The roundly revered Taco Bar is back on the scene -- Taco Bar II: Electric Boogaloo -- currently serving all guests by reservations and walk-ups as well, if you're lucky, from their new Sanlitun location right next to Home Plate BBQ. If you're already familiar with the backstory to this place, here is the information you're probably looking for: -Yeah, it's definitely bigger. Like seating for 50 or 60 people maybe? Maybe more? It's split into a bar section at the front, restaurant seating, and a bigger, private-ish banquet table at the back for par-tays of around 15 guests. -Menu is basically the same with a few new items added in to flesh it out a bit. They've still got the frijoles negro, esquites, and their other sides, and the tacos are still the main event. Speaking to those, the carnitas, lenguas, and pescados are back. -Prices are slightly higher. Used to be like 38rmb for three tacos and now it's 45rmb. Not much of a jump but there it is. -Yeah, food is still real tasty. It's good, man, it's good! What can I say. It's great! Fuck yarrr! Believe the hype. So it looks like this: Just a long and simple space. Over on the LumDimSum blog, it's been characterized as a "more mature, big brother version of the original." I'd say that's pretty accurate. This Taco Bar is a bit more straightened up than it's earlier incarnation in Fangjia Hutong, but it still relaxed and geared towards big group dining and boisterous party vibes. But, yeah, the cocktails area in the front means you can get ripped in an environment that reflects your maturity and significance. *** The FOOD. If you didn't get a chance to try out the other Taco Bar and to refresh your memory because it's been a while, food is broken down into starters and sides (20-40rmb), a few salad options (45rmb and 50rmb), seven different varieties of taco (a choice of 3 for 45rmb), and a few deserts (25rmb and 30rmb). Depending on how deep you're rolling, you bash a bunch of starters, maybe get one of the salads, and then you re-up on taco orders until you can't eat anymore or you run out of money. And maybe tag on a desert to share at the end. calamares frito (40rmb) Squid guys. Very tasty. guacamole, small (35rmb) Some decent guac. esquites (25rmb) Esquites is some corn street food, so I've been told. A bit of a spicy one. Offered a nice kick and the cilantro mayo was really nice. rocky's queso fundido (40rmb) This is Rocky's cheese dip. It's righteous. Don't miss out on this one. ensalada de pollo asado (50rmb) One of the two salad option. Fresh and simple. *** On to the tacos. Apparently, an earlier iteration of these tacos first materialized in Beijing in a Dashilar popup cafe in 2011. Their creator is Taiwanese-American chef Kin Hong, who promptly left Beijing right after that to travel in Mexico for a bit to learn the taco arts from the source. The Taco Bar is the result of these travels, and a general aesthetic is a creative interpretation of a traditional style of Mexican taco. Simple, subtle, and roundly pretty juicy. In my opinion, they're all pretty damn good. Think we doubled down most on the lenguas (braised beef) and the pescados (tilapia). It's all good. Here's a bunch of taco glamor shots. DRINKS. Here's the drinks menu. A few nice tequilas, available by the shot, a few wines, and a bunch of Mexi mixes. The sangria is really, really good. It was so good we didn't even try anything else. I recommend five pitchers of it. Prices: I think the right way to do this place is roll with a big group, let someone else order a shitload of everything, and then sit back and let someone tell you what you owe at the end, (and then run to the bathroom and let someone else pay for you). This is like the "farewell China dinner" restaurant. At any rate, maybe bring like 200rmb to 300rmb. We got all this food here, which was great for four people, plus several pitchers of Sangria, and the bill was like 800rmb. Location: The Taco Bar is right beside Home Plate BBQ (Sanlitun), in that brick building thing that also houses Janes & Hooch. There's no signage out front save for this... Here's a peak into the window from the front. If you see this, you're in the right place. Reservations: The Taco Bar is doing the soft open thing for a bit and then opening in earnest in the coming weeks. Dinner only for now, from 7pm to 10pm, with a late night menu available after 10pm. Getting reservations is recommended but they're also accommodating walk-ups if they've got space in the bar area at the front. To get reservations, sign up for the restaurant's mailing list right here. You'll get a confirmation email when you join that list. Email that email address (thetacobarbeijing@gmail.com) with a time you want and they get back to you pretty quickly. Due to demand, they're only seating dining parties of 4 or more. I went last night, however, when it was piss raining and it was a lighter crowd. They had solo diners, couples, and a few walk-ups.