Taco Bus’s two fall favorites are back by popular demand. Pumpkin Spice Horchata ($4.49) and Apple Pie Empanadas ($3.79) are on the menu at all eight Tampa Bay locations from September 1st through November 30th.
They come back once a year, they leave when the season does, and every year people start asking about them before we’ve had a chance to announce anything. So here they are.
What Is Pumpkin Spice Horchata?
Pumpkin Spice Horchata is our classic horchata — sweet, creamy, cinnamon-forward, served ice cold — turned toward autumn with warm pumpkin spice. It drinks like dessert without being heavy, and it is somehow both a fall drink and a Florida drink, which is a harder trick than it sounds.
Forget the latte. This one is cold by design, which is the only honest way to do fall in Tampa Bay when it’s still eighty-five degrees in October. You get the whole cozy pumpkin-spice thing without the paper cup and the foam.
It’s $4.49, it travels well, and it is very hard to drink just one over a three-month window.
What Are Apple Pie Empanadas?
Apple Pie Empanadas are exactly what the name promises. Warm apple filling and cinnamon, folded into a flaky pastry shell and fried until it’s golden. Break one open and the steam comes out first.
It’s apple pie you can eat with one hand, standing up, with no plate and no fork. At $3.79 each, it’s also the easiest yes on the menu — most people order one, then order a second one for the drive home.
Why These Two Come Back Every Year
Because you keep asking.
Both of these have been quiet legends on our menu for years — the kind of thing regulars tip each other off about. We wrote them up in 7 Flavors That Became Taco Bus Fan Favorites back in 2025, and the note we made then still holds: keep an eye out for this one when the weather starts to cool down.
They’re seasonal on purpose. Making them year-round would make them ordinary, and part of what people love about the first Pumpkin Spice Horchata of the year is that it’s the first one of the year. It’s a small ritual, and Tampa Bay does not get many seasonal cues, so we’ll take the ones we can make ourselves.
The Fall Pair
Order them together and you’ve got the whole thing: something warm, something cold, one sweet, one spiced. Eight dollars and change for a full dessert moment that fits in a paper boat and a cup.
It photographs absurdly well, too, which we’re told matters. Grab a friend, grab a table, and make an afternoon of it — this is a two-people-and-a-camera-roll kind of order.
How to Order
You can order the fall menu three ways, all of them fast:
- Order online at taco-bus.com/#order-now for pickup or delivery from your nearest location
- Get the Taco Bus app and order ahead, skip the line, and earn points on everything you buy — download it here
- Walk up and ask — every location has both items on the menu through November 30th
If you’re not in the Bus Club yet, joining takes about a minute and starts earning you rewards on your first order. A season’s worth of horchata adds up.
What to Know Before You Order
- Pumpkin Spice Horchata — $4.49
- Apple Pie Empanadas — $3.79 each
- Available September 1st through November 30th, 2026
- On the menu at all eight Tampa Bay locations
- Available for dine-in, pickup, and delivery
- No promo code needed — they’re on the regular menu for the season
Find your nearest location at taco-bus.com/locations.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is pumpkin spice horchata?
It’s Taco Bus’s traditional horchata — a sweet, creamy, cinnamon-spiced agua fresca served cold — made with warm pumpkin spice for the fall season. It’s available September 1st through November 30th, 2026.
How much do the fall items cost at Taco Bus?
Pumpkin Spice Horchata is $4.49 and Apple Pie Empanadas are $3.79 each.
How long are the Apple Pie Empanadas and Pumpkin Spice Horchata available?
Both run from September 1st through November 30th, 2026. They’re seasonal items and come off the menu after November 30th.
Which Taco Bus locations have the fall menu?
All eight Taco Bus locations across Tampa Bay carry both items for the full season. See the full list at taco-bus.com/locations.
Can I order the fall items for delivery?
Yes. Both are available for dine-in, pickup, and delivery, and you can order ahead through the Taco Bus app.
Do the fall items come back every year?
They have so far. Both are annual seasonal returns, which is why we call it back by popular demand rather than new.
Three months sounds like a lot until it isn’t. Taco Bus has been serving real Mexican street food across Tampa Bay since 1995, and this is our favorite two-item stretch of the year.