Taco Vallarta

I’ve lived down the street from this place for several months, and I’ve avoided it for this long for two reasons:
1) From the outside, it looks like the kind of place that would have its fair share of health code violations.
2) The ONLY Unilocal review (before mine) talks about someone getting sick after they ate here, corroborating my assumptions about their cleanliness.
Despite my concerns, I was hungry for breakfast tacos, and too lazy to drive any further away, so I gave Taco Vallarta a shot. I got two chorizo, egg, and cheese tacos and they were delicious! Fresh, hot, prepared-​to-​order, and cheap: my total bill was $ 4 with a tip. The staff was fast and friendly too. I plan on trying out their lunch menu next.
There’s no shortage of good breakfast tacos in Austin, and while these don’t stand above the rest, they are certainly worthy competitors. So if you’re in the neighborhood, and hungry for tacos, don’t let Taco Vallarta’s rough exterior scare you off.

What a great alternative to the usual drive-​through establishments! They have breakfast tacos all day long, and seem to use quality ingredients to make them. The pricing is great and service is efficient. For any horchata fans out there, I suggest you try Taco Vallarta’s! It’s divine.

The food tastes great. The service is less than stellar– I ordered three breakfast tacos, received two.
We’ve eaten here twice– the first time I had two vegetarian tacos (disregarding the highly probable lard-​y beans…) and the boyfriend had three al pastor tacos. The second time, I tried to up the ante to three tacos, but only got two. On this trip, I noticed the floor of the kitchen– definitely not clean. Now, this is probably not uncommon, but in a place where you can stand at the counter and watch the cook prepare the food, sweeping occasionally might not be a terrible idea. The boyfriend ordered three al pastor tacos, and was sick all night.. .
Boyfriend here — I was not a little sick, I had swine flu symptoms. I’d rather drink water from a third world country than step foot in that place again. I’ve never had food poisoning so bad in my life. I WENT THROUGH AN ENTIRE ROLL OF TOILET PAPER!!! Nevernevernevernevernevernever go here.
While the food tastes good, it’s not worth the stomach trouble.

This location, right by the HEB at Congress and Oltorf, has excellent pork tacos with fresh cilantro, diced onions, and tasty salsa on the side. They’ve only been open a week, and things already look very promising. Friendly staff, clean and simple furnishings. This place is owned by the same folks that own Taqueria Vallarta, farther south on Congress, as well as Jalisco’s Restaurant and Bar. (Sorry to see Red Cap Chick go!)
Call (512) 912‑0506 for to go orders.