Where to eat Ottawa tacos: Spicy chorizo, slow-cooked barbacoa, and brothy birria done right

Ottawa tacos bring variety and authenticity: beef brisket, pork belly, fresh-fried shrimp, and, for the curious, cricket — a protein staple in Mexican cuisine with a nutty, earthy flavour. There are parking lot pop-ups with simple toppings and cosy eateries with fresh tortillas and a full tequila bar. You can expect thoughtfully prepared options like tender beef tongue, birria served with a side of broth, and house-made salsas that bring heat without overpowering.

Ottawa Citizen restaurant critic Peter Hum has spent years combing through Ottawa tacos, taste-testing each spot to see who does it right. From hole-in-the-wall taquerias to sit-down places with more ambitious menus, Peter’s reviews pull together a mix of hidden gems and local favourites. Based on six years of his reviews, this round-up covers price points, portion sizes, and each taco’s best qualities. Buen provecho!

710 Gladstone Ave., 613-369-4374, lavacamexicana.site

At La Vaca Mexicana on Gladstone Avenue, beef takes the spotlight in tacos priced at $5. Suadero brisket tacos hold their own, while the cachete tacos feature a mix of crusty and tender beef cheek. Beef tongue is light and pillowy, and the carne asada tacos offer more flavour and tenderness than most spots around. The quesabirria, stuffed with stewed beef and melted cheese, comes with broth for dipping. For weekend variety, fried shrimp ($9) is worth a try, but the mild fish taco falls short. Mexican sodas, horchata, and jamaica agua fresca round out the drinks. La Vaca may be no-frills, but the reasonable price point makes it especially worth your attention. — Reviewed Oct. 3, 2024

Read the full La Vaca Mexicana review

9 Bullman St., 613-621-3931, miamortacos.com

Mi Amor Tacos makes it easy to forget you’re in a parking lot. The Salazar sisters, operating out of a small shipping container on Bullman Street, bring Puebla’s taco traditions to Ottawa. They stick to the essentials with five tacos on the menu. Beef brisket “suadero” ($6.50) comes packed with braised meat; pineapple al pastor ($6.50) balances tangy sweetness with a hint of spice. There are no heavy toppings or unnecessary garnishes — just cilantro, onion, and house-made salsas. Portions are generous enough to make each taco feel like a meal. The shaded picnic tables add a laid-back vibe perfect for chowing down. — Reviewed Oct. 3, 2024

Read the full Mi Amor Tacos review

303 St. Patrick St., 613-241-4444, instagram.com/eltacodeoroottawa

Valeria Oropeza’s father, hailing from Tabasco, runs the kitchen, joined by a team of Mexican cooks who bring their regional touches to each dish. Tacos are the main focus, with cochinita pibil, al pastor, and chorizo and cheese available in a three-for-$15 deal. Each pork taco satisfies, with flavours that edge out the slightly tougher carne asada ($6) and shrimp taco ($6). The cosy space and a tequila-stocked bar add to the lively atmosphere, making this a solid stop for affordable, no-nonsense Mexican eats in Ottawa. — Reviewed Oct. 3, 2024

Read the full El Taco De Oro review

2 rue Aubry, Gatineau (Hull sector), 819-205-1050,

Rosalita in Gatineau’s Hull sector breaks the mould — a French-Canadian spot putting its stamp on $6.50 tacos. The open kitchen turns out fresh-made corn tortillas and a pork belly taco that keeps up with local competition. Quesabirria, with stewed beef, takes the win, though portions lean more modest than other spots around town. Crisp churros, beers, and cocktails make Rosalita a place you’ll want to linger. — Reviewed Oct. 3, 2024

Read the full Rosalita review

77 Montreal Rd., 613-741-9998, instagram.com/aztectacos

At Aztec Tacos, a no-frills eatery in Vanier with about 30 seats, the food was reasonably priced and, more often than not, wonderfully seasoned and tasty. Eleven types of tacos are available on weekdays, all priced at $5 each. Beefier tacos, ranging from grilled beef to stewy birria to beef tongue to barbacoa, were my favourites. Shrimp and fish tacos, both featuring battered, deep-fried proteins, are available on Saturdays for $8. Wandering further into the menu to try various soups and stews will likely be rewarding. — Reviewed May 17, 2023

Read the full Aztec Tacos review

60A Lebreton St., instagram.com/tortaboyz.ot

The spring of 2022 saw Torta Boyz, the breakout food truck of 2021, move to a brick-and-mortar, subterranean location on Lebreton Street, just south of Chinatown. The dive-bar-like venue soon became a hangout for Ottawa’s lovers of tacos (and mezcal). The beer-battered haddock, pork carnitas and al pastor tacos were all hefty in both size and flavour. Much of their appeal came from the uncompromisingly spicy, made-in-house salsas including bracing and nutty salsa macha and bright salsa verde. — Reviewed Oct. 18, 2022

Read the full Torta Boyz review

1491 Merivale Rd., 7 Kakulu Rd. (Kanata), and 226 Preston St. (Little Italy). 613-695-7899, casa-mexico.ca

Opened in a Merivale Road strip mall in 2017, Casa Mexico is filled with homeland regalia, from brightly coloured festival flags, tables, tablecloths and chairs to the collection of wrestlers’ masks on one wall. It was warm and inviting, as were its servers. The priority for the 15 tacos offered here usually seemed to be to let the proteins speak for themselves, without an excess of salsa. I liked most the pure lamb flavour of the shredded lamb taco, the lightly nutty chicken mole taco, and the thinly and crisply battered shrimp taco. I would have liked the beef tongue taco more if the meat had been seared. — Reviewed Oct. 18, 2022

Read the full Casa Mexico review

506 Rideau St. and 354A Preston St., sisenor.ca

Mexico City expat Hugo Crespo offers eight fillings for carnivores made with pork, chicken, beef, shrimp or lamb, while for vegetarians, there’s a black bean, avocado and cabbage option or sauteed peppers, onions and cactus in pastor sauce. My faourites were the orange juice-marinated pork carnitas, locally sourced Mexican chorizo sausages, Yucatan-style cochinita pibil pulled pork and the lamb or beef birria de borrego. — Reviewed Mar. 23, 2021

Read the full Sí Señor review

895 Bank St., 613-421-5802, margaritamex.net

Margarita in the Glebe offered more refined surroundings and colourful dishware than some other taco joints. Eight tacos were on the menu, from battered fish and shrimp to cactus and even fried crickets, which are a long-standing regional staple in Mexico. One of the best things about the tacos here was the thin, fresh tortillas. But we liked some toppings more than others. — Reviewed Oct. 18, 2022

Read the full Margarita review

565 Somerset St. W., 613-712-1717, lafiestalatina.ca

At this Somerset Street West restaurant, the tacos had the stripped-down ring of authenticity. Braised meats had been steeped in big-flavoured sauces before meeting their store-bought tortillas, and while some looked similar, they presented us with different flavours. These were not the more chef-y tacos that reign elsewhere, beautifully garnished and made with freshly pressed tortillas. But they provided the fundamental taco satisfaction, and an array of hot sauces will help if extra heat is your thing. — Reviewed Jan. 16, 2020

Read the full La Fiesta Latina review

170 Preston St., 613-680-8226, eldoradotaco.ca

At our visits, Eldorado Tacos’ tacos were uniformly strong and appealing, arriving at the table in briskly served waves. The crispy fish and heftily flavoured short rib tacos were tops for me in terms of well-made proteins and meaningful garnishes, while the teenager at our table took down chicken taco after chicken taco, proclaiming “Whatever that sauce is that leaked all over the place, it’s good.” — Reviewed May 19, 2019

Read the full Eldorado Taco review

139 Slater St., 343-997-7066, torotaqueria.com

I was very impressed by the distinctive and well-made tacos here, which usually featured especially juicy, superbly seasoned and braised-that-day meats and special-order whole chillies that are ground and rubbed into meats the night before cooking. Tops was Toro’s campechano taco, a wondrous three-meat creation made with beef brisket, pork shoulder and chorizo, topped with bits of crunchy chicharron (fried pork rind). You eat this taco, like many others, at your own risk — or more specifically, the risk of damaging your shirt with sauce and food. But the tastiness of the cooking liquid justifies this forewarning. House-made red and green salsas, plus a sharp chimichurri, are available, but I haven’t found that the tacos need their boost. — Reviewed July 23, 2018

Read the full Toro Taqueria review

1079 Wellington St. W., 613-798-9292, labonita.co

At La Bonita, the menu stressed the authenticity of its taco preparations, from chicken mole to carnitas to cochinita pibil. Here, I tried tacos predominantly made with shredded and slow-cooked meats and found them flavourful but also sometimes light on moisture and often salty. Most were minimally garnished, as their analogues in Mexico would be, with cilantro and onions, and hot sauces available at each table helped. Best were the barbacoa beef tacos and the pork preparations. The mole featured on a chicken taco was thick and lightly sweet, and less complex than hoped for. Festive, hanging lights and old-time movies projected on the wall make for a relaxing vibe worth a linger. — Reviewed July 23, 2018

Read the full Taquira La Bonita review

81 Clarence St., 613-422-5918, eatelcamino.com

This ByWard Market restaurant makes memorable beauts worth the splurge. Most of the seating is at high-top tables and we were won over by outré choices like a cochinita roasted pig head taco (great flavour and texture, excellent sear) and ox tongue (funky note to the flavour, nice char). More conventional choices including a chicken tinga and a massively proportioned, crispy fish taco were also delightful. All demonstrated the kitchen’s skill at balancing bold flavours with nuanced accents to create distinctive, crave-worthy tacos. — Reviewed Sept. 27, 2017

Read the full El Camino review

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