Restaurants in 49 states now have the right to use the phrase Taco Tuesday, and to celebrate, DoorDash is supporting and spotlighting Mexican restaurants across the country. Here are some of our favorites in Denver!
Denver is home to an eclectic mix of Mexican food, from the taco trucks that have perfected birria on the go to the breakfast burrito shops that have taken two-handers to new heights (three-handers, let’s say).
At these restaurants, you can order a range of Mexican and Mexican-influenced specialties, like Baja-style seafood, smothered enchiladas, and tortilla-wrapped hamburgers — more on that below. Some spots, such as Mister Oso and Wild Taco, are certainly trending. Others, like Sam’s No. 3 and La Fiesta, have been going strong for decades. But new or old, all of these restaurants are available for you to enjoy at home.
Mister Oso
The queso fundido from Mister Oso is topped with a nutty salsa macha. The rice has a coconutty sweetness that’s balanced by pickled Fresno chiles. And the mojo pork shoulder tacos come with juicy fried plantains and rich, fat-fried flour tortillas. All of these items and more have made Mister Oso’s cheffy menu a favorite since it opened in 2019.
Araujo’s
This Jefferson Park shop should be at the top of your list for breakfast burritos; they’re hard to beat for the quality and price. Burrito filling options are simple, with one meat for each day of the week (bacon on Monday, ham on Wednesday, steak on Friday — you get the drift). Now just add in eggs, potatoes, green chiles, and cheese, and you’re set for the day.
Beltran’s Meat Market
This Northglenn shop is known for its street tacos, tortas, and menudo. The first can be ordered conveniently for a crowd of friends or family in a 12-taco box featuring two choices of meat, plus sides of rice and beans, as well as chips and salsa. Next, the sandwich-like tortas are perfect for when you need a quick meal that’s a little more filling. Finally, the menudo’s red chile broth is some of the best around.
Sam’s No. 3
Sam’s is famous for its green chili — atop chiles rellenos, steak and eggs, and, of course, potato breakfast burritos. We recommend ordering your choice of breakfast Tex-Mex style, with both red and green pork chili smothering the heaping plate.
Illegal Pete’s
Beer-battered fish burritos are Pete’s Baja-style specialty, but you can build your burritos, bowls, and tacos any way you like, including with Mexican Coke carnitas or all veggies. The guacamole is tried and true, as is the queso, and both are served with a generous bag full o’ warm chips. Think Chipotle but better.
Comida
Rayme Rossello’s food truck turned restaurant serves up signature Mexi Mess bowls and griddled corn tacos. Pair them with a couple of appetizers — maybe fried shrimp with jalapeño aioli and a refreshing jicama, cucumber, and watermelon salad dusted with Tajín — for a date night in.
Los Carboncitos
This family business keeps its menu broad, with gorditas, tortas, huaraches, enchiladas, and more covered. On a chilly day, skip straight to the molcajetes, a family recipe with a base of stewed tomatoes and garlic, or to the caldos (warming soups). Both offer rich veggies with a choice of seafood, meat, or both.
Chuy’s
An Austin, Texas, mainstay since 1982, Chuy’s has been welcomed with open arms in Denver, where those in the know go wild for a creamy jalapeño sauce and Chicka-Chicka Boom-Boom Enchiladas. The latter comes smothered in spicy Boom-Boom sauce; the former is so delicious — think spicy ranch — that you might be tempted to drink it straight.
El Jefe
Locally sourced adaptations of Yucatecan, Oaxacan, and Veracruzano cuisines are El Jefe’s jam. You’ll want to order brunch and order again for dinner. Try the morning carnitas with papas bravas, chef Eusebio’s prized mole enchiladas, and the plantain split, a fried plantain and vanilla ice cream dessert.
El Camaron Loco
Five locations around Denver (Federal Boulevard, Aurora, Commerce City, Thornton, and Brighton) serve all things shrimp. For the ultimate camaron experience, order the Camarones Fiesta, with shrimp three ways: spicy shrimp a la diabla, grilled shrimp, and bacon-wrapped shrimp drizzled in ranch.
La Fiesta
No Denver food guide would be complete without a mention of the Mexican hamburger, which you’ll find at a handful of local institutions, including La Fiesta. But don’t expect any old burger on a bun; this is an open-faced, chile-smothered patty atop a tortilla. Add in refried beans, gooey cheese, tomatoes, and lettuce, and you’ve got Den-Mex.
Que Bueno Suerte
Now a hallmark of South Pearl Street in the Platt Park neighborhood, Que Bueno Suerte has created plenty of fan favorites on its Mexican comfort food menu. To start: the molotes, fried sweet potato masa filled with asadero cheese. And for the main course: red chili beef short ribs served with jalapeño cheese grits.
El Consome de Morelos
Take a cue from the name and order the house specialty. Quesabirria tacos are one option, fried to a crisp, lined with melty cheese, filled with beef or chicken, topped with cilantro and onions, and served with consomé for dipping. Another option is the birria consomé itself: slow-cooked beef adobo broth, served with all the fresh fixings and tortillas on the side.
Wild Taco
This new addition to Governor’s Park offers a creative and international menu of street tacos, with beef bulgogi and chicken and waffles in starring roles. Alongside a spread of tacos, you’ll want to order the customizable queso and the carne asada–topped yuca fries.
El Noa Noa
A Santa Fe Drive staple for 43 years and counting, El Noa Noa makes a mean smothered enchilada plate, not to mention a smothered Mexican hamburger and a smothered fajita burrito. The Noa Noa special is a fried chipotle pork–stuffed burrito smothered in pork green chile, with the usual fixings on top.
Kachina Cantina
Mexico meets the Four Corners at this cantina, serving up tacos on fry bread, fried chicken tortas, an adobada pork chop with mole negro, and more Southwestern mash-ups. The aguas frescas are an added treat, in guava mint, mango orange, and more daily flavors.
Tamale Kitchen
Jose and Aurora Lujan opened the first Tamale Kitchen in Lakewood in 1981, and now their restaurant has grown to include eight locations in its third generation of owners. Tamales can be bought by the dozen or half-dozen in red (mild) or green (hot). A crunchy, rich Frito pie burrito is also on special.
Silvia’s Kitchen
After graduating from the Comal Heritage Food Incubator, Silvia Hernandez started her own breakfast and lunch counter, so fans can still find her beloved breakfast burrito (with pork shoulder, ground beef, or potato and spinach filling) plus a breakfast sandwich of house-made pork sausage on local challah.
Tamayo
Richard Sandoval is a legend on the local food scene, and his downtown restaurant Tamayo is still a favorite for Mexican corn on the cob, chicken tinga enchiladas, and La Tampiqueña, grilled skirt steak served with a mole-smothered cheese enchilada. Stick around for a dessert of cinnamon-chocolate churros or sweet plantain doughnuts with cream pudding.
Combi Cafe
This contemporary Mexican coffee shop is your new stop for lattes — iced and hot — in flavors like horchata, Mexican chocolate, dulce de leche, and marzipan. The sweet spot also serves breakfast burritos to temper all of that sugar and caffeine. You might recognize owner Alejandro Flores-Muñoz from his Guadalajara-style street eats under the name Combi Taco.
Los Arcos
A 45-year Westminster dining tradition continues at Los Arcos, where flautas, taquillos, and rellenos still reign supreme, as does the fried ice cream sundae. The house combo special is a throwback to all of our favorites: one cheese enchilada, one tamale, one bean burrito, a bean tostada, and two ground beef tacos (one soft and one hard shell).
Onefold
A must for breakfast, brunch, or lunch, Onefold is beloved for its duck fat–fried everything, including rice dishes and burritos. The breakfast burrito has garnered a cult following for its stuffing of duck fat–fried potatoes, paired best with chorizo or Tender Belly bacon. But don’t overlook the barbacoa tacos with house-made corn tortillas and a rich, savory consomé.
PHOTO CREDITS:
Courtesy of Onefold
El Jefe by Eusebio Silverio
Tamayo courtesy of Richard Sandoval Hospitality
