Taco Stop MKE Didn’t Exceed Expectations (REVIEW)

Taco Stop MKE

513 N Chicago Ave

South Milwaukee, WI 53172

414-574-5123

Business Hours:

Mon       10:00 am – 9:00 pm

Tue        10:00 am – 9:00 pm

Wed       10:00 am – 9:00 pm

Thu        10:00 am – 9:00 pm

Fri           10:00 am – 9:00 pm

Sat         10:00 am – 9:00 pm

Sun         11:00 am – 5:00 pm

Cuisine type: Mexican

Price per entrée: $10.00-$15.00

Attire: CASUAL

Reservations: NO

Payment: CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED

Service: 1 chef hat

Setting: 3 chef hats

Food: 2 chef hats

Value: 2 chef hats

Overall: 2 chef hats

Everyone loves an excellent authentic Mexican restaurant, especially in walking distance from your home. However, are all Mexican restaurants going to live up to the authentic Mexican food that my family carries over? The answer is no, not all Mexican restaurants will have that home cooked touch to it. Taco Stop MKE opened up in South Milwaukee almost two years ago, being the second Mexican restaurant in the community. All over the menu, on their outdoor sign and on social media sites- Taco Stop Mke likes to be recognized for its authentic cuisine.

One evening after work and school, my son and I were craving Mexican food but didn’t want to drive to Milwaukee to get the food. We decided to stop at Taco Stop MKE, which is four blocks away from our house. My son ordered the chicken burrito with a lime flavored Jarrito (Mexican soda) on the side. I went for the tacos al pastor that came on a corn tortilla with green peppers. My son loved his burrito, but he also loves Taco Bell just as much.  It was smothered in a generous amount of sour cream that took away from the flavor of the chicken in the burrito. Topping my tacos with green peppers was new to me, but it gave the tacos a more grilled and smoky taste rather than the cilantro and onions that I am used to.

For many years, this taco shop was a gyro stand and then Nonna’s Café that failed after less than a year. As the new owners took over, they completely remodeled the inside and outside of the restaurant. Previously, there was limited seating inside, and now they built in four booths and added four tables for seating. The space is still small so if the restaurant ever happened to be packed, the seating would be fairly intimate. A great addition that they added was the outdoor patio space that has five tables set outside their newly finished patio. This was a great touch to the space since outdoor patios seem to be the new trend lately.

The service was mediocre; our waitress did not do anything that stood out and stood behind her cashier drawer until the food was ready. Inside the restaurant, there was a main station that had salsa, utensils and napkins almost as if it was a serve yourself type of deal. Interaction with the server was brief and very impersonal, and I wondered if it was even necessary to leave a tip because she never came back to check on us.

Taco Stop MKE is up against Azteca Restaurant in South Milwaukee, which also went through a complete remodel with outdoor seating. The service at Azteca is by far trampling over Taco Stop’s; Azteca is very attentive, hospitable and catering to their customers. The food at Azteca has just the right amount of spices and flavor that make the food authentic and warm the belly instantly. On Sundays, Azteca offers a brunch buffet that contains anywhere from a dessert bar, pozole, and lunch items, but the options are limitless. How many other Mexican restaurants can you name that have a buffet in-house. On top of that, Taco Stop does not sell liquor, and Azteca blows them away with their happy hour specials.

Overall, I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone. It really threw me off guard by the ratings Taco Stop received on Google, Yelp and Facebook. My expectations were actually high, but I can assume if you didn’t grow up Mexican and eat Mexican food on a daily basis, your taste buds wouldn’t know the difference.