Walking Taco Tour in Mexico City with Tasty Bites Food Tours

I planned a trip to Nicaragua and ended up on a Mexico City Taco Tour. My June trip with Ayngelina was supposed to involve 11 days in Nicaragua and nothing but a layover in the Mexico City Airport. However, due to the ongoing civil unrest in Nicaragua, safety was becoming an issue and after only 4 days in Nicaragua, we had to change destinations to somewhere safer – Mexico City. (More on the Nicaragua experience & ongoing problems here)

I was very sad to leave Nicaragua much earlier than planned, but Mexico is one of my all-time favorite destinations and Mexican food happens to be my favorite cuisine, so I wanted to make the most of my change of plans. Tacos are absolutely everywhere in Mexico, which is great, but it can also be overwhelming, especially if you aren’t familiar with the different types of meats and fillings that are available. Tasty Bites Food Tours was kind enough to invite Ayngelina and I on a walking taco tour in the La Condesa neighborhood of Mexico City.

How the Mexico City Taco Tour Works

For a flat fee, a Tasty Bites Food Tours guide will take you through a set route. We chose the La Condesa neighborhood tour, which included stops at 5 taco stands, a Mezcal shop, and an ice cream shop. The tour included a taco at each location, a bottle of water, 1 beer (at the shop of our choice), a shot of Mezcal, and a scoop of ice cream. That’s pretty damn amazing, guys. It’s also incredibly filling so make sure you arrive hungry.

I’m going to tell you every stop along the tour so, yes, you could technically do this tour yourself. However, I have to say that I truly recommend you take the tour with Tasty Bites Food Tours. Full disclosure, they did not charge me to take the tour, but all of these opinions are my own. Our guide, Rob, was so incredibly knowledgeable, not only about the tacos themselves but about the neighborhood, history, and even other neighborhoods in Mexico City. I could barely keep up with all of the information he was spouting at us. He answered questions and provided a lot of recommendations for things to do and see in the city outside of the tour. Ayngelina and I ended up using quite of few of his Mexico City tips during our stay, so I really appreciated our time with Rob. He also was on-point with offering to take photos (and actually framing them so you didn’t look like a hog with half a taco hanging out of your mouth). All of the tour guides speak English, so no worries if you don’t speak Spanish!

Mexico City Taco Tour Stop #1:

Tacos Hola: El Güero – Chile Relleno

This taco shop specializes in guisados or stewed meats, so it’s best to get here earlier in the day when everything is extra fresh. This is also one of the few places you can get guacamole on your taco. Many people think that guacamole will be all over everything in Mexico, but that’s not actually the case. Mexican food does incorporate avocados, but not all that often in the form of guacamole. So if you’re all about the guac, this is the place to get it.

Tacos Hola: El Güero had a variety of taco options, including 2 vegetarian options. (If you want to do a fully vegetarian tour, Tasty Bites does those too!) I was intrigued by the vegetarian Chile Relleno taco, so I chose that one. The menu states that all tacos come with rice, which I assumed would come on the side. I was wrong. To be honest, I was both surprised and disappointed when I was handed a taco with a massive scoop of rice and heap of guacamole on top. For me, the beauty of street tacos is that they are small and simple. This taco felt more like someone tried to shove burrito fillings into a tiny corn tortilla. I also didn’t care for the chile relleno. I love a chile relleno with a crispy fried outside and gooey cheesy interior. This chile relleno was not fried, and the cheese was pretty solid. This ended up being my least favorite taco of the day, but don’t let that discourage you. There were around 7 other tacos I could have eaten at this location alone, so my advice would just be to go for one of the meat options.

Mexico City Taco Tour Stop #2:

El Tizoncito – Al Pastor

The next stop was El Tizoncito, which has a massive sign that claims they are they “Creators of Tacos al Pastor.” That claim is only partially true. Al Pastor tacos were created when Lebanese immigrants arrived in Mexico in the 1900s. When you take a look at the spit of meat used for al pastor tacos, you’ll see the obvious resemblance to shawarma. Al pastor basically means “in the style of the shepherd,” which is a reference to the lamb used by the Lebanese, but Mexicans adapted it and use pork.

So, it’s a stretch to say that El Tizoncito created tacos al pastor, However, El Tizoncito was the first place to

Al pastor meat spit with the pineapple on top

incorporate the pineapple on top of the spit, which is a pretty essential aspect of the classic al pastor taste. Tacos al pastor are my favorite street taco, so I have eaten a lot of them, which meant El Tizoncito really needed to wow me. They did not disappoint. It was the greatest al pastor taco I have ever had. The meat was cooked perfectly and the addition of the pineapple really topped off the taco. As an added bonus, all tacos at this shop come with a little salsa tower that of course includes the typical variety of salsas, but also comes with a hot bean dip and fresh tortilla chips. I really wanted to lick that bean dip bowl clean, but I knew I had a lot of tacos to go, so I showed some restraint.

I also chose to have my beer here because they actually kept them reasonably cold. (My never-ending search for a truly cold beer in Mexico City is a whole other story).

Mexico City Taco Tour Stop #3:

El Grifo – Mezcal

At this point we took a taco break and stopped at a small but impressive Mezcal shop. El Grifo boasts an impressive collection of artisanal mezcals and beers from around Mexico, many of which are not exported. We were each given a shot glass of mezcal along with orange slices, dusted with worm salt. Yes, you read that correctly – worm salt. Mezcal is made with a worm from the plant, and those worms are ground up into a spicy salt which is often added
to the rims of drinks or put on orange slices. It sounds gross, but it’s not. This was fancy stuff so we were encouraged to sip, not just throw it back like we were on Spring Break in Cancun. The Mezcal was really delicious and the sweet and spicy orange slice was the perfect way to top it off. Ayngelina and I enjoyed this part of the tour so much that as soon as we finished all our tacos, we walked back to El Grifo and asked to taste a few more mezcals. They started us out with a few of their recommendations, but as we described what we did or didn’t like about each one, they made suggestions for other bottles to taste. In the end, Ayngelina and I both walked away with a bottle of Añejo Mezcal Don Rey.

Mexico City Taco Tour Stop #4:

Tacos Don Juan – Carnitas

Tacos Don Juan started out as a butcher shop, so they really know their meats. They offer a different type of taco depending on the day, so this isn’t the best place to go if you have your heart set on a specific kind. However, the schedule is set, so you can always pop in and check what they have on each day. That being said, these dudes were butchers, so you can trust that you’re going to get some high-quality meat regardless of the day.

Super friendly shop owners!

The day we visited was Carnitas day. I enjoyed watching the men joke around as they chopped up fresh meat. As soon as they noticed us snapping photos, they hammed it up for the camera. When Ayngelina and I received our tacos, we immediately regretted not splitting one. The taco was much larger than a traditional street taco, so if you’re ordering for a meal, start with just one or two! Don’t forget to visit their salsa bar, which is organized from mild to hot so you can customize your level of spiciness. To be honest, I liked this taco, but I did not love it. Personally, I like my carnitas a little closer to the guisado style, slow cooked and extra juicy. These were tender but didn’t have the juiciness I prefer. Of course, that’s just my personal preference. I can say that the meat was really high quality, you won’t run into any gristly bits here!

Mexico City Taco Tour Stop #5:

El Pescadito – Camarones

As the name suggests, El Pescadito (the little fish) is known for fish tacos. You can choose from a few different kinds, but our guide recommended the camarones (shrimp) because, unlike most shrimp tacos, these were not greasy. You can watch the cooks fry up the breaded shrimp in bubbling oil and then take them over to their impressive toppings bar which had coleslaw, tons of veggies, and, of course, a whole lot of salsa. These tacos were a little tricky to eat with your hands, but they were truly delicious. I immediately made a note to go back to this place on my next trip.

Mexico City Taco Tour Stop #6:

Taquería El Greco – Arabe

This was the most unique taco we had on the tour.

I really loved that the tour included such an untraditional taco and also that it was not just some new wave fusion, but a taco made by a local who has stood at the spit every single day for 40+ years. The tacos are large and served on a filling

Half an arabe taco

pita, so I recommend you start with just one. Since we were nearing the end of the tour, Ayngelina and I opted to split one, and half was plenty! As you can see in the above photo, seasonings are worked right into the meat on the spit, then shaved off, placed on a pita, and topped with gooey cheese. It wasn’t like any taco I have ever had before and I loved it.

Pro tip – El Greco is open until 4am, so if you are out late and dying for a taco, this is a great place to hit up.

Mexico City Taco Tour Stop #7:

Clemont Helados – Ice Cream

I cannot think of a better way to end a taco tour than with artisanal ice cream. If you don’t know this about me, I really freaking love ice cream. Seriously, it is tattooed on my body. Ice cream is life.

Clemont Helados offers a good variety of flavors and they have no problem letting you try as many as you like before you make your decision. I think Ayngelina and I collectively tried 6 or 7 before we could commit. I ended up getting 2 scoops because that’s how I live my life, regardless of how many tacos I have just shoved into my face. I chose Queso cream (kind of like a cheesecake flavor) and plain vanilla. I love pairing a richer flavor with a classic vanilla.

Mexico City Taco Tour – Was it worth it?

I mean, duh. I was very excited to go on this tour and I have to say, it exceeded my
expectations. I loved all but the first taco, and I thought that the added bonuses of mezcal and ice cream really set this tour apart. The locations were really well spaced out so you never had to walk too long between locations. I never felt tired or bored, which are usually my biggest complaints when it comes to guided walking tours. I appreciated all the information our guide offered about the tacos themselves, the history of the neighborhood, and recommendations for other sights and food to check out in Mexico City. If you have 3 hours in Mexico City and a love of tacos, do yourself a favor and take a tour with Tasty Bites Food Tours!