Brunch at Taco Guild is a Biblical Experience

The Place: Taco Guild
The Location: 546 E. Osborn Road, Phoenix
The Dishes: Coconut French Toast, Chipotle Cherry Steak Tacos, Street Corn (from Brunch Menu)
By: Laura Stoddard

When was the last time you went to church? More specifically, when was the last time you went to church and got to indulge in a sumptuous, mid-morning meal featuring award-winning tacos? If the answer is never, then let me drop this enlightening information on you; Taco Guild, located in Midtown Phoenix and housed in a beautiful 1890s church, offers a brunch that will cause your taste buds to rejoice.

Built an incredible 19 years before Arizona was even a state, the building hasn’t been drastically overhauled or renovated to mask its original purpose. Instead, it has been preserved and restored, keeping original overhead beams, pews, and enormous biblical murals which wrap around the ceiling. Rainbow light streams in from ornate, stained glass windows, and adornments include heavy, vintage candelabras and black and white photos from around the time of the church’s construction. Obviously, once it was made into a restaurant, the building was modernized and redesigned, adding an outdoor patio, large wooden bar with a towering wall of spirits behind, a couple TVs, and even a modern day jukebox.

As the name suggests, this unique place specializes in tacos, and they are some of the best in town—in the country, in fact! Taco Guild was actually named one of the best Mexican restaurants in the U.S. on Travel Channel’s Food Paradise. A combination of new and old world, some of their tacos include Pork Adovada, Yucatan Shrimp, Urban Bean Coffee Braised Beef, and the award-winning Chipotle Cherry Steak.

On our latest visit to the Guild (yes, I just got all cool and nicknamed it ‘The Guild’) we partook of their stellar brunch menu, which offers all of their tacos, plus additional tasty options like parfaits, pancakes, and hash and eggs. I was craving something sweet that morning, and felt like breaking the mold a little, so I ordered the Coconut French Toast ($9.95). The dish was a beautiful compiliation of thick slices of torta bread, toppings of toasted coconut, mango, and strawberries, with decadent honey cinnamon butter and maple syrup on the side. Those slices of custardy, cinnamon infused goodness were heavenly! Divine! I want them again right now!

My friend took a more classic approach and ordered the taco plate, which gives you three tacos of your choosing plus a side ($11.85-$14.85). She ordered the Peking Duck, Pork Adovada and Chipotle Cherry Steak (which she could not say enough about), but loved them all. For an additional $2.50 she ordered the street corn, a massive cob of corn slathered in habanero butter, chipotle mayonnaise and cotija cheese. A little messy to eat? Yes. Worth it? Absolutely. Needless to say, that is a brunch I will go back for again and again. To partake of this divine experience, stop by on Saturday or Sunday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Tacos Guild’s regular business hours are Mon – Thu 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Fri – Sat 11 a.m. to 12 a.m., and Sunday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Their Happy Hour (which I also highly recommend) is Mon – Fri 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Did you get that? 7 p.m.!! Good luck finding many more places in Phoenix that offer happy hour till that late.

So stop by for your next brunch and be filled with the holy spirit!–or, at least, delicious tacos.

eat | drink | share | taco guild