El Taco Tote

I like a spot I can go to and get quick service and good food. I like sitting at the bar because the bartender is always good and has great specials. They have TVs to watch the games and movies, music has been a miss every now and again but still decent. I hope this place can stick around as most places in this plaza come and go.

Pooh, I wanted this place to rock. It is okay. Another attempt to setup a franchised Mexican restaurant. Nice décor, well laid out.
The food is underwhelming … bummer.
The Sonoran style salsa bar is quite good. I love that they label their salsas and they give you a Heat index. Oh man, I have almost called for a Fire Engine at a couple of places. The yummy looking roasted pepper salsas burned the inner lining in my mouth before sliding down and creating a raging Forest Fire in my belly … which then …
But not here. They give you do warning.
Nice wait staff.
Great location.
Food did not thrill me. I might pop in again to try something else.

Had me some delicious street tacos! I’m from Cali and the taco plate reminded me of home. I had ½ carne asada and ½ Adobe and I’m in street taco heaven! The salsa bar is fresh and has a great variety for all taste buds, from guacamole salsa to burn your tongue off red. I know where I’m eating next time I’m in Tucson.

Tried this for the first time tonight… For takeout. We ordered the platter for two with the pork and Barbacoa, rice and beans with the HEARTY corn tortillas. It came with chips, guacamole and two drinks for about 20.00. The tortillas are really dee-​lish! The rice and beans are my style really yum. And the bomb salsa bar. This was a lot of food for 20.00 bucks. I will be back!

We went last night. This place is a mess so disorganized. Food took forever and was received cold. Would not go back. I couldn’t eat the food.

I was pleasantly surprised. Great salsa bar, tacos had a lot of meat, everything tasted great. Will definitely go back.

We came here for happy hour which is daily from 4−7pm. $ 1 off draft beers, $ 3 margaritas which are super sweet.
The restaurant has two areas, you have to sit in the bar area to order margaritas or draft beers. The other half has more of a fast-​food atmosphere where you order at the counter.
I was really dissapointed by my seafood tacos. The shrimp taco was bland, the fish taco was overly salted. Neither tasted fresh and I didn’t finish them which is highly unusual for me!
My fiancée was pretty satisfied with his al pastor and chicken tacos though.
They have a large salsa bar– we loaded up on the pico del gallo which was great, but the salsas themselves were no better than canned salsa.
(For the most amazing salsa bar I’ve found in Tucson yet, try Calle Tepa)
Fast friendly service

Very solid tacos and a great salsa bar. love the barbacoa and carnitas. quick service, and they serve beer too. It’s like a great taco truck inside a comfortable restaurant.

Tacos barbacoa and carne asada was delicious my husband tried the shrimp tacos and he loved them. The tortillas tasted like they were homemade. The rice needs to be improve but other than that place was nice and clean.

First impression: El Taco Tote doesn’t drown their tacos in cheese or other gimmicks. If you want a taco canoe floating in a cheese pond, so be it. But I’ll be at El Taco Tote enjoying the salsa bar and the minimalism.
What ultimately puts El TT in championship contention is the presentation of the food. The tacos come in foil, and when you unwrap that foil all you see is tortilla and meat. Just the way it should be. Let *me* decide on the appropriate amount of onion, salsa, and cilantro to add. Let *me* engage the ritual of folding the tortilla.
As far as I’m concerned, TT ranks right up there with Tania’s 33 – though they each offer a different experience. This is the Taco Tote experience: 2 tacos, rice and beans. The wild card? Taco Tote has apple Fanta (we call it Fanzana). That’s right, apple Fanta – it’s like apple juice on bubbly steroids. Beat that, er, other taco place!
Look, the bottom line is that Taco Tote is about as good as it gets in Tucson. How could I have ever missed TT? All this time! The salsa bar *alone* beats most taquerias.

I went there because it had good reviews and it was ok. It’s not a traditional sit down restaurant. You order and bring your food to the table. It was a little more expensive than I would have liked but you get a lot of food. The margaritas were the best part. Go during happy hour and they are super cheap.

Salsa bar ROCKS! and the kids meals are fairly priced I had the chicken taco which was very good

Not the cleanest place you’ll ever go that’s for sure. Customer service is TERRIBLE. The food is hit and miss. The salsa and chips are consistently great though.

With the rating here I was expecting good things. Well, it’s «meh».
I was unimpressed when we walked in, but was hopeful. Had a hungry crew in tow and nobody wanted to go looking for someplace else. So we ordered. They at least bring it to the table instead of calling your number. The flavor was fine. Not really bad, but not really special either.
I will say they are better than Taco Bell. That’s a very low bar. First visit here, and probably my last. There are too many other places to eat to go for something mediocre. They are like Baja Fresh. Not bad, but not great. Really, I’d go with 2.5 stars if I had the choice. But I just can’t go to three.

We aren’t from Tucson, so this was a nice place to try to taste the local fast food. We got different tacos, shrimp, chicken, beef. All were good and made better by the salsa bar. That was fun. The corn taco was not to my liking, but I ate the rice that comes with the meals and that was more than good enough. I don’t know if I’d come back in a regular basis if I lived here, but I certainly enjoyed our one trip and will remember it as part of our memorable Tucson trip.

Eh. Came for lunch and it was ok. The moving menu is absolutely annoying but they have printed ones at the register. I’m glad I accidentally came in on a day that was «happy hour» (Sundays maybe?) because the nachos were only ok. And I asked for the jalapeños on the side. I got a little to go cup with 3 slices. 3.

Like the other El Taco Tote in town, they have managed to stay in a location that traditionally has high turnover rate for restaurants. This location is a bit more modern looking than the other one, has more seating, and includes a bar. The salsa bar is the best feature of El Taco Tote as it has one of the better guacamole salsas I’ve ever tasted. They give you generous portions including the sides. Taste wise, the chicken is a little too dry so I usually end up drenching my tacos with one of the salsas. There is nothing exceptional about the service but nothing bad to say about it either.
If you are looking for a different style of Mexican food, then this could be a destination to try. It is not that expensive so if you don’t like, it’s «no harm, no foul.» You can read through these other reviews and find a whole range of opinions about this place. That leaves it up to you to figure out if it’s worth it!

So empty and quiet! There were a ton of employees hanging out at the front and absolutely no customers. I felt weird walking in.
We went up to order and I got the shrimp quesadilla and the sirloin taco. Both were good. The sirloin taco was just the meat and you go to the taco bar and add everything else. The shrimp quesadilla was shrimp, cheese and salsa. My boyfriend was very excited about the 100+ flavors coke machine. It would have been great except the MAJORITY of the flavors were EMPTY. Seriously?
There were also about a million flies circling our table. So disgusting. I hate flies. Especially around my food.
I really wanted to like it, but I doubt we will ever come back. Eat at La Salsa instead!

My boyfriend and I just went here today. We were hungry, tired, and hungover. But their flavor packed meats and salsas was not lost on us.
We each got a combo with rice and refried beans. I got barbacoa and he got the pork whatchamacallit. Sorry, I did say I was hungover and tired, right? Anyhow. We got 2 tacos in the combo so we traded and got to try each others. Very juicy and succulent.
Their salsa bar is fresh, clean and has a ton of variety!
Speaking of clean, the restaurant was well manicured, and the bathrooms spotless (tho missing TP in 2 stalls). You know what they say about restaurant bathrooms… If the bathrooms are nasty, just imagine their kitchen! Taco tote passed with flying colors.
This place is right down the road from us, and we couldn’t be happier!

Yum! I’ve been wanting to try this place for awhile but never made it in. You order what you’re going to eat (and they have a good variety) then you doctor it up with whatever you like on it from the bar. I had a shrimp taco my first visit, which was loaded with shrimp, really nice sized shrimp that seemed to have been grilled. The last couple times I went with the shrimp burrito which I love. Very nice sized, tasty and filling. Their chips & salsa are really good. You help yourself to those and don’t have to wait on a server. Same with the drinks, they have the new machines that has just about everything known to mankind. The prices were low and the food was fresh and good, restaurant was clean and stocked. One of my new favorite places to grab a fast meal.