Taqueria El Taconazo

Reviews

• Todd S.

  star star star star star_border 11 September 2026

  Sparks has changed quite a bit since I was a kid growing up there in the '70s and '80s. The availability of authentic Mexican food was next to nil, so our go-to option for a quick taco or burrito was the Taco Bell on Greenbrae. At 16 I worked through the summer in that kitchen, and my mother loved to stop in for, "Todd's special taco salad," which was pretty much every ingredient in the house I could load on. She still gets misty eyed at the memory.
  
  That location closed when the company decided to phase out those iconic "Mission style" brick buildings, but was eventually reborn as Taqueria El Taconazo. It's essentially still a fast food joint, but finally serving the real stuff. The interior is clean and functional. The counter service on my visit was really efficient. And the food, well, Taco Bell it ain't.
  
  The salsa bar has green, red, and orange sauces, the heat of which progressed in that order. All three were very good, though I particularly enjoyed the herbaceous, hot red stuff. Most places include a mild, pickled mix of veggies, but the escabeche here had cauliflower, carrot, onion, and salty cotija cheese swimming together in a fairly spicy marinade. I highly approve.
  
  We tried a couple barbacoa and cecina tacos ($1.29ea); both meats were very tender--packed with flavor--and well appointed with cilantro and onion. A chile relleno taco ($1.69) featured a small, cheese-stuffed and battered pepper, topped with lettuce and tomato. Frankly, I think I enjoyed this preparation even more than its larger, plated cousins.
  
  The lightly crisped tortilla pocket of a nopalitos gordita ($2.69) was stuffed with plenty of marinated cactus, lettuce, and tomato, and might have been the best tasting item overall. If you've never tried seasoned strips of prickly pear, this is a great place for your first taste. A chicharones gordita verde ($2.89) was a lot spicier than expected, which helped distract from the extremely chewy pig skin. I like most of the "exotic" taqueria meats, but this one just wasn't that enjoyable. Best to leave the pork rinds crunchy.
  
  A serving of three chicken enchiladas with rice and refried beans ($5.89) was a pretty sizeable plate of food. The nicely seasoned meat wasn't dry, and there was just enough sauce to do the trick. The rice was fluffy and tasted pretty good on its own, but I of course like mixing it with the beans. These were a bit on the salty side, so the combination evened them out a bit.
  
  I think we've all probably encountered burritos that are long on rice, short on meat. My carne asada burrito ($4.99) was made for meat lovers, with way more steak than any other filling. It was a little over seasoned, but otherwise grilled just the way I like it. Adding some of the citrusy green salsa made it that much better, though at this point I was so full I had to save most of it for the next day's lunch. I certainly didn't mind a bit.

• Cesar M.

  star star star_border star_border star_border 2 September 2026

  Price - fair
  
  Service - fair
  
  Cleanliness - very clean
  
  Food - not fair
  
  I ordered my usual carne asada burrito which is my go to for Mexican. Unfortunately I did not get any meat what so ever. Meat was a little salty, taste was ok.

• Sydnea H.

  star star star star star 25 August 2026

  I heard about this place from coworkers and had to try it!! First the prices are so good you wouldn't expect such wonderful masterpieces to come out of this little kitchen!! They are small and super busy which is a great sign.
  Second I had the best chorizo taco from a restaurant ever! I'm usually picky about chorizo and crave the more authentic and this place has it! And third/last most important part is the burritos have chunks of fresh avocado and tomatoes!! It was so good and I was too excited to take a picture.

• Deanna L.

  star star star star star 22 August 2026

  So I have wanted to try this place for years.  It is literally down the street from our house.  Walking in, it was just like it was as Taco Bell when I was in middle school.  It took me back immediately to laughing with friends on the patio.  We ordered four types of tacos, asada, chorizo, carnitas, and chili relleno also sides of beans.  Wow!   The tacos were loaded with great tasting meat.  The chili relleno taco was great!  I tried all of the sauces in the bar, I loved them all.  The pickled carrots, onions, cauliflower with cheese was different, but really tasty.  We will definitely be returning soon, best of all this place is cheap. All the staff was friendly and willing to answer all of our questions.  Next time, we will be trying the tortas and burritos that I hear are also loaded with meat.

• Sherese W.

  star star_border star_border star_border star_border 19 August 2026

  So we came to this location to see if the sanitation situation was fixed. And yet we seen the same woman Edith take the towel she used to clean the tables into the women's bathroom before the bathroom door shut I seen her wiping down the toilet and counter at the sink- and then preceded to the gentleman's bathroom to clean that restroom as well, then came back to the restaurant counter and preceded to wipe the counter down around the condiments while touching the utensils with her unwashed hands, putting her hands in her hair and touching her face. When my wife went to get our food she confronted the woman who just washed the bathroom with the same towel and customer tables as well- the worker Edith began to argue making a scene that she had in-fact washed her hands- which she put the towel down and preceded to serve the food. Her argument was that the food she was touching was hers, which in fact was our food as she served it too us at the counter. Next thing we know she's leaving the facility- My wife then comes back to speak to the owner and he dismissed the entire situation. You never know how much one persons influence has on a company- As I'm associated with OSHA and FDA