Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    The Real Taco

    4.4 (170 reviews)
    InexpensiveFood Trucks, Mexican
    Closed 11:00 am - 9:00 pm
    Updated 3 weeks ago

    Order The Real Taco Takeout or Delivery

    The Real Taco Photos

    THE REAL TACO ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Classy
    Outdoor seating

    More like The Real Taco

    Recommended Reviews - The Real Taco

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    Reviews With Photos

    Truck
    Patty C.

    The fresh made tortillas and extremely fresh and delicious ingredients make these tacos stand out above the rest. Each one had their own unique flavors. I definitely don't have a favorite and wish I had more tacos as I was writing this. The only downside was that when I asked for consume for my birria taco they said I had to purchase it. I definitely don't need a full cup of consume for a single taco. The flavor was great on its own though.

    Fried Quesadilla.
    Anndora L.

    It's a food truck across the street from Copal. It's clean and the guy who took my order was welcoming. Pretty extensive menu the guy told me to take my time with. Outside seating with a few umbrellas to protect from the elements being sun, fog or rain! I ordered 3 tacos 2 steak & one chorizo. Plus a fried quesadilla - to go. Good tasty tacos filled to the brim. The quesadilla was eaten in the car - not too messy. Tortillas are all handmade.

    Yash S.

    Really fantastic tacos, I got a fish taco and a quesabirria taco. The tortillas are handmade with corn and really soft, not tough like some spots. The fish was super delicate and tender, seasoned well and the quesabirria was also excellent. My favorite taco spot in Santa Cruz!

    Quesabirria tacos!

    Don't miss the opportunity to get some fabulous authentic food! I had the Mexican corn in a cup and it was the best I've ever had. Quesabirria tacos were awesome. The owner is great and had a story to tell. Awesome experience.

    Birria Burrito
    Rachel L.

    Very solid!! One of the best Horchatas ever! It was definitely on the sweeter side but so creamy and addictive. I got the birria burrito which was quite flavorful on its own, but with the red salsa it packed so much delicious heat! Highly recommend. My boyfriend got the Cali Burrito which comes with green salsa inside, and he said it was way too spicy. I thought it was pretty mild, but if you can't handle spice be careful because it already comes with salsa inside! Service was super fast; took less than 10 minutes for our order. It is a food truck with a good amount of seating, although mostly in the sun and not well-shaded.

    Chile relleno burrito
    Emily Q.

    The burrito was so good. Wow, will definitely be returning. They have seating out front. It was filling and huge! Highly recommend day 2: i had to come back the next day after the delicious burrito to try a different item on the menu. I ordered the fish taco plate... wow!!!!!! The plate is not greasy, its filling and it feels homecooked exactly what i want. This is my new favorite truck to get lunch. So good!

    pollo, pastor, asada tacos!
    Mary S.

    A great drop in Mexican spot for lunch serving handmade tortillas. The portions right and tacos delicious. Keep in mind very limited parking so may need to park off street down the neighborhood.

    Craving mexican food, I searched for a suggestion...& I found The Real Taco. Wow... yummy, delicious, quality ingredients with lots of flavor! The service was friendly and prompt. It was nice to sit down with great food at the picnic table and wait out rush hour traffic and people watch! If I am ever up in Santa Cruz again, I will be back to try other options. This time I had the vegetarian burrito and veggie Taco. Good portions and about $20.

    Baja Taco plate

    Despite food being great, the young girl working the truck register charged me extra even though I said I was paying cash and proceeded to comment "its basically the same, just a few cents less" really it was a $5 difference. Non cash prices were $1.50 extra. Just a little off putting telling your customers who are willing to pay cash for cash priced food then you tell them "its only a few extra cents".... Rude and annoying. Food was great. 10/10 for the cali burrito w/asada and the baja taco plate.

    2 pastor( I was so hungry and bit into one before the picture!) 2 asada tacos.
    Melissa M.

    Came here for the first time today looking for a quick bite. There were only a couple orders ahead of us and the wait was not bad, took about 10 minutes to get our food. We ordered tacos and agua de orchata. We ordered pastor, asada and lengua. They were served with cilantro, cebolla and chile toreado plus salsas. The food was okay. The meat felt a little dry and the tortillas didn't taste or feel like handmade tortillas.

    Coca Cola
    Aly A.

    We came to Humble Sea Brewery and we saw this truck outside the patio area . My kids were super hungry after a long drive . The service was excellent super nice and attentive. The food was so delicious we got tacos they came with grilled onions on the side with some lime slices and some good salsa . The meat was cooked just perfect .My boys got some Mexican cokes for their drinks . They also offer a lot of different flavor of Jarritos . The best part is their tortillas are handmade and you know u can taste the difference. Overall the food is super good here definitely recommend.

    Carne asada burrito, al pastor taco, and pambazo

    See all

    3 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 1
    Photo of Dana K.
    0
    38
    19

    6 months ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    13 days ago

    Amazing shrimp tacos and burrito. Came out in ~5 mins. Great service - 10/10 would be back!!!

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 1

    1 year ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Yash S.
    322
    44
    11

    3 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 month ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 5
    Oh no 0

    7 months ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 2
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    11 months ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 months ago

    Amazing fish tacos. Chicken and carnitas also great. Good rice, too. Solid time estimates as well!

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 month ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 month ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    2 months ago

    SO SO GOOD! I always get the al pastor super burrito and the horchata. It's one of the best horchatas ever

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    3 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 1
    Photo of Aly A.
    970
    687
    15384

    2 years ago

    Helpful 20
    Thanks 4
    Love this 22
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 months ago

    My wife and I had the Quesabirria Plate and it was excellent....very flavorfull. Friendly service....

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 5
    Thanks 0
    Love this 6
    Oh no 0

    6 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Alden B.
    0
    108
    45

    6 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Austin B.
    164
    105
    1

    6 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 3
    Photo of Marie K.
    10
    32
    15

    10 months ago

    Stopped in for a burrito- grilled chicken. Super spicy. Really nice guys working there.

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    10 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 months ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 1

    11 months ago

    Yummy tacos! Choice of brown or white rice. Definitely would go daily if I lived closer.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Jen A.
    0
    22
    1

    11 months ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    6 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 2
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    Page 1 of 5

    The Real Taco Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - The Real Taco

    Are the rice and beans vegan/vegetarian?

    Yes, they are vegan and vegetarian!!

    View All 2 Questions

    Pana Food Truck - Sifrina

    Pana Food Truck

    4.8(335 reviews)
    1.2 mi
    $$

    Had a great time trying arepas at Pana while at the sharks game on a Thursday night!…read more It's a popular spot that capture a long line because of its live cooking and delicious food. It took about 7-10 minutes for my food to be done. I ordered the Sifrina which is an arepa with shredded chicken, cheese, mayo, and avocado. It was so delicious, great amount of filling, and the avo spread was so tasty. Would love to come here again!

    I can't believe I hadn't written a review for Pana before!…read more I hadn't been around the Santa Cruz area in a while, but I was so happy to be back and finally check out their new spot inside Abbott Square Market, right on Cooper Street. I've been to Pana before and usually go for the Pabellón arepa, which is also delicious, but this time I tried the Reina Pepiada, and wow. It's made with shredded chicken, mayo, and avocado. The arepa was extra crispy, which I loved. Honestly, even as a Colombian, and someone who grew up eating arepas all my life, I have to say, this Venezuelan version is amazing. Super flavorful and well-balanced. Germán, the owner, was super welcoming as always. He told me they're opening a new location in San José, which is way closer to me, and I'm honestly so excited to visit them there too! The vibe that day was perfect. There was live music playing, people dancing, and I was just sitting there enjoying my arepa in the sun with all that great energy around me. If you haven't tried Pana, you're missing out. The food, the people, the vibe, todo was on point.

    Photos
    Pana Food Truck - Pickup area

    Pickup area

    Pana Food Truck - Delicious plantain and black bean arepa.

    Delicious plantain and black bean arepa.

    Pana Food Truck - Side Plantains

    See all

    Side Plantains

    S&B Food Truck - What they advertise their Philly cheesesteak as

    S&B Food Truck

    4.0(8 reviews)
    1.2 mi

    Stopped by for lunch and wow, this was insanely mid. As someone that's been to Buster's in SF, I…read morewas expecting a decent portion of large semi-thick cuts of meat in a toasted sandwich. What I got was far from that. $16 got me a very lightly filled "Philly cheesesteak" that was filled what what appeared to be "steak umms." After browsing their Instagram page I was fully expecting the tender and large cuts of meat and portion advertised as I have attached but whatever I got was far from what was advertised. Coupled with undercooked vegetables and thin processed meat that was what appeared and tasted to be seasoned with taco seasoning, this was far from a "Philly cheesesteak." They advertise in their Instagram bio that they have "The best sandwiches and burgers in town" but what I experienced today leads me to feel strongly otherwise. To those that want a Philly cheesesteak, I'd advise you to go somewhere else, and for those seeking a similar experience, try the frozen Philly cheesesteak you can find at the Dollar Tree.

    These guys were at my local brewery Steel Bonnet tonight and I was blow away that they were not on…read moreYelp! (I grabbed the first!) I was in the mood for nachos and past by our local Mexican joint on the way here and saw the truck. I took a chance and tried their take on the classic and was super stoked! Alberto explained that they don't do it the classic Mexican way! These Nacho's (see picture) we're more classic American style (think Beavis & Butthead) (nacho cheese sauce) mixed with carne asada, and bacon, jalapenos, and grilled onions! Topped with a house made sauce that melted all together right! They were a pleasant surprise! S&B, Sandwiches & Burgers! They are not trying to be a standard Mexican food truck, it's all about their take on the classics. Cheese Steaks, BAVO (Bacon Avocado Lettuce Tomato), Burgers, Nacho Fries... Alberto also said their burritos are all meat with just their special sauce, very untraditional bit sounds great. It's only my first visit but they say they are at Steel Bonnet every Wednesday night. Check'em out! I'll be back next week to try a burger!

    Photos
    S&B Food Truck
    S&B Food Truck - Philly Cheesesteak

    Philly Cheesesteak

    S&B Food Truck

    See all

    Union Foodie Truck - The truck

    Union Foodie Truck

    4.3(8 reviews)
    0.5 mi

    Just got a chance to try this new foodie truck tonight at our local brewery. An Asian Mexican…read morefusion truck with a small but tasty menu. I'll start out by saying that the food I tried was quite tasty but... I had the Banh-Torta, an attempt at a fusion of the Vietnamese Banh Mi and the Mexican Torta. You can get either of these on their own in San Jose for about 6 bucks but adding guacamole makes this Bahn Mi 9 bucks? The bread had a tough bite, not the crunchy crust and soft center of a killer French baguette or the yummy texture of a great Torta roll grilled on a flat top. More like a day old sourdough that wasn't sour, not a good fit in my opinion. Lots of good flavored fillings like pickled and fresh jalapenos, and Sriracha mayo. The real disappointment was that everything was cold. If the steak was first warmed on the grill (standard practice for any food truck) or the bread was toasted or something to add some warmth to the equation, maybe I would have been swayed to 4 stars. I know they are just starting out and this is the first Yelp review but I did mention I was going to add them to Yelp and Rachel the chef/owner handed my wife her cold sandwich while smoking a cigarette with the other hand. I'm not sure if this is some sort of health code violation or what but California's no smoking laws don't allow smoking within 25 feet of any door or window leading to a place that serves food. Smoking in the kitchen is a pretty bad display of disregard in my opinion. I won't be lining up next time this truck is in town but you should try them for yourself and hopefully my honest review gives them some direction for success.

    Just had an I Love Lucy sandwich. Absolutely delicious, perfect balance of crunch, salty and…read moresavory. Friendly, fast service, and getting a sandwich presented this beautifully is rare. Recommended without reservation!

    Photos
    Union Foodie Truck
    Union Foodie Truck
    Union Foodie Truck

    See all

    The Real Taco - foodtrucks - Updated September 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...