Vancouver, with its breathtaking natural landscapes, rich cultural tapestry, and bustling food culture, has a special spot in the affections of those who appreciate good food. Among the many delightful culinary options here, tacos are particularly noteworthy. Whether you’re a resident or a visitor, venturing into Vancouver’s taco eateries is a must. These are my top 3 spots to get tacos.
One of the most iconic Taco restaurants in Vancouver. Started and founded in 2009, this West Coast inspired taco restaurant has been expanding rapidly and currently has multiple locations. The menu has a modern twist with lots of options for appetizers, tacos, burritos, and drinks. There is something about this restaurant that wants you to keep coming back. Perfect for a casual group setting to eat tacos and have a few drinks. During the Summer season, they open their patio for those to enjoy the weather with great food.
My go-to order at the blood alley location is the Fish Tacos, Nachos to share with the table, and the Quesa Birria. Their fish taco is super light and crispy with a refreshing Salsa Fresca on top and a kick of chipotle mayo.
2. La Taqueria Pinche Taco Shop
This restaurant has multiple locations but the one I visited was on Yukon St. in Vancouver. They have a variety of menu items ranging from Nachos, to the new Birria Ramen. La Taqueria Pinche Taco Shop is so popular they just recently opened a new location outside of the new re-developed Brentwood Mall. When I visited the Yukon St. location, I ordered the Asada, Pastor, and Baja Tacos. All of the tacos were delicious and the smell would make your mouth water. The taco shells were aesthetically pleasing with a purple and yellow colour. In addition, you have the choice of corn or flour taco shells. I chose corn because in my opinion it has more flavour and texture. My order was extremely juicy and the flavours from the toppings worked in harmony with each other.
This restaurant is close to downtown New Westminster and easy to get to by bus or car. They offer daily specials everyday for drinks and food. This is the perfect spot for cheap eats and drinks. Something that makes this place special is the quantity of food and the size of their drinks. They offer margaritas that are the size of soup bowls and the tacos are around $2 to $3 each. My favourite taco at this restaurant is the shrimp taco. It is extremely buttery and covered in melted cheese. Their Nachos are great to share with friends and come with a variety of dips.
At the front, they also sell preserved fruits covered in spices at the front of the restaurant and I would recommend getting a bag or two before leaving this restaurant.
In all, these are my favourite places to get tacos in Vancouver. I would highly recommend trying any of these restaurants if you are craving tacos.
Chuckling, as I’ve been hosting some food podcasts as of late, inviting locals to teach me to make local dishes to their area. These all definitely fall into TexMex or Mexican fusion cuisine, rather than authentically Mexican. Something that I didn’t realize until I hosted the aforementioned podcasts.
I love La Taqueria Pinche Taco Shop and use to go to their old location on Cambie, which then was very authentically Mexican and affordable. One marker between TexMex and Mexican is cheese on tacos. That’s been part of North Americanizing of Mexican cuisine. I do love both Mexican and TexMex, and tend to create more TexMex at home, as thats what I grew up with as a bit of a comfort food. As such though, I try and seek the more authentically Mexican when I am out eating.