El Taco Grande

El Taco Grande is located in a plaza that is recessed a few yards off the main boulevard and is partially obstructed by other businesses and parking lot traffic. It doesn’t help that the plaza looks «rundown» compared to the rest of the busy Gateway district.
The plaza that houses El Taco Grande shares space with a Subway, a laundry mat, and a Thai cuisine/​donut shop (Master Donuts-​I know it sounds weird, but see their reviews).
Upon entering El Taco Grande, you get a sense of authentic Mexican cuisine. It’s not fancy, nor well decorated, but the pleasant olfactory will tell you all you need to know.
My wife and I had the carna asada taco and burrito, respectively. Both were extremely delicious.
The carna asada was well-​seasoned and cooked perfectly.
The tacos came with two corn tortilla shells topped with cilantro, onions, a queso cheese. The burrito, which costs more, was stuffed with beans, rice, queso cheese and veggies.
Patrons can go to the open condiment bar to get a variety of toppings, like limes, jalapeños, and sauces. I really liked the orange habanero sauce. It’s fantastic.
I must confess that I would never have tried this place due to its location and appearance, but I’m glad we did because this restaurant was a pleasant surprise. We were both impressed.
In an area of town that offers lots of dining options, I suggest you try El Taco Grande. You’ll be much richer for doing so.

Hoy fue a comer y la dueña del lugar esta amargada anteriormente fue a comer y me avía gustado la comida pero hasta q me encontré con la dueña pienso que si no tienen ganas de atender bien contraten gente q en verdad haga un buen trabajo

The chicken tacos are my favorite, and I really like the habenero hot sauce. Atmosphere is quiet, bright, and casual. Very clean. I frequent this place often.

This is one of those places you go to once, then realize your mistake and never visit again. The chicken was so dry it was hard, like it had been sitting in the kitchen for a week waiting for some sucker to buy it. I’m sorry I was that sucker.
We were given 3 water cups despite being a party of 5 and requesting water for all. Math is hard, I guess…

Yikes! This was not such a great experience.
Half of the lights in the store were not working so it was dark down the hallway to the restroom. Toilet paper was just laying on the back of the toilet and a magazine and newspaper were stuffed in between the space of the rail and wall.
I ordered the $ 6 chicken torta. The bread was dry and very dense and the refried beans had that crustiness from sitting out too long. The chicken cubes were hard and over cooked and were either burnt on some pieces or crumbly on the other.
The entire torta was pretty disappointing.
Tacos were $ 2 a piece and were huge, but the tortillas were not soft and pliable and with the double tortilla it was too much. The salsas were good, but for someone who doesn’t do well with spicy heat, it left me with a very dry torta.
I don’t think we will be back… the search for great mexican food in Eugene/​Springfield continues!

Small little place but food was good. Paid $ 5.50 for an Asada burrito and it was huge. Will come back, spend a lot of time down here and get tired of the usual…

Street tacos as in carne asada was great. How ever the burrito was gross as heck. took 1 bite then the guy removed from our table but didn’t refund the 6bucks. Then when we ordered carne asada taco as a replacement he brought out carnitas then wanted to recharge us to fix his mistake. will come back for tacos but nothing else. Chips and salsa wasn’t worth it. simple pico sauce with red sauce poured over it. Stale chips…

Aye Dios Mio! BLUHHHHH!!!
My wife and I went to do some shopping on our lunch break and we thought this would be a quick fix for a bite to eat. El Taco Grande is located off Gateway behind Dari Mart and next to Subway. The cleanliness of this place was great. The temperature of this place was «FRIGID». It was 55 degrees outside and it felt warmer outside than it did inside when we entered. Not a fan of shivering while waiting for food.
Let’s cut to the chase…
I ordered a Steak Burrito and it was DISGUSTING. The meat was fatty and chewy, it was an instant loss of appetite. I was able to make it about half way through and then I ran into the rice. It was the soggiest rice I’ve came across… ever.
After I made it halfway through my burrito, I had no choice but to throw it away. I just couldn’t do it any more, nor could I stand to eat another half. I called my wife after we both went back to work and asked her how she liked her lunch. She laughed at me and told me she threw it away after a few bites. So the end result here was that we both threw our food away and couldn’t come close to finishing it.
I couldn’t tell you if this was an off day, or this is how they roll. No Quiero Taco Grande!

Nice little fast food hole in the wall. Mainly tacos & burritos, I like the chile rellenos too. Pretty authentic and very fresh food, no ambiance but clean and friendly. Extra points for their fresh salsa bar, and their long list of interesting taco fillings.

Good food for great price.

Unilocal led me to a great taco spot weeks ago when I had El Taco Express for the first time.
Last week, Unilocal reviewers led me to Taco Grande. When I first walked in the place was totally awkward and empty. I had to wonder if I was even in the right place. With so many good reviews I assumed it would be packed! But my boyfriend and I were the only customers in there and stayed the only customers in there until we left.
So if you walk into this place and think to yourself, «why is no one in here?» don’t let it bother you, order your food, sit down, and eat it. Because the food was fantastic. I have no complaints about it whatsoever! The chicken/​steak tacos were delicious, I loved the green salsa. Will definitely be back!

Shredded beef was very dry. Flour tortilla was tough. Not enough pico de gallo. Rice was very bland. Cold bar was not stocked with ice
No silverware available. Not impressed at all.

definitely an improving restaurant. Looks much better inside then the last time i was here. The lady at the counter wasn’t extremely friendly though. Will be going back for much again.

Went here for first time this week. Totally like real street tacos from Los Cabos area of Mexico. Great variety & super reasonable prices. Will return on a weekly basis.

Shrimp fajita burrito was cheap and huge! Unfortunately I had to use burrito boy’s green sauce to add some flavor to it. Will definitely try them again though, maybe eat my burrito there and try out their salsa bar.

Awesome salsas! They’re actually spicy! great variety and selection of meat choices (I had tripa and asada tacos).

Tacos were great, clean place and fast service. Will come back.

If you are looking for good, authentic & VERY reasonably priced Mexican food in the Eugene/​Springfield area, just go here.
If you seek out taco trucks because that ‘street’ style taco is what you are craving, try El Taco Grande. Carne Asada, Adobada, Chicken — all excellent. They have a fresh salsa bar with 3 kinds — Verde (green), Rojo (red) and hotter than the Verde and Habenero — the hottest, but excellent flavor. They also have fresh lime wedges if that’s your thing too.
I started branching out and tried their ‘wet’ style burrito. Wow. Excellent flavor. Any of their burritos are huge, and heavy. Lots of fillings — meat, beans, rice, etc. You can addon Sour Cream and Guac too.
Head to the gateway area of Springfield and try these guys. You wont regret it. I eat here at least twice a week.

Unilocal did it again, I found great clean, flavorful, and plentiful authentic mexican food. I had a carne asada Tostada, $ 3.50!!! and a side of rice and added avocado for a total of $ 5.50. But the Best thing was the food. The tostada tortilla was fried to order, NOT the pre-​made kind you pull out of a bag. Fresh and spicy salsa too. I’ll definitely come here again or get of the I-​5 when I’m passing thru Eugene. Originally from southern California, I was pleased and now and stuffed full.

Everything I wanted in a real taco shop: good food for cheap.
Sausage breakfast burrito was very good, and the size my forearm for 4.50. I just can’t make them like that at home. Sausage, eggs, potato’s, cheese and adding red sauce myself.
Carne Asada was pretty good, much better than burrito boy, and by far better than taco bell across the street.
Green sauce was spicy with good flavor
Red sauce was not very hot, but was not sure about the flavor, I prefer the green.
I will be back probably bi-​weekly for a breakfast burrito, YUM!

There are two classes of burrito joints in this town. You have your Burrito Boys, Burrito Amigos, and Los Faroles, and then there’s the El Taco and Super Burrito. El Taco and Super, welcome El Taco Grande.
Value is high. Nice portions. This will be a weekly stop for me.