Tako: Restaurant Review

Taco, tako! As you know, whenever we visit somewhere we have to eat as the locals eat. In Downtown Pittsburgh, you’ll find a little row of restaurants on Sixth Street. Lucky for us, we stayed at the Renaissance Pittsburgh which was right across the street from these coveted restaurants. Even better because we had our little peanut in tow and she hasn’t quite figured out how to manage the downtown streets yet. 

Tako is a trendy little taco joint with an ambiance that makes you want to have 3 or 4 or 5 margaritas and laugh with friends into the night. Since we were taking it to go, I had to pull that ambiance with me back to our hotel room. Every good Mexican restaurant starts with chips and salsa ($3 ea or 3 for $7) and these don’t disappoint. The chips are crisp, flavorful with just the right amount of salt. We opted for three of their homemade salsas, the roasted tomatillo, smoked chipotle, and arbol chili. They were full of flavor and packed just the right amount of heat. We wanted to get the queso fundido ($12) but figured that hot cheese dip is typically enjoyed better when it’s piping hot. Now we know what to get first next time we visit Tako. Oh, the brave little potato. I think we are making it a habit to order the papas bravas ($9) whenever we visit a restaurant and I don’t hate it. The variation at Tako is pretty delicious and I may have eaten them all without sharing. Their fried potatoes are topped with oregano butter, green onions, a spicy tomato sauce served with roasted garlic mayo. You can even top them with chorizo for an additional $3. After we stuffed ourselves with appetizers, we enjoyed a few taco (Tako!) variations.

All of their tacos come in an order of two served in their house-made flour tortillas. If you want to share with a group, you can get your choice of 6 house tacos served on a 4 foot board. While I probably could have enjoyed 12 tacos, I decided to just enjoy my Korean tacos ($16). They were made with bulgogi marinated shortrib, peanuts, napa cabbage salad, and fermented cucumber and they were scrumptious. 

The Beard got the Bistec tacos ($19) which features Asada marinated flat iron, salsa borracha, smoked mushrooms, fried shishito peppers, and queso fresco. Seriously, we could have eaten 30 of these tacos. If you are visiting Pittsburgh, be sure to make a stop at Tako on 6th street. But, make sure you make a reservation so you can enjoy some of their crafted margaritas!