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Taco Del Mar‘s slogan is “Delicious is our middle name.” Well, here’s what I have to say about that: No freakin’ way. Unless “delicious” means bland, unsatisfying, and saturated with salt.
The chain markets itself as a fresher, tastier option to Taco Bell et al. I’ll admit I didn’t have high hopes, but I figured people lining up every lunch hour at Taco Del Mar’s downtown location at least meant it was passable, no? NOPE.
We went to the new northeast location near Sunridge Mall. Service was atrociously slow. When the counter guy asked what meat I wanted, I told him, “Carne asada,” as it’s listed on the huge menu on the wall. He looked at me blankly. I said it twice. Finally I said, “Steak?”
He scraped the bottom of the container and put three sad, tiny beef cubes into my second taco. I said, “Can I get more meat than that?” Again, blank stare. Never mind. Later, he called to his colleague for more steak, and she took out a big container and threw it in the microwave.
My two hard corn tacos were stale. The carne asada had that texture of meat sitting around in liquid for too long — dry, gritty and chalky — and tasted entirely of salt. The “hot” salsa was so bland I doused my lunch in Tabasco sauce.
Jason’s soft corn tacos were better, I guess. His pork was “OK” and the tortilla was fine. He got a combo with chips and salsa, and a drink.
Our lunch came to just under $16. I say, save your money and don’t bother. The Mexican food drought continues in Canada.
Taco Del Mar, website here.
Oh, ugh.
Here’s what you should do. At lunch, get in your car and drive to Nelson, BC. They have fabulous authentic Mexican food at Mazatlan Restaurant on Baker Street…it is worth the drive!
Sounds like you had a terrible experience. I was in the Sunridge area the other day and passed by Tacos del Mar – I was so close to trying it out, but had a bad feeling – glad I didn’t…
Thanks for the great reviews!
DM
We have a Taco Del Mar here too. It’s not the best food I’ve ever had, but it was better than your experience. I had the veggie taco with rice and it was fine. Scott likes their burrito, although I agree with you that the meat is too salty.
The best mexican food in Alberta is in…Red Deer. A place called Las Palmeras, it’s not going to blow your socks off but it’s the best I’ve had here.
i dream of fish tacos on the big island…
Andree, my understanding is the TDM’s sweet spot is their burritos- I had one in Portland and it was okay, but by Canadian standards it was outstanding. I’d never, ever order “crispy” tacos- just some thoughts.
I’ve always thought that Juan’s on 8th Avenue had the best mexican in Calgary, and definately more authentic than most places. Can’t go wrong for lunch on the patio with a couple cold drinks there.
Taco Del Mar is worse than even taco bell, in my opinion. If that’s possible.
Ask Juan for some hot peppers and you’ll kill any bugs in the system for sure!
I went to Taco del Mar in Edmonton in February. I found the food way too expensive, considering it wasn’t really any better than Taco Bell or Tacotime. Plus, I’m a sucker for Supreme Fries at Taco Bell
My favorite ever mexican restaurant is called Cactus in Seattle. I dream of that place.
Fast food is often disapointing. I do find Taco del mar very bland but i will end up eatting it because i am vegetarian and my choices are often limited.
Is Salt N peppers any good in calgary? I have heard that place in Red Deer is good.
We haven’t had good experience with Taco Del Mar either… But if you’re ever up here in Edmonton, you should try El Rancho restaurant. It’s not in the best area of town but the food is very good! Check out their website here: http://www.elranchocuisine.com/
Next time you’re in Edmonton check out The Three Amigos. It’s a small mainly take-out joint in the Duggan strip mall(4035 106 St). It was reviewed in the past week’s Vue mag:
http://www.vueweekly.com/article.php?id=8618
I couldn’t agree with the reviewer more.
Plus, it’s next door to Sneak Previews video, where you can rent “El Bruto”. That, plus your Ultimate Amigo and you’re all set.
¡Que viva México!
I got something to tell you all guys about taco del mar. how can we say any thing is so bad in just experiencing once.and such a big bad comments shame on you guys. what i think you must a taco bell or taco time owners well no doughts they are all going out of bissiness because of taco del mar. i am a regular customer of taco del mar and i think i am most pickyperson in the world i love taco del mar food. some of you talking about taco bell is good it is gross i had there taco i could even make a bite of it most sadly i left those taco in my car ending up a big gross smell in car yak.
Bottam line is don’t say anything bad untill you are completly 100% sure about it.
One more thing guys you are talking about rhe price have you guys seen subway, edo,a and w etc prices.
I’m the same Jason mentioned in the blog post and I’ll gladly vouch for everything written. The whole experience was absolutely awful.
However, I went to the Taco Del Mar in 5th Avenue Place (Calgary) yesterday for lunch and it was actually not bad. The food was better quality, the portions were bigger, and the service was nearly acceptable (by Calgary standards!). It’s no Chipotle, but it’s leaps and bounds ahead of any other Mexican fast food joint out there. Heck, I might even consider going back…