Traumatizing. That’s the only word I can use to describe this experience.
It was earlier this evening, a Friday night. My 7-year-old had a really hard day, and I wanted to cheer him up. He asked for Taco Bell, and I said yes. I imagined we’d be home by 8:30—eating dinner, playing a video game together, just having a little time as a family before bed. Instead, we ended up having one of the worst nights I can remember.
We pulled into the Taco Bell drive-thru around 8:10 PM, expecting a quick stop—maybe 10 or 15 minutes. We were trapped in that line for an hour and 45 minutes, finally leaving at 9:56 PM.
When I say “trapped,” I mean literally stuck with no way to get out. The drive-thru has one narrow lane with no exit. On the right, there’s a full retaining wall. On the left, there’s the menu board and curbing that wraps around the building. In addition to the menu, there’s a patch of grass that might seem like an escape route at first glance. However, to use it, you’d have to drive over a large curb, across the grass, and then face a row of parked DoorDash and Uber Eats drivers on the other side. That area also has utility boxes that make maneuvering impossible. There was no path out—just a long wait with no option to leave.
While we were stuck in line, things just kept getting worse. The SUV in front of us had a broken tail light—the light still worked, but the red cover was missing, so a harsh, unfiltered white light was shining directly into our faces. From the driver’s seat, I held up a book for what felt like forever just to cast a shadow over my son’s face and block the glare. After being hungry and tired for over an hour and a half in the car, my 7-year-old got carsick and threw up in the back seat. I felt completely helpless.
I called my husband to vent about how awful the situation was, and he ended up calling the Taco Bell location three separate times trying to help. During the first two calls, they said they were short-staffed and overloaded with DoorDash orders. On the third call, he got a busy signal. He even thought about coming to help, but there was truly nothing he could do—we were physically stuck.
Eventually, we reached the pickup window. I thought about just driving away, but I was torn. We had already waited so long, and I didn’t want it all to be for nothing. I told the employee that my son had thrown up, and they kindly gave me an empty cup for him to use, which he did. They also gave me a cup of water for him too. I was grateful in that moment, thinking we were finally at the end of it.
We ended up sitting at the pickup window for more than 20 additional minutes. During that time, my son threw up again. He was completely miserable. My 3-year-old was miserable too and fell asleep right as we finally got to the window—without eating dinner. I began waving to try to get someone’s attention for more napkins, but no one noticed. I sat there crying, completely overwhelmed, while my son continued to be sick in the back seat. He never even ate the tacos he had been so excited for.
Throughout all of this, DoorDash and Uber Eats drivers continued flowing in and out of the restaurant, picking up massive orders. It was obvious those app-based orders were being prioritized over the real families physically stuck in the drive-thru. The restaurant should have paused online orders to deal with the in-person backup first. It was unacceptable to let families sit in cars for nearly two hours while people at home got their food faster.
This wasn’t just a messed-up dinner. It was supposed to be a small gesture to help my son recover from a bad day. Instead, it became a night of vomiting, crying, and zero quality time together.
I will never return to this Taco Bell. From now on, I’ll gladly drive further to the Taco Bell in New Haven. At least there, I don’t feel like I’m being held hostage in a curb-lined maze with no exit.
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
Nazim Rayhan
Very slow and not serious about driving through customers. He was eating from customers food Not going back after seeing this terrible thing
Matt Branigan (Dksurrogate)
Please for the love of god fix the sink in the men bathroom its been broken for 2 years atleast
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 2
Ralph Cappiello
Whatever special comes up on the app, this ansonia location either doesn't honor it or charges a higher price.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Eric Smith
Great food, terribly slow service the last few times I’ve been. Whenever I’m inside, I find not only myself waiting an unreasonable amount of time for my food but many Uber drivers / food delivery people as well.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 1
kiya davis
ima start off by saying i am NOT a review person, good or bad. but this location literally sucks so bad. i worked at taco bell for three years and there is NO reason why my order is wrong in some form or fashion, EVERY SINGLE TIME. and that is NOT an exaggeration. whether i order thru doordash, drive thru or whatever there’s always either a missing item, missing add-ons (which are also extra charges) or they include ingredients that i asked to have removed. and they forget sauces or give me mild when i ask for fire. respectfully, they are not the same; in taste or spice. today, i tried to give yall the benefit bc i was craving dorito tacos.
1. i got plain dorito tacos when i paid for supreme 2.a plain corn shell in my gordita crunch when i paid for nachos cheese 3.neither one of my add-ons, sour cream and extra three cheese in my gordita crunch. 2. my lettuce in EVERY SINGLE taco & gordita was soggy from being frozen to the bottom of the pan which ruined the whole texture of the tacos and i couldn’t eat without gagging.
and since i ordered from doordash i could only get $8 back out of the $45 i paid for food i can’t even eat. again, im NOT a review person but thats kinda wild. i know people make mistakes and shit happens but every single time is crazy 😭 i’m okay if it’s only one item or simple shit like having to pick off tomatoes but for my WHOLE $40 order to be wrong is sick. tbh i would’ve even been cool with the missing sour cream and stuff if i could’ve atleast gotten decent lettuce.
all that to say, don’t serve people shit you wouldn’t eat.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Tab Darrow
Vegetarian options: Most real meat can be swapped with beans
This place gets 3 stars because some days it's 5 star service and others it's 0 star service. Needs some management and stability.
T J
This place is an absolute disaster. One star is 10 stars higher than they deserve. Someone needs to explain the concept of fast food to these people. 40 minutes in the drive thru is absurd.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
Black Costanza
How on earth is this Taco Bell still in business? It defies all logic. This place isn’t just bad—it’s a catastrophe. Most establishments mess up the same thing repeatedly, but not this Taco Bell. No, they’ve mastered the art of screwing up something new every single time I go there. The staff’s half-hearted commitment to quality is an insult, but the real culprit here is the absolute clown show of management. Case in point: I stopped in today, against my better judgment, and ordered a 2 Chalupa meal. What did I find? A long brown hair in one of the chalupas. Are hairnets some kind of foreign concept here? It sure wasn’t my hair—I have a shaved head.
Honestly, I avoid this place like the plague, but curiosity got the best of me today. Big mistake. How has the regional manager or corporate not stepped in and cleaned house? Fire every single person and replace them with staff who actually care and have a shred of competence. This location is a disgrace to the brand and an insult to customers.
I'm only giving it one star because I can't give it zero.
Sat in drive thru line for almost an hour to be told we can't order right now, we'd have to wait. Very unprofessional. You're a take out business, you shouldn't be having these issues.
Bryan Casey
Going downhill. 3rd time in a row, over the span of a month that I've had to wait 40+ minutes for my food. Not worth it.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 1
Chrystal Ferrenti
One thing that I always do at this Taco Bell is check my order before I drive away from the window! It NEVER fails at this location, something is always missing or the order is wrong! I can understand if it's busy and chaotic but I was literally the only one there. It's been like that for years. The food is good though, can't complain there. But yes, definitely check before you leave!
Vegetarian options: I'm pretty sure that they only offer one vegetarian taco.
Traumatizing. That’s the only word I can use to describe this experience.
It was earlier this evening, a Friday night. My 7-year-old had a really hard day, and I wanted to cheer him up. He asked for Taco Bell, and I said yes. I imagined we’d be home by 8:30—eating dinner, playing a video game together, just having a little time as a family before bed. Instead, we ended up having one of the worst nights I can remember.
We pulled into the Taco Bell drive-thru around 8:10 PM, expecting a quick stop—maybe 10 or 15 minutes. We were trapped in that line for an hour and 45 minutes, finally leaving at 9:56 PM.
When I say “trapped,” I mean literally stuck with no way to get out. The drive-thru has one narrow lane with no exit. On the right, there’s a full retaining wall. On the left, there’s the menu board and curbing that wraps around the building. In addition to the menu, there’s a patch of grass that might seem like an escape route at first glance. However, to use it, you’d have to drive over a large curb, across the grass, and then face a row of parked DoorDash and Uber Eats drivers on the other side. That area also has utility boxes that make maneuvering impossible. There was no path out—just a long wait with no option to leave.
While we were stuck in line, things just kept getting worse. The SUV in front of us had a broken tail light—the light still worked, but the red cover was missing, so a harsh, unfiltered white light was shining directly into our faces. From the driver’s seat, I held up a book for what felt like forever just to cast a shadow over my son’s face and block the glare. After being hungry and tired for over an hour and a half in the car, my 7-year-old got carsick and threw up in the back seat. I felt completely helpless.
I called my husband to vent about how awful the situation was, and he ended up calling the Taco Bell location three separate times trying to help. During the first two calls, they said they were short-staffed and overloaded with DoorDash orders. On the third call, he got a busy signal. He even thought about coming to help, but there was truly nothing he could do—we were physically stuck.
Eventually, we reached the pickup window. I thought about just driving away, but I was torn. We had already waited so long, and I didn’t want it all to be for nothing. I told the employee that my son had thrown up, and they kindly gave me an empty cup for him to use, which he did. They also gave me a cup of water for him too. I was grateful in that moment, thinking we were finally at the end of it.
We ended up sitting at the pickup window for more than 20 additional minutes. During that time, my son threw up again. He was completely miserable. My 3-year-old was miserable too and fell asleep right as we finally got to the window—without eating dinner. I began waving to try to get someone’s attention for more napkins, but no one noticed. I sat there crying, completely overwhelmed, while my son continued to be sick in the back seat. He never even ate the tacos he had been so excited for.
Throughout all of this, DoorDash and Uber Eats drivers continued flowing in and out of the restaurant, picking up massive orders. It was obvious those app-based orders were being prioritized over the real families physically stuck in the drive-thru. The restaurant should have paused online orders to deal with the in-person backup first. It was unacceptable to let families sit in cars for nearly two hours while people at home got their food faster.
This wasn’t just a messed-up dinner. It was supposed to be a small gesture to help my son recover from a bad day. Instead, it became a night of vomiting, crying, and zero quality time together.
I will never return to this Taco Bell. From now on, I’ll gladly drive further to the Taco Bell in New Haven. At least there, I don’t feel like I’m being held hostage in a curb-lined maze with no exit.
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
Very slow and not serious about driving through customers. He was eating from customers food
Not going back after seeing this terrible thing
Please for the love of god fix the sink in the men bathroom its been broken for 2 years atleast
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 2
Whatever special comes up on the app, this ansonia location either doesn't honor it or charges a higher price.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Great food, terribly slow service the last few times I’ve been. Whenever I’m inside, I find not only myself waiting an unreasonable amount of time for my food but many Uber drivers / food delivery people as well.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 1
ima start off by saying i am NOT a review person, good or bad. but this location literally sucks so bad. i worked at taco bell for three years and there is NO reason why my order is wrong in some form or fashion, EVERY SINGLE TIME. and that is NOT an exaggeration. whether i order thru doordash, drive thru or whatever there’s always either a missing item, missing add-ons (which are also extra charges) or they include ingredients that i asked to have removed. and they forget sauces or give me mild when i ask for fire. respectfully, they are not the same; in taste or spice. today, i tried to give yall the benefit bc i was craving dorito tacos.
1. i got plain dorito tacos when i paid for supreme
2.a plain corn shell in my gordita crunch when i paid for nachos cheese
3.neither one of my add-ons, sour cream and extra three cheese in my gordita crunch.
2. my lettuce in EVERY SINGLE taco & gordita was soggy from being frozen to the bottom of the pan which ruined the whole texture of the tacos and i couldn’t eat without gagging.
and since i ordered from doordash i could only get $8 back out of the $45 i paid for food i can’t even eat. again, im NOT a review person but thats kinda wild. i know people make mistakes and shit happens but every single time is crazy 😭 i’m okay if it’s only one item or simple shit like having to pick off tomatoes but for my WHOLE $40 order to be wrong is sick. tbh i would’ve even been cool with the missing sour cream and stuff if i could’ve atleast gotten decent lettuce.
all that to say, don’t serve people shit you wouldn’t eat.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Vegetarian options: Most real meat can be swapped with beans
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Black Bean Crunchwrap Supreme, 2 Chicken Chalupas Supreme Combo
This place gets 3 stars because some days it's 5 star service and others it's 0 star service. Needs some management and stability.
This place is an absolute disaster. One star is 10 stars higher than they deserve. Someone needs to explain the concept of fast food to these people. 40 minutes in the drive thru is absurd.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
How on earth is this Taco Bell still in business? It defies all logic. This place isn’t just bad—it’s a catastrophe. Most establishments mess up the same thing repeatedly, but not this Taco Bell. No, they’ve mastered the art of screwing up something new every single time I go there. The staff’s half-hearted commitment to quality is an insult, but the real culprit here is the absolute clown show of management. Case in point: I stopped in today, against my better judgment, and ordered a 2 Chalupa meal. What did I find? A long brown hair in one of the chalupas. Are hairnets some kind of foreign concept here? It sure wasn’t my hair—I have a shaved head.
Honestly, I avoid this place like the plague, but curiosity got the best of me today. Big mistake. How has the regional manager or corporate not stepped in and cleaned house? Fire every single person and replace them with staff who actually care and have a shred of competence. This location is a disgrace to the brand and an insult to customers.
I'm only giving it one star because I can't give it zero.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Restaurantji Recommends
Sat in drive thru line for almost an hour to be told we can't order right now, we'd have to wait. Very unprofessional. You're a take out business, you shouldn't be having these issues.
Going downhill. 3rd time in a row, over the span of a month that I've had to wait 40+ minutes for my food. Not worth it.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 1
One thing that I always do at this Taco Bell is check my order before I drive away from the window! It NEVER fails at this location, something is always missing or the order is wrong! I can understand if it's busy and chaotic but I was literally the only one there. It's been like that for years. The food is good though, can't complain there. But yes, definitely check before you leave!
Vegetarian options: I'm pretty sure that they only offer one vegetarian taco.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 5
Service: 1
Recommended dishes: Cantina Chicken Bowl, Nacho Fries
Going downhill. 3rd time in a row, over the span of a month that I've had to wait 40+ minutes for my food. Not worth it.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 1
I miss the old esthetic.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 2
Recommended dishes: Soft Taco
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