Papalote Taco House - Austin

We came by for lunch and really enjoyed it! The person at the counter was incredibly friendly, answering all of our questions about the menu. It was especially nice that since we weren’t familiar with the corn specialties, she not only described each of them, but also even brought out the tlacoyos, huaraches, and sope bases to visually show us what they were.The food arrived quickly and was delicious! The soft corn tacos were great, as was the tostadas de ceviche. We also enjoyed trying the cachete and lengua meats, based on the staff’s recommendation. The red and green salsa went well with the food too.

I really enjoyed the tacos really clean place too the breakfast tacos were good and the green sauce is amazing and yeah

Came here for a quick dinner on a Friday evening. They were pretty close to empty and we were able to order right away. Considering a lot of the ingredients are prepared fresh the tacos were served pretty quickly. I was attracted to visit here from the wide variety of unique taco options relative to what I've seen around town and my experience certainly lived up to that. I tried a turkey with sweet mole taco, pork with mole pipian taco, and a beef sope. The turkey with sweet mole immediately popped out to me as the most unusual taco option and I thought it tasted great! The meat was more rich and moist than you would expect from turkey, and the sweetness in the mole was subtle but you definitely notice it. The pork taco was also quite good, but was more distinct from other mole experiences than I expected. The chilles or seasoning used to make it a red mole were the most prominent part of the flavor and the richness from the mole was more in the background. I still liked it a lot, just different than I would have expected. The only downside with the tacos, and the reason I can't give them 5 stars, is they cost $4.20 when the size is more in line with what youd find for under 3$ at places of similar quality around town. The sope on the other hand was much more filling and my strongest recommendation if you are to give them a try. I had never tried before, but the fried corn dough as the base was fantastic, it almost reminded me of a mini ego waffle if it were made of corn. It's topped with pretty much everything you'd get from a standard taco here with a meat of your choice. In terms of bang for your buck, 2 of these cost much less than 3 tacos would and it's about as filling. Overall, I don't think you'll be dissapointed if they give them a try. However I wouldn't imagine this becoming part of my regular rotation if I lived in the area given its price relative to comprable options.

The good: My family and I were staying across the street and we wanted to try TexMex. The hibiscus agua fresca was large and delightful! I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't super sweetened the way most Jamaicas are. I tried four different tacos but ordered a total of 6-7 different types for my family to try. Each taco can be made with flour or corn tortilla. They gave a lot of different sauces on the side to accompany the taco. They also gave some taquitos even though I didn't order any. They have both indoor and outdoor dining and a private parking lot. The interior consists of small high tables that seat around 4 people. The bad: The fish in the fish taco tasted really fishy (yah, I know1 that's how fish tastes... but it was overly negatively fishy) and didn't seem fresh. A lot of the tacos would've been nice with an added acidic touch like lime or pickled onion. I placed an order online ahead of time but it wasn't ready in time. The cinnamon and raisin rice pudding tasted more like the cinnamon in Hot Tamales candy versus what this dessert normally tastes like. I didn't expect it to have that candy-like flavor and I found it to be unappetizing. I normally love cinnamon rice pudding! I also tried the plantain dessert with cream and cheese and thought the bananas tasted dehydrated and hard or raw. It's texture was chewy and hard and didn't have a lot of flavor to it. Many of the tacos have a lot of ingredients in them but were still on the bland side. The side sauces were definitely necessary to add the needed flavor and kick. The interesting: They serve daily dinner specials after 5PM. They have three locations in Austin.

Picked up some tacos to go. The tacos were very tiny for the price and the fillings were mediocre. I got the fried avocado and the avocado slice was small and not fried fully. Can get better value tacos at many other places in Austin.