by Liv O’Hara ’25
November 2024
The opinions expressed here are strictly those of the writer and do not reflect the views of University School of Nashville or the Peabody Press.
Torchy’s Tacos, a taco chain from Texas, just moved onto Broadway, with walking distance from USN, but out of bounds for off-campus. Taking the place of Flatiron at 1929 Broadway, Torchy’s location makes it a focal point.
The Torchy’s exterior decor is more inviting than the actual food. (via Torchy’s Tacos)
The building stands out with its location, murals, and crazy branding. Parking is easy to find in the lot behind the building, however, the lot is small and not inexpensive, costing around $10 for an hour.
Walking in, the atmosphere of the restaurant is fun and inviting. The fiery color palette and branding are consistent throughout the restaurant and create a playful atmosphere. The workers are all very nice which further adds to the pleasant experience. The menu is filled with a multitude of unique tacos featuring different meats, sauces, and toppings. After you order at the counter there are numerous comfortable seating options.
The food is brought out relatively quickly depending on how busy the restaurant is when you go. We went between meal times when it wasn’t busy and were served almost right away. Although the vibe of the restaurant was exciting, the food lacked any real “wow” factor. The pork taco tasted bland despite the overflow of toppings and salsas. My tortilla broke less than halfway into eating the taco which was somewhat upsetting and made it difficult to eat.
The queso was slightly better, however, it too was overcomplicated and lacking. The presentation was nice. It had three salsa-like sauces on the top which gave it more flavor but also made it grainy.
The churros were tasty. They were cooked really well and tasted delicious. However, the dulce de leche dipping sauce was too sweet and hard to put on the churro.
Overall, it felt as though most of Torchy’s Tacos’ resources and effort went into their branding and restaurant decoration instead of their food.
My friends noted the mediocre food, high prices, and flashy overdone nature of the restaurant. Upon entering the restaurant, both Madeline Chalos ‘25 and Celeste Green ‘27 felt put off by the interior of the restaurant.
“It was a little bit overwhelming as there was a lot of red, it was almost tacky in some ways. It wasn’t especially welcoming or homey and the tables were not very comfortable as they were a hard metal,” Chalos said.
Green noted that the hour we visited left a larger employee-to-customer ratio, further adding to the strange vibe.
Each taco costs anywhere from $5-$7. Chalos was upset by the amount of money she felt she had wasted on Torchy’s.
“I paid a lot of money, I’m not sure how much but way too much for a taco and rice and beans,” Chalos said.
Green was similarly confused by the pricing and mentioned that there were many cheaper and better options for tacos in Nashville.
After paying a decent amount of money for food it’s not too much to expect for it to be exciting to eat and tasty. Unfortunately Torchy’s did not deliver on these fronts. Chalos noted that most of her food was either fine or bad. Green felt similarly.
“It was not that good. It was just mid,” Green stated.
Overall, we agreed that with the array of taco restaurants in Nashville, it is highly unlikely we will be returning to Torchy’s Tacos. There are numerous better, more affordable taco places in Nashville like Baja Burrito, Family Taco, and Taqueria del Sol.
