. It was hard to finish. Service was fine, the woman behind the counter was very nice and efficient. Restaurant was clean too. But I won’t be coming back. I miss being close to Chipotle for lunch.

Yuck. Burrito was discussing and tasteless. Will never eat at Taco del Mar again. First time in a Taco del Mar and could not understand questions from behind the counter. The guy mumbled so I had no clue as to what he was asking. What a joke. Dining dollars will go elsewhere in the future.

I went to this location today because I was hungaring for a burrito. Well, I got a burrito, but it wasn’t what I expected.
I got the carnitas on a spinach tortilla with guac and sour cream. The burrito was on the small side for a $ 10 burrito. The tortilla, although soft, was a bit on the stale side. The carnitas was seasoned really strong; I couldn’t taste the cheese, guacamole, or sour cream at all. It was like the beef had just been covered in peppers for days. The Oreo brownie I got was on the dry side and had zero Oreo pieces to it.
The service was not good. The guy who took my order repeated everything I said, sometimes twice or three times, and still couldn’t remember what I had told him 5 seconds later. Then when it came time to pay, after I told him I was eating there, he started to put everything in a bag. I had to remind him I was eating there. After I paid, he started to walk off without giving me the brownie. When I asked for it, he told me to GET IT MYSELF. Unreal.
They have the usual surfer stuff hanging around and it was generally clean, but there was only one other table occupied and the tables around me were dirty with chunks of meat and silverware on them.
I won’t be going back here.
Food: 2
Service: 1
Ambiance: 2
Parking: 4

Good food. Salsa — medium though had the aroma of bacon in it. Not sure if a good up or if it is flavored that way? Clean and quick service/​environment.

Yikes. Stopped in here last week because I was craving fish tacos and tortilla chips. I had about 30 minutes before I was to be at a hair appointment and I didn’t want to drive too far out of my way.
Wish I had gone some place else!
I wouldn’t say the food was exactly bad, but it wasn’t exactly good either (story of my life when it comes to Mexican food in this town!).
The fish was sort of hard and crunchy, but not in a good way. Not sure if it was frozen, or just had been sitting around for ages, but in any case it wasn’t tasty at all. Way too much sauce on the tacos, and not nearly enough fish. The bag of chips would have been an extra fee (what, no free chips with a meal?!), but the server was kind enough to give me a small bag gratis. They were NOT fresh chips, clearly something out of a bag from Costco or the Cash and Carry.
I do give them kudos/​points for having a clean restaurant and friendly service, but I don’t feel compelled to go back for that alone. Sorry Taco Del Mar. What a bust.

Have to agree with these reviews. The fish taco, I usually love, was old, chewy, cold. Never have had such bad food from Taco Del Mar.

Food is old and the guys behind the counter just dont give a crap if u almost break a tooth LOoon the non cooked rice

I’ve been here a few times to grab a quick dinner but I’m done with this place now. It kind of sucks because I just moved across the street and it would be nice to walk here to satisfy my burrito cravings every now and then.
The service here is minimal. They try to rush you through as quickly as possible and get annoyed if you ask a question. One night we came here 30 minutes before closing and the guy would hardly answer my husband, who was just asking him about his day.
Also, what is up with the portion sizes? They really skimp on the ingredients here. I’ve been to plenty of TDM’s where they load you down. Speaking of ingredients, the meat always looks so dry and sad.
Maybe this place will do if you’re in a pinch while shopping but I will gladly walk the 10 blocks over to Taqueria Guaymas in White Center to get a well made, well stuffed burrito.

I was super excited to have my first Taco Del Mar experience. I had the mondo burrito with ground beef and as I ate it I was hoping fireworks would go off. Sadly, I’d have to say I was a bit disappointed. (Don’t ask me why I expected big from TDM. I expect good everywhere: /​)
There wasn’t anything specific that disappointed me but just IT overall. The burrito did not hit the spot and did not make me want to come back for more. If I were to hold a Chipotle burrito in one hand and a Taco Del Mar in the other, I’d probably trash the Taco Del Mar one and go to town with the Chipotle :)
Perhaps, there just wasn’t enough flavor in my burrito. I think I may give this another chance but in reality, I’d rather spend my money at Chipotle.
And yes, I based this whole review on ONE burrito :)

It’s just a fast food joint, right? Maybe, but it’s the only fast food joint I know of with vegan options that are actually a whole meal. I mean, what kind of quality do you need when you can get an instant, relatively healthy meal for less than five bucks? I love this place, and I wish it was open ²⁴⁄₇. I find the staff pretty darn friendly for fast food service drones. One guy here always gives me extra guac on my beans and rice when I get a combo.
Also, one of the guys who works here sounds just like a Mexican version of the squeaky teenager from the Simpsons.

Many of the employees are your typical fast-​food fare. However, two of them (a middle-​aged man and woman) are AWESOME! They have been telling me about my doppelgänger who they call my brother and ask me about him all the time. I was unaware of this man, but they tell me about him anyway. Also, these two are a little looser about their portion control, especially if you’re a regular and they like you.
So while this is a Taco Del Mar, how can you go wrong with idiosyncratic conversation and extra guacamole?