Great food, great wait staff, not enough space between seats and table in booths for 1X size ladies.
Daniel Elijah
I just went here for the first time with my people and all the food was good all the drinks were good tacos carne asada fries five star everything. Would definitely recommend this place that somebody
Lambert Family
Good for white people tacos, not kid friendly after 9pm
Duncan McAlpine
Red Star Tacoma – A Happy Hour Win!
Red Star Tacoma has come a long way since my last visit several years ago—what a pleasant surprise! We dropped in during happy hour but decided to order from the regular menu instead, and I’m so glad we did. I went with their 3 for $13 TACOs deal, choosing Catfish, Carnitas, and Baja Sur Fish.
Each taco was generously portioned, well-balanced, and absolutely delicious. The Catfish taco stood out with its crispy, tortilla chip-encrusted fish and flavorful Cajun remoulade. The Carnitas was classic and comforting with fresh pico and salsa verde, while the Baja Sur Fish was bright and satisfying with cabbage, pico, and their signature Baja sauce.
We added a side of chips and salsa for just $3.50, and to our surprise, they provided extra salsa at no charge—great hospitality and value! I also took advantage of their happy hour tequila special and tried Fortaleza Reposado for the first time. At $13 with a generous pour and $3 off, it was a great way to round out the meal.
Overall, Red Star Tacoma delivered a fantastic experience—great food, generous portions, and solid happy hour deals. Definitely worth a visit, especially during happy hour!
Tom
Always great tacos. Better than Fremont! Bartender is awesome
Victoria Mullen
My boyfriend and I went in on Sunday at around noon. The restaurant was dead. We got seated at the bar and apparently the conversation between coworkers was more important than paying customers. After about 10 minutes, we were finally acknowledged but by that point, decided to leave. This was the second time we’ve experienced this type of behavior and I was really hoping that this visit would make up for the last time but it didn’t. We won’t try again and instead of recommending them, I’ll advise against it. Garbage.
Sai Sam
Update: The cops came and told me that in Tacoma any restaurant worker can be threatening and take physical action or put their hands on people if they're in the premise. That there is no consequence for them threatening to use physical action or attempting to hurt me and then asked me if I'd heard of the concept of a bouncer (I've never had any cop take the side of any bouncer and encourage physical action towards someone who's less than half the size of the other person). Next someone, maybe an owner or higher supervisor, also came and the cops laughed with him after going inside to speaking to the bar manager Carl Owens who was threatening towards me for asking the contact information of the establishments owners since I was getting confused with their policies towards out of state IDs, when they served me many times before but he denied me this time. So it's unclear if the cops have a silent understanding with the owners that they'll take the establishments side no matter after a worker threatens or states they'll use physical force to a person.
I used to love Red Star Taco until the owners bar manager Carl Owens threatened me with removal and was discriminatory after I asked him for the owners contact information since he was reviewing my out of state ID differently each time. If you have issues with someone's ID, you can deny them alcohol. But you most definitely cannot tell me you'll cancel my food and then tell me my payment is voided, denying service after payment is accepted for asking a question to get contact info. That's some hate crime or threatening level discrimination. Requesting contact information for an establishments owners is not something that warrants a threat to remove with physical force and then voiding a customers payment and taking their to-go food away is even more punitive.
When I tried to let him know I felt that was discriminatory, he said he if I didn't leave after he had canceled my To-Go food and voided my payment, that if I didn't move outside straight away he would have his coworkers use physical force to have me removed. I don't know what type of treatment is acceptable in Tacoma but having a grown 6 ft' + man tell a less than 5 ft 3" woman of much lesser size that he would have me physically removed when I just tried to request some information for the establishment owners to get more understanding of their ID policies since my out of state ID was being treated differently each time, that is most definitely a threatening and escalated response. I am pretty shocked and I called Tacoma PD to file a complaint. I will definitely make sure that every other patron and owner in Tacoma knows as well, because having a 6ft+ man tell you he'd have you removed offering to use physical force after he canceled your payment and to-go order for trying to speak to an owner to understand that business policies towards out of state IDs is extremely scary.
Evelyn Star
The kitchen forgot to make our food, so we had to wait twice as long as normal. When the food did finally come out, they had screwed up our order and tacked on additional charges for things we didn't order. On top of that, the tacos were lukewarm and soggy by the time they brought them to the table. When I brought these issues to the server's attention, not only did they not even offer an apology, they claimed they were unable to remove some of the charges they had tacked on in error. We ended up being made to pay full price on a $100 meal for disappointing, sub-mediocre food and lackluster service.
I absolutely won't be coming back or recommending it to others.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 2
jim sabol
Great location and atmosphere, good food and fantastic service and drinks.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Christine Bair
Honestly, it was just a meh experience. The hostess and server were prompt and friendly. The food and the length of time it took two bartenders on a less than busy night to make our drinks were not impressive. I will say the food arrived quickly. It was just lack luster and somewhat cold. I don't know what was going on in the bar, but maybe try a dedicated service bartender? 15 minutes to get a cocktail regardless of the craft(whiched seemed to consist of clanking the metal shaker repeatedly and socializing ) isn't a great look. Totally a hipster place that really didn't impress.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Catfish, Poblano Rings, Chips and Salsa
Amazing seasonal tacos, lots of gluten free options, great atmosphere
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jon Brooks
Our server was very nice and prompt. However, the carne tacos were comprised of huge cubes of the coldest least tender meat I’ve ever seen served at a restaurant. I didn’t even try to eat them as a taco, had to use a fork and gnaw each cube like beef jerky. Additionally, the refried beans tasted like a strange saw dust paste. Put some new light bulbs in the men’s restroom it looks like a haunted house.
Great food, great wait staff, not enough space between seats and table in booths for 1X size ladies.
I just went here for the first time with my people and all the food was good all the drinks were good tacos carne asada fries five star everything. Would definitely recommend this place that somebody
Good for white people tacos, not kid friendly after 9pm
Red Star Tacoma – A Happy Hour Win!
Red Star Tacoma has come a long way since my last visit several years ago—what a pleasant surprise! We dropped in during happy hour but decided to order from the regular menu instead, and I’m so glad we did. I went with their 3 for $13 TACOs deal, choosing Catfish, Carnitas, and Baja Sur Fish.
Each taco was generously portioned, well-balanced, and absolutely delicious. The Catfish taco stood out with its crispy, tortilla chip-encrusted fish and flavorful Cajun remoulade. The Carnitas was classic and comforting with fresh pico and salsa verde, while the Baja Sur Fish was bright and satisfying with cabbage, pico, and their signature Baja sauce.
We added a side of chips and salsa for just $3.50, and to our surprise, they provided extra salsa at no charge—great hospitality and value! I also took advantage of their happy hour tequila special and tried Fortaleza Reposado for the first time. At $13 with a generous pour and $3 off, it was a great way to round out the meal.
Overall, Red Star Tacoma delivered a fantastic experience—great food, generous portions, and solid happy hour deals. Definitely worth a visit, especially during happy hour!
Always great tacos. Better than Fremont! Bartender is awesome
My boyfriend and I went in on Sunday at around noon. The restaurant was dead. We got seated at the bar and apparently the conversation between coworkers was more important than paying customers. After about 10 minutes, we were finally acknowledged but by that point, decided to leave. This was the second time we’ve experienced this type of behavior and I was really hoping that this visit would make up for the last time but it didn’t. We won’t try again and instead of recommending them, I’ll advise against it. Garbage.
Update: The cops came and told me that in Tacoma any restaurant worker can be threatening and take physical action or put their hands on people if they're in the premise. That there is no consequence for them threatening to use physical action or attempting to hurt me and then asked me if I'd heard of the concept of a bouncer (I've never had any cop take the side of any bouncer and encourage physical action towards someone who's less than half the size of the other person). Next someone, maybe an owner or higher supervisor, also came and the cops laughed with him after going inside to speaking to the bar manager Carl Owens who was threatening towards me for asking the contact information of the establishments owners since I was getting confused with their policies towards out of state IDs, when they served me many times before but he denied me this time. So it's unclear if the cops have a silent understanding with the owners that they'll take the establishments side no matter after a worker threatens or states they'll use physical force to a person. I used to love Red Star Taco until the owners bar manager Carl Owens threatened me with removal and was discriminatory after I asked him for the owners contact information since he was reviewing my out of state ID differently each time. If you have issues with someone's ID, you can deny them alcohol. But you most definitely cannot tell me you'll cancel my food and then tell me my payment is voided, denying service after payment is accepted for asking a question to get contact info. That's some hate crime or threatening level discrimination. Requesting contact information for an establishments owners is not something that warrants a threat to remove with physical force and then voiding a customers payment and taking their to-go food away is even more punitive. When I tried to let him know I felt that was discriminatory, he said he if I didn't leave after he had canceled my To-Go food and voided my payment, that if I didn't move outside straight away he would have his coworkers use physical force to have me removed. I don't know what type of treatment is acceptable in Tacoma but having a grown 6 ft' + man tell a less than 5 ft 3" woman of much lesser size that he would have me physically removed when I just tried to request some information for the establishment owners to get more understanding of their ID policies since my out of state ID was being treated differently each time, that is most definitely a threatening and escalated response. I am pretty shocked and I called Tacoma PD to file a complaint. I will definitely make sure that every other patron and owner in Tacoma knows as well, because having a 6ft+ man tell you he'd have you removed offering to use physical force after he canceled your payment and to-go order for trying to speak to an owner to understand that business policies towards out of state IDs is extremely scary.
The kitchen forgot to make our food, so we had to wait twice as long as normal. When the food did finally come out, they had screwed up our order and tacked on additional charges for things we didn't order. On top of that, the tacos were lukewarm and soggy by the time they brought them to the table. When I brought these issues to the server's attention, not only did they not even offer an apology, they claimed they were unable to remove some of the charges they had tacked on in error. We ended up being made to pay full price on a $100 meal for disappointing, sub-mediocre food and lackluster service.
I absolutely won't be coming back or recommending it to others.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 2
Great location and atmosphere, good food and fantastic service and drinks.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Honestly, it was just a meh experience. The hostess and server were prompt and friendly. The food and the length of time it took two bartenders on a less than busy night to make our drinks were not impressive. I will say the food arrived quickly. It was just lack luster and somewhat cold. I don't know what was going on in the bar, but maybe try a dedicated service bartender? 15 minutes to get a cocktail regardless of the craft(whiched seemed to consist of clanking the metal shaker repeatedly and socializing ) isn't a great look. Totally a hipster place that really didn't impress.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Catfish, Poblano Rings, Chips and Salsa
Restaurantji Recommends
Tacos are always great!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Best tacos in Tacoma! Great drinks too!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great tacos!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Amazing seasonal tacos, lots of gluten free options, great atmosphere
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Our server was very nice and prompt. However, the carne tacos were comprised of huge cubes of the coldest least tender meat I’ve ever seen served at a restaurant. I didn’t even try to eat them as a taco, had to use a fork and gnaw each cube like beef jerky. Additionally, the refried beans tasted like a strange saw dust paste. Put some new light bulbs in the men’s restroom it looks like a haunted house.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 5
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