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Where To Eat Good Tacos In London

Cheese-encrusted tortillas, soft suadero, and habanero salsa on top. These are the London taco spots worth knowing about.
Where To Eat Good Tacos In London image

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

These days there’s no lack of quantity when it comes to tacos in London, but the quality remains thoroughly so-so. That said, there are a few restaurants in London making a variety of tacos, made with quality tortillas and toppings that offer both consistently delicious tacos and also a necessary pile of napkins.


THE SPOTS

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

Mexican

Leytonstone

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Sat in front of a pink and yellow mural, with a creamy horchata in one hand and jalapeño relish slowly dripping down your wrist—it’s impossible to feel unhappy at Homies on Donkeys. The Leytonstone taqueria does mood-boosting tacos like smoky chicken barbacoa topped with roasted tomato salsa. But our favourite is the broccoli taco: it’s charred and crispy, served on some of the best refried beans we’ve had, and drizzled with salsa macha. Just be sure to book ahead because seats fill up quickly. 


There aren’t many places where we’d happily test our quad strength by squatting in an alley to eat a taco—but Sonora Taquería is one of them. The Mexican taqueria in Stoke Newington has a small amount of downstairs seating, but when the food is this good, these inevitably fill up fast. The menu is short—four to six taco options—but everything is brilliant, and all are improved with a crunchy cheesy crust. Our go-to is the chorizo which is juicy and spicy and impossible to over-order.


A blink-and-you’ll-miss-it spot, this Mexican kitchen in Fulham is one of those ‘if you know you know’ kind of places. Order from the window and try to nab one of the few tables outside. The sooner you eat the crispy baja fish taco—a fried butter fish fillet in a soft corn tortilla, topped with tangy coleslaw and zesty guacamole—after getting it, the better. Stop by Tacos Mx for a speedy three-taco lunch deal, or come with one other person on a warm evening for a helping of assorted tacos (the chicken fajita taco is also excellent) while perching on a random doorway on a quiet road in SW6. 


photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

A churchyard isn’t a conventional place to eat, but Bad Manners isn’t a conventional place. The Mexican kiosk, set among the gardens and gravestones of St John at Hackney church, slings excellent breakfast burritos and changing specials like kimchi-topped chilaquiles. But the hearty egg, bacon, and hash brown taco is a menu standout. This stunning stack strikes all the sweet, savoury, and carby notes with a soft tortilla, sweet salsa roja, a golden hash brown, glossy fried egg, and candied bacon. It’s a dish we’d brave the outdoor-only seating in all weathers for. 


photo credit: Rebecca Dickson

RESERVE A TABLE

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This upmarket Mexican restaurant in Marylebone isn't somewhere you come for a casual tortilla or two. In fact, just getting here is a problem, such is the difficulty in finding and securing a booking. But once you bag a table at Kol, you'll find that it was all very worthwhile. Their tasting menu tacos—from whole grilled octopus served alongside bone marrow and seaweed macha, to a bowl of gloriously tender carnitas with black bean purée and gooseberry salsa—are loaded onto the softest homemade tortillas for a taco experience like no other in London.


Bake Street is best-known as a brilliant brunch spot in between Stoke Newington and Hackney Downs. Its weekend menu has become the stuff of legend, not least because of its sensationally rich and moreish tacos. The lamb birria—so rich and so soft—tastes like it’s been slow-cooked to D’Angelo, and a pot of meaty birria consommé (for dipping and sipping) on the side is a must. Other changing options include migas con chorizo (homemade chorizo with scrambled eggs, cheese crisp, salsa) or migas con patatas.


Not to do SE8 dirty, but there’s something a little Pleasantville-like about La Chingada’s spot in Surrey Quays. The Mexican taqueria is a grenade of colour and vibrancy on an otherwise nondescript road. The tacos it makes act in much the same way. The al pastor, chunks of glistening marinated pork with onion and punches of green and red salsa, plus a sweet slither of pineapple, is good. But it’s the suadero taco (confit beef brisket with onion, coriander, and a dash of deep brown habanero salsa) and the chorizo taco—a vehicle for vivid red sausage—that are your essential orders.

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From small taquerias to a wildly creative tasting menu spot, these are our favourite Mexican restaurants in London.

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