7 Frequent Complaints Customers Make About Del Taco

When it comes to Del Taco, we know that things can be a little hit and miss. Case in point, when our taste tester reviewed multiple items from the Tex-Mex chain, they declared that the Caramel Cheesecake Bites "sucked," but the green sauce on the Bean & Cheese Burrito was "scrumptious." And it turns out, our reviewer isn't alone — far from it, actually. While many Americans love the chain, they also can't help but criticize it.

To identify the most common complaints customers have about Del Taco, we scanned Reddit, Facebook, and Yelp. You can find the fruits of our labor below; however, be warned that some of these gripes might seriously irritate you, especially if you value high-quality food at low prices. And if you've ever patted yourself on the back for saving money by sneakily ordering off of the kid's menu, look away now.

One of the biggest gripes from Del Taco fans? It is prone to taking away their favorite items. In 2024, fans discovered a big menu shake-up, removing several popular choices, including the Bun Taco (which was basically taco filling in a bun), Mini Shakes, and Breakfast Toasted Wraps. "What in the world are they thinking?" asked one Redditor in the r/DelTaco subreddit at the time, before calling the decision "idiotic."

Fortunately for fans, in the spring of 2026, Yadav Enterprises — which acquired Del Taco from Jack in the Box at the end of 2025 — started bringing some beloved menu items back. The popular Jack'd Up range (including our taste tester's favorite veggie burrito) made a return, alongside the previously discontinued classic burritos. But not everything is back. There is still no sign of the Bun Taco or Breakfast Toasted Wraps, and fans are still mourning other previously scrapped items like the Epic Scrambler Burrito, the Double Del Bacon Cheeseburger, and some of the El Big Boxes.

However, it's not all bad news. It is actually possible to still order some of these items; they're just no longer listed on the official menu. For example, if you want the Epic Scrambler, one customer says in r/DelTaco: "Just ask for a burrito on the big tortilla, extra egg, extra cheese, add hash browns, pico, and bacon." They added, "It's a little extra but tastes the same."

Another casualty of that 2024 menu shake-up was Del Taco's popular kids' meals. And unfortunately, much to the dismay of many customers, they have yet to make a return. For some, the disappointment is rooted in nostalgia. "I used to get them a long time ago, and [it] was my introduction to this brand as a kid," said one Redditor in r/DelTaco. "Just sad to see that gone."

Others, though, are annoyed for more practical reasons: They miss the opportunity to buy a smaller portion for a reduced price. In fact, there is even a petition on Change.org asking Del Taco to bring back the kids' menu for that very reason. But, arguably, the biggest victims of the scrapped kids' meals are, well, the kids and their parents. "No more [kids' meals] ... wtf man," decried one Redditor. "Those are killer for my daughter."

Some suspect that adults ordering off the kids' menu is probably the reason it was taken away in the first place. Employees have also speculated that the menu probably wasn't a big money maker. "Kids' meals took the most time for the least money," one worker explained in r/DelTaco. Another user chimed in, "I think they were being sold at a loss already," before adding, "too many adults were using it to bypass getting a regular burger meal."

If you've been to Del Taco recently and spotted a noticeable difference in the size of your taco, you're not alone. "How far the mighty have fallen," declared one Redditor in r/DelTaco, beneath a photo of a taco with, quite frankly, a measly-looking amount of vegetables and cheese.

While many were quick to defend Del Taco in the replies, calling it a location-specific problem, this is far from the first time that someone has complained about shrinking portion sizes from the chain. "[The taco is] barely bigger than the hot sauce packet now," said another customer in r/shrinkflation. "I noticed that too the other day," replied one user, "Everyone's f***ing with our food now."

It's not just the taco sizes that are allegedly shrinking, either. Many customers have also claimed that the burritos have gotten noticeably smaller, while others say that the chain's burger patties are thinner than they used to be. "Thinly sliced tomato is fine ... but the beef patty is thinner than the tomato," griped one Redditor in r/DelTaco. Another added: "The [Double Del] is like two pieces of cardboard now."

Unfortunately, shrinking portions are often accompanied by rising prices. It's a phenomenon known as shrinkflation, and it has been observed at several restaurant chains across the U.S. In our recent roundup of common customer complaints at Pizza Hut, for example, reducing portion sizes and rising prices both made the list. Del Taco, it appears, is also in this club.

"The prices at Del Taco have gotten out of hand," said one Redditor in r/DelTaco, in a comment with nearly 60 upvotes. They're far from alone; several customers have expressed frustration at continuously rising prices at the chain. And, coupled with the removal of popular menu items, it seems like Del Taco might be risking losing some of its loyal following because of it. "Prices went up a lot and they got rid of a lot of my favorite items," added another Redditor. "I'm really disappointed with where Del Taco is headed."

It's especially disappointing, considering that only recently, Del Taco was offering decent deals to its customers. In one impressive fast food value deal in 2020, it rolled out its Del's Dollar Deals Value Menu, which offered 15 items priced from $0.69 to $1. Under Yadav Enterprises, the chain has introduced another value menu, but at the time of writing, there is nothing available for under $1 (at least, not at the multiple locations we checked), and again, many customers say the portion sizes are laughable.

Let's be honest, a really tasty taco makes it easy to overlook many things. So, for some customers, rising prices and shrinking portions might be tolerable on the condition that the food is good. However, several fans have also complained that the quality of the menu items at Del Taco just isn't what it used to be.

For some, things started going downhill when Jack in the Box acquired the chain back in 2022. "Del Taco used to be decent food, decent portions for a decent price," lamented one Redditor in r/DelTaco. "Now it's none of the above. JIB killed a real one." In a separate thread, another complained in a post with nearly 130 upvotes that "the fries don't taste the same," before adding that the chicken burrito was "mushy." They continued: "No freshness, no balance, just bland peppery mush."

Can Yadav Enterprises turn things around? The company has been in charge for less than a year, so it might be too early to say. Time will tell, but some fans are hopeful. "[Jack in the Box] ruined Del Taco under their brief ownership," said one Redditor. "Now it can return to its former glory."

In 2019, Del Taco made a super exciting move for vegans and vegetarians across the U.S. when it partnered with plant-based meat brand Beyond Meat. It was a pretty pioneering step; in fact, Del Taco was actually the first national Mexican chain to offer plant-based meat at the time. But the excitement was short-lived because by 2023, Beyond Meat was nowhere to be seen on Del Taco's menu. "I can't f***ing explain how angry this makes me," complained one Redditor in r/vegan. "The Beyond Tacos have been my go to fast food for f***ing years now."

Del Taco is still one of the better fast food options for vegetarians, but many find it hard to get overly excited about beans and cheddar cheese. And for vegans, the main options are things like fries, beans, and avocado. "It was better when they had Beyond," reads one comment on a Facebook post from peta2. "I stopped going when they stopped offering Beyond," added another.

For some customers, the worst thing about Del Taco is not the food, but the service. Some say that employees are often rude at the drive-thru, while others say that orders are frequently incorrect when ordering from the chain. "I think their business model is leaving out items in your order and [hoping] you don't come back for them," speculated one reviewer on Yelp.

Again, some have theorized that the decline in service coincided with the Jack in the Box acquisition. Others say that Del Taco does have good service, but it's inconsistent, and you can't rely on all locations to offer the same quality. "I have [two] Dels about [five] minutes away," explained one Redditor in r/DelTaco. "One has mediocre employees and good food. The other has really nice employees who always go above and beyond for a fast food worker and superior food." They added, "Guess which one I try to go to 99% of the time."