When you order tacos at Roy’s Taco Hut on San Pedro Avenue, you must indicate “small” or “large.” Because if you don’t say “small,” they’ll go straight to “large.” It’s like the default size is large. Or, “Texas size”, as the tacos are coined at Roy’s. That’s the way the menu lists them—$1 less for small tacos. So they’re not regular taco-sized tacos, but “small.”
On that most wordy note, I ordered the Taco Caliente, one of their big-ass specialty tacos, which ends up being carne asada and grilled onions and peppers. Pretty standard. And not hot, really. The peppers delivered more flavor than heat. The tortilla broke easily so I ended up eating the strips of beef and veggies with a fork. The meat was slightly dry, but the taste certainly was there—the nicely grilled meats and veggies mixed together well with the flour tortilla.
Looking back at the menu, I regret my choices. Roy’s was a solo expedition, so I could only shove so much taco down into my panza. I went twice, because the big tacos posed a serious challenge. But the other specialty tacos looked delicious.
Roy’s Super Taco is carne guisada, guacamole, beans, cheese, lettuce and tomato. And the Vanessa Supreme is beef or chicken fajita with sour cream, guacamole, lettuce and tomato.
I went with the chicharron with chili and egg. If you can get past the texture of the pork skins, you’ll probably really like this taco. It has an excellent meshing of the very porky skins with a smoky sauce and perfectly scrambled egg. The skins, however, are gelatinous. They giggle when you shake the plate.
The stew in the carne guisada was greasy and thick. It’s flavor was good but slightly off the normal Tex-Mex flavor profile. It was carne guisada, for the most part. I couldn’t pinpoint the mystery ingredient.
The bean and cheese on corn and chilaquiles tacos were average. That was my impression of Roy’s Taco Hut—pretty average to slightly above average tacos in a rock ‘n’ roll setting. In fact, the rock memorabilia is laid on so thick, it’s more nauseating than cool to look at. Before you even enter the place, The Beatles famously cross Abbey Road in Roy’s large front windows.
I invite you to get past the schtick and try some of the more intriguing taco offerings. There was also a carne guisada with bean and cheese; carne guisada gravy taco (no meat!); and the enchilada taco (very meta).
Roy’s Taco Hut, 6211 San Pedro Ave., (210) 366-1166
Worth traveling across town for
Average S.A. taqueria. Some hits, some misses
Mostly misses
— Benjamin Olivo
What do you think? Is there a taco I should have ordered, but didn’t? Have any taco news, issues or concerns? Email me at ben@thetacoist.com.
I spend an average of $6 a week (Times 52 weeks = $312) at this restaurant and have always enjoyed the tacos and the friendly service at the drive through. Last Tuesday they failed to add the cheese that I requested and paid for. Today the line at the drive was too long so I went inside to order. I mentioned to the cashier about the missing ingredient and she asked if I had called it in. When I said no she basically said too bad so sad by denying me credit on my order today. So instead of giving me what was due me, 89 cents for the cheese which is really less than 5 cents cost to them they have lost me as a customer and probably anyone else that I tell about this.