Velvet Taco

Velvet Taco is a creative fast‑casual taco concept that leans heavily into global flavor fusions rather than strict Tex‑Mex tradition. Their menu spans everything from Korean and Indian inspired tacos to Mediterranean and Caribbean takes — which gives them a bit of an edge for vegetarians who want more than just “beans and cheese” tacos. I tried all 3 veggie options ~~ Fried Paneer Taco, Beer Battered Cauliflower Taco, Nashville Hot Tofu taco and was impressed with taste and flavour. Must try , if you are flexible you can definitely leave happily full and satisfied with a different interesting vegetarian version of tacos that go beyond the typical “bean & cheese” approach.

Chicken tikka taco was bomb and so was chicken and waffle taco. Although, it’s a bit sweet for my taste. The chicken was crisp and full of flavour. Food is always great at Velvet taco, my interaction with the staff was blunt, they need to communicate better. I had to walk upstairs and down 4 times to get the correct code to use ladies room.

I was able to get a tasty vegetarian option. This is a cool place. They have different non-traditional options that go in a taco and make it taste good! I have visited this place over the years and they've evolved with time, adding new appealing options to the menu. Try it, you might like it!

Very good tacos highly recommended if you are in the area Nice clean place close to loop

The service and food at Velvet Tacos is always spot on. The combo meal is a good value. They also have offers every now and again which makes ordering there an even better value. Their tacos are stuffed so even one taco makes for a substantial snack or a small meal for me. Their app is convenient and easy to use. Pickup orders are packaged well. The photo was a 2 taco combo with a free taco that I plated at home. It was so good and so much food that I had leftovers. 😊

I have been to 2 other Velvet Taco places, this was just a good, and the food was amazing. We had vegetarian options, fish options for non meat eater. It was fun, cozy, and flavorful food that didnt break the bank.

Tried all 3 vegetarian options and it was the best meal i had in Chicago. My favourite has to be the Fried Paneer and the Beer Battered Cauliflower. Both these tacos were phenomenal. You can’t ask more from a vegetarian taco. Highly recommend this place

I tired this place for the first time on Sun 2/23/25 around 6:15pm. I was very pleased with the customer service, food, speed of service, and cleanliness of the restaurant and bathrooms. I will surely return. Since it was my first time, I tried several tacos. Each was flavor packed and was like an entrée on its own. I love the concept and execution of this place. Here’s a breakdown with my opinion of the tacos. I will also add, the blue corn chips and guacamole were very good. Cuban Pig: 5/5 This taco was amazing. It was a little spicy, but the spice was worth it. This taco has pickles on it. I never thought it would work, but it definitely did. This is a must try taco and was my favorite. Rotisserie Chicken: 4/5 The roasted corn pico, and charred tomato poblano salsa were great additions to the taco. However, they slightly overpowered the chicken. I would’ve liked the flavor of the chicken to push through a bit more. However, this was still a great taco. Mexi-Cali Shrimp: 4/5 This was a good taco with perfect toppings. The shrimp could’ve used a bit more seasoning. However, it was still good, and all the toppings helped to elevate the flavor of the overall taco. Grilled Salmon: 3/5 Napa slaw, citrus lime crema, pickled fresnos, roasted corn pico, avocado crema, micro cilantro. All great toppings, but again, the salmon needed a boost in seasoning. This was not one of my favorites. Chimichurri Steak: 3/5 The chimichurri was great. However, the steak was tough and not seasoned well. Quesa Birria: 1/5 This is one I would not try again. Overall, it was too salty, there was not enough meat, and there was no flavor beyond salt. This taco might need to be taken off the menu.

Velvet Taco knows how to bring the flavor! We tried a bunch of tacos: spicy chicken tikka, spicy paneer, Nashville hot tofu, Mexicali shrimp, and roasted cauliflower and every one of them was yum. Super creative flavor combos and the sauces on the side were absolute flavor bombs. The only letdown was the promo: their website said you get free nachos with queso when signing up, but the staff told us we couldn't redeem it. Bit of a bummer and took away from the overall experience. That said, the food was solid and unique enough that I'd still come back. Just hoping for a little more consistency next time!

I didn't actually know this was a franchise. I've been to the Velvet Taco in Houston and really liked it so I had to visit this one while I'm in the area. It didn't disappoint. My daughter had 3 different tacos, salmon, chicken tikka and another. She let me tasty them and they were very good especially the salmon. Except the taco pretty much fell apart once she picked it up. I got the chicken bowl and it was very tasty. Price was about the same as I remember and was on the more expensive side for tacos and bowl but worth it.

The food came out quickly, and the service was excellent. This was honestly one of the best tacos I've ever had, the shrimp was cooked perfectly, and the ingredients were fresh. The place is small but not too noisy, which made for a pleasant dining experience. I'll definitely try to go back before I leave!

As a vegetarian this is a go to dinner spot for me and my family. They have amazing options for tacos that are unique! I highly recommend trying this place out. Also their queso is one of the best I've had, perfect taste and consistency. Try it out!!

I LOVE these tacos, velvet taco is proof that anything inside a tortilla is going to be fantastic I've tried every single thing in the menu but I think my favorites are the chimichurri steak , regular steak & cali shrimp , buffalo chicken , chicken waffle , chicken tikka & let's not forget about spicy cauliflower . Their dips trio is a must order . I prefer recommend getting delivery rather than dinning in .

Highly disappointed. They've started skimping out on the paneer sauce so it taste like tofu. Velvet taco used to be so good but now it's average. The service was also slow. Seating is nice with extensive space including upstairs. However, would not recommend going back since they are making the recipes cheaper

Came here for a quick late night bite after a Saturday night out. Loved the creative approach to tacos. Great vegetarian options and love their variety. Beer Battered Cauliflower Taco (5/5) - Perfectly crispy cauliflower with great sauce. Great flavor Fried Paneer Taco (4/5) - good attempt at an Indian fusion Nashville Hot Tofu Taco (4/5) - Tasty seasoning with a manageable amount of heat Red Curry Coconut Queso (4.5/5) - Salty but addictively good with the chips The portions are pretty generous and each taco feels unique. Quick service despite being busy. The inside has an industrial and quirky vibe which works well. Perfect for late night cravings!

After hearing rave reviews, I finally tried Velvet Taco, and it definitely lived up to the hype! I ordered delivery on a Saturday night, and to my surprise, it arrived quickly--within 20-25 minutes. I tried three tacos: the Spicy Tikka Chicken, Mexi-Cali Shrimp, and Kobe Beef Smash Burger. While all were delicious, the Kobe Beef Smash Burger taco truly stood out. The combination of ground beef, pickles, special sauce, and cheese in a tortilla might sound unconventional, but it works so well! Velvet Taco is more of a specialty taco spot rather than a traditional Mexican taqueria, similar to how some pizzerias focus on unique specialty slices rather than the classic ones. If you're in the mood for something creative and different, Velvet Taco is perfect. The only downside? It's a bit on the pricier side--around $7-8 per taco. That said, I loved my experience and can't wait to try more from their menu next time!

It's like a fast food taco option. I thought this place was OK. It made me miss bar taco. They have tastier tacos. There are also like 3 other taco spots next door/nearby Velvet Taco. They have several different options for tacos. The taco bowl looked good. I ordered the combo dish: 2 tacos + a side + a drink for $14.95. I ordered the Baja fish and steak taco with the elote w/blue tortilla chips. The Baja fish was tastier than the steak taco. I would order the Baja fish again. The tacos are a good size. They messed up my order by not removing the avocado (even though I did tell them upon ordering). The steak taco was a step above taco bell steak. It was kinda chewy and hard. Their layout downstairs is also way too crowded, making it hard to pick up your food order. I may go here again, but I would be open to trying the other spots next door.

Velvet taco is a frequent drop-in whenever in the west loop. Generally the Asada, fish n chips and chicken tikka are solid choices but at times they tend to go overboard with the sauce and it gets somewhat overwhelming. Unfortunately, the last couple of times that was the case and hence the 3 stars. If they can get the balance right again I'm sure they are good enough to be a 4/5 taco option!

Open laaaate! I went around 1:45am and it was packed but they have a really good system/process so the wait wasn't bad. The tacos were fire and untraditional. There's an upstairs dining room as well.

This location has plenty of seating. We were a group of 6 and found some seats on the first floor. As vegetarians we tried the following : Tofu : 5/5. This is by far my favorite. It is the right amount of crispy. Paneer: 2/5. This was just okay. The paneer was rubbery. Cauliflower: 3/5. I found this to be just okay , but my husband liked this the best.

Velvet taco has been my go to ever since I went to the first ever velvet taco in Texas. Their food menu items are so creative and so delicious. My absolute favorite is the Nashville hot tofu taco. I love the slight crunch and slight spiciness of the tofu balanced by crunchy pickles. I also love the chicken tikka taco. Never did I think that rice in a taco would taste good. The beer battered cauliflower is yummy too, I like the southern take on fried cauliflower. The service is very fast usually and I love the fact that you can order, grab your table and chat with your friends while they call out your name when you order is ready. The ambience is very texan with open seating, industrial chairs and tables. Love velvet taco and it is a staple for me, especially on weekends when you need yummy food after a night of drinking.

No complaints! I'll be coming here again for sure. I recommend getting the taco combo (2 tacos + side + drink). I tried the chicken & waffle taco (9/10), quesa birria taco (5/10), chimichurri steak (8/10), and kobe smash burger taco (11/10). I also enjoyed the guac and queso with their blue corn tortilla chips. The interior has two floors with plenty of seating and the whole place was clean. I had a great time at Velvet Taco.

I recommend ordering the say what combo while it's around. It comes with a side, any 2 tacos, and a drink for $15 so you can definetely get a great bang for your buck depending on which tacos you choose. I got the chile shrimp and picnic chicken and really enjoyed it. I also love the Nashville tofu tacos. Though this place isn't super authentic by any means - all the tacos are really fun in terms of combinations and all have been hits to me!

I was craving Velvet Taco and hence decided to order it for lunch. I usually order Nashville Hot Tofu as that is the only vegan option available (although it's not completely vegan as it has sour cream over it) i love the crispy tofu combination with tacos, and the sauces are very flavorful. I have tried their paneer tikka tacos, falafel tacos, beer battered cauliflower tacos and even spicy chicken tikka taco in the past. All their tacos are good, I liked the spicy chicken tikka taco the most where they combined chicken with basmati rice and basil. Hoping they bring a similar combination in one of their vegan options as I've quit meat! Hoping they have more Vegan options in the future! Velvet Taco is in major metropolitan areas such as Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston and Nashville. Dallas is the birthplace of Velvet Taco. Velvet Taco was my first meal in the USA when I moved in 2016 and it will indeed always be special! P.S. If you like spicy food, make sure to ask for their hot sauces as they definitely elevate the taste of this Indo-Mexican fusion tacos. They usually mess up sending these sauces for their take out orders.

No. They sound amazing but it's basically a bunch of ingredients mix matched by taco to create a new taco item. The chicken tacos sounded amazing on the menu. Chileeeeeee I ordered all FIVE of the flavors. No. Three of them used the same breaded chicken. All of the tortillas were raw. Flimsy and doughy. I had: Spicy tikka chicken it's supposed to be the best. Say what? Buffalo chicken This one was ok. But again the same chicken tenders. You can't mess up a buffalo sauce. Rotisserie chicken queso blanco, roasted corn pico, charred tomato poblano salsa, cilantro, flour tortilla It was so bad I don't remember it at all. Picnic chicken rotisserie chicken with potatoes. It was decent. Chicken & waffle this was the worst of them all. Yuck. Doughy shell. Sweet and yucky. I also had the elote. Soupy corn. No. Service was slow. To order it took forever! I would come to try the beef or seafood tacos IF I was with someone but not making any trips. Don't recommend.

You walk in and order then your name is called over a speaker. Great location to grab a quick bite to eat. They had a special where you get two tacos and a side. It was quite a bit of food and I was not able to finish it all. They serve booze also which is neat. I had the takki chicken taco and fried rice race both of which were very spicy. I would say it is more of a late night food spot and not a mid afternoon vibe.

Velvet Taco is always a joy! I appreciated the staff recommendation to try their new combo deal (pictured!). My lunch date and I spent a good two hours enjoying their choice of music and the perfect casual vibes!

Velvet taco is a classic quick bite to eat or drunk spot. There are a variety of tacos and love that there is fusion of flavors. I love that you can sub out most tacos for paneer if you are vegetarian so I like to do the paneer tikka masala. I also love their queso and chips. The service is usually quick and there are two floors so you usually can find seating

One of the signature taco places in Chicago. There is seating on the ground and upper floor with mostly long tables. Bulgogi Walking Taco- nice fusion dish and fun eating out of the bag! Salmon taco was fresh. Steak Chimichurri- it was a little bit greasy, but what good taco isn't? Overall, the food was good but I wouldn't say it was amazing.

The paneer and tofu tacos were great! Open until pretty late so good spot to grab food after drinking. Elote is really good too. Can be lil slow sometimes coz it can get busy. Basic ambiance.

We love velvet taco. My personal faves are the beer battered cauliflower, nash hot tofu and the paneer. My husband loves the korean fried rice and sweet chili shrimp. You also absolutely cannot come here and not try the elote. Definitely a great late night eats place. If you haven't tried it, you're missing out!

I have been have a few times. The tacos are alway so unique and very tasty!!! This time around I went with the Cuban pig, very good, and the fish n' chips taco, it was amazing!!! The beer battered cod, curry aioli, french fries, malt vinegar, and napa slaw combo was like a melody on my taste buds.

We came here for late night tacos, and got some paneer tacos and some chicken tacos. They're super fast as when we ordered, within 5 minutes our tacos were ready. The restaurant seems small, but there's a whole second floor with a lot more seating which was really nice. The tacos were decently sized and not tiny, so they're decently priced. They are very saucy and full so can be a bit messy to eat, but I prefer that over a dry plain taco. Personally I liked the flavor in the chicken tacos more than the paneer one, but both were pretty decent overall. The menu is pretty big for a small taco shop, so there's lot of options (and other good vegetarian options too).

good drunk food, get the saucy tacos, get the queso service is fine, gets busy in there Idk about ambiance, I always grab to go

Went to velvet taco in west loop for a quick bite! It's open late night so it's convenient to grab food from here during late night hours when everything else is closed. You order your food and they announce that it's ready for pick up so you can grab your table while you're waiting. Right off the bat, we had to wait close to 10 minutes to place our order even though we were the only people in line when we were ordering. During the ordering process, the individual taking our order was texting on their phone while we were ordering our food, which was very unprofessional and we had to repeat our order multiple times to them. The bathrooms were not clean, the paper towels were out, the soap dispenser was running out of soap, and the trash bins (in the bathroom and the restaurant) were over flowing. In terms of food, it was quite an average experience - we got the chimichurri steak, fried paneer, cauliflower, and chicken tikka tacos - all of which were good but not as great as I was expecting them to be. The size of the tacos was decent but the filling inside was lacking flavor and vibrance. I had to drown every bite with hot sauce to add more flavor. We also got the classic guac and chips on the side. The guac was probably the best part of the entire meal. It was delicious, and not too crunchy and neither too soft. The seasoning was perfect and went so well with the chips! Honestly, I was quite disappointed with my experience here today, especially given that I have tried velvet taco in the past and absolutely loved it. Not sure if this is something that's specific to this location but I hope that customer service and flavor is something that does see improvement at their locations.

I've been to this location a few times, slowly working my way through their unique taco offerings. For me, it's been hit or miss but my favorite remains the fish 'n chips taco. Whether you're dining in or taking out, they've got some cool containers to make sure your tacos hold together. Every time I've visited this Velvet Taco, I've been met with great service - and the employees all seem to have fun together, which contributes to good vibes all around. Plus they always seem to be bumpin some good tunes. And even when it's busy, food tends to come out in decent time. Prices are on par for west loop, no surprise there. Also on par for west loop is super limited parking but still worth it to check this spot out.

I've heard so much about this place and was finally able to check it out for myself. The food is delicious. Definitely recommend: -Red coconut curry queso -Spicy Tikka chicken tacos -Nashville hot tofu tacos I will definitely go back in the future!

Had a chance to try Velvet taco on a late Saturday night and this place was super packed and poppin! If you are looking for a fun casual place to try different fusion flavors of tacos this is a great spot. I wasn't too hungry but I ordered the chicken tikka taco and this was delicious - it was cool as there was also rice in the taco! They did not skimp on the meat and this was the perfect late night snack!

The food at this place is awesome!! The sauces on the tacos are AWESOME!! The chicken tikka tacos are a no-brainer.

Now these are tacos. Yes, not so traditional, but it's a great twist on tacos. Of course if you come, you have to try the spicy chicken tikka, that is going down as one of the best tacos I've ever had. Wasn't a fan of the slow roasted angus brisket, but that's just me, I'm not a pot roast kind of person. Came here in the summer and we sat outside. Great place, can't wait to come back.

Gross!! How ppl eat this!! Everything is way too spicy. I do eat spicy but their tacos are way too sour or too spicy. Prep is disgusting too. I found thick black hair mixed and cooked together with one the tacos i ordered. As soon as i found it out and i brought it back and they didn't even say sorry but mad at me.

horrible service, horrible security!! don't come, unless you want to be harassed! they kicked our friends out for not buying food, when one person bought food for the whole group. then they joked with the rest of us that they hope our friends were able to use the bathroom before being kicked out? they never needed the restroom.

Ordered the brisket nacho and the Brisket burger, really delicious. Wild place on the weekends. Really wasn't a long wait surprisingly.

I tried all the vegan tacos here and yum!! The vibe is very pleasant and I loved the area 10/10

My first time trying velvet taco and i must say presentation was definitely on point. Their tacos are beautiful! When it comes to the taste, I would say they are very Americanized and are okay. The steak tacos i had were the best out of the options. But the team liked them and thought the way they presented it was super cool.

When I saw this taco joint was open late I knew I had to go after a day of wandering in Chicago. The line was long but I didn't mind. You order & they call our your name. It wasn't the worst wait but it was definitely busy. I will give them props for keeping the line moving. I got Buffalo chicken, Spicy Pollo Mediterranean, & Spicy Tikka chicken. I feel like chicken maybe was the wrong way to go, but they all sounded fun to try. This place doesn't have normal tacos. I am not a fan of the fact that they use flour tortillas. I think they are bland & I definitely prefer corn. The problem were the flavors and you can see from the picture how sad they looks. They were Cole, lacked in flavor overall, and honestky I didn't finish one because it simply wasn't worth it. Also don't get the margarita. Its all mix and is overly acidic. I don't think I would recommend this place or return. Great staff, good customer service, sub par food.

Came in on a rainy Sunday evening and it was not busy! Great place with taco combinations that you'd never find anywhere else! All options are thoughtfully curated and tastes great. You order at the counter and seat yourself!

Very delicious, but very meager portions and it doesn't fill you up but you've already spent $25. Customer service could be better as well. I ate here twice during lunch breaks, but couldn't stand how I was spending $25 for such a small amount. I would see grown men with the same order I got and I was like, there's no way that is satisfying them. It's basically a snack.

Literally love this place. A little expensive but the shrimp taco was literally the best thing I had tasted ar 3am.

Very good place for innovative tacos. I had the Korean chicken fried rice taco and the fish and chips taco. I also ordered the tater tot and fried egg. The tots were the best of the three but were a hassle... This location was super packed, which impacted the service. While the majority of our order was ready on the counter, we were waiting forever for the tater tots. The manager had to take one of the tater tots from one of the carry outs that they started packing. There was clearly confusion as the manager and the line cook were going back and forth about making the replacement tater tot. There didn't seem to be any staff who walked around to clean tables as customers leave. So the table we got was super dirty from the prior diners.

Ordered pick-up and got three tacos (chicken tikka, fried cauliflower, and Korean pork/fried rice), as well as chips and the red curry coconut queso. Tacos were great- not the absolute best ever, but very solid for the price. Well made and none of them were soggy nor did they drip all over the place like some tacos tend to. I love the variety of types, too. The queso was good too- the red curry coconut flavor is pretty subtle, but definitely not bad. I also appreciated the helpful to-go packaging; did a good job keeping the tacos oriented and ready to eat. I'll definitely come back soon to try more flavors!

Terrible service and security guard. Were extremely rude to my friends and screamed at them when they didn't think they had purchased food, even though they were eating with us.

Food was really mid. Not really worth a "oh lemme try and check it out." Was rather disappointed.

Horrible service with a hostile attitude towards customers and an unreasonable policy requiring everyone to order if you didn't enter together. They accused us of not ordering per group and tried to push us out in an extremely rude manner.

I've tried Velvet Taco catered twice, but I had never actually been there, so my dad and I decided to check the place out. It's basically a fast food taco place but with good-quality ingredients. We tried: -rotisserie chicken taco -chicken tikka taco -grilled flank steak taco -mex-cali taco -crisp tots with fried egg My dad really enjoyed the rotisserie chicken taco, but thought the flank steak needed more flavor and maybe a salsa. I absolutely loved the chicken tikka taco! It's a menu favorite for a reason - would order again in a heartbeat. The mex-cali taco was also good, but I wish there was more sauce because it was a little dry. Then again, I'm a HUGE sauce person, so no sauce is ever enough -- always gotta have a backup. Great tacos for the most part. A little pricey, but the portions are large, so you only really need two.

Trendy spot to get really good fusion tacos. The Mexicali shrimp and cauliflower tacos were both delicious. I loved the avocado corn tomato salad on top. The chicken Tikka just had chicken and rice in the taco -- while the taste and texture was good, it felt like it was missing something since the other tacos had a lot of avocado slaw on top. The flavors of the red coconut curry queso fresco meshed really well together. It wasn't too spicy, and there were pickled onions which give the dip some texture and acidity. FYI they have a rotating weekly taco offering. Overall the tacos are good if you're willing to pay $5-$6 per taco. We came on a Thursday night so it wasn't crowded at all, especially upstairs (it was empty up there). However if you come late night on a Friday or over the weekend, don't be surprised if there are crowds of loud drunk people here.

Tried the weekly special taco (chicken parm), chicken tikka, and fish n chips. The Chicken Tikka was the star of the show! Sauce was a solid mild-medium and had great flavor with the rice. The chicken parm was interesting and the fish n chips was also good. My only complaint about the 2 tacos which I though were just good, is that they should add more sauce. Now I'd consider myself a pretty saucy guy. I like a substantial amount of sauce especially if the sauce is special like some curry-infused flavor (the fish n chips one). I don't need it to be sopping wet but I would appreciate it more if it was more than a 1-line drizzle of it. They have taco sauce and spicy sauce (some form of mild/vinegary tang sauce) which were OK to compliment the taco, but I want more of the base sauce. Overall taco is good, tortillas taste nice and crispy, and each taco I've had had some unique fusion flavor! Definitely will come back to try more fusion tacos :-). More sauce please!!