13 great Mexican restaurants around Tacoma for tacos, caldo, chile relleno and more

Kristine Sherred
·5 min read

From nuanced black beans to homemade sopes, unusual lonches to stellar tacos from a bus, the Tacoma area has no shortage of Mexican restaurants.

You’ll find Cinco de Mayo events and specials at a handful from downtown favorite Matador to a coffee house in Sumner, but every day is a fine day to celebrate Mexican cuisine and culture. TNT Diner has gathered some of the best places for chile relleno, freshly pressed tortillas and otherwise elusive dishes like goat birria and something called a machete.

BIRRIERIA TIJUANA

▪ 8302 South Tacoma Way, Lakewood, 253-589-0760, birrieria-tijuana.com

The Lakewood outpost was just the second for owner Fredy Zavala, who has since added several new locations in Western Washington. He was one of the first to embrace the cheesy, juicy quesabirria craze, and his tacos, mulitas, chilaquiles and more with the beef are still some of the best in the area.

Protein choices at Brewers Row in Tacoma’s North End include pescado, chorizo and al pastor, on tacos with crunchy julienned radishes.
Protein choices at Brewers Row in Tacoma’s North End include pescado, chorizo and al pastor, on tacos with crunchy julienned radishes.

BREWERS ROW

▪ 3205 N. 26th St., Tacoma, 253-327-1757, brewersrowtacoma.com

Next to Cooks Tavern, Brewers Row quietly serves some of the freshest meats in town, including house-roasted carnitas and pastor sourced from Salmon Creek Farms in Idaho. Vegetarians have options here, too, from papas dulce (sweet potatoes with fresno chiles and kale) to ancho-citrus jackfruit — most available in tacos, tortas and quesadillas.

The carne con chile at Indita Mia in downtown Tacoma features wagyu beef in a smoky, spicy red sauce served with homemade tortillas and refried beans.
The carne con chile at Indita Mia in downtown Tacoma features wagyu beef in a smoky, spicy red sauce served with homemade tortillas and refried beans.

INDITA MIA

▪ 1126 Commerce St., Tacoma, 253-625-7362, inditamia.restaurant

Since its December 2022 debut, Indita Mia has wooed diners to Commerce Street with ribeye “quesatacos,” Oaxacan tamales wrapped in banana leaves, spicy carne con chile and lonches, a lesser-seen Mexican sandwich. Try the house version soaked in a creamy tomato sauce, and pair it all with a cool agua fresca or mezcal and hibiscus cocktail.

La Ilusion Al Carbon, on the border of University Place and Tacoma, specializes in grilled meats, but the creamy enchiladas verde with fresh pintos are a fine choice, too.
La Ilusion Al Carbon, on the border of University Place and Tacoma, specializes in grilled meats, but the creamy enchiladas verde with fresh pintos are a fine choice, too.

LA ILUSION AL CARBON

▪ 5013 S. 56th St., Tacoma, 253-267-0677, facebook.com/Lailusionalcarbon

Find some friends to share the carbonada platter overflowing with the specialty of the house: grilled meats, arranged with onions, a small quesadilla, beans, rice and corn on the cob, also available in a “mini” version. Alongside a full bar, the menu includes fajitas, street-style tacos and snackable sides like toritos, tostadas and elotes.

La Oveja Negra on Tacoma’s Eastside is the place to go for lamb barbacoa.
La Oveja Negra on Tacoma’s Eastside is the place to go for lamb barbacoa.

LA OVEJA NEGRA

▪ 806 72nd St. E., Tacoma, 253-830-5843, orderlaovejanegraeatery.com

Only open Friday, Saturday, Sunday, the weekly wait is worth it for owners Ruth Pichardo and Luis Castro’s lamb barbacoa, steamed traditionally in banana leaves. Add a generous side of consomé for the ultimate taco experience. Other dishes sing too, from fragrant menudo to nuanced black beans.

Los Cuervos in Lakewood makes all of its tortillas in-house, including for its machete, a rarely seen elongated tortilla filled with meat, cheese, onions and peppers.
Los Cuervos in Lakewood makes all of its tortillas in-house, including for its machete, a rarely seen elongated tortilla filled with meat, cheese, onions and peppers.

LOS CUERVOS

▪ 11109 Pacific Highway SW, Lakewood, 253-301-0919, instagram.com/los_cuervos_1

This bright taqueria fills with savvy taco fiends on Tuesdays for flavorful meats, including unctuous carnitas, served on homemade tortillas. House specialties also include an out-of-the-ordinary machete, an elongated tortilla dotted with char, and on Fridays and Saturdays al pastor knifed off a spit outside the restaurant.

The “pizzacoa” at Los Tamales is a quesadilla-like creation featuring layers of marinated beef (barbacoa), cheese and tortillas topped with red onion, cilantro and lime.
The “pizzacoa” at Los Tamales is a quesadilla-like creation featuring layers of marinated beef (barbacoa), cheese and tortillas topped with red onion, cilantro and lime.

LOS TAMALES

▪ 1018 72nd St., Tacoma, 253-301-0849, facebook.com/Lostamalestacoma

Home to the pizzacoa (rich stewed beef layered between two large tortillas awash in the protein’s own red sauce), Los Tamales also hits the mark with its birria tacos sans cheese. Consider it a home-run if you snag the enigmatic elote tamal, sweet and savory like corn pudding. Tortillas are made at the family’s tortilleria next door, Azteca.

Lengua, carnitas and adobada tacos at Taqueria El Sabor in Tacoma’s West End with a glass of jamaica agua fresca.
Lengua, carnitas and adobada tacos at Taqueria El Sabor in Tacoma’s West End with a glass of jamaica agua fresca.

TAQUERIA EL SABOR

▪ 1636 S. Mildred St., Tacoma, 253-565-0501, taqueriaselsabor.com

The fast-food floor plan at this West End taqueria, also with locations in Kent and Shoreline, belies how good the food really is. Tied for first in our 2022 taco bracket, El Sabor offers the staples (adobada, birria, carnitas) alongside lengua, tripe and fatty cabeza, plus full plates of pollo ranchero, camarones a la diabla and caldo de res. Dine-in and you’ll be offered a complimentary serving of chips and salsa.

There are two sopes under there somewhere!
There are two sopes under there somewhere!

TAQUERIA EL SABROSO

▪ 10906 Pacific Highway SW, Lakewood, 253-582-5455

This orange roadside shack could be near a beach, with customers propped on stools, having lunch at the outdoor counter in front of the ordering window. Homemade sopes are bathed in carnitas, lettuce, pico de gallo and guacamole. Tamales, tacos, menudo and coconut flan round out a full menu, which you can also enjoy from a seat in the clandestine back dining room.

Taqueria la Michoacána serves juicy birria only on weekends.
Taqueria la Michoacána serves juicy birria only on weekends.

TAQUERIA LA MICHOACANA

▪ 1301 S. 38th St., Tacoma, 253-232-3528, taquerialamichoacanaa.com

Across from the 38th Street Safeway, La Michoacana offers classic proteins plus shrimp and, on weekends only, sumptuous birria with a side of consomé. Add grilled nopales, potatoes or peppers to most dishes at no extra charge. Plates also shine here, including the savory frito de puerco (crispy pork in a spicy red sauce). Open at 9am daily, it’s a go-to for chilaquiles and huevos rancheros.

Taqueria Mis Tesoros serves a full menu including piping hot molcajetes with asada, shrimp and avocado.
Taqueria Mis Tesoros serves a full menu including piping hot molcajetes with asada, shrimp and avocado.

TAQUERIA MIS TESOROS

▪ 1314 72nd St. E., Tacoma, 253-302-4266, facebook.com

Mis Tesoros has more meats than most, with pastor, camaron, carnitas and birria always on the menu, which expands to several fajita platters, caldo and molcajetes brimming with asada, shrimp and chicken. Try the machaca, a specialty of Guerrero with spiced beef, tomatoes and scrambled eggs. You can’t sit at a bar, but you can pair your meal with a michelada or margarita.

The quesabirria and namesake taco are must-orders at Tony’s Tacos, a vintage Bluebird bus parked at a 76 gas station in Frederickson.
The quesabirria and namesake taco are must-orders at Tony’s Tacos, a vintage Bluebird bus parked at a 76 gas station in Frederickson.

TONY’S TACOS

▪ 17519 Canyon Road E., Puyallup, 253-878-1241, facebook.com/tonystacos.pnw

Park in the 76 gas station lot and walk up the stairs into a vintage Bluebird bus, where Tony Ruiz Jr. and family sling some of the area’s finest tacos. The namesake on a homemade tortilla packs your choice of meat (deeply stewed birria and asada are both solid choices) with pico de gallo and guacamole. The bus also makes birria pizza, and tacos of any variety are accented by homemade salsas like the creamy avocado and jalapeno.

Vuelve a la Vida in Tacoma’s South End is known for its tamales and nuanced chile relleno.
Vuelve a la Vida in Tacoma’s South End is known for its tamales and nuanced chile relleno.

VUELVE A LA VIDA

▪ 5312 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253-473-7068, facebook.com

Amid murals of life-sized shrimp sipping daiquiris on a beach hammock, this otherwise humble dining room is a destination for Mexican comfort food, from tacos on soft homemade tortillas and burritos with hard-to-find goat birria and soothing pozole rojo. House specialties include perhaps the best chile relleno in town — Thursdays only! — and tamales.