Located on the outskirts of Pahrump, Johnnys Taco Shop is one of the first places to have lunch after hitting the local trails for a 4x4 trip. What to expect: Johnnys Taco Shop is a small family owned business. This is not fast food, although my food did come out within 10 minutes and I was pleasantly surprised. The decor is classically decorated with an open concept and there’s outdoor seating if you’d like to bring your pup or pups, which I appreciated. About the food: Something very hard for me is NOT ordering Birria when I see it on the menu. I ordered the Birria plate and an order of Flautas. I enjoyed the Flautas but the beef was a bit under flavor and seemed a bit over cooked. The Birria had the same beef, I love queso birria tacos, I left one on the plate (I know, I was surprised too). The Birria was a little underwhelming and the beef as I discussed was tough. Usually I want to put the Birria juice in a shot glass and shoot it like a tequila shot, it was just greasy and flavorless. I also left the Birria juice on the plate (again, me too very surprised). I can say the chips before the meal were hard to put down, absolutely delicious. They were light and flavorful with the red salsa provided as the appetizer. I almost asked for another order. I unfortunately do not feel like I received what I expected. To be fair, they do have an incredible selection of unique dishes you will not find at many Mexican restaurants. If I could go back, most of the seafood dishes I saw come out of the window looked to die for. I absolutely love Mexican food, it’s in fact my “kryptonite. The food I ordered did not meet my expectations but I can see Johnny’s Taco Shop has potential to make some really tasty food. The food, for me, fell short of what The Typical Tourist would expect.
Johnny's Taco Shop (Pahrump, NV) surprised me with their California burrito! Huge portion, delicious carne asada, and perfectly balanced fillings (including fries, which were surprisingly good!). A must-try for any California burrito lover, even if it's not in California. 5/5 stars!