This is located in the food lab and im glad the food lab exists bc im able to try 5 different kinds of foods! Plenty of seats abd room here. You order and serve yourself. It didn't take long at all. I came on a Thursday and its not very busy. I got birria tacos. You can't order just one, it comes in threes. These tacos were surprisingly delicious! They were nicely crunchy and soooo cheesy! That was excellent! The consome soup was a bit bland and not oily enough, but the tacos were just so fantastic I didn't mind it much. Id definitely eat here again. read more

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I really want to like this place. The food is pretty good (though twice now I've ordered the chicken burrito and there's been tiny pieces of bone). But the workers seem so over it, I feel like it's a big bother to them to place your order or ask for anything once you get your food. Also, you have to put your phone number into their system and you get a text when it's ready -- problem is, the app will spam your phone a million times even long after you've left. Hope things improve. read more

Fred's Red Tacos - You put in your phone # so then can text you when it's ready, problem is you'll get spammed and will continue to be spammed long after. - Mexican Near Me - Riverside, California

My new job has us driving around checking out all these new cities, so we had to stop by and try some new grub! My son loves tacos and is a taco CONNOISSEUR, so his choice when we browsed the 14+ selections at Food Lab was Fred's, partially because of my brother's name but also because... tacos. The meat was delicious and tender. Definitely NOT TJ style, not authentic Mexican, but overall a fantastic taco. Guac was very good. Salsa was spicy and tasty. The staff at the restaurant were nice. The ambiance is great at Food Lab because they've created a wonderful hub for socializing and trying different foods. Overall, not a bad experience, but not sure we'd necessarily run to Fred's again when visiting this food court. read more

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Encouraged by their success in the Redlands food spot, the owner has occupied the space recently vacated by La Vida Gorda. Today, 09/15/2025, marks the soft opening. Get ready for an array of birria tacos, quesadillas, burritos, and more. I'll followup with more details on food and beverages once that appears. read more

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If I could give more than 5 stars I would. This place is delicious and food was cooked pretty quickly. My daughter and both had the Birria nachos with everything on it. It was awesome. I'd definitely come and eat here again! read more

Fred's Red Tacos - My daughter enjoying her Birria Nachos. - Mexican Near Me - Riverside, California

You'll find Fred's Red Tacos among the eateries at The Riverside Food Lab. There are a number of options to choose from but if you like birria, then you gotta check out Fred's! It was my first time trying their Original Quesatacos which they describe as 3 cheesy red birria tacos fried to a perfect crisp and prepped with Serrano sauce and pickled onion. It came highly recommended and it did not disappoint...so good! I also washed down my meal with one of their refreshing agua frescas. I was only able to try one item off their Birria Creations menu, but I def want to come back and try more! read more

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The best birria tacos in Riverside or this side of the border - maybe! I am very picky when it comes to Birria, as Mexico is hands down the best in the world, but my oh my, I would say the day we came - it was pretty darn close!!! Fred's is located in Riverside and in the Food Lab area where is a handful of places to eat! There was a line, and luckily, they had mini quesabirria tacos but unfortunately, we wished we got the regular size. We like trying a few different places when we venture to new areas, and our tummies would not have been able to eat it all. The line went pretty steadily, and the staff was super nice and friendly. They are getting orders out as soon as possible, and once you get the food, we were so excited to try. The first bite was so delicious, I even forgot about the consommé as it was so juicy and flavorful, almost forgot about the salsa it came with too. We had an amazing experience for a busy Saturday night, event where seating was super limited and would definitely come back. From great customer service to excellent food. Just be mindful of where to park, we parked at the Hotel and was walking, luckily it was not too far of a walk. We came during the festival of lights weekend (12/2025) and probably one of the busiest time and our first time could not have been better. Can't wait to come back! It is a small counter space, and the seating is all around inside and outside, there are garbage bins that you can place your tray after you are done eating. read more

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It has been a while since we ate at the Food Lab in Downtown Riverside. Fred's Red Tacos did not disappoint. My husband and I ordered the Biria Nachos. It comes with fresh Fred chips, Monterey cheese, pinto beans, sour cream, creamy Serrano salsa, onion, cilantro, fresh guacamole, and pickled onion. It was a burst of flavor in my mouth. Adding the salsa and pickled onion was amazing. I can't wait to try the rest of the menu. The location has its own table top seating where you can watch your food being made and the rest of the food lab craziness is behind you. You can choose to sit anywhere there is open seating which makes it fun just to go. We highly recommend checking this place out. read more

Fred's Red Tacos - We were too excited to chow down. - Mexican Near Me - Riverside, California

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I have never ordered the food here myself, my husband usually picks it up to bring home so I cant comment on service except if the service was bad, my husband wouldn't give them his money. Insode the foodlab, where its a casual hang or grab and go. Quality food vendors galore... this is one of our favorites. With that being said, the food here is just so good! Not calorie deficit friendly but full of flavor. When looking to splurge, this is the place to do it! QuesaBirria is where its at! Nachos are bomb too! And leftovers are good the next day. Throw them in the airfryer and its not gonna go to waste if you order too much! Which my husband does every time! Thank you Freds for putting love into your food! I know it takes time and it comes through. read more

Fred's Red Tacos in Riverside is an absolute must-try. The birria is perfect--tender, juicy, and packed with rich flavor that hits every time. The tacos are amazing, loaded with meat and cooked just right, with that satisfying crisp on the tortilla. And the consomé? Flavorful, bold, and the perfect finishing touch to every bite. If you're craving birria done right, this spot delivers every single time. Highly recommend! read more

Fred's Red Tacos - Birria Tacos - Mexican Near Me - Riverside, California

Just had the restaurant for the first time, everything on point, asada fries great flavor, birria fries my daughter says this is the only spot from now on! queso birria tacos soo much flavor, thank you! read more

I am writing this review with genuine disappointment. I have given the Fred's Red Tacos location inside the Riverside Food Lab three separate opportunities to deliver a good experience, and each visit has been worse than the last. This is especially frustrating given how much I loved the original spot. The service and food quality at the Redlands Public Market location were phenomenal. I happily went five or six times, and their carnitas tacos were high-quality, flavorful, and perfectly cooked. My anticipation for the Riverside opening was very high, but the reality has been a massive letdown. Repeated Issues with Payment and Service Attempt 1 & 2: Cash Rejection About a month ago when they first opened, I tried to place an order, but the staff refused to accept cash, which was all I had at the time. I left disappointed. I returned later, hoping for a different experience with a new gentleman at the register. He initially agreed to take cash if I had exact change. I quickly went to another vendor, broke a bill, and returned with the precise amount, only for him to immediately change his mind and state they were only accepting card payments. This inconsistency and rejection of common currency was unprofessional and extremely frustrating. Attempt 3: Burnt and Gristly Food A few days after the cash debacle, I returned and paid with a card. I ordered the carnitas tacos I loved so much. Upon receiving them, the first bite revealed they were absolutely awful--burnt, grisly, and frankly, disgusting. I politely asked the staff to remake them, which they did, but the replacement batch was just as poor as the first. Completely dissatisfied, I left and purchased food elsewhere in the Food Lab. Attempt 4: Cold, Forgotten Order My final attempt was just a few days ago. Card in hand, I ordered three carnitas tacos and nachos. I waited about 17 minutes and never received the text message notification. When I walked back up to the counter, my order was sitting there, ready and getting cold. We started eating the food, and again, these were likely the worst carnitas tacos I have ever had. The quality is simply nonexistent compared to the Redlands store. Recommendation and Direct Message to the Owner If you intend to try Fred's Red Tacos, you must go to the Redlands location. The food quality, flavors, and ingredients there are amazing and worth the trip. However, be advised: on a recent visit to Redlands, a woman who identified herself as the owner informed me they also would not be accepting cash, which prevented me from ordering there, too. To the Owner: Please consider that rejecting cash payments is likely causing you to lose a significant amount of business, as a large portion of customers still prefer this method. More critically, the quality of your food and ingredients at the Riverside Food Lab location is subpar. The staff there, in both attitude and attention to detail, also seems to be lacking. I highly encourage you to investigate and correct the severe discrepancies between your two locations before the Riverside spot becomes a significant downfall for your brand. read more

Fred's Red Tacos - Burnt Gristly Carnitas Tacos - Mexican Near Me - Riverside, California

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Me and my friend split some birria nachos. Nachos were delicious, just a bit overpriced imo for the portion size.

gave me a refill on aguas Fresca and the food was yummy and my belly is full and it's clean

Gave me the wrong order. Didn't realize until I got home. Didn't enjoy the food I got.

My boyfriend and I have eaten here twice and I DREAM of these birria tacos they are so so SOOOO yummy! So much flavor and the carne asada fries to die for. Amazing service. Amazing food. Worth every penny ! read more

Fred's Red Tacos - Place to sit - Mexican Near Me - Riverside, California

Cashier was nice. Food was delicious Beware of the salsa on the carne asada fries they are SPICY but so good just need a drink or milk with them lol. read more

Fred's Red Tacos - Carne asada minus the sour cream. (Green sauce is Spicy spicy!!) - Mexican Near Me - Riverside, California

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Amazing birria tacos! Service could have been better, but the food was great, super flavorful! Mango lemonade was also delicious!

Services was so unfriendly the girl was cleaning and handling food with out washing her hands. My food was sitting under the lamp for over ten minutes before I had to ask her to just give me food with out consome. Food was ok but will never come back. read more

Food was really good, but the service and overall experience was so bad I can't justify ever eating here again. Multiple trays of old half-eaten food from previous customers lined the entire counter. All the workers just pretended to not see them. The only dirty tray that got cleaned up was the one in front of us because I made a big stink about it after sitting with the dirty tray for 20 minutes. All the other dirty trays were left in front of the other customers... they literally ate their food with dirty trays in front of them. I watched the guy next to me grab a napkin and wipe away pieces of food off of the counter in front of him before he sat down to eat. After waiting a while and seeing everyone who came after us get their food brought to them first, we went to check on our order. Workers put our food off to the side instead of serving it to us like they did for everyone else. Don't know how long it was sitting there or why we were the only ones that didn't get our food brought to us, but I feel like it probably had something to do with the fact that I was the only customer not willing to eat my food with someone else's dirty tray of old food in front of me. We were there for probably an hour in total. The dirty food trays were there before we got there, and they were still there once we finished and left. And to top it all off, my boyfriend asked for no onions and they still put onions lol read more

Horrible customer service. These girls are horrible at their jobs. First a line formed in the wrong spot and they did absolutely nothing. They ignored all the customers and didn't even tell them to move or anything. All the customers had to figure it out on their own. After that they left our food sitting out for 30 minutes. They want her us just sit there and wait and while our food was sitting on the counter. They gave us cold food and when we told them something they just acted dumb. We had to asked them to remake it cus they just stare at you without offering a solution. They never said sorry or offered anything to make it up. Just for the food to be mediocre. read more

Service was horrible waited too long when it's empty the front lady doesn't seem like she's cares and overall prices are wayyy to high for small portions. Got asada fries for a child was way to spicy for one and can not give a refund or remake because that's there policy very disappointed in overall quality DO NOT RECOMMEND read more

The food was amazing! I got the birria grilled cheese and will definitely get it again. Friendly staff as well!

I ordered a chipotle chicken burrito & I was very shocked it was actually very amazing and the flavors were hitting !