There are many things we can guarantee will happen during your unforgettable visit to Panama City Beach: You won’t be able to get enough of the beach; your Vacations Perfected vacation retreat will stun you with its beauty, style, and comfort; and if you’re looking for the best tacos in town, Juan Taco is the only place to go! Open every day of the week except Mondays, the owner, whose name just happens to be Juan, has created a place that is welcoming, fun, and above all, happens to have the best tacos in the world. If you don’t believe us, maybe our video and text review will help!
Located at 9902 S Thomas Drive
We can’t decide which we love more, the fact that the meals served at Juan Taco rock our world, or that it’s located within walking distance of many of our Vacations Perfected vacation escapes! Located just across the street from the beach and on the first floor of Laketown Wharf, the gray and white structure it is housed in and the clear glass doors at the entrance do not give a hint to the wonders inside, but the hand-written messages on the sandwich chalkboard outside do offer a taste of what to expect. Open the doors and walk into a world of brilliant color and aromatic pleasures; Juan Taco’s vibrant yellow walls adorned with graffiti style art and Mexican tchotchkes welcomes you to taco heaven!
The Menu For Juan Taco
No matter how hungry you are, chances are you’ll spend more than a few minutes surveying your surroundings, but the delicious scent of Mexican food will soon bring you to your senses. You’re here to taste the tacos, not lose yourself in the décor! As you peruse the menu with a fresh and homemade margarita or Pina Colada in hand, you’ll be happy to discover there won’t be a lot of reading to do; the menu is short and to the point, offering street tacos, awesome tacos (Yes, that is the name!), quesadillas, and burritos. Created with fresh and local ingredients, the availability of meats to fill these delicious creations changes daily, with the only staples being that chicken and beef are served daily.
On Mondays, hungry carnivores can choose steak for their fillings, while on Tuesdays, al pastor is the extra special option of the day. Wednesdays wonders include pork belly, Thursday is all about the barbacoa, Friday is for carnitas, and Saturday brings sweet shrimp that were probably swimming around in the waters of the Gulf just moments before! Sides that include rice and beans, or chips with salsa, guacamole, or queso, finish out Juan Taco’s menu of magnificence!
Stuffed and Happy
Once you’ve had your fill of tacos or burritos, knowing that you don’t have far to go to climb into your comfy pants will make this day of perfection in Panama City Beach even better! Reserve your Vacations Perfected getaway today! Contact us!
There’s a hidden gem tucked inside Laketown Wharf. Juan Taco is located on the ground floor within the retail spaces of Laketown Wharf on the Thomas Drive side of the building, conveniently across the street from Pineapple Willy’s and the beautiful beaches of Panama City Beach.
If you’re renting your condo at Laketown Wharf, SunBird, or the Shores of Panama then you’re in luck, you’re just a short walk to some of the best food on the coast.
This week I had the pleasure to have lunch with friends and family at Juan Taco, and they did not disappoint. We arrived shortly after they opened in hopes of beating the crowd. Inside we were greeted by the owner, Juan Martinez, whose friendly and inviting personality gives you a sense of comfort as soon as you walk through the door. The ambiance is very relaxed and laid back. Not only is their hospitality authentic, but even their menu also has a personalized touch as it is written by hand to give you up to date specials and menu items. Every morning the chefs come in and prepare their tortillas from scratch and the food is cooked fresh. The barbacoa, carnitas, and pork belly are slow cooked daily to give you that amazing flavor that you’ll want to keep coming back for.
When it came time to order I chose to let Juan decide and surprise us with his specialties.
The restaurant is furnished with tables, benches, and countertops all built by hand by Juan and his partner chef, Jose Duarte. Juan delivered with a large variety of delicious food that seemed endless. The table-spread consisted of chips with salsa, guac, and queso, a chicken quesadilla loaded with mozzarella and pico de gallo, Notorious P.I.G. tacos which consisted of pork belly, roasted red peppers, pickled onions, and cilantro, El Chapo tacos that had Mexican pork, mozzarella, jalapenos, and cilantro, and the Red Rooster tacos of chicken, pico de gallo, mozzarella, and jalapenos, plus a bonus side of rice and beans. Each meal was served with mild salsa rojo, salsa verde, and a very spicy salsa habanero. Juan also brought us some of his signature taco sauce to try, which was out of this world.
These were hands down the best tacos that I have ever tasted, you could taste the authenticity through the mixture of flavors and it was obvious that Juan and Jose put a lot of thought and creativity into what they’re serving. The Notorious P.I.G. was by far the biggest hit at our table, the roasted pork belly was perfectly tender and packed with flavor, the pickled red onions offered a splash of color and a fiery piquant flavor. The El Chapo had just the right amount of kick from the jalapenos that were evened out with the mozzarella and fresh cilantro. The Red Rooster was fantastic and the chicken was so tender and cooked to perfection, just as it was in the chicken quesadilla. You could taste the freshness in each of the sauces, the taco sauce was my favorite and had just the right amount of zing to it.
After finishing our meal I was able to sit down with Juan for a few minutes and ask him a couple questions. First, I wanted to know how Juan Taco got started, how did all of this come to fruition. “I started selling tacos on Facebook,” Juan started, “Well, I got in an accident, I almost cut my thumb off with a table saw. So I kind of stopped a lot of things that I was doing at the time, and I started like selling tacos on Facebook just as boredom really. And it finally just caught on, people were like, ‘Open a restaurant, open a restaurant.’ – so, we finally opened a restaurant.”
So, what makes Juan Taco unique? “I think our approach, the way we cook things is very simple,” Juan says. “I don’t like to use anything packaged or pre-bought, just keep everything very simple, and try to show the meats off.”
As far as what the taqueria’s fans can expect in the future for Juan Taco, “Oh man, well I’m waiting for my modeling career to kick off again,” Juan Jokes. “No, um, we want to just keep growing. We’re hoping to open up a bigger spot next year. Keep the core idea the same but just keep growing in size. Just to be able to accommodate more people, to share the food with more people.”
For me, Juan Taco was one of the best restaurant experiences that I’ve had in Panama City Beach in the 11 years that I’ve lived here. From the hospitality to the atmosphere, the food, and every small detail in between, they truly are cut from a different cloth. Explore our amazing villa rentals in Panama City Beach, FL!
Written By:
Melissa Dowis
IG @hello.darlin