Food Review: Taco Bell Cantina Taco, Not Pretty but Full of Flavor

I first heard of Taco Bell's new Cantina Tacos last week and was not too interested until I saw one had pork in it. Taco Bell usually comes out with new items about every 3 weeks and most of them are just switching ingredients around. Pork is actually a new ingredient, so I just had to try it.

I'm not Mexican nor do I know of really good real Mexican food, so this will just be a review of Taco Bell's Cantina Tacos on their own merits.

Apparently, cantina tacos are simply tacos in the style that you would find all over Mexico from street vendors. Like those tacos, Taco Bell's Cantina Tacos are simple tacos with 2 thin corn tortilla shells, roasted meat, onions, cilantro and lime juice.

The Taco Bell Cantina Tacos use fresh onions and cilantro on top of the meat all wrapped inside of 2 corn tortilla shells made with ground corn treated with lime. In addition to the tacos themselves, you are also given a real lime wedge to add a squeeze of fresh citrus.

Taco Bell Cantina Tacos come in 3 different varieties including, the usual chicken and steak and also pork or carnitas, which is a fancy name for roasted pork. I have tasted Taco Bell's chicken and steak many times before, so I just ordered the pork because it's something new.

The carnitas Cantina Taco I received, of course, looked nothing like the photos on the Taco Bell website and commercials. Mine came in a paper wrapper, I believe, unlike others whose tacos came in aluminum foil wrappers.

The shells were flimsy and limp, very much unlike most of Taco Bell tortilla shells and looked very unappetizing. The shells seemed almost like crepes, which are like paper-thin pancakes.

When I opened up the tortilla shells to see what the filling looked like, I was greeted with something that looked like cat food with onions and cilantro. There was also very little filling compared to the size of the shell and what is shown in the photos. After making myself overcome that shock, I finally decided to eat it and squeezed the lime on it even though I do not usually like food with lime in it.

Due to the clumsiness of the shells, I actually had to eat this with a fork, which I didn't mind but it kind of defeats the purpose of the shells.

I expected the worst with the first bite but was very surprised that the filling had such a good taste. It's definitely not what I expected. I know there have been negative reviews from some people about the flavor of the filling but I liked it and that is all that I care about.

I'm not a big fan of cilantro but I am a huge fan of onions on my tacos. Somehow the cilantro, onions, lime juice and roasted pork work really well together here and I just love the taste. It just goes to show that I should try new things even if they sound and look unappetizing because I never know when I will find a new flavor combination that I enjoy.

The shells, however, added very little to the taste of the overall taco and acted as a poor excuse for its container.

The price for one Taco Bell Cantina Taco was $1.59 plus tax, so you get what you pay for. They also come in 2 packs and 3 packs that will cost you under $5 each. With the small amount of filling inside of these tacos, you will probably need 3 or more to get full or add on a few side dishes.

Overall, I enjoy the taste of the Taco Bell carnitas Cantina Tacos but my 2 gripes are that the corn tortilla shells are too flimsy and there is definitely not enough filling inside of these tacos. Don't expect a great authentic Mexican taco but, if you like Taco Bell-level American Mexican food, you should give it a try. If you don't like Taco Bell, you probably won't like these.

Rating: 3/5