El Taco Fresco

Im really sad to write this review because I have been a regular for four years. I used to love this place. I never fussed about paying a little extra because the food and service were that good. Suddenly there were some changes to the food. My carne asada wasn’t seasoned and neither was the rice. The rice had no flavor as if it had just been fried and had coloring added to it. I dont know what’s going on and im seriously freaking out because im not the only one who has noticed. I would hate to see such a clean professional place go down the drain due to bad food. I really hope they read these reviews.

Was downtown tonight and wanted to grab something on the way home and stopped here for the first time… AMAZING! my wife had the chili verde sope and I had a bean and cheese burrito and though it is a simple dish but varies from place to place and you can taste that the beans were definantly made with manteca, the way their supposed to be refried delicious! and don’t tell them but I filled 4 of those little containers of their salsa to take home, very HOT and TASTY! and the place was very clean and service was great.

On my last visit I ordered 1 fish taco. It was not cooked. I called and they refunded my order. I love the food here and was a little hesitant to try again but since their food is so flavorful I decided to try again but didn’t order the fish tacos. This time I ordered the shrimp ceviche and a been and cheese burrito.

I love that i can order a shrimp cocktail throught the drive thru. This place is always clean and friendly service. If you want good food and on the go or if you want to dine in both options are great. The drive thru has not forgotten to ever offer condiments that go with your meal or napkins. The restaurant inside is always clean and offers a variety of salsas to choose from.

They Always Always Get my Order Wrong I can Never ask for different type of tacos without them always getting them wrong.
And I use to buy the 2 taco with the two Large bean and cheese Burritos but the Last time I went the bean and cheese Burritos were super duper small.
That’s false advertising. The least they can do is put it on the menu that they changed the size of the burritos.
Or lower the price.
Another thing Every time and I mean every time I ask for a certain kind of salsa they give me the other like OK? Why even ask?
To me it seems that they gained a lot of loyal customers like me and they changed everything up.
Like their ripping us off.
Well I am one loyal customer that isn’t going back to that place.

Taco fresco has just recently made some big changes unfortunately the changes are bad, really bad. I have been coming here for about 5 years now because the quality of the meat was good emphasis on was.
THE FOOD
They switched the meat that they use! It used to be some amazing carne Asada and yesterday I received what looked like rat meat. Soggy floppy and gooey. There’s pictures to reference. The chips and guacamole was literally made out of a powder and not real avocado. On top of that the serving is the size of a small cup of ranch. Not worth the price.
Overall the experience changed from an awesome fresh Mexican food place to a cheap NOT fresh unappetizing place. Prices of the food were raised and quality drastically dropped.
As a regular for 5 years I am very disappointed and I’m sure your long time regulars will notice the difference

Wonderful place. Friendly, clean, fresh, and flavorful. Nothing earth-​shattering, but all quality.

We call this dive «The Burrito Place» and for good reason… They have great burritos all day including breakfast burritos. The salsa is fantastic and I appreciate their great service. On top of all of that — substitutions aren’t frowned upon so I can get exactly what I want without feeling guilty.!!

I was out running errands today on my lunch hour and needed something quick and cheap, possibly healthy if that was presented to me. Well, out of nowhere I saw the sign for the chicken tacos. 4.99 including a soda. I ran cruised through the drive thru. Took it back to work and was not disappointed. It included rice and beans and I asked for the hot salsa which was pretty good. The tacos were kind of small but for three tacos that was a good deal. Flavor was good and price was perfect.

2.5 to 3 Unilocal stars.
Was here last night around 9 pm. Late quick dinner from just leaving a relative’s home. Saw the Bright lights at corner Calif n Chester.
Since Ive been on a search for great al pastor (my many many years favorite Taco Truck El Taco Loco been disappointing much this year. Downhill) I decided to try El Taco Fresco. To compare it to my previously reciently found awesome authenthic Mex Foodie Haven (Carniceria El Amigazo, 98% Unilocal’Rs gives 5 stars, with just one 4 stars).
At El Taco Fresco I ordered just two tacos as pictured. The Carne Asada meat was pretty good. Smoky, Bit of Tasty BBQ Char. The Al Pastor was awful. Real Al Pastor is suppose to be marinated, and often even BBQ’D tho not always. The Al Pastor here is plain pork chopped, slathered with some sauce. I took two pieces of the pork to taste then left 95% of that taco uneaten. See my Unilocal pic of that very not impressive Al Pastor.
I agree wirh other Unilocal reviews here that stated their taco tortillas is meh. I had much much better tortillas.
I tried two type red salsa here. The chopped chunk tomatoe one tasted like bottle or can stuff you get with some Tri Tip sandwiches at Food Fairs or Farmers Mkt. The Chili salsa was average, more watery than receint awesome ones I had at my three recient Unilocal reviewed places (one even offered Orange Habanero salsa).
Other foods here I cannot comment. But from the two tacos… I was not much impressed. I was generous giving 3 stars. I think 4 or 5 stars Unilocal’Rs here truly have’nt had awesome awesome authentic mexican taco’s that can be found Bakersfield. Of cource THEN there are hundreds Taco places in this area. And some are so so heavenly

The sauce for the Camarenos ala Diabla was very delicious. However, with an $ 11.99 price point the combination plate servings of beans and rice was very modest, which made the meal feel a bit overpriced compared to other sit down Mexican food restaurants that offer free chips and salsa with an $ 11.99 meal that offer bigger portions. The plate they serve the meal in has a very thin depth so although it looks like a decent serving, it is not. I was not disappointed in the flavor, or with the Camarones, however, I would suggest to consider serving more beans and rice in the combination plate. The flan is to die for! The cashier was very pleasant and professional. The establishment very clean. The salsa bar has quite a range of salsas, and e menu offerings are quite extensive.

El Taco Fresco was better than I thought they would be. Walked into a clean and sanitary restaurant. Walked up to the counter, and I was helped by a nice young lady who provided terrific customer service.
Took me a while to decide what I wanted. Everything sounded great on their menu. Finally decided on a Shrimp taco and a Fish taco. Ordered both a la carte. No beans and/​or rice for me on this visit.
Fish Taco costed me $ 2.99. Thought that it was a bit high. Upon receiving it, I was not to be disappointed. I asked for the fish to be grilled, and it tasted good with the cabbage, pico de gallo and all the other condiments that it came with.
Shrimp Taco costed $ 3.29. This was my favorite. The pieces of shrimp were delicious! They were not tiny like most places, and they do not skimp on the ingredients. Everything tasted so well together. Just packed with flavor! The best Shrimp taco that I have eaten in Bakersfield so far!
El Taco Fresco, you have made another fan for your place. I look forward to trying more items from your diverse menu in the future!
P. S. By the way, they have a rewards program for their regular customers. Also, check out their Facebook page for other promotions!

I had my first experience here tonight. I ordered the taquitos with guacamole and the chipotle ranch chicken tacos. The taquitos were bland and had too much tortilla compared to the amount of meat in them. They were also quite expensive for the small amount in each order. Based on those alone, I would not go back.
However, the chipotle ranch chicken tacos were delicious. The chipotle sauce is amazing and the chicken was great. The rice and beans were also good. They had good flavor, but the portions were quite small.
I will definitely go back and give them another try.

This place used to be great — quality has definitely gone down. Used to be a frequent customer but have quickly taken my business elsewhere. Their burritos no longer are what they used to be.

Not bad, but not as great as I expected from all the reviews. Had carne asada tacos and the meat lacked flavor. The combo is a decent size portion. Salsa was very good. Service was very good. I just prefer getting my tacos from a taco truck off Panama Lane. Probably won’t be back.

After a disappointing lunch excursion to Tovar’s (they were closed) my lunch companion and I backtracked to El Taco Fresco.
I had read some reviews in the past and it seemed like a decent option. Plus, even there’s no such thing as a bad taco.
The restaurant looks like an old converted fast food chain. The employees were super friendly and nice. The entire place was surprisingly clean.
The food was inexpensive and decent for the price. I had the Number 13 which was two chicken tacos with a chipotle sauce. The chicken was nice and moist and the chipotle sauce was decent. They were larger than most tacos and satisfied my lunch hunger well.
I’d definitely consider stopping by for a quick and easy bite if in the area. But for all around awesome tacos, I’ll stick to Huichos on Union.

I love a place that has a drive thru. They had a variety of Mexican breakfast, lunch and dinner menu.
The cashier was nice. My order was correct. I ordered taco special with everything on it which came with, soda, Mexican rice and refried beans. The tacos looked good but lacked flavor. I put the green hotsauce on it that gave it a tiny bit of more of a flavor. I just was expecting more flavor when getting everything on it

Oh… WOW !
The food was superb. The LOVE of my life and I stepped into this once a fast food building with mixed opinions hers, positive as usual, well right off fast oops I meant FAST SERVICE was great as we are enjoying our top notch flavor I see the night manager out In the lobby sweeping !! They were not «short staffed» so I approached him and ask if he was the supervisor quickly replied yes and I said don’t think as a customer I didn’t recognize you be in the manager but out here sweeping the floor is only reply was well we all have to do our part
AMAZING !!!

Taco fresco is my new favorite taco place!
After being disappointed time and time again by La Villa… I started coming here for all my taco cravings!
I’ve tried several menu options here and felt it time to leave a review.
I’m going to say I come here late most nights. Like right before close. The food is ALWAYS fresh! Even late. Which can’t be said for a lot of places like this. Meat is good quality which is a big thing for me…
I’ve had their quesadillas to enchiladas to wet burritos! Good food and very, very, very nice people that work here! Drive thru!
Condiments!
Taco Fresco, 5 stars!

Went for lunch and hit up the drive thru. The employee taking orders was exceptionally nice and friendly. I ordered the breakfast burrito.
The regular breakfast burrito comes with ham. I had my choice of mild, medium, hot or green sals. I choose hot, and that was a good choice. It had a very deep and smoky flavor, but I didn’t think it was that «hot».
The burrito was tasty, with potatoes cut chunky giving it some texture. It really could have used some cheese and some salt. But overall, it hit the spot and fulfilled my breakfast burrito needs at that moment.
Overall, fast and friendly service and tasty food. I can’t wait to try more items on the menu.