See that sign in the lower right? It's been in the window of all of the Taco Del Mar locations I've visited. Good sign. Literally.
The interior is kitschy, if not a bit forced. Definitely feels like the inside of a Chili's or something, enough freedom to differentiate a bit, but you can just sense the corporate mandated "flair". The girls liked it, surfboards are enough to pique their interest. Not a bad set of kids menu options either. When I ordered the tacos the server asked if I wanted them traditional and gave a short description, which more or less matches my definition of a "proper" fish taco. Another good sign.
Presentation - This is always a tough one with fast food. I didn't do it any favors either, taking it home and thus, letting it cool down a bit more than I should have. That said, they did about as good as they could have. Aluminum foil wrappers are the right way to go, I wish there was a lime tucked in there, but I can't have it all. Coupled with the rest of the decor, middle of the road. Perhaps two citrus slices short of a 4th point. 3/5
Aroma - A bit of citrus on these, relatively mild fish smell. Good, not great. 3/5
Value - $4.59 for a pair, so $2.30 each. Make it a combo with a couple sides and a drink for $7.59, $8.09 if you want guacamole. Two tacos were fairly filling, though I stole the girls leftovers, as a dad is privileged to do. Overall a pretty decent deal. Make it sweeter by buying a Groupon like I did, ended up feeding myself and both girls at a cost of a bit over $10. 7/10
Fish - This is where my delay in eating them is not so helpful. Luke warm they were surprisingly alright, but hot they would have inevitably been better. Pretty mellow breading, not quite as crunchy as I like but not bad. Good flavor, good quantity. 6/10
Not Fish - As I mentioned above, they were offered to me as "traditional", which for the most part was dead on. Cabbage, pico, white sauce, wrapped in two corn tortillas. They included cheese, which wasn't a terrible addition, but wasn't necessary. I liked the white sauce, it had a nice citrus flavor to it that made the lack of limes tolerable. Being a bit generous here to try and even out my mistreatment of the tacos. 7/10
Overall Taste - As usual, follow a recipe and you'll make something very palatable. This is a case in point, these didn't wow me, but even a bit cold, they were good. Not memorable, but solidly good. 6/10
Bonus Points - These tacos were actually free for me. I got some arbitrary Groupon credit a while back that got me the deal for free, and to top it off their internet was down so they couldn't charge my card the extra $3. I don't carry cash because it's 2016 and they refused my offer to write a check, so free tacos! But that was just luck and happenstance, so no points.
Overall Overall - 32/50
32 is a respectable score and these would be a good option for a quick drop in fish taco. The biggest issue for me is location, there are 4 in the valley, but the closest is 6 miles away. Many tacos closer than that. On we go.
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