Tako Cheena

I’m giving this place 2 stars because of its attempt to be creative and because the service in general was good. Having said this and judging by all the good reviews, I was expecting quality, gourmet tacos with a fusion twist. The fusion was non existent and lacked authenticity. They use regular tortillas (the Taco Bell kind), straight out of a bag, cold and non authentic. It was literally like eating a burrito/​taco with Chinese food inside, that’s it. They tried to mix two cuisines that you’d usually not see together. Yet, they weren’t successful at creating the fusion between both the Asian and Mexican cuisines. I would not recommend this place at all. A waste of your money.

This place where is a wonderful concept. They mix flavors from different Asian cultures and wrap it in a tortilla. The place fills up pretty quick and the service is really good. My guests got different burritos and were happy with their food. They say they can accommodate vegan diets, but that’s not true. The fryer is shared and they cook chicken wings in it. If you are a strict vegan or vegetarian stay away from the fried food. They have meat substitutes, but ran out of it. The food looks and smells amazing, but it’s not anything I can eat, disappointing. I’ll try again another day, hopefully they’ll have the meat substitute then or find actual vegan cooking methods.

Tako Cheena owns my soul! Their Chinese Pork Belly Char Siu-​whatever lol is my favorite thing on the menu. My mouth literally waters just thinking about it. ALSO, it’s not on the menu, but their sopapillas for dessert will probably be the best experience of your life! Worth every calorie!

Pros:
Great prices
Great Tacos
Fun location
Cons:
Dirty washrooms
A bit cramped
In sum:
Very cool and hip joint. Good place for a casual date or get together

I absolutely love fusion restaurants and when I heard about this place I knew I had to try it. Definitely going to bring every friend and family here cause it is that good. Great food with a chill atmosphere. People working there were very friendly and Sean was very helpful in giving his recommendations.
They have their main menu and then a specials board as well. My friend and I decided on getting a beef empanada with the roasted guajillo sauce that gave it a perfect kick but not burning kick that gets too overwhelming. The burritos looks good so I went with the korean burrito and you get a lot of food for the price. I actually had to take half home with me. The mix of fried rice and bulgogi and kimchi was perfect. If you are worries about not liking kimchi, its not a strong kimchi taste in the burrito. My friend ordered two tacos the cod taco and the pernil taco which he said the pernil taco was absolutely to die for! So much so that he actually got a second pernil taco.
I am definitely going to come back and try the tacos and everything else on the menu. Overall just a great place to try out.

Went here for lunch… They are in the process of relocating to a larger detached new location (just a couple of doors down). The new place looks pretty cool, at least from the outside!
Had an awesome sampler while we were here… We ordered the Korean BBQ burrito. It had bulgogi which was decent but I wasn’t into it in burrito form (and I’m a huge Korean BBQ fan). it was quite sizable, though, & my kids loved it (I took it home to them). We also had the Thai chicken taco (absolutely 5 star — peanut sauce was bomb), had the cha siu pork taco (5 stars), had the braised beef with hoisin sauce (that was just okay) and a Korean taco with kimchi (pretty good!!)
Overall I def recommend this place!

Latin-​Asian fusion street foods: tacos, burritos, hotdogs, empanadas.
Cheap eats. 3 House & Specialty tacos + salsa — $ 11ish. I left quite satiated.
Ordered Chinese BBQ Char Siu Pork Belly, Korean Beef and Tom Yum Mojo Shrimp tacos. They were sweet & fatty, savory & smokey and tangy & spicy, respectively. The shrimp taco was especially HOT — watch out!
I had a bite of my friends’ Panko Crusted Cod (fish) taco — also super delicious.
Manager/​owner guy sent us complimentary Cinnamon Sopapillas drizzled with Key lime condensed milk — so good.
Tako Cheena puttin’ Orlando on the come-​up!

Incredibly fast wonderfully inventive Asian and East Indian inspired. Fast efficient service, attentive staff-​not to be missed the specials on the board-​the Pernil taco was a standout with
the pickled carrots and radishes, spicy mayo and cilantro! So good I ordered to go as a late night snack! I smell their upcoming expansion to be a total smash! Can’t wait to return for any late night post show munchies!

I can’t believe I’ve never written a review of this amazing place! So, as usual, my review will be from the perspective of a vegan with allergies (yeah, I’m a blast).
This is the place I take out-​of-​towners when I want to impress them. It’s so unassuming but then it’s insanely delicious. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone try something here and not at least like it (although often it’s love at first bite). The rotating art on the walls is also great, and clearly it’s curated by someone with good taste because it’s always good or cute artwork and it’s not usually so expensive that you can’t make a few impulse buys.
They also stay open pretty late and considering the food alternatives are all crappy fast food chains, this is a gem of a place.
The only reason I didn’t give 5 stars is because more than a few times I’ve gotten sauce on my tacos that I’ve asked not to have for allergy reasons. But not even those attempts to kill me can stop me from coming here often!

Came in today for the first time after hearing great things from all my friends and I have to say it lived up to the hype. I ordered 3 taco special of Braised Beef, Korean Beef and Mojo Shrimp. And each one was better than the last. We also ordered Kimchee Fries and aside from them forgetting to put the Kimchee on them, they were pretty good. Although next time I would ask for less cheese sauce because they got soggy about halfway through! Prices are not ridiculous which is great, it kind of reminds me of a walk in food truck with the style of food. Very tasty, lots of choices and very fresh. I noticed they are building a new place a few buildings over, larger and very unique! Can’t wait to visit when they open. Will come again.

The food was spectacular, made my taste buds jump for enjoy actually! Great atmosphere and the cucumber water is excellent !
Definitely a must try!

all the hype is true. The street tacos here are amazing. Daily specialties and fun fusion (Korean bbq taco anyone?) are all delicious. The line outside may be daunting, but it’s worth it. They are opening a new front down the street as well.

Wow…
This place combines two of my favorite kind of foods into one. I ordered crispy tofu tacos and shrimp mojo tacos. They were delicious. They were Mexican styled tacos but the Asian flavor look over.
The tofu was cooked perfectly! Wish I took pictures.
It’s a nice little hole in the wall place that I’d definitely go back to when I’m in the Orlando area.

Been coming here for a while now, always a full house whenever I went for lunch or late at night. Excited for the new location to open up down the block though.
My go to is always the Cod Tacos and sometimes the 3 Tako Special. But this time had to change it up and got the Chinese BBQ Char Siu Pork Belly tako.
+Pork Belly
The pork belly was perfectly cooked and the flavors stood out in the first bite. Definitely my new favorite.
+Cod Tako
Panko crusted and super flakey on the inside. Served with Thai chili type sauce and the one here is one of my favorite fish taco spots.
+Korean Burrito
Kimchi fried rice and bulgogi. Love the concept and the meat is great and could see why it’s a favorite but doesn’t seem to cut for me. Simplicity wise it’s great but couldn’t really get any kim chi, or any flavor of it in the rice.
Overall great filling tacos, there’s something for everyone and had their hot dogs which are made from sweet Chinese sausages that were tasty as well.

I’m sure I will get some hate mail for this review, so let me apologize in advance to you die hard Tako Cheena lovers out there!
I’ve been wanting to try this place for a very long time and I finally made it there last week. It was 8:45 on St. Patrick’s Day and it the tables were most all full, but it wasn’t crazy busy and there wasn’t a wait. I wanted to get the Asian beef taco, but they we’re out. That was disappointing. Instead I got the Hawaiian chicken taco, pork belly taco, cod taco, and beef empanada. I knew I wouldn’t be able to eat it all, but why not try a bite of several things?
The beef empanada was ho hum. The beef was mushy (like what you’d find in a frozen Jamacian beef patty) and was kind of flavorless. I wouldn’t get this again.
The Hawaiian Chicken taco could have been good, the flavor was there, but the chicken was super dry. I couldn’t eat it.
The Pork Belly taco was NOT pork belly — it was pulled pork shoulder (Boston butt) and was SUUUUPER dry. Like, inedible. My dogs wouldn’t even eat it (I tried, they sniffed and walked away.) Major disappointment.
The Cod, which was at the suggestion of the lady taking my order, was the one I was least excited about. It actually turned out to be the one I liked best! The fish was cooked perfectly, not overly breaded, and the whole thing tasted great. If I were to go back, this is the only thing I’d order again.
Overall I was disappointed in my food and I can’t say with certainty that I’ll go back. :sad face:

I went here once, and have been dreaming of the cheese arepa ever since.
When you go here, you need to order a little bit of everything just so you can experience it all.
On this trip, we had the panang tofu burrito with jasmine rice, a crispy yellow curry tofu taco, a cod taco, and two cheese arepas.
Everything was fantastic but the burrito and arepa stole the show.
If you like coleslaw and cheese, you need to try the arepa because it is not the traditional Spanish kind you’re thinking of.
We also tried the ginger-​pineapple and apple pie kombuchas which are from Orlando local, Farmer Boy. Both are great but the ginger has a big bite and not so much pineapple. Apple pie was more my speed.
The point here is that this spot is crowded, messy, loud and hipster. They had a classic 90s r&b groove going (Mariah Carey, TLC, Usher, you get it). Tables can be scarce, so don’t come in a rush unless you’re doing takeout.
But come here. Just come here. Do it.

This tiny taco palace is soon moving four doors north to larger quarters, but for now competition for the few tables can be challenging. Fortunately, although it is a table-​service restaurant, it also looks like and operates as a counter service place, and the food is just as good when you get it to go.
I tried two very different specials. The shredded pork taco was moist and tasty, with just the right spice level to the pork. But the curry beet arepa was an event. I’m not a huge beet fan, but it doesn’t matter; the delicate combination of flavors, and the creamy curry sauce (which tasted like it had just a touch of mayo) was out of this world. And the maize shell was perfectly crusted. I would definitely have this again. And again.
Service was friendly. Food preparation takes a bit longer than you’d expect for a counter service place, but that’s probably because of the cooking time of the arepa batter, and it was definitely worth it.

Great late night eatery… It’s trendy, eccentric and hipster-​ish. The menu is influenced by Latin American and Asian cuisines. The buttered chicken burrito is a must have, it was filled with chickpeas, sweet potatoes, yellow curry rice, chicken, Mexican crema and a hint of cilantro. It’s without doubt a unique place to hang out and enjoy some arepas or an Asian hot dog while admiring the electric art decorating the walls or listening to some quirky music.

In my last review I mentioned that a couple items had been left off my take out order. I called the restaurant twice and both times employees took down my name and phone number and I never received a call back. Finally last night I went back to Tako Cheena hoping for a resolution. I spoke to our server about the situation and asked if I could just get the missing taco and arepa for my meal last night at no charge. Unfortunately he was powerless to do anything as he claimed he had no way of verifying my story and couldn’t just give away free food, and there was no manager on duty I could speak to. I was really frustrated at this point because I love Tako Cheena but this was definitely giving me a negative vibe about wanting to return. We went ahead and ordered dinner anyway since we were already there and seated.
Luckily as we were getting ready to head out, the server noticed that the owner was at the restaurant and asked if I’d like to speak with him. Duh, yes! So the owner came over and I explained everything again and finally got a satisfactory resolution. He apologized and said they recently switched over to a new POS system which might explain the missing items from the take out order, but it was still no excuse for not calling me back. He comped our meal last night and also gave us some sopapilla chips for dessert.
OMG, the sopapilla chips were amazing! I’ve had sopapillas before at other places and wasn’t a fan, but of course I should have known that Tako Cheena would have their own spin on it. The chips were thin and crunchy and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, then drizzled with butterscotch and key lime sauce. It was the perfect way to end the meal and Tako Cheena is back in my good graces.
I had also ordered their pollo guisado (chicken stew) last night, which was a tomato base with chicken, potatoes and carrots, with a hint of curry, served over Jasmine rice. The rice could have been softer, but I loved the spicy flavor and it was very filling. I’m really happy about all the new items I’ve been seeing on their specials menu lately and excited for new location to open with an expanded menu.

This place is definitely a unique restaurant for the Asian and Spanish fusion food lovers out there. A late night joint where many flock to after nights of fun in Orlando, this place is located in the edge of Viet-​town in downtown Orlando and is edgy in style and with dishes. It emulates the experimentative nature of Orlando food and the true melting pot that America has become (unless you consider the U.S. to be a salad bowl bc that’s a thing now).
I came here on a Saturday night and was immediately blown away by their menu and décor. I literally wanted to order everything. They had an array of tacos and hotdogs that combined different Asian and Spanish elements. I order their Korean hotdog which was comprised of an Chinese sausage (fa-​chung) and had spicy mayo, cabbage, onion, the works. I also ordered an empanada and churros and that was enough to satiate my hunger. When I got my food I immediately dove in and found my hotdog falling apart as I took more bites but it tastes delicious regardless of the messiness. The empanada was delicious! And the churros came with a key lime and butterscotch dipping sauce that was en pointe .
The wait to get the food wasn’t that bad even for how busy the place was. But it was definitely packed and my friends and I were lucky to find seats when we did. Our waiter was attentive and was helpful in recommending dishes. He was also knowledgable on many of the dishes (except the hotdogs) and helped me avoid foods for my nut allergy.
The ambiance is very hip and lively. It has Spanish decorations throughout and is full of bright colors. It’s also pretty small too so it feels like a hole in the wall place as well. There are writings all over the place that I assume come from diner’s drunk escapades.
All in all, I enjoyed this new discovery in Orlando and will definitely be coming here more often to try out more dishes.