Vaquero Taquero

This fun, funky spot is as authentic as it gets: it evolved from a street cart, tortillas are homemade, and meat is slow-cooked on a trompo. The simple menu boasts tacos (al pastor, chicken tinga, nopales, and beef with birria subbing in for carne asada at the time of my visit), chips, and drinks.I opted for one birria and one pastor taco. Both were prepped quickly and served loaded with fillings. The pastor had excellent flavor, and I was sorely tempted to get another. I don't know how Vaquero Taquero stacks up against other local taquerias, but coming from an out-of-towner with plenty of respectable taco options back home, this place rocks.

Taco Heaven in Austin! Vaquero Taquero is hands down one of my favorite spots in Austin. The Tacos al Pastor are chef's kiss--perfectly seasoned, juicy, and honestly some of the best I've ever had. The Carne Asada Tacos are just as impressive, with tender, flavorful cuts of beef that make each bite incredible.The margaritas here are top-notch too, perfectly balanced and refreshing. The vibe is lively and welcoming, and you can feel the energy as soon as you walk in. It does get crowded, but that just adds to the buzz of this popular spot.Vaquero Taquero nails it on every level. Can't wait to go back!

Tacos are amazing, $5 each and got the El Pastor and Carna Asada....just got the meat and onions and it was soooo flavorful. Right on point for tacos! The tacos are made fresh and you order outside, right when you enter the courtyard area. Inside bar area is a bit confusing, and they were out of the Watermelon Margarita and the Cucumber Spritz...regular margaritas were fine just would have preferred something else. We went early on a Friday around 7pm...and was pretty empty. They stay open late which is nice.

Came around 10:30 pm on a Friday night. When we first walked in, we were slightly confused where to go but you just order with whoever is behind the bar and you're given a buzzer. $5 per taco. Quite a lot of items on the menu such as the loaded tacos and chips & queso were sold out. Found the carne asada to be a little bland and dry with some onions and cilantro. The menu is slightly deceiving in that above the option for chips & salsa is guacamole so one would assume that it meant guacamole by itself. Given that assumption, we ordered the chips & salsa as well as guacamole to dip the chips that came with the salsa in and were surprised to see 2 large trays of chips. Salsa is slightly liquidy whereas the guac is very chunky. Chips look and taste like Doritos. We were disappointed by the quality of the tacos but the guac made up for it.

Solid tacos, well-priced, and extremely accessible. Right around the corner from the noise, but claiming its own spot to have its own vibe away from the chaos. We didn't spend time on dirty sixth, but we did end our evening activities interested in food and knew we could find some joy with late-night tacos. Unfortunately, 10/10 Taqueria had just closed 5 minutes before we got there (closing at 1 AM), but fortunately, we could easily walk two blocks to find ourselves finger-licking Vaquero Taquero. Can't go wrong with either the Chicken Tinga or Al Pastor.

Excellent tacos. I've been here a few times now while on work trips, usually for a quick bite after work. The last two times I've come in, I've been the only customer. I'm not really sure why, I think the tacos are quite good. I think it is a bit of a sketchy location. I was chatting with the bartender who said it is more of a late night spot.I got a couple of the steak tacos and one al pastor on my most recent visit. All three tacos had a generous amount of meat and toppings. The hot salsa was excellent. Overall, a great spot for tacos.

I had lunch here during SXSW. You order at the counter and then choose a table on the patio or inside the restaurant. I would not recommend this place to vegetarians or vegan because the beans contain pork. I tried to order the cactus tacos without the cheese sprinkled on top and was told that during SXSW they only offer 'all toppings' or 'no toppings', they are not able to accommodate any other modifications because it's so busy. I understand this in general, and maybe they are busier at dinner, but they were not busy at the time we were there and only half the tables were full. So that was strange. My husband says the men's bathroom was (surprisingly) clean!

I've been to Vaquero a handful of times, and while it's not my first choice of tacos in Austin, after last night's visit I realized that they are really good tacos and maybe I should go more often. They're in Downtown, so it's a bit of a pain to get parking if you're trying to go there. If you do that, go on a Monday or Tuesday night when parking is free after 6pm. Staff is always really friendly, and the venue hosts events like open mikes and what not.

I think my expectations were a little high for this place. I got two fish tacos and while they were piled high with generous portion of the ingredients, I thought they tasted kind of meh. I ended up adding some chipotle in adobo sauce that came on the side, but even that didn't remedy things entirely. So not bad, but not world shaking, especially given the price. My husband got the shrimp and a beef taco and loved his, so maybe it's just the fish taco, or maybe it's just me. The tortillas were phenomenal though, I will say. Possibly the most flavorful part of my taco somehow haha. It was jam packed on a Friday midday, so we went the online order route at the window. Straightforward and easy, but they forgot to include one of our tacos, which was annoying because then my husband had to wait almost another 10 mins after waiting over 20 in the first place.

Oh yummo - delicious, hearty tacos. You can order at the counter. There's plenty of seating inside and outdoor patio seating. I tried the steak and pastor tacos with griddled cheese in the interior. Just two tacos and a big glass of horchata was plenty for a filling lunch.