Imperio Liquors & Groceries

I live in Reno but grew up in this area. Always come here with my dad to grab some of their amazing tacos. Always a great goto for when you’re light on money and need some good food at 1am. When my sister and I came by ourselves the cashier was a bit rude to us for not speaking or understanding her Spanish accent so well.

Burrito is okay to pretty good. Good ingredients. But not put together well meaning the ingredients were clumped up so for example all the avocado was in one bite.

At the very top of my «hole in the wall hidden gems» is none other than Imperio Taqueria. Growing up in east side San Jose, there was no shortage of taco places and Jalisco’s eventually becomes your go to, you’re taco spot above all others. That’s until you try Imperio of course! Being a Jalisco’s true fan, I had never been a few streets down to Imperiod and ended up here after my partner convinced me this place would blow Jalisco’s out the water. Best of all, if they didn’t, he would pay for my tacos. Psssh, challenge accepted!
So I come here and in addition to two tacos de asada ($ 1.75 each), I also ordered a carne asada quesadulla de maiz (~$ 1.75?). Now, these tacos were really good and I almost exclaim, «their not THAT much better than Jalisco’s!» Before I take my next bite, my partner pour some of their chile sauce over my tacos and inside my quesadilla. I take my next bite and I instantly knew, Imperio tacos were my f#$%ing favorite tacos! BUT there’s more! I open up my quesadilla because I like to pull out excess fat. But there isn’t any to pull out of it!!! Could it get any better? YOU BETTER BELIEB IT! This quesadilla was the best I ever had and I never even order these things wth I can make it at home for a fraction of the price but 15 imperio quesadillas after my first Imperio visit in May later and I will still scrape quarters from under my car seats to buy one. I just want you to look at the quesadilla and dare you to tell me you don’t want it! I dare you! Well just like with my tacoperience, Imperio’s salsa chile is really the best chile I’ve had on the East Side to date. This spot is definitely worth the try and drive if you no longer in the area. They have horchata and agua de jamaica on tap, however, you pay for your drink at the liquors counter. They have ice for your drinks in the ice cream cooler directly in front of the drinks and taqueria cashier counter. You grab your drink and pay ~$ 2 at the liquor store counter for it. IDK why.
I don’t recommend getting to go orders. The food can get soggy.
Imperio isn’t just my top hole in the wall hidden gem because of their food, its at the top because it is literally a hole in the wall inside the liquor store that is on its own lot in the corner of this block. While there is ample parking surrounding the liquor store, the place itself is tiny and a line of 4 easily seems like a lie of 16. The taco place is inside to the left and you order at the counter. They give you a number for your order. There is a silver countertop outside the Taqueria windows you can opt to eat on. There is also ample shade in the parking area directly behind the liquor store if you want to pass on the counter and eat in your car. It isn’t hard to get into the parking lot either but I always opt to take the U turn and turn right directly into it. Although you can take the full turn and turn into the lot on the side, I recommend just taking the u turn if you are on King.
Lastly, this place is CASH only so come prepared. My partner and I always order 3 – 4 tacos and 2 – 3 quesadillas and normally pay $ 22 but come with $ 25 just in case.

The burritos are excellent! My favorite one is the carne asada burrito. They are reasonably priced and you can see them cocking it right there. The people that work there are super nice. I highly recommend the place.

Probably the best burrito I’ve ever had. I ordered a Super Burrito de Asada. Stop by if your around the area! This is as good as the Taco Stands in Compton.

You wont find any other location in San Jose that sells better tacos than here. I been going there for years. Every time we are in the mood for tacos we know where to go.

I love how spicy the salsa is there. they are open late so if your looking for late night food this is the place to go. Specially if you had a little to much to drink. Delious Drunk tacos or quezadilla… MMMMM

Really good selection and fully stocked with reasonable price tags! ! It’s all new management and they got really nice polite staff. Highly recommended.

Great food. Was quite impressed considering is inside a small liquor store. Many people have told me it was good so I decided to make my own judgement. Got two tacos asada, one tripa, and one asada burrito. The tacos werent very big but great flavor. The burrito was quite big and good flavor. The sauce was a bit spicy but very tasty. The whole meal came out to $ 11 so it was worth money. Theres no place for sitting really so its more a to fo kinda place. Over all good.

Been going here since I was a kid for late night street tacos. Today I tried the quesadilla maiz (made with corn tortillas instead of flour) which weren’t bad at all. I wish they cooked it a little longer to make the shells slightly more crispier but overall, it was a great lunch. I recommend everything here, from the street tacos to the burritos. Sometimes the burritos can be slightly on the oily side, but the hot sauce they have here makes up for it.
Come here for some quick, take-​out and simple food. It is in a liquor store, so pick up a drink or snack with the meal too.

Best hole in the wall Mex food you will ever have! Been coming here for over 20years and it never disappoints.

bomb, I used to go to Jalisco’s down the street, now it’s Imperio’s yo

Heard from a source that this liquor store serves up the best tacos & I couldn’t agree more! Meat was so tender, tortillas were fresh, soft & warm — I literally chowed them down omw to work… is how good they were! Imagine me — trying to drive on 101 & scarfing these bad boys down and trying to steer the wheel. ctfu!!! Hella bomb dot com!!! LOVED it!!! Straight put my life in danger just to eat them… bwahahaha!
I will hold back 1 star though because 1.75 is a bit steep for tacos in San Jose, esp when you can get them off of McKee for 1.25 :\

It’s a liquor store but has the Best carne Asada tacos! That’s all I ever get, A lil pricey $ 1.75+ tax/​ea. The price per taco is the reason they don’t get 5 stars. Been going here since I was a kid tho. I come here when I want really good tacos and feel like spoiling myself by paying that much for a taco. lol Never tried the burritos but been meaning to. :-)

Quesadillas were good.
I didn’t think much of the burrito though. Asada had some tough bits too.

A lot of people judge this place by the looks but I can say it’s another great spot to get some tacos or burritos! Been coming here since I was a little kid! Burritos and Tacos are Great!

I finally found this place!!! A friend took me here a decade ago and all I remember was a hole-​in-​a-​wall taqueria attached to a liquor store.
The burrito here is simple and good… none of ‘em beans, cheese, sour cream, guacamole crap. Just meat (perferably carne asada), onions, cilantro, and salsa! That’s it!
I’m definitely coming back here again.

You don’t have to die and go to heaven to find a place where you can get a real burrito as your buddy to drives you for one last beer run right before 2am. This place exists. (falls to knees crying)
I’ve had the taco’s too, i think…

A taco place on the former cruising scene of the Eastside should always be serving up bombass tacos!
I’m sad to say that Imperio Liquors doesn’t rank as one of the top spots in my list of favorites. With so many other places to go such as Jalisco’s, Mi Pueblo and La Costa I was hoping that Imperio would just fit right into the list. I’ve been seeing that place for so long It’s sooo damn convenient for me to hit up as it’s on my commute ride going home that I was seriously wanting to come here weekly for my fix. But sadly it’s not going to happen.
Yesterday after work I went to Imperio Liquor for some tacos and a burrito to split with my kid. Parked the car walked in, waited about 10 minutes to just place my order and once it was in got my ticket and paid at the cashier. Walked around the store a little as I Waited 15 minutes for the food to come and I was off to devour my goods!
2 carne asada tacos
2 carnitas tacos
1 carne asada burrito
Got home, opened up the stuff and proceeded eating.
Both the carne asada and carnitas tacos were nothing special. They weren’t gross in anyway there was just nothing in them that made me want more. You know that feeling after you eat a good potato chip and want another, but you can’t because you don’t have anymore. That’s happened to me several times at several eateries but it didn’t happen after finishing the food I got from here. I wasn’t disappointed, wasn’t saddened but I wasn’t completely satisfied.
Normally, I would’ve given 3 stars. But with the expectations I’d had with it’s location and the quality available of other nearby places, 2 stars seems about right.

This place has got to have the tastiest burritos and tacos I’ve ever eaten from a hole in the wall joint, but its not a hole in the wall its a liqour store! But of course!, makes life a little bit easier doesn’t it. Just walk in buy you a coke, snickers, gum, and what do you know… a burrito!
My late brother brought me here over 10 years ago and ever since I’ve made this a late night stop after enjoying my night out in San Jose, but you better hurry they close at 1 am.
Trust me you’ll love the burritos and tacos here, but if your new here… lol well lets say you may be racing to the bathroom at 5 am… lol. its true but you’ll be fine.