The Mexican restaurant started as a food truck before owner Eloy Saenz opened the first brick-and-mortar location in South Austin in 2002. The restaurant expanded to a small suite in Pflugerville in 2006. The restaurant grew so popular that Saenz had to move to a larger location in November 2018 to accommodate customer demand, manager Janeth Solari said.
A third El Taquito location in Round Rock closed in June 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Solari said.
Though there are many Mexican and Tex-Mex eateries in the Pflugerville area, Assistant Manager Alejandro Moreno said the menu at El Taquito Urbano is the result of dedication to authenticity of traditional Mexican recipes.
“There are a lot of places that will have Tex-Mex food, and it’s really good, but it’s not exactly what people in Mexico are used to,” Moreno said.
Solari also said the tacos at El Taquito are favorites of people from the Mexican cities of Monterrey and Matamoros.
“There are many people who come here from Monterrey, Mexico, who say [the tacos] taste exactly like Monterrey tacos,” Solari said.
Other popular items include the taquitos, which are tortillas topped with meat and other ingredients.
El Taquito Urbano also has a wraparound bar, where bartenders serve beer, wine, tequila, rum and specialty cocktails.
“Some people, when they come in, they don’t even suspect that we have a bar,” Moreno said. “They just think it’s a regular restaurant.”
Solari said what ultimately makes El Taquito Urbano popular is the overall environment.
“A lot of people love the food and the service, and when they come here, they feel that we are family,” she said. “We have a lot of loyal customers.”
El Taquito Urbano
20007 FM 685, Pflugerville
512-252-1811
www.eltaquito.com
Hours: Wed.-Sat. 9 a.m.-10 p.m., Sun. 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Mon.-Tue. closed
