bartaco Biltmore

Reviews 10

RO

Royal Allen Wenzel

It was unthrilled enough when a corporate chain decides to take over a classic art deco building in the heart of downtown Asheville, and then turn it into a faux hacienda-style monstrosity, but considering that somebody gave me two tokens for free tacos, I decided to go in and check it out. The inside is even worse than the outside... Its your typical corporate dream... Wannabe fancy yet rustic, and completely over done. Very sterile feeling atmosphere, and everybody in the place was just a little bit too friendly, ala the Stepford Wives. The music was ridiculously loud. They have nearly no conscience about consumer waste... Though they use recycled napkins and compostable take-out containers, you have to order using a card which is a waste of paper, and then the take out that I got had this ridiculously large paper handled shopping bag... For two tacos. Seriously, I could have fit a toaster oven in this bag... For two tacos. And Im not talking like big ass fill you up kind of tacos... Im talking like two bite appetizers. Thats what these tacos are...theres pretty much nothing in them. Overall, it just seems like a lot of hype for food that really isnt all that great quality... Theres plenty of other local taco places in town that you get more bang for your buck at. If you want really good tacos, go to Mamacitas, White Duck, Taco Temple, or Taco Billy, and stay away from this corporate flash in the pan.

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MA

Matthew Beasley

We stopped by recently for the first time to check out the menu and have a couple of cocktails which were unfortunately nothing close to adequate for the price. Despite having only 2 drinks, we spent a whopping $30 after tipping. Even for downtown Asheville, this is exorbitant. Perhaps well come back to eat, but we will definitely be going elsewhere to imbibe. I can also attest to the fact that another reviewer stated regarding the music being ridiculously loud; we had to ask our server to repeat himself several times. Apparently this is the kind of thing that a corporate chain restaurant thinks is hip. However, the notion of busting out some dance moves seemed much more appropriate in that environment of sensory overload than actually eating food and having an audible conversation with ones dinner companions.

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BR

Brennen Massengill

Good, but not great. The location and decor is pretty cool - loved the outdoor area. I had the chicken, baja fish, and falafel tacos. My fiance got ribeye, chicken, and al pastor. Chicken and fish were meh, not super flavorful. Same with the ribeye and al pastor - they were just kind of bland. The falafel was very good, but considering this is a taco place it was suprising the more traditional options were not better. The size of the tacos is very small - about 2-3 bites which they warn you about at the beginning. They sell this as "tapas" style and meant for sharing, however, a single 2 bite taco isnt really something I want to share, especially if its delicious. Not a great value. Overall, it was pretty good, but there are much better taco places in Asheville I would choose before returning here.

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ME

Megs Middleton

We came in shortly after they first opened. Since its brand new, they had a lot of employees working who didnt have a lot to do so we could barely enjoy our meal or talk without being constantly interrupted (kind of defeats the purpose of the card system they use), but were very friendly and helpful. The cocktails were really great but expensive for how little they were. The tacos were also small/overpriced. I wasnt impressed with the tacos I had, but thats mostly personal preference as the menu had no descriptions for any of the tacos except for the name. I filled out the survey card at the end and then one of the bartenders looked at my "anonymous" feedback and asked me why one category was good instead of excellent which made me kind of uncomfortable.

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AL

Alexis Bien

Went here for my birthday.... I had a larger group so I called in to make a reservation which they informed me I couldnt make but that I could call in 30 minutes ahead to be put on the list. We arrive 20-25 minutes after I called only to have to wait another 25-30 minutes. We had to fit 8 adults at a booth. They put everyones tacos on two plates and didnt give any plates. The waiter was really nice but he was trying so hard to be over the top and funny that it was actually not ok... A few mix ups with our food and drinks. At the end we were ready to go, but the it took way too long to get our checks which had to be fixed multiple times. Nice concept and good food, but it wasnt executed well at all. Honestly my worst dining experience in Asheville.

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MO

Morgan Davis

Excellent food and cocktails. The drinks are really good - even the specialty iced tea is made by hand with fresh ingredients. Service can be inconsistent. One visit we were charmed by friendly bar staff, and the next we had to deal with a cranky server and botched order. The family-style dining works fine for a couple people, but a party of more than three can expect some cold tacos that sat too long on the communal metal tray. Large parties seem to break their system and leave them scrambling to get orders and bills correct. Hopefully theyll work out the kinks, because the food and atmosphere is really worth a visit.

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BA

Bailey Nickerson

I got Baja fish tacos and soup with the lunch tray deal :) perfect sized portions and great price for the quality. The tacos are smaller but I was not caught off guard as they explained it when I came into the restaurant, and I got three with the lunch deal as opposed to the two I usually get from competitors so it balanced out. I love their efficient approach to customer service, servers only coming to the table when a card/flag is put up. Also the restaurant is really pretty. Everyone was very friendly and smiling. I came during lunchtime and it was an overall great experience.

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MI

Michael Mcfalls

I moved back to Asheville a few weeks ago. I am always looking for the latest and greatest place to eat. Today I found bartaco on 121 biltmore ave next to the orange peel. The layout, atmosphere, and the wait staff couldnt have been better. They have plenty of great beers, cocktails, and an impressive tequila selection. I ordered 5 tacos all together. They are smaller street style tacos. They range from $2.50 to $3.50. I choose the sesame ribye, shrimp banh mi, duck, and chicken tacos. Easily the best tacos in Asheville. Go check them out because ill certainly be back

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ER

Erin Brady

Had a somewhat rough experience on our visit, but much of the food was good and atmosphere is nice. Visited on a Sunday night (holiday weekend) at like 8:30 PM and it took like an hour to get food - they obvious were not prepared for a lot of customers. One taco (pork belly) was excessively full of fat, not crisped up pork at all, but the rest of the food was rather good. Pretty much EVERYTHING is gluten free, which is amazing. Guacamole, Corn side and Fish taco were my favorites. Id go back but look for a less busy time.

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AD

ada b3ta

Our tacos were disappointingly small and boring, quesadilla was 1 small tortilla folded in half with CHEDDAR cheese on it and no other ingredients, and the chicken soup had chunks of corn on the cob floating in it. We had to wait an extraordinarily long time for service at the bar, which is strange because a bartender was about 4 feet from us the entire meal. It seems like this place is a major tourist trap - the tacos at White Duck are so much better and service is much faster, and cocktails arent $10

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