Is the simple taco the world’s perfect meal? Or is just our collective favorite food? Offering infinite flavors and textures in every bite—not to mention multiple layers of spiciness, depending on your hot sauce or salsa of choice—tacos are universally appreciated, and these Las Vegas restaurants will enhance your admiration.
Locals and Vegas visitors alike agree that the experience at the famous Tacos El Gordo (702.331.1160), a Tijuana-style spot with locations in California and Nevada, is second to none. Here, you can visit El Gordo stores on the Strip across from Resorts World, in North Las Vegas, downtown on East Charleston Boulevard, and at a brand-new restaurant on Sunset Road near Town Square. The spicy pork adobada is the specialty of the house, packed into fresh-griddled corn tortillas with your choice of toppings, but the carne asada, chorizo and lengua (beef tongue) tacos are also wildly popular. This is the prime spot to start your taco tour of the city.
Palace Station is home to a new version of a Mexican restaurant that was successful for a long time at a Strip casino location, and now Tacos & Tequila (702.253.2916) has been born again in a very convenient, centrally located and charming spot. This menu goes far beyond tacos with plenty of traditional Mexican favorites, but its alambre tacos have built a reputation of their own. Grilled filet mignon is combined with applewood smoked bacon, poblano chilies, Oaxaca cheese, onions and cilantro inside warm flour tortillas for a hearty and satisfying bite that could recalibrate the way you think about tacos.
For another creative innovation on this common dish, head to Park MGM and celebrity chef Roy Choi’s L.A.-flavored eatery Best Friend (702.730.6770). If feasting on tacos at a Korean barbecue joint feels foreign, you must not know Choi. He cut his teeth slinging tacos from his Kogi BBQ trucks in Southern California, and Best Friend’s beef short rib tacos bring those fun flavors to the Vegas Strip.
Take the next step by visiting Border Grill (702.632.7403) at Mandalay Bay, just like Choi did in his Netflix series The Chef Show, and savor the tacos he prepared there on the show with iconic chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger. Border Grill’s veggie version of the beloved dish features rainbow cauliflower, red quinoa, tomatoes and smoked paprika in blue corn tortillas.
Fish tacos
For Stripside patio taco feasts, you have some options. STRAT resident headliner Sammy Hagar’s Cabo Wabo Cantina restaurant (702.385.2226) offers some wonderful people-watching where Las Vegas Boulevard meets the gateways to Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood Resort, along with beach-inspired cocktails and a variety of tacos, from ground beef short rib in crispy shells to Baja-style fried fish tacos.
Over at the FSLV mall, El Segundo Sol (702.258.1211) boasts a slightly more subdued patio space that feels like a cozy retreat from a busy day on the Strip, especially when you’re munching on $4 happy hour tacos filled with grilled vegetables, chicken tinga or pork belly with caramelized pineapple.
Catch the energy of Las Vegas’ Chinatown district while visiting Mas Por Favor (702.201.1133), a clubby restaurant and tequila speakeasy with a menu built around signature taco offerings like barbecue pulled pork with kimchi, carne asada with truffle and parmesan, or delicious taco interpretations on a Philly cheesesteak or Vietnamese pho. You’ve never had tacos like these before.
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