I have an appreciation for authentic Mexican food and Taco Bell is far from authentic. However, it appears Taco Bell is trying to take a step in this direction with its new Cantina like tacos made with two corn tortillas, chopped onions, cilantro and a lime wedge with three meat choices. Writing a review gave me a good excuse to stop by and try all three.
What I Ate: Cantina Triple Pack, $4.62.
Chicken Cantina: The chicken was finely chopped and tasted marinated but was still a bit dry. The cilantro taste was strong but squeezing the lime over the top gave it a nice flavor. Overall, mixed with the chopped onion, I enjoyed this 170 calorie taco with only 20 calories from fat making it a sensible choice. For those watching your salt intake, this taco had 350mg, the highest of the three Carnitas.
Steak Cantina: I am always leery of the quality of the steak from a place like Taco Bell. Have you ever had the pre-made steak you can buy in a zipper bag in the processed meat section at your local grocery? To me, this kind of steak usually has an odd texture and is missing the grilled taste. This was the case for my experience with the chopped steak on the Steak Cantina as it tasted like hard pellets going down. A problem with all the Cantinas is how quickly they fall apart even though there are two corn shells supporting the insides of this taco. The double taco shell has a purpose but leaves flaps of corn shell hanging off making it an even bigger mess. Surely Taco Bell could have a double thick shell made for this taco. I ended up taking one of the shells off and giving it to my carb crazy daughter who loved it.
Carnitas Cantina: Although wibia is a big fan of Carnitas, I have never been myself. Of all the Cantinas, this taco was the big winner for me. For some reason this one held together the best and the pork was soft and almost creamy with a nice juice. That juice softened the chopped onions making them softer creating a blend of the ingredients that went well with the lime. Due to the pork, this taco comes in at 200 calories with 60 from fat making it the worst choice of three for those counting calories.
Would I Buy It Again? Yes & No. I commend Taco Bell for trying something new that leans toward the authentic side a bit more. The Carnitas were a hit for me and it would be something I get every time I go to Taco Bell. The chicken is worthy of another try and a good choice for those with a chicken preference that like that cilantro chicken combination. At all costs, stay away from the steak which had poor texture, little taste and was very dry.
-EatHSE
Tags: cantina tacos, carnitas, Chicken, Food, mexican, Steak, Taco Bell
Thanks for the post – I’ve been curious how the carnitas tacos are – I love those and have been wondering how they are at Taco Bell. I’ll have to try them out!
Señor Wibia, care to weigh in? Have you tried these yet? Thanks for the review EatHSE. I have not tried them all, but I found that “creamy” texture from the carnitas to be quite off-putting. It was watery, slimey, and all around kind of unappetizing to the eye… Judging by the picture, you got the same thing. And my cilantro/onion topping must have been chopped like 4 days prior to serving because it was very soft. The taco lacked any kind of texture. It kind of felt like old people, denture-safe cuisine. The lime was a nice touch though! Mine was very fresh and juicy. I’ve read several reviews that say the limes are always dry, shriveled, and obviously cut at a factory then held in a warehouse, but that was not the case with mine.
$4.62 for three? At my Taco Bell you can get one for $2.19, which is way too much to pay for any single TB item, imo. I wonder if my TB has the three pack and I just didn’t notice. Anyway, I think TB should just stick to the “cafeteria-style” mex food … no one goes there expecting anything close to authentic anyway.
@Andrew…I have yet to try them and not 100% sure that I will. I wish that I had something witty or even interesting to contribute…but I got nothing!
I admire Taco Bell for the willingness to try something completely new and different from their regular menu items, but the cost of these makes them prohibitive to me. I’ll stick to the value menu tacos.
I tried the steak version a few days ago & found it to be quite good for Taco Bell. Everything on mine seemed very fresh (lime included) & the steak was tender. I think as it always is with fast food (or sadly with some restaurants) is the quality varies from store to store & the employees have a lot to do with quality issues as well.
I, too, tried all 3…since I have noticed a huge difference in quality between our local Hamilton County TB locations, I always go to my favorite on SR 32 just as you are leaving Noblesville….they are consistently good, fresh, and CORRECT in your order…always a bonus!
They were really good. The pico style salsa was fresh, and had a lot of cilantro – yum – and the lime was also fresh. I don’t dig the double shell, so I only used one, but it was tender and didn’t fall apart…
The carnitas one was my favorite – the meat was not smushy looking like in your picture….it had the best flavor.
My combo for all 3 plus a drink was almost $6. Each one separately is $1.50ish. Not worth it for how tiny they are, IMHO.
It always interests me to see how different each franchise can be in the quality department!
@ Andrew My limes were quite fresh also. It seems like consistency is a big issue with these tacos. I got mine at the Taco Bell just west of I69 on 96th St.
@Indianapoliseater. Correct me if I am wrong, but are the value menu items all 99 cents? If that is the case +tax + the Colts food tax, your order of 3 tacos would cost $3.18 making these tacos a combined total of $1.44 more than the value menu.
@EatHSE: The soft tacos are 99 cents. Hard tacos are 89 cents. Unlike you, I’m not rich and need that extra $1.44. Ha!
You lost me at “authentic mexican food” and “Taco Bell” in the same sentence
EatHSE: Two things. First of all, my personal opinion is that the chicken at Taco Bell is as you described the steak. I always feel you have to go ground beef there. Maybe it’s just me, but I will definitely try the carnitas after this review.
Second, I couldn’t agree more with your comments to IndianapolisEater. He’s a clown. Tell him to drink less water, errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr Coors Light.
I suppose if I weren’t surrounded by great taquerías this might be a last ditch option… I’d rather spend the $4.50 and get some real tacos that haven’t been processed with who knows what.
I plan on staying away from the steak taco anyway. It has trans fat. Check out the ingredient list on dietfacts.com. And yes, I fully aware that meats do produce trans fat naturally, but they deliberately put partially hydrogenated soybean oil in there. So, I’m not cool with that nonsense.