Nico’s Tacos

Got it to go. Baja crispy taco, zucchini sticks, and a beef with bacon gringo-​style taco.
The food was tasty but waaaaaaaaaaaaay overpriced. I’ll make my own tacos next time.

I don’t know where to start, but I’ll be short, really really did not like the food here. It’s hard to screw up Mexican tacos, well they did it.
Food is tasteless and ingredients seem not fresh at all…

I was in San Francisco helping prepare a dinner for 250 people. While I was cooking awesome and healthy food I didn’t really eat all that well myself. After two days of living on caffeine and pub food I searched out some healthy food.
I found this healthy food in the form of a brown rice bowl at Nico’s Tacos. (See Photo). I got it topped with avocado and grilled chicken and it only cost $ 7. It was tasty, fast and cheap!

I am confused why there is only one copy of the menu that is not kept at the front by the register. I would like to see your menu options and prices posted somewhere visible. 10 – 15 min wait to get a peak at your options is poor planning and not inviting for customers.
Service was not great, prices were high, and set up of the salsa/​sauce bar was unorganized. All of that being said, I really liked my food… the burrito was huge, meat prepared well, and the addition of cabbage mixture was very tasty. I am a North Beach resident and had noticed this place for a while and wondered about the food quality because it is always empty. I ordered my food and took it to another bar :/​
I see potential here but not until they get more organized and come up with a way to keep people in their establishment.

The burrito was good size and came with chips and self-​serve salsa. But it cost $ 11.12, was very poorly wrapped, and had more rice, beans, carrots and cabbage (really!) than shrimp. And it was oddly cold, as if it had been dead for a year already.
That is not acceptable!!!
Don’t waste your time, even if you’re hungry.

Not good. How can you really mess up Mexican food? It’s so easy to make.
I only come here when I’m lazy and if I really want fish tacos.
This place is popular because it’s the ONLY decent mexican place in North Beach that’s reasonably priced. North Beach alone doesn’t have much variety in terms of restaurants. Don Pistos 2 blocks away has much better quality food, but who wants to pay $ 9 for 2 tiny tacos? If you can drive or have time, I suggest heading to Nicks Crispy Tacos or driving to the Mission for even better Mexican food.

Recently catered an event I was at, so I can’t comment on the actual location… but the food was so good!
Full disclosure: I am not from so cal. In fact, I am from north ca. As in the great white north. As in canada. We don’t have mexicans up there… they don’t really seem to care about crossing that second border. As such, I am not a qualified mexican food connaisseur.
To hell with all of that. I’m going to enjoy my Chipotle, and I’m going to enjoy Nico’s Tacos. Chicken was tender and buttery. Pork meatballs were… well, how can you go wrong with meatballs?! Vegetarian zucchini/​cauliflower mix was deviously spicy. Rice was fluffy. Soft taco shells were actually soft taco shells, that kind of weird texture shell, not little fake tortilla flour discs.
Extra points for the cheeky bastards: their (unlabelled) spicy salsa is SPICY. Brought tears to my eyes. I had to take a break from conversation for a full ten minutes to regain my composure.
Points for doing it right.

Great service and effin amazing salsas! Only recomendation would be larger salsa cups, as I would have loved more than just a taste!
Oh and how could I have possibly forgotten the frickin finger lickin fried chicken and waffle taco that’ll have you geekin!

Looove the crack slaw. It’s a great place to sate that Mexican hunkering with a lighter and healthier twist. Come solo or bring a friend /​even a crowd. No one says no to Mexican joint with a nice selection of beer!
The vibe is low key because I can bus my own table, but be prepared to use the silverware (no powder room).

The chicken and waffle tacos are worth seeing if you’re already here.
As you may have inferred, they are tacos made of chicken and waffles. The waffle forms the shell, and its packed with sticky sweet fried chicken. It’s very ‘county-​fair’, but I liked the first few bites (then it started to taste kind of gross).
The fish tacos and the ‘crack slaw’ were both pretty underwhelming. They didn’t have much flavor and were kind of pricy for the amount you got.
I wouldn’t come back here, but if by some twist of fate you’re reading this inside the restaurant and can’t leave– get the chicken and waffle taco. At least you’ll get a funny taco story.

Can this place bail out of North Beach already? Have tried to give it a chance nearly a dozen times and every time it fails. I should hedge this by saying that A) my favorite food is Mexican, B) I’m from San Diego and immensely miss good Mexican food being in SF, and C) I wish, wish, wish that these guys did things right, because North Beach is seriously lacking in options.
Staff = too preoccupied with their iPhones to take an order, despite standing at counter in front of them for upwards of 2 minutes at times. This has happened every single time I’ve gone in, not just once or twice.
Food = lukewarm meat or veggies plopped on a cold, straight-​from-​Safeway tortilla. Haven’t tried the burrito, so maybe that’s the way to go. But if the namesake tacos are any indication, stay away.
Be ready to bus your meal to the overflowing trash can (there were plates stacked on the floor once) by the door. iPhone-​obsessed staff strikes again!
Since I can’t fully express my dislike for this place by giving it zero stars, I will say that the one star goes towards the crack slaw.

This place is amazing. My favorite place to eat in SF.
They recently added a Chicken and Waffles taco which is absolutely to die for. As I raved on FB: «Every bit as good as it looks. The sauce is a buttery syrup ambrosia, Chicken is crispy like whoa, and the shell is the perfect cross between an eggo and a waffle cone. I ordered a second one after I ate the first even though I was totally stuffed.»
Taco and Burrito joints are so commoditized it’s really unfair to put Nico’s in the same category (despite the name): People walk in expecting something totally familiar and I imagine some are flustered when they discover that Nico’s is a totally original spin on Californian and Mexican flavors and forms, though nearly all will leave delighted. Their «Crack Slaw» and signature sauces should be standard in restaurants across California. Their chips – an early weak point if I remember correctly – are house made and some of the freshest I’ve ever had.
They opened the same week I moved in a couple of blocks away and it’s been great to watch them grow. They’ve always had wonderful service and the cooks have been kind enough to extensively customize dishes when I have an idea I want to try. I’ve had the opportunity to try nearly everything on the menu, and I don’t think there’s a weak item there: From grilled fish to breakfast quesadilla they hold it down.
I eat here 3+ times a week, and all this talk about it is giving me a heck of a craving so excuse me while I go fill it.

I would give this a 3.5* if i could.
Very casual, low-​key tacos place on the North Beach side of Grant Ave, right by my pilates studio (dangerous)
I had the crab and avocado quesadilla, which was yummy and the portion was quite large– i couldn’t finish it. Had to wrap it up, freeze it and finish it a few days later (which was still good)
Will be back for Taco Tuesday, which seems quite popular

OMG — why didn’t this place come to North Beach sooner? And why I haven’t been before?
There are so few places in North Beach worth going to. And even few decent vegan options. But the veggie burrito here is seriously intense. So many things packed inside — rice, beans, some house mix of veggies — and you could also make it «California» which adds avocado and fries.
What more could you want? And before you say mexican coke, they have that too.

We stumbled across this place yesterday when we were in search of a casual place to have some food and catch up. I had just returned from a trip to Italy so wasn’t in the mood for Italian (maybe I should have gone to another neighborhood instead) so we gave this place a chance.
The food (2 fish tacos) were served up quickly and the ingredients were fresh, but both were sorely lacking any real flavor and were downright bland.
$ 12 for 2 fish tacos and a glass of sangria (that was decent). Not incredibly likely to return.

It’s interesting because I never thought of North Beach as a hipster enclave but the folks at Nico’s seem to think so. Examples being the «I don’t care if you hate us on Unilocal» sign when they first opened and mustache 2-​for-​1 Mondays.
But with all that said, I actually really like the folks at Nico’s. They’ve always been really nice and friendly to me. Couple that with good deals like $ 1 taco sliders all day Tuesday (or 6 for $ 5) and 2 fish tacos for $ 5 on Fridays. I didn’t really like the tacos when I first had them because I thought they all tasted the same but I’ve begun to get more textural differences lately which is good. It should never be that hard to tell the difference between pork and beef.
Oh and I’m glad they got their beer license. It’s hard to be on this corridor of North Beach without one. All in all, Nico’s is a decent joint although I overwhelmingly prefer Taqueria Zorro down the street but in a pinch, Nico’s is just fine.

I came to North Beach for 2 reasons. The first was for Molinari’s sandwiches, and the second was to buy my pal a cool t-​shirt at 1314 By San Franpsycho.
I stopped first at the t-​shirt shop, snagged a shirt, and then was utterly intrigued by the Mustache Monday taco deal at Nicos. It was Monday (check), I was hungry (check), but alas, I was missing the mustache element, as I had recently waxed mine off. Damn. But still, I was intrigued enough to put my Molinari’s craving in my back pocket for another day.
Annnnyway, I am on a mission to find a burrito I absolutely love, so along with chips and guac, I ordered a Giant Pork Burrito. Man oh man, did I do myself a favor. There is this amazing spicy cabbage wrapped into what is seriously a stuffed burrito, and it makes all the difference. I think what gets me is that a lot of burritos are not juicy enough for me. But not this one– this one was perfect.
The guac was chunky and limey– definitely approved. I noted that they also had $ 2 beers, but as it was 12:00 on a Monday afternoon and I had ample work to do, I made a mental note to come back another day.
I see a future five-​star establishment. I guess before I can do that, I must try the mustache two-​fer deal and of course, the cheep cervezas.

Three-​and-​a-​half stars.
I was going to review this place after my first visit back in June, but decided to visit again because of all the negative reviews when they first opened. Was I missing something horrible about the place? My first visit was good, so I waited a few months before visiting again to see if the place had deteriorated into a soulless, surly taco stand.
First of all, if you’re craving a traditional taqueria experience prepare yourself for something slightly different. They put coleslaw in their burritos; ’nuff said. It’s not a bad thing at all – I actually like this place because of the unique and unexpected flavors and textures. Not to mention that the food isn’t totally gut-​busting like most taqueria food (which I love, for the record). Some days I want a burrito the size of my forearm, and some days I want something a little lighter.
And the place has gotten better in the last few months. It feels like they’ve gotten the kinks out, and it’s a bit more refined. Not refined as in, «Jeeves, bring me a menu,» but refined as in tidy and well-​run. Extra points for the variety of sauces, which are now stored neatly in separate squeeze bottles in a mini-​fridge. And I still like the bright, cheerful feel of the place, despite the sometimes too-​cool-​for-​the-​school attitude of some of the employees.
It’s a little pricier then you’d expect (I paid $ 8.50 for a burrito), but I assume rents in North Beach are steep. *shrug*
It’s a nice walk from the FiDi to North Beach, and my coworkers (who also liked it) and I will be back.

Nestled among a series of bars and Italian restaurants — in North Beach Nico’s Tacos is a bit of an anomaly. They serve an interesting take on Mexican food. It’s not your traditional taqueria, with their rice bowl selections and soyrizo burritos, but it’s evident they fill a Mexican restaurant void in the hood.
We wanted a quick affordable bite and were craving some fish — so we decided Nico’s was our best best.
I ordered the grilled fish a top of a brown rice bowl. The cracslaw lightly seasoned with goddess dressing and brown rice was tasty and once seasoned with their impressive array of hot sauces — was quick crac-​tastic. The fish however was a let-​down. It didn’t have too much taste and was so buttery that it almost tasted like balls of fat. My bf really enjoyed his burrito as well, but also commented on the lack of pronounced flavor in the fish.
I may stop in here again, but I’d probably opt for just a veggie brown rice bowl and skip the fish. Also be sure to carry cash on you — since they’re cash only, and I’d also recommend staying on top of their daily deals —
.
Trust.

OVERALL:3.9 FOOD:3 SERVICE:5 AMBIANCE:4 VALUE:3.5
Not to be confused with Nick’s Crispy Tacos, which (sorry Unilocalerazzi) are greasy, messy, and overrated… This new Calexican/​Mexicalian joint in North Beach serves up fresh tacos, burritos, & quesadillas that have enough flavor (yummy self-​serve sauces) AND raw unprocessed ingredients to make Dr. Oz proud. You’ll pay $ 1 over Mission prices, but this ain’t the Mission, and these here ain’t Mission tacos.
Skip the chips+salsa…Standout is the crisp ‘Crack Slaw’ in the tacos: tangy cabbage is SOO delicious! And it may be North Beach, but it’s still Amerrrrca, so no worries, there’s plenty of satisfying protein, too:
— Steak (yum!)
— Chicken
— Pork
— Baja Fish (OK…overly thick batter)
— Grilled Fish (OK…felt overcooked, not as flaky as I’d like)
— Shrimp
— Veggie Soyrizo (b/​c vegetarians are protein people, too)
Super friendly (and CUTE) owners, charismatic chef/​cook, clean space w/​tons of tables & seats, sports on the bigscreeen TV, credit cards accepted (soon), free Wi-​Fi, stumbing distance to the Church Key (
) & all the other bars/​lounges on Grant!