Tacos El Flako

I cannot believe it took me so long to find this place. Actually, yes I can, because it's hidden inside a small grocery store, so I drove right past it. Twice. Don't do that! It's in the (nameless, I think) corner store advertising "Cocos frios."This place serves superb Mexican street food such as elotes, fruit cups, mangonadas, tacos and tortas. I came in search of a mangonada and birria tacos. I was delighted to find both, and how! The mangonada was refreshing with lots of mango flavor. I wish it was spicy too, but mostly it was sweet with a little tart and salt. Maybe next time, I'll go with a fruit cup instead, since I love fruit served with salt, chili pepper and lime. The birria tacos were excellent. The meat was tender and flavorful, so much that I didn't need the consomme, although that was awesome too! (Actually, the consomme was so full of meat and herbs, that I ate some of it with the radishes and onion garnish. It was too good to waste.) The tacos were hard to eat as it's a 20 minute drive from this location to my home, and there's nowhere to eat in the store, so by the time I ate them, they were soggy. But I powered through! My only criticism was the double tortilla thing. I'm assuming they were doubled because they were not homemade, so they were flimsier. But I'm so in love with the birria, that I'll forgive the tortillas.Prices were very reasonable, and serving sizes were excellent. My tacos were about 50% bigger than the birria tacos I had at Crazy Burrito earlier this week.I'll happily return to try more of their menu.

Sunday was National Taco Day, and we decided to have a taco lunch. We hit 3 spots and Taco El Flako was our first stop. This is a small Latin market that had a decent produce selection off Armenia with a taco stand inside the back of the store. Some of their menu items caught our eye like the mangonadas and elote loco. We decided on a mix of tacos, elote & esquites, as well as a few mangonadas. It did take a little bit to get our food, but once we did, we were very happy with it. The tacos were all on point, but the standout for me was the mangonada & elote loko. The mangonada was the perfect balance of sweet, tart, and savory. The elote loco was served with spicy takis, mayo, cotija, and dusted in some spicy hot chips of some sort. Overall, we really enjoyed our meal here. It hit the spot and the price was very reasonable.

The tortillas were amazing, such intense corn flavor that literally overpowered the flavors of the meats. These have to be some of the best corn tortillas I've had, but seriously I had a difficult time tasting anything else. I got the al pastor and the asada, both simply topped with some onions and cilantro and lime on the side. I think they could serve a bit more meat on each taco. The hot sauce is really spicy but it's good. Each taco is $2 and they only take cash.

Hidden Taco Truck, but worth finding. Tried out thier mangoneada. DELICIOUS! Thier Taco selection are good as well. Owner is a friendly guy.

Hole in the wall. Flavor is above par but their al pastor was a bit dry. One of the better Mexican taco joints in Tampa. It's authentic, located in a market, it's charming and the people are super friendly. Bring cash. Apparently the market serves up raw coconuts. I'll go back for asada tacos and fresh coconuts. Both red and green salsas were pretty good too.

Tastes great. Meat is seasoned well. $2 tacos are small and easy. I enjoyed my meal. Green sauce is fire. Nice spice to it.... I wanna go buy more tacos

Good tacos, served quickly and with a smile.A menu with pricing would be nice (tacos are $2 each, I learned).Doubling up on tortillas also keeps them from falling apart, as these single-wrap ones did.Carne asada was well-browned and delicious. Al pastor was just ok. Chorizo could've been spicier, but the salsa verde definitely made up for the lack.I'll stop by again.

Worst tacos I have ever tasted!!!!! Stay away please if you value your health!!!I alway give everything a Chance because you should never judge a book by its cover, but sometimes you have to read the room and in this particular place literally the ceiling is falling there is electrical wires hanging and their produce looks really bad. To be specific their tomatoes look like balloons you can see through them!!! Yes that bad!!! None the less we gave it chance and oh lord it's was bad. My friend was able to eat his 4 tacos me on the other hand could only eat the beef taco the others where absolutely horrible. Now we are both regretting our decision and hope that we didn't get food poisoning!!!!!I'm not exaggerating if you think I am just walk in the store and look at the balloon like tomatoes!!!!

Best tacos in Tampa. If you're looking for authentic Mexican food, this is a must. The gentleman in the back was so kind and made our experience here fantastic. Tacos el Flako are a go to! Los mejores tacos en Tampa. Si estas buscando comida mexicana autentica tienes que comer aquí. El señor de atrás era tan bueno is nos ido la experiencia aquí fantástico!

Authentic, no frills, no sign outside. Solid tacos, but not outstanding.