Tacos del Norte - Penticton

Unfortunately I'm unable to comment on the food as my food after over an hour of waiting never came so I'll leave my review to everything else. My advice for Tacos Del Norte if you know there is going to be a long long wait for food PLEASE advise customers that there is a 1 hr wait for the food. Had they simply had enough common sense to do this my review would not have been so terrible. At about 45 min waiting I went in to ask where my order was they said it was coming and when I prodded for a time they simply ignored my simple request. The restaurant was not that busy, no lineups and the picnic tables were moderately full. Very strange. We ultimately ended up getting our money back as the the wait time had escalated to over an hour. We had a great lunch at Burger 55 where they preceded to tell upon ordering there would be a 20 min wait. Perfect! It ruined part of our day, my husband was furious and so was I. The other tables beside us also decided to get their money back as they too had been waiting for a long time for their order with no end in sight.

I asked if they had vegie tacos that were not spicy. For sure he said so he wrote down no spice! I get home and they were super spicy and not a great flavour. I tried the same tacos a few years ago and they were quite good. Very disappointing!

Reviews on this place seems to run the gamut. Its my perception that perhaps these taco's are good by Penticton standards, but compared to tacos in the Mexican taco stands in Washington state or Mexico itself, they are mediocre.It was nice to have the option of the special--tacos al pastor.My tortilla was quite dry. The fresh cilantro and wedge of lime helped add some freshness to the taco, but the flavors were overpowered by the very spicy "medium" sauce. And both the fish and pork tacos were messy to eat because of a thin liquid dripping out of them.The taco's were quite small for the price charged, but the service was friendly and efficient.This is primarily a take out place with seating for maybe 4-6 inside and several picnic tables outside.The washroom was also in need ot cleaning in particular with all the dirty hand marks near the door handle and adjacent wall. But it was close to closing time, so hopefully that was remedied by the next day.I think my taco dollars will continue to be spent outside Penticton.

Chill, cheap, fun, and above all, toothsome, Tacos del Norte's appeal is considerable. Ingredients are fresh, the preparation is thoughtful, the staff is extraordinarily hard-working, attentive, conscientious, and witty (who doesn't like some repartee with their tacos), and everything is made to order on the spot. Are tacos "fast food"; and what does "fast food" mean anyway? If "processed" and "formulaic" comes to mind, the kind of toxic fare that passes through chemical and mechanical intermediaries, then Tacos del Norte is decidedly not fast food. If "fast" preparation and lightening swift delivery to the mouth/esophagus/belly comes to mind, then Tacos del Norte may not (thankfully) perform such delivery. In our repeat visits to the yellow funkalicious shack that is Tacos del Norte, we had to wait more or less, depending on the size of the crowd clamouring for tacos. I reckon that the point of passing time in the Okanagan in summer is about slowing one's heart rate, no? When we waited for our tacos, we cooled our heels and throats with one of the excellent local craft beers available. Tacos del Norte is a simple delight, well run, excellent food, well sourced and well prepared, eminently reasonable prices, personable staff, cool and unpretentious. My recommendation: eat at Tacos del Norte and eat lots...

I can only hope the kitchen was having an off day. And hour plus wait for some mediocre tacos...never again! Plus mild isn't mild. And when serving chips, please don't use your hands after handling money...tongs or put the dish in the plastic bucket.