Restaurant Review: Tacos Tampa/Taqueria Monterrey #2

The owner of the Taco Bus and Taqueria Monterrey, Rene Valenzuela, has done it again with Tacos Tampa/Taqueria Monterrey #2 (2320 E Fletcher Ave, Tampa FL 33612), just opened in the USF area of Tampa. This is the third restaurant in the Taqueria/TacoBus group and it continues to provide good food at a good price.

The new facility has only been open a few days and already it is very busy. I went in during lunch time on Friday and there were people filling most every table, with others coming and going quickly.

Like it’s predecessor, #2 makes all of their shells fresh as you order them. They roll up the balls of dough, spread them and cook them in front of you behind a glass counter. You can really taste this freshness in the meal, and having hot shells makes everything else taste great.

The ingredients are fresh, as I’ve come to expect. They cut vegetables and prepare meets as needed, not pulled from the refrigerator in prepared bins. It tastes very much like home cooking in every bite. They also have all of my favorites from #1, including the Pastor. I recommend the Plate, as you simply won’t be able to get enough of this great tasting dish.

Guacamole is made fresh as well, and I can easily appreciate this painstaking and time consuming activity. It’s left chunky, with a bit of lime and spice to it but still leaving the avocado as the star. You could easily fill yourself up on guac and chips if you’re not careful. It’s that easy to get carried away with it.

The salsa bar, shown here only partially full as they were changing out vegetables for fresher ones, really adds another component to the value of Monterrey. The food is already value priced (around $10 or less to get full here), but you have open access to more vegetables and salsas as well. I often find myself going back just to the toppings bar to try everything, as there are over a dozen options here worth exploring.

I definitely can’t recommend Monterrey #2 enough, just as I couldn’t with Monterrey #1. If you want quality authentic Mexican Cuisine at a value price with high quality and fresh ingredients, you’d be hard pressed to find it anywhere else outside of our neighbors to the south.

DISCLOSURE: I designed the website, just like I did with the Taco Bus and the original Monterrey. As I have stated publicly before, I love their food and stand behind it as if it was my own restaurant. I wouldn’t have taken the design job if I didn’t!

Related posts:

1. Restaurant Review: Taqueria Monterrey
2. Restaurant Review: Taqueria Mi Mexico
3. Restaurant Review: Venezia Pizzeria and Restaurant
4. Restaurant Review: Mema’s Alaskan Tacos
5. Restaurant Review: El Taconazo / The Taco Bus
6. Restaurant Review: Algusto Tortilla and Salsa
7. Taco Bus now open to extended hours Thursday through Saturday
8. Restaurant Review: Paisanos Pizza N Pasta
9. Restaurant Review: Checkers goes for bigger value, lower prices
10. Restaurant Review: Los Tucanes Mexican Food