La Central Taqueria

Service sucked for me. Took a minute to be acknowledged. A lady finally looked at me, and kept pointing at a table. I sat down and then another lady yelled «You want to order?!». Well, yes of course I want to order. She then told me that I had to order at the counter before sitting down. I went up to the counter, asked if I can add cheese to a menu item, she barely spoke English so she had a hard time trying to understand what I was asking. I ordered chips and salsa, received a tiny cup of green salsa that I can only dip the tip of my chip in. Chips were amazing though. Chips were fresh and hot, the best chips I’ve ever had from a Mexican restaurant. I love how they have a small salsa bar with very spicy salsa.

Tacos Al pastor done right. No lie havent had tacos like this in Washington. Keeps ya coming back.

As authentic as it gets. It’s probably the most authentic mexican restaurant I’ve been to thus far. The restaurant is in the corner of a mexican grocery store (which was fun to browse through while you’re digesting). It’s a little intimidating walking in if you aren’t mexican. We actually felt a little out of place but seeing how homey and chill it was to many other regulars who were hanging out there assured us it was going to be good. We took a while looking at the menu and the lady was still very nice about it! We had great service and the food was amazing.
We ordered 10 tacos (they’re about 1.60 each) and the enchiladas plate, which came up to be $ 30. Pretty pricey but totally worth the quality. It tasted home made… Like made with love lol, it was comforting, balanced, hot, everything you wish mexican food to be. Out of the two kinds of tacos we ordered, I liked the asada most while my bf liked the pastor most. I like the taste of the meat and their asada doesn’t overuse seasoning where it masks the food. Their asada is straight up asada – dat natural meat taste mm. The pastor was sweeter; it had pineapples and had a lot more umami than I prefer, but it was still extremely good.
The enchiladas came with a side of rice and beans and a ton of verde sauce. It was really good. I’m dying to try all their other dishes!
We had a good time here! Amazinggggggg food and kind service. Two days later and I’m still dreaming about their asada tacos… That’s how I know they get the full five.

They are making fresh Al Pastor tacos right outside the restaurant/​store. Each taco is topped with fresh pineapple chunks, chopped cilantro and onions. You order them inside at the restaurant counter. Eat it fresh. They are so good. It’s one of the best al pastor tacos I’ve ever tasted. Shrimp ceviches are also tasty.

A regular stop on hiway 99 just south of Fred Meyer, this is the real deal. I had my first tacos pastor here when I noticed the huge gyro machine spinning pork and pineapple outside the store/​restaurant. On weekends at times, they also have grilled flattened chicken bbq too. The market has expanded recently and has a fantastic bakery and meat counter. Also available is pre-​made taco pastor meat and is sold by the pound. Friendly, large selection of Mexican ingredients and affordable. I hope they continue to grow succeed among all the other taco choices around there — IMO — they’re the best.

This place has deeeeeelicious tacos al pastor. They’re have the real deal too… the seasoned pork is cooked on a spit right out side of the taqueria, and it has the pineapple sitting on top, so its cooked just right and they dice up just the right amount to give the taco a sweet tangy-​ness. Order yours with everything (they come with cilantro, pineapple, and onions on them, and some lime, radish, & cucumber as a garnish. With just one bite you’ll be in heaven (but don’t stop there)! They give you several salsas to play with and what can i say? Its just the bomb! Try it!
One other detail– I’ve only been here on weekends so I’m not sure if the al pastor cooked outside is a weekend special only, but I’m sure its just as good cooked inside.

I get extremely excited when I spot a taqueria that is associated with (or even in close proximity to) a carniceria, panaderia, or supermercado. La Central Taqueria is attached to La Central Tienda Mexicana, so I had high hopes that I might have struck taco gold.
At roughly $ 1.50/taco, I ordered 2 pastor, 2 carnitas, and 2 asada tacos. They had a larger selection of meats than anywhere I’ve seen in Washington, but I stuck with the basics for my first visit.
Fixings:
–The two corn tortillas on each taco were of good quality, and appropriate pre-​heat was applied prior to serving. The tacos were topped with freshly chopped onions and cilantro, and fresh lime wedges on the side. They also brought me 3 different salsas in squeeze bottles, and I liked all three. Basic prerequisites were met.
Meats:
–The asada was underwhelming — slightly dried out and underseasoned. The serving size was unusually large. (Note: I cannot find good asada hardly anywhere. Please share if you know a place).
–The pastor was pretty standard. I really like pastor, so I liked my tacos, but nothing about them was outstanding.
–The carnitas was above average, but just barely. Not dried out, but not too fatty. They had the flavor and consistency of my grandmother’s pot roast — super rich. This style of carnitas, while totally delicious, is just not really what I am looking for when I want tacos. This is solely a matter of personal taste, and not taco execution, so I will give them credit for successful carnitas.
The service was good.
As a taco snob from California, I can only give La Central Taqueria 3 stars. It’s worth a try if you’re in the area.