Cartel Taco Bar

Food, service, and atmosphere makes Cartel Taco Bar the restaurant to visit while enjoying a night out in Arlington. This is a perfect spot to visit for late after hour cravings on a Friday and Saturday. I recommend you try the fire stixs, shrimp taco, beef fajita taco, and warm chichirones, seasoned to perfection and accompanied with queso or guacamole.

3rd time and failed on order after being descriptive. I'm unsure if a cook no longer is there but the last 3x food has not been it. I'll be tossing this order and finding something else to eat. The taste isn't the same or how its cooked. I asked for well done shells and first 3 was what I got. The last 2 photos how they use to prepare without request. Its giving the food is rushed so ill pass. The bar is nice though.

Here we goooooooo!!!! Cartel Taco Bar is such a hidden gem. Located near downtown Arlington, this amazing taco bar is tucked in a nice corner to take the family. The staff was very welcoming and had amazing smiles. They thoroughly explain the selection of foods to try along with recommending some of their popular dishes. My wife and I had tostodas, spicy beef tacos, and a combination nacho. All items were priced perfectly and the bar tender Christy was amazingly friendly as well. If you are ever in Arlington and need a quick bite, you gotta check this place out.

First time here. Excellent. Lots of flavors! Fast friendly service and large portions. Will be back! Pictured here are the chicken quesadilla, queso with chips and chicharrones, spicy beef taco and a burrito. Highly recommend!

Wow! A taco as big as your face! Everything we ordered was appetizing and delicious! Unique pairings like mac-n-cheese in a taco. Birria Tacos, and Nachos with fresh jalapeños were excellent. The salsa packed some heat! The Taco Salad $12 is the best value if you're hungry. For $16, the nachos were on the lite side, albeit flavorful, and each corn chip was evenly topped. We will definitely be back to try your other menu items. We played a couple doors down and came over for tacos. It was our first time here, so the guy at the counter offered suggestions based on our tastes. We found seating right away, and he brought our correct orders to our table. Before we left we threw our trash away, but we didn't know where to put our trays so we left them at the table. Bring cash in case you feel inclined to leave a tip in their jar. I appreciated the thoughtful layout of the restaurant as the entry, order counter, and kitchen window were separated by a partial wall allowing for a comfortable dining experience in the next room.

The food was amazing and the initial service was great. The only issue I really had which wasn't a big deal but I did speak about was the bar area it seemed that there was a girl being trained but I'm not sure if she was sick or on something but she looked super out of it. The bartender Training her seem to have more energy but that's neither here nor there I had got a michelada which was amazing by the way but upon completion of making that drink they place a slice of jalapeno a lime and a lemon on the edge of the glass upon getting the fruit out of the setup no gloves used no tongs the training bartender then grabbed a straw with her finger on the mouth end and stirred the drink now as normal as that is often whenever they use the straw to place in the cup and steer it they take it out and put a different straw into drink from the only reason I have a complaint with this is because she was continuously touching her eye as picking at it or something similar just messing with her face in general and then did that with the straw no hands were washed no gloves worn address this upon receiving my drink just let her know I mean I was going to take it I paid for it I drink it with a different straw but a different customer might not be as nice and it was just kind of gross to watch didn't make a big deal just wanted to make sure that I said something someone else might make a bigger issue.

Wish I had gotten the Birrara tacos. It comes with juice that you pour before eating and it was so yummy. No photos cause I stole it off my brothers plate. I had the shrimp and chicken tender tacos and they were good. Again, I wish I had gotten the chicken with Mac & cheese. Had a bitr of my brothers and it was also yummy. Lessons learned for my next visit.

The menu has changed and the size and quality of the tacos too. Six months ago the tacos were pretty good, went last night and I was floored. My fish taco looked like a thin strip on some rice. The chicken taco looked like a nugget. Overall something has changed here and I won’t be coming back.

It was my homie's birthday, so we all met up at Cartel for some drinks and bites. We were seated promptly at a table for eight and were greeted by our waitress, who was incredibly friendly, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable about the specials and drink options. I ordered the loaded steak nachos, a passionfruit and mango margarita, a Maker's Mark and Coke with cherries, and later, a shot of tequila. The food was solid, the drinks were well-made, and there were plenty of TVs showing sports and news updates, which added to the vibe. My only disappointment? The music selection was pretty boring. A more lively playlist could have taken the atmosphere up a notch. Overall, it was a great spot for a group hangout, and I'd definitely come back!

Ok, been here a few times. Food has gone bad to worse. Don't recommend it tbh. Nachos awful, soda flat, food overpriced, restaurant cold. Staff is fine. If you're drunk at the arcade next door the food will be ok, but sober just awful.

Came here for a work gathering. We tried the Birria tacos- they were okay. The dipping broth was good. The chicken quesadilla was rec by the worker taking our order. It is okay. Their rotisserie chx is not the best thing. I did dip it with the birrias broth, that helped. I had the fried chicken taco. That was good and fried chicken is always a tasty unhealthy choice. But usually a solid choice for me. It had a spicy sauce on it that I liked. Someone ordered the firecrackers. They are good. Needs a lot more ranch for dipping considering their size. One of the order, half the firecracker had no cheese in it. I think it oozed out while frying. They did make a few more to replace them. The service here was very nice! The guy taking our order was so friendly.

Pros: cute place. Affordable place. Drinks good. Cons: DISGUSTING BLAND food. I ordered a sautéed shrimp taco, it had 3 TINY shrimp on it. Plus some plain WHITE rice that was claimed to be cilantro rice. The kids food was worse... my children aren't hard to please. They ate nothing. Thats how bad it was. Anyways if you want a good cheap drink go here. If you want good food with your drink RUN the opposite direction. I wish I went to Taco Bell. At least it would've tasted seasoned.

The tacos are ok. The tortillas definitely need some flavor but i think overall i came out saying "meh". definitely not authentic services. Good not great but really nice location is OK. Parking sucks. Overall, buy frozen food at Walmart, cook it really well at home put on some good music and you'll save yourself some money. This is not a knock on the establishment. The food is OK but I'm here for the people. I've got to be honest thumbs out of 5

Quick service tacos, quesadillas et al from an out of the way place near AT&T Stadium. We were next door at the 4 Kahunuas Tiki Bar, which does not serve food, and needed something to eat, without leaving the area. Cartel Taco fit the bill. Decent food, decent portions (my photos were too shaky - may it was the Tiki drinks), the only real issue was the price. Not really a good value, 3 average sized tacos close to $30. But, as a captive audience, it could have been worse.

Walking in I felt some regret on my decision to catch a late night snack. There was live music of some lady playing acoustic guitar over a rowdy, sports bar like crowd. Several tables were not clean, and took several patrons complaining to the staff to take care of the mess. AS I was ordering, the overly friendly staff insisted on injecting small talk. I was quite perturbed because I was not in the mood and the server would not stop with the droning of empty phrases and sentiment. I ended up ordering the mcclucky and the buffalo chicken tacos. I could only taste the tortilla and the meat. Everything else had no flavor. Visually, the filling looked like a slop bucket with how both were prepared. The buffalo chicken strip had a good crispy bearing, and a spiciness that actually had some kick to it. I tasted nothing else though, along with the starchy, tough tortilla. The moment I finished, the meal was forgettable. I see this place getting lots of business from drunk patrons from the cider cade needing to sober up. If you are in the area and are looking for tacos, this is not worth going out of your way

I found myself at Cartel tacos when figuring out a place to eat when hanging at Cidercade next door. On here and on my map app they were listed as closed but on my way to go try another place I noticed someone cleaning the windows at the doors. A manager/co-owner came over to me as I was walking over and he asked me about Cidercade being busy for their tax day special. I let them know they showed up as closed, but he let me know they are open! Staff was friendly when coming in and generally was busy once I got my food. Oh I do have to give a shout out that they do have big red at the on tap soda machine. (Not for me but for my husband and sister.) So I came in and got the chicken birra tacos which comes with 3. You can get more than one meat if you would like. The food was decent and the price was really reasonable. $10 and some change after tax, but before tip. I'm glad I came over to give them a chance, and we may keep them in rotation if we come back to to Cidercade.

I'm not sure what's up with the reviews! We came on a Thursday evening after drinking all day and needed some snacks. This was the spot. You can either order from the takeout counter and bring it to your seat, or get traditionally served. The menus are slightly different and seated service was highly recommend. We started with the nachos which were fantastic. We also got a couple tacos at the servers recommendation, all great. We did not leave there hungry and were super satisfied, great food. The service was super quick. Jack was the one that served us at the bar and he was fantastic all night. We had a lovely time and it was perfect after a day at the arcade!

What can I say? We love this place. It's a fun spot. Especially the bar area. You can order at the main counter. However, if you are sitting in the bar area, you can order there. And speaking of the bar, the bartenders are great. They are personable without being overly familiar. Just right. As for the food, they have a good menu with lots of treats. Lots of fun tacos and apps. The chicken quesadilla is fantastic. They season the tortilla and it is so good.

GONE DOWNHILL, not as good as it was when they first opened. Too expensive for the quality of food. Won't return! They want a tip and they don't even bring the food to the table like they did when they first opened. Why would I tip someone that is just doing their job, not going out of the way to serve you and we have to clean the table also. It is like giving McDonald's workers a tip for handing you a bag of food!

Frozen margaritas are good! The fire stix are soo good I ordered a second helping. It's hard to find good mozzarella sticks and they nailed it here!! (Even tho it's not mozzarella but the same idea, you get it). The birria tacos are so delicious. Kind staff. things can get slow if they get busy! Something is awkward about the room feng shui haha the wall in the middle doesn't seem right and the room to wait in line to order in is really hot from the sun. You can order some of the same items from the bar. But the food was great and the prices are amazing, so I'll definitely be back of course!

We came on a Sunday and it was closed but we wanted to try their tacos so we came back Saturday. The place is nicely decorated with plenty of seating, the staff is very friendly and pleasant. To start we asked for chips and salsa, you get a large tray of warm seasoned thin tortilla chips plus green tomatillo salsa and red hotter salsa (we believe it was chipotle chiles in it), it was DEFINITELY DELICIOUS. That salsa was the star of the meal, we couldn't get enough. Then we got the smoked salmon street tacos and the beef fajita street tacos.... Unfortunately the beef fajita tacos they were plain beef steak, unsalted, unseasoned (bland) tacos, served on double tortilla. Pretty disappointing for a taco restaurant. The steak was not tough, but tasteless. I should mention that the street tacos is pretty cheap. My suggestion: raise the price a little, and season your steak, you could bring it around. We will have to come back to see it tacos improve, (or to buy Red Salsa To Go).

Yum! This was our first time and the guy at the counter was so helpful and sweet. I'm so sorry I can't remember his name, but he was so kind! He walked us through the menu and how ordering works and didn't rush us at all. Once you order, you get a little buzzer and it'll ring/vibrate when it's time to pick up your food. if you have a lot of stuff, they're more than happy to help you to your table! I ordered a: Fajita chicken taco rotisserie chicken taco buffalo ranch chicken taco (a "secret" menu item) queso dip (came with pork rinds and tortilla chips. i didn't think i would be a fan of the pork rinds but they were soo good with the queso!) as someone who isn't good with spice, there was definitely spice in something (tortilla chips/queso??), but other than that, everything was delicious! There is a separate bar in the back you can order drinks from. My only con is the live music. it's a small restaurant to have live music, but i can't dock too many points because we had looked up the restaurant before we came, so we knew it would probably happen. if i could give it a 4.8/5 stars, i would. but again, that's just personal preference :)

Make real tacos ! Stop using canned beans and better quality products for your want to be tacos ! This place is horrible I have no idea how this place has survived

Bartender will inspect your ID better than stadium security. But it's good environment

Delicious! I order a chicken taco- which to my surprise had mac and cheese in it (I didn't read the menu). Either way it was so tasty. I also ordered the queso. It came with fresh pork rinds- my favorite. I also loved the selection of yellow bird hot sauces!

Great food! Super crowded and loud!^ Recommend getting there before the college crowd arrives.

Came here with some "friends" so didn't choose to be here. Tacos here are just plain average. Tried their fajita specialty taco and their street tacos. It lacked the flavor I am use to with real taco places. I also got their 5 pepper Mac and cheese. It was really disappointing. Not really any spice to me. I got bored of the taste after 3 spoons. Their other sauces (red and green) were also boring to me.

This place is amazing and has very good food. The service is incredible and everyone is nice.

The food was amazing and hot and fresh and right on time definitely enjoyed the atmosphere and the staff was definitely on point in helping and never skipped a beat when asking if you need a refill I was highly satisfied with the service and food I was in town on business and I definitely recommend this place

Ordered the 5 layer dip and added a protein. The protein was negligible, and the dip comes with nothing to dip it in... you have to pay extra for chips. Food was good in flavor but spending a total of $20 just for some dip then paying extra to have something to use the dip with is crazy. definitely not coming here again.

I order a birria pork taco, chorizo con huevos breakfast taco and two first chicken tacos. So here's the review: The birria was delicious, the pork was tender and juicy. The breakfast taco had a generous serving and wasn't bad at all. As someone who's part Mexican, yea I've had better but just cause it's not super authentic doesn't mean it's not bad....however, those "fiesta" tacos are literally a cash grab, they were dry, small and flavorless. I'd definitely come back for the birria and for breakfast. Restaurant is clean and staff was kind.

We have visited this restaurant on Sunday afternoons many times in the past and visited again this week. I really like their fried Chicken taco, which is really flavorful as well as their macaroni and cheese side dish which is spicy. Probably the main reason we come on Sundays is due to the bloody Mary specials. These are really good especially if you like spicy bloody Marys. They have a small outside patio which we like also. Overall, I would recommend this restaurant.

We've found ourselves at Cartel Taco Bar more often than I initially thought! Their menu isn't exactly authentic Mexican food (of course they never claimed to be) -- they've many untraditional items like fried chicken tacos, fried green beans, smoked mac and cheese, Kentucky bourbon baked beans... it's a fun variety. And of course you'll find lots of tacos, bowls, salads, etc. I ordered lettuce wrap tacos and a side of beans on our last visit and shared chips and salsa with Jon. They give you soooo much salsa here, red and green, and they've got those super thin cantina style chips that are always delicious unless they're stale, and these weren't! They were perfect. We love to sit at the bar here. It's small and in a great spot by the outdoor patio, and the bartender is always cool. The crowd in general here is pretty cool, laid back. There's a couple TVs and sometimes they have live music in the main dining area. Cocktails, beer, tacos, patio, bar, salsa. It's everything you need!

Cartel is a great option for tacos in the Urban Union / Front Street area. They have a good selection of tacos to choose from, you can do lettuce wraps as well. They have one of my favorite skinny margaritas around, and a nice patio as well. I really like their cilantro rice and if you're feeling extra comfort food-y, they have a pretty mean mac n cheese. We go to Cartel about 2-3 times a month, and it's always very consistent. I definitely recommend it.

Good food and atmosphere. The employee we worked with was friendly. Food is a little pricey but we enjoyed what we got. Sautéed Shrimp taco, pulled pork taco, fried chicken taco (could have used more cole slaw) l, Shredded chicken street tacos, taco salad.

Love this place! Jack the bartender was awesome and friendly. Kelvin was awesome as well.

Cutting down on my carb intake so I'm ecstatic see option of replacing my taco w lettuce wrap option yay on that! I really my three tacos. They're full flavor and with some salsa damn! Salsa taste homemade y'all!! My co-worker who just happens to be a Mexican love his tacos and was the one recommended this place. I love my tortilla soup too ... Did I mentioned he likes his beans too? It's a ginormous portion so he Togo it home but really, I got nothing negative nor deduction for this place. Definitely a return again soon

Really just middle of the road. I happened to be in the neighborhood for an event and stopped in with a few friends. I wasn't taken by their food but it was fine. I had the shrimp and salmon tacos, chips and salsa. The rest of my party enjoyed their tacos but I didn't really like mine. I found them to be too spicy and wasn't a fan of the tortillas. Still not a bad spot to grab a quick bite but if you're a big taco eater you might be disappointed. Staff was friendly but didn't even know if there was pork in the rice. (It looked like there was). They have a cute bar area though and do offer cheap shuttles to cowboys games

I hit this place up after a few hours at the arcade.I ended up getting the pork street tacos.All I can say about them is,they were ok.Not bad but nothing spectacular.They got the job done.Would I go back?if I was in the neighborhood again sure but I wouldn't go out of my way.

Nothing like a couple well-made and flavorful tacos along with excellent margaritas to end a blistering hot day! The staff are friendly and helpful, and we enjoyed sitting at the bar to eat, talk with others, and enjoy both the regular margaritas and frozen margaritas. We had three different tacos, and all were excellent. Add the Cartel taco sauce to a side of refried beans for an extra kick!

Unfortunately I found the food just ok. Not "bad" but we likely wouldn't eat here again. We tried 4 different types of tacos, and found 1 out of 4 was just ok. Kind of seems like a missed opportunity, because the location is sort of a fun vibe, but the food is sort of meh.

Food was delicious. Service was polite. Self seating, live musician, sports all around, full bar and kid friendly.

Food has gone up in price and way down in quality. Service was decent enough. Won't be back for a while I used to be a weekly visitor.

Okay, next to college, very young crowd, very energetic crowd, and when they play live music, they play it way too loud where you can't even hear person who's next to you. Who's next to you. The tacos were okay, they're pretty small , so think of it as street taco style. I don't know what the hoopla is all about for such high ratings, you walk up, you order your tacos. You go and try to find a seat and if it's live music just be prepared to have your ears blown off and very little conversation. I love live music, but I also want to hang out with my friends and talk with him while listening to live music. What I go back again, probably not unless friends ask me to go there and I definitely would try to sit outside away from the music. Yeah I would try to find some other place to find some tacos while the place is eclectic and it does play music, I think I can find a little bit better place for tacos and a place where they play the music at a decent volume

A frequent go-to for my boyfriend and I! Awesome food, quick service, and great vibes! The quesadillas and chips and queso are our favorites. The place is always busy and is a great option for dinner, especially after a night out.

Listen, I have tried many tacos joints throughout the entire DFW metroplex, and ain't no one topping Cartel Tacos! I ordered a few Chicken Fajitas tacos topped with Avocados Aioli & Tomatoes, and their specialty Beef Fajita Tacos. You can definitely tell they focus on quality and not quantity. Every single taco was HIT-TING! Go see for yourself!

One of my favorite local spots. Great for whole family. We always sit near the bar. Everyone is always so pleasant and the food is a amazing. The bartenders are so welcoming.

Queso - 4 out of 5 too watery Veggie taco - 4 out of 5 Flavor and seasoning is def there! I didn't read the menu and thought i was getting 3 but only got 1 my fault lol It's pretty cold in there (had the patio door open) Very chill vibe. Like sneakers and jeans Not too crazy about this place.

I stopped in after church. It is a reasonably priced Taco Bar. You come in and order, seat yourself, and they bring your order to the table. Soft drinks are self serve but there is a full bar in the back. They have a list of specialty drinks, that you can order or enjoy the full bar. I had a cartel old fashion and the bartender smoked my glass and made me the prettiest little drink! The food was delicious and we tried pork tacos and chicken fajita tacos(corn or flour your choice) I had some Taco soup and dang it was soo soo good!! It's like grandma was in their kitchen!! They clean up after you so leave a tip. It's got sports going on all the tvs if your into that type of thing. I define will return:)

was in the area and stopped in here since our preferred food spot had a long wait. the food was mediocre at best. i had their flautas - not bad. my son had 4 tacos, each recommended by the very nice brother who helped us out at the counter. he liked maybe 1-2 of the 4 - the fajita taco was his favorite. chips + queso (runny) + salsa were just ok, nothing special. there are so many other (better) taco joints in the dfw area, so i likely won't be back. the guy at the counter is why i chose 3 stars versus 2 for the food. he was great!

I was between 3.5 and 4 stars on this review. We came here for my birthday as a low key dinner option since it was near our last event. Ordering is fairly simple and they have a pretty good sized menu. You walk in, order, take a number and go find a seat while you wait for them to bring your order out. There's another semi-separate bar section which was definitely hopping on this Wednesday night. I'm fact, the restaurant itself was super packed, we were lucky to find one empty table. We couldn't decide if it was due to holiday parties, the local university being nearby or maybe just a good after work hangout spot. Either way, it was busy. For food, I ordered the pulled pork and the fried chicken tacos on corn. My husband ordered the blackened chicken and beef fajita tacos. My fried chicken taco was not my favorite (wasn't a fan of the sauce or slaw, not sure) and my husband said the mac 'n cheese in his blackened chicken taco was a little too weird for him. Having said that, we're willing to try others out when we're back in the area. The pulled pork and fajita taco were GOOD. We also ordered the cilantro lime rice and the beans. Rice was bland but the beans were tasty. Our toddler had the chicken cheese quesadilla and it came with chips and salsa. Overall not a bad deal price-wise for the amount of food you get, but we'll be trying different tacos if we come back.

Fajita chicken tacos were way too spicy. If the chicken was toned down these would have been great. Birria beef tacos were great. Way better than Torchy's.

We tried a variety of tacos, chimichangas, queso, chips and salsa. All were excellent. So were the margaritas. The service was attentive and friendly. Very casual low key atmosphere, with a talented singer/guitarist performing in the main room. The next time I'm looking for tacos in the downtown arlington area I know where to go!

Fantastic food!! Mac n cheese in a chicken taco! Brilliant! I will be back for more soon!!!

The food was wonderful we loved that we could order then go back to Cidercade. We got 6 steak and 3 chicken And throughly enjoyed them

Service was basic, girl at the register had no personality and wasn't friendly. Ordered beef/chicken tacos & chips w/salsa. The 2 salsa options were pretty spicy.

We saw this place on social media and wanted to try it. We see potential but had a few key problems: 1. Temperature wise: food was not hot. Elements like the Fried chicken on the fried chicken taco etc. we're cold and it didn't seem hot and fresh 2. Spice level- personal preference, although I wish there was some sort of heat meter on the menu of some kind indicating something that might have been less spicy 3. Kids meal salsa was whew! Like soo spicy. Glad we had a taste before my 6 year old did. The good 1. Flavors are good, has potential to be great when fresh. 2. Margarita was great! Fast fresh 3. Service was good! Cashier and bartender very nice