Emilly Prado

Emilly Prado is a writer, award-winning journalist and consultant living in Portland. Read More

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A queer-owned and -operated taco spot on Southeast Belmont Street, Taquería Los Puñales highlights the culinary talents of veteran chefs Brian Aster and David Madrigal — offerings include tacos (with house-made tortillas), pozole, bowls, cocktails and more.

Credit: Jason Hill for better.

Mexican Food in Portland

From nixtamalized street tacos to world-class Yucatecan panuchos and blue maize Oaxacan tlayudas, Portland’s Mexican food scene is nearly as regionally diverse and delicious as Mexico itself.

Updated Aug. 26, 2026 5 min read

Emilly Prado

Emilly Prado is a writer, award-winning journalist and consultant living in Portland. Read More

Portland challenges the myth that quality Mexican cuisine can’t be found in the Pacific Northwest. Once limited, the budding Mexican food scene now reflects distinct regional variations across Mexico, shaped by climate and ingredients. Fueled by history, food carts and immigrant-owned businesses, Portland’s Mexican food scene rivals any other on the West Coast.

Must-Try Tacos, Burritos and Taquerias

The best tacos in Portland (in my humble opinion) might be at Los Francos Food Truck, where handmade corn tortillas have cradled juicy al pastor and lengua fillings since 2006. Look for the line of patrons who flock beneath the Emiliano Zapata mural at all hours, especially late at night and during the stellar Taco Tuesday deals. Another longtime favorite is Taquería Lindo Michoacán, a Southeast Portland food truck home to some of the city’s best crisped, nearly caramelized citrus-simmered slow-cooked pork carnitas and perfectly fried chiles rellenos, served a la carte but best as a burrito.

Taquería Los Puñales, a proudly queer-owned business started by a third-generation taquero, specializes in succulent guisados — flavorful, well-spiced braises of meat and vegetables that serve as versatile, authentic taco and “bowl” fillings. Try an assortment of guisado tacos served on fresh-made corn tortillas to find your favorite, then wash them all down with a refreshing tamarindo margarita or agua fresca. Don’t sleep on the maduritos, sticky-sweet bite-size fried plantains best served with a dollop of crema!

Foster-Powell’s Birrieria La Plaza helped spark Portland’s birria craze. Owner Oracio Hernandez’s three-generation Jaliscan family recipe is made by simmering beef in a rich consomé of chiles, citrus and warm spices. Stop by the flagship or their taqueria downtown, located in The Flock, a hip food hall at The Ritz-Carlton. For traditional goat birria, look no further than Birrieria Los 7 Hermanos in Gresham’s Rockwood neighborhood, serving chivo every weekend. Wherever you order, try it Tijuana quesabirria style — scooped into a crispy, cheesy taco, then dunked into the hearty consomé — it’s a must.

Easily found in Mexico, vertical rotisseries at taquerias are rare in Portland. Trompo el Cordero, however, remains committed to the traditions of al pastor, which borrows Lebanese shawarma techniques to roast succulent ancho-and guajillo-marinated pork — making it one of the best al pastor street tacos in the region.

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Must-Visit Mexican Restaurants in Portland

St. Johns’ historic downtown strip and Tienda Santa Cruz are synonymous. Try their famous carne asada burritos doused in salsa verde or a sampling of street tacos without denting your wallet. Better yet, stock up on fluffy pan dulce, fresh produce, and hard-to-find imported Latin American products at the neighboring bakery-grocery store on your way out. Ranked one of the best vegan restaurants in the country by VegNews, Northeast Portland’s Mis Tacones specializes in mid-range eats featuring an array of tasty plant-based fillings served alongside hand-pressed nixtamal tortillas, crisp yet chewy empanadas and inspired cocktails best enjoyed at one of their many community events.

Tortas dominate the menu at the ultra-chic Güero restaurant in the Kerns neighborhood. Crusty, buttery bolillos are toasted on flattop grills, then dressed with refried beans, cheese and more. Their Guadalajara-style tortas ahogadas, notably dunked in a delicious, spicy salsa roja, are a must. Dine in the verdant courtyard at Plaza Coyoacan and temporarily teleport from Hawthorne to the Mexico City neighborhood namesake itself. Quality ingredients, service and presentation are the throughline at this pan-Mexican, family-friendly restaurant that tops many a good eats list. 

Perfect for date nights, diners get dinner and a show at Nuestra Cocina, where chefs play with aromatics and camarones dance across skillets in their open kitchen. Nosh on airy, battered Baja fish tacos, gorditas rellenas, and innovative twists on traditional craft cocktails, like smoky mezcal old fashioneds. 

Hard-To-Find Mexican Bites 

Mariscos restaurants often have their own regional flair, but at the heart, you’ll always find delicious dishes that celebrate the sea. At Don Kamaron, first-timers can’t go wrong with the smoldering molcajete — a shareable dish of buttered shrimp, assorted meats and more served in a mortar— or the smoky, grilled Nayarit-style shrimp, camarones zarandeados. Taste the flavors of Veracruz at Tiburón Jarocho Mariscos, where standouts include their seafood cocktails, ceviches, aguachiles (especially the negro and mango-kiwi sauces), and the Instagram-worthy Coco Jarocho served in a fresh, whole coconut shell. Don’t leave without crunching on a house-made tostada!  

In the Central Eastside, the guisado-stuffed, blade-shaped Mexico City street food namesake is a must at Machetes, an upscale pop-up-turned-permanent-resident located inside the lush Hey Love bar. Head west to El Chisme Sabroso, the only food cart in Portland where you can find Michoacan morisqueta, a heaping bowl of white rice and frijoles de la olla topped with a spicy, tomato-and-chili stewed pork, sour cream, and cheese. 

Try Oaxacan staples like giant, blue-maize tlayudas (sometimes called “Mexican pizzas”) at beloved Tierra del Sol and stop by Tehuana Oaxacan Cuisine for the delicious, pre-Hispanic memelitas — masa cakes topped with black beans, queso Oaxaca and avocado sauce with your choice of meat. In the Pearl District, Ki’ikibáa offers tribute to Yucatan cuisine with meaty staples like the cochinita pibil — incredible citrus-marinated shredded pork slow-cooked in banana leaves — and the charred Mayan pork loin called poc chuc.