bartaco

Our daughter is in the nearby UNC Hospital and we were so happy to find BarTaco. From the moment we walked in, we knew this was going to be a great place, and would take our minds off of the hospital, even for a brief bit. The food and drinks were fantastic and Thomas was SUPER helpful and accommodating in making suggestions to us first-timers. We were so pleased with our dinner a few nights ago, that we brought our step mom/M.I.L. (visiting) for dinner tonight. Although we LOVED The pork belly tacos (among other things) a few days ago, we forced ourselves to try a bunch of other stuff that we didn’t previously eat… the verdict.. can’t find ANYTHING that we didn’t like. From the cucumber salad, the street corn, the rice bowls, any of the tacos… it’s all delicious and fresh from their scratch kitchen. Seriously, this has been our favorite place to eat during the last 3 weeks that we’ve been in Chapel Hill and you can’t go wrong with anything you try. Do yourself a favor and go there… you will not regret it!

Bartaco is absolutely delicious! I've been 3 times, and each time, the tacos and appetizers have blown me away. Special favorites include the cauliflower tacos, the esquites, and the plantains.

Oh my gosh the food was SOOOO good. Everything came out so fast too I was not expecting like 5 different staff members to be handling our order. I will happily be coming back here.

This place is awesome! My family and I were coming back home late and most places had closed. We called to check and this place welcomed us with open arms. We didn't feel rushed at all. Quite the opposite. Everyone was so helpful and nice, and it made the vibe feel so much better. The music was bangin and the lighting was on point. The salsas are an absolute "must try" here. This place cares about their sauces. High standards here and that's why I'm giving them high praise. Well done yall.

Newly discovered this place and am in love! My coworkers and I have been every week since. The tacos are about palm size, but very filling and they give you generous portions of meat. The shrimp tacos and Baja fish tacos are my favorites, but I’ve tried others and they’re all good. The sides are delicious as well. I’ve tried the street corn (off the cob), black beans and the pineapple with tajin, and they’re all delicious! During my last visit I had the key lime pie in a jar and it did not disappoint, 10/10 must try. I would highly recommend. I’ve been during lunch, and in the evening and service never disappoints. We’ve always made it back to work in an hour with no problems. You can either write your order out or place the order online when you’re familiar enough with the process. Both are easy. Check this restaurant out for sure.

Great tasting food. In the restaurant the portions are small but enough. The rice bowl is a significantly smaller portion in a to go order than it is in the restaurant.

The food (particularly the pork belly bowl) is insanely good. Tacos are great, too. It can get kinda loud with the music in there. I really don't think you can go wrong with anything you order. All really well done.

For vegetarians, this place is not worth visiting. The guacamole and salsa were overly lemony, though the plantains were excellent—crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The mains had very limited vegetarian options. The falafel taco was mediocre; the falafel itself wasn’t good, and the taco as a whole was dry. The cauliflower pistachio taco was slightly better but lacked flavor and was quite bland. The rice bowls were also underwhelming. The service is extremely fast and you order the food on your phone and pay on the phone. While none of the food was outright bad, it was all very mediocre. Many items were overly acidic, with too much lemon. Overall, vegetarians would do better to skip this place.

Fantastic! Spicy Margarita! Plantains! Everything was wonderful...service was great! Online ordering is efficient and quick. Just go!

Yea so I'm always at bartaco LOL. Every time I come to Chapel Hill, I have a great experience! I love the staff, the management and how friendly they are! The food is always executed extremely well and never misses. Today I had one of the best half roasted chickens of my life :). The skin was roasted to perfection and added SO MUCH flavor. I also had the tuna tatako. The tuna was fresh. The slaw was spicy and had a good amount of dressing. I also had the ribeye on lettuce and the kale side salad. Everything was perfect... per usual. The drinks are always delicious and made in a way where you can taste all of the ingredients in the drinks. Every margarita is skinny. No artificial flavors. If you like nonalcoholic beverages, they have other options as well. Shout out to Barbara behind the bar. She's always so sweet, always sparks good conversation, and makes a damn good margarita! See you guys in a few weeks for my bartaco fix!

Bartaco for lunch! Yes, please. Great and cute restaurant right next to the Silverspot Theaters. I sat at the bar and while I waited I had their signature bartaco margarita, which I definitely recommend. It tasted so fresh. Also ordered the guac + chips. Ezra who was working the bar explained the menu and gave great suggestions. I decided on the following tacos because one was not enough. The roasted duck, spiced chicken verde, chile-lime shrimp, and the glazed pork belly. Some were spicier than others, but nonetheless, they were all delicious. They run a bit on the smaller side, two or three bite as best, but they were packed and had a great punch. I ordered the churros for dessert. I will say that's probably were they fell a bit short for me. The churro itself was crunchy and full of cinnamon powder, but it lacked flavor. It definitely needed the sauces but even with that, they were not the best. However, I would definitely go back to this spot to try a few different tacos next time.

The food was outstanding! I visited with two of my sisters. We tried the duck taco, ribeye taco, pork belly, and the guacamole. I would order all of these items again! The ribeye taco was my favorite!! Kimchi is such a unique topping and the sesame was a perfect compliment to the taco! Sadly, I do not remember the gentleman's name, but the manager who looks like Hozier was amazing!! Thank you for making the meal memorable! Thanks to the food and the excellent service, I will be back! PS Order the churros!!

I came here and was glad to get some tacos! Very friendly service. Tacos were delicious! Lots of good options available.

We had a fantastic experience at bartaco today! A special shoutout to Mikki, who was one of the friendliest people we've ever met and made sure our time at bartaco was exceptional. The restaurant itself is clean and charmingly decorated. Our food arrived just minutes after ordering and was delicious. Our favorite taco was the glazed pork belly, and I highly recommend giving it a try! We also ordered the small trio of chips and dip, which was more than enough to share (it comes with six large tortilla rounds and three dips). If you're looking for a fun spot to enjoy tacos, definitely check out bartaco!

we love bartaco!!!!!!!!!!!! If you go, ask for Thomas - he made our experienc, I wanted him to sit down with us. You also have to get the green margarita. I will be recreating it this week. overall 100/10 amazing experience. perfect service food and vibes.

This large bar/restaurant was lively even on a weekday night. I had a mixed experience here. The good: drinks were delicious and smooth, and all the juices for mixes were pressed fresh. Food was very tasty, though a bit on the spicy side. The meh: QR code menu and ordering system (we didn't feel like we had "a" server) and portions were pretty small. We were told there would be a 15-20 min wait for a table but ended up waiting 30+mins.

Good here is great! Fantastic flavors, great portions & affordable. I will say most thing on the menu has some heat other than that I highly recommend.

Food is ok, but not the best tacos I've ever had. Loud at dinner. Portions a bit small for the price. Service was good at least.

Visiting from out of town and looked forward to a relaxing meal. Atmosphere and service was great. Tacos had great flavor put were skimpy and not filled at all. Understandably street tacos are small, but at least they need to be filled. Shrimp tacos had only two small pieces of shrimp in them and the Baja fish taco was more batter than fish. The plantains were good and so was the street corn.

Bartaco is a cute restaurant that operates on QR code menu and you place your order from the menu that pops up. There's not much interaction with server, unless you have specific questions about the menu. The tacos are small, 3-4 bites per taco. But they each pack some good flavor. My fave is the Baja fish taco. The fried shrimp taco is good too. I tried the lobster taco, it was just ok nothing spectacular. I didn't order a drink but I heard their margaritas are good.

BarTaco This was my first trip to @bartacolife and I'd go back to Raleigh just for more. You order on an online system and it's tapas style so you can order lots to try. We ordered lots of sides and tacos. Beware there was lots of spice but they have milk on the menu for heat wimps (3 of us ended up needing some ). What I got * duck Birria chili lime shrimp taco pork belly taco Sharesies * esquites dip trio sweet fried plantains cucumber salad

Great atmosphere and amazing tacos! The establishment is tapas style, meaning everything is quite small and you order as many tacos as you want! We sat at the bar on a Friday night, since we would have to wait 30-40 minutes for a seat at a table. The restaurant was dim but super energetic. It was loud and had lively music which was nice and fun. The bar staff were also so kind. They were promptly delivering our food and making drink orders at the same time. I got the sesame ribeye tacos and the Baja fish taco. They were PACKED with so much flavor! The meat on the sesame ribeye was so juicy, but I didn't like the additional kimchi on it because I feel like the added sourness from the kimchi was just a bit too much for me, since the meat was also already so flavorful. Also, the taco started to fall apart a bit since there was so much juice. I thought the Baja fish taco would be a tiny piece of fish that was heavily fried, but I was most definitely wrong! It was lightly battered, and a nice piece of cod. Really good!! Definitely would come back here again when it's not so busy!

This is a cool place. The vibe is chill and the decor is cute. We were greeted by a happy, friendly server, who explained the ordering system to us. You use a QR code place your order and when you're finished with your order, you just close out the tab. This is a great concept as you can basically get your own check and order right up front.I tried the roasted chicken, black beans and rice today and everything was delicious. This was a good serving of food which I appreciated for the price. I really enjoyed my early dinner here today and will definitely return to try a couple of other samplings.

Love the small bite tacos on that you can try more! Chicken was the hands down winner. Steak and chorizo were a bit bland, but shrimp had a little kick. Love that the tacos are gluten free. Also gluten free chips served with delish guac.

TOO LOUD! Staff were pleasant, welcoming, and responsive (when we could hear each other). Spicy chicken verde rice bowl was tasty. Serving size was skimpy, especially as compared to local independent, non-corporate Mexican restaurants. My rating was pulled way down by the extremely high ambient noise level. My friends and I had to lean forward and shout to hear each other. The high music volume (on top of an already fairly loud baseline) pushed the sound level over the top for me. Not only is the noise unpleasant for many patrons, it's a genuine occupational health hazard for employees who are exposed for hours daily.

Food was unique and that is a beautiful statement I absolutely love the decor Drinks was a plus as well Thank you to the cooks for the wonderful tastes of favor provided to the meals The manager Christian was very helpful we appreciated the service

I'm so torn between 3 & 4 but after going here twice, I can confirm it's more hype than bang for your buck. The first time I went it was literally the best marg I had in the triangle. The second time, I wasn't sure I was getting the same drink. Both times we visited, there was an extensive wait, but luckily there is a lot of seating in the area, and both times, the weather has been nice. The food is ok, but again, very small portions for the price. Knowing this is a franchise, it is definitely an "up and coming" hot spot where you would take someone from out of town, but you can get much more affordable, authentic tacos other places and not have to wait for a table. Both times our servers were nice. The bar was extremely packed and it was clear they were overwhelmed. By the time I ordered a drink, my table was ready, and they serve wine in rocks glasses....? For the prices, it seemed like a weird factor. Not saying I won't be back, but we have lots of places to try!

Three of us arrived at Bartaco for dinner on a Friday evening. It was lively and the restaurant was full but we were told the wait was only ten to fifteen minutes. We were seated within that timeframe and had a great meal. I eat gluten free and the server made sure I knew what I could order safely. There were so many choices. The fish tacos were my favorite but the shrimp was tasty as well. My husband loved the tuna. The music was fun and upbeat. We will definitely return.

From the moment I placed my order to picking it up, the entire takeout process was a breeze. The takeout area is conveniently located and the staff couldn't have been friendlier. I ordered the following tacos - pork belly, ribeye, duck, and chili lime shrimp. The ribeye and shrimp tacos were solid, but the duck and pork belly tacos stole the show. If you're on the hunt for exceptional tacos, this is the spot.

This is the spot, I can understand how these people are rolling in the$$$$. Order off the phone, fast service, great food. Absolutely a cant miss place in Chapel Hill! Oh the fish tacos didn't last for a photo. Don't suck, go to Bar-taco! Oh crap, street corn and tres leches cake. Like I said don't be stupid eat here!

Love love bar taco. This is my second time visiting and I will be back again. Sat at the bar last night, Great crowd. The bartenders really took care of us! Also the manager was amazing. She recommended the secret taco. So their drinks, ON POINT! The spicy margarita is delicious. Not crazy spicy but definitely has that kick! We ordered a few different tacos; seared chorizo, roasted duck, pork belly, fried oyster, cilantro lime shrimp. As mentioned above the manager came to talk to us and told us about the secret taco which changes after a few months, this one was a tempura fried avocado. And let me tell you, MUST ORDER! All their tacos are really good, but our fave would definitely be the Pork belly, fried oyster, avocado secret taco & chorizo. The duck was actually really good, but I wasn't feeling the sauce much. The shrimp was good but nothing spectacular. We will definitely be back not just for the tacos but the drinks, atmosphere & staff!

Freah, fresh and fresh Margaritas squeezed at the bar. Fresh Ceviche, and original tacos. We drive from out of town just to come here.

The food is great but the noise level is horrible! In addition to the regular restaurant noise they play loud music. We couldn't hear the wait person and she couldn't hear us. I won't go back unless I can sit outside.

The food was on point! I opted to sit at the bar, treat myself to a margarita, some tacos and a side. The bartenders were pleasant and attentive. I ordered the bar taco margarita and to be honest, that was my least favorite purchase today and with the $13.50 price tag that came with it, that was disappointing. The three tacos and esquite I ordered though were tasty! The shrimp taco was decent, the chorizo was really good with great flavor and the pork belly was amazing! I came between the dinner and lunch crowd which was nice bc it wasn't loud or super busy, I was one of two people sitting at the bar.

QR codes man. Nothing makes me feel more like a grumpy old man than being confronted with QR codes. You go to a restaurant to catch up with friends, and you each spend the first 10 minutes looking at your phones. Want more food? Another drink? Gotta pull out your phone. Just a terrible restaurant idea. Also, with this restaurant, any taco on your ticket that is ready comes out on the same tray. The server will explain which taco is which (e.g. cauliflower, chicken, whatever). But then suddenly, it's like a card trick when the tray is down and everyone is putting trying to guess which taco is theirs without touching anyone else's taco. It's just stupid. So enough about the process of ordering and receiving the food. How's the food itself? Honestly, the highest compliment I could find for the tacos themselves were that they were warm. Among us, we tried probably 8 of the various tacos, and we all agreed that only the taco-of-the-day had any flavor at all, and that's because it had sauce. Just very very average. And the fact that people are waiting in line for this place -- amazing.

My family and I love the food, concept, and friendliness of the staff. You order via the website, by scanning a QR code at your table. Everything gets delivered and that's usually the first time you see someone from the restaurant, well that's how it is when you eat outside (which is the only way I've eaten there). The outdoor patio is great! It's big and has fans for hot days, they don't have outdoor heaters yet, but in the sun on a cool day it's still comfortable. The patio is also dog friendly. We really love the pork belly taco, but maaaaany of the other tacos are awesome too. Lots of things are spicy though. :)

Updated review after invitation from mgmt! Very different experience & extremely positive meal & wait staff. I really enjoyed the plantains with an interesting sauce. The pork belly bowl was scrumptious but the piece de' resistance was the 4 cones of gelato! Nice presentation & the coconut was the best, great to share with a friend. My only suggestion to the lovely Ms Schultz was adding the ingredients such as peppers on the menu description & I thought the mock tails & cocktails extremely tasty but small amounts for high price point but obviously good quality ingredients!! If you like tequila like I do there's a flight for $18 which might be the way to go. Lots of respado cocktail choices, $11.50-14.50. Definitely glad I gave it another go. Very high energy atmosphere & outside seating. Give it a whirl & I think you'll enjoy it.

Decor Efficient staff surplus Teamwork Drinks Card system Coke bottles!

Stopped in for a few drinks after a movie at silverspot, was served by Charlotte, who is apparently a witch, but the good kind like Sabrina the teenage witch, not like the Witch from The VVitch, but really The Witch from The VVitch was only brought to witchcraft by the patriarchal and evangelical society she was living in, so you can't really blame her. But yeah, Charlotte was cool.

I loved bar taco! The food was delicious! I loved there yummy tacos! The service here was super fast everybody was super nice!! The food can really quick like a few minuets. I liked the boat theamed restaurant. The lighting was good and music good too! I 100% recommend coming to bar taco one day!!!

Delighted that the original cauliflower tacos had returned, only to find that they have once again been replaced. The Brussel sprouts tacos were delicious as an addition to the cauliflower, but the new pistachio cauliflower replacing the old is very disappointing! As a vegan that is the only thing I order when I go in and I get a bunch! I did try them and they're decent, but not by any means better than the original cauliflower. Why not have both on the menuand consider bringing back the Brussel sprout tacos!

The food to order that is good is only taco. Tried them multiple times & every single time the service was very bad. Food comes at wrong time or late or never.

Fast and easy to order. You place your order and pay on your phone and next thing you know your food is here! We ordered the ceviche as an appetizer and had 5 tacos each when we went! There was so many items to chose from it was hard to make up our minds! It tried the sesame ribeye, glazed pork belly, tuna tatako, roasted duck and the cauliflower and although I must say the pork belly was my favorite they all came as close seconds. Can't wait to try the rest of them when I go back!

Perfect presentation and taste. We are fighting about top three best taco. Pork belly, duck, tuna, shrimp, Baja fish or mushrooms. No bad choice. People are amazing. Beer selection fantastic. Would be a weekly visit if I lived here. Even got to chat up the chef.

This place is lovely. Ambiance is delightful. Parking is plentiful. And the food was delicious. My friend got there before I did so I have no idea how long it took to be seated but I can't imagine it was very long since they weren't packed. There was a QR code on the table so I scanned it, figuring that we had to order that way. We were given a carafe of water but when the waitress saw us on our phones, I guess she assumed we knew what we doing and let us be. The food came out quickly. I ordered several different tacos (I really wanted to try them all!) My ranking order: #1 Baja Fish...perfection. I loved everything about this taco. #2 Pork Belly...was a little too crispy but otherwise, delicious! #3 Oyster...may have been #2 but lost a slot because I didn't think it was $6 worth. #4 Ribeye...tasty as well but maybe a little bit salty! I also got the Duck Birria which everyone raved about...it was very good but not exactly to my taste (a me thing, not them!) I will definitely be coming back to try other menu items since I enjoyed everything I tried. Won't be ordering a Diet Coke next time though since it came in a CAN and cost $2.75.

Had such a nice lunch at Bartaco! Been here plenty of times, but I can say service was the best it's ever been. Food was speedy & delicious. Jennifer & Mickey were so cute & sweet. Overall a beautiful meal & experience.

Food is very good. Seafood, meat, vegetarian options all very well seasoned and flavourful. The atmosphere is "chic classy" and the price is on the higher end. Looking for a place to wow your date with some style? This is the restaurant for you. Looking for a place that's a bit less costly and a bit more homely? Go somewhere else.

The food was delicious. We had a variety of their tacos (fish, spicy chicken) and sides. All great and fresh. We loved to plantains too. The service was friendly and quick. Great time.

TOO LOUD!! Food is a 5 but the music was LOUD!!!!! It was over 100 decibels!! See attached picture. My 91-year-old father could not hear a word of our conversation. Even my 19-year-old daughter could not hear the conversation. We asked our server to turn down the music and he said he could not (after we asked "huh? What did you say? You need to yell for us to hear you!"). Food and our server were great but we won't be back.

4.5 really. Service was good and people here are friendly. Great ambiance, but it's usually pretty loud if you can't handle that. Of the food we tried: Great tacos: Pork belly & Duck Good tacos: spiced chicken, Baja fish, Average: Ribeye, Chorizo Bad: cauliflower, just a soggy mess. Guac here was super yummy but the red salsa was kinda meh. Coconut sorbet was super yummy and flavorful. churros were good and tres leches was solid, not great.

Love the on-demand dining. QR codes are so much faster than a server/bartender can ever be. And the order can never be wrong because I'm the one ordering! Love the vibes and the people that work here. The GM Kelly and the EC Jeffrey are the best in the business. They truly are restauranteurs of the highest degree! Shout out to Dom as well, great guy, really knows how to throw a party. You'll really enjoy this place. Food tastes amazingly fresh and the Marg is the best in the business. The best...

Fun place to experience and the tacos are upscale. The first time I went it was at lunchtime. I did have to ask the waitstaff to show how to order (digitally). very kind and helpful. Food was great. I think they don't take cash, but do take credit and debit cards. Over time they have expanded their menu and serve rice bowls, nice fruits and veggies, and my weakness for excellent fish tacos is one reason I like to eat there. I especially liked the unique combination of tastes. Definitely not the traditional or I should say expected menu. Great service. A bit pricey because when you add up all the different tacos etc. You may see it add up fast. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Will be coming back.

The Food, the ambiance and the service is well worth the wait. Yes if you don't call in advance or book on line you may have to wait depending on day and time. We have become so familiar that the upfront house staff knows my husband by first name. It's great for a date and or family dinner.

The food at bar taco is definitely high quality. Likewise, the ambiance inside of the restaurant is very cute and Socrates beautifully. However, for a location with such a long wait time, I honestly had a few issues with the restaurant. First, the quantity of the food is quite small regardless of if you are ordering an appetizer or a main dish. Second, the food is quite pricey. I completely understand high prices for quality...but given the casual nature of the restaurant I do not think the prices are quite worth the food here. With this being said, I still had a wonderful time with friends here and I am glad I went.

Anecdotally they seem extremely slow to serve anyone not white. Will probably not return after going a few times.

I've been here a couple times and the food and drinks are good depending who is working. I came in today to order my ginger mint tea and was not impressed by the drink or costumer service . For almost 5 dollars the tea comes in a good size plastic bottle . Today I was given a to go cup that was made by a rude curly hair bartender who was getting mad at her coworkers telling them to " fuckin make it themselves " . She eventually ended up storming off and I asked for the original plastic bottle the tea goes in . I was given it and it had no hint of ginger in it . It wasn't busy at all around 12 when I came in so I'm surprised how this whole interaction came about .

We have been to many bartaco but this one was extra special. Obviously they have good food(my favorite) but what makes this place 'extra' special is the staff. The hospitality is to the next level. They want to make sure everything is just right. Shout out to their bar manager Praveen who personally greeted us, took time to know us and had a great conversation.