Taqueria El Buen Pastor

Just tacos, not too satisfy with the amount of meat for the price. Come with a grill jalapeño and caramelized onions which were freaking cold. I think tacos el compita are much better and cheaper!

«At the centre of it all, at the centre of it all
«Your eyes, your eyes
«Ah-​ah-​ah»
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In A Sentence™
Good tacos!
Quick Review™
+ Open late; 2 $ chicken and chorizo tacos; 2.50 $ carnitas and al pastor tacos; and, a superbly convenient location along US-​95.
— Flan is alright. Just alright.
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You’ve got your tacos, and then you have everything else. I come here for tacos, and although I appreciate that they have Jericalla (flancito) (unlike their original downtown truck), it is a tad steeply priced at 3.50 $ a serving when Los Antojos [
gives you a plate the size of your goddamn head for that price (and their flan is actually good). Of course that is across town, so … ‘drive or quit complaining, Edwin P.!’
Although … there is a cute employee here. I am honest enough to admit that this fact probably accounts for more than half of my patronage. (Check check-​ins.) You see: I am an honest creep. The last honest creep.
Tacos de pollo: 2 $ más impuestos.
Postres: 3.50 $ más impuestos.
My whole life I have been paying impuestos. Waiting for the day when I can pay less impuestos and they hit up the dirty Romneys instead for all the years they have cheated society. I digress.
Pro Tip:
You have to pay with cash if it’s less than 10 $. Not unheard of when it comes to taco stands; however, this is restaurant with storefront. Bit weird.
Superfluous Note:
Maximum room capacity 59.
Pro Tip:
They make some good stuff, you know. Skip the flan.
The location is somewhat hard to miss because they don’t have large (or any, really) signage besides one small vinyl that cannot be the largest size that the County Commission permitted. Don’t know. Use your GPS (or ask a Mexican).
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Tourists
No tourists here. None. Zero.
Kids
Good for kids, if they’re Latino.
Dogs
Not allowed, unless service animals.
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Rating: Three-​stars, «A-​OK.»

I was really thrown off by this place during my first visit… So maybe tmi– but I had been out running errands all day, and I was hungry and had to tinkle… So I stopped in this taqueria. I’m guessing they’ve had problems with «wanderers» trying to use the bano… There’s a sign on the door that says restrooms are for customers only. Well, they denied it to me even after I bought food. Whatever. The food was pretty good. They have a salsa bar which is clean and fresh. I came back a second time to try different items. Chicken is a bit salty.

The food was delicious. I’m a
Cali and these tacos were the real deal! Pastor tacos with pineapples cut off the stand are addictive! Carne Asada tacos were also also very tasty! Next time I need to try the burritos.
If you don’t enjoy their food you don’t know what real mexican food should taste like. Super satisfying and I highly recommend them.

Eh… this new place that took over what used to be a Wendy’s is average. Just average.
Wifey took us here after her co-​workers raved how good their food was. We decided to stop by one Friday night for a quick dinner. It was less than what I expected. Most of her co-​workers are Mexican! No joke.
You enter Taqueria El Buen Pastor and it’s just confusing where to go. You look straight back and there you see the counter where your order is cooked. But the cashier station is all the way on the left side? Weird. Second thing that really bothered me? The damn pricing! Is this upscale Mexican food? I was hoping for more rustic like a good tiny taco shop or even a Roberto’s. But this place charges you an arm & a leg for an entrée. It’s cheaper (and probably just as good) as the eatery in Cardenas Market right across the street! But I digress.
After looking at the menu, which is basically plastered all over their walls in no good arrangement, we placed our order. We had:
*Burrito Al Pastor ($ 8!)
*Carne Asada Nachos ($ 10.50!)
*Cheese Quesadilla ($ 5.50!)
I place the ‘!’ as definitely an exclamation. Prices be rising! Unfortunately I cannot condone the quality for the prices.
The salsa bar on the opposite side of the cashier was OK, stocked with the usual pickled carrots, cucumbers, radishes, and salsas. Veggies were a bit limp, the carrots didn’t have enough time to pickle properly so they were weak. And their salsas? Ugh, they weren’t so tasty. Salt, guys?
Burrito Al Pastor was really lackluster. It was small first of all, and when I cut it open there was nothing to be excited about. This burrito was gloomy! Al pastor, rice, beans, some cheese. So plain. No even a little color with some fresh salsa inside. It tasted kinda plain too. The al pastor was light on flavor — not much spice on my tongue, or much sweet from pineapple that should be in there. Pretty disappointing.
Cheese Quesadilla? For over $ 5? Better be damn good! And it really wasn’t. It was a tortilla. Filled with bland cheese. Then put on the grill to brown. How hard can it be to make this? And why does this particular one cost so much? Nothing special. I could have easily made a quesadilla better than this one for much less. Hell, Del Taco makes a better cheese quesadilla. Maybe even Napoleon Dynamite too.
The somewhat saving grace of this place was the Carne Asada Nachos. Chips were hot & crispy, carne asada was crisp. There was even color in the form of fresh salsa (with a TON of red onions) & guacamole. But even this dish wasn’t perfect. Nachos should have cheese! Lots of cheese! This one was skimpy on the cheese. And for damn near $ 11? The platter should have been BIGGER! Could barely feed the 3 of us. With more cheese and more chips this would have been a winner.
Taqueria El Buen Pastor is not a winner overall in my book. It was just so underwhelming. And I was a bit excited too because I saw Tacos de Cabeza (brain) and Tacos de Lengua (tongue) on the menu. But at like $ 2 each ($ 2.50 for lengua) I’m not so sure.
Mira, mira… update your prices amigos!

Not bad bit the prices are pretty high for the food, you can get about the same amount of food in other places for less, the horchata has no refills and they charge 2.50 for a small cup, fountain soda for 2.19 for small size and it seams there is only one size. Food is not bad. I gave it 3 stars because of the food price.

Our first time here and it smells delicious, let’s give it them a try, a coworker said food is amazing we are having torta ahogada, torta de milanesa, tacos and burritos, food is here and I absolutely LOVE IT!!! Portions are big with reasonable prices;) come and check them out.

Solid choice that we stumbled across that was filled with locals which have us more confidence. The tacos pastor and hurache was delicious. Great find!

La comida que probé Es rica Un poco Caro!!! Pero el servicio Es horrible !! Digo pueden dejar el Celular un momento saludar a la gente decir HOLA y ADIOS! Estan en una zona de trabajo no de estar hablando por teléfono no ponen atención y la saladera es un completo basurero! Los rábanos, limones, chiles, cebollas etc en muy mal estado sucio!!! no se como pueden tener la comida así de mal frente a toda la gente !! Yo trabajo en un restaurante y se muy bien que eso no esta nada bien, si así tienen enfrente no se como tendrán ataras! Digo es sentido común! Deberían de poner atención en eso! Eh ido dos veces las dos veces es lo mismo y siempre es de noche supongo que es el ultimo turno !! Ya no regreso como para estar viendo malas caras!

Muy rica toda la comida! Y el servicio excelente, muy recomendado sobretodo la birria y las tortas ahogadas:)

The tacos were delicious, they lacked presentation and toppings. But to be fair they provided those a la cart. Pastor and asada are my personal favorites!

Loved the pastor/​pineapple combo. Confusing setup, but solid food. This place definitely exceeded expectations.

I came here a couple of hours after the big quake of ’15. I needed to take my mind off of how frightening it was to feel such tremendous geologic power. OK, so that is a bit of an exageration. I grew up in SoCal, earthquake country USA. Feeling that little temblor we had made me home sick and I needed a couple of good tacos as a remedy.
I had to try Taqueria El Buen Pastor. I think I tried it once as a food truck and wanted to give it another go. I ordered one asada taco and two el pastor tacos complete with pineapple. I went to the salsa/​topping bar for some cilantro, onions and green salsa. This trifecta is what makes it for me. I topped each of my tacos with the three and chowed down.
I went with the asada first. It was fine. The meat was tender but not overly flavorful. The el pastor tacos were better. The pineapple gives such a punch in the arm to that pig. There was a bit of gristle in the pork but nothing severe. I just picked it out and kept going. As good as the el pastor was and the asada wanted to be, the real standout here was the tortillas. They were warm and fresh. They only time I have had corn tortillas so good they were homemade. I would come here for just the tortillas and have a side of meat to put inside.

This place is a must go to when visiting Vegas. Best Al Pastor in the state… No one comes close to this state. I highly recommend this location.

Food is good but the wait… grrrrrr damn!!!
Very dumb system they have to get your food
New items on the menu… if only the three cooks in the back get their act together and work better.

It was my first time there, I wanted some menudo, so I stop in, they were out of menudo, so I got asada nacho and some asada tacos. Waited for 30 minutes for my food! And I thought it was kinda pricey. Won’t be going back there again.

I enjoyed the taco stand over near downtown so I was excited to go to a sitdown that was in a more convenient location for me to stop on the way home.
My first experience was so-​so but I came near closing and the pastor wasn’t as good as it could be, but still decent.
Came again in the middle of the day, and it was much, much better flavor and texture of the pastor. We also tried cabeza tacos which were pretty decent fine chop that wasnt too fatty. I also got a small «plato de birria» which isn’t so much a plate as a bowl of a soup broth with birria in it, plate of onions, cilantro and lime and tortillas on the side. It would have been better if the broth wasn’t close to room temperature and was actually hot. I think I’ll stick to tacos.
To sweeten the deal, Wednesday is 2 for 1 on pastor tacos — all day. It’s not advertised anywhere I stumbled upon it.
The thing that makes it a great spot to stop is the staff is really nice. They’ve been friendly even when it’s near closing and they insist we stay and eat than do to-​go. I also like the ordering and paying system way better. I am glad that despite their setup being for those «express lines» they nixed it so you can have all hot food, at once.
There’s some hiccups to be improved on with consistency, but so far to get some quick tacos in a indoor setup open til late, I am a fan.

Trust me, I’m Mexican.
This place has THE best carne asada I’ve had, besides my own ;) After shopping at Cardenas my son and I came here. This used to be an old Wendy’s, but they changed the inside drastically! Nice! It was super later, almost 9 so I figured we’d get the janky meat. NOPE!
We ordered 4 tacos (2 $ taco) de asada, paid, and went straight to the salsa bar. I noticed they had cilantro, onions, and various sauces so I figured to get a little of everything. The cashier brought out our food, which was really nice, and I noticed they were just plain tacos, just the meat and tortillas. I would definitely prefer more taco places to do this, because some people like my son, do not like onions and its a pain if you forget to tell them no onions. Also allows you to put as much cilantro or onions as you’d like. While examining the tacos, I noticed that the pieces of asada were huge! The tacos were definitely loaded! They come on a hot corn tortilla, because seriously, a taco on flour is a BURRITO. Pinches gavachos! And when I say the taco is packed, I mean it! I added my fixings and took a bite, my son had already finished one taco and was already getting his second one ready!
The asada here is cooked perfect, it is moist and tender, seasoning was on point as well, and did not taste like it had been sitting there for hours (Frijoles!) I had no gristle, nor was it burned or charred. Coming as late as I did I expected that, but it was the opposite. Mexicans always do it better! Lol.
My son is absolutely in love, so we will continue to frequent this spot after our trips to our motherland (Cardenas) haha.
AJUAAA!

I stopped by here for dinner and wasn’t impressed. At first, I was standing in front of the al pastor because the menu above says «Express Line» under each description, so I naturally stood where it said the express line for the al pastor was. Then an employee came over and told us to order with her at another area. They really need to put up the signs better because it’s confusing. If I’d been here before I’d know, but being this was my first time, I had no idea and just went with what the menu said.
The lady who took my order was very nice and the inside appeared clean. I have to say the salsa/​veggie bar is larger here than at most places with more of a variety. Our food was to-​go, so we stood near the supposed «Express Line» and waited for our order to be up. I thought it was strange that the whole time I was there the al pastor on the spit wasn’t turned on. No spinning meat, just meat there on the spit. I also never saw anybody carve any meat off for the tacos I ordered.
Al Pastor Taco ($ 2) — Just meat, tortilla and if you’d like they will add pineapple at no charge. This was just bad. I only took 2 bites and then couldn’t eat anymore. Some of the al pastor was so badly charred and the parts that weren’t had zero flavor. They don’t even out onions and cilantro on them! I kinda thought that was crazy to be honest. The menu shows what the tacos look like and they have onions and cilantro on them. If the meat and tortilla were good enough, it wouldn’t even need anything else, but this wasn’t anything tasty and I’d bet money the corn tortillas on my tacos came from a grocery store and weren’t made on site.
«Ranchero Al Pastor Taco» ($ 3.50) — This taco has al pastor, beans, sour cream, guacamole and cheese. The toppings saved me on this taco. While I only found one glob of melted cheese, the beans, sour cream and guacamole had good flavor. Those toppings helped me get the taco down thank goodness because that first taco just wasn’t edible.
Hubby had asada tacos and I tried a bite and spit it right back out because it was gristle. I wasn’t happy with the overall taste of my food and can’t see returning.

I know that sadly this area is changing over the years but the Wendy’s that was originally here should have probably stayed open. Heck the Arby’s next door is only open until 10 at night so clearly the chains that have been here for decades aren’t as busy as they once used to be. They need to work out how to order here at Taqueria El Buen Pastor. I walked in and they have a menu board that says «express line» under all the menu items which would lead anybody to believe that’s where you order. I mean it was right there in plain English and I was still confused. I had to go over to a girl and give her my order and pay then wait for it to be brought out. I din’t have any problem with that but come on don’t plaster «express line» all across your menu board if that isn’t where you order.
I got asada tacos and this place charged me .50 cents per taco to have flour tortillas instead of corn tortillas. WTF?! I know a lot of the chain restaurants do this but not usually these mom and pop type run places. I can go to Sinaloa (just down the street on Decatur near Lake Mead) and also Tacos El Gordo who both have the best tacos in town and they never charge me for wanting flour tortillas instead and even if they did, I’d gladly pay it because I know I’m getting a legit taco. The asada tacos here were way too fatty and overcooked. All I tasted was charred fatty meat. The tacos also only came with meat and tortilla so again I say WTF?! They do have a salsa bar but come on most places put onions and cilantro on the tacos at least! Just not my type of taco joint.

Underwhelmed by the carne asada burrito– the limpest, saddest, messiest burrito I’ve had in a while. Menu description includes «meat, cheese, beans, and sour cream” — I only detected meat and an insane portion of beans. If your pinto beans are mostly liquid, they have no business being the main component of a burrito.
Asada was either flavorless or simply overpowered by the beans– I will say that it had good texture though. Burrito overall was a disappointment. May return for some basic tacos but overall I was just really underwhelmed. Orange salsa is legit though.

Unilocal 365 CHALLENGE 2014−(315÷365) «Brick And Mortar»
Open for just over two weeks now, Tacos El Buen Pastor has finally opened their restaurant location right across Cardenas on Meadows and Decatur!
Not only can you feast on the best al pastor tacos in town IMO, but they have expanded their menu to also include other specialties from Jalisco, Mexico like Tortas Ahogadas and for those of you who remember Birrieria Jalisco back in the day (where Cornish Pasty now stands) Their Birria de Chivo (Goat) Estillo Jalisco is very hearty, delicious and generous in portion size (two sizes, $ 9 and $ 15) and comes with freshly made corn tortillas. Perfect for this cold weather! I’ve never had a Torta Ahogada before ($ 6.50) so we got one done classically with Carnitas
(However, you may choose among their other meat selections, and the bread is said to also come from Mexico) this was also pretty huge, hearty, and good.
One of the great things about TEBP is their ordering system: you walk in and peruse the menu… When you know what you want, place your order with the person behind the counter, pay, and go find a seat. The cooks call your name when your order is up, and your food is nice and hot. No having to go to a certain line for a certain item, and when you’re finally done paying, your food is cold like those other places **cough El Gordo, Taco Y Taco cough**
Very comfy seating and spacious inside, with fresh agua frescas that change every so often (there was Horchata and Guayaba) and a full salsa bar to customize your order as you wish. Come check them out! ALOHA!!!
Shaka Meter: \uuu/​\uuu/​\uuu/​\uuu/​\uuu/​5

Los tacos al pastor tienen muy buen sabor PEROOOO por $ 2.00 que cuestan c/​u deberían traer mas carne, si de por si la tortilla es chiquita y luego le ponen MUY POCA carne. El servicio Déja también mucho que desear