Tacos la Cuadra Restaurant 2

This place has been hyped up ever since it was just a taco stand on Aurora. Now that they’ve got a brick-and-mortar location, I figured it was time to check them out. They’re famous for their al pastor, and it is fantastic: juicy, packed with flavor, and about as good as a taco al pastor gets. The other meats, though, don’t hold up. I tried a gringa with chicken and was surprised to find a thick slice of ham in the middle. I’ve never seen a gringa like that before, but I kept an open mind. It was disappointing. The homemade tortillas are thick and satisfying, and the charred cheese is a nice touch, but the flavor just isn’t there—and the ham is frankly odd. The mulita was also a letdown. I had it with lengua (beef tongue). While the meat is tender, it lacks seasoning. Same story: good tortillas and cheese, but otherwise forgettable. I also tried a chorizo taco but the meat was weirdly seasoned and still kind of bland. The horchata, on the other hand, is excellent. If I came back, I’d stick to three al pastor tacos and a horchata and skip the rest.

These are legit Tacos.. the Al pastor you could have any anywhere in the Seattle area. That I have tried so far. Great variety of options drinks and pastries. Very nice and family staff very excited for this place will be visiting often.

It took a while, but I was excited this place finally opened up as a restaurant in Northern Seattle They're famous for their al pastor - which is cooked in and sliced from a trompo - a rotating rotisserie that you don't normally find outside of Mexico. It was the first thing I looked for in the restaurant, and although the fire behind it was a little bit lackluster, it was certainly there I got two al pastor tacos, and one al pastor mulita There is one thing I should mention first. At the restaurant, I noticed that there was a toppings bar, which appeared to have onions, cilantro, salsa, and a few other toppings I was planning on using it for my tacos - I'd ordered takeout, so I was going to use it, and take it with me to eat later However, when I got the tacos, I noticed they were wrapped in foil on the outside. Since they were already wrapped, I figured this meant that tacos (or at least, those that were for takeout) already had onions and salsa included, and the toppings bar was in case you wanted extra. At least, that's the way I've seen it at other taco places - onions & salsa are included by default Unfortunately, when I got home, I realized that the only thing in these tacos were a bunch of al pastor and a slice of pineapple. Slightly awkward. I ate the first taco before deciding it was too plain, and had to sautee some onions for myself and place them on the second taco. For the future, I'd suggest either including onions/salsa by default, or at least informing the person that they're not included, so they can unwrap the tacos and fill it up with the toppings before leaving Now for the actual food themselves. I thought the al pastor was pretty good, but not great. What I mean by this is that it was a bit inconsistent. Some pieces were very juicy, fatty, and had a ton of flavor, while others were kind of dry and chewy. The thing that applied to all of them, though, was a deep red marinade. I thought that there was a good amount of flavor from this - although I would've liked more spice - but the seasonings were absolutely present Between the tacos and the mulita, I definitely liked the mulita more. There was a ton of cheese, and it was melted to absolute perfection - oozing out of the tortillas on either end. The edges of the tortillas got incredibly crispy as well, which was really nice. The al pastor was similar to the ones in the tacos - but like in the tacos - there was so much present; the tortillas were completely stuffed with the pork. This combination of crispy tortillas, a perfectly melted sea of cheese, and slices upon slices of al pastor made this a pretty incredible experience Each taco cost around 3.50, and the mulita was 8.50. I was apprehensive about the price for the mulita at first, but after eating it, that could easily be a full meal on itself. The two tacos + mulita ended up being too much food for me. I would say this is a pretty great deal, considering how much meat you get Overall, I don't know if I'll make the trip up here again - it wasn't all-time good - but this place has some very good Mexican food - just make sure you hit the toppings bar. 8.75/10

The al pastor tacos were so good!! My partner enjoyed the lengua tacos as well. I'll let the photo of the michelada speak for itself! One of our biggest complaints about the previous Mexican restaurant in this space, was that the burritos were small and expensive. The portions & prices are good at La Cuadra. We're excited to have them in the neighborhood and hope they find success in this location that has had too much turnover over the last 5 years.

Oh baby, most authentic Mexican food I've had in Seattle. Amazing al pastor. Cocktails were also excellent. Michelada was giant and soo good, came with candy covered in taijin and chamoy.

We went here at 6:30pm on a Thursday and there was little to no line. We ordered the Al pastor tacos. They come without the toppings and you use the self service toppings bar to get what you need. If you’re taking the food to go make note you’ll need to grab your toppings! But the tacos were SOO good. We will be back for sure!

Great tacos, highly recommend the lengua and especially the al pastor. They serve tacos the right way, plain with all the cilantro/onions/salsa on the side! They also have all the aquas frescas and I love that, pretty good prices too $3.50 a taco sadly is the standard price for Seattle tacos but these are worth it in my opinion.

Best authentic street tacos, tortas, mulitas, burritos. Usually went to their Rainer Beach location but this one in Ballard is just as top notch. Definitely try their al pastor and asada tacos. Happy to see them open up new locations and maintain quality.

i'm sorry, the food is really delicious, though a little pricey. i went in around 8pm and the majority of their alcoholic beverages were unavailable for some reason. which is strange it being in the night and all, most people want a margarita with their dinner. anyway, i do not recommend the mixed drinks. not only did it take around 25 minutes for them to make it when the place wasn't even busy, you pay $20(?!) for an 8oz virgin margarita. they legit did not put any tequila in it whatsoever. same goes for the strawberry margarita, zero alcohol. just a big bowl of koolaid for that one. it was actually insanely annoying, given how long it took and how expensive they were. yeah, avoid the mixed drinks. disappointing since it's in my neighborhood and yes the food is good but gosh

Been meaning to try this place forever! So super excited that there's a brick and mortar place to grab some tacos. They have a little parking lot which is convenient, and street parking which doesn't seem too difficult given the area. Service was quick and easy. You order at the counter and are given a buzzer to pick up the food when ready. I love the sauce/toppings bar. Unlimited salsa, unlimited limes, onions, cucumbers. Wowowow I ordered the brisket taco and an al pastor taco. Brisket taco was 10/10 so good. But I was a bit disappointed by the al pastor. I feel like there's so much hype around their Al pastor, but it wasn't very wow. And I'm usually an Al pastor girl too! Overall, super yummy. you'll see me again LOL. But just for the brisket. Took off one star bc I was disappointed by the al pastor. Anyway I've been trying to find really good tortas in the Seattle area, so excited to try that next!

The tacos here are done pretty well, but it may be surprising that they come with virtually no toppings and can taste a little dry without assistance from the salsa bar. So definitely need to lean on the toppings bar to achieve balance. They come with a decent amount of meat - we had the carnitas, al pastor, and chicken. As well as a chorizo quesadilla and churro cheesecake for dessert. The al pastor was very disappointing - it only had a single slice of pineapple, whereas I prefer the style where there are lots of bits of pineapple chopped up throughout. Or at least having some marinade, but it was a little dry and not very flavorful. That was the theme for all 3 tacos, which pretty much entirely consisted of meat with no salsa or toppings added. So if you want more flavor and texture in the taco, you'll need to load up at the salsa bar. The toppings there are great though and fresh. The quesadilla was a different story - this was quite tasty! And had some spices that gave it an extra bit of flavor that made it stand apart from the usual chorizo quesadilla. I loved eating this with the tomato salsa and green sauce from the bar. The churro cheesecake was tasty - a little too sweet, but loved the ricotta-like texture and spices.

Have come here about 10 times and have given their al pastor tacos a try each time because... the trompo. Bottom line is that the food has not been consistent here sadly. We've had a few instances where the tacos have been really good- seasoned well, juicy. But the majority of the time, the meat tastes a bit under seasoned and dry. The funny thing is that we can get a plate of 4 tacos and have one of them be spectacular and the other 3 disappointing. Lol It's really odd. Im not sure if using a fattier cut of meat would help as the meat they use now looks pretty lean. Most times we've come for dinner, there's been a few people and the wait has been under 10 min. On a busy night though, we've waited 20-25 min for our food. One thing that is off menu but can be requested is a veggie burrito. You have to ask for a burrito with no meat and substitute vegetables (rather than asking for a veggie burrito) which is a mix of beans peppers onions and mushroom. I'm pretty sure they cook it on the same cook top as their other meats they grill but if you're not as concerned about segregating your food if you're vegetarian, there is an option here for you even though their menu has only meat options.

One of the best tacos in town! I absolutely love their tacos de pastor. Lots of flavor and the pineapple just adds that nice fresh note. Classic salas bar with all the fixings. They have a fridge of sweets for that after the meal treat.

Solid spot for some delicious tacos. Got Al Pastor and Carne Asada...$3.50 each. They load it UP with meat and they have a salsa and toppings bar where you can do the rest to your liking. Really enjoyed the outdoor seating space Didn't have to wait more than 5 minutes or so for the food. All in all a good spot with several options on the menu...saw they had margaritas but wish they also had cervesa!

I've been to this taco joint along Rainier but appears they don't come out anymore so came to visit the restaurant in Ballard. They're know for their Al pastor but personally the slow cooked beef is my favorite!!! The beef is sooo tender and flavorful. Add all of the fun toppings and you have an amazing taco! The shop itself here is pretty small but gets the job done. Service was super quick and friendly - tacos run you about $4 a piece. Must visit if you're in the area!!

Brick and mortar version of the street food location. Very good salsa bar (tomatillo avo is the best) and plentiful portion. We liked the chicken burrito and the cabeza taco the best! One of the better Mexican food spots in Seattle imo

I stopped by after seeing a TikTok about this spot. Located across Un Bien, there's a few parking spots on site otherwise it's neighborhood parking. Tacos are $3.50 and there's a self serve condiments bar (salsa, onion, cilantro, lines). Highly recommend the al pastor meat - it's very flavorful and comes with a small slide of pineapple. I tried the asada and thought it was a little too overcooked as the meat was dry and kind of flaky. I appreciated how the tacos have a lot of meat but will definitely come back for the al pastor tacos. Also be careful when you're walking - there's a giant dip at the door.

I was really excited to check out Tacos La Cuadra since I have seen people post about their amazing looking al pastor tacos online at one of their streetside locations. We decided to swing by on a Sunday a bit past dinner time at 8PM and were able to get seats inside the restaurant. The restaurant itself is located across from Un Bien, and there is limited parking around the restaurant. Do note that it may be a sharp or abrupt turn when trying to get into the lot for parking - there were a couple of spots when you try turning on NW 73rd street, maybe 4-5 spots so during busy times, you may need to park on the other side of the building or streetside. The ambiance inside is very casual - expected of authentic taco places, there are maybe 10-15 spots indoors and we had to temporarily share a seat with some other people. Ordering is done at the cashier and they will hand you a buzzer to walk up and pick your food up. There is a sauce bar right next to the cash register, but most of the mild salsa, salsa verde, and salsa roja were out and restocked when were close to finishing our meal. We wanted to try the various meats that Tacos La Cuadra had to offer, so we ordered a couple of tacos. One with their notable al pastor, and two with lengua and cabeza. To me personally, I think the true mark of a great taqueria is one that can cook Lengua and Cabeza really well. I think that unfortunately, this restaurant's lengua looked a bit dry and unappetizing and had a lot more chew than lengua that I have tried at other taco places. Same can be said with the cabeza, which even had a slightly rubbery texture that happens when you blanch and then boil your meat for a bit too long. What I expected was for both meats to be soft, tender, and have a meaty and hearty texture as you chew it. Yes, it's true that they give a decent amount of meat here, but that doesn't matter much if it doesn't taste good. I think the saving grace was the al pastor, which was delicious - tender and moist, complimented by a nice slice of pineapple. Price wise, I have had delicious tacos here in Seattle that have been in the $2-$3 range and were much tastier than the tacos that I have received here. The tres leches is $11 for a decently sized portion, but I think that texture wise, it didn't really feel like tres leches as there wasn't as much milk soaking into the cake at the bottom. It was more of a standard cake with artificial strawberry flavoring icing covered on top. Of the taco places that I have tried so far in Seattle, I think that I was a bit disappointed with the tacos that I have received here for the quantity and quality. I personally think that there are lots of good taco places to try in Seattle, and this is not the most tasty tacos that I have had in the city. Maybe the entrees are better since they looked like interesting options on the menu. I'm not sure if I would personally revisit Tacos La Cuadra, but feel free to check it out and see for yourself.

The food was great! My friend got 2 al pastor and 2 asada tacos. She said the Al pastor was better. While the tacos come with no toppings there's a huge toppings bar and salsa bar where you can customize and load up your tacos. Their pico was particularly yummy to me. I had the Al pastor quesadilla and it was humongous I was shook. For $15 after tip and tax I got 3 meals out of just one serving. I do love getting some bang for my buck! It was also really yummy too and I would definitely recommend. We went around 4 so it wasn't busy but there's a lot of indoor and outdoor seating.

Solid spot for tacos, burritos, and quesadillas. I love that Ballard finally has a good street taco place. While I do prefer the al pastor to be a little more greasier, the food with the salsa bar always hit.

First tried them when they just operated on a street corner, I think that was part of the appeal. Standards get higher when you operate a brick and mortar. (You notice more when dishes are piled up, and salsa bar needs to be refilled). Observations in no particular order: -huge meat portions for tacos, but price starts at $3.50 for basic meats , but if hungry order at least 4 tacos, 3 would be if not starving. -no kids menu (or kid pricing), a cheese quesadilla priced the same as regular quesadilla..? Why. -drinks a bit pricey, $5 for med, $10 for large.. -tasty food (IMO, much better than El Camion), and will come back for the food and flavor -friends got burrito, which they said was filling and tasty. -small parking lot, but can find street parking -outdoor picnic tables, good for larger groups, kids, dogs

Ive eaten here a few times since they've opened. Food has been excellent each time. The Burritos are thick. Worth the price. The meat is flavorful. I've gotten steak and chicken so far and both have been top tier. Chilaquiles Rojo has been a breakfast time favorite. The flan was delicious as well. Clean dine in area and they also have a patio which is covered. It's nice. Staff are helpful and friendly. Come and practice your Spanish a little when you get here. Will be coming back again and will also be trying out more options on the menu.

We got 3 burritos for dinner last night-- first time eating here-- we wanted to try a new place, other than our favorite, Loxicha. Chicken burrito was inedible-- the chicken was so dry and salty that it was impossible to eat. The other two were better, but not great-- Asada and Al Pastor. The price was good, $12 for a burrito, but other than that, would not recommend. Didn't eat at the restaurant-- just got takeout, so can't comment on the service or ambiance.

Do not come here if you enjoy salsa/condiments with your meal. We brought our own container for salsa and all the topping to not be wasteful with the tiny little sauce cups. We order a large amount of food that does require a lot of add ons. We loved this place, drove over thirty minutes to come here, order food to eat there as well as takeout, and always leave a generous tip. The chef and employee is not professional and it's straight up disrespectful to you and will lie to your face. The chef handles the food with his bare hands as well as handling his cellphone in the middle of preparing food for customers. The place is not clean and the service is ever dirtier. They will call you out and treat you like thieves if you take "too much" toppings even though they have a sign that says no rules. How funny. I'm all for supporting small family businesses who have risen to success but it seems as though the success has gotten over their heads and treats customers with disrespect.

The food is incredible and the prices are reasonable. It's very much the kind of taco shop we need more of. Highly recommend.

If you are looking for a non-meat option (e.g.,fish or shrimp tacos), you are out of luck. Seems like a miss.