Upon my arrival in Bali, my journey brought me through this artsy & tranquil area called Ubud. This feeling of tranquility, however, was cut short by my growling stomach. Keeping my eyes open, I noticed a Mexican restaurant in the corner with a happy-hour sign. Unfortunately, I was planning to be somewhere else at that time so I didn’t drop by. A few weeks passed, I went back to Ubud and found this restaurant, Taco Casa (Taco House in Spanish). In short, an awesome place. Later on I found out that Taco Casa was not the Mexican place I saw earlier… In any case it was a blessing in disguise that I visited Taco Casa, as the experience has managed to leave a lasting impression on me.
Say NO to Drugs, YES to Tacos
YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, to infinity… and beyond!
Margarita (Jose Cuervo’s) was specially priced at IDR 49K per glass and 175K per pitcher. YES, YES, YES, okay it’s time to stop.

Simple Menu
All the Mexican standards are here: enchiladas, burrito, quesadillas, tacos, and fajitas. They even let you make your own taco or burrito, or you can go for…

The 8-Layer Burrito!!!
Behold, all hail to the king of burrito!! I saw this board after seeing the menu, and ordering it was a no-brainer. Pico-de-gallo is tomato-based salsa.

Home-made Sauces
Red & green, both were great, though my money was more on the red one. No MSG or preservatives! What more could I ask for?

The 8-Layer Burrito – Beef – IDR 53K
I really liked this burrito. The Cilantro-lime rice tasted fresh, along with the rests of the ingredients. Black beans or pinto beans, your choice. They also didn’t hold back on the cheese. I chose cheddar since putting mozzarella in a burrito is rather unusual. The burrito felt very compact and full. It was well worth the price.

Chips ‘n Guacamole – IDR 16K
The chips tasted great and seemed to be home-made. They went very well with the guacamole, which had a quite amazing texture. The only thing was that the portion was tiny even for a snack/appetizer.

Nachos Grande – Chicken – IDR 47K
Sour cream, guacamole, tomatoes, jalapenos, what a great combination!

Cheesy Enchiladas – Beef – IDR 54K
Lots of cheese but they still got the saltiness right. I was satisfied with the portion.

Ginger Lemonade – IDR 16K

San Miguel Light – IDR 25K
Bintang (Large) – IDR 28K

After the meal I grabbed some ice cream next door, which was nice. Suprisingly Taco Casa became very crowded all of the sudden. People were waiting for seats. I must have been quite lucky to get one without waiting.

In Jakarta it was tough to find an acceptable burrito at this price. Both Hacienda in Senayan Arcadia and Amigos in Kemang offered pretty good burritos but at much more expensive prices (IDR 80K+).

MISTER’S MEMO™
Atmosphere: Casual, relaxing. No smoking. Free Wi-Fi.
Service: Good but nothing extraordinary.
Price*: $$$, 15.5% tax + service.
Parking: Small parking area (2 cars + motorcycles); street-parking.
Attire: Casual.
Hours: Mon-Sun 11am-10pm.


Taco Casa Bali (Ubud, and another one in Seminyak)
Jl. Pengosekan (South end of Ubud), Gianyar, Bali 80571
Tel +62 361 212 3818
  

* Including a drink, tax & service charges, per person on average:
$: < IDR 30K (cheap)
$$: 30K+ (okay)
$$$: 60K+ (pricey)
$$$$: 90K+ (borju)