Oftentimes for a restaurant to succeed, it needs a distinctive menu, a novel concept, or both. Tipsy Tina’s Taco Cantina in Lincoln’s Haymarket is making its mark with tacos and tequila.
The bar/restaurant, located in the redeveloped Tool House building at Eighth and Q streets that once housed Yowie’s Lodge (and before that Twin Peaks), specializes in street tacos featuring steak, pork, chicken, chorizo, shrimp or fish and offers 140 tequila options and nearly 50 mezcals.
“It’s interesting as to how many layers a tequila can have,†said co-owner Shandie Stewart, who admitted she’s still learning about the distilled beverage that’s as complex in taste as a good scotch or whiskey.
Stewart opened Tipsy Tina’s (note the logo of an eye-catching llama sipping a margarita through a straw) with her husband, Nathan, along with Joel and Heidi Schossow and Nick Opperman, in October 2020. The Stewarts and Schossows also own and operate McKinney’s, an Irish pub in the Haymarket.
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Downtown Lincoln has seen taco-themed restaurants come and go – most recently Wahoo’s Fish Taco and Rusty Taco (in the same location). Wahoo’s is gone from the Lincoln dining scene, while Rusty Taco has a successful location at 27th Street and Pine Lake Road.
But Tipsy Tina's seems like it should make a go of it, combining its tasty tacos with a tequila menu that’s rivaled only by Lincoln restaurants Copal or Cactus, though Tipsy’s has considerably more choices.
“Last year was the trickiest, probably ever (because of the pandemic),†Shandie Stewart said. “But we’ve received great feedback so far, and we have a great staff that is working to meet the needs of our customers.â€
Food
The menu lists 16 tacos, ranging in price from $3 to $4.25. Tacos are served on toasted white corn tortillas the size of a compact disc (for those who remember those things). Flour tortillas are available for 25 cents more. Tacos come with radish slices and lime wedges.
The taco selection is a mix of steak, chicken, pork, fish, shrimp and vegetarian, with the proteins supplemented by a variety of made-in-house slaws and/or sauces. Some of the sauces, like the wonderful semi-spicy salsa verde we enjoyed, are served with fried chips as appetizers.
Customer favorites, Shandie Stewart said, have been the carne asada (steak) and fish tacos. Recent additions, Bang Bang and Memphis tacos, have gone over well, too, she said. Bang Bang features tempura shrimp, while beef brisket smothered in a Jameson Irish whiskey barbecue sauce (from McKinney’s) and french fried onions are the base for the Memphis.
On our visit my wife ordered al pastor (pork, pineapple, salsa verde; $3.50) and sweet potato ($3.25) tacos. She liked the sweet and sour of the pineapple and salsa in the al pastor and called her sweet potato taco, made with black beans, corn mix, avocado and chipotle lime crema, a “dessert taco.†It was that sweet.
I went with the fish ($3.25) and pollo asada (chicken, $3.50) tacos. Both had a chipotle lime crema, which gave them some kick. The chicken (white meat) was a tad dry (good thing for the crema), but the battered fried fish was spot on. I enjoyed two of them.
Stewart said they take suggestions from customers via Facebook, and sometimes those tacos end up as daily specials – a nice interactive touch.
The bulk of the menu is tacos, but there are other selections, including a refried bean tostada, salads, dips and appetizer “bites†such as elote (battered corn).
We ordered a house margarita ($7) and a paloma (tequila with Jarritos grapefruit; $7) as beverages, opting to forgo the daunting tequila menu. Tequila lovers will be impressed with the selection, with a large list of blancos, repasados, anejos and blends from several different makers. Grade: B
Atmosphere
I was happy to see Tipsy’s retained Yowie’s layout, which reminds me of the set of the 1980s TV show “Cheers.†A horseshoe-shaped bar sits in the middle of the room, with tall tables and short booths surrounding the bar along the brick walls. You can easily picture Norm walking in and strolling to his seat at the end of the bar – only after he checks in at the door, where a “wait to be seated†sign sits. The decor is very bar-like, with neon signs galore and TVs tuned to sporting events strategically placed for optimal viewing. Grade: B
Service
Thanks to much of the food being prepped ahead of time, appetizers and tacos don’t take long to come out of the kitchen – unless your server forgets to put in the order, which is what happened to us.
We thought it was odd that the chips and salsa we ordered as an appetizer hadn’t arrived after 10 minutes. Just as we were going to ask about it, our apologetic server stopped by and fessed up. Kudos to him; he could have blamed the kitchen. (Forgetting to put in an order, by the way, is one of my recurring nightmares from when I waited tables as a young man.) We didn’t hold it against him; he already had scored points with my wife by complimenting her on her necklace. Grade: B
Specialty diets
The taco menu features just two non-meat tacos (sweet potato and black bean), but all the appetizers (dips and bites) are vegetarian-friendly. Tipsy Tina’s also offers a salad without meat and a refried bean tostada. Tacos are served on corn tortillas, so most of them are gluten-free. Check with servers on batter ingredients for fried mahi mahi and tempura shrimp. Grade: B