Where to Find the Best Tacos in Portland
A delicious spread at Taqueria Los Puñales.
When it comes to building an amazing taco, every component must be on point. Tortillas (preferably handmade) should be perfectly griddled, soft and pliable with the faintest speckling of color. The filling needs to be flavor-packed and texturally sound, whether it’s slow-cooked cochinita pibil, seared carne asada, or a veggie guisado. And the accompanying salsa should be tangy and lively, with a grounding savory foundation. When everything is hitting, it’s hard to picture a more perfect handheld dish. And Portland, despite lingering complaints to the contrary, has options. You just need to know where to look, as some of the best tacos in town are hidden in strip malls and food carts in its farthest reaches, including the burbs. Here are our top picks for all your taco cravings, from Beaverton to Gresham.
Birrieria La Plaza
powellhurst-gilbert
Hidden behind an unassuming storefront on the far east side of Portland, Birrieria La Plaza’s beefy tacos reign supreme years after the great quesabirria boom. A type of stewed meat from Jalisco that’s often made with goat, lamb, or beef, birria in Portland tends to get overwhelmed by its cheesy tortilla wrapping. That’s not the case here, where the beef—fall-apart tender after a long simmer with guajillo and pasilla chilies—is the star of the show. The birria appears in mulitas (a sort of tortilla sandwich with cheese and onion), vampiros (cheesy tostadas), and quesatacos, which walk the line between quesadilla and taco. But the straight-up birria taco is the star, supported by a birria oil–crisped tortilla and topped with fresh chopped cilantro and onion. Be sure to ask for spicy salsa on the side, plus a cup of consommé for dipping. The broth is a little on the rich side, so you may not want to down the whole thing; we won’t judge if you do.
La Tia Juana
rockwood
A red-roofed building perched on the border of Portland and Gresham, La Tia Juana has been slinging its Tijuana-style treats for years now. There’s a plethora of options for tacos here: birria, stewed pollo, grilled shrimp, all on thick, handmade tortillas made with masa from La Milpa in Sandy. Our pick: the super-juicy tacos al vapor, which trades crisp-edged proteins for fatty, steamed meats like lengua or cabeza. It’s a messy affair, but well worth it.
Little Conejo
Vancouver
This Vancouver taqueria is one of the suburb’s culinary go-tos thanks to its standout oyster mushroom tacos, in which garlic-roasted mushrooms arrive blended with a touch of melted cheese that helps bring out their flavor. On the meaty side, Little Conejo makes some of the area’s better tacos al pastor, employing a trompo, or spit, to roast the meat. Other standouts include the thin-cut beef suadero with fried jalapeño salsa and the pescado frito, beautifully battered and fried mahi-mahi with crema and a pile of crunchy cabbage for textural variety. Everything comes on toasty Three Sisters Nixtamal tortillas.
Loncheria Los Mayas makes all its tortillas in-house.
Loncheria Los Mayas
beaumont-wilshire
It doesn’t get better than this Yucatecan cart’s handmade tortillas: thick and golden yellow, super fluffy with crisp browned edges and a couple leopard spots, with a hint of extra salt to bring out the toasty corn flavor. The cochinita pibil is a must-order—Yucatán-style slow-braised pork cooked until almost buttery in a velvety achiote-orange sauce, topped with pickled onions and crunchy cabbage. The carnitas are on the opposite end of the spectrum, super-crisp like porky potato chips.
Los Francos tacos are the perfect handheld treat.
Los Francos
hazelwood
Parked in a lot next to an appliance repair shop, this taco cart loads tortillas with top-tier carne asada, crackly and caramelized exterior falling away to reveal an astoundingly succulent center. Ordering a set of three would be wise, but other options here hold their own: The chorizo melds into a gently spiced, meaty force field, and the cart sells fun cuts like lengua and tripa alongside stalwarts like carnitas. Those tacos revive east Portland revelers late into the evening on weekends, open until at least 3am on Fridays and Saturdays. For best results, add plenty of tangy green salsa.
Matt’s BBQ Tacos
concordia, Mt. Tabor
Matt’s BBQ has been blowing Portland minds with Texas-style smoked meats since it opened a decade ago. Pitmaster Matt Vicedomini then threw his delicate, pink-ringed brisket and peppery sausage onto puffy, lard-laden flour tortillas. These days, Matt’s BBQ Tacos serves guac-topped brisket and Austinesque breakfast tacos within Great Notion Brewing and at a cart in the Hinterland pod; the latter often combines eggs, cheese, and refried beans with things like fork-tender pork belly and pulled pork. But the best tacos here might not involve meat at all: The migas—eggs scrambled with tortilla chips and pico de gallo, finished with cheese and guac—vie for the position of best breakfast tacos in Portland, period.
Salsas Locas
reed
A family-owned and operated Mexican restaurant, Salsas Locas originally opened as Tortilleria y Tienda De Leon’s before moving to Southeast Portland with a new name and focused schtick. Gone are the piñatas and grocery store aisles; now, it’s all about the guisados. These daily-rotating stews, sitting pretty in a deli case, may include beef in a chile Colorado–style red sauce, pork stewed in salsa verde, tomatoey chicken tinga, or birria, available in tacos, burritos, and the like. (If it’s on the menu, be sure to try the mild, melt-in-your-mouth bistec con nopales, either in a taco or as part of a combo plate.) Every day, however, the restaurant reliably serves some of Portland’s best carnitas tacos, juicy hunks of meat with crispy bits. And if the name isn’t a clear giveaway, salsas are a must: Choose from smoky, mild red, herbaceous green, or creamy orange habanero.
Tacos El Patrón builds a colorful spread with its tacos.
Tacos El Patrón
beaverton, sherwood
Blocks away from TV Highway’s car dealerships lives this gem of a cart, which Efrain Abarca opened in 2019 to recreate the flavors of the tacos he ate growing up visiting his grandma in Tijuana. Few other taquerias can match Tacos El Patrón’s range of styles, all served on toasty, fragrant Three Sisters Nixtamal tortillas. But you’re here for beef, whether it’s Tijuana-style steak tacos, tender tripe, fatty-crisp suadero (brisket), or the ubiquitous but well-executed quesabirria tacos complete with beefy, hearty consommé. You’ll find them all in Beaverton, or at a second location in Sherwood ideal for a post–wine tasting taco on the way home.
Taqueria Los Puñales
sunnyside
Like Salsas Locas, tacos guisados are the name of the game at this queer-owned (and coded—catch the portrait of Marsha P. Johnson a few frames away from Mariah Carey) Belmont taqueria. Visitors choose from dozens of stews and braises for their handmade corn tortillas, like the standout chicken tinga in smoky chipotle sauce, the salty-spicy pork adobada, the super-tender lengua en salsa verde, the juicy barbacoa, or the bistec con papas (steak and potatoes) in savory tomato stew. But the vegetarian and vegan options here are not to be overlooked, like the grilled panela cheese with sour cream, calabacitas with corn and onion, and soy curls with caramelized onions and chipotle sauce. Wash it down with textbook-perfect margaritas by the pint—amped up with habanero or mezcal—or nonalcoholic aguas frescas in flavors like strawberry or mango.
Tehuana Oaxacan Cuisine
overlook
Housed in the ArborLook Carts food cart pod, Tehuana specializes in tacos and other dishes from Oaxaca, often considered the culinary heart of Mexico thanks to its moles, mezcal, and memelitas. While memelitas aren’t tacos, they are worth an order here: These thin masa cakes come swiped with beans and piled with cabbage, guacamole, cheese, and a choice of meat. Those meats—sweet-hot chorizo, beautifully charred carne asada, and tongue-tingling chipotle pork—can also arrive in tacos made with thick handmade tortillas. Order a few of both, and garnish with a stoplight-like collection of red, yellow-orange, and green salsas.
Tienda y Taqueria Santa Cruz
St. Johns
In the back of a St. Johns market hides a stalwart taqueria with a devoted following. Many roll in for hangover menudo or infant-size burritos filled with chorizo and eggs, but just as many head to the counter in pursuit of tacos filled with lengua, crispy tripa, and fatty, melt-in-your-mouth cabeza tacos. The selection of fillings does cover territory like cueritos (pickled pork skin) and buche (pork stomach), though locals know to file in for weekend barbacoa, ultra tender and served with a lamb consommé. Any taco on the menu should get a hefty dose of the taqueria’s zippy avocado salsa.
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