Tortilla Real - Petaluma, CA
As a Florida native and resident, many of our initial reviews have been and will be from that area, but our goal is also to share spots around the US as well as in other countries.
We’ve actually had tacos as far as Germany and Spain, and will continue to seek them out on all of our travels.
For our first “offfical” review of tacos in another place, we are happy to share our thoughts from a recent visit to the San Francisco area where we tried Tortilla Real in Petaluma, CA.
While on a trip to the Bay Area, we were staying in Petaluma when we found Tortilla Real while looking for a spot to try.
Located within Historic Downtown Petaluma, Tortilla Real is situated in a gorgeous walkable area filled with shops, theaters, and other things you typically can find in an older town.
In addition to the spacious interior seating, they also have a nice outdoor section if you’d rather be outside. We actually visited on Halloween so when we visited the whole area was participating in a small business trick or treat, so we weren’t able to get any great outside pictures.
A Combination of Innovation and Tradition
Taking directly from their website, Tortilla Real describes themselves quite accurately. While we didn’t get to speak to them ourselves, we were able to find out quite a bit about the restaurant from their website and other sources. Owned and operated by the Flores brothers. Tortilla Real has its roots in their family traditions, growing up in Guadalajara and getting a taste for cooking from scratch by observing their mother and grandmothers.
Just as they learned as children, they focus on fresh, locally sourced ingredients, as well as passed down recipes and techniques in order to provide a real flavor of Mexico.
In their words, “Homemade and deeply personal”.
Along with their homemade Carnitas, their star ingredient is the corn masa, freshly sourced from a family-run business in Oakland. The pursuit of quality shines particularly bright in the tortillas that are made fresh, perfectly simple with salt and pepper, and the consistency you’ll only find in the best places. Rather than doubling up thin tortillas, they opt for a single thicker tortilla. The tortillas themselves were perfect, with a single non-gritty consistency, signs of the masa being made so well.
Upon entering Tortilla Real you’ll immediately feel like you’re in the right place if you’re looking for great tacos. A modern, upscale take with some traditional flair, it’s a welcoming restaurant full of plenty of table seating as well as a large bar to sit at should you prefer.
Their menu was full of great options, and prices weren’t bad, especially for California. They had plenty of appetizers, entrees, and of course…all the normal taco choices. Of note; they did also have a vegan menu, allowing for anyone to find something to enjoy.
While the menu prices were already reasonable, they also had a great Happy Hour menu showing some great deals on tacos and drinks.
Tortilla Real - Chips & Guac
First Bites
Chips & Guac
We felt that while in California, we had to try some guac, and we weren’t disappointed. Their guac comes as a duo, with half having cotija cheese and the other half with pico de gallo.
The chips themselves were crispy, crunchy, and super salty. The fresh-made guac was creamy and tasted great. We really enjoyed both of them.
They also had a wonderful salsa roja not pictured, but it was very good. Our research shows that this is more of a Yucatan flavor. Simply made with tomato, onion, salt, pepper, and lime.
Crunching the Numbers:
The Tacothority Scorecard
Our taco rating system runs from 0 to 10, where 5 is perfectly average, and 10 is pure taco nirvana. A 0 is the dreaded "Sad Taco"—so bad you’d prefer last week's leftovers. A 5 is a neutral, forgettable taco, while anything above that ranges from decent (6-7) to almost perfect (8-9). A 10 is the ultimate taco experience—flawless in every way.
Tortilla Real - Steak, Carnitas, Chicken
The Three Amigos
Carne Asada - 8.7
The Carne Asada was a simple taco, exactly what you should look for in an authentic taco. Rather than big strips or chunks, this one had lots of smaller “crumbles” of grilled steak, and it was all cooked and seasoned beautifully. Even the charred bits were still juicy and tender. The tortillas were all fresh made in-house, making for a good chew and overall bite. Topping this with their salsa roja did elevate it in my mind, but it certainly wasn’t needed.
Chicken Tinga - 8.6
The Chicken Tinga was juicy and delicious. A good, smoky flavor, we really enjoyed it. The tortilla was again very good, and even held up to all the juices from the marinated chicken. We’ve seen first hand how many times tacos will fall apart at the first sign of liquid juices, but this one was up for the task.
Carnitas - 8.3
The Carnitas was also really solid and simple. Large chunks of pork, cilantro, onion. The flavor was simple but good, and each bite was as good if not better than the previous. It was well seasoned and the taco was packed. Once again, the tortilla was well suited for the task and showed no signs of blowing out, even after sitting long enough for us to get our pictures. Trying bits of pork on its own further reinforced how well it was cooked and seasoned. This is an example of a great Carnitas taco.
Tortilla Real - Pescado
The Wildcard
Going beyond the usual lineup, The Wildcard is the taco that stands out—whether it’s the restaurant’s go-to recommendation or just one that caught my eye. It’s the bonus option that brings something different to the plate.
Pescado - 8.5
Our server personally recommended the fish taco as her favorite over the shrimp option we debated for our Wildcard, and while we’re sure the shrimp would’ve been good as well, we certainly weren’t disappointed by the fish.
On initial looks alone, we could tell we were going to enjoy their fish taco. Featuring a large piece of fried cod, pico, cabage, and a chipotle sauce, it looked great. Each bite was a complex mix of flavors and textures, leading to an overall great experience and bite. Their was a great balance of rich flavors from the fish that was perfectly balanced by the citrusy acidity of the other components. Perfectly fried, each bite of fish was accompanied by a pleasant crunch. We’ve had a lot of bad fish tacos over the years, but this one is far from that category.
Final Thoughts
We are definitely fans of Tortilla Real, and we’d happily stop by again if we find ourselves in the area. The care they put into the food is evident, and nothing we had disappointed us in any way. From start to finish we had a pleasant experience and had great food and drinks.
While we didn’t cover them specifically in the review, we had a couple of drinks and each of them were delicious and freshly made.
Bottom Line: The tacos at Tortilla Real mimicked the design of the restaurant itself; simple and elegant, everything you want, nothing you don’t, and all executed very well.
