Tarasco Restaurant

Best carne asada in Seattle, possibly anywhere. They have the timing down perfectly for cooking the steak so it's done on the outside, but a hint of pink in the middle. With thin cuts like carne asada it's easy to over cook, but I've never seen them do it in the 15 years I've been going here. It's rarely crowded even as the trendy restaurants across the street come and go, drawing the people to the neighborhood. You can usually walk right up and take a seat at the bar.

This is sick and awesome place! We just happened by it during seahawks vs rams week 14 leading to playoffs. It Was ELECTRIC in there. I am heading back today for the playoffs against the rams again. Love this place

Literally the best bar that I've ever been a regular at. Super knowledgeable, kind, fun staff. Great selection of tequilas, mezcals and other liquors. Fantastic food (try the honey chipotle wings, the Al pastor tacos, or whatever else the chalkboard has on that day!!) If you don't like any of the drinks on the menu, ask Josh or Brandon for something unique (fruit forward, citrus forward, spirit forward, etc). They'll make sure you have a delicious drink. Free darts, free pool. Good times, great vibes If you don't enjoy your experience, find me, I'll give you your money back

Went on a Friday for Karaoke. The atmosphere was great...had a lot of fun! It wasn't too crowded that night. The staff were friendly. We ordered chicken wings and they were good.👍🏾 Haven't had any of the other food on the menu. The drinks were ok. I had to tell the bartender how to make my Margarita.

Came in to eat some dinner, had the Chile Verde with Rice and Beans. Food and drinks are great! They have a pool table, outdoor seating, and karaoke on Friday and Saturday nights.

It's hard for me to make it into Ballard but this really is a great place that I want to get back to. Plenty of food for a low price. Food could be a bit better tbh, but for the price, the community here, and how friendly every one, it's worth it. Everyone is super welcoming and easy to talk to, good number of drinks to pick from, and plenty of space to either relax more on your own or to move in with more of the crowd that's there. Easy parking too, which is pretty rare in Seattle.

I’ve loved going to this place to enjoy fresh and delicious cocktails. Also Trivia night is fun! The mezcal cocktails are some of the best I’ve had anywhere. This is a great place to meet friends, sing karaoke, have a nice night and enjoy a really great cocktail.

Love this spot! Such a great neighborhood vibe and the karaoke DJ rocked. Super welcoming environment and great drink selection. Salsa was weirdly liquid but had good flavor. I'll be back to try the food and play more pool

Came here for dinner and drinks on a Sunday evening. It was near where we were staying and we came because it was within walking distance. Glad we did! The margaritas were very good and made from scratch. We also had chicken taquitos, sautéed shrimp and a Cesar salad. All were good and freshly made. Would come back again next time we're in the neighborhood.

I come here for Friday and Saturday night karaoke often. Underrated, Tarasco has a great vibe and it's not too busy, so you can get up to sing multiple times most nights. The hosts are great as well! They are starting up an open mic on Sunday nights. Food is bar food, it's nothing special, but definitely stop by for the weekly events!

We got a few drinks here while we waited for Delancey. Service was great! The bartenders were nice and the other local customers were friendly. The spicy margaritas was actually spicy, I really liked it. They gave events depending on the day, from trivia to karaoke. Seems like a great place for locals to hang out!

The owner "Tony" hates dogs.. will not even allow on the patio.. This is Seattle?? Do not give them your money!! They recently raised prices on drinks due to low patrons I assume.. the employee who met us trying to get to patio told us that "the owner" Tony does not like or allow dogs, even on the outside patio. I hope they figure out that this is Seattle and if you have a patio- and they do!! ,Tarasco/Tony, you should love the margarita loving dog parents!!

We stopped by on a Saturday night and I'm glad we finally gave this a shot. The guys working were so friendly and quick. We ordered a couple drinks: spicy marg and painkiller and both were delicious. We got carne asada and pork chile verde. I'd gladly recommend both but the pork was the standout. They were playing the huskies game while we were there but were gearing up for karaoke for later. We'll definitely have to come back another night! Glad to have a chill spot in the neighborhood.

Best food best vibes best music ever! Every time I stop by this neighborhood bar favorite, I get taquitos and they are so good. The music gets poppin past 10 pm and they have fun games! Check this place out !

Friendly staff and good deals throughout the week. A solid place to go for trivia, darts, and more!

Great burritos and enchiladas! Great chips and salsa and guac! Joshua the bar tender was super helpful and friendly. I'm itching to go back and try his cocktails!

Their hours and events for each night have fluctuated over the last 2 years and I know the pandemic has not been easy on them. The drinks are not super unique but the food is excellent. It's not your typical bar food. You get good portioned entrees and variety. But the wait is long. This is another business short on staffing. The crowd varies each time I've been inside. From older 50's to younger 20's. The owners are super welcoming. They have a trivia and karaoke night. Pool table, outdoor seating/dining and multiple tv's. As of this review they are closed on Sundays but I hope that changes. I am very happy to see this neighborhood staple stay in business and hope they can hire more people.

Great food, friendly service. Owner-operated for 30+ years. We love Tarasco, it's a neighborhood treasure.

The old saying "you can't go home again" applies here. Went to Tarasco restaurant frequently thru the 80s and 90s. Great food. Today, it is not a restaurant. It's a bar that serves Mex. food (sort of) under the name Tarasco. Tacos and chips were pretty good. Tamale and enchilada total foul ball. Big disappointment, but good for a laugh at what used to be, but is no more. And we now know we don't have to return. Ever. The enchiladas had kraft cheese slices melted over them. Yuk. Double yuk. Oh, yeah, we had to practically beg for napkins. Enough said. Wait staff was nice but a bit clueless.

Good Food, Good Service, and great ambiance.. overall a great place!! Their salsa was amazing!

Went on a Wednesday night to watch open mic night. Ordered a Chile Relleno and it was really tasty. Also ordered a IPA beer, two of them in the two hours I was there. Service was a little slow but they were busy. A lot of people at our table gave up waiting for service and went to the bar to get their drink. One thing that was a negative is one of the bartenders kept talking super loud, especially when someone was singing. It was distracting and I am unsure if she is hard of hearing but she distracted from the music many times and many people seemed annoyed. I understand she is trying to work and get orders but she diverted attention from the reason we were there ( the music ) to her laughing and talking. Alas I will be back as it's a cute place and friendly service.

I'm not sure if I would have enjoyed Tarasco if I'd arrived sober, but it was a fantastic place to end a long day of drinking with Michael K. and Ashleigh B. We came in for a drink while waiting for a table at Delancey, then came back after we ate and left when the lights went on. It was a revelrous Friday night. Tarasco is a spacious bar with a bland divey aspect, nothing cute or cozy about it. When we walked in close to nine it was almost empty, and even during peak hours it never felt crowded. We had a table the whole time we were there, and getting drinks at the bar was easy. I sipped on Manny's Pale Ales, and these were cheap and tasty. It didn't take long for us to get into the karaoke cycle. I'm not used to this mode of karaoke - I prefer the private rooms in Asian joints - but I kind of get the appeal now. Drunk people like putting on a show, and karaoke is a sanctioned way to do that. Mike, Ash, and I formed a grand trio. We sang Say It Ain't So, Fuck You, The Boy is Mine...we probably sang five or six songs all told. Most of the other patrons were solo artists, and some of them were remarkably good. Lindsay, the emcee, was some kind of vocal genius. She sang one song, but I would've listened to her all night. She was also a very sweet lady, and not to brag, but she and the rest of the staff seemed to like us. We were happy drunk and cheering loudly for every singer. The crowd was interesting, different from what I've seen elsewhere in Seattle. I feel like I go to a lot of cocktail bars and trendy restaurants where the twenty-something recycling vegan yuppie hipsters hang out. The customers here were older and less hip - we saw wallet chains and a dead serious cowboy hat. We had a lot of fun, and our second, longer round of drinking, our bill came to something like $25 for three people. Ash made friends with the bartender, and he must have given us a big break. I'm not sure when I would come back to Tarasco, but I had a blast and made some great memories. I'd recommend the beer and karaoke for a fun night out.

Fun neighborhood bar - I never saw it in its old format, but apparently its gone through a lot of changes recently. Karaoke is not usually my thing, but there were a lot of good performances, and even those who weren't such great singers were a lot of fun! Outstanding tortilla soup!

The good: the salsa that came with the chips was good, Georgetown beer on tap, and the waitress was nice. The bad: The chips maybe should have given us a clue with that tinge of old oil taste. We ordered an appetizer (happy hour special) and unfortunately we ordered dinner before we had a chance to try the appetizer. The chalupas tasted like they'd been cooked in rancid oil. The chicken mole was ok but the meal still had that lingering rancid oil taste. We had to swing by a grocery store on the way home to pick up a cola to try to wash the taste out of our mouths. The place seemed like it could be a fun place for drinks and karaoke & I was hopeful that the food would be decent but it was just one of those food experiences that I won't be forgetting, and not in a good way.

Great karaoke mai Thais and bloody Mary's thanks Carmen and Bobby! Lots of chill people and fun throw back songs. Dart boards pool and Seahawks bingo Ballard and Seattle local scene

If you are not from or intimately familiar with Ballard, it's not you: this place feels like it pops right up in the middle of a residential neighborhood. "Where the F@#$ is this place?!" was uttered more than once. Secondly, I'm not convinced that this is so much a Mexican Restaurant as a bar with a vaguely mexican name and basic thematic elements. No lie, if not for the Cinco De Mayo beer poster on the wall and the sortof mexican-y color scheme it could be any other bar you've ever been to. We showed up around 8:30pm on a Friday night for a friend's "Return to Drinking" celebration and I immediately noticed the distinct lack of restaurant smells and accoutrements. No menus or fliers announcing specials, no condiments on the tables, no smells of salsa or spices. No heat or sounds wafting from a back kitchen. I spied a lone plastic basket with paper behind the Karaoke guy (Kurt?) - the only hint that there might just be food around. This was not good because unfortunately I was pretty hungry. The layout is ridiculous. As I quipped to Riss and Ian M., "This place is what would happen if I decided to convert my basement into a bar inside of a week. Call up 10 Yelpers to bring a couple of booze each, set up a few awkwardly positioned pool tables, crank the music and we're in business!" Upon entry are two pool tables, then this weird cubby area on the right with a few tables, a small step to the bar area where there are more tables to the back right. An unobtrusive second exit is also in that direction. Since it was pretty busy when we arrived, seating (or even leaning someplace) was a real challenge. The karaoke was a hair too loud. If the Sharks and Jets met up here, you'd best leap behind the bar and hit the floor because that might be your only shot at safety. =P I found myself idly wondering if the kitchen had an emergency exit. Realizing I was far too grumpy for being in a bar, I ordered my first Newcastle. Jason (?), the bartender, was nice, laid back, fun and knowledgeable. Finally the crowd started to thin out a bit and that's when the magic happened. After a while I looked around and realized that we weren't at a bar doing karaoke, we were at a House Party that just happened to be in a bar. And that, my friends, is the beauty of this place. While it is strangely organized, cramped for any largish crowd, and would make a great Pick A Theme Every Week type place - I met some really great people and could very easily see myself hanging out here again and again. And it's my new favorite karaoke place, because I'm a sucker for a smoke machine and performance art. Our group renditions of "Sweet Caroline", "Baby Got Back", and "Because I Got High" were the stuff of memories. And hilarity, of course. So for the first time in years I actually sang karaoke; a few backup numbers and a "Regulators" duet with Riss. See? Tarasco's is magical!

We've never been here for food, just karaoke and booze. The food we've seen/smelled all looks good and appetizing though, so maybe we go here hungry (and not just thirsty) sometime. The bar tenders are friendly, the selection of beer/liquor is good, and the prices are decent. Brush up on your Journey, Danzig, Mel Torme, and/or Frank Sinatra, get a glass of liquid courage, and show us what you got! (I don't karaoke...just spectate/clap)

My friend summed it up best: "You know when you're watching a movie and there's a bar scene with a bunch of extras, and you're like, none of those people would ever all be in the same place." Well, they are, and that place is Tarasco. It started out as a quiet Mexican-ish restaurant with just a few patrons. Then came the disco lights and smoke machine. Then came more people. Of all races and ages and styles. And then came the karaoke. Karaoke is evidently the reason to come to Tarasco. The people here take it pretty seriously. My fav was the hipster in salmon colored skinny jeans who impressively belted out a song from Rocky Horror Picture Show. Do not come here for a quiet date night. Do try the chips and guacamole. Do not come here for an authentic Mexican meal or experience. Do come here for the most random/diverse clientele EVER.

A neighborhood local eatery featuring karaoke. Stopped in while visiting our son. Very friendly and personable staff, food was very good and reasonably priced.

I will never return, solely for the horrible bartender. Saturday night, myself and 12 friends came here because I was dared to sing my first Karaoke song. What better place than the bar less than a block away from my house! We had already been drinking, but about half of us had a couple drinks there anyways. 2 of the girls are pregnant, and some of the group are not drinkers. We were there for maybe 30 minutes when the bartender said that the non-drinkers should order a drink or leave, and that they were loitering!!! When my friend commented that she was pregnant the bartender had the nerve to tell her to order a coke! Not all pregnant women drink caffeine! I would have totally understood this IF the place had a crowd, or if there were people standing around waiting for a table. This was definitely not the case. Other than us, there were maybe 6 people there!! The non-drinkers were just there to be an audience to the drinkers that were singing, they weren't causing a scene or taking up karaoke spots so WTF?? The guy running the karaoke was great! It's too bad because we were having a good time, and would have definitely come back for frequent karaoke nights, but because of this, you have not only lost our business for the evening, but for any future business as well! Great move when I imagine you're hurting for business during these tough economic times!

Dee-lish Mexican? check. Yummy and tequila filled margarita? Check. Good music playing? check. What else do you need to know? You can bet your sweet ass we will be back. **UPDATE 1/28/08** Went back a few nights ago, and the service was horrendously SLOW. 2 hours sitting there to order, eat, and pay for 4 people?? OMGBBQWTF?? Knocked from 4 stars to 3 stars. Treat me better, Tarasco, and you'll earn it back.

It's an odd little mix along this stretch of 70th Street. There's Caprice Kitchen, Delancy, Honore and this house that's painted somewhere between lime and hunter green which masks a small mexican restaurant. But if you're willing to forgive the outward appearance, it's a nice little neighborhood bar. By no means a big place, Tarasco does have all the neighborhood bar basics: small bar, pool tables, strategically situated TVs and a real dart board. Plus, as you'd guess from the name, they serve mexican food. Now it's not great mexican, but you can expect average three-star variety mexican food in sizable portions. And do you really expect more than that from a bar? Since it's hidden away in this side street (shhhhhh!), it has a pretty low-key vibe. Mostly there are a few regulars sitting quietly drinking at the bar. Although there are only two pool tables, on the last visit we were the only ones who played over a three hour time period. So I'd think of Tarasco as the place to head to for a weekday evening of pool and enchiladas with a few friends.

This place is awesome! Thank you Yelpers for introducing me to this mecca of mexa! I went here after reading the reviews of my fellow yelps and I have to admit they all pretty much hit the spot. Good food, good people, nice juke box, and a great staff. One think to note is that the food is pretty traditional so I am pretty sure there is lard in them there beans but that is probably why they taste so good! I had a combo with the pork tostada, beef taco, and cheese enchilada. The pork was amazing, the enchilada sauce was great and the taco was fine (how much can you really expect from a ground beef taco?). The service was slow because the place had a staff of one, but she did her best and we always felt well taken care of. More of a bar than a restaurant but that can be nice some times. This totally made up for my huge disappointment from Taco Loco (the Ballard taco truck).

Holy crap, I thought this place has been closed for like 5 years. EVERY time I drive by it looks closed...NO, I haven't actually gone to the door but, you know...driving by... An older lady friend of mine used to take me here cause it was her fave. I remember the food was okay. The people were friendly. I barely remember it, honestly. I mostly remember my friend getting gently wrecked on margaritas in the afternoon while her dogs waited patiently on the sidewalk. This place still open??? Hmmm. Weird...maybe it exists only for others, not for me. Perhaps in an alternate dimension or something. Maybe I need to cross my eyes when I'm looking at it or something. Any tips on seeing Tarasco? Other than just, you know, going up to the door and pushing? I'm a little freaked out to do that now.

Still more love for the Huevos Rancheros. So. Freaking. Good. My favorite that I've had so far, ever, anywhere. If you look just above the bar, you'll see a remnant of one of me and C-Stan's good times at Tarasco: her Washington Mutual Teller Doll/Action Figure, Trisha. She became a permanent fixture at the bar at our post-white-elephant-Christmas party revelry. Trisha came for the karaoke, and stayed for the tequila.

Great food at great prices...an increasingly rare thing in Seattle. The steak tacos are on point. Would also recommend the nachos. The ambience is relaxed and casual...I've gone in the evening wearing a sweatshirt and felt totally comfortable. This place is everything a neighborhood bar should be.

The first time I, and a friend, hit Tarasco for dinner there was only one person working behind the bar. We ordered our food from their large menu and were expecting microwaved Mexican as we didn't know who would be cooking. Much to our surprise the food is fresh and incredibly delicious. Oh, I'm not a margarita drinker, but if you are you'll be able to smell the tequila when your margarita order is on it's way to your table. Strong is an understatement.

Had the traditional Pasole soup. Its like Hispanic Pho. With all the fixings. You make it as spicy and sweet as you like. Tony the owner will tell you this is only an evening food. . I would eat it anytime.

I would give negative stars for this place if I could. Maybe the drinks are good but the food is awful. I've been there twice and both times it was bad. The "Mexican" sauce on my enchilada tasted like plain tomato sauce out of a can. No, not salsa, but plain old unseasoned tomato sauce. Luisa's on Holman Road is much much better.

This place is a great join which can easily server as Delancey's waiting room. Get a few pitchers, some darts, real darts, not the plastic. Play a few games of cricket while you wait. No doubt they've got some pretty good food, but we were, as mentioned, waiting. The beer is good and cheap, friendly staff, perfect place.

Delicious enchiladas... so delicious I ate everything on my plate. The sauce didn't taste canned, the beans tasted as if they had been simmered for hours, and the rice wasn't dried out. A great meal. Our service was a little slow, but when you are sitting around talking girly talk with the girls, it doesn't really matter, does it?

This is a fun little bar! It's small inside, but big enough for a couple pool tables, decent amount of seating, and a karaoke area. Karaoke is great here on the weekends, especially when Kurt is hosting.

This place is pretty terrible. I give it one star for the food but I wish I could deduct another star for the owner's inappropriateness with my friend. Does it stop being flirting when the woman stops answering any questions and begins to physically move away from you EVERY time you stop by our table? Just to bring it back to the food - queso fundido shouldn't just be a few melted mozzarella slices in a bowl - but it is at this place.

If you are heading to Delancey for pizza (which is across the street from Tarasco), be prepared for an hour long wait or more. Tarasco Bar is a good place to wait it out while drinking some draft beer. On tap they have PBR, Stella Artois, Pyramid Heffeweisen, Maritime Pacific IPA (a local Ballard brewery), New Castle Brown Ale, Maritime Pacific Lager, and Manny's pale ale - btw, about half of these are local beers. They have karaoke on Fri and Sat, starting at 9pm until closing. Two pool tables. I give them 4 stars considering the other bars in walking distance from Delancy...good solid neighborhood bar worth walking to.

All the Ballard Neophytes and Suburbanites- this is a sweet dive bar with great margaritas and really heavy pours. Chicken nachos are great in a late night pinch and they have pretty badass karaoke. Not its not trendy and uppity, why are you?

This is some of the worst, most half-a**ed Mexican food I've ever had. From the water, flavorless beans and flavorless salsa to the Trader Joes tamale with a spoonful of... "sauce" on it. And to boot, they took my card in during the transaction and I now have a series of fraudulent charges on it. All the thumbs down. I'd rather eat taco bell.

Between house chores today I ran up to Tarasco to try it out. It's nearby but I'd never been. Unfortunately, they had a special menu for the "Seahawks Brunch" and the real menu was out of service until 4pm. This special menu was a small, sort of odd mix of breakfast scrambles and hamburger type things. While contemplating this I decided for a margarita, bottom shelf, which was pretty good. I finally decided on the huevos rancheros which was a fried tortilla, 2 or 3 fried eggs, and a faintly chipotle flavored ground beef sauce smothering all, and a side of potatoes. This dish actually tasted better than initial impression implied. Was it the margarita talking? I was on the 2nd by now. The potatoes were excellent. OK, I'd eat this plate again! A third margarita! Yeah, this place is alright. It is kind of a dive bar feel but the patrons were all friendly and welcoming. The bartender was also friendly and helpful. I'm awarding just a 3 star at this time since I didn't really get to sample their normal fare. And, without that, it was an ok, average place. The price was real nice though. Oh yeah, one more drawback, they don't have Tabasco Chipotle flavor sauce. C'mon folks!

Tony and the kitchen crew know homemade Mexican fare really well. This place is exactly what a neighborhood restaurant should be: approachable, dependable and consistent. Highly recommend ordering-in now and stopping in when we are back to normal. Recommending the mole, chilies Colorado and meatballs soup!

Totally decent spot to grab a beer. I popped in with a good friend and we killed a good hour or two in here. Bathrooms were spotless, the bartender was kind, and there was tons of space to come eat/drink with friends or just hang out in a small group. I'll have to pop back in and try the food!

My wife and I used to go to Tarasco regularly up until not too long ago. It seemed like a good old fashioned Seattle dive restaurant with decent Mexican food and good local beer at reasonable prices. We also liked the waitress at that time. I've waited some time to write this because I've been so pissed off at two things that happened to us there: 1) One evening we went there and stepped through the door and were blasted in the face with the smell of raw sewage. They obviously had a major sewer backup or some similar problem but they continued to keep the doors open to customers. Our waitress had a distressed look on her face and asked us if we wanted to sit on the deck outside. We did, had a couple of beers and left to eat somewhere else. I pulled up the King County Public Health inspection records on the web when we got home and was stunned at their track record. It looks like things may be improving over the past year, and I hope so, but check out their track record over the past nearly 20 years on this website. Clearly their priority is bringing in some cash and not the health of their customers. http://info.kingcounty.gov/health/ehs/foodsafety/inspections/search.aspx 2) That was our last time there of course but not too long before that I noticed on my charge slip that it was $1.00 more than our receipt. I asked the waitress about the difference and she said that the owner was charging a $1.00 service fee for credit card use and that I ought to complain to him about it. She told me that he had been doing this for years. There were no signs stating this was their practice that I could see anywhere, nobody told us about it until that point, and it wasn't broken out on our charge slip. It was a completely hidden fee that you wouldn't catch unless you happened to notice the difference between the charge slip and the receipt. I thought about all the times we'd been there, charged the bill, and basically been ripped off $1.00 each time. That's the kind of treatment loyal customers get here.

We had a lot of fun on Trivia night! I would go back and order the Camarones Tarasco anytime!

great authentic mexican flavor in a cool neighborhood joint. Enjoyed their bar and the jukebox as well as the food. Go find this place soon.

Not a bad place to have a beer and wait for your table at Delancy. I vote we revoke its status as a Mexican restaurant, though-- when the bartender tells you that the special is "ah-rawz con paul-o," that is sort of adorably wrong.

This is the best bad in town and Marta is the best bartender ever go there and you will have the best bar experience.

Their garlic prawns are amazing!!! I love how this bar is tucked away in the neighborhood, and has pool tables. Every time I've been here the food is awesome! And JASON rocks! He gave me money for the jukebox, but when I asked JASON for a cigarette, he didn't have an extra one. Oh well I guess I can still give 5 stars!!!

Not busy, but server spent all time with one regular rather that anyone else. Also changed the sports on TV to an old episode of Family Feud ON ALL THE TVs!! Need to share: The fluffy guacamole was very good, but be aware it will set you back $6.00 for a very small amount!!!! With parking so bad there, not worth another visit for sure!!

Worst food ever. They spent more money making bad food from a can than it would take to make good food from scratch.