This week our search for the best taco in Chatt Town brought us to a Mexican Restaurant in the Northshore neighborhood called La Santa.
It’s an upscale restaurant when compared to smaller mom-and-pop places and it has a great outdoor patio dining area. It even has a limited private parking area for customers, which is rare in the Northshore.
There are a few spots for selfies inside with neon lit signs, colorful artwork adorns the walls and plenty of table seating.
La Santa has an extensive menu with all the typical bells and whistles as well as a full liquor bar and cocktail specials.
I dined here once a while back while attending a meeting of the Latinos Professional Network. I ordered the Papas Locas (Crazy potato). A bed of French fries covered in ground beef, drenched in their queso dip and topped with pico-de-gallo and pickled jalapenos.
Nachos made with fries! It was heavenly and paired well with my ice-cold Michelob Ultra!
When I went back recently, I fought the urge to order their guacamole casera. Instead, I ordered something I haven’t seen on any other appetizer list thus far – Avocado wontons.
Out came these cute, crispy wontons with soft gooey avocado filling. It’s served with spicy lime, tomato, onion, jalapeno and cilantro sauce for dipping. It was love at first bite and I knocked those out before my taco order made it to the table.
Speaking of tacos, La Santa has street tacos that are served on small corn tortillas with your choice of protein, but these are topped with cheese and pico-de-gallo. What we typically call a street taco topped with cilantro and onions is what they call Mexican Tacos on their menu. The Mexican Tacos come with two tacos and served with your choice of protein and your choice of two sides and guacamole dip.
They have Exclusive tacos, offering a variety of options. These are three tacos served on a blue corn tortilla. I spotted a trio that piqued my interest and ordered the Diablo Shrimp.
Grilled shrimp, bacon, ranchero sauce, cabbage, red cabbage and chipotle aioli. When they were brought to the table they looked like they were also topped with a French fry. Turns out they were topped with perfectly roasted queso fresco wedge!
The texture of the shrimp and the cabbage was bliss. The crispy roasted queso fresco add a pop of saltiness. The sauce had a spicy bite to it. It reminded me of a Creole Remoulade sauce. The shells were soft and stuffed beyond capacity. Too bad it was a weekday during work lunch, or I would have chased those spicy tacos down with a frozen Pina Colada or Strawberry Margarita.
On another visit, I caved and got the guacamole. It’s more like a dip not chunky but still tasty. I ordered the Bandera (flag) burrito. The burrito is filled with grilled steak, mushrooms, grilled onions, bacon, pickled jalapeños. It’s topped with their tomatillo sauce, queso dip, and ranchera sauce, the colors of the Mexican flag. The steak was incredibly tender. The red sauce was spicy, the cheese helped tone it down and the green tomatillo sauce was delicious.
By the way, pets are allowed in the outside patio area so be sure to bring your best-behaved fur baby and maybe order a plain beef taco for them.
La Santa is open from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. Sundays and Tuesdays through Thursdays. Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m.
La Santa
- 551 River Street, Chattanooga
- (423) 490-7911
- www.lasantachattanooga.com
- $$ - $$$
What’s your favorite taco place and why? Send me an email at Pattyl@brewermediagroup.com