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| - Life sized murals of Rembrandts line the walls in this high ceilinged church turned restaurant. The stained glass inspires one to an earlier age of divine purpose with quotes such as "love...in deed and in truth." At the center hangs a massive gothic wrought- iron chandelier with candles (LeD). You will find many more like them throughout. The two large communal tables also feature gothic candelabra center pieces, giving the place the same ambiance and feel of a Guild Hall from the 1600s. Lighting is low and alluring, noise level one you would expect at a gastropub. On a Tuesday night the place was very busy, which says a lot about an establishment.
Very impressed with the bartenders, so skilled at their craft and knowledgable about the menu.
Ambiance and decor I give this place 4 stars.
Service and Staff: 4 stars.
Food is sadly only 3 stars, and here is why.
First off, the drinks are amazing! Great craft cocktail menu overall as well as many local beers on draft such as Cartel, Papago, Four peaks and San tan.
The Blushing señorita was my favorite! Coppola rosso, hangar one berry vodka, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries. Order it as the Virgin Senorita for a fabulous non-alcoholic cocktail.
We ordered the The Duo Guild which is one small portion each of their guacamole and the queso.
Upon a recommendation, we ordered the Guac with the jalapeño bacon. Sadly all we could taste was bacon, and I personally feel that bacon has no place in Guacamole, unless you don't like the taste and texture of Avocados. So, the bartender happily switched out our order and gave us the traditional Guac instead. It essentially tasted like smashed avocadoes, and lacked any specific flavor or spice level. You get spoiled when you have Guacamole at places like the "Mission", so we were very unimpressed. The Queso was unremarkable, it virtually tasted like the Nacho cheese you get at the movie theater.
Next came the House salad with cilantro dressing. While the creamy and flavorful cilantro dressing is delicious, the lettuce had all the appeal of a cheap bag of iceberg in a bag at the grocery store, and the sliced avocados on top did not help much.
The side of Corn off the cob grilled in jalapeño butter was a side we ordered along with our three tacos, but aside from a little heat at the end also remained uninspired.
This restaurant being called "Taco Guild", I was ready to be wowed and to find some divine inspiration in one of my favorite comfort foods. We sampled the Al pastor, the taco, cherry steak, and lamb.
Al Pastor: Grilled pineapple, jalapeño bacon, pickled red onion. Least favorite. When you have been in the south of Mexico and noshed on an Al Pastor from a street vendor, with merely the flavor of the succulent and marinated meat and fresh cilantro and a squirt of lime - you get disappointed when every restaurant wants to add pineapple and weird pickled onions or essentially just distract you from the fact that the meat itself isn't all that great. So, no bueno on this one.
The Cherry Steak Taco. Crispy poblano onion straws, chile aïoli, bleu cheese. Awesome! And then just a bit strange. Disclaimer: I love bleu cheese, and it pairs well with a good cut of meat. Add the onion straws and a little kick of chili and it's a very good combination - but it doesnt really taste like a taco but a steak wrap. Completely americanized taco, in my opinion not a good choice for the taco purist.
The Molida Lamb taco. Creole aïoli, bleu cheese, sweet potato hay. Again, same interesting combination as above, but I don't think lamb works with bleu cheese or creole seasonings. My tastebuds prefer mediterranean combinations. This would have been great with a garlic tzatziki instead of bleu cheese.
I would definitely come back here for cocktails and socializing, the salsa and chips are excellent, and I would possibly sample other items on the menu - but when I have a Taco craving I would rather venture to Joyride or basically any authentic Mexican taqueria where I know what to expect and pay $1-2 instead of $3-$5 for a taco that isn't really a taco.
Please add fresh cilantro to all your dishes. I believe I spotted some, but it looked wet and tired and I tasted none of it.
Kudos to your incredible house hot sauces. We loved all three, in mild medium and hot. Mild is a green jalapeño which burns a tad at the end but delicious.
Spicy, the habanero chili, is amazing!!! Medium is Chili Pequin (chile de Arbol, chili Pequin, tomato sauce, garlic, salt, white vinegar, agave nectar).
The chefs may be hesitant to kick the food up a notch, but I want to be the biggest fan of this place, as I love the space and the staff and the entire concept. Just adding fresh cilantro and limes to the tacos, and maybe offering some more simple tacos for us purists, would create some enlightenment.
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