Taco Bell Or Del Taco? Where Mashed Readers Go For Taco Night

Anytime similar brands are brought up in conversation, those participating often have an opinion on which is better. Even if they don't outwardly express it, people will always compare restaurant chains that sell the same menu items. Hoping to spark a fun debate, we at Mashed asked our Facebook fans which Tex-Mex franchise -– Taco Bell or Del Taco -– they would rather choose for dinner.

The responses overwhelmingly leaned toward Del Taco. One commenter exclaimed that Del Taco is better "by a lightyear," and another stated they enjoy Del Taco for its pescatarian options. Unfortunately, some Del Taco fans cited difficulty visiting one due to having no stores in their area. "[We] need them in the Midwest," wrote one user. "Bring Del Taco to Tennessee," wrote another. Customers also noted that Arkansas and California don't have Del Taco stores either. Interestingly, the social media user claiming the absence of Del Tacos in California wasn't correct. According to data from Scrape Hero, California is the state with the largest Del Taco presence. However, it is true that the chain has no locations in Tennessee or Arkansas.

Before Del Taco can be crowned the winner, though, it's important to note that this isn't what Mashed readers have said in the past.

Because of some discrepancies, we can't offer the trophy to Del Taco. In a February 2022 Mashed survey of randomly selected readers, over 63% of people agreed that Taco Bell has the best tacos. Readers were asked to choose between Taco Bell, Del Taco, Taco John's, Jack in the Box, and Burger King. Out of 656 participants, 13% voted for Del Taco, which was enough to land it the second-place spot. The rest followed in order with Jack in the Box, Taco John's, and Burger King.

It's worth noting that Taco Bell has about 13 times the number of U.S. locations that Del Taco does (7,836 versus 596). And while our Facebook callout has merit — and we love hearing from our readers — it just doesn't carry quite the same weight as our survey.

Perhaps aiding in our investigation, taco fans of the internet had the same debate on Reddit between Del Taco and Taco Bell. When the original poster couldn't reach a conclusion among their friends, they shared their opinion that Del Taco is superior to the broader online community. "[Del Taco has] more menu variety and the meat tastes better," the post read. Just like our Facebook thread, it was hard to ignore the commenter's overwhelming preference for Del Taco. Perhaps our readers know best — Del Taco may be superior after all.