You’re an adult now, which means it’s no longer acceptable to eat tacos from Taco Bell. Hey, I didn’t make the rules, but if you love both tacos and your digestive system, and are new to Waterloo, you should probably check out these places for the best tacos in K-W.
Taco Farm
Taco farm is great. They have a wide variety of taco options such as fried fish, carnitas and pork belly. They also have arguably the best guacamole in the area, served with super tasty homemade tortilla chips. I’ve been to Taco Farm several times and their tacos are probably the most authentic in the city. They’re served on small corn tortillas with fresh ingredients like corn, cheese and cilantro. My only complaint is that what you order is sometimes inconsistent. I’ve experienced cold tacos, hot tacos, saucy tacos, dry tacos and inconsistent portion sizes. That said, when you get a good one, it can be a glorious experience.
Ethel’s
If you’re new to Waterloo, you need to know what Ethel’s is. Ethel’s is the definition of dive bar and it’s fantastic. Every Tuesday, Ethel’s serves up four hard shell tacos for two dollars, with the purchase of a drink. These tacos are nothing special; they’re literally just shell, meat, cheese and lettuce with your choice of salsa, guac or sour cream.
The key to why these are so awesome is both price and familiarity. They’re so darn cheap and so basic, which is why Ethel’s is packed every Tuesday night. I don’t know anywhere else in Waterloo where your meal is cheaper than beer.
Beertown
Beertown has a taco trio on their menu, which is actually a pretty tasty dish. Beertown doesn’t specialize in Mexican cuisine, which generally leaves the assumption that anything Mexican they do will be crap, but these tacos are actually my favourite thing on their menu.
You get three different tacos: fish, pork and brisket and a kick ass hot sauce.
Because this isn’t a Mexican restaurant, they also throw a side of French fries in there, too, which doesn’t totally make sense, but hey, I’d never say no to a side of fries.
These tacos are fresh (depending on location), filling and will satisfy that Mexican craving you have when all your friends don’t want to go to a Mexican place with you.
West of Seoul
With K-W’s food truck scene becoming more and more popular, West of Seoul is a truck you should keep an eye out for when walking through the streets of Waterloo. The only thing about this truck is that they have a rotating menu, so I can’t guarantee that they’ll always have the tacos that I had. When I went, I ordered a Japa Dog, which was a very strange hot-dog-meets-sushi combo but my friend got the pork tacos.
I didn’t like the Japa Dog, but when I had a bite of my friend’s tacos, I immediately regretted not ordering them.
The sauce and red cabbage were an awesome addition to the pork. They take an Asian approach to tacos, as opposed to Mexican, but it works. If you ever come across this truck, stick to the tacos-
I believe them to be their hottest item.
