Salt & Straw Reinvents the Choco Taco for the Foodie Era

Technically they can’t call it a Choco Taco. That name is still trademarked, even though the product it refers to was retired a few years back.

Instead, Salt & Straw, the beloved Portland Oregon ice cream company has released the Tacolate (like chocolate, get it?), a thoroughly updated version, fit for the foodie era.

A hand holding a Tacolate ice cream treat surrounded by its packaging from Salt & Straw, featuring a chocolate-dipped waffle cone with a crunchy texture.

A half-eaten Tacolate dessert with a chocolate coating, revealing vanilla ice cream and strawberry sauce inside, set against a red striped background.

The Tacolate is a mischievous nod to nostalgia, and the company has partnered with Taco Bell to further the product’s reach and mass appeal.

Hands holding various flavored sauce packets above a chocolate-dipped taco-shaped dessert against a vibrant red background.

Supposedly, Salt and Straw founder Tyler Malek scoured the globe for the right manufacturing equipment to make just the right taco-shaped dessert.

Elevating the flavors, the Tacolate has a Cinnamon-ancho Chile ice cream, dark chocolate, and puffed quinoa to add extra crunch.

One of the major innovations (and improvements over the original) is the way the crunchy waffle shell stays crunchy, and doesn’t become a soggy, pliable mess like the original did.

A woman with long, dark hair wearing sunglasses and a black leather jacket is excitedly holding a Tacolate dessert. She is preparing to take a bite, while a table with additional Tacolate packaging is visible in the background.

Available at select Salt and Straw locations and selling for $8.50, the Tacolate comes with two Taco Bell inspired dipping sauces, including Mango Jalapeño and Wild Berry Cinnamon.