(407) 226-0550
7468 West Sand Lake Road
(Restaurant Row)
Orlando, FL 32819
Hours vary from:
11:00 am until 2:00 am
(See Website for details)
View Rocco’s website here
As soon as we arrived to restaurant row’s newest hot spot, Rocco’s Tacos and Tequila Bar…I instantly felt I had arrived at an upscale version of the bar from the movie “From Dusk til Dawn”.
Do you remember that movie with George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino? Its the one where they get stuck at a crazy and wild bar on the dark side of Mexico and everyone turns into vampires.
Although I never feared anyone at Rocco’s turning into a vampire, the ambiance and feeling of the place certainly reminded me of the film.
The only thing that would have made our experience better is if Salma Hayek playing the part of Santánico Pandemonium would have been our server. I must admit though, Michelle our server did an awesome job! She was very quick and very knowledgeable.
Rocco’s is new to the Orlando area, but they have been in business for around six years. Owner Rocco Mangel opened his first location in West Palm Beach in 2007, and and has had quite a good following with a total of four stores opening since then.
The Orlando location is still in its infancy, but we had a really good time and good food on our Sunday night visit.
The idea behind Rocco’s is to create a fun and exciting place to unwind and have a relaxing time in a casual, but upscale environment. The menu is built around a lot of classic Tex-Mex dishes, as well as some more authentic offerings. Whether you are young or old..trendy and cool, or are just looking for a fun place with good eats Rocco’s is sure to hit the spot.
Rocco’s other claim to fame aside from the food is the Tequila Bar.
Rocco himself has scoured the globe and has visited Mexico more than 20 times.
His goal was not just getting the food right, but more importantly..to bring the best and widest selection of Tequila’s in the southeast to his loyal patrons.
At any given time Rocco’s can have as many as 300 different Tequila’s on hand.
A single shot of a lower end Tequila may cost you around $5.00
But…if you got some money to burn, they have a shot of “1800 Colecion Anejo” for a mere $250.00 That’s right– A SINGLE SHOT FOR $250.00
Our budget afforded us the house margaritas and a shot of Rocco’s very own Milagro Bar Select Tequila that he has a hand in manufacturing
The house margaritas are made with their own special homemade sour mix that gives them a nice clean and smooth taste.
To begin our meal- we started with chips and salsa, which cost $3.00
The chips are lightly seasoned and were tasty to eat by themselves. The salsa was pretty good also.
No visit to Rocco’s should be without Guacamole. If you like Guacamole this is some good guac!
They use Haas avocados and prepare it fresh tabel side.
You can have it as hot or as mild as you like with a variety of ingredients like:
Jalapeno, red onion, cilantro, and tomatoes
I personally am not a huge fan of Ceviche, but my wife is.
She loved the Ceviche and insisted I try some. It was actually pretty darn good.
The citrus marinade really took away any fishy flavor and the dish was refreshing.
For my main entree I ordered the Yucatan Combination platter.
It comes with 2 skirt steak tacos and a chicken enchilada.
The skirt steak was flavorfully marinated and very tender–the tacos just melted in my mouth. The enchilada was good also, but paled in comparison to the tacos.
My wife decided to try out the California Fish Tacos. These tacos were awesome.
The plate comes with 3 tacos filled with lightly battered and fried Mahi-Mahi.
It is then topped off with avocado ranch, cabbage slaw, and even a few mangos to sweeten the deal.
Believe me when I tell you—these tacos were delicious. The fish was light and crispy and all of the toppings combined for a great flavor explosion in my mouth. I think I know what I’m getting on my next visit!
All tacos can be ordered soft or crunchy. You can also get traditional soft corn tortillas as well like my wife did.
When its all said and done, you may spend a few more bucks at Rocco’s compared to a traditional Tex-Mexery, especially if you get Senor Tequila involved, but the experience alone will make up for it. Tastes Of Orlando really recommends you try them out for yourself!
There is good news though– If you are on a tight budget or just want better than Taco Bell when you get the urge…They also have a taco takeout area that is open late most nights. Just tacos on the menu are reasonably priced starting at $2.95ea up to $4.95ea for shrimp tacos.
You may not have to fight off the vampires at Rocco’s… but I have been told that Rocco himself likes to show up randomly and start pouring shots of Patron freely–all while dressed in white patent leather shoes donning a sombrero and a whistle!
Tequila can make people do strange things…Beware!