Saucy Taco - Saint Johns County

I have been to Suacy Taco a few times since moving to the area a few weeks ago and I have to say it's the real deal. I have had tacos all over the world from Mexico to San Diego to Georgia to South Carolina to North Carolina to Virginia to York England; with the best being in Mexico and San Diego. Well up there with the greats for tacos is now St. Johns with Saucy Taco; for the best tacos. So far my favorite has been the Korean BBQ taco, but I also love the fried chicken taco, the carne asada, Carolina pork, and blood orange pork tacos as well. Saucy Taco also have some awesome cheese dip, guacamole, and salsa verde; not to mention the homemade chips make with flour tortillas. Service here has always been amazing too. The 4 different servers we have had so far have all done a fantastic job at waiting on us and making sure we were taken care of.

Saucy Taco use to be a regular place for our family run in and grab a quick lunch or dinner. My recent visit, though, will probably be my last. When we walked inside the restaurant smelled like an old musty mop. It also felt like the air conditioning wasn't running. It was VERY stale feeling. It wasn't very crowded, and they had a hostess, 2 waitresses, and a bartender in the front end. I'm not sure how many people they had in the kitchen. It took FOREVER to get everything. I had to constantly remind our waitress that we needed something or correct her when she brought the wrong thing to the table. She was very sweet, but bless her heart, she seemed inexperienced. All of the staff seemed to have a lack of direction. It felt like a management problem, as though there wasn't anyone there to lead the team and make the restaurant function efficiently. When the food arrived, it looked like it had been tossed onto the plate from across the kitchen. I might be overly dramatic here, but by this point, I was pretty frustrated. I can absolutely stop acting like a princess and get over the fact that there are splatters of grease and cheese on my plate, IF I'm about to consume some delicious eats, but that wasn't the case here. It was ok at best. Not at all the way it's been in the past. I'm not sure what has changed, but they certainly have some opportunities to improve.

I used to eat here a lot and then it just kind of fell off my radar. Today my nephew and I were looking for a place and it popped into my mind. I'm glad we went! The lunch special is two tacos and a large side for $8. I got the Bang Bang shrimp and the beef with a side of Mexican street corn. Yumola! My nephew got the Saucy and a Carne Asada with a side of Panko Mac n Cheese. We both absolutely loved the food.

Not impressed. We came by a week ago and 12:30 waited 10 minutes with no service and left. We came in today a little after 1 to give it a second chance. The people next to us were complaining that they were there for an hour and still didn 't get their food. They finally got it after being told for 15 minutes it would be right out . When it came out, it was the wrong order. They left as did another 2 tables. Luckily, we didn 't wait as long as the others. But I think that is the key. You won 't get out of there in under 2 hours unless you come in around 11 or after 1. We were pretty lucky this time as the bartender came out to wait on us, and she was a good waitress. Now for the food. The saucy taco is not bad. The steak tacos are fairly tasty. The chicken, however, was not great. And the beef tacos were pretty bad. The nachos were also not horrible, but several were burnt. If the food was amazing, the gamble might be worth it. But the food is a little above average and there are a lot of other great places in town.

Saucy Taco is located off of SR 13 within the Publix shopping center. There aren 't a lot of restaurant options in this area so I was more then pleased when Saucy Taco opened there doors. I 've been here a hand full of times since Saucy Taco has opened there doors. In the past I 've ordered numerous tacos, chips, quesadillas and other items and all have been fresh and flavorful. On this particular occasion a few of us sat at the bar and had a some beverages before making our way to another establishment. The bartender was friendly and our drinks were tasty. We noticed on the chalk board by the bar that there was a special of Pork Rind Nachos and couldn 't resist ordering them. Shortly after ordering a lady from the kitchen brought them out and waited to see how we liked them. We LOVED them and my friend told her she couldn 't wait to Yelp about how good they were to which the lady responded by saying Now that 's what I like to hear! Overall, great addition to the area with solid food and service.