Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Florida > Tampa Bay
 [Register]
Tampa Bay Tampa - St. Petersburg - Clearwater
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 08-25-2013, 12:02 PM
 
Location: The Northeast - hoping one day the Northwest!
1,107 posts, read 1,456,316 times
Reputation: 1012

Advertisements

One thing I've noticed about Tampa is the lack of good Mexican restaurants. I know they have to be out there - but I have been trouble finding them.

Sure yes it's a chain - but there is just something about On the Border I love. Maybe it's more Tex-Mex I believe. Although, the closest one is in W. Palm Beach. Too far just to go just for dinner! Plus they have empandas which I love - and I haven't found them anywhere else besides there.

My favorite dish to get when I go to a Mexican restaurant are fajitas, and I haven't found a restaurant in the Tampa area where I can get fajitas or tacos at a decent price too. Last night I went to Chili's for my fajita fix, and while it was good - I know there has to be better out there.

I tried Taco Bus - and I wasn't too impressed actually. It was only one time, so of course I will try them again, I'm just looking for a sit-down waiter atmosphere, so nothing like Moes or Tijuana Flats. Tijuana Flats is usually my to go to place for tacos here, especially on Taco Tuesday!

Suggestions please!

Last edited by Shorty458; 08-25-2013 at 12:20 PM.. Reason: typo
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 08-25-2013, 12:11 PM
 
14 posts, read 51,525 times
Reputation: 14
Shorty, we live in Dallas area and have GREAT Tex-Mex here. This is one thing wife says she's going to really miss when we move there. Great question and looking forward to replies as well.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-25-2013, 02:54 PM
 
1,024 posts, read 1,805,135 times
Reputation: 982
The one we think is the best is quite a drive. It's in Dade City, and it's called Pancho's Villa. It's totally worth the drive!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-25-2013, 04:07 PM
 
Location: N.H Gods Country
2,360 posts, read 5,257,781 times
Reputation: 2015
Quote:
Originally Posted by floridagirl777 View Post
The one we think is the best is quite a drive. It's in Dade City, and it's called Pancho's Villa. It's totally worth the drive!
There used to be a Pancho's Villa in San Antonio. Did they move?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-25-2013, 04:41 PM
 
Location: South Tampa
1,163 posts, read 2,105,287 times
Reputation: 1069
We thought the same when we moved down here, Mexican food isn't as abundant in the area as others. In South Carolina, every small town seems to have their own Mexican restaurant. Mexican restaurant prices are also higher down here.

For Mexican, we enjoy Chihuahua on S MacDill.

We also like Urban Cantina a lot for Tex Mex.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-25-2013, 04:58 PM
 
Location: South Tampa, Maui, Paris
4,511 posts, read 3,886,593 times
Reputation: 5384
The reason you are not impressed with the Mexican food options here is b/c they are not impressive. In fact, they are horrendous. My suggestion: Forget finding good Mex here and embrace the food that Tampa does well: Cuban, Italian, Greek, Soul Food, BBQ, etc.

And to the person moving here from Dallas: The Mexican food here will taste like (expensive) dog food compared to the Mexican food in Texas. Please see suggestion above. The closest thing you will find to Texas Mexican food is (Texas chain) Uncle Julio's in Boca Raton. That's where I go when it's been 6 months since I had a decent taco, and Tampa Bay has no options.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-25-2013, 07:40 PM
 
Location: Way up high
22,414 posts, read 29,548,164 times
Reputation: 31595
Vallartas on 54 in Land O Lakes. YUMO!!!!! We've been to numerous here in Denver and others in Tampa and they do not compare. There's 6 locations but the one on 54 is the best with their fajitas!!! Get the one that's big enough for two-$25
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-25-2013, 07:41 PM
 
323 posts, read 686,578 times
Reputation: 277
Yep, just make it yourself. Seriously. I don't get it, but there's nothing here as far as good Mexican food. I was excited to try "Burrito Bus Cantina" in Palm Harbor, but after seeing some of the reviews during it's first month open, I'm hesitant. We're going to try it, for sure, but I'm not getting my hopes up
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-25-2013, 07:53 PM
 
5,687 posts, read 7,211,203 times
Reputation: 4328
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken E View Post
There used to be a Pancho's Villa in San Antonio. Did they move?
I thought it was in San Antonio, too. I've been there, but it's been a while. However, if you're looking for Mexican in the Tampa Bay area, that's the place. Yes, it's a drive, but it's as good as it gets.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-25-2013, 08:00 PM
 
Location: Covington County, Alabama
259,024 posts, read 90,765,054 times
Reputation: 138568
Not that far from Tampa in Plant City is Peso's.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2022 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Florida > Tampa Bay

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top