Fuego Tacos

Wait staff… Horrible
Food: Just as horrible
Management…even worse… in a very loud voice told another couple of girls that were complaining about service «get the F%%% out of my restaurant»

This place has great vegetarian options– we had the veggie tostadas and the black bean quesadillas. Both were full of flavor! Their chips and salsas plate was great because the salsas actually all taste substantially different from each other– it’s not some Pico de gallo and then the same thing put through a blender. Each salsa actually taste like it was made with different flavors in mind and perfectly complements all main courses.
The drinks are also presented in funky glasses and are super cool looking.
My biggest complaint unfortunately is that the service is SUPER slow, this is no place to get in n out.

I am not a big fan of AMANDA (owner and waitress), or Fuego Del Mar A.K.A. Fuego Tacos!
If you are new in the area or just visiting, please watch out for this restaurant! I assure you this place will give you suspicions.
What’s the point of having a groupon deal if the business does not welcome newcomers! Please please be careful Unilocalers.
(Just needed to repost here)

Service is lacking to say the least. There is literally one other couple in here and after 10 minutes we have water. I guess that is why they need to offer groupons to get customers in here. Live and learn.

Fuego Taco (now Fuego del mar) used to be a great spot for lunch. great tacos, great chips and salsa, great service. now, all that is left are the tacos, obscured the name. chips and fresh salsa are gone. gift cards are practically useless and VIP card must be used without gift cards. the restaurant has long suffered an identity crisis due to location and tethering to the nearby movie theater Now, ownership seems determined to squeeze the last penny out of customers by doing away with perq’s and staple food at any mexican restaurant.
Tacos have not been defiled, but the rest of the experience had degraded to pitiful and forgettable.

Some notes: restaurant is located in the Esplandade with the AMC cinema and to the east of the Ritz Carleton. Best bet is to park in the parking garage and then go to the walking mall. Even so, it’s tough to find. Don’t give up. Also, it is no longer Fuego Tacos, but now Fuego del Mar, with a seafood-​centric menu.
That being said. I was pretty edgy by the time we arrived. We’re from Cave Creek and had been out shopping and then had a heck of a time finding the place, so we arrived about 8.15 — pretty close to closing. And I had a Groupon — and there are Unilocal reviews that said the staff DOESN’T like Groupon-​ers.
Greeted by guy that I assume is the gent someone described as «XL». He’s just a little round. And was a warm, welcoming fella. He beamed a smile at us, waved at dining room and told us to sit wherever we wanted. We chose a cozy booth in the corner. Our server was there in moments with menus and take our drink orders. I wish I remembered her name — dark hair in a pony-​tail, glasses, and really personable and nice despite it being the end of the night and we were late-​comers.
Nice ambiance — exposed brick walls, soft light, great music — DH would have liked their playlist!
TROUBLE: she hands us the menu. Except for one dish, everything is seafood. Fuego Tacos is now Fuego del Mar. DH doesn’t like fish and is semi-​allergic to shellfish. I asked if he wanted to leave, and he said no, we had gone thru too much to find the place — he would just order the one non-​seafood dish. At least he didn’t have to make a lot of choices! So DH ordered the Pernil Asada, which was described as slow-​cooked pork topped with mango-​chile salsa. His sides were the Green Chile-​Bacon Hushpuppies and the Latin Succotash. I ordered their signature dish of Seafood Chile Rellenos — a poblano pepper stuffed with shrimp, crab and tilapia in a lobster-​tomato sauce with hush puppies and Pineapple-​Serrano Cole Slaw. For drinks, DH got the house red and I got a Pomegranate Adult Lemonade.
Drinks arrived in less than 5 minutes. DH very happy with something he thought would be bottom row plonk. My Adult Lemonade was SO delicious — I had to be careful! I could have drank several of them. It tasted like lemonade with a hint of fruit — but it definitely had alcohol in it!
Entrees arrived within 15 minutes of the drinks. DH’s was all on one plate. Three hush puppies, Latin Succotash — which looked delish — and a mound of pork with the salsa. Not super pretty. My presentation was much more beautiful — a mammoth poblano pepper in a puddle of light red sauce. Slaw and hush puppies on the side. Lovely presentation. My only comment is that serving something in a bowl (albeit large) that needs to be cut is problematic.
I’d like to say how wonderful DH’s meal was, but basically I got one bite of his pork — that’s all he would share — before he devoured it. He said it was one of the best pork dishes he had ever enjoyed. He felt like he was in the Caribbean! I got no bites of the Succotash, darn him — looked so good! He scarfed it all! His hush puppies went that fast too!
Was my seafood Chile Relleno the best thing EVER? No, but it was VERY, VERY GOOD! Beautifully cooked, not greasy, seafood not overcooked at all, the lobster-​tomato sauce was delicious. Again, only quibble I have is serving it in a bowl. It was a very deep bowl too — a smaller girl might have had trouble reaching in there, but I am fairly tall and long-​armed. The hush puppies — shut my mouth, darlin’, but they were dang good! Lots of lovely, bacon-​y flavor, a hint of heat, and a touch sweet. What is it with those Yankees not adding a bit of sweet to their cornbread? Whoever made these knew what they were doing. The Pineapple-​Serrano Cole Slaw was in a citrus-​y, non-​creamy dressing and the crispness, the fruitiness and the heat was a perfect counterpoint to the richness of the Relleno.
Huge portion — I ended up bringing home half the Relleno, Slaw and two hush puppies — LUNCH! YUM! DH swined his plate so it’s deli turkey for him, hahaha!
Bonus — ended up talking to the gentleman in the booth next to us — so interesting. He is a musician who’s lived all over the US and the world — Europe and the Middle East. Really neat guy. I wouldn’t live in the City, but I love visiting the City ’cause you meet the most interesting people!
So at the end, I pulled out my Groupon and gave it to our server, apologizing that I had «hid» it until the end, but that Unilocal reviews had indicated Groupon-​ers got short shift as far as service went. She took it graciously with a smile and said one of the issues was when they were Fuego Tacos, people ordered $ 9 plates than proferred a $ 10 Groupon. Not nice. (BTW, Fuego del Mar entrees from $ 20-​$ 25)
For sure, we will be back. It’s a field trip for us, but worth it. Just an all-​around good experience.

Few things I dislike more than when you have a memory of dish that you loved and it haunts you to the point that you have to go back to the restaurant to order it again and you’re faced with utter disappointment. That’s my story with Fuego Tacos.
Two years ago I wrote about the awesome spicy veggie tacos at this joint. Man, they were good!!! Despite numerous trips back to Phoenix since that time, I was never able to make it back to Fuego despite that craving for the tacos. Lo and behold, I finally get an opportunity to go back and now I wish I hadn’t.
I was suspicious that something had changed because the menu descibed the tacos as being housed in a crispy shell. That’s not at all what I remembered. I recalled a mélange of hot, spicy veggies cased in a warm corn tortilla. I even asked the waitress who haughtily informed me that the veggie tacos had always come in a hard shell. Hmmm… that should have been my clue. I figured maybe the shell won’t make a big difference. Wrong. What I received instead was cold cabbage and other unrecognizable cold «stuff» jammed into a taco shell with shredded cheese on top. Not the least bit appetizing and not at all what I remembered! I was extremely disappointed.
The only reason I gave a 3-​star rating this time is because the chips and salsa were decent. I’m sure some of the other tacos are too but that veggie mess needs to go!

Pretty dead on a Wednesday night. Their chips are really good and will salvage a star. They charged 50 cents for a tiny tin of pico de gallo («the kitchen makes us charge for anything that comes out»). Tacos were nothing to write home about. La Condesa is similar concept but much better execution… and they love their grouponers… or at least they don’t give people a hard time. I paid $ 14 for two tacos with rice and beans. My LA friends would shoot me.
We had trouble redeeming expired groupons. Waitress made it seem like she was doing us a favor to remove the paid value (3 whole dollars), which never expires and must be honored by the merchant per the fine print. They wouldn’t let us subtract the paid value from a 2^nd expired groupon ($ 3). Anyone, please correct me if I’m wrong but my understanding is that expired vouchers become treated like cash. Fine print says PROMOTIONAL value can’t be combined with other offers, nothing about expired PAID values. Manager (Missy) said she didn’t have any written groupon contract in the restaurant (why not?) so I showed her the fine print on my phone. Acknowledges what she reads but still insists the owner (who’s not around, supposedly his name is Joe) says they can’t do anything else. She said I can send him a message. I ask how do I do that if he’s not here and she says «on Unilocal» so here I am!
If you’re going to partner with groupon, then honor the groupon rules… or have the rules on hand to show a customer he’s wrong if he is misunderstanding something!
Missy tried to make things right with a VIP voucher for future visits saying it was a better deal than the $ 3 groupon. Actually, it’s not because I’d have to buy two drinks and an entrée to get a free entrée instead of spending just $ 3 to get $ 10 worth of food. Regardless, it’s the principle of the matter not a lousy $ 3. Just be happy we tipped well on the original bill.
I hate when Unilocal reviews become rants, but they must be done!

The Fuego Tacos location in the Biltmore area is in a great area for me. I have only been to Fuego once and it was during happy hour. All the reviews I had read said to make sure you go to Fuego at happy hour to get the good deals so you are able to try a variety of dishes. And coincidentally enough, that’s what happened!
Instead of ordering one dish, I was able to order 4 (smaller portions) and try everything. I really enjoyed the pulled pork. This is more of a bar/​restaurant to come to after work for a nice margarita. I will definitely come back and try some more dishes.

I really love the food at all the Fuegos!
We finally had the Empanadas as an appetizer for lunch and they are to die for. I could really eat their empanadas all day (which is why there is no picture, it was gone before I thought to take one). I had the Short Rib Tacos and my friend had the same in a burrito. It is some of the best meat I have ever tasted. I’m not sure how they do it but the meat is magically melt in your mouth. The chips and salsa are also super delicious.
My only issue was that the waitress/​bartender was a bit abrupt and highly overworked. She was niceish when she actually was talking to us but that was a rare occurence. There was another girl walking around but I’m not sure what her function was because she didn’t really take any orders. She would clear plates and that’s it. It’s not a really large restaurant but the way it’s set up makes it difficult for 1 person to handle the bar and the tables.

First, I will start off with the positives, the décor is gripping. It’s not flashy or classy, it’s just a unique environment compared to the rest of its location, which I personally found relieving.
My first visit here was with my husband and grandparents. We ordered refreshing beverages and scrumptious tacos which were served promptly and at an acceptable temperature. All present were overly content with their meals (carne tacos, pernil asado tacos, breaded shrimp, and vegetarian tostadas) not to mention our server was so bubbly and friendly, however, I don’t think she was wearing a bra. No judgement, just an observation-​more power to ya, girly!
Overall, our first experience was worth 4 stars.
Twas when we returned for a second visit that things got ugly. Dark side ugly. The woman who served us was polite and talkative. That is, until we revealed that dreaded white piece of computer paper with a barcode on it. Yes, we were infact, dirty couponers!
The quality of the service did a complete 180. No lie, I observed this woman serve and mingle with two women in my line of sight with no qualms and seemingly absolute delight. When she returned to our table, she wiped that smile right off and replaced it with an indifferent smirk and uttered monotone fragments until the bill came.
What a shame. I really couldn’t imagine returning to Fuego tacos, which is unfortunate, because it had such an appealing ambiance. Attitude trumps décor, however, and I don’t want to try my hand at being a customer there again.

We ended up here by mistake. Yey! So glad we did.

First things first, Yum! Some of the best tacos I have ever had. So much flavor I couldn’t believe it.
We stopping in for dinner on a Tuesday night, very slow, only two other table in the place at the time. No biggie, its a tiny place so it wasn’t too loud. Didn’t get much of a smile or greeting when we walked in, the «waitress» (whom we found out was «just» the bartender) spoke in mumbles and I didn’t get that she was letting us pick our own table until she just started at us for a few seconds. Anyway, we got a nice table and started to look over the drink menus, we were brought chips and salsa, excellent salsa by the way! The bartender/​waitress continued the evening with little to no personality, asked if I knew what I wanted to drink, I said I wasn’t ready and she just walked away, didn’t even give my fiancé a chance to order. My exact words were «Their food better be awesome to make up for this poor service.»
Long story short, I hardly remember how wretched she was, the food was soooo good. Starting with the salsa I was impressed, the guac was very good as well, very fresh. I ordered the braised short rib tacos and he got the carne asada tacos, both amazing! So much flavor, just enough heat, and the rice and beans were good too, not an after thought like most Mexican style restaurants can make them.
Very very impressed with the food. But the service was meh at best. This woman not only had no personality, she didn’t seem to want to be there at all. I over heard her telling another table that she hadn’t even wanted to work there, at all, but her friend asked her for a favor so that is why she is there, and can tell us what she thinks is good but has no idea what is in anything. Really!!! Wow, can we say unprofessional? She needs an attitude adjustment or to just get the hell out of there.
But please don’t let that deter you, the food is great!!! The price is right (I think there is a groupon and a Unilocal deal still going on).
Oh one side note… the childlike handwritten notes in the front window… tacky! If you insist on having them there you should at least print them off the computer. But they are a little unnecessary anyway, we know we can only use one coupon per table.

Oh how I wish I had come here sooner. I don’t hand out 5 stars for restaurants very often, but Fuego deserves it, shoot they deserve 6 but there isn’t a way to do that.
We started with guacamole, it was perfect, slightly chunky, not overdone, just great avocados and perfectly seasoned.
For lunch I had the Pernil Asado tacos, scrumptious! They were served with the best rice and black beans ever made. My mom had the vegetarian tacos, and 6 hours later she is still going on about how great they were.
Our server, Alex, made the meal, she was so sweet and attentive, our chips were promptly refilled, our tea never ran out, it was a pleasure to be her customers, she was just that good!!!
I will be back as soon as I can get there!
I was also happy to here that the other Fuego restaurants have patio seating which is dog friendly (call ahead) so I can take my poochies with me when I visit the other location.

I was planning on grabbing a bite to eat after work with a friend, and thanks to some deals we read about, we came up with the idea of visiting Fuego Tacos. We were able to get there before Happy Hour ended (which, by the way, is from 2 – 6 PM Mondays through Saturdays). The restaurant was laid out very nicely with two stories of seating. Surprisingly, there were very few people in the restaurant at the time. The service was great; the waitress checked on us every few minutes.
Happy Hour deals included drink specials and $ 6 dishes. We ended up grabbing drinks and ordering an appetizer (guacamole, queso, and salsa) and then I got chicken tacos while my friend got a taco salad. Both dishes were good. In fact, I think we overdid it and ate too much though! There were buy one, get one free coupons in the Entertainment Book and Groupon deals (buy a $ 10 gift certificate for $ 3). One strange thing… apparently, the website (
) is no longer active.

My husband and I came to Fuego Tacos when they were having a special fixed menu and were pleasantly surprised. We both had a drink, an appetizer to share, our own entrees, and a dessert to share. For our drinks, I had this rum concoction that was both really fruity and strong. I really liked it! My husband had this ginger ale drink — like a dark and stormy. He wasn’t too impressed, but he didn’t come for the drinks anyway. For our appetizer, we had the empanadas — puff pastry with ground beef and cheese. I really liked these, but another miss in my husband’s eyes. For dinner, we each ordered a signature entrée — two tacos with rice and black beans. The black beans were lacking in flavor — no spices at all! However, the tacos were good. I ordered the pernil asado, which is pork with mango salsa. My husband ordered the short rib barbacoa, which had hints of pineapple and spice. While they are not the best tacos in the world, we enjoyed them. As our evening came to a close, our waitress forgot to bring our dessert out and we had to remind her that we ordered the churros. She quickly brought us out some. Again, not the best churros, but still cinnamony and sugary.
Our experience wasn’t bad, so we came back another time to enjoy dinner. This time the place wasn’t as packed as our first time here and the tacos tasted the same. Overall, it’s a decent place but parking is a hassle. If it was located somewhere else, we’d probably frequent it more often.

I FINALLY tried Fuego Tacos and I really really am a fan!
So here I was with a Unilocal deal and an upcoming national taco day. I do like I do and text some of the InstagramAZ honeys to meet me up at the esplinade for a mini sunset photo walk and an excuse to have some margartias.
What an amazing combo for a Ladies Night! First off the starter chips and salsa was bomb! BOOM! the salsa has like chipotle flavor, not runny but hearty like steak! hahaha! We also ordered a few Queso appetizers. Dang… Let me say we could have been fine with that and our margaritas.
Just kidding! Of course we all order food! Tacos galore and delicious! Seasoned to perfection and sided with really good rice and beans. I am super picky about my rice, ‘cuz you know, no one makes it like Nana used to. Not even moms. But I was really impressed! I am definitely coming back to this spotty and checking out all the other Fuego restaurants!
Oh! And they had no problem honouring my Unilocal deal. Over all a very pleasant experience!

I was really looking forward to giving Fuego Taco a try, so perhaps my expectations were too high, but my experience was lacking somehow… The Hubs, a friend, and I headed down to the esplanade to give Fuego Taco a whirl — we’ve been to Fuego Bistro a couple time and love it, so we figured we would also love the Taco version. First off, loved the inside of the restaurant. It’s very cosy feeling and almost log cabin like, but not really… just made me feel that way. We sat upstairs, which was a little odd feeling so close to the ceiling, but overall I liked the vibe.
As far as the food goes, it was OK. We liked the chips and salsa. I wasn’t a fan of my moscow mule adult beverage, but that could have been bad choosing on my behalf. I had one pork taco and one beef. Both were ok, but didn’t WOW me. Overall, I’d say I might go back if I’m in the area, but I won’t be craving a return visit.

(To the owner of Fuego Tacos: I am so sorry for doing this because I LOVE Fuego Bistro, it is one of my favorite restaurants in Phoenix!)
I don’t see this place lasting very long. Both times I have been here it has been pretty dead. The trance techno was blazing loud and the club atmosphere did not make for a enjoyable dining experience. I ordered the pernil asado and the short ribs barbacoa tacos. While Fuego Bistro has both on their menu, there must have been something lost in the translation at this location.
In addition to the teeny tiny portions of meat on my tacos, they were covered in a pound of cheese. The menu boasts an oaxacan cheese blend, I was expecting a light sprinkle, but instead I was given a pound of cold cheese. The chips were also stale, the only saving grace was the salsa, which was pretty delectable. I was underwhelmed with both the atmosphere and food. Perhaps if you are just dropping in for a quick bite between bars this is a go to spot, but for a sit down leisurely meal I would go elsewhere.

This place is hidden in the Esplanade. I never knew it existed until my Manager mentioned it for our team lunch. I am always across the street for lunch or dinners. And boy, I have been missing out!!!
I love the super contemporary and casual feel to the place. The music made me feel like I was in a nightclub (good tunes and mixes) but it does not suit everyone in our party. Oh well!
We were greeted immediately and sat upstairs. The place only had about 6 tables total during the lunch rush (not too good). The served free homemade chips and salsa. The chips are warm, fresh, and super super crisp. I love them. I didn’t even need salsa for the chips. They are AWESOME! The best chips I have ever had. Yes, EVER!
I love the simple menu. I opted out for the one of the specials, quesadilla with chicken street meat and cheese. The tortilla was just very good not just like a regular flour store brought kind, this sucka was fresh. The chicken street meat was the BOMB (slow roasted and braised with garlic clove, rosemary, and citrus juices). OMG, PARTY in my mouth! The rest of the party ordered the signature tacos and came with arroz gonulas and Cuban black beans. The arroz gondulas and Cuban black beans looked so good. Next time!
I am worried about the traffic this place gets, it is was not happen during lunch. And I am sure it is pretty quite at nights. Hang in there, I love your food.