Taco Bamba
$ • Mexican Restaurant
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Dine in and carry out have always been solid options for fast casual tacos
Love Taco Bamba! Almost all tacos can be made with a corn tortilla. I also eat the chicken wings with no reaction. I do avoid the queso because that did upset my stomach.
Tasty tasty tasty. I’ve eaten at various Taco Bamba locations in northern Virginia for years and always had good experiences. This one is closest to my office and I eat here for lunch a few times a month and have never had issues. My favorite tacos are Al Pastor and Barbacoa. They have GF queso dip, which I appreciate. Their salsas are delicious. I’ve never been sick after eating at Taco Bamba. Tasty drinks at the bar, too. Especially the watermelon margarita when in season. Recommend. The line can get long at peak lunch, so online ordering is helpful.
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*** UPDATE ***
I have eaten here several more times since then. I think there is an issue with cross contamination specifically with the Taco Bamba taco - one ingredient in the taco is the chicarrone crumbles - which are likely prepared in a shared fryer. I noticed some digestive issues after a few visits and also noted an elevated level of antibodies in my blood in the weeks after eating here. Proceed with CAUTION!
*** ORIGINAL***
I went here with some coworkers for lunch. Called beforehand and checked the website. They have a allergy sheet online that's a little confusing, but serviceable. Manager on the phone was very reassuring and amenable to handling allergies.
When ordering I specified my allergy, the person taking my order selected an option on her POS system showing my allergy.
I ordered the Taco Bamba and the Taco Pescado, and had no reaction to my knowledge.
ORDER ONLINE
I have eaten here three times. First two, I ordered online (tacos, bowl & chips/salsa) and had zero issues. I was able to specify “allergy” and “corn tortillas” on my order.
Yesterday was a different experience. I went at 330 when I figured the lunch rush would be over and it would be quiet so I’d order in person. Bad idea. The person taking my order was distracted along with being on the phone too. She put “no flour tortilla” on two of the tacos and “no flour pita” and “no flour tortilla” on a third. I questioned that I needed corn bc of an allergy and she said this was the option in the register. When I got the order, the one taco was on a flour pita. I asked them to remake it and specified it needed to be from scratch, that they couldn’t just replace the base. I tried to watch the line to make sure, but of course someone got in the way part-way through. I inspected the taco for a good minute before eating, questioned myself, and decided to dive in because it was the one I went to the restaurant for (shrimp taco). Four hours later, I paid the price of celiac cross-contamination 😭. I know when I’ve eaten something with gluten in it vs cc and this was cc (I assume they kept the same taco stuff). It’s all on me for eating it.
I will be back but will ALWAYS order online, even when eating there. Lines are long so will save time too.
Reviews of this Chain
I got the huevos rancheros and they were tasty. However, I have to say I’m very disappointed with their guac. If you eat here, don’t get it.
Super knowledgeable staff, an incredible amount of choices since they’re willing to adjust for you, capitalized gluten free notification in their system to assure it’s not forgotten while cooking. So glad I gave it a try when I usually only rely on restaurants that were rated here before!
They appeared knowledgeable about cross contamination, let me know what could be made gluten free, and had a protocol set up for changing gloves, communicating the ‘food allergy issue’ to the staff, keeping my gf food separate, and clearly marking it. Plus the food is tasty!
Staff were able to mark my order as gluten allergy and seemed to understand cross-contact. My order was brought out separately too. Great tacos - lots of flavour and choice! Understand fried items are not GF, but the allergen menu online us very useful too. Would be back!
Staff told me that they could not make any food for me that avoided kitchen cross contact and that it would not be safe for me to eat here.
