Boca Tacos Y Tequila

So good. I always get bistek, ribeye, salmon, fried fish taco. Great prices but a little crowded seating area and perhaps on the slow side for service. Overall, a nice place that I always try to hit for a quick fix if driving by.

My family was in town again, and this time, the owner/​Chef, Maria, was on the grill. She also took our order at the counter, which was so cool, because she’s very personable, likable, and fun. We just wanted to keep talking to her!
We let her get back to the grill and we sat outside. She then served our chips and salsas and told us about each one.
When you go, you MUST get the Boca Balls and the Chips and Salsa.
They were both excellent, and the balls were nice and crisp, so we were happy.
Feeling adventurous, I tried new tacos. I tried the Macho, which had an Anaheim chile in the taco, and it really added a burst of flavor. I believe this would be true for all the tacos with peppers, because they must marinate them for quite some time.
Maria recommended the fish tacos specifically, so I tried the Camaron fried not grilled. Also delicious. Lastly, I got the Bistec, which was nothing new, but a but salty on this occasion.
This restaurant makes me so sad that I’ll be moving away from Tucson soon. It really is a local gem, and if you haven’t tried it yet, you’re wasting your life. Anyone who is coming into town gets an instant recommendation from me to Boca

Amazing catering, sizable portions. Great food!!! Chef Maria was accommodating despite my order a few days before graduation week. Loved salsas!!!

This quaint little spot near UA is a sure enough «must try» for street style tacos. I’ve seen the few negative reviews and perhaps they are legit, but our experience was great. The cashiers are also the cooks so there might be a little wait get your order if you come during busy time; 5ish.
Also this we arrive around ⁴⁄₄₃₀ pm and got the happy hour pricing (good tip 6pm).
We got:
Asada tacos 5 stars. Super tender and tasty.
Camarone 5 stars. Super juicy and flavorful.
Rib eye 3 ½ stars. Tender but a lil hard to tear off a bite. Still very tasty and worth a try.
Pollo. 4 stars. Diced chicken was tender and tasty.
Chips and salsa (sauces). 5+ stars. Red corn chips and all the duces were simply BOMB. These are a must do no matter what you order. These sauces are super umami and flavorful. I would buy them if I could. Especially good is the shredded carrots with a chipotle marinade. OMG!!!
Also order garlic r rice and the beans. Hit and very flavorful as well. Between bites, have the picketed red onions and your palate will be refreshed plus those are good too.
Overall this place is 4 ½ stars. Our wait wasn’t bad at all since we beat the crowds. All this and a margarita for $ 34.

I’ve been here many times, hesitant to write a review because every time I’d go the wait to get our food or even order took forever! Why I am giving it 4! But finally went the other day and I the food came out super fast! I love this place! Amazing tacos, perfect portions. Also never have I once had a repeated salsa. It’s always some different salsa, interesting and delicious! And owner is sweet! It’s a different take on tacos, not your typical asada tacos, but super delicious!

Anytime your near University of Arizona I highly recommend Boca tacos y tequila. I always order the Carne Asada tacos. It must be the water because these tacos are outstanding. Better then East Los Angeles!!!
The downside is it’s a long wait between ordering and when your food arrives. The taste of the food makes you forget about the wait!!!
#Beardown

I went to the $ 1.50 carne asada taco promotion, wow… it was stuffed with cabbage and hardly any meat… I’m not a fan of cabbage tacos…
On the other side, the chips with salsas are unbeatable, I’ll be going back ONLY for the salsas

first of all, the tacos at this place are delicious. I recommend the carne asada. however, during my visit I ordered chips and salsa — which was close to $ 5, which I thought was extremely overpriced. in addition, 6 miniature sample sized salsas were brought (almost 10 minutes later) and were bizarre flavors such as spicy blueberry, oil and vinegar (seriously, just oil and vinegar). the chips were bright red and were enough to feed a small family. because of this, we ran out of salsa.
the vibe of the place was strange because we were the only 2 people in the restaurant and the wait staff was weird and drank beers during their shifts. sorta odd. all in all, would come back, but would recommend ordering the tacos To go. enjoy!

The only thing better than the food is the service. The salsas are as good as they are varied. The carne asada tacos were packed with tasty beef, the macho taco was fabulous and the fish taco was crisp and fresh tasting. While the food is cooked to order and takes a little while to bit was all worth the wait. The service was excellent; the help in ordering was provided with a smile and as much spice as the salsas and the great service continued throughout the experience.

Over all: Delicious.
The food was scrumptious — all agreed. That was chips, salsa, Boca bites, all variety of tacos and happy hour margaritas. It was all scrumptious. I was surprised by the tofu taco. A literal slab of tofu… but still good! My friend was disappointed (scolded me for not knowing) that the chips and salsa are NOT complimentary. This ain’t THAT kind of Mexican joint.
The service was friendly — that is the cashier who we interacted with.
The ambiance was cool, though just seemed to be lacking something to really bring it all together. Maybe music? I don’t remember any… or ambient lighting? It just needed… something.
The price was a little steeper than I would have liked, but not by much.
Ultimately, this is a place I’d come back to, once or twice, if I lived in Tucson.

Favorite place for tacos in Tucson (which is saying a lot!). The care and creativity the chef puts into her food is evident in every bite. I have never had a bad meal here and am surprised and delighted every time. My favorite part of Boca is the rotating salsas, which are always innovative, delicious and like nothing you’ve had before. I go for the poached egg taco, camaron and pescado. And don’t skip the boca balls, they’re sinfully delicious. Only downside to Boca is that it often takes awhile to get your order, but it is well worth the wait and gives you time to knock back your margarita.

I don’t care that the unwelcoming sign that greets you at the register says «don’t ask us to remake your order because YOU CAN’T READ!!» I don’t care that the speed of service was lackadaisical at best, and the lone employee mad-​dogged me the whole time I waited for my order. I don’t care that he didn’t bother to chuck some napkins or utensils into my to-​go bag, or that he grunted something unintelligible as he pushed the bag towards me. I don’t even care that the owner/​chef came up front and muttered «Jesus Christ!» for some inexplicable reason.
The tacos really are that delicious… I’ll keep coming back!

Small parking lot but the relaxed atmosphere and kind staff make up for it. It was 80 degrees today so perfect for their pet friendly patio. If you can handle the slow burn of PBR happy hour is where it’s at! 1.50 PBR and even better $ 1.50 carne Asada tacos! Service was SLOW but again the splendid surprise of DELICIOUS street tacos like no other I’ve had as a home grown Tucson gal Made me forget it all!!! I’ll be back! And soon!

Maybe I just went on a bad night, but I went with a friend and we ordered 6 tacos all together. 30 minutes later after still not having our tacos, my friend finally goes to the cooks and asks where our order was – apparently they cooked it but lost the ticket and now the food was gone.
Another 10 minutes and we have our tacos. The cook says he forgot to bring salsa and will be right back – we finished our tacos without the salsa. While I am extremely dissatisfied with the service and speed, the food was pretty good with exception to the pollo taco which desperately needed that salsa. I had the Pollo taco (a little dry and needs salsa), Bistec taco (pretty good, not dry, but could use salsa), and the Chipotle BBQ (SO GOOD!). My friend had the AM taco (loved it!), Aside (pretty dry and needed salsa), and the Don Pancho (overall good but tortilla texture was neither fully crunchy nor fully soft, it was in the middle chewy and hard to eat). While we didn’t order margaritas, they looked delicious and with a house made mix.
I will be returning to give them a second shot, but if things don’t change I’ll go elsewhere for my tacos.

I waffled between four and five stars because Boca does have a couple serious drawbacks. First, the building (including parking) is terrible — four small tables inside (dark, uncomfortable chairs), with most seating outside (right on Speedway, ick). Not a positive for a good chunk of the summer and winter. Second, the food is SLOOOOOOW. Do not come here if you only have an hour for lunch.
But sweet baby Jesus, the food is amazing — especially the salsas. This is the ONLY restaurant in Tucson that tries to be creative with flavor and put any imagination whatsoever into its food. And for me, that makes Boca my favorite restaurant in the city (and really the only place I go with any regularity), and thus deserving of five stars.

What a great place to bring people from out of town. The salsa’s are spectacular, the tacos delicious. Love to start with the Boca balls.
Problem is: you could starve to death if you don’t order the Boca balls. Service is soooo slow. Parking is really limited. Bathrooms… well no paper towels in the Men’s room, door handle falling off, and this I have to go outside for?!
I’d love to give this place 5 stars, their food is so good. Can’t do it (yet).

Wow what a cool place to enjoy some really good Gourmet Tacos and try out a bunch of homemade Salsas at the same time. It’s a match made in heaven.
Heard about this place by watching some of my Tucson friends check into this nifty dive. The photos of their food and the crazy selection of salsas cried out to me and said «Check this place out!»
Just happened to be staying down the street for a family wedding and decided to get here right when they opened. The inside is rather small and it was too hot to sit out on their cheesy patio. Maybe it will cool off someday?
Ordered the Macho Taco which is Chopped Steak stuffed in an Anaheim chile with melted cheese, the Pescado or Fish Taco and an Octopus Taco. My wife also ordered a Fish Taco and a Veggie Taco just for giggles. We also decided to get a big bag of their fresh red Tortilla Chips and a selection of their Homemade Salsas.
The Tacos were really tasty and the Chips and Salsa were amazing. I could not remember all of the types of salsas that they brought to the table. The Shrachi and Pineapple salsa and the Strawberry Habanero were a couple of my favorites. Each one was different and they rotate the flavors throughout time.
Overall we both liked the experience of this place and the service was very friendly. This is not a fast food joint and the items do take a longer time to make than your typical drive thru. That’s ok with me and worth the wait. Just get there when they open and grab the first inside table like you’re playing king of the mountain. SALSA TIME!
4.25 STARS

Pooh, I really wanted this to be a great experience. Other Unilocalers gave me a lead that this place would be wonderful for creative salsas. But alas, for me, not at all except for one. Some commercial raspberry jam mixed with chipotle powder was good tasting but not remarkable. The other salsas were blended liquids. They leaned heavily towards vinegar taste as a dominating flavor.
The chips were delicious and different and served piping hot. Best part of the experience.
The place is really funky, kind of dirty. The wooden benches are very flimsy — be careful. It is a tiny spot of place near the Univ. From the front patio you can enjoy the fumes of the passing traffic.
It was not busy but it took a long time to place an order. I ordered 2 Happy Hour tacos and a margarita. The tacos took forever to show up. Seriously it was not busy. The tacos were tiny and super plain and the meat was super dry. I would have loved the salsa bar at BK’s to try to salvage the meal.
The margarita was in a beer glass with no salt around the rim. It was so sour and tart that I think it could peel the paint off your car. I asked to get it sweetened but that did little if any good.
I was really hoping for an exceptional dining experience … but no, not for me.

Boca is very unique if you are looking for great, modern style tacos in Tucson. I first discovered this place when the Tucson Tamale company had closed just before I arrived one night and I have gone back countless times, especially because they have great prices!
I have yet to try a taco that I have not enjoyed here. Some of my favorites are the salmon, camaron, chipotle bbq, and pollo. Boca has a modern twist on your average taco and always has fresh and creative salsas that come with each order. The chipotle smashed potato balls are also a great side or addition to a taco. They also do a great happy hour with $ 1 – 1.50 tacos and $ 1 PBRs, which are great for a quick bite or appetizer. The patio is very dog friendly and the staff are always polite and helpful. It is a staple amongst my friends and visitors to Tucson!

How have I not reviewed one of my Tucson Favs! Chef Maria really knows what she is doing when it comes to creating real flavor and creativity. While the space reminds you of a typical hole in the wall taco shop, the product delivers above most standards. I particularity love the homemade, ever changing, salsas. They are so creative: curry mint, mozzarella cheese, grated carrots, goat cheese, roasted red pepper… just to name a few.
They do offer beer and margaritas and have patio seating. I am not dinging the review from 5 stars, because that is what they deserve, but please know that sometimes it takes a little while to get your order as everything is made fresh.
Also, they have some free parking available behind the shop.