Taco Summer: A Fast Casual Scottsdale Shop with Tortilla-Wrapped Surf and Turf

18. Mucha Lucha Taco Shop

Taquería: Mucha Lucha Taco Shop, 7620 East McKellips Road, Scottsdale
Open Since: 2015
Style: Chipotle-style fast casual
Signature Taco: Surf and turf, shrimp, five-way street tacos

A vibrant, lucha libre-themed dining room awaits visitors to Mucha Lucha Taco Shop. 

Mexican wrestling garb cover the pink walls, and upbeat Latino hits blare from a small television in one corner of the space. Behind the counter, friendly staff dish out tacos, burritos, and chimichangas in a fast-casual style, with a choose-your-own-toppings bar featuring everything from sour cream and guacamole to their very good homemade salsas and Tex-Mex shredded cheese and iceburg lettuce options.

The taco filling offerings are vast, with around eight available on a given day. They offer a five street taco combo that allows you to mix and match chorizo, green chili beef, barbacoa, chipotle chicken, carne asada, and other stewed and grilled meat options. They also have unusual surf and turf options, which feature combinations like carne asada and shrimp.

Speaking of seafood, the shrimp tacos here feature massive butterflied shrimp slicked with spicy red chili. They are served with a nice, crispy char on a jalapeño cream cheese-slathered tortilla. The fish tacos have a light, flaky white fish that's black-pepper encrusted and delicately grilled. The dish is offered with or without grilled peppers and onions, and though the grilled veggies were delicious, next time I'd skip them to let the flavor of the fish come through more prominently.

Beyond the tacos, the same griddled shrimp are offered in the monster-sized surf and turf burrito, where they are layered with carne asada, stewed beans, rice, and grilled peppers and onions for a formidable meal.

The offerings are lusciously flavorful and wonderfully balanced between classic street-style and exciting new combinations.

End your meal with a fresh-fried churro and you'll leave happy and stuffed.


Our Taco Summer picks so far:

50. Taqueria Don Beto
49. Kiss Pollos Estilo Sinaloa
48. Tacos Tijuana
47. El Burrito Grande
46. El Horseshoe Restaurant
45. Tacos Sahuaro
44. El Pollo Correteado
43. Adrian's
42. La Fiesta
41. Taqueria Lucy
40. Tortas Ahogadas George
39. Taqueria El Chino
38. Joe's Tacos
37. Taqueria El Gallo de Lagos
36. Tacos Huicho
35. Puffy Taco Shack
34. Ni De Aqui Ne De Alla
33. Mr. Mesquite
32. Senor Ozzy's
31. Tacos Jalisco
30. Ta'Carbon
29. Taqueria Los Yaquis
28: Helio Basin Brewing
27: Sonora Taco Shop
26: Mercado Y Carniceria Cuernavaca
25. Restaurant Atoyac Estilo Oaxaca
24. Paquime Street Food
23. The Rez
22. Asadero Toro
21. La Frontera 1
20. Taquería Yaqui
19. Presidio Cocina Mexicana