333's Gourmet Taco Shop

by Bill Holmes

I ate lunch at 333's Gourmet Taco Shop in Colleyville on Saturday 1/18. It has been open for six or seven months and I've been meaning to try it. The restaurant is in a small nondescript strip shopping center only a couple of miles from home. It's in a space that has been several different restaurants over the years.

The decor is nothing special. Metal and formica tables and several booths with wooden board tabletops. There are a few TVs hanging from the ceiling that were playing sports. It's bright and kind of industrial. There was generic music playing a little too loudly for my taste. It was not busy, only three other parties already seated and two additional parties while I was there, one of which ordered to-go. There were at least two cooks in the kitchen, one seated me and another brought the food to one of the tables.

The waiter showed up a several minutes after I was seated. I had already read the whole menu and was ready to order so his arrival was a little slow. I ordered iced tea and was informed that it was being brewed and would take a few minutes. No offer to bring a glass of water or another beverage. I would have rather had a cold beer but this is still a BYOB place and I didn't happen to have a beer in my pocket. This is a little bit of a problem to me since I seem to remember reading that they were applying for a liquor permit back when they opened. There is a bar area in the restaurant but it is curtained off. A few minutes later the waiter came back and told me that the tea brewer was broken. I guess they couldn't figure out any other way to brew tea. My home iced tea brewer consists of a pot of boiling water and a big tea bag. The restaurant must have been out of water or pots. I opted for water in place of the tea and was brought a rather small glass that was mostly ice.

On to the food. This place is a fusion of Korean cuisine with Mexican tacos. Interesting but a little confusing. I ordered the Hokey Poke (Po-kay) -

Fresh Market Sashimi (sushi) grade fish, lime juice, avocado, sesame oil soy sauce and our secret Asian cucumber. Resting on a bed of romaine lettuce, tomato, avocado and red onions. A Hawaiian favorite. No tortilla necessary!

Market Price

Let me start out by saying it was delicious and I'm not even Hawiian. The fish was fresh and the garnish/sauce was flavorful and spicy. That's the good news. The bad news is the portion was very small. There was only enough fish and garnish to fill about one and a half very small romaine leaves. The "secret Asian cucumber" was amazingly similar to pickles. The avocado was microscopic and of the four romaine leaves, one was very limp and had a brown top edge. For those of you who know me, I'm not a big guy or a big eater but I was no where near full or satisfied. So, tasted good but not enough and I'll add overpriced. The market price turned out to be about $8.50, over $9 with tax. That's expensive for three or four bites of food, especially for a place with "taco" in the name. 

I would say my opinion is undecided. I hate to judge a place on one dish on one visit. I like the concept and the menu, I'm just not sure of the execution, or lack of, yet. I'll give the place another try and probably order something closer to a standard taco, one with actual tortillas involved. I don't think I've ever had a taco with kimchi as one of the ingredients.   

In summation, food - very good, service - lackadaisical, atmosphere - plain/industrial, portion size - tiny, price - high (for portion). High potential, low execution. I'd give the place about a 6 out of 10.

Stay tuned for further reports.

wjh