The New Taco Bell Live Más Store at Gateway Mall, Cubao

Taco Bell is a US-based chain of fast-food restaurants specializing in Tex-Mex comfort food including tacos, nachos and burritos. In the Philippines, Taco Bell has a total of three stores with its flagship branch located at the ground floor of Gateway Mall, in Cubao, Quezon City.



Few weeks ago, we were invited by Taco Bell Philippines to visit their newly renovated Gateway branch and to try and experience their new Live Más concept. Más is a Spanish word which means More, and more is what one can expect at Taco Bell. There's truly More to the food we eat. There's flavor, there's service, there's mood. there's social interaction, there's value, all of which contribute to the overall dining experience.



The Taco Bell Live Más experience begins as soon as you step into the store. You will be welcomed by the staff with a friendly smile. Their team of young an energetic employees will instantly set a positive mood so you can enjoy your food better. Their "can do" attitude allows them to go the extra mile in customer service.


Taco Bell also introduced the open kitchen layout to their Live Mas stores. This is part of their global rebranding initiative. The customers get a better appreciation of their food when they see how their food is being prepared. This also reflects Taco Bells pride and confidence in the quality of their products. The open kitchen delivers an experience that is both entertaining and interactive.



Now that our order is ready, it's time to taste some of the Tex-Mex specialties at Taco Bell. When we received the food items we ordered, we instantly noticed the food presentation. Since it was a fast-food chain, we were expecting fast-food quality plating, but we were wrong!

Nachos Supreme

For starters, we had the Nachos Supreme (P89.00). Crispy tortilla chips are generously topped with ground beef and tomatoes, and smothered with melted cheese and sour cream. This serving is good for two to three persons.

Beef Burrito Meal

If you are looking for a quick snack that is neither heavy nor light, then you can try Meal 2: Beef Burrito (P149.00). The beef burrito has a generous filling of seasoned ground beef and beans wrapped in a soft flour tortilla. Taco Bell's beef burrito doesn't include rice as one of its fillings, making it a more balanced meal. The meal is served with tortilla chips and salsa on the side, plus your choice of soda.

Crunchy Taco & Beef Burrito Meal

Since it was my first meal of the day, I wanted something heavy so I ordered Meal 6: Crunchy Taco & Beef Burrito (P189.00). This combo meal includes a crunchy taco, a beef burrito, tortilla chips and salsa on the side, plus your choice of soda. The crunchy taco is filled with seasoned ground beef, crisp shredded lettuce and Cheddar cheese. This meal is perfect for lunch or dinner.

XL Cheese and Beef Quesadilla

A couple can choose to snack on Meal 5: XL Cheese and Beef Quesadilla (P189.00). This huge quesadilla is not only extra large but also heavy on filling. Sliced into four and served with tortilla chips, this meal can surely feed men with equally huge appetite, or be shared between two friends craving for some Tex-Mex flavors.

Pork Barbeque Rice Meal

If your idea of a complete meal is one that is served with rice, then Taco Bell has got you covered with their Rice Meals. One of our friends tried the Pork Barbeque Rice Meal (P139.00). It had pork barbeque strips on a bed of flavored rice. It is then served with salad and tortilla chips on the side, plus your choice of soda. Update: We went back to Taco Bell few days ago to try the rice meals. The meat was very tender and flavorful. The serving was really generous and was very filling.

Churros with Dip

And finally for dessert, we tried the Churros with Dip (P49.00) and the Chocodilla with Nutella (P49.00). The churros were very crunchy and the dip had a very bold chocolate flavor that was not too sweet. The Chocodilla (no photo) are soft flour tortilla filled with marshmallow and Nutella and then grilled until crispy. Both desserts are currently available in the Philippines only.

To welcome back their patrons to the better and improved Taco Bell Gateway, they are offering special promo call Taco-Terrific Treat where customers can buy two (2) Crunchy Tacos for only P79.00. This is consistent with Taco Bell's promise of serving the best quality food at prices customers love.

Now let's look at the new design of the store's interior. They have redesigned the layout of the store so that there is more space for dining but keeping an efficient and functional kitchen. High tables and chairs are next to the open kitchen so customers can have a better view of all the kitchen action, just like watching a movie.

The area is also well-lit and is vibrantly colored with purples and greens. They also used modern and classy tables and chairs with designs not typical of fast-food restaurants.



The area is generally clean and well maintained. Tables are cleaned immediately after the diners step out of the restaurants, ready to welcome new guests. We like the couches with dividers that offers a semi-private space for diners who want a more intimate setting with their friends and loved ones.



Taco Bell Gateway is also the only fast-food restaurant we know that has this much power outlets. They are integrated into the design of the tables so that guests who wish to charge their mobile phones or use their laptops, while enjoying their tacos or burritos, can easily do so.


This makes Taco Bell Gateway an ideal dining place for students, business meetings, and for bloggers like us! Who would have thought that a fast-food restaurant such as Taco Bell can be an alternative (a better and more affordable one in fact) to expensive coffee shops.


Overall, we are fairly satisfied with our first experience at Taco Bell, satisfied that we went back to Gateway Mall a few days after just to try their other offerings. More than just a fast food offering good quality food at a very affordable price, Taco Bell is also a dining destination in Metro Manila for those craving for Tex-Mex classics and wish to have a notch higher level of fast-food dining experience. We will surely be back to try their other Tex-Mex specialties and perhaps make Taco Bell our default meeting place in Cubao. Who knows, you might catch us at Taco Bell Gateway during one of our blogging weekends!



Taco Bell Gateway
G/F Gateway Mall, Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City
Store Hours: Monday to Sunday 10:00am to 10:00pm
Website: tacobell.com.ph
Facebook: facebook.com/TacoBellPHL
Twitter/Instagram: @TacoBellPHL

Other Branches: Taco Bell Trinoma (2/F Trinoma Mall, Quezon City) and Taco Bell Gateway Food Express (3/F Gateway Food Express)