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| - Had an old friend back in town so we figured give Coastal Taco a try. Got there about 12:30pm on a Tuesday, pretty good lunch crowd and happy to see that on Tuesday they have a selection of tacos for $2 each until 8pm. The decor is very nice, with lots of white and a bit more upscale then I would expect from the outside of the building. Seated out on the patio with a great view of the river and the West Bank, hard to beat the view.
Ordering is interesting since you have a check sheet for the whole table, but unlike Barrio or Happy Dog, you don't have the option to customize each item. We ended up ordering one of each of the $2 tacos plus a couple of sides. Service was good, but nothing special with a casual vibe.
We started with the side of chips with the roasted tomato salsa; a bit surprising that the chips are 5 good sized fried corn tortillas and a small portion of the salsa. The good news is that the tortillas are tasty and the salsa was excellent with a bit of acidity and a nice punch of heat. The side portion of black beans was better sized and very tasty with a good body and a very satisfying amount of umami.
The tacos come out all on a single tray, they are pretty little gems, well composed with quality ingredients. All of the tacos come on a small soft corn tortilla, the size is such that you get 3-4 bites for each taco. The mahi mahi taco was a nice balance with small pieces of fish mixed with the corn salsa. The portabella taco was packed with well cooked mushrooms with the other items in the taco not making much of an impact. My friend liked his chicken tinga and carnitas tacos. We both were a bit disappointed with the crispy shrimp tacos; the batter was a bit too thick and overwhelmed the shrimp, the best part of the tacos was the cucumber slaw.
If you are going to Coastal tacos, expect well prepared high quality food, with rather small portions delivered in one of the most scenic locations in the city. If you can get there on a Tuesday before 8pm, you can try some of the tacos at a more affordable price. If you are looking for cheap food or to customize your tacos, this is probably not the place, you will do better at Barrio. What Coastal Taco does provide is a fun and reasonably priced option with a great view. Go with reasonable expectations and you should have a good time.
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