Habaneros -The Taco Revolution

Ooh, let me tell you about Habaneros. This is so close to home, so I can drop by during their hours and get me some street tacos that aren’t too far from my car’s reach. For the steak tacos, their meats on their own are a tad bit dry, but it works well combined with every other ingredient and you won’t even notice it. I like getting corn tortillas for my tacos. The onion is very raw and too fresh to where they have a strong, swole taste. This is the only thing I don’t like about their tacos. I wish they’d grill it or something to make it cooked because sometimes it gets too overpowering with its bitter spiciness. It’s very sharp and pungent. The popular Chinos tacos are popular here for a good reason. It’s very unique. I’ve never had anything like it elsewhere. They are very crispy rolls of beef with a soupy sauce topped off with grated cheddar cheese. Looks interesting, but it tastes amazing. Also, their burritos are huge! Order the Habaneros tacos ex-​grande with everything in it. A real bang for your buck, not kidding.
Do check out their drinks. It seems to change daily. They offer samples for it and they’ve always been yummy whenever I try it and I end up buying a full cup! So far, I’ve gotten the Hibiscus tea, horchata, and the strawberry lemonade.
Pricing is superbly cheap. You can order so much food for $~30! I’ve gotten 6 steak tacos, 3 XL burritos, and a drink. Doesn’t get any better than that.
Another con I’d like to mention is that their salsa bar is left out in the open without lid covers. One time I came here and there was a fly hovering above it and I got really nervous it would fall in or touch them, although it never did. But the condiments are delish and very spicy. Since I’m a germaphobe and also don’t do spicy well, I just eat my tacos as is without any additional toppings.
Service is wonderful. The cashier is soooo sweet and she’s always taking our orders with a smile, even when it’s 9 or 10 in the morning and I’m only half awake. I adore her. Aside from the drink selections, if you want something else, just buy it from the gas station that it’s connected to and pay for it at the Valero registers. Habaneros opens early and they have breakfast tacos too! My go-​to quick stop for tacos when I don’t feel like driving all the way to Pancho’s. To-​go orders are packed with real care. Tacos and burritos wrapped nicely in aluminum foil and placed into brown paper bags placed into a plastic bag. That’s when you know service is great– when they protect your food for your dangerous trip home filled with turns and bumper obstacles.

Love this place! When I was pregnant and ate three habanero breakfast tacos EVERY morning! The women who work there are outstanding and they’re so sweet. Best salsa as well! The green is the hottest and best!

I like this place, but the hours mentioned on Unilocal are not true. On Unilocal it says that they open at 6:30 am and this one day, not a Sunday, I went there at 6:30 and it was still not open. I waited there for like 20 minutes, but it still didn’t open so I left the place around 6:55. So call them before you go around their Opening time

Horrible quality tacos. Overly greasy and disgusting flavor. Mainly fat was on the taco. Had to ask for cilantro then for limes and napkins. She seemed annoyed but that’s items that should already come with my order! I got tacos al pastor. And also for a taco place to have canned beans. Not authentic what so ever. Don’t waste your money here if you want Mexican food. My stomach for sure isn’t going to feel good later today!

This place is right by me and I would pass it up. Took advice from Unilocal friends and WHAT WAS I THINKING? This place has great food.
I have had the Chino Tacos (replicas of the Chico’s Tacos in El Paso). I got them to go for breakfast :) and they were great. You get 3 fried taquitos and a ton of cheese. They are not the normal skinny taquitos either. They put the sauce in separate container so that you dont spill it on your way to your destination. It tastes really well together and add their green salsa verde and it takes it to another level.
I went back that same day for lunch and got another Chinos Tacos and some crunchy beef tacos. Really good and fresh. They fry the taco shells themselves. They fill it with beef to the top and the lettuce, tomatoes, onions and cheese have no where to go but on the plate. LOL. The ground beef is cooked well with a kinda fried taste to it instead of the normal boiled taste like taco hell.
I went back the next day (yeah whatever… they are right down the street and have been passing them up. I am making up for lost time ;p) I had the chorizo, egg and been tacos. really good.
Went back for lunch and had their sour cream chicken enchiladas. They too were good. Also had their fresca drinks. I went with the lemonade.
Although the salsa is good my only complaint it is all OPEN and I dont like the add on charge for using a credit card so bring cash.

First and foremost, This place is pure gold. To all the people on here complaining about service and «attitude» problems, you’re eating in a gas station for crying out Loud. This isn’t chilis or the stuff you’re used to eating. Get over it. The food here is incredible. It’s your go to comfort Mexican food spot for sure. The food is cheap and the make it super fast. Last but not least, they have Chicos tacos!!! It’s actually called «chinos tacos» due to copyright reasons but if you’ve ever heard of Chicos tacos you know what I’m talking about. Except here it’s way better than the establishment in El Paso. The owner is an absolute sweetheart who happens to be from El Paso. Cough, cough. Keep it up you guys, I will be back.

Saw the reviews and was excited to find a yummy hole in the wall. What a disappointment!
The cashier was unfriendly and obviously peeved to be at work.
I noticed that they had watermelon juice on the menu — I asked if they had it, and she replied back «uh, no» with quite the attitude. How about offering another option? Or tell the guest when you’ll have it again?
Taco salad was bland — no flavor whatsoever. Chicken was dry and hard. The only plus was that the tomatoes were fresh.
Super disappointing — will not be back. If you are thinking about stopping here, don’t.

So, so good. A small family business with fresh, simple ingredients that really hit the spot. The location is a little uncomfortable, being in a gas station, but the food was well worth it and the price was perfecto.

Habaneros was just ok at best. I have enjoyed «street Tacos» from a bus in Olympia Washington that had more flavor that this place. Their salsa was missing some oomph to use a technical term. I am in the area for a meeting and arrived a day early, this was easy access from hotel. Read the reviews and was concerned my idea of good Mexican food might be different. Bottom line– I expected a more flavorful experience.
Tacos were really wet and drippy, Salsa was «meh» and the Queso that was so highly reviewed was from a can. Maybe people came here for hangover food…

Food is good but service is horrible. They always close early. I’ve gone there many times and hour to an hour and half before their posted closing time and they were shut down. Last time it was 2 hours before closing and they said they wanted to go home early so they closed down while people were in line. Great food but horrible service killed it.

Gas station taco greatness. Can’t wait to come back!
Amazing food quality, inexpensive, and friendly staff.
Awesome hangover breakfast, among other uses.

Dropped by this evening after a previous attempt found it already closed at 5:30 p.m. The place was empty with just the one employee/​owner.
Having spent 15 years in El Paso, I wanted to compare their version of «Chino’s Tacos» to the Original and legendary El Paso Landmark Chico’s Tacos.
Their Chino’s Tacos are rolled tacos, 3 to an order, in a cardboard boat, with red sauce and cheese. While similar in appearance, they are a distant 2^nd to Chico’s. The flavor of the tacos and meat is different and the sauce was a bit too watery and bland. The sauce needs a bit more pulp, thickness, and kick to it. The food temperature also needs to be improved. These tacos and broth did not arrive piping hot like Chico’s.
My little girl ordered the chicken fajita taco. The chicken was dry and she left most of it on the plate.
The menu is rather limited and seems to focus on breakfast tacos. They do not have stew burritos, burgers, or the hot dog sandwich that have also made Chico’s famous. The french fries were decent, but nothing to rave about.
The lone female clerk/​cashier/​waitress was not rude, but not overly friendly either. There was no immediate friendly greeting. The place gave me the feeling that they were almost hoping no one came in as it was 30 minutes until closing time and condiments were already put away.
They’ll do in a pinch if you can’t buy a plane ticket or make the 600 mile drive to El Paso. Perhaps this is a former Chico’s Tacos employee trying to duplicate the original. But as Hooters says — Often Immitated, but Never Replicated. This place makes me sorry I moved from El Paso. Game, set, match — CHICO’S TACOS!

Damn fantastic.

Tried a handful of breakfast tacos this morning: 3 chorizo & egg, 2 machaca and 1 steak. It all went down easy. No complaints. Since I’m new here, it was good to start off solid with a breakfast stop like Habañeros.

AMAZING!!! I come to this area once a year and have to eat here every year. I ate here twice today. Lol, lunch and went back for dinner. I loved every bite. I had the amazing fish taco’s and the Chino taco’s. Both were wonderful. I love the selection of salsa’s and found all of them to be very tasty and hot. For dinner I had the carnitas street taco and was blown away. Loved everything. I will be back next year!!! Please do not let the location fool you, this place ROCKs!!!

Amazing tacos. Nuff said.
You will not find better street style tacos in Arlington. The barbacoa is my favorite pick. They have the best salsa’s and aguas frescas. The women that work here are very nice.
Order yourself a few Habanero tacos and feel the fire!

Stopped in and ordered Chinos Tacos and an X Grande Steak burrito to go (Of course some salsa too). The burrito, filled with steak and too big to finish.
Stay hungry my friends…

I’ve been away for three years, but I’m pleased to report that Habaneros is still cranking out the best «Chino’s Tacos» around this side of El Paso.
If you’ve ever had «Chico’s Tacos in El Paso, then you know what I’m talking about.
These little cigar-​rolled crispy tacos are swimming in a light tomato sauce, covered with grated cheese and accompanied by the salsa verde on top! What a masterpiece!
They have many other things on the menu, but I cannot ever pass on these one-​of-​a-​kind tacos.
Do yourself a treat and make your way to Arlington (overlooking where both the Cowboys and the Rangers play).
Did I mention that the prices are amazing?

Meh this place is ok nothing special. The guy at the counter was really nice and energetic. My order came out pretty quick and it didn’t cost that much. I got the super nachos and it looked nothing like the X Grande nachos on the pic and they tasted real average. I also ordered a burrito and it was a little bland the salsa made it taste a little better but I didn’t care for the beef they used is was a little rubbery and under seasoned. The salsa section was uncovered so if someone was to have a loose hair or sneeze or have a nose goblin hanging on by a thread it would fall right in for the next person to enjoy. Like I said average place ok food it’s what u would expect for a Mexican spot inside a gas station. I won’t be back cause there’s better out there but it was nice to try a different place.

Pros: very good street-​style tacos. I had some fish tacos that rival some I’ve had at very legit sit down Mexican restaurants. Really good sauces and salsas for your toppings.
Cons: In a Valero gas station.
Summary: best gas station food I’ve had yet. Will be back to fill up on regular unleaded and street style fish tacos.