Taco Bell’s fashionably late arrival to 2000s throwback culture, via its Decades menu, sees the return of five items from whenever it deemed “Y2K” enough. While Taco Bell’s influence on early 2000s inebriated mealtimes can’t be understated, nostalgia only goes so far when the whole menu tastes the same.
The full Decades Y2K Menu became available to the masses Sept. 9, 2025 — and it will stay available until parent company, Yum Brands, realizes it’s gone all week without destroying something.
Cool Ranch® Doritos® Locos Tacos: “This game changer invented laid-back chill.”
The Cool Ranch® Doritos® Locos Tacos (CRDLT) wastes a lot of words describing something Taco Bell basically already served — the only difference being the choice of Dorito dust coating the default Taco Bell hard shell.
Just like its Nacho Cheese counterpart, the spread of meat at the bottom was uncomfortably warm and soggy against a layer of cold lettuce and sour cream, creating a delicious pocket of greasy beef ooze that compromised the taco’s structural integrity.
Despite an official Taco Bell statement that the CRDLT “sparked fan petitions for years – all demanding its return,” I’m entirely convinced that if you lined up America’s staunchest Taco Bell fanatics in a dark room and gave them Nacho Cheese or Cool Ranch Doritos® Locos Tacos at random, everyone would leave that place nauseated and totally unsure of their place in the world.
Double Decker Supreme Taco: “Skating to snag one? Peak Y2K moment.”
The Double Decker Supreme Taco (DDST) deals with the same issue as the CRDLT: it’s a completely average Taco Bell item we’ve all come to expect. This taco’s shtick is that the hard shell is wrapped with a soft tortilla. That would be cool if it wasn’t pretty much the same exact thing as the Crunchwrap, just in taco form. The DDST even has the same issue as the Crunchwrap; it isn’t really crunchy because the hard shell just gets soggy.
Like Taco Bell’s other “authentic Mexican” cuisine, the ingredient ratio was all out of whack. Too many tomato chunks, too much cold lettuce and way more beans than meat. Half the time spent eating the DDST is taking bites, the other half is spent swishing around mouthfuls trying to find that oh-so-sacred ground beef.
Sonoma County influencer Johnny Oliver met with fans and Oak Leaf reporters Sept. 18 to gauge public opinion on Taco Bell’s Decades Y2K Menu. Oliver ordered a CRDLT. “I don’t eat ranch,” they said, “I would get a different one [next time].”
Chili Cheese Burrito: “It was never a phase. Our delectable little rebel returns.”
The Chili Cheese Burrito was not made available to us at the Mendocino Avenue Taco Bell, forcing a rush order from the 1416 Farmers Lane location. The Chili Cheese Burrito has not yet commented on the situation.
You get exactly what it says on the tin: a flour tortilla filled with pockets of oil, chewy cheese and processed, mincy chili.
Admittedly, I enjoyed the Chili Cheese Burrito. Dusk guided me and my elusive drive-thru item down Los Alamos Road, a 2.5-mile canyon off Sonoma Highway, where I ate the whole thing in two very intense minutes against a luxurious 6:30 p.m. sunset.
Caramel Apple Empanada: “This is a hit of sweet, sweet nostalgia.”
Returning to the menu after some amount of time nobody can really agree on, the Caramel Apple Empanada might be the closest thing to a unique item across the entire Decades menu.
The Caramel Apple Empanada takes the third spot on Taco Bell’s criminally small dessert menu.
Crispy crust encases apple, caramel and molasses in a delightfully warm and gooeylicious sensation for the four bites it takes to eat it. Out of everything offered in the Y2K menu, I’ll be saddest to see the empanada return to 2000’s obscurity — like denim.
Seven Layer Burrito: “It’s back. Time to pop those collars and pop by.”
The Seven Layer Burrito brings new horizons for the peace-loving vegetarians who dine under the Yum Brands umbrella, but not much for anybody else.
Made exclusively with Taco Bell’s non-exclusive ingredients, this item can be ordered many years after the Decades menu’s grizzly end; by modifying a Cheesy Bean and Rice Burrito into a $5.84 custom-order headache the Taco Bell employees will spend the afternoon deciphering.
Not everything Y2K needs to make a comeback. Taco Bell’s special limited-time items just don’t make me feel like a chihuahua saying “Yo quiero Taco Bell!” I guarantee if you slide the cashier (wait, Taco Bell doesn’t even have cashiers anymore …) a joint, they could make these limited-time items with their not-limited-time ingredients.
