Island Tacos

Pork tamales are excelente, pork tacos are too. I haven’t tried anything else but do intend to. Great prices, typical tasty taco stop.

Im usually a pretty tough critic, but island tacos blew me away. The carnitas are incredible. This place has to be one of my favorite hole in the walls.

Great place to get street tacos and burritos! Carnitas are the way to go with some green salsa. Be patient as they don’t speak English very well, but are very kind hearted and will make sure you’re satisfied.

Decent food from a tiny kitchen kiosk. A kind hearted couple owns this small business and serves a surprising variety of eats.
Ask about their tamales. Reasonably priced $ 18/​dozen for the generously filled, delicious tamales. Just check before eating to make sure they’ve been cooked. If not, steaming for 25 minutes will do the job.

Okay so my experience here was definitely a first and I felt I had to share.
The guy working there didn’t speak very good English and we encountered a problem using my credit card.
He passed his little machine to me and asked me to put in my pin. I told him it was a credit card and it does not have a pin. And that also the screen on the machine said «enter amount.» He then looked at the machine and then passed it backed to me and said «try to put in your pin.» I was aghast that this was actually happening but instead of being rude I decided to be a teacher instead of a dick head.
I asked him «what’s the total?» He told me and then I punched it in for him, swiped my card and finished the transaction. Hopefully I taught him for the next customer. Obviously this man did not own this establishment as he seemed afraid of his own shadow. If the owner of this establishment reads this and wants to offer and apology I would gladly accept it.
As for the food it tasted fine. There was a limited amount of food offerings. I believe they had tacos, burritos, and tamales. All very cheap.
I leave you with this advice. It’s worth checking out but bring cash.

Doesn’t look like much. But it’s excellent food. Stop at this one if you get a chance I hope these people can open a big restaurant eventually.

So I’m all about trying hole in the wall places. In this case shack. Don’t let the look fool you this is authentic Mexican food! Owned by a family who I’ve met by coming here. So friendly and sweet. Anyways I ordered a pork tamale and 2 carne esada tacos. The BEST tamale I have ever had they didn’t skip out on the meat at all. A BIG FAT tamale! And as for the tacos the meat was juicy and delicious. Would I go here again and recommend it to people? Yes! Seating is outside though but hey it’s worth it. Also low prices. Wish they had horchata though

Smoldering in the unventilated remains of what was probably an old coffee and/​or copy hut is this TOTALLY ADEQUATE taco stand. They have VARIOUS MEATS to put on tortillas! Those little tacos are pretty cheap! They also have tamales that someone’s grandmother obviously made the night before, but they are also TOTALLY ADEQUATE! Your items can be jazzed up with both RED and GREEN SAUCES!
The excessive capitals here are to explain that, while this place is nothing extraordinary, it will make you full of pretty good taco things, not take too much of your money, and leave you satisfied. ADEQUATE!

A super quick stop that feeds two adults a no-​bullshit lunch for less than $ 8? I’m in. We come to the pet store in the same parking lot and go to Trader Joe’s a lot, so this is probably going to become a regular «Oh my god why did you bring me to TJ’s hungry?» stop. The food isn’t great but for the price, I will scarf down a couple tacos and spend $ 80 less on groceries next door. I’ve tried the asada and carnitas tacos so far and they were both totally adequate.

I am originally from Southern California where we like our salsa hot and our tacos simple. This place is amazing. Like AMAZING. I’m up for the weekend from SF for a training and felt I needed some real food on my break. I am SO glad I came here for these delicious tacos that I plan on coming back tomorrow. They’re small because it’s street taco style with just a small corn tortilla, meat, onion and cilantro but that it what makes them so delicious. I ordered four, knowingly because I am a sucker for street tacos. Maria gave me a double look and asked «four?», and I had to laugh because in my head I was thinking I could probably eat six. Glad I settled on four though because with salsa they are decently filling. Only cost me 7 bucks for the four too so I am a really happy camper-​especially under this umbrella on a bench in this beautiful weather. Thanks Maria & Antonio for having such a great place to stop and eat!

Hubs and I came here for the first time on Saturday afternoon. We ordered a pork tamale, pork street taco, beef street taco, and beans and rice. My faves were the beef meat, it was tasty flavorful and tender, and the beans. They also carry bottled Mexican sodas-​fanta, coke, jarritos.
The food is not cooked on site; it’s re-​heated by microwave and the tortillas are warmed on an electric flat griddle. This didn’t both me. Plus the young man working the stand was a cutie, he had a great personality and was an awesome multi tasker cranking out the orders. I observed him with his handling of the food and money. He used gloves and took them off/​on at appropriate times. The tiny prep area was clean and organized.
Note: there is a card transaction fee. Limited outside seating.

This 12 feet by 9 feet of stand alone mexican food shop is one of the worst if not the disgusting place in Sacramento. Husband and wife cooking food out of a microwave and a pancake warmer. Nothing there is fresh. Everything is precooked and microwave made to order. No bathroom in this tiny place and I wonder where and how they use the bathroom. The sink? At least a taco truck uses propane to cook their food at the right temperature.

I needed a quick taco fix and this place is really close to my job. I’ve been here once before and my tortillas were stale. But I decided to come again thinking maybe they just had a bad day. I ordered 2 chicken tacos and 1 steak taco. When I went to pay he said it would be a .30 cent fee to use your debit. No problem with me! But he didn’t know how much my total would be added up and asked me what it was. Then he asked me to enter in the machine because he wasn’t sure. I thought that was a little strange. They should keep a calculator handy. I went to check my food and it was wrong he made it the opposite way. It’s funny because even when he called to tell me my food was ready he said it correctly but made it wrong. I didn’t want to argue about it and just took it. Oh by the way he used a microwave to heat up my meat. Id rather have gone to a taco truck. I’m sorry but I will not be coming back here.

Great little taco stand that is super cheap and fast. The place is small and clean so you don’t feel gross eating at a hole in the wall! I got 2 chicken, 1 beef, and one green chile verde! Pretty amazing! Each taco is $ 1.60 each.

I’m normally a sucker for these little taco shacks, as they are often a rabbit hole to a wonderland of delicious food. And to be fair, the burrito I had from here wasn’t bad.
But dealbreaker: his hands touching a rag to wipe the counter, then making the food as half a dozen flies zipped around inside, sampling the various exposed salsas, sauces, and meat containers. By the end, he took my cash, after rifling through piles of dollar bills for change, then turned to prep some other ingredients for other customers. There was no handwashing at any point in this sequence.
I probably shouldn’t have eaten this burrito anyway within 24 hours of a final exam but… eh.
Side note: as other reviewers have mentioned, there isn’t a stove/​oven etc in this shack (probably due to fire codes or something) so it seems all ingredients were prepared before hand and brought in with tupperware containers then microwaved. Taste suffers for it

Easy taco fix on the cheap. Quality is okay, price is amazing, and the staff is very friendly. Considering this place is right across from my job, you’d think I would eat there all the time but I don’t. I have been there twice in over three years, once to get a carnitas burrito and once for the Cinco de Mayo taco sale they have every year. When I started this review, I had the stars at three but as I continued writing I realized they deserve at least four stars for being an honest business that tries to serve the people of East Sac simple food.
The food: The offer a few different types of meat, the usual: chicken, pork, steak. They also offer a bean burrito for vegetarians, as I seen my boss get it a few times. The tacos are ‘real’ tacos, chopped meat with diced onions and cilantro on a corn tortilla. They offer a few different sauces that you can add on top and you can also get a slice of lime to squeeze on top. No fake taco bell meat and tortilla. The burrito I had was stuffed with meat, beans, and salsa. It was slightly bland but it wasn’t inedible. Just so you know, the food isn’t cooked on site. It is cooked in another restaurant in the morning and then brought and kept at temperature during the day on this site. It’s a perfectly sound practice, as long as it is done safely and then re heated to a safe temperature. But on Cinco de Mayo the owners BBQ’d the marinated carne asada in front of the store and it was wonderful. I’ll have to try a taco on a normal day.
The price: You really can’t beat it, for only $ 1.50 ($ 1 on Cinco de Mayo) for the tacos and $ 5 – 7 dollars for your burrito that’s big enough to save half for later. My co-​workers go to Three Sisters across the street and get three tacos for $ 14 dollars (OMG!). I would much rather make a visit to Island Tacos if I was in that much of a need for tacos on my lunch break.
Staff: Family owned and operated. Whenever I see one of them they always wave to me and I wave back. The dad even came into my work place once to alert me that my car had a flat tire, how nice is that? They are the nicest people and I defiantly suggest that if you are in the area and need a quick, cheap bite, to stop in, pull up a chair outside, and grab one.

I thought the tacos were ok, but the burritos here are soo good! With carne asada and refried beans — delicious! The place is small, only 2 small tables outside, but it’s very clean and they make the food right in front of you. Would definitely recommend the burritos!

Great value, ok food.
Island Tacos serves street tacos. $ 1.50 gets you one basic street taco. $ 3.25 for a grand taco (the sign says grand but maybe it’s grande?). The grand taco has some extras like cheese and sour cream and you’ll need to grab a fork. No matter what you get, you’ll probably spend no more than $ 5.00 for a decent amount of food.
The sign outside lists the meat options. They’ve got all kinds of crazy stuff, like cabeza (head), and also the usuals like asada, carnitas, and chicken.
There’s one person working there so it does take a little longer to get your order, maybe 15 minutes. The building, if you can call it that, is a little booth in the parking lot next to Trader Joe’s. Since there’s only room inside the booth for the kitchen and counter, seating is outside only.

For a little place to just grab a taco or two to go it’s delicious. They don’t have a full on kitchen so I’m not sure what people on here is expecting. Are you guys expecting a full on Iron Kitchen taco feast?
The taco here at Taco Island is way better than the taco trucks and Jimboy Taco. And the Tamales are pack with meat and flavor. That tells you the people who are making their food cares about quality.
I read a review that caught my interest from Sissy T?
I actually went in one day after reading your review and ask for a shrimp taco and they said they don’t have it on their menu and never had. So I’m curious did your GF really order a shrimp taco or is your review is just a mistake? But then again you checked in, didn’t you? Hmmm.

I have not lived in Sacramento long enough to confirm my suspicion that this used to be a photo mat booth (honk if you’re old enough to get the reference…) but whatever its history, this teeny tiny taco stand a block from Trader Joe’s gets my cheap food coma inducing deliciousness of the month award.
I stopped in for the first time today (try hard not to kill those inside when you open the door) and ordered two carnitas grand tacos, thinking that for 3 bucks and some change there was no way just one would take care of how starving I was. For 8 $, I had a huge taco for lunch and am saving the other for dinner. I just woke up from the taco induced nap and am already planning my next trip here.
Corn tortillas (warmed on a hot plate) rice, beans, a HUGE amount of delicately seasoned pork, cheese, sour cream, a ton of cilantro and onions… it was delicious!
I’ll be back.