Searching for the Best Tacos in Austin: Torchy’s Tacos

Watch out Chipotle, there’s a booming tex-mex competitor on the block: Torchy’s Tacos.

Torchy’s Tacos serves up killer tacos with bold flavors, fresh ingredients, and loads of attitude. The brand is fun, casual and cool with laid back vibes and a zesty baby devil mascot. There are 95 locations across 11 different states, but Torchy’s story starts in Austin, Texas.

In 2006, Mike Rypka bought a food trailer and red Vespa and began cooking up creative taco creations. It didn’t take long for Torchy’s to catch fire. Taco lover’s from around the city became obsessed with the bad ass branding and delicious tex-mex fare. The chain has amassed an avid fan-base, but do the tacos actually bring the heat?

I headed to a Torchy’s Tacos in the city where it all began to find out.

The Venue

The Congress Street Torchy’s is spacious, with a bar area to the right and seating to the left. Wood accents and warm lighting fixtures give the space a cozy yet sophisticated feel. After 5 minutes of heavily debating our taco choices, we walked up to the counter, ordered, paid, took a seat, and were served our tacos soon after.

The Tacos

First, we dug into The Brushfire, which consisted of Jamaican jerk chicken, grilled jalapeños, mango, sour cream, cilantro, and a diablo sauce. My mouth was whisked through a wild flavor ride. There was an immediate tingle of sweetness from the mango that proceeded to blend nicely with the vibrant jerk chicken. Next came a punch of heat from the diablo sauce and jalapeños, which was immediately reigned under control by the sour cream and cilantro.

Next up was the green chile pork, which consisted of carnitas simmered with green chiles and topped with cotija cheese, cilantro and onion. It was everything you’d want from a carnitas taco—juicy meat and the right ratio of ingredients to make every bite satisfying. The green chili  added an exciting flavor kick, making for a solid taco.

Final Thoughts on Torchy’s Tacos

Torchy’s lives up to the hype. The tacos have exciting flavor combinations that keep the taste buds guessing. I will certainly be visiting a Torchy’s again, and will finish off with saying that Chipotle better watch it’s back…

Hungry for more Austin tacos? Check out my review of Veracruz All Natural!