Viva Villa Taqueria

Conveniently located in the middle, corner suite in San Antonio’s Historic Market Square, VVT is a great addition to the few other restaurants that have been there forever… and SO affordable comparably!
Whether breakfast, lunch, or dinner you can’t go wrong. Super fast service, friendly staff, nice beer selection (including some craft brews), quite the extensive menu, and love the cool outdoor bar and seating.
The food is solid, not mind blowing, but good. What Texan doesn’t appreciate a breakfast taco? They are a dietary staple. ;) Street tacos are A-​Ok (6 to an order). The Mercado tacos are yum… particularly the Quisada. Drool. Plates are a bargain. And, if you feel more like a salad, sure they have those too (but why would you?).
Overall: The Cortez family now offers a fast, less expensive alternative in downtown SA. Gracias!
Oh, please do yourself a favor and try the Big Red soda flavored soft serve ice cream. For real! So much better than you would ever imagine!
Note: Viva Villas margaritas are Agave wine based because they have a takeout license. You can walk around the market with any beverage purchased at VVT.

My husband and I found ourselves wondering around downtown on a random Tuesday afternoon while the kids were at school and we should have been working. We wanted to eat at La Margarita, but holy cow was it packed for a Tuesday, so we somehow ended up at Viva Villa. As soon as I walked in the place I was instantly turned off there was dirty dishes left on tables, not a lot of people, and there was a woman writing down orders when you walked in, just didn’t seem like that great of a place. I ordered the street tacos 1 of each kind and my husband ordered a asada torta and a pancho taco, and we both felt rebellious so we ordered 2 frozen magaritas :)
We sat outside and before we could get settled our food and drinks were brought to our table, and the food looked AMAZING! I wanted it so badly to taste as amazing as it looked and I wasn’t disappointed, my street tacos were so authentically delicious! The only complaint I had was that I had 5 tacos but I could not tell where one taco ended and the other started, my plate was a little all over the place. I didn’t mind it too much because all of it was so good. I wish I could review on the torta, but my husband refused to share (he always shares if I ask, but I guess it was that good) the margaritas were pretty average nothing too special. We will definitely re visit this place, and we will be sure to bring our friends and family during Fiesta time!

This is another addition to the Cortez family’s stable of eateries like Mi Terra, La Margarita, etc. I also think this is the Cortez’s answer to Johnny Hernandez’s La Gloria Ice House locations here in town. The food is good but very expensive for only very small portions. I will probably go here again if I’m in the neighborhood, but will mostly pass on it in favor of cheaper places. This place is located in a tourist trap so I’ll let the «out of towner’s“get fleeced. The locals have many more options.

The restaurant is well decorated for tourists and music is good but there are many things that are not working. The restaurant has free wifi but where is the password? Milpa tacos have different ingredients, one day you get hongos the next something else. Chips and salsa are taste less, Mini tacos need help from a true taqueria like Taqueria Datapoint. Where is the chile for the tacos? I say skip if you are a local.

Super awesome decoration, good music, but I was not too happy with the food service. I ordered tacos de Milpa. Tacos de Milpa have Chile Guero, Queso, Zucchinis and Mushrooms. My tacos lacked ingredients no Chiles Gueros nor Mushrooms. I am a vegetarian and my Milpa Tacos had small pieces of meat.

Had a really good experience here last week. The food and service were great. I had a variety of tacos and an order of street corn and it was all fresh and fantastic. No wait for lunch which was nice as well.
I will certainly be back and will bring my foodie friends.

Excellent tacos, nice service and good prizes. The place is rather a diner than a fancy restaurant. The interior and outdoor design is very Mexican. I like this place a lot.

Excellent service. Food is very tasty and different than the normal Mexican food fare. We got right in with plenty of seating. Our original plan was to eat at Mi Tierra next door, but it was going to be an hour and a half! So glad we came here instead.

We’ve been here a half dozen times and I must say it’s a pretty solid joint.
Walk in and check out the menu board hanging over head, then make your way up to the counter and place your order. Move down to the end of the line and pay/​get your number. Grab a drink and find your table, then your food finds you. That’s the basic premise here: no frills or anything, just relaxed, chill Mexican dining. My go to lunch/​dinner meal are the hongos cazuelitas and add a side of rice or guac/​queso. Those morning time hungers are met with either a combination of tacos (two will suffice, three tacos will leave you stuffed) or a potato and egg torta. Slather on that wonderful green salsa and you’ve got yourself a happy taco experience (for those who love some heat, get their orange salsa, but a fair warning-​a little goes a long way).
Staff is always super friendly and accommodating when making customizations or orders and always more than willing to explain the menu/​options. The combination of tasty food and great staff makes Viva Villa a welcome addition to downtown and Market Square.

Tasty food at a reasonable price. Service was outstanding — friendly and made sure the food came out great & hot.
I tried the street tacos and my wife tried a beef taco. We also tried side order of beans and street corn. Beans had great flavor with just bit of heat. Corn was ok, but tacos more than made up for it. Waitress let us sample Big Red soft serve. The swirl was great.

The food is authentic ! I never eat Mexican food in San Antonio because my mom always cooks Mexican food and I am super picky when it comes to tortillas. This is amazing food! Their tortillas are really good they taste home made! They are super friendly, everyone greets you with big smiles!
Try their corn it’s amazing!

We recently moved downtown and were walking around with some out of town friends. My friend really wanted some good Mexican food and I didn’t want to go to any place on the Riverwalk and wanted to try something new. So, with that, we consulted with good olé’ Unilocal and found Viva Villa Taqueria. We knew it was going to be a trek all the way to Market Square, but hey… this place had 5 stars. Why the heck not!!!
We showed up and we were really impressed by the décor. It was very inviting, festive, and modern. As we walked in, I then realized that this was a order and assemble thing, just like Chipotle and I had my doubts. So, I walked up to the order area and picked up a water bottle that had a «Mi Tierra» label on it. That made me a little worried since I am not a fan of Mi Tierra food. Heck, I just walked 2.5 miles so I might as well order.
My hubby and I ordered the «Alambre» street tacos, the Baja fish tacos, chips & queso and «Adelita» chicken tacos. I had to say… WOW! The Alambre are your normal street tacos with beef steak, grilled onions, and bacon. Each order comes with a total of 5 tacos and a TON of meat. The green sauce that comes with it has the perfect seasoning and spice to it. The fish tacos were awesome. There added some pickeled cabbage and there was this spicy peanut sauce that was SOO good. The Adelita was seasoned well and it was just refreshing and delicious. The chips & queso are just normal and nothing special.
With that being said, I’m definitely going back. This place was quick, clean, fresh, and darn right delicious!!!
BTW, they offer a very nice military discount!!!

Uh-​MAZING! I walked in and didn’t know what to expect. I walked out feeling like a million bucks without paying a million. WOW. This new joint hidden away from the Market Square «walk» is something you shouldn’t miss! No servers, hardly a wait, beers and wine-​ritas! Think Torchy’s Tacos but 100% San Antonio!
Impressions: Clean environment and trendy. You walk up to the counter and order your food, which is awesome. The food was prepared in front of my eyes, but I decided to sit and wait like regular people. The food arrived in picture perfect condition and the taste had me spinning for more!
Food: I decided to try their «Mercado Tacos» (basically dressed tacos). I HIGHLY recommend the «Pancho» taco. The tortilla was lightly buttered, grilled to perfection with queso blanco/​carne asada/​beans and avocado slices — best ever. I also got the carnitas taco with basically pickled veggies — this taco was also awesome! Overall, my favorite was the «esquites» — basically street style elote! Where do I start? The corn is roasted on the cob then it’s knifed into a small bowl, dressed with cotija cheese and crema with a dab of chili powder topped with lime wedges. It was PERFECT.
Service was attentive and on-​point.
2 tacos, 1 side and 1 beer: under 17 $
Cons: I wish they removed «Taqueria» from their name, its not a traditional taqueria we see in San Antonio. Also, It would be awesome if they actually had real tequlia in their ritas — I opted for a draft beer, which was ice cold.

Holy Mother of All Things Holy! These tacos are stupid good. The Pancho is a revolution in your mouth, and they do simple tacos well, too (although my wife was unhappy with cabbage and carrots in her lettuce). Both flour and corn tortillas are bomb, the beer selection is on point, and we got 6 tacos, chips and queso (the nights only disappointment), a fountain drink, a big fancy beer, and ice cream for around 30 bucks. Awesome deal, and we are leaving crazy full for 15 bucks less than we’d have spent at Mi Tierra for dinner, drinks, and dessert.
Also, the ice cream is soft serve, self serve big red and Mexican vanilla (think cinnamon vanilla). It is heaven.

Good is okay, nothing to write home about.
Bar SUCKs !!!
From the FAKE wine margaritas to the weak selection of beer.
NO tequila!!! What kind of Mexican place is this?
Poncho Villa is rolling over in his grave!

One time, someone asked me what was my comfort food, and I had to think about it for a while because I really couldn’t think of any. After seeing fellow Unilocaler-​Alan B.‘s pictures, there was something nostalgic, and there it was, comfort food. So I made it a mission to check out this place.
I don’t venture much to downtown, so I was hoping this would really be worth the trip. Viva Villa Taqueria has only been open a month. As I walked in, I noticed it’s set up more like a cafeteria style restaurant. Some people may be turned off by this, but I like to see what I’m ordering. As I studied the menu, I quickly recognized several items, but as usual my eyes are bigger than my stomach. The gentleman behind the counter was very kind to explain the different sizes that are available. After standing there and staring at the food, I finally made my decision and decided on the guisado with flour tortillas and the guacamole with tostadas chips. After paying, I made my way to find a table, slowly scoping out the restaurant.
Sitting there, I can imagine how this place would be really nice to have dinner and a drink.
The atmosphere was very pleasant. Not overly decorated, like other Mexican restaurants (to me, that’s sensory overload). I just want to enjoy my food and relax.
As my food arrived, it came in a «cazuela» (a small cast iron dish), the guisado is just beef cut into bite size pieces, simmered slowly with tomatoes, garlic, and onions. It was my comfort food. It wasn’t exactly how my mom makes it, she puts a little cumin in it. Not bad for a restaurant. The amount was perfect, enough to make four good size tacos. I was in heaven. The guacamole, was very fresh, not brown like other place, and simple like it should be. Like homemade.
After eating, I was almost in a food coma. I was very pleasantly surprised. I was debating about writing a review. You want to keep places like this a secret.

I have been coming to market square my entire life. It’s been fun and has a lot to offer. This is a cool little spot with good food and craft beer and wine on tap! If you dig the San Antonio downtown night life scene, get it started here! I am so glad that market square has a cool spot like this now that has a little modern twist to it

So a bunch of us ended up here on a late Friday afternoon. The place had good reviews and they were conveniently located in downtown so it was an easy choice. The ambiance of this place is free bird meats mi tierra. Since it is owned by the same family. Plenty of seating. A bar area and a couple of tv’s to keep patrons entertained.
We started with the happy hour margaritas. 4.50 for a 12 oz in downtown is actually a pretty good deal. The margaritas were good and did the job. We tried the lime, mango and strawberry and they all were great for the price point.
The food is where this place is set apart. We had the chicken and pork street tacos. The plate size was pretty decent and good for sharing. Some of them had pineapple and other fresh ingredients mixed in which added to the flavor profile. The queso and tortillas were actually pretty on point too.
We ended up spending a few hours here and had a great time. This is definitely a good downtown spit that is Not overcrowded or over priced. Will return for sure.

I have visited this restaurant at least 5 times in one month. It’s amazing! Street food at its best in San Antonio… except in the comfort of a clean & airy restaurant with a great patio space. The service is superb each time & tonight was no exception. We arrived right as they closed unknowingly but they didn’t turn us away. They greeted us with a smile as if they had just opened. And not just one person treated us like that; they all did. Impeccable!!! I love Viva Villa!
I’ve tried just about everything on their menu; it’s all great. I highly recommend any of the street tacos. Top it with either of their 3 amazing salsas.
A+ all the way around!

Riddle me this — What is located in the dead center of a San Antonio tourist area (El Mercado), but not overrun by tourists? (Not yet anyway.) What is cool and trendy without being snooty or pretentious? What is the next place you need to visit when you’re downtown? The answer is Viva Villa Taqueria, the home of Revolutionary Tacos.
I didn’t expect to be greeted immediately as I entered the restaurant by chef Cariño Cortez of the famous «Mi Tierra Cortez family», but there she was to welcome me and point out the various meal options before I ordered. From what I’ve read, her fingerprints are all over the menu and the restaurant concept which includes bold and striking pop art, dynamic use of light and earth colors in a landmark 110-​year-​old building, as well as fun touches like Big Red flavored soft serve — proof that she is as talented as she is beautiful. I don’t want to make too much of the Big Red flavored soft serve but it’s meaningful here, giving a firm nod to the Cortez family roots in San Antonio, and clear evidence that they don’t take themselves too seriously.
On my first visit I had the Puerco Al Pastor street tacos. This order includes 5 tacos and my pork was tender and flavorful with the grilled pineapple providing a delicious sweet contrast to the meat. The Esquite (street corn) was served off-​the-​cob and lightly dusted with chili powder. Although I’m not positive, I think the chip recipe/​ingredients may have been borrowed from Mi Tierra but they were accompanied by a variety of delicious fresh made salsas.
The restaurant just opened a few days ago and hasn’t been discovered yet by the masses. Better get here quick, I envision a long lunch waiting line in the not-​too-​distant future.