Honky Tonk Taco, the tequila-fueled taco bar from Clyde Common's Nate Tilden and chef Carlo Lamagna, has closed.

"The food wasn't where we wanted it to be," Tilden said by phone Tuesday. "We feel like it's a really great space, and we want to execute at a higher level."

Honky Tonk Taco opened in Andy Ricker's former Sen Yai on Southeast Division Street in July with a menu of "deliciously inauthentic" tacos, quesadillas, salads and more. The restaurant quietly took a "pause" on Monday, according to Tilden and Lamagna.

Tilden, the force behind Clyde Common and a co-owner of a half-dozen Portland restaurants and bars, has been on a tear lately, opening Honky Tonk Taco, a second OP Wurst location in Oregon City and Bar Casa Vale, his wood-fired pinxtos bar, all in the past three months. Honky Tonk Taco is his first restaurant to close.

"I didn't have the time to right the ship," Tilden says.

For Tilden, "all options are on the table" regarding the space, including reopening Honky Tonk Taco with a revamped menu, or selling the lease.

Lamagna plans to refocus on Clyde Common and his upcoming Filipino pop-up, Twisted Filipino, which will debut at the beginning of December in Southeast Portland's Holdfast Dining space.

"We want to show Filipino food and all its iterations," Lamagna said. "I don't know why Filipino isn't getting that here in Portland."

-- Samantha Bakall sbakall@oregonian.com

Follow @sambakall

The Oregonian's Michael Russell contributed to this report