Five stars for the salsa verde Four stars for the barbacoa. Three stars for everything else. This place came highly regarded within Reddit threads for tacos in Garland. I had never heard of this place, and since I was in the neighborhood that day, I figure I'd check it out. This place definitely does not cater to gringos, with all the signs in Spanish. The lady who took my order did speak good English but I still ordered in Spanish. If you order for dine in, youll get some tortilla chips. The pastor was good, although there really wasn't much pineapple flavor or char to its texture. It definitely looks impressive though. The lingua was okay, but it could have been better with having some type of Jarred texture or stronger beef flavor. Texture wise, it was quite consistent and enjoyable. No peace was chewy or tough. The barbacoa was probably my favorite! It had the right amount of Grease, but wasn't overly greasy. It had plenty of beef flavor. The green salsa was amazing here! A deep bold pepper flavor, but still felt refreshing and bright. It had a good amount of spice to it too, but nothing that's going to knock you off your ass. If anything, this was my favorite part of the meal. It tasted as good as the salsa Verdes I've had in Mexico! The red sauce is not to be messed with! This was a mouth scorcher, while not being to the point of abysmal pain but not for the faint of heart. A lot of it's flavor reminds me of vinegar. There was another sauce that they kept hot. It tasted like it used dried chili's like a pasilla or guajillo. It was quite different from the usual salsas. I liked it, although it was quite watery in texture and taste. read more

the best part about these tacos are easily the tortillas. they're fresh & have a very authentic taste. the fajita meat on its own lacks flavor, but once dressed it tastes pretty good. the trompo is also pretty bland, even dressed read more

Carnitas la Cotorra - trompo taco plate - Specialty Food Near Me - Garland, Texas

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Trompo is always delicious they have a buy 20 get 5 free for 35.99 only options are trompo, chicken or carnitas but for the price it is totally worth it to feed your whole family! I did also order some fajita but it actually seems more like bistec which kinda had a lot of fat on it only reason for my 4 stars other than that this place is really good! The red potatoes they give you also super tasty! There green salsa was extra spicy just how I like it. When in garland make sure to try these bad boys out. read more

Carnitas la Cotorra - a plate of food - Specialty Food Near Me - Garland, Texas

Great tacos especially tacos de trompo. The fries and salsa are great too. Burgers and fajita tacos are good and actually everything on the menu is good and tasty. Try them out. read more

I am on personal quest to find the best taco in the DFW metropolitan area. I will be rating my opinion based on three criteria's. 1. Is the taco as good a Sanora style taco. 2. Does it taste good without salsa. 3. Originality to be fair to TEX-MEX style. I will only order beef, pastar, or carnitas since these are the main tacos most people order. Beef Taco good flavor of a street taco but needed the help of the salsa 3 Pastar taco was good and was served of the kabob and was sliced off the kabob a little dry but still good 3 read more

Carnitas la Cotorra - Specialty Food Near Me - Garland, Texas

Service was 5/5, respectful & got my food pretty fast, although my food was not so great, I had ordered a pirata, & they gave me what I asked for except if was cover in oil & grease. To the point that it was dripping from the pirata, & the tortilla was SOAKED. The ambience was good. read more

I also get tacos de trompo and they're always so good. Sometimes they are a little too greasy but hey they're "street" style tacos so can't get upset over that and the salsa verde is so good! The black red looking salsa is not so good in my opinion it doesn't have flavor and has a weird taste but it's just my opinion. I love that they always give you a little potato too they're so cute and delicious! read more

We LOVE the Tacos de Trompo from Carnitas La Cotorra!! Riotous red, chewy, porky, crispy goodness served with some cooked onions and a tiny boiled potato -- we crave these!! The restaurant is located in a dingy 4-store strip in the parking lot of a larger more decrepit strip center across First Street from Fiesta, but the adage applies: From humble places, great food flows. The restaurant is maybe 20 feet wide and long like a boxcar. Interior and decor are nothing special at all - plastic formed bench seats and Formica tables dominated by a huge Coke machine in the dining area. BUT - the Coke machine holds a colorful rainbow of delicious Jarritos sodas and once the tacos de Trompo arrive, who cares what you are sitting on!! The tacos de Trompo here are hand made with love and pride. They are simply delicious. On our first bite we knew we were hooked, and have been here at least a dozen times for more. Today we ordered tacos to go, which were carefully packaged in styrofoam containers for us, the pork still crispy crunchy around the edges when they got home. YUM Other diners ordered the steak quesadilla, which had a generous amount of deliciously seasoned carne asada in gooey melty asadero cheese, and the Trompo quesadilla, ditto. Don't drive by and shudder at this humble taqueria in a struggling shopping area -- drop in for the tacos we keep coming back for. You'll be glad you did. You will melt into a puddle of happiness!! read more

These are the true OMG tacos. The meat coming from the trompo is perfectly cooked and charred just right on the edges. I am very surprised there are not that many reviews of this place. The carnitas are tender and cooked just right to perfection. Who can beat perfection for a 1.30 each taco. read more

Carnitas la Cotorra - Trompo and Marinated Pork Tacos. - Specialty Food Near Me - Garland, Texas

If your looking for a place that has authentic tacos de trompo, this is definitely your spot. My hubs usually orders about 6 and I order the gringa... (The white girl). It's a flour tortilla, white cheese and carne de trompo. (Sorry, Not sure how to translate that, but it's basically the red meat.) Only reason why I rated them 4 stars is because they ran out of ice and also because the only working tv is the one facing the kitchen. :/ Overall, awesome tacos and agua de horchata! If your in Garland, check this place out... Also, if you don't like your corn tortillas with oil, ask them to warm them up without it. The ladies were super accommodating. Enjoy! read more

Carnitas la Cotorra - Outside of the restaurant - Specialty Food Near Me - Garland, Texas

They are ok. Never seen a place where they charge you for paying with debit card . Specially when you can't trust currency because of covid19. I stop going because of that . Food is ok the tacos de trompo are my fav there. read more

I will drive here any day. Their tacos de trompo are delicious and well priced. The plates come with grilled onion, grilled jalapeño and a a mini potato. Their chips that they have when they serve you are pretty great with their variety of salsas. The place is kind of small so try to get it to go if you go on a weekend night as you might have trouble finding a place to sit. read more

Best trompo tacos around! The meat is juicy and flavorful while the tortilla is fried perfectly to match the tenderness of the trompo

The food here is so good. I hesitated for some time to actually try the food here because the previous reviews confused me about the meat options they offered. Now that I've tried it I wish I would have tried it sooner. The food is really good. I've tried the tacos and torta. The tacos are delicious and the meat is flavorful. The only reason I didn't give it a full five stars is because of the cilantro/onion cups. They have more onion than anything and even then they barely have anything in them. read more

The gringas are amazing !! A must everytime I go ! Love it and the sals verde to top it off is **chefs kiss*

Dont judge a book by its cover. This small taco shop is actually really good. They have trompo tacos and really tasty salsas. Mexican burgers and quesadillas too. The tongue and steak tacos are really good too. read more

Carnitas la Cotorra - the outside of a restaurant - Specialty Food Near Me - Garland, Texas

Was a bit skeptical at first, but this place is delicious. They have delicious tacos on corn tortillas and also have a variety of other items on the menu. They bring out chips and dip which is a nice touch. If you're looking for a good taco place, try this place out! read more

I went to see my son play in garland given that we hadn't ate dinner and passed to the cvs across the street I looked over to see this place I looked up the reviews all great so I said let's give it a try. Very disappointing I must say I order extra meat and they basically slapped it on there not again will I stop by this place it is however clean and the agua de horchata was very satisfying but not the food. Not worth the price much less the taste! read more

Carnitas la Cotorra - Specialty Food Near Me - Garland, Texas

La Cotorra has great tacos de trompo & fajita. Tacos with with a papa & grilled onions. The quesadillas with fajita are delicious. The green salsa is my favorite. The agua de horchata is bomb! read more

This is my favorite place for street tacos and much more! I can honestly say that I have never had a single bad meal with this restaurant. The employees are always friendly and you can see that they care about each customer that walks through their doors! Try them out you will not be disappointed! read more

I know that I'm in treat for authentic tacos when I'm the only non-hispanic/non-Mexican in the restaurant. We're Typically served with complimentary chips that come with 4 different sauces. I really like the green sauce (cilantro) and the yellow one (I'm not sure what it is but it's pretty spicy). I got the trompo and fajita tacos. Each taco costs $1.20. I've never had trompo before, but it was SO GOOD!!! Fajita tacos were good too, but it's not like mind-blowingly good. If you have an extra $1.50 get the jarritos for the drink cause it would really compliment the flavorful tacos. I wish this place was closer to where I live in Dallas. read more

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We stop here probably 2 times a month. They have some amazing tortas! We usually get that and a campechana with Mexican cokes! Pictures are on the wall if you don't speak Spanish. read more

Carnitas la Cotorra - Specialty Food Near Me - Garland, Texas

I LOVE THIS PLACE!!! The tacos de trompo from here are THE BEST!!!! My family and I always get the 25 tacos for 20 something dollars. Worth every penny . read more

This is authentic Mexican tacos de trompo...the menu has a mix of food from the Regia region of Mexico. My new favorite taco place.

I absolutely love these tacos! They have been my favorite tacos for years! I really enjoy grabbing maybe 25 tacos for about $25-$30 depending on the meats I choose, mostly all of them are really amazing but my favorite are the barbacoa and the trompo... also the hot sauces are wonderful! read more

Tacos de trompo weren't good at all! Lengua and fajitas were okay. What i didn't really like was the fact that they only gave me 3 lime slices for 12 tacos . I won't be back read more