The Best Mexican Restaurant in Every State

Tacos (including versions with calf’s head, tripe, or beef tongue, as well as other meats) on freshly made tortillas are a big draw here. There are also quesadillas, tostadas, gorditas, and carne asada, among other dishes — but, warns the menu, chips and salsa are not available. There’s no alcohol either — because the restaurant is small and, according to a statement from the owner on Yelp, “adding alcohol to our menu would lead to longer waiting time for an available table.” Nonetheless, the food is rated as “wonderful,” “outstanding,” and “delicious.”

House-made chorizo and salsas and signature beers are among the selling points at the two locations of this Anchorage hotspot. The menu offers everything from tiger prawn ceviche and cheddar cheese queso to fajita burritos and tortas (Mexican sandwiches) served with cilantro-parmesan fries.

“Street Tacos,” “Mexican Food,” and “Only Cash For Now” read the signs in the window of this bare-bones storefront place in El Mirage, northwest of Phoenix. The blackboard menu is short, offering a small selection of bargain-priced tacos, quesadillas, a salad and a torta, plus occasional specials, but the food is the real deal — simple and, according to Yelp, “amazing.”

“Wow doesn’t even begin to cover it,” wrote one Yelp reviewer. Six variations on fajitas and ten shrimp dishes are among the specialties, and the barbacoa tacos get raves.

The late, legendary L.A. restaurant critic Jonathan Gold called this “one of the best Oaxacan restaurants in the country.” Mole, Oaxaca’s most famous culinary creation, is a specialty at this cavernous 25-year-old institution, available in six varieties and as part of numerous dishes (like the massive chicken tamale with black mole). In addition to more standard dishes, the menu includes authentic regional fare like chapulines (grasshoppers) with jalapeños and Oaxacan cheese, pizza-like tlayudas with various toppings, and squash blossom empanadas. The list of mezcals, another Oaxacan specialty, is encyclopedic.

It’s “street Mexican cuisine” at this Taquería, tequilería, and mezcalería in a strip mall in the Rocky Mountain foothill town of Golden. Yelpers say: “It is some gooood Mexican food,” “one of the best authentic taco restaurants,” and “This place is unreal…ranked number 1 in my heart.”

Offering gorditas, chalupas, alambres, huraches, and sopes, as well as better-known choices like nachos and an array of tacos, this counter-service place offers “good authentic Mexican food on a budget,” writes one Yelp fan. “Awesome authentic Mexican food made in a small place by real people,” offers another.

Tacos come soft or crisp, with corn or flour tortillas, in half-moon shape or rolled, and even in salad form at this “hidden gem” and “perfect Mexican restaurant” (according to Yelp). The guacamole and fresh salsa get high marks, too, and the churros are “out of this world.”

As one visitor to this “amazing and so friendly” restaurant in a Boca Raton suburb puts it on Yelp, “Big portions, very reasonable prices, great menu, good margaritas for $8 — can’t beat that.” Octopus ceviche, poc chuc (sour-orange-marinated pork), fajitas, and crisp-fried tuna tacos are among the more unusual items on the menu.

Mexican street tacos with ten different fillings plus three American-style tacos are on the menu here, but it’s the Oaxacan specialties — like chicken in mole sauce and tlayudas (a bit like pizzas on oversize corn tortillas) — that make this place stand out. “The mole sauce was as rich as it looked,” reported a visitor from California on Yelp. “The beef tongue was tender without being mushy like many places. The hand made tortillas were icing on the cake.”

With this counter-service restaurant near Honolulu, writes a critic for the Frolic Hawaii food and travel website, “Hawaii finally gets a taste of elevated Mexican fare.” The modest menu offers just six tacos, five quesadillas or sincronizadas (two-tortilla quesadillas), four “snacks,” and one dessert. The relatively small choice didn’t stop one local resident from telling Yelp readers that the place served her “PROBABLY THE TASTIEST FOOD I’VE EVER EATEN.”

The extensive menu here includes plenty of seafood and vegetarian dishes, as well as chicken, beef, and pork in various guises (chicken breast in chipotle sauce, carne asada tacos, pork carnitas, etc.). “Excellent menu, great service, and good food,” enthused a fan from Boise on Yelp.

Rick Bayless is the country’s leading non-Mexican authority on Mexican food, and together with the slightly fancier Topolobampo, immediately adjacent, this is his flagship. Shrimp and scallop ceviche, smoked chicken taquitos, and Veracruz-style fresh corn tamales are among the regular offerings, and dishes from a different Mexican region are featured every month. Currently, it’s Puebla, with such specialties as chicken tinga tostadas and swordfish with mulato chile and huitlacoche (corn fungus) sauce.

Yelp reviewers love the costillas here — honey-and-guajillo-braised pork ribs with chipotle crema. Also on the menu are the “best guacamole in town” (according to the restaurant), as well as several taco variations, carne asada, and an unusual preparation of whole rainbow trout with morita chile salsa.

The large menu here ranges from ceviche-like aguachiles and shrimp soup through both Mexican- and “Texano”-style tacos in numerous variations and all the way to hearty pork stew or stuffed poblano chiles served with house-made tortillas. Grilled meats are also a focus, with marinated flame-grilled steaks in several forms filling out the ample choice of dishes.

“Might be some of the best street style tacos I’ve ever had,” reported one Yelper, while another called the fare here “definitely outstanding, authentic Mexican food at a great price.” Don Antonio’s is also a meat market, and meat — whether in tacos (an astonishing four for $5), burritos, tortas, or any other form — is the thing to get here. Carnitas, al pastor, barbacoa, tripe, tongue, and more are featured.

This restaurant’s chef, Bruce Ucán, is a Mayan from the Yucatan, and his menu includes dishes from his home region not often seen in U.S. Mexican restaurants. Sikil-pak is a dip of pumpkin seeds and roasted tomatoes; cochinita pibil is slow-roasted pork in achiote (annatto seed) sauce; tikin-xic is silver carp in achiote-lime sauce. And customers rave about the tok-sel lima beans, cooked with green onions, parsley, lime juice, and ground roasted pumpkin seeds.

Using gluten-free, non-GMO ingredients, local and organic when possible, El Cabo Verde serves pork tamales wrapped in banana leaves, quesadillas made with housemade corn tortillas, Louisiana Gulf shrimp with mojo sauce, and other specialties that avoid the usual Mexican-restaurant clichés. “Food was delicious, prices are reasonable, and service was on point,” wrote one Yelp reviewer.

This is probably one of the few places in the Northeast that serves San Antonio-style puffy tacos (the tortillas are deep-fried raw so they balloon up), as well as the more conventional soft and crispy varieties. Three meat fillings, two seafood choices, and two vegetarian ones are available (the latter including avocado slices fried in panko breading). Beyond tacos, Yelp reviewers have reported that “the chipotle sweet potato taquitos…were perfect,” the El Nino nachos were “stacked high with chips and tons of toppings,” and the avocado salad “was refreshing and fulfilling.”

This family-owned taquería and mezcalería makes their own corn and flour tortillas and serves an assortment of simple but imaginative tacos — carnitas with crispy pork cracklings and green sauce, lamb cooked in Mexican coffee and Negra Modelo beer, lightly battered cod with pickled cabbage slaw and habanero cream, etc. There are also ceviches, queso fundido with chorizo (or vegetables, or shrimp), and quesadillas, among other things.

“I just got back from a week-long trip to Mexico and I have to say…these tacos were better than any tacos I had in Mexico,” according to one local, writing on Yelp. And Boston Magazine reports that “Marinated carnitas tacos are a must at this low-frills Eastie mainstay, but don’t overlook traditional comforts, like the pozole rojo, a porky stew with hominy and vibrant red chilis.”

“Huaraches, birria, gorditas, chicharrones, mole… all of it. Not one bite has been disappointing.” That’s one Yelp reviewer’s take on this something-for-everybody establishment with its endless menu. “As someone from Arizona who grew up with fantastic Mexican food on every corner,” wrote another commentator, “this was really good Mexican food!”

“This is my new favorite taco place in the Twin Cities,” wrote one Yelper of this combination restaurant and well-stocked Mexican market in suburban Minneapolis. A wide selection of meat, chicken, and other fillings is available for burritos, quesadillas, tortas, alambres (meat topped with chopped vegetables, bacon, cheese, and salsa), and of course tacos. Guy Fieri loved the place when he visited, if that means anything.

According to Yelp reviewers, writing about this hole-in-the-wall place in a suburb of Jackson: “Super yummy, very authentic Mexican food,” “A little hard to find but definitely worth the effort,” “the BEST authentic carne asada tacos in Jackson,” “they know how to make tasty food.”

A Yelp reviewer who moved to Missouri from Texas was having trouble finding decent Mexican food in her new home state. Then…”Our friends took us here and oh my goodness, from the min we walked in till we left it was a fabulous dinner experience.” Another diner here told readers that “It’s not the bland mainland Mexican food, but an explosion of flavors and choices.” The owner gets special praise for his hospitality and for creating special meals based on his customers’ preferences. Margaritas, tortilla soup, vegetarian tacos, and enchiladas and burritos get special notice.

Owned by a family from Guanajuato in central Mexico, Los Mayas serves a standard menu — huevos rancheros, chiles rellenos, enchiladas, tamales, tacos (shredded or ground beef on corn or flour tortillas), etc. Yelp reviewers give high marks to the tacos (“just like the ones we would get when in LA”) and the “perfect” chile relleno, and one was surprised at “how good the chicken enchilada was.”

Shrimp nachos, duck tamales, and mineras (Oaxacan scrambled-egg enchiladas with chorizo and bean sauce) are among the more uncommon items served here. “Feels like grandma is back in the kitchen preparing all these delicious, homemade, authentic meals,” wrote one enthusiast on Yelp. Another wrote: “Best lunch in south Lincoln! Do I enjoy Mexican cuisine? Absolutely! Was this fresh and delicious beyond expectation? Definitely!”

Baja California is famous for its seafood, so it’s not surprising that ceviche-like aguachiles, marlin or spicy octopus tacos, and sashimi-style fish tostadas are among the specialties here. “If you love seafood and tacos…this is a place you have to try!” one local assured Yelp readers recently. Others hail the place for the city’s best fish tacos. (Bajamar has recently opened a second location in the southwestern portion of the city.)

Menudo, pozole, carnitas, shrimp in ranchera sauce, pork guisado (stew) in green sauce, green chile burritos….There’s more to the menu here than the usual combination plates. Speaking of that burrito, one Yelp reviewer hailed it as “Without question, one of the biggest, baddest, and most flavorful burritos I’ve ever had. This thing is no joke!” And a visitor from Massachusetts declared: “This is the best place in the whole entire world.”

All the basics are here: burritos, quesadillas, tacos (soft or fried crisp), enchiladas, tamales, fajitas, chilaquiles, tostadas, tortas, and more. “Everyone has different expectations and preferences for tacos or ‘authentic mexican’ food,” wrote one Yelp reviewer, “but it’s hard to not find something here for everyone.” Another wrote: “Great authentic local Mexican restaurant! The tables and chairs are colorful and cute. Their tacos and burritos are to die for. Super delicious.”

There are burgers and salads (including the Hail, Caesar) on the menu at this “very good place for Mexican food,” as one Yelp reviewer put it — and another reported that what they serve is “Mexicanized more upscale American bar food.” On the other hand, the menu also lists al pastor, carne asada, and other taco variations, as well as ceviche tostadas, enchiladas filled with queso fresco, and a torta filled with red-chile-marinated pork, among other non-American-bar-food items, and another Yelp critic wrote: “If you love tacos, then you have to stop by this place while in Santa Fe.”

When a small Mexican restaurant in an unglamorous neighborhood wins a Michelin star, you know it’s something special. Many of the items on the menu will look familiar — guacamole, chicken tacos, chile relleno, carne asada, etc. — but everything is prepared with evident skill at this “absolute must try for any fan of Mexican food,” in the words of one Yelper. According to another, “If you ever traveled to Mexico and tasted the local food there, you will know that [what] you eat at the States is not even close; but then there is Casa Enrique.”

“Vaquita” is Spanish for “little cow,” but it’s a very large cow that stands atop this ultra-casual counter-service place with outdoor-only seating. The long menu ranges from tacos (the specialty) and tortas to assorted fajitas and beef tongue stewed with guajillo chiles. “Consistently good,” “great meats and good sides,” “super delicious tacos,” and “a great place for authentic fresh Mexican fare,” Yelp commentators have said.

This restaurant in a Bismarck suburb wins Yelp praise as serving “The best, most authentic, made-from-scratch Mexican food in the upper Mid-West,” in a “spectacular” atmosphere where everything is “wonderful.” One reviewer notes that she wishes “Yelp had an option above 5 stars that could be reserved for restaurants like this one.” Among the menu choices are chicken empanadas or taquitos, pork stewed in red salsa, and carnitas or chorizo tacos.

Six variations on guacamole (including one with smoked trout and bacon), six different taquitos (one with duck confit, another with salt-roasted beets, spiced peanuts, and goat cheese), and avocado-leaf-braised lamb enchiladas with mole are among the unusual offerings at this “ModMex” restaurant. Yelp reviewers particularly recommend the happy hour, for $5 margaritas and $10 taquito plates.

Some Yelp comments: “Amazing food,” “lots of salsa options and all are delicious!,” “great Mexican food…always good and fresh,” “Everything on the menu is truly incredible & the staff is always friendly…& you will NEVER leave hungry (trust me).” In addition to more usual items, the menu offers vegetarian nachos, tacos, and burritos.

This chef-owned restaurant offers a smallish menu with a number of unusual dishes, including crispy lollipop chicken wings with black mole, smoked mushroom and cactus tacos, grilled Spanish goat cheese in banana leaves with pumpkin seed salsa, and tamarind-marinated Mexican white prawns. The tortillas are fresh-made in-house.

“The service was fantastic, the food was delicious and the margaritas were the best I’ve had in a long time,” according to one Yelp reviewer, writing about this food truck-turned-restaurant. Another wrote: “Easily some of the best Mexican food I’ve had outside of the Southwest. Tacos, quesadillas, fajitas, everything I’ve tried has been delicious.” And a third said simply, “The food, drinks, service, ambience, and price are all exemplary.”

Filet mignon or pork chop tacos, duck flautas (rolled tacos), and empanada-like Mexico City quesadillas (“Chilango” is a slang term for someone from the Mexican capital) are among the menu choices here. “If you’re looking for authentic and rich flavors this is a great spot” and “Best authentic Mexican Food in RI (possibly New England)” are among the encomiums offered on Yelp.

Tacos, burritos, tostadas, tortas…There are no surprises on the menu here — but reviewers posting to Yelp hail the “exceptional” mole enchilada, “very good” carnitas and “amazing” carnitas street tacos, and “just right” beans and rice, among other things. “I’m from Los Angeles and my husband is half Mexican,” wrote one commentator, “so I’m hard to please when it comes to Mexican food but this place is amazing.”

One Rapid City diner told Yelp readers that “Sabor is a great quaint place to enjoy authentic Mexican food.” Another local chimed in saying, “I would eat here everyday, but they are closed on Sundays.” Among the dishes meeting with reviewers’ approval are the carnitas torta, the chicken tostada, the fish tacos, and the cheese tamales.

Described on its website as “a small, fast-casual counter specializing in the hand-held delicacies it boasts in its name,” Maciel’s also serves nachos, fajitas, quesadillas, burritos, and other items. Shrimp and tilapia tacos are among the options. “Super fresh and delicious every single time!” wrote one Yelp reviewer. “Gets Maciel of approval,” punned another.

In a city (and state) famous for its hybrid Tex-Mex cuisine, Fonda San Miguel — a large restaurant with an attractive interior — takes pride in being, as they put it: “the first restaurant in Texas to focus exclusively on true regional Mexican cuisine from Mexico’s interior culinary epicenters.” While some dishes are familiar (guacamole, tortilla soup, tacos al pastor, etc.), others are less common — for instance, ancho chile filled with chicken, olives, capers, and almonds, or mixiote (slow-cooked lamb cooked in a paper wrapper). As one Yelp critic said, “A definite ‘don’t miss’ when in Austin.”

With its industrial decor and an extensive menu encompassing tacos, burritos, chimichangas, fajitas, moles, quesadillas, and much more, Chile-Tepin wins praise because, as one Yelper put it, “The food is spot on, the service is quick, [and] there’s beer and salsa music playing.” A former Californian, used to “great Mexican food on almost every corner” in his home state, found the place “great — period!”

This one-time food cart, which materialized as a bricks-and-mortar restaurant in Burlington’s Old North End in late 2018, offers a stripped-down menu of tacos (six kinds, including one with dry-rubbed 16-hour chopped brisket and another with plantains, beans, poblano chiles, and queso fresco), plus a handful of snacks and side dishes — and an imaginative cocktail list, too. They obviously do things right. “Now I don’t have to wait once a year to travel back to LA and get my taco fix,” wrote a former Angeleno on Yelp. Other comments: “The best tacos I’ve ever had,” “Everything is so delicious and flavorful but also authentic!,” and “the best food in greater Burlington.”

There are quesadillas, burritos, tortas, carne asada, and other dishes on the menu here, but tacos are the thing — filled with everything from carnitas or chorizo to beef tongue or calf’s brains. Yelpers warn that the place is in “a very confusing little strip mall” and that “It’s not visible directly from the street, [and] the parking is frightening.” Nonetheless, “The chicken tacos are amazing,” it’s the “closest thing to a California taquería you’ll find,” and “this place is so delicious.”

“We ordered the ceviche, carne asada burrito, carne asada plate and guacamole,” wrote a Yelp reviewer visiting from Southern California. “Absolutely delicious. Oh and the margaritas were top notch.” A Texan, meanwhile, liked the “cool bar and delicious food,” and a diner from Chicago called out the (house-made) tortillas, whose “quality and taste definitely show.” The happy hour gets raves, too.

Nachos galore, a selection of fajitas, and 30 different combination plates ($9.15 each) are among the draws here. Yelp reviewers have said (actually exclaimed) things like “Great food with many vegetarian/vegan options!,” “The best Mexican I have ever had outside of Mexico!,” and “I would recommend this every day of the week!”

Opened in 2018 in this suburb of Madison, this Guadalajaran-inspired restaurant counts Mexican-style skirt steak, char-grilled chicken, and cheese, chicken, or beef enchiladas in red or green sauce among its specialties. “Food was delicious!” enthused one local on Yelp, while another Madison resident admitted that while she doesn’t care for Mexican food in general, she was “blown away” by the place.

A 24-hour-a-day roadside counter-service place serving California-style Mexican fare in a former KFC, Rodolfo’s earns the approval of reviewers posting on Yelp for food that’s “solid, cheap and abundant,” for the “best breakfast burritos in Cheyenne,” and for its “great salsa bar with a bunch of choices to doctor up your food just the way you want it.”