Taco Bamba

TL;DR — Delicious tacos, very meaty, a tad expensive.
If you prefer quality over quantity, then Taco Bamba is the place for you. Consider their tacos as «tacos with a major upgrade.» Be adventurous and order from their seasonal menu instead of the standard carne asada, tinga (chicken), and barbacoa set. I recommend anything with shrimp, octopus, tripe, and charred guacamole from their seasonal menu. Be forewarned that the tripe tacos can be extremely greasy.
As far as price goes, I always leave feeling like I just splurged on my meal. Three tacos and a bottled drink shouldn’t cost ~$ 15, but these are upscale tacos so it makes sense.
The interior space leaves much to be desired. It’s a small space with bar seating and a few patio tables outside, so this place is predominantly for carry-​out orders. I hear they have plans to build a few new locations in the area, so I’m hoping those new spaces will accommodate larger parties. A spacious Taco Bamba patio would make for the perfect summer night.

Wow! Every time we get Taco Bamba I am impressed all over again – and I’m comparing this place to Mexican food in California and Texas. This is super improved street food. Every taco is interesting and fantastic – even the El Gringo! Tortas are huge but make sure to eat them right away – they do not reheat well. Also, they aren’t joking about people stealing the salsa – it’s that good and can be fiery hot! Downside is only limited seating but who cares when the Tacos are this great! Try them all.

The Tacos Tradicionales are tasty. but the Tacos Nuestros, now that’s where it’s at. My husband and I unfortunately only ordered 5 tacos to share (I thought I ordered 6!)
Carne Asada — Classic and tasty
Birria — Not too gamey
Lengua — better than when I tried to make Beef Tongue
Taco Bamba — my favorite!!!
Camaron Diabla — the shrimp was well seasoned
I would advise to go for the Nuestros tacos since they are only $ 1 more but there is so much more that comes with those! All of the sauces on the side are delicious too. I wish there were little condiment cups when i was there. it just had to slop down the sauces into my little taco plate things because they didn’t have any… I didn’t want to put them on prematurely as I didn’t want soggy tacos. either way, the flavor was on point. Definitly going back.

Anyone who gives this less than 4 stars, either had a strange encounter or is a super picky person who can’t be pleased. This place is GREAT!
I only wish there were a way to scale the spice of each taco. I got one that had too much of a bite I couldn’t finish it and it crushed me. So delicious!

This taco joint was difficult to find at first, but I was glad we found it. I enjoyed the speciality tacos they have here. I would definitely come back and try other tacos. You can never go wrong with beef tongue. That is my favorite meat on tacos.

Thursday, 8:30 PM.
Quickie:
+ Food quality
+ Hygiene
* Customer service
+ Turnaround
— Menu variety
And then???
Their breakfast offerings look legit.
**********
Stuffed my face in:
1. Taco Bamba
+ Grilled avocado balanced the tender steak and chorizo.
2. Salsas
+ Distinct options (mild, medium, and spicy) with freshness.
Constructive comments:
*Source ingredients
*Compost options

This place is nothing short of stellar! My husband and I visited on a busy Saturday night. We ordered chillaquilles, a spicy mushroom taco and the corn. With two bottled waters, the bill came to only $ 18! To top it off, this was too much food to finish.
Forget that it was an absolute bargain! Everything was delicious!!! I adore eating Mexican food that doesn’t need added hot sauce. The mushroom taco brought the spice and the rich crema on the chillaquilles cooled the heat. That corn was salty, juicy, cheesy heaven.
Taco Bamba is very casual with counter ordering and quick service. Both of which, I love! Give this place a try if you haven’t. Superb on all fronts.

4.5 — 5 for food and 3 for atmosphere.
Been wanting to try this place for a while and came on a busy weekend lunch time. I’m told it’s always busy. There’s a bit of hovering around waiting for people to leave along the wall seating. It’s not a date place and unfortunately there were a few couples just lingering around chatting.
Everyone was satisfied with their tacos and they are the best I’ve had in the area. I tried the Taco Bamba — highly recommended and the al pastor. Both were excellent. Everyone enjoyed their tacos including carne asada and chorizo. I liked their hot sauce bar too. There’s a standard taco menu and also more creative choices too. Highly recommended if you like tacos!

French fries in a taco?! Yes please! Taco Bamba has been on my list of restaurants to try for a while now and I’m so happy I finally did. I knew I could trust this place when I saw Valentina hot sauce (tabasco is for amateurs!) and the ‘f*** burritos’ t shirt on the wall.
The tacos were out of this world. Certainly the best I’ve had in the DMV. My sister and I each tried the same three tacos — la bamba, la poutine and el gringo. We both loved each one! The tortillas in the gringo taco were held together by melted cheese… so delicious. The chorizo in the taco bamba has a kick to it but if you don’t mind spicy, it’s definitely a must-​try.
Two tacos never seem like enough, but these babies are huge. Can’t wait to come back and try more of their creative flavors!

I’ve eaten here so many times I felt like I should give them a review. They miss the 5 star mark just because I only like one specialty taco they make. Their other tacos are just okay. But the «TNT Taco» is so good that I keep coming back for more.
TNT TACO — It is not listed on the menu anymore so it’s their best kept secret. It has beef tongue and crispy intestines. Now don’t let the word tongue and intestines scare you! The beef tastes like soft, slow-​cooked beef and the crispy intestines aren’t gamy at all and gives it a porky crunch! SO GOOD! I always order it with a flour tortilla instead of corn because it tastes better in my opinion. I also love their elote (corn on the cob seasoned with cheese and spices).
Make sure to try these, you won’t regret it!

As a native Californian, THIS is the taco shop I’ve been searching for on the East coast. EXCELLENT tacos, exactly as I’d expect at any *good* Southern California Mexican taco shop.
Great tacos. My fav is Al Pastor, but they have plenty of options.
I didn’t love the tamale — it was dry and lacked flavor. Guacamole is pricey (makes sense, this is not avocado-​land). You need to ask for a cup to put your salsa in.
Don’t plan to eat-​in, unless you’re coming at an off-​peak time and you don’t mind sitting in metal seats at a bar along a wall. Line out the door is very likely, but the tacos are worth the wait.

WHAT??? How is this place so amazing! They’ve done things with Tacos that I’ve never seen before. This must be illegal! Get their signature taco. It’s wonderful. Wait, so is everything else! Do whatever you want I guess — follow your heart.
Seating can be tricky since it’s a small place and most of the seats are at bars along the wall. I can deal with it but maybe your 90 year-​old grandma will be uncomfortable.

If you’re looking for an exceptionally hand crafted taco experience, this is it. Everything about this shop screams adventure and authenticity.
Try traditional taco options such as barbacoa, carnitas, etc, or get fancy and try some spicy goat or beef tongue. I’ve heard the latter is delicious. I will continue to take everyone else’s word of mouth on it.
I had the Carne Asada and the Beef cheek tacos, and they were generous portions that were elegantly prepared. These are closer to bistro style/​show tacos than something from a taco truck, as you can see from the pictures posted here. Meat was flavorful, and the sauces provide a custom taste to suit your fancy, along with an appropriate level of heat.
REALLY fun decour, with crazy color schemes and 90’s alt rock blaring on the speakers. There isn’t an awful lot of seating to be had indoors, but there’s a nice little outdoor patio that should work exceptionally well on warm summer evenings.
All in all, GREAT tacos places are hard to find in the DMV, and Taco Bamba is as good as i’ve found. Would definitely come back, when i’m local.

Taco Bamba = Delicious Taco (loose translation).
Loved my first visit and will be adding Taco Bamba to the official rotation effective immediately.
Super fun, low key vibe and even more excellent tacos. Deducted one star because of the limited seating (although it kind of adds to the vibe) and because a few of the tacos lacked enough seasoning.
The camaron (spicy shrimp) was far and away my favorite taco. I am already dreaming of my next visit in which I will double down on my camaron order. The Black Pearl (beer battered tilapia) was ok. The slaw and toppings were good but the batter tasted burnt and the taco itself wasn’t super flavorful.
My husband got a bunch of the basic meaty ones and the goat was his favorite.
Definitely with making a trip out for some sweet delicious tacos!

Loved this place! I am from CA and recently moved to the DMV area and have yet to find a good taco place. I deem this a good taco place! I had one of each — a suadero (brisket), carne asada and al pastor taco. For $ 3 the portion of meat given is really good and all of their meats were well done and well seasoned. The suadero was a little bit on the salty side, but overall, all of the tacos were extremely flavorful and juicy! The al pastor was my favorite, it good balance of pineapple in the taco, not too overbearing and not just one tiny slice of pineapple.
I am a fan of traditional tacos, but they also had a really impressive menu of fusion tacos with a lot of seafood options that I am definitely going to explore when I go again.
A big plus: the four salsas they offered at their salsa bar were also really good– spicy and delicious! You have to ask for the little salsa dishes however, as opposed to them setting it out, so that’s one thing I would change!
Overall ⁴⁄₅: clean, upbeat place with delicious tacos-​as a Californian, so far these are the closest to home I’ve found yet!

Mexican street food with distinctive flair. My pozole roja was a bit too salty, but still very savory. The pork tamales was excellent. Though I would like to have a bit of fatback in it instead of all lean meat. The ‘la poutina’ is a delicious take on the Québécois signature dish. The El Bisu taco has some great flavors but I think the beef tongue was over cooked. I also think the selection of salsas was missing a more smokey chipotle hot sauce like El Yucateco that would complement most of the fares instead of the current offered salsas that tend to have too much sour or tart that mask the subtle flavors of the fares.
updated: they do carry the El Yucateco salsa on hand. It’s a very good smokey complement to the savory fares. The iberica ham taco are also outstanding as is their short rib taco.

Tacos? Yes please!
I took a self-​proclaimed taco snob (from california) here to verify the legitimacy of the tacos and she was pleasantly surprised. We came here after shopping (getting lost) inside Tyson’s Corner Mall for 5 hours and were super hungry. We decided to play it safe and order 6 tacos (3 each), always with the option of ordering more.
Note — Regular tacos are $ 3 and specialty tacos are $ 4. So 6 tacos will set you down ~$ 20. However 3 tacos filled me up quite nicely :)
Seating is bar style which is great for one or two people, however if you have more and want to start a conversation, you’ll probably have to shout as it’s pretty loud inside. There’s a small salsa bar near the front of the store. Ask for a mini cup, otherwise you’ll have to dump the salsa into your plate.
What we ordered:
+Black Pearl (Fried Tilapia, Spicy Coleslaw, Black Aioli) — Fish tacos = BAE. What was a pleasant surprise that wasn’t mentioned in the ingredients was the addition of an avocado slice
+Camaron (Spicy Shrimp, Cilantro Rice, Poblano Sauce) — Shrimp tacos = 2^nd BAE. The shrimp was seasoned very well and complimented really nicely with the rice. Grab an extra napkin as this one tends to get messy while eating.
–La Poutina (Fries, Barbacoa Jus, Spicy Mayo, Escabeche Onions, Cotija Cheese, Bacon) — Wasn’t the biggest fan of this. It was essentially a bunch of fries wrapped between two corn tortillas.
+Al Pastor (Pork and Pineapple) — I love pork and I love pineapple. This is a must get: simple yet aromatic
+Carne Asada (Grilled Beef) — Classic, this is the OG of tacos #godfathertaco.
Note — there are no flour tortillas here to be substituted, only corn. But you get 2 corn tortillas for every taco!
All in all, I’d give this place a taco emoji, thumbs up emoji, and salsa dancing lady emoji.

I went here after craving legit tacos (I’m from CA and you cannot find legit Mexican food anywhere in the DMV). I ordered the spicy shroom taco, taco bamba, the black pearl taco, and the Mexican street corn. All very good. The spicy shroom taco is very spicy (had to drink a beer after that one).
The reason why I am giving this place 3 stars is because of the attitude of the cashier. She acted I was annoying her by being there and being a customer. I had to ask her 4 times if I get salsa to go.

Taco Bamba, I love you, but you gotta step up your drink game!
I’ve stopped getting the horchata because every time it’s bottom of the barrel cinnamon sludge and the other day I got a cup of Jamaica and I’m pretty sure it was straight hibiscus juice concentrate (great, I can reconstitute it into a pitcher of Jamaica, but I can’t gulp it down in my car)!!!

Am I the only one who thinks this place is hit or miss? My opinion wanes with every visit.
I’ve ordered pretty much everything off the menu, besides the tortas. Initially I was thrilled to find a semi-​fancy taqueria (let’s all be honest here, most taquerias we venture to are the worst hole-​in-​the-​walls known to man). Fancy ingredients, and basic ones, used in a fresh new way. While Taco Bamba definitely isn’t authentic, it also isn’t Chipotle or District Taco in terms of selection. The menu is established as a «as is,» «no substitutes» type of deal (which I’m totally fine with because it eliminates the tedious task of guess work for me).
So the tacos, articulated in a fresh and intriguing way, are hand crafted at the open station behind the counter. Seriously, I’ve never seen tacos made so meticulously in my life. I’m sure the preparers are told to put «just enough» of the ingredients on to shells. I don’t think I’ve seen any cooks crack a smile, just very intentional stares at the food they prepare (weird, but ok).
Every taco has some interesting name as an attraction. They sound elaborate, but really they’re just basic tacos. In terms of meat selections, I typically eat everything, so I’ve had different variations of their beef, pork, chicken (basics), tongue, tripe, and whatever devastatingly fatty meats they have available. Sometimes the meat is tender, other times it’s not. Sometimes the meat has a lot of moisture, sometimes it doesn’t (you already know my opinion about that «almost» factor).
I foolishly (please don’t be like me) order the specialty tacos… lured in by the arrangement of ingredients, but don’t do it! Stick to the regular tacos, because it’s not worth it. If you think you’re getting tacos that taste better, I mean at least three notches about the specialty tacos, you’re wrong. And at $ 4−5/taco, it could be an irritatingly costly choice.
The last time I visited Taco Bamba, I ended up tossing half of my meal away due to dissatisfaction. On this occasion, I purchased a cup of their pozole, which didn’t come with any traditional toppings and was gritty.
Yea, I’m pretty over it, and since I’m rarely in the area, I figured that would be my last time before I reviewed and waited a while to go back.
Notes:
–Stick with the regular tacos
–Elote is pretty good, just make sure they put enough cream on the cob
–Save your money on the pozole

Para comer Taco Bamba
Para comer Taco Bamba
Se necessita una poca de gracia
Una poca de gracia
Unfortunately, I had a hard time being graceful while eating these tacos because they were overflowing with meats, vegetables, and (self-​applied) sauces. I am salivating as I recall last night’s dinner. Even though I was born and raised in Arlington, I still consider San Diego (and maybe Westminster, too) my pseudo-​hometown. Most of my paternal family is there and I visit quite often. Visiting often means becoming very familiar with quality Mexican food that is also on the cheap ($ 2 adobada tacos with grilled scallions, anyone?). Unfortunately, the reality is I am from an area that is not exactly known for great Mexican food — El Salvadorean, Peruvian, and Bolivian maybe, but not Mexican. My most favorite taqueria is an underground operation in Columbia Heights, so that speaks volumes about the availability of authentic Mexican cuisine. For convenience, I go to Tacos El Costalilla for my taco fix, but I am always searching for better.
Taco Bamba is located behind the shopping center housing Whole Foods (off Pimmit Drive). Parking is easy to find. They open until 10 P.M. on weekdays and considering I came at 9:30, I would say the service and quality of my food were on point. There are three large chalkboards on the wall that serve as menus; you place your order with the cashier and then wait for your food. There are unlimited pre-​packaged lime wedges, julienned radishes, and salsas (tomatillo, traditional fire-​roasted, and chipotle cream) in addition to eating utensils near the door. Very clean and organized — these are adjectives I cannot use to describe most no-​frills Latin American establishments.
Tacos ordered were the El Beso ($ 4, crispy pork, beef tongue, charred scallions, chili aioli), Taco Bamba ($ 4, skirt steak, chorizo, grilled guacamole, chicharrones), Black Pearl ($ 4, fried tilapia, spicy coleslaw, black aioli, sliced avocado), and carnitas taco ($ 3, or 3 for $ 8). Street/​fast food tacos are generally $ 3 tops in the DMV (still pricey compared to SoCal tacos, but you gotta eat), so I would say Taco Bamba is overpricing their tacos. They have every right to, though, considering the lack of competition. Fortunately, the quality definitely compensates. Each taco was delicious with its own flavor profile due to the different grilled vegetables and sauces. I added radishes and a little of all three salsas to my tacos and would recommend you do the same for ultimate flavor. The meats were very, very tender. El Beso and Taco Bamba were the stars of the night because the meats were properly seasoned and there was great textural contrast. Black Pearl came in a close second; it had crunch from the fish, creaminess from the avocado slices, and tanginess from the added salsa. My only gripe was it lacked proper seasoning on the fish. I ordered the carnitas taco as a control, if you will, but won’t do that again.
I am very curious about the elote (grilled corn coated with butter, mayo, lime juice, cotija cheese, and chili powder) and spicy shroom taco and will try those offerings next time. Great job, Taco Bamba, but please don’t gradually raise those prices!