Travis - Taco Tour stop #32 - El Patio Cafe - 424 E Central

One stop that has been on our list that we keep forgetting about is El Patio Cafe.  Well this week we decided to give it a shot.  It definitely looked promising because the parking lot was pretty full and there was a decent crowd inside.  By the way, if you happen to pass this place headed east, don't try to get in the back way unless you're prepared to go off-road.  (Oops).

It's small inside, but there is still plenty of seating.  Even though they appeared busy, we were greeted quickly with chips & salsa and their service didn't seem to lag.  Their menu was a little different but it was still possible to order a la carte tacos - so I went for a chicken taco, carne asada, and a "puffy taco" (explained below).

The chips and salsa were tasty and a nice little kick.  It seemed like the wait was appropriate for our food and when it arrived, I dug into the asada first.  It had the right amount of meat. The meat chunks were smallish so it made it easy to bite into the taco and not have to "rip off" a piece of meat.  However the meat was slightly chewy - although not problematic.  The flavor was decent.  It wasn't memorable but it was an acceptable taco.  There was a slight kick to the meat - which I was a fan of.

The chicken was tender and not dry like I've encountered with other chicken tacos.  It had plenty of shredded chicken in there and had a good flavor.  I would get this one again if we make it back here and it's one you should try.

The puffy taco is basically just a ground beef taco but in a deep fried flour shell that makes it sort of puffy.  It wasn't bad - but it wasn't exciting.  It had plenty of meat but honestly it's tasted like your average slightly bland ground beef taco.  There didn't seem to be any seasoning in the meat so nothing really worth mentioning here.  Add some salsa so it has some flavor if you go this route.  Some might like the "novelty" of the puffy taco, but personally I really didn't care one way or the other.

Overall, as much as we've heard about El Patio, there just wasn't anything memorable.  I'd put it middle of the road on our list.  If you're in the area, I don't think you'll hate it. But there are places worth the drive that I'll go to every time over this one.  Having said that, it ranks above the "bad places" for sure.  Service and value was fine and the place was clean. No complaints on that front.  I just can't find a specific reason that makes me compelled to come back...

Out of 5 stars, here are my rankings:

Food Taste:
Value:
Cleanliness:
Service:
Overall:
Likelihood to return: