California Tacos To Go

My go to place for fish burritos. A very creative menu with interesting choices (like the Cali style burrito which consists of French fries instead of rice) their fish is outta this world fresh, crunchy and battered to perfection. Not a huge fan of the chicken some days it’s good some days it’s bland, GREAT hot sauce it is is HOT.
Also the buffalo chicken fries are delicious.
Always fresh and swift and the service is solid.

I really enjoyed the food here! I got the queso and chips because that is generally one of my favorites things to get… I don’t think I would get that again, but mainly due to the fact that they have taco fries and I regretted not trying that first. I also wasn’t paying attention and ordered three tacos thinking they only had the rolled tacos and was really overwhelmed by how big the tacos were. They were however absolutely delicious! I got the chicken with mild sauce and it was soooooo fresh! Next time I will definitely stick with one and split the fries with a friend.

Just moved to South Tampa and enjoy supporting small business. They rolled tacos were awesome and tasted authentic. Plenty of parking and friendly service too.

Good tacos!
The hot sauce is in fact hot and where I usually order 3 tacos, here I get 2 because they’re so big. tasty stuff!

This place is awesome. Very good food especially the fish tacos. Staff is very friendly.

Food was awesome and authentic. Had the fish burrito, hot, with cheese and sour cream. Effin amazing!

Not very impressed. Ordered 2 burritos and a large quac and the food was nothing out of this world. The guac tasted pre packaged and not homemade. The burritos were very big but lacked flavor. I do have to say that delivery was fast.

Quick Read: Sweet sweet taco goodness — so filling!
Took my mom out to lunch here yesterday and we were SO impressed. The pork rinds were out of this world — just like grandma used to make them. We both ordered the fish tacos, which were incredibly fresh, flavorful, and so darn filling. I ordered the ‘hot’ salsa which kicked my butt in the best possible way. The people that own and work this place are also incredibly kind — I’d be more than happy to support this local business again (and stuff my face with those pork rinds in the meantime).

Lying in bed sick I decided to order at 4:55pm. Had the order repeated twice. Waited 4 hours for a delivery that finally arrived at 9:03pm. I called they told me they attempted delivery and I didn’t answer. I was sitting on the couch next to the door waiting. I continue to wait. After five phone calls and an offer to send a new order of food free of charge. I still continued to wait. He finally arrives carrying the bag sideways so all the sauces are settled at the bottom of this sopping bag of food. Just more out of morbid curiosity I opened its contents and the whole order is wrong. The food went in the garbage, shame! This place was great until management changed. Need to make some changes before you lose all your business. Oh did I mention they charge $ 3.99 for delivery.

Great customer service but I wasn’t a fan of the food or the price. $ 16 for one taco, one burrito and one jarrito. The grouper was all batter and the food was lacking flavor.

Cute little place!!! Excellent place to grab delicious tacos!
Had the grouper and el pastore! Great flavor and spicy means spicy!!!
Definitely going back

Woohoo! As good as it gets (in Florida)
If you read through my reviews, I try to be fair with Mexican food, considering that I am in Florida. You will also see that I am a Californian, and spent most of my life in L.A., so I cannot rate a place like this with Southern California as a baseline for my reviews. If I reviewed this place against what I know from home, I would go with 3 stars. In other words, it could survive in L.A., but it would be underwhelming. But we are in Florida, and this is as close as it has gotten for me.
I have been on a quest to find tacos that bring me home for the 8 ½ years I have lived in Florida, an every place has fallen incredibly short. Some have been acceptable, but only slightly. I have wondered why oh why can they not make a decent taco in this state???
So when I find a place called California Tacos, I’m right there!!! So the first thing I have to say is that there is no «California Taco», ok? I suppose you might say there is a north-​western Mexican style of taco that crosses heavily into Southern California. Two small corn tortillas, meat, chile sauce, onion and cilantro. Then you have the «Gringo Tacos» in California, where we add cheese, guac, sour cream, lettuce, etc., just like all over the US.
So I went with what would bring me as close to home as possible: Taco de Carne Asada, chile, Onion, Cilantro.
The meat was really close to being just right. The tortillas were good, but they were not traditionally small. And I really miss the hand-​made tortillas we got in many places in L.A., and everything else was really good. This was as close as it gets so far in Florida. I would say it brought me home about 70% of the way. So 5 stars for being quite close! It is absolutely my go to place in Tampa, at least for now.

Went here today for lunch with not a clue in the world on what to order. All I knew was I was too afraid to eat Chipotle with all their recent health scares so I looked at my bookmarks and decided to go with California Tacos.
I didn’t know what to order but I thought – When all else fails – order what Guy Fieri ordered on Diners, Drive Ins & Dives – the original grouper fish tacos spicy. I don’t recall what my husband ordered but he said it was good (chicken tacos spicy I think). Of course the kiddos just wanted chicken tacos and quesadillas so who am I to stop them.
While we waited for our food to be freshly prepared, the kids drew on the walls with chalk which was a big hit. One of the employees even interacted with the kids & helped erase any errors they made which I thought was pretty good front house service.
Once our food arrived, it was hot & all the ingredients were fresh! I think my grouper taco had crispy fried fish, some type of white sauce, pico de gallo, and super crunchy cabbage along with whatever spicy hot sauce they added. Although I loved the spicy level, crunchy cabbage and crispy fish – I did have to add some shakes of salt. Once I added the salt – it was perfect. I will definitely be back for more – specifically to get the Cali Bowl and/​or maybe the Cali Fries. If you’re ever in South Tampa – try them out!

Where can you find a place that legitimately servers up So Cal style fare (fresh, fast) in Tampa? I was happy when California Tacos To Go expanded and spawned another location from their North Tampa (USF) location. The model is that you order at the counter, customize your selection, i.e. get it «loaded», then find seating and the food is brought to your table.
The décor is nice, laid back surfer vibe, and they have a few tables for fine in service. There are additional hot sauces available as well for those of you that like it spicy.
On my numerous visits I have enjoyed the fish tacos (Guy Fieri style) «loaded» (sans sour cream for me). The burritos are quite filled and flavorful, as I have had the carne asada and pork. They have burritos, bowls, Cali fries, and San Diego rolled tacos. They also offer vegetarian, portabello mushrooms, and shrimp and chorizo. I’d like to see a grilled fish option offered as well as opposed to just the fried fish.
The ingredients and fixings are fresh. The service is quick and efficient. The staff and the owner, who I met on one occasion is very nice. I am glad he was able to grow and expand from humble beginnings at the Skipper Road location. I have visited the original location as well but the S. Dale Mabry one is very close to where I live. There is also a newer location at 4^th St N, St Petersburg. CTTG also offers a Taco Tuesday special with drink which I have never taken advantage of.

The fish tacos were absolutely amazing! I ordered two fully loaded and I could only finish one and a half. The toppings were delicious the fish was cooked perfectly. It didn’t take very long. The place is small, but all you need to grab some lunch or dinner to go. There are also a few tables and a bar a long hallway were you could sit and eat. There are also a few picnic tables outside.
Bottom line: amazing, delicious fish tacos! I’ll definitely be back.

I was introduced to this place by my roommate and when I tell you I was pleasantly surprised. The portion was great. I actually am not into chorizo but the shrimp. and chorizo.soft taco with everything was amazing.
The customer service was OUTSTANDING… very caring about the customer. I wasn’t sure about the menu items, but I was explained very clearly how to order. I would’ve taken a photo of the tacos, but I swear it took me 2 min to devour them…
But better believe I will be back here more times than just this once.
This place would get 10 stars bcuz it also gives me a dive bar feel, especially since you can write on the walls with chalk. All they need is a better location than on Dale Mabry.

A great taco spot in South Tampa. I am a big fan of the fish tacos. This resturant is a great alternative to Chipotle\Q doba. Fast, tastey, and affordable!

I was craving tacos for a couple days. Knowing I would need a side of chips and salsa, I put it off for a couple days, but finally broke down. This place was close and I figured it would not be as crowded as some places on South Howard. The atmosphere was comfortable and staff was friendly, unfortunately I felt like that tacos was sub par and a day later my taco craving has yet to be satisfied.
My experience was similar to Kathy D., except that they did explain Taco Tuesday to me. Now I must concede, I read these reviews beforehand and prepared myself that I would not be blown away.
I ordered the Taco Tuesday special with a side of guacamole. I tried ordering two tacos with chips and salsa and a side of guacamole. That is when Taco Tuesday was explained to me, except they did not explain there was no salsa. Based on the exchange, I thought I was also getting salsa and I was disappointed when I get back to my office to only find guacamole.
Chips were meh, okay, but I prefer them a bit thinner even if it means more break. The problem was that I only had guacamole for dipping and it made for a lame experience. The guacamole itself tasted like it was frozen, microwaved, and then just squirted out of a package into a small side cup. I believe the hot salsa is good as there was a very little amount on my taco, but not having small cup of salsa for dipping really makes the Taco Tuesday deal pretty lame.
As far as appearances go, the tacos looked decent, but what they had in appearance they lacked in flavor. I got chicken and carnitas and but for the appearance I would not have been able to tell them apart.
There are much better taco joints around, both fast and classy. California Tacos To Go tries to lands somewhere in the middle. Outside appearances may fool you that they are a step above, and the service is wonderful, but I have some concerns about the quality of the food. I may come back and try something other than tacos in the future, but I am pretty sure I do not need another Taco Tuesday here.

I stopped by California Tacos to pick up a takeout order after a busy day. The service was fast and you can even place an order online through Unilocal.I purchased an order of chicken Cali Fries (sans guac and sour cream) and a side of chips and queso. The queso was very good, but the fries weren’t the best. Maybe they would be better if I didn’t order it plain? However, the chicken was tasteless and the cheese didn’t have much flavor either. I do take full responsibility for ordering an abstract menu item instead of tacos, so I plan on revisiting soon to make a better judgement.

California Tacos was a recent stop of mine in my quest for the perfect taco. This location just recently opened up last year and is located on South Dale Mabry Boulevard.
I stopped by pretty late in the afternoon to grab some tacos to take home for dinner. The restaurant is decorated in a California surfer theme and is quite cute.
The staff was very friendly and helpful as I tried to make my decision from the many choices on the menu. I ordered the Carne Asada Taco and the Ground Beef Enchilada.
While the meat and fillings tasted ok in both the taco and enchilada, I came to the realization that I wasn’t a fan of the corn tortillas. The corn tortillas were so very bland and even kind of dry to me.
Unbeknownst to me, I was informed by my chef friend, Jake, that I could ask for flour tortillas instead of corn. With this in mind, I would go back and try the food again. Plus, there are some bowls that looked interesting on the menu, as well.