La Piñata Takos

For roadside truck tacos, this was a nice find, not much of a wait and the tacos were decent.
They weren’t the best street tacos I’ve ever had, but they definitely hit the spot.
If I’m in the area again, I would probably go back.
Good quick and cheap eats.
Across the street from a bar for drinks.

I wasn’t expecting much from this random food stand, but it is totally legit Mexican food. Not a lot of choice for people like us who want to eat healthy though. It has your standard taco and burrito options (mostly meat). I ended up ordering the fish tacos for us and the taquito plate for the kids. I took the food to go and realized that I had forgotten to ask if the fish was battered and fried. I was pleased to find that it was grilled and the fish tacos were very good. Plenty of slaw and guacamole and a little bit of the white sauce (which isn’t healthy but tastes so good). The taquito plate was less of a success. Not because it wasn’t good (it was delicious), but because it was more authentic than my kids would have liked. They wanted the typical frozen Trader Joe rolled taquito. These taquitos were not rolled up tight and were stuffed full of lettuce and tomato in addition to the shredded chicken. Not really kid friendly. The plate came with rice and beans. Everything tasted fresh and authentic.
Prices were ridiculously cheap.

Food is decent drunk Mexican food. My only complaint is that I clearly ordered and paid for guacamole, only to find there was zero guac in my order when I got home… The place wasn’t busy at all, how did you miss it?

La Piñata Takos’ takos confused me.
Ordered 2 carne asada takos and 1 fish tako.
The carne was good, not great in flavor, and a little too much like ground beef because it was diced into teeny tiny pieces. The fish, on the hand, was pretty good. It wasn’t battered like the fish takos I am used to, but instead was lightly seasoned and grilled.
The confusing part? All of the protein was nestled on something reminding me of Taco Bell tacos — lots of shredded lettuce, some diced tomatoes, and shredded Mexican cheese.
$ 4.75 was marginal to satiate my curiosity.

The fish tacos here are out of this world. Great lunch spot and since they’re open for late night on the weekends, it’s also the perfect place for a midnight snack. Substantial portions and very reasonably priced. There’s even outdoor seating on the side of the truck.

I hail from both San Francisco and Los Angeles so Mexican food is a staple for me. I must say Piñata Takos gives a great run for the money and tastes great. Their portions are huge, and the flavor of their meats and salsas makes for a home run. Combine that with the cheap prices and the fact that they are open late, the central location, and the bad English of the staff all make for quite an authentic experience if there ever was one.

I remember the very first bite I ever took from their steak burrito I ordered. I was SO mad! Why? Because, if I had known HOW delicious it is. I would have ordered 2. I ordered mine without beans. It might be the sauce they use that makes it tastes so great, but I’m not sure.
Second time I came here, I forgot to tell them no beans. So that was upsetting. Regardless, still pretty one of the best burritos I’ve had in Portland.

In need of a little snack, our group sampled quite a bit of the menu. If the quesadilla was unspectacular the various tacos were delicious and the pollo burrito was excellent, a huge creamy mix of chicken beans rice cilantro and guacamole nicely held by a double tortilla. Would definitely come back!

I have pretty high standards for Mexican food, since I’ve eaten home cooked meals, and the great stuff in Los Angeles most of my life. I tried a few places but were pretty disappointed, especially with the salsa because I like it hot and flavorful.
We stumbled upon this cart looking for a fish taco (apparently no one serves fish tacos) and I got a chile relleno burrito. I knew this was serious business when I was handed a bag that weighed at least a pound. I also got little cups of their red and green salsa. I almost cried with joy when I got home and started to dig into the burrito. The chile relleno was perfect-​not rubbery or falling apart. It had a nice smoky flavor and it didn’t look like it was covered in scrambled egg (shame on you, other bad carts!). The salsas were very flavorful and the red was pretty spicy but every drop was heaven.
I definitely recommend this cart to anyone, especially LA transplants who are craving decent Mexican street food. I hope they do well and are around for a while.

There are too many taco carts in this town that make me think «There are too many taco carts in this town.» This is not one of them.
Is it the best? No. I’m pretty sure I know which cart I’d rate my favorite, but out of respect for Piñata Takos (and, sure, a desire to keep the crazy line at that other cart to some kind of minimum), I won’t name them here.
Basically, I work around the corner from Piñata. And I am lazy. And when I don’t feel like walking a longer distance, I’m always happy to include Piñata’s adorably misspelled tacos in my rotation.
Don’t get me wrong. They’re not just «around the corner» good. I’d easily patronize this cart if it were several blocks away (any further and it’d be the same distance as that other cart I won’t name). The people are super nice. The salsas are well done. And I really appreciate the masa-​based fare (e.g., gorditas, sopes, etc.) that lesser taco carts don’t offer.

Go for the pastor burrito. I’d say it’s one of the best pastor burritos in town. Salsas are so so, but you still can’t go wrong loading up with some green and red. Get a delicious horchata to wash it down as well. As far as other things on the menu go I haven’t tried too much because I’ve liked the pastor burrito so much, but the few other things I have had I’d say were decent, not really good like the pastor burrito but still pretty tasty.

Good quesadilla with beans instead of meat.
It a mid-​afternoon snack too large to eat a real dinner later (I know you’re worried, don’t worry, I had a hot pretzel around 8 at the movie theater).
Good guac, cheese, etc. It’s pretty hard to mess up a quesadilla.
The man making my food was fast and nice.

I work a couple blocks from here and find myself walking over at lunch time at least a couple times a week for the bean and rice burrito. At a measly $ 3, it is consistently delicious. According to the owners, the beans and rice are made fresh every day, and it shows. I’ve had the chicken quesadilla, tacos al pastor and tacos de carne asada, and they’re also good, but the bean and rice burrito is habit-​forming.

Just a random find as I was looking for lunch on a Friday brought me to Piñata Takos. I honestly didn’t want to walk far from my office so I headed over to this «pod». Not much of a pod these days as Big Ass Sandwiches had gone across the river and the other carts here weren’t even open.
Ordered the Chile Rellenos ($ 6) and they were very good. I had them Christmas style which means red and green salsa. Good amount of food. Nice friendly service. There were other people waiting for food which is always a good thing. Sometimes you have to take a shot in the dark.

this unassuming little cart is tucked in behind donutrama (beignets!) and big ass sandwiches. the lady is super friendly and the food is great. i got a veggie burrito and the ingredients (flour tortilla, beans, rice, bell pepper (unusual but good), lettuce, cheese, pico de gallo, sour cream) were quality and the taste was spot-​on. also, one of rthe biggest f’in burritos i’ve ever seen or eaten. that is a LOT of food. definitely a good option for a mexican food cart.