El Tacuba

Yes it's a bit pricey but life goes on. The food....OMG. I had the Taco Costilla, the Taco Suadero and the Suizas. Sunday night, very good energy, outstanding service.

This was our second time at El Tabuca and my takeaways are: 1. the drinks are creative and well crafted. 2. This is a great place for tacos and apps. What we ate:- Guacamole: Great, would get again.- Ceviche de Pescado: Pass, this dish is missing some extra ingredients or at least a chip to eat it with. - Arroz Del Mar: Pass, didn't like this as much the second time around. It's a creamy dish and thats not my preference. - Atun Tostada: Pass, the fried onions overpower this tostada but still good. - Pescado Taco: Fantastic- Suadero Taco: FantasticWe will continue to try more items on the menu, but feel the drinks, tacos and apps are the best options.

Great, upscale Mexican small plates (tapas style) and more!We would be in the area for a concert at the nearby Chevalier Theatre, and we assumed the local restaurants would be busy. So, we made reservations for 2 at 5:30 at El Tacuba (thank you Yelp!).We were very glad we did! The food is fantastic. The drinks are excellent! The ambiance is sweet! And the service is great! Bonus: Now I have two 5-star (in my book) Mexican restaurants in the Boston area that I'm comfortable recommending to anyone.The ONLY thing we didn't love about El Tacuba was the noise levels. They could really do with some baffling in the rafters. That said, if you were to come here on a weeknight when there isn't a show at the Chevalier noise wouldn't have been an issue (according to some locals we chatted with). I can't wait to go back!

Lovely and large space with a beautiful bar and several different eating areas. Workers were also greening up patio are by sidewalk with many plants.We both tried two plates each. He loved the enchilada suiza and I really enjoyed the short rib taco and tuna ceviche. Fantastic cocktails.Next time I go maybe I will sit at bar and try a special tequila. Fun soundtrack playing! Very nice upbeat vibe.

The menu reads nicely, the service was speedy & attentive. The decor of the place is fun and vibrant. We ordered a bunch of stuff to share. The items from the specials menu were excellent - particularly the octopus ceviche. The items we got from the regular menu were just okay. The scallops were undercooked - which is *fine*, certainly edible. The sauce was very good.And $7 for one taco is ridiculous. This is where I take it from a 4 to a 3 star. We got the De La Casa and while the flavor was fine, it was texturally one-note. It ate very 'soggy'. Had they crisped up the bacon, it would've made a bigger impact. So, I can't justify ordering tacos here at this price point. They're simply not good enough. That said - the drinks were great and they have a nice outdoor patio. If I'm in Medford, it's a place I'd swing by for a drink and apps. And for that - I'd recommend it. But if you're looking for a nice Mexican dining experience, there's better options out there (granted, few in Greater Boston).

We have been waiting to try El Tacuba for such a long time. As Medford residents can remember, it took a super long time to open but the interior was worth the wait. If I were reviewing on atmosphere alone, I would definitely be giving 5 stars. Our server was fantastic, the food however not so much. Don't get me wrong, it was good! The best thing we got was the chips and guacamole (free).We ordered the queso with chorizo. It was extremely oily, and it had it not been for the saltiness of the chorizo it would've lacked flavor all together.I ordered shrimp tacos when I was told it came on the corn tortilla I asked to have it switched to a tostada. The corn tortilla's were not enjoyable at all. The entree was good and great size if you enjoy tapas. The non alcoholic margarita was delicious and it was nice to try flan for the first time. Awesome choice if you like super sweet desserts.

Great Food, Subpar Service Came here on a Saturday night around 7pm and it was on and jumping. The place was packed and we were told a 40 min wait. We decided to wait and just get a drink at the bar. It took us about 20 mins to get a Modelo at the bar. After about 30 mins, we got seated and the restaurant cleared out and quieted down (about 1/2 the tables were open by 7:45pm).Once seated, it took about 7-10 mins for someone to even notice us. The server that noticed that we hadn't been attended to called our server who seemingly ignored her and still didn't come over to our table. Another 5-7 mins went by and the manager (maybe owner) noticed we had been served yet and he grabbed our server who was just chatting with the hostess. We put in our drink order and an appetizer, which took a while to come out (8-10mins). It took so long for us to flag down our server to put in our dinner order. She seemed very frantic and a little ditsy, chatting with the bartenders and hosts and blatantly ignoring her tables. We planned to order some food and then add more later if we were hungry, but realized quickly our server was not going to be coming back for a while.The food was very good with a nice variety of meats and items. Only complaint is that the portions are small for the price (compared to Bar Taco, Lolita, Yellow Door). 1. The Classico (4/5) - Basic but the passionfruit flavor didn't taste too artificial2. Mangorindo (5/5) - Sweet, Salty, Spicy. Pretty and Yummy3. Sopesitos (3.5/5)- The topping were tasty but the corn dough was thick and dry4. Tacos:-Cochinito (3/5) The meat was pretty dry and lacked flavor-De la Casa (5/5) Very good! Salty and fatty-Suadero (3/5) the meat was dry but had good flavor-Camaron (4/5) shrimp were well seasoned and not overcooked but you only get two medium shrimp for a $7 taco5. Tostadas:-Camaron (5/5) really fresh and delicious-Carne (4/5) would recommend for picky eaters-Jaiba (5/5) The BEST thing we had all night. Fresh crabmeat, well seasoned and not at all fishy

The food, staff and atmosphere is excellent with traditional Mexican Venezuelan food. The guacamole and steak tacos were delicious, the drinks delightful. The portion sizes are small, one taco is six dollars but you're paying for the atmosphere, hoping the serving sizes change to be more in line with the prices and they establish a reservation system. Most of the food is gluten free, a huge plus and a signature sign of authenticity. Great place for a tasty meal and a drink.

I visited El Tacuba for the first time, and the place looks great inside modern with beautiful decor to look at. Parking was convenient, and the service from our waitress, Stephanie, was top notch. We tried dishes like elotes callejeros, Ensalada Betabel, shrimp tacos and ensalada de temporada. While my gin cocktail was good, the food was decent but not particularly memorable for the price. I might return for drinks, but I'm in no rush.

We ordered takeout tonight for our first visit here. Lucio answered all my pre-ordering questions, and couldn't have been more gracious. as we have aged, we have come to not do well with hot/spicy food, and we do our best to keep a low salt diet. in placing our order, we took our cues from yelp reviews and Lucio.on opening our food tins, the first thing we noticed was that portions are very generous [except the guac.], and the dishes are arranged attractively. the food itself was about 50/50 for us. the positive highlights were the ARROZ DEL MAR [the rice was a special variety, similar to creamy chewy paella rice]; the SEA BASS A LA VERACRUZANA; the [ sea bass] FRIED FISH TACO; the BEET AND AVOCADO SALAD; the SOPESITOS w/ shredded pork on a fat toothsome masa cake.I didn't care for: the tuna ceviche, which had the mealiness caused by over-marination ; fried shrimp tacos [not the flavor of high quality shrimp] ; the corn with cojita cheese [this corn ear really needs to be charred over an open flame to give it the signature appeal it has]; the berengena [eggplant] veracruzana was excruciatingly salty [i'm guessing cooks salted the eggplant to drain out bitterness but forgot the rinsing and chopping step] and very hot/spicy [ el toro makes a five star addictive version of this] ; the carne asada tostada [ like the corn, this beef needs to be grilled over an open flame]; the guac. which was boring, needed oomph.the brunch menu has some neat things on it. we look forward to trying it.i do wish yelpers would write more reviews of this place!