Retro Taco - Riverside, California

Brandon

This is by far the best Mexican restaurant in all of downtown Riverside. Don’t get tricked into Palenco—P-A-L-E-N-C-O-L-E (again, that’s P-A-L-E-N-C-O-L-E). It’s overpriced, overrated, and simply not worth it.

If you’re looking for amazing tacos and Mexican cuisine with Hawaiian and Asian-inspired flavors, this spot is hands-down the best option in Riverside’s beautifully revitalized downtown area. And even if you’re craving traditional Mexican food, this is the spot. Do not get fooled by its competitors.

I hadn’t been here in years, but I’m seriously impressed with what they’ve done and how they’ve done it.

Do yourself a favor and visit today—you won’t regret it.

David A.

Pretty active place for a weeknight! We visited on a Taco Tuesday and were clued into some of the taco deals and happy hour deals. I ordered asada Cali fries and some other members of my party ordered beer, cocktails, taquitos and plenty of tacos. There was an above average wait time for everything.

I received my Cali fries with al pastor meat, which I had not ordered. I did not want to ask to send it back, because I feared an even longer wait for the correct order. I also did not want to have them waste and toss out any food. I'd already observed other members of our party wait for inconsistent (both long and short) periods of time for their food and beverages. Things like getting cocktails before something simple like a canned domestic beer.

We all pretty much enjoyed our food and drinks on the whole, once it all arrived. I want to give credit to the fries, because my Cali fries had some crazy strong papitas keeping their crunch in the moat of melted cheese they were floating in. It was like a french fry caldo.

This place is under new ownership and there is no longer merch, a mural, art or vinyl records for decor. A couple members of the party had issues with their bills and our server was responsive to correcting any pricing issues. Not bad! I'd try some of the Asian fushion food next time because that is newer to the menu.

luke L.

This review is for Retro on Main. This place changed ownership 6 months ago but here on Google is still called Retro Taco. The positives were the Bao Buns weren’t bad and our server was friendly. Other than that, this place fell short of the mark. We enjoyed going to Retro Taco but seemed to get lazy this last year and it showed. We came to checkout this new place because we heard they changed ownership. Seems like laziness is still the culture of this establishment regardless of new ownership. We sat at the bar which employees were using as a station to unbox something that I wasn’t sure what it was for. The bartender/server was friendly, asked us what we wanted to drink, my wife asked for a cocktail and I asked for 3 separate beers that were on their tap list, ALL WERE OUT. They don’t have a huge selection of taps like the old establishment used to at the inception of its opening but that’s one of the reasons we stopped going to retro taco because they were always out of beers on tap and their amount of offerings dwindled. I finally asked the server for a tall can. The inside of the establishment is just a little tacky. The paint job doesn’t seem complete, especially for being open for 6 months. They have these little paper signs throughout that are scotch taped to the walls that read “90 minute limit per visit during peak times”. Just seems tacky. They have a concrete sitting area on the outside patio that was disgusting with left over spilled drinks. I would personally use one of the employees that were unboxing the random item at the bar and instead have them hose down the concrete. There was just a lot of visual things that made this place look unappealing. Would love to give my input to the owners because my wife and I love our Downtown Riverside and enjoy frequenting the many eateries here.

Liz V.

I dined in and went at a time with few customers. Staff was polite and attentive. Our table was clean and there was live music. Unfortunately, we had an awkward seating arrangement. The table were sat in was infront of the stage which resulted with some people with their backs to the band and a hard time communicating with our waiter. Unfortunately, our waiter informed us that they didn't have any agua frescas available at the moment. As an appetizer we ordered the Viet Pizza which was alright and was brought to us in about 15 minutes. As an entree I order the Mexican Chili Crisp Noodle and my friend ordered the Birria Noodle. I liked the cucumber on my dish but the noodles were only ok and honestly not worth it. The birria Noodle was a good portion but also no great. I liked the Pork Bao Buns which are what got me to finally come in person but everything we ordered wasn't good enough for us to want to come back. We also noticed the the menu and interior are completely different from photos online so I'm guessing it's under new management maybe. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this place for the food at the moment and do not plan on visiting again. You can find the new menu on their website.

Michael N.

My family and I saw a post on Instagram and noticed this place Makes lomo saltado So we were very excited to see what it was all about. While the host/waitress was super nice, we noticed the place needed to be cleaned up more, and then when the food arrived is when the grade disappointment started. I am from Lima Peru and I’m also a cook. To call This lomo saltado is the biggest Lie. When they advertise lomo saltado on their Instagram, it looks delicious and Juicy, however The One We Got had no Juice no flavor and 5 small Pieces of meat. If you see the picture this is all we ate. Waitress didn’t offer to take it off or mentioned it to anyone, so we paid for it but will not come back. This is too bad as we were hoping for something better. I hope they improve

Abraham T.

Great place to have tacos in downtown riverside. Food menu is very unique. Tacos are amazing. I also tried some of the street foods. The hot dog was amazing. We had a great time. Beer menu is huge and have a bunch of local beers on draft. Staff is also very good and help with the huge selection of beers. I was visiting from out of state. Definitely a place to hit if your in the area.

Ivan C.

This place serves a fusion of Mexican and slight adaptations of tacos. Tacos can cost $3 each (premium service). If you like unique and creative adaptations of tacos, this place is for you.

Staff were very friendly. Apparently Retro Taco hosts artwork classes. The artwork on the walls is very nice.

Retro Taco is a nice place to visit for lunch. Very quiet and in downtown.

Edward Q.

This place is under new management. Food was great tasting but kind if small portions. The mimosa flight was great.