Searching for the Best Tacos in Austin: Veracruz All Natural

Veracruz All Natural serves up creative and classic tacos that are centered around traditional recipes and fresh, all natural ingredients. This spot is no stranger to various “best tacos in Austin” lists, but does it live up to the hype? I headed over to find out.

The Backstory

Veracruz All Natural is the brainchild of Reyna and Maritza Vazquez, two sisters who grew up in Veracruz, Mexico. The family ran a taqueria out of their home, and Reyna and Maritza started helping out at a young age. They moved to Austin in 1999, and 7 years later Reyna had saved up enough to buy a food truck. A novel concept that helped kick off the now thriving Austin food truck scene. She sold traditional juices, smoothies, and snacks, but business was slow. Two years later, Maritza joined in and they started serving tacos based on their mother’s recipes, and then things started to get spicy.

Word spread over these all natural good-for-you tacos, and business boomed. Accolades started pouring in and famous foodies raved over the sister’s tasty taco creations. The momentum hasn’t stopped. Veracruz All Natural Tacos now has 3 Austin locations as well as a locale in LA—perhaps with more to  come! (For a more in-depth history, check out THIS New York Times article.)

My Veracruz All Natural Experience

The Al Pastor was loaded with meat and a generous handful of pineapple. The pork was tender with a subtle marinade that gave the pork flavor room to shine. Cilantro, onion, and house made salsa tied it all together. There was no zesty flavor pop or component to elicit that “oh my god I love this”  sentiment. But it was a spot on classic Al Pastor.

The grilled fish taco featured tilapia, mango pico, cabbage, avocado, and Monterey jack cheese. I was rooting for this one to be a winner, but it didn’t have me hooked. The fishy tilapia flavor overwhelmed all the other ingredients and it needed a heavy dousing of sauce to moisten each bite up.

The furioso taco, a vegan option, was loaded with refried black beans, cauliflower, carrot, corn, spinach, salsa, and avocado. The corn and carrot added a crunch to the creaminess of the refried beans, and the earthy flavors meshed perfectly. This was my favorite taco of three by a long shot.

Final Thoughts and Feelings

Veracruz All Natural lives up to its name—Mexican flavors with fresh ingredients. I enjoyed the crisp freshness and all the veggies, but I am nothing but honest… the flavor profiles were lacking an extra oomph that would have me coming back for more. Not to mention, each taco was between $4.50 and $5.00. In a city full of $2-$3 tacos, Veracruz does not get the Frugal Foodies stamp of approval.

I admire what the Vazquez sisters have created and wasn’t mad about eating the tacos. But in a city with a taco spot around every corner, I wouldn’t go back for more.