Taco Bell Cantina

Dominique Buchanan

I got off the highway to stop at this cantina it’s super cute & the cashier is super helpful & friendly he drew me this cute little picture on my cup 😊 I noticed it when I got in my car it made me smile thanks for your great customer service & kindness 🥰🥰🥰🥰

Alex Vinogradov

This is one of the very few affordable eateries in downtown Berkeley.

Best taco bell experience of my life. The food was next level. I've eaten at many taco bells and I don't know what was different but it just tasted so much more fresh and flavorful. And the restaurant was clean and pleasant.

Love this place. The food is great here. They are severely understaffed but they continue to be as fast as they can and make orders accurately. Before the pandemic, staffing wasn’t an issue but I am guessing the pandemic hurt their business as it did many others. Happy they didn’t close. Reminder to students to be kind to the workers and understand how they have no part in how the staffing is managed here. It’s a great spot to eat and I have many memories here as a Cal student. Grateful for the late hours.

It's Taco Bell! Not much more I can say about that. The food was excellent, and you can actually see the staff in the kitchen fulfilling your order through a full view kitchen and not in a blockaded area. Seating is very limited. All orders were placed through self-service kiosk, which was a bit time-consuming if you're not familiar with the kiosk. It is located on a very busy street near UC Berkeley, and metered parking can be challenging. Did not have to wait long for my food, considering it was lunchtime. Cannot comment when school is in session though.

I've gone twice to redeem and pick up free promotional crunchy and soft tacos, and they were standard quality for Taco Bell. The location is perfect for people living on Southside. The inside of the restaurant is kept very clean, but the door is always hard to open. Haven't seen it very packed yet, but I presume it can get quite popular late at night. Additionally, as a Taco Bell Cantina, they are allowed to serve alcohol.

First time trying taco bell. They got my drink wrong but their food is decent, i liked the fries and burrito. Wont be ordering it again though

Easy to miss if you're not looking for it. The only sign is just over the door. We ordered a chicken burrito for 3 bucks and it was pretty good. Not a bad bang for the buck compared to a full size burrito at 12 plus dollars locally. We were literally the only customers in the restaurant so it's very clean with large TVs and pick the place you want to sit or stand.

This place is always super busy and as far as Im concerned Taco Bell is Taco Bell. I always order their Chalupa with a medium size Baja Blast fountain drink. Mostly college and food delivery people are the ones who usually are in and out of this place.

I don't eat Taco Bell and have refused to eat it for years. And today was the first time in years I actually was intrigued enough to want to give this place a try again🙌🥳🎉🎉🎉. Ladies & gentlemen they have beer here on tap 🍻🍺🍻🍺😲!! Taco bell cantina is the way to go!! I felt comfortable enough that my food was being prepared correctly because you can actually see from a glass wall how they make your food. For once this Taco bell is so clean & professional I wish every location was this nice!!! Even the bathrooms were clean😲! I even tried different items on the menu and wasn't disappointed for once NOT grossed out like I usually would back when I stop eating Taco Bell😅. If you were ever grossed out by Taco Bell like I was this place actually makes up and restores Taco Bells reputation👌🏽. I really like the fact that prices are extremely decent especially in this part of town. This really is a cheap & good meal when your on a budget.

Staff is friendly and efficient. Food is what you expect from taco bell. There is beer on tap at this location. Usually very loud and busy here in the evenings with the music, all the students, and loud intercom calling out order numbers. Staff does a decent job keeping the place tidy considering all the students.

Good food, good price, usually good service. One time I was unlucky to be served by staff that didn't understand English very well and mixed up my order, other times it was great.

pretty cool place to get Taco Bells's cheep food. a lot of students come there and it always crowds there. they also sarve beers wich it's pretty cool.

Jess

Staff is friendly and efficient. Food is what you expect from taco bell. There is beer on tap at this location. Usually very loud and busy here in the evenings with the music, all the students, and loud intercom calling out order numbers. Staff does a decent job keeping the place tidy considering all the students.

Tomáš Gregor

Good food, good price, usually good service. One time I was unlucky to be served by staff that didn't understand English very well and mixed up my order, other times it was great.

Tomer Reuveni

pretty cool place to get Taco Bells's cheep food. a lot of students come there and it always crowds there. they also sarve beers wich it's pretty cool.

Robert Cunningham

Easy to miss if you're not looking for it. The only sign is just over the door. We ordered a chicken burrito for 3 bucks and it was pretty good. Not a bad bang for the buck compared to a full size burrito at 12 plus dollars locally. We were literally the only customers in the restaurant so it's very clean with large TVs and pick the place you want to sit or stand.

I would give more stars just for the atmosphere because it’s filled with Berkeley students. The street is bustling with activity, even at 1 AM or 2 AM. I love the vibe here!

Being charitable with 4 stars for food, but I like taco bell food for some reason lol However.... Ordering beer was a pain, honestly, and the atmosphere left something to be desired. I dunno if I'll visit again, at least not outside passing this taco bell by happenstance.

Vishruth

I would give more stars just for the atmosphere because it’s filled with Berkeley students. The street is bustling with activity, even at 1 AM or 2 AM. I love the vibe here!

Bryce Day

Being charitable with 4 stars for food, but I like taco bell food for some reason lol However.... Ordering beer was a pain, honestly, and the atmosphere left something to be desired. I dunno if I'll visit again, at least not outside passing this taco bell by happenstance.

Every time I’ve been here they are always out of their best soda Baja Blast Zero Sugar. Also if you order from the app to dine in sometimes they’ll call your name when it’s ready and sometimes they’ll just put it over by the delivery section without announcing your name. 🤦

Of course the food is awesome but the staff is a bit conservative for being in Berkeley. I'm trans and often notice the staff is friendly and talkative with others but stiff and silent towards me, so I don't feel comfortable there anymore. I went there for months thinking they'd warm up to me but they never did. Pity.

The slowest and dirtiest Taco Bell I have ever visited. Hard to find a table cause of the homeless folks. It took 30 mins to get my order. My order was wrong. No lettuce, no tomatoes on a burrito supreme? Appalled.

You can place an order 2 hours in advance and it still won’t arrive on time. This is ridiculous.

The food was not great but part of that could have been long delivery time on the app. Regardless, there were a few rock hard pieces of something inside the 5 layer burrito which was not pleasant to bite into. The chips and nacho cheese are all around disappointing and bland. The only redeeming thing was the doritos locos taco, which still wasn't that great. The grilled cheese steak burrito had potential but it may have been just too much cheese. Even as someone who loves cheese on things, it felt like too much. All around, would not recommend. Have also been in person and it's extremely busy depending on the time of day.

My first time in a Taco Bell ~CANTINA~. Maybe it's just because it's right next to Cal, but this seemed a lot more downscale than the upscale I thought these were supposed to be. Other than the fact that you can get beer, it really wasn't any better than a regular Taco Bell, but the prices are almost twice as high. More hipster-y finishes on the decor, though!

Y'all really did me dirty 😭😭😭 I ordered on doordash, I ordered a cravings pack and a Baja blast and some sauce. Y'all gave me regular mountain dew, no ice, and you didn't even fill the cup 😭 and we didn't get any sauces. UPDATE: at least the liquor store is solid. The night was saved no thanks to TB

Colin Stuart

My first time in a Taco Bell ~CANTINA~. Maybe it's just because it's right next to Cal, but this seemed a lot more downscale than the upscale I thought these were supposed to be. Other than the fact that you can get beer, it really wasn't any better than a regular Taco Bell, but the prices are almost twice as high. More hipster-y finishes on the decor, though!

Rainbow Unicorn

Y'all really did me dirty 😭😭😭 I ordered on doordash, I ordered a cravings pack and a Baja blast and some sauce. Y'all gave me regular mountain dew, no ice, and you didn't even fill the cup 😭 and we didn't get any sauces. UPDATE: at least the liquor store is solid. The night was saved no thanks to TB

Fine for super late night grub because well nothing else is open in the area (I think everywhere else closes by 2 or 3). Service is quite hostile. Asked for a “3 taco combo”. Guy asks me what number is that combo, I was like I don’t know, just the 3 taco combo. He gets mad at me and says “how am I supposed to know what that is? What is 3 tacos?” I finally consult the menu and tell him it’s combo #2. Veg bizarre. You have to ask the staff for things like forks and such which is quite annoying as they are generally quite slow. Food is meh even for Taco Bell’s standards. Poorly assembled.

Isha Sharma

You can place an order 2 hours in advance and it still won’t arrive on time. This is ridiculous.

Maaz Muhammad

Fine for super late night grub because well nothing else is open in the area (I think everywhere else closes by 2 or 3). Service is quite hostile. Asked for a “3 taco combo”. Guy asks me what number is that combo, I was like I don’t know, just the 3 taco combo. He gets mad at me and says “how am I supposed to know what that is? What is 3 tacos?” I finally consult the menu and tell him it’s combo #2. Veg bizarre. You have to ask the staff for things like forks and such which is quite annoying as they are generally quite slow. Food is meh even for Taco Bell’s standards. Poorly assembled.

A truly disgusting experience I ordered some Doritos shell tacos and they were cold, soggy, and had no Taco flavor at all. I recommend anyone with common sense avoid this place like the plague and go to one of the local abundant taco trucks serving actual tacos.

Takes about 30minutes for 2 small burritos, and an absolute lack of communication between staff and customers. Staff actively avoid speaking to you, so its impossible to tell if your order is gonna take another half hour or if it was made 15 minutes ago and already stolen by someone else. Dont waste your time or money here.

Worst experience ever a old man came in and was asking for help with paying they completely ignored him and then told him to get out. They took nearly 30 minutes to get my order ready which was just a fries and drink. Please don’t go their employees are the worst.

The place was very run down inside. Lots of stains and damage done to tables and building. There were at least 7 employees working but no one would speak English and no one would take an order I wanted to pay cash I waited for over 20 minutes and I sat 4 feet from pick up counter I watched them put my order on counter in back and they never called my name I finally had to bang on the plexiglass and demand my order and I paid for two drinks I never got but they won't acknowledge the customers even exist so I left with out them. I asked for my order to dine in and it was made to go. I also saw they had no ice. Tables and floor were filthy! I will never return to this location! And I suggest you don't if you only speak English and or want any type of customer service.

The manager was rude she didn't even acknowledge me I couldn't get anybody's help when you walk into the place.. where's Taco Bell experience of my life don't go to this Taco Bell please oh in the manager come on you're not working you're not even helping your other employees this place is a joke.. Oh and a heads up I didn't even eat here. Couldn't get anybody's help..

Just don’t. Just don’t order food here. This Taco Bell should be shut down. It’s takes over an hour to get 2 burritos. I’ve never been to a “fast food” restaurant that is this slow. It’s ridiculous. And SOMEHOW by the time the food even gets to you it’s cold. PLUS they’ll still get your order wrong. Literally go anywhere else.

I placed an order for a breakfast crunch wrap at 10:57 and since it took a few minutes for my order and payment to go through, the actual order didn't hit their system until 11:01. They then refused to make it for me, saying I'd have to switch it out or get a refund. I understand that corporate doesn't allow them to make certain things past certain times, but the staff then became cold and a bit hostile when I asked for a refund, since I didn't want to switch out my order for anything else. I've never had issues here before, but the treatment I received after asking for the refund, that they offered, made the whole situation extremely uncomfortable and I'm unlikely to go back again.

Stain on the entire reputation of Taco Bell and the concept of fast food as a whole. I placed a pick up order, and reached there at the time listed on the app to pick it up. Little did I know what operation they had going on there. There was a crowd of people around the pick up window all waiting for various unreasonable times to pick up their food. Whenever someone would helplessly ask the employees when their order would be ready the employees would ask for their name then seemingly "check" something and return with the inevitable conclusion "it'll be about 15 minutes more." Eventually, I found myself playing this charade with the employees for an hour! At this point I reached the front of the pick up counter once again and helplessly asked if they had a chance to prepare my food yet. They asked for my name and once again I gave it, already bracing myself for the infinite "15 minutes more" however this time, they pulled a different card. They wanted to see my name on the app. Sure I thought, that's probably the most normal thing that happened since I entered this establishment. However, upon trying to turn it on I found much to my horror that I had been waiting for my burrito for so long that my phone even died!! I told the employee this and he indifferently just said he couldn't give me my food otherwise. Unbelievable. I then walked all the way back to my residence to get a portable charger. After acquiring this, I trekked back to the Taco Bell. After reaching the restaurant once again, I braced myself for the worst and entered again. After I got to the pick up window I showed the employee my name on the app and he eventually gave me my food. Ordering here was an absolute ordeal, and from the sights of it most people shared this sentiment and had all been forced to wait there for absurdly unreasonable amounts of time. Something needs to change and fast, otherwise this Taco Bell won't last much longer.

I ordered 6 things and all of them had the wrong ingredients. It wasn't the wrong orders but it seemed like they just threw random things in every burrito. The cashier guy was nice though :D, I wish he could alone make up for how bad our order was put together.

There is not a single redeeming quality about this taco bell. The customer service and sense of pride within the workers is just abysmal. The workers are like a bunch of dead fish, absolutely zero response to stimulus. There’s two options whenever you come to this taco bell. Either they take 45 extra minutes to get your order done, topped with no apology, or they mess up your order completely. Today I received a soft taco instead of a chalupa supreme, and then another soft taco which was just a lump of cold beef with a block of cheese on top. It was demoralizing eating that. And if they don’t mess up your order, the soda machine is broken. I swear one time they only had Brisk Iced lemonade. I’ve never left this taco bell with even a slight sense of satisfaction. There’s always either anger or just disappointment.

Before the pandemic this place used to be my go to for a late night snack, but ever since the pandemic started this place has become absolutely pathetic. First, the hours on Google and THE DOOR of the store are incorrect. The door says they close at 12 AM and when I went today to pick up my online order at 3:30 in the afternoon, the store was CLOSED. Second, the customer service and the food quality of this Taco Bell have gone down DRAMATICALLY. I went a couple days back and they messed up my order not once, but TWICE. Even after the order was correct, the quality of the food at this Taco Bell was simply not up to par compared to other Taco Bells in the surrounding area that sell the same food for $1-2 cheaper on each item. I had a Baja Blast and it tasted like mouthwash. How incompetent do you have to be to mess up basic drinks?! The service are super unfriendly and given how poorly this Taco Bell is managed the employees probably hate their jobs. Something drastically changed before and after the pandemic with how this Taco Bell was managed and it's a shame that it lost what used to make it special.

this place always disappoints. despite it being a cantina one as well, this taco bell is the worst out of all the other ones i’ve been to. i was the only customer there and there were probably only 2 mobile orders but it still took a long time to get just 2 items. i payed for extra cheese but i got barely less than the normal amount… not only that i ordered nacho cheese fries and the nacho cheese was less than half the container full- it was only enough cheese to cover the bottom of the dip container. i didn’t give the lady working a hard time but i payed and got robbed of how expensive it is for less than mediocre fast food.

Every time I come to this Taco Bell near the Berkeley campus, it’s a horrible experience. The customer service is consistently poor, and on two separate occasions I’ve dealt with extremely unprofessional behavior from a woman who claims she is the manager. When I asked to speak to a manager to address concerns, she said she was the manager and made no effort to resolve anything. Beyond the attitude, the biggest issue is sanitation. Employees repeatedly touch money, counters, and other surfaces and then handle food without changing their gloves. The surfaces are visibly dirty, and basic food safety practices are clearly not being followed. I have several videos documenting this, which is honestly alarming for a place serving food. I’ve tried reaching out to corporate multiple times, but it doesn’t seem like anyone is being held accountable. That’s disappointing, especially given that this location serves a large student population. UC Berkeley students are a major part of what keeps nearby businesses running, and being treated this poorly is unacceptable. What makes this even more frustrating is that many businesses around Berkeley take pride in great customer service and being positive representatives of the community. This location does not meet that standard at all. Whoever owns or operates this Taco Bell needs to be aware that the people representing them are damaging the business’s reputation and failing the community they serve. I would not recommend this location unless serious changes are made in both management and sanitation practices.

Joan Taim

Every time I come to this Taco Bell near the Berkeley campus, it’s a horrible experience. The customer service is consistently poor, and on two separate occasions I’ve dealt with extremely unprofessional behavior from a woman who claims she is the manager. When I asked to speak to a manager to address concerns, she said she was the manager and made no effort to resolve anything. Beyond the attitude, the biggest issue is sanitation. Employees repeatedly touch money, counters, and other surfaces and then handle food without changing their gloves. The surfaces are visibly dirty, and basic food safety practices are clearly not being followed. I have several videos documenting this, which is honestly alarming for a place serving food. I’ve tried reaching out to corporate multiple times, but it doesn’t seem like anyone is being held accountable. That’s disappointing, especially given that this location serves a large student population. UC Berkeley students are a major part of what keeps nearby businesses running, and being treated this poorly is unacceptable. What makes this even more frustrating is that many businesses around Berkeley take pride in great customer service and being positive representatives of the community. This location does not meet that standard at all. Whoever owns or operates this Taco Bell needs to be aware that the people representing them are damaging the business’s reputation and failing the community they serve. I would not recommend this location unless serious changes are made in both management and sanitation practices.

I spend in between 30 to 49 dollar worth off food as i pulled up to a place to eat with my family.. it was gross there was a small cockroach on the tomato i went back to give them there food and all he wanted to give me another chapulla instead of trying to refund me my money

Terrible service quality and time. waited at the store for 15 minutes ,while it was empty( no customers) for a single burrito that I order ahead of time. I strongly recommend a team meeting to create a more friendly environment and efficient food service. 3 employees were completely ignoring me. [order#981109 12/24/2024 6:26PM]

I've been really disappointed by taco bell the last few times I've gone, but I was craving the chips & cheese. I order some stuff, and of course, yet again, I was disappointed. The food and soda tasted awful. The food had no flavor, and the soda was sickening sweet. Their prices have gone up so much and yet, the portions are stupidly tiny now. I miss when taco bell actually hit the spot instead of being garbage that I had to force myself to finish. Oh, and they forgot my chips and cheese. :(

Literally the slowest Taco Bell you could ever go to ever. This is not fast feed expect to wait for 30 mins every time

Flattest root beer I've ever had. The machine makes soo many bubbles, that you'd think it'd be the sparkliest soda ever, but I think they rigged it somehow to just mostly fill with bubbles because it took forever to fill the cup. You'd have to stand there for at least 3 minutes to not overflow it. Also I asked for the burritos to be grilled and it smells burned and makes eating it off-putting. Smells like uncleaned grill.

ONLY ONE EMPLOYEE DOING CUSTOMER SERVICE???? genuinely took forty minutes to get my food which was one cheese quesadilla, and TWO HOURS to get my friends food which was a burrito and a cheese quesadilla. two hours of my life i will never get back. multiple other people did not get their food because the service was so bad and slow. genuinely had to go outside for a smoke break afterwards because i was so stressed out and annoyed from this experience. i feel for the employees because they were trying their best given how busy the night was, but i think the service needs great improvement.

Took 45 minutes to get our food, most of it was cold. There were only two people working, no communication with a long line of increasingly frustrated people other than an occasional yell and blast of feedback on a speaker with an incomprehensible garbling of people’s names. My friends wanted a beer but nobody would come to the tills, seemed like it was online order or use the machines only. I’ve been to TBs all over the country and this was by far the worst. As we were leaving a guy lost his temper and started throwing things around, and honestly we couldn’t blame him.

Natalie Merchant

Literally the slowest Taco Bell you could ever go to ever. This is not fast feed expect to wait for 30 mins every time

Jose Cervantes

I spend in between 30 to 49 dollar worth off food as i pulled up to a place to eat with my family.. it was gross there was a small cockroach on the tomato i went back to give them there food and all he wanted to give me another chapulla instead of trying to refund me my money

Me Myself

Flattest root beer I've ever had. The machine makes soo many bubbles, that you'd think it'd be the sparkliest soda ever, but I think they rigged it somehow to just mostly fill with bubbles because it took forever to fill the cup. You'd have to stand there for at least 3 minutes to not overflow it. Also I asked for the burritos to be grilled and it smells burned and makes eating it off-putting. Smells like uncleaned grill.

Mu Tu

Terrible service quality and time. waited at the store for 15 minutes ,while it was empty( no customers) for a single burrito that I order ahead of time. I strongly recommend a team meeting to create a more friendly environment and efficient food service. 3 employees were completely ignoring me. [order#981109 12/24/2024 6:26PM]

Julie Kael

I've been really disappointed by taco bell the last few times I've gone, but I was craving the chips & cheese. I order some stuff, and of course, yet again, I was disappointed. The food and soda tasted awful. The food had no flavor, and the soda was sickening sweet. Their prices have gone up so much and yet, the portions are stupidly tiny now. I miss when taco bell actually hit the spot instead of being garbage that I had to force myself to finish. Oh, and they forgot my chips and cheese. :(

namiko miller

ONLY ONE EMPLOYEE DOING CUSTOMER SERVICE???? genuinely took forty minutes to get my food which was one cheese quesadilla, and TWO HOURS to get my friends food which was a burrito and a cheese quesadilla. two hours of my life i will never get back. multiple other people did not get their food because the service was so bad and slow. genuinely had to go outside for a smoke break afterwards because i was so stressed out and annoyed from this experience. i feel for the employees because they were trying their best given how busy the night was, but i think the service needs great improvement.

Amitoj Wadhwa

Stain on the entire reputation of Taco Bell and the concept of fast food as a whole. I placed a pick up order, and reached there at the time listed on the app to pick it up. Little did I know what operation they had going on there. There was a crowd of people around the pick up window all waiting for various unreasonable times to pick up their food. Whenever someone would helplessly ask the employees when their order would be ready the employees would ask for their name then seemingly "check" something and return with the inevitable conclusion "it'll be about 15 minutes more." Eventually, I found myself playing this charade with the employees for an hour! At this point I reached the front of the pick up counter once again and helplessly asked if they had a chance to prepare my food yet. They asked for my name and once again I gave it, already bracing myself for the infinite "15 minutes more" however this time, they pulled a different card. They wanted to see my name on the app. Sure I thought, that's probably the most normal thing that happened since I entered this establishment. However, upon trying to turn it on I found much to my horror that I had been waiting for my burrito for so long that my phone even died!! I told the employee this and he indifferently just said he couldn't give me my food otherwise. Unbelievable. I then walked all the way back to my residence to get a portable charger. After acquiring this, I trekked back to the Taco Bell. After reaching the restaurant once again, I braced myself for the worst and entered again. After I got to the pick up window I showed the employee my name on the app and he eventually gave me my food. Ordering here was an absolute ordeal, and from the sights of it most people shared this sentiment and had all been forced to wait there for absurdly unreasonable amounts of time. Something needs to change and fast, otherwise this Taco Bell won't last much longer.