Dingo's Taco Bar

I thought I would try this little place and boy am I glad I did. Ended up eating their bean dip for almost 3 years even while they were remodeling. It has a different name but they still serve the best fish tacos this side of the Willamette River.

The sign outside said "Fresh Mexican Grill". That lured us in.

But I'm wondering, why the name Dingo's? The last time I checked, there were't any dingoes in Mexico.

It's true that we were promptly seated. However, we quickly noticed that at several other tables, patrons were seated with menus and water, but nothing else. The hipsterish waiter (there was one waiter for the entire restaurant) seemed to be moving at a leisurely pace, so we knew it was going to take too long to order and get our food (we had to be somewhere later), and split the scene.

I'm doling out a standard three stars because we didn't give the food a chance. Still, I note that that menu prices were spendy with a capital S.

And while admittedly this is a personal bias, a yellow flag starts flapping in front of my eyes when I see Caucasians manning a Mexican restaurant, like here at Dingo's.

I have a new crush and her name is D-I-N-G-O. After reading the earlier review, I wasn't sure if it was such a good idea, but my experience was great. Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I went with some regulars, so it is likely that I got exceptional service partially because of the company I kept. They told me, "It is a neighborhood place. You get it or you don't."

It was one of those crap-tacular nights in Portland, where it feels like the rain and cold will never end. So I was thrilled when we were whisked inside to a cozy corner table in the bar. I initially wanted to try one of the fruity margaritas (blueberry or pomegranate), but they were out, so I followed a recommendation and got a Blushing Rita. It was tart (grapefruit) and divine.

One of the reasons the service was great was because the bartender would suggest alternative drinks and why we should get one type of tequila rather than another, so the drinks were flowing.

Now, Mexican is almost never going to be my first choice for a night out. I've had more than my fair share of bad Mexican food that looks and tastes like it was thrown on a plate and reheated. Now, pizza is hard to screw up. Even bad pizza can be satisfying. Bad Mexican is just, well, bad.

So on to the food. The chips, salsa and cheesy bean dip were yummy. I had the grilled shrimp tacos and tasted the chicken mole and chicken lime enchiladas. I liked the mole sauce a lot. I decided to forego the beans and rice and had a side of coleslaw instead, which I highly recommend. All of the food tasted fresh and healthy.

The diners were a mix of couples and groups. I'd like to come back with my girlfriends for Thursday's Ladies' Night and leave the boys at home, but I think my husband would be way jealous if he didn't get to come back and work his way through the extensive margarita menu.

This is a regular stop for me when I'm over off of Hawthorne. The service is always spot on and they are ready to assist with anything.

There margaritas are mixed in such a way, I can't duplicate it at home, they must have a secret ingredient. Mixed on the rocks is the only way to fly.

They have a quesadilla that is their specialty that has fresh spinach, sun dried tomatoes, feta and jack cheese as well as black beans. That is a fan favorite with me. I will get that and a few other items depending on the visit.

All in all a good solid Americanized Mexican restaurant.

I'm sure I'll be back. Check Restaurants.com for a coupon.

so I checked this place out for the first time and I am a fan!

My friend got the nachos and tequila sampler and I got the carnitos and chicken mole tacos and beer

everything was very good.....the food, the service and booze! If you are a tequila fan...then come on down and get your Pee Wee Herman dance on!!!! TEQUILA!

After perusing some of the negative reviews, one would think that Dingo's actually ate somebody's baby. After consuming one of their burritos, I felt as if I just had. Those babies can really satiate.

The TLB and I were still in recovery from our home confinement during Artic Blast 2008 and were in desperate need to be out and about over the past weekend. Our "Out and about" normally consists of beer, drinks, food, friends, shopping and general mayhem. So after a few hours out of cold weather induced confinement, we were at the food stage of our day...debauchery and drinks where penciled in for later.

The Leggy One mentioned off hand that Dingo's was a lesbian taco bar; this in of itself really has no bearing on the review...but those familiar with my debaucherous mind can imagine the images this phrase conjured in my immature brain. Plus, I just like saying "lesbian taco bar". It kind of rolls off the tongue and it makes me giggle. The same giggle when I think of the Pink Taco in Vegas.

It is fun being immature sometimes.

We arrived to the musical styling's of Wham, I found myself signing along to Michael J's PYT, and eventually throwing back a few margaritas to George Michael's Freedom. I will let you draw your own conclusions from the musical selections...

The burritos were big. We both consumed the chicken mole burrito and were extremely full and satisfied. Their mole sauce is fantastic. We also had fish and steak tacos...also very well done. The margaritas were ok; I've definitely had better Cadillac Margaritas in my day.

Overall a good meal at a fair price. Not the best Mexican food out there, but someplace I would frequent once again. And not just because I want to say lesbian taco bar...although I must admit I am curious if anyone knows of any good gay hot dog houses?

Okay sit down with me a second and let me be frank here.
Are you sitting yet? jeez....Okay good.

I may be a southern belle, but I am still super left in terms of thinking. My friend Laura (not a Yelper) is gay and she was suuuuper excited to go to Dingo's which is supposedly a lesbian run taco bar, for Gay Margarita Night. I was totally down with this plan, (even though if there were a Ryan Gosling Look-a-Like Margartia Night, I probably would've high-tailed it thata way instead!)

Okay first off. We sat outside. I ordered one of their signature dishes, the Chicken Mole' Burrito with their homemade Mole' sauce. Since a good mole' is hard to find, I had to give it a go.

Meanwhile....
The drinks were AWESOME. That is the only reason for that second star up there. That's it. The have a full PAGE menu of just the different kinds of Margaritas. Wowzers. Get the Blueberry. Laura had it and I was jealous, though my Passion Fruit was yummy too.
Food comes out years later. I said goodnight to my grand-kids and quit sewing my 18th sweater so I could eat.
The Chicken was DRY DRY DRY. The outside of the burrito was soggy. The "homemade mole' sauce" tasted like Hormel chili that had been nuked for too long. Yeah. Sucky Mc Suckville.
Sooo after a couple of drinks and a few force fed bites we were ready to get outta there. After we told the waitress we were ready for the check, it took her OVER AN HOUR to bring it to us. And that doesn't include the 2 times I had to go inside to REMIND her to bring us the check. Ugh.

In summation, if you are looking for a gay friendly hangout and you don't want to eat anything but chips and guac, come here. Down some yummy Margaritas in as many flavors as you can stand. But expect to invest in the property...'cause you ain't goin' nowhere, baby.

Sorry, Dingo's. You suck!

Eww. No. You don't want to go here.

The food is really pretty bad, and overpriced at that. $30 for a burrito, a taco dinner and a couple of soft drinks? Wha-?

And my husband's burrito had a big piece of plastic in it. Nice.

I'm not sure what happened here, but The Bud and I just stopped going. There were a series of incidents that just lead to our finding other neighborhood haunts.

I visited with a friend one afternoon, and the waiter was trying to balance way too many things in his unsure hands. My friend ended up with an entire serving of salsa down her hoodie, inside her hoodie, inside the pockets of her hoodie. It was a whole salsa/hoodie violation of the worst kind.

The bar manager we really enjoyed left, and that left a huge void for sure.

The food became inconsistent, which is the kiss of death in my book.

The location is still great, and it surely serves a purpose on the Boulevard, but we have moved on to other pastures.

Getting a taco in Portland is like ordering Chinese in Indianapolis: good luck.

While Dingo's isn't going to win any awards for authentic mexican food, I have come to dig it. First, the house margarita is good. Not a panty-dropper mind you, but good (it takes a lot to drop these panties. Ask Kim V's mom.) Second, the salsa isn't from a can, which in Portland is akin to a miracle. Finally, the tacos were pretty damn tasty.

While the rest of the city's Por-tentious crowd might be across the street at that goddamn hippy taco chain, I don't care. I'll be over at Dingo's. Keep your Prius parked on Hawthorne and come on over... there's plenty of seats.