It’s time for another roundup of amazing Bay Area tacos — fan favorites, our favorites and maybe soon to be your new favorites. Check out these offerings from Cupertino, San Jose, Redwood City, Pleasant Hill, Emeryville and beyond.
Rio Adobe Southwest Cafe, Cupertino
The seafood tacos — all sustainably sourced — at Rio Adobe Southwest Grill in Cupertino come with chips and the eight-salsa bar. (Bay Area News Group photo)
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For 21 years, this Mexican restaurant on De Anza has been serving its popular Carne Adobada Enchiladas, Green Chile Stew and Adobe Chicken Burritos — all based on recipes that chef-owner Jim Cargill learned at a young age in Old Town San Diego. He was trained by an 80-year-old Spanish-speaking cook, among others, as they conversed in the language of food. “She taught me patience and how ingredients needed contact with the fire to develop texture that, in the end, is the difference between mediocre and stellar,” he said.
Turns out “stellar” is an apt description for the Fresh Salmon Taco. A good-sized, sustainably caught salmon filet is bathed in an Asian-style marinade (surprise!), then grilled just until the tender fish develops a light crust. Then it’s nestled in a tortilla with a crunchy cabbage slaw. The also-delicious Marisco Shrimp and Del Mar Mahi Mahi tacos are marinated in a Spanish-style sauce.
Dishes come with a cone of tortilla chips for sampling one, some or all of the eight salsas at the salsa bar. They range from a mild pico de gallo to a corn-and-bean salsa that’s high on the heat meter.
Details: Open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. at 10525 S. De Anza Blvd., Cupertino; www.rioadobe.com
Tacos El Patron, Pleasant Hill
A plate of Tacos Patron with shrimp from Tacos El Patron is photographed at their restaurant in Pleasant Hill. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
A stroke of good luck led to Alberto Pineda and Mariana Reza starting this taco place in Pleasant Hill in 2018, then adding a San Francisco location one year later. Tacos El Patron has been serving its popular birria tacos and its delicate shrimp tacos ever since.
The birria taco ($5.75) is packed with beef stew meat, onions and cilantro and served with a dipping cup of consommé that has earned consistent praise over the years. Meanwhile, the Tacos Patron ($6.75) features shrimp and gooey cheese that leaps out of the shell.
Order at least two tacos and a tray of sides comes for free upon request.
Details: Open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at 2290 Monument Blvd. in Pleasant Hill and 1500 Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco; tacos-el-patron.com
Ta’ Con Madre Taqueria Estilo Mazatlan, Redwood City
The Sinaloan-style vampiro tacos from Ta’ Con Madre Taqueria Estilo Mazatlán in Redwood City are a vibrant cornucopia of colors, textures and flavors. (Kate Bradshaw/Bay Area News Group)
While many Mexican taquerias on the Peninsula serve Michoacan-style tacos, Ta’ Con Madre, a food truck stationed in Redwood City along Woodside Road, highlights Sinaloan-style tacos – prepared by owner Carlos Tirado, a former butcher from Mazatlan with 30 years of experience.
The tacos come topped with a rainbow of vegetables – red peppers, yellow pineapple bits, dark green cilantro shreds, pale green cucumber slices and purple-pink pickled onions.
Their vampiro-style tacos – featuring flat, crispy bases joined with melted cheese – provide an added crunch, enriching the array of textures with each bite.
Details: Open noon-10 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday at 895 Woodside Road, Redwood City.
Alma y Sazon, Emeryville
A De Mar taco is served at Alma y Sazon in Emeryville’s Public Market. The De Mar taco is a vegan taco served with tempura oyster mushrooms on a single blue corn tortilla with purple cabbage coleslaw and a chipotle aioli. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
The idea to open a vegan Mexican restaurant came from, of all places, New Orleans. “We took a trip there, and were inspired by all the great vegan food,” Paola Lagunas says.
The chef at Emeryville’s new Alma y Sazon, Lagunas (along with sister Fernanda Lagunas and Xavier Herrera) serves the cuisine of Michoacán, using recipes passed down for family generations. One of the most popular menu items pays tribute to that region: the De Mar taco, a riff on a Baja-style fried-cod taco using tempura-battered oyster mushrooms ($8). “Michoacán is an Indigenous word for fisherman, so having that ‘fisherman taco’ was important to us,” Lagunas says.
The ‘shrooms are hot and expertly crisped, with seaweed flecks in the batter adding to the ocean taste. They’re nestled in a charred purple-corn tortilla with crunchy red cabbage and plant-based chipotle crema that’s kicky — yet comforting. All told, it’s something you’d scarf on a beach after a day surfing, free of all “carne” thoughts.
Details: Open 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Sunday and 4:30-8 p.m. Tuesday at 5959 Shellmound St., Emeryville; instagram.com/almaysazonllc
Island Taste, San Jose
At Island Taste in San Jose, the Oxtail Taco is topped with fried sweet plantains. (Linda Zavora/Bay Area News Group)
Want to spice up Taco Tuesday or any other day? Check out the tacos at island Taste, a Caribbean grill in downtown San Jose near City Hall.
Owners Dorianne and Marc St. Fleur, who are the children of immigrants (her family comes from Jamaica and his from Haiti), opened the restaurant three years ago with a full menu of island dishes, including Jamaican escovitch, a whole snapper with tangy pickled veggies, and Haitian-style fried goat.
The saucy, rich — and filling — Jerk Chicken Tacos and Oxtail Tacos come two to an order ($9 chicken, $12 oxtail, or $10 for one of each). Flour tortillas are filled with meat and crunchy cabbage slaw, then topped with fried sweet plantains, the perfect counterpoint to the spice. Try some creamy Haitian macaroni salad ($5) on the side.
For the full island experience, supplement your meal with a house-made Sorrel ($5, a piquant hibiscus-ginger drink) and dine here so you can enjoy the reggae soundtrack.
Details: Open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday-Saturday. 225 E. Santa Clara St., San Jose; www.islandtastegrill.com
Cielito Cocina, Danville
Tortillas are made at Cielito Cocina Mexicana in Danville on June 12, 2019. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)
The Mission-style chandeliers and stained-glass bar set the tone for a first-rate experience at upscale Mexican restaurant Cielito Cocina in Danville — and the food takes care of the rest.
The menu features dishes from the regions of Puebla and Oaxaca, while the wood-grilled carne asada and adobo-marinated chicken are the stars of the taco of the menu. Buy them individually for $7.50 or get two for $20 with a side of rice and beans.
Details: Open Monday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Fridays 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturdays 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sundays 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., at 445 Railroad Ave. in
Danville; cielitodanville.com.
Gabriel & Daniel’s Mexican Grill, Burlingame
Sour cream becomes an art medium at Gabriel and Daniel’s Mexican Grill in Burlingame, where elegantly-plated tacos come with written messages and decorations. (Kate Bradshaw/Bay Area News Group)
Nestled in an unlikely restaurant location – inside the Burlingame Golf Center near Bayside Park – Gabriel and Daniel’s Mexican Grill serves up hearty meals for people of all ages with artistic flair.
Here, sour cream becomes a paint medium, the ink for positive messages and designs, like “Peace in the World” adorning the beans on a plate of fish tacos, pairing crispy taco shells with crunchy shredded romaine and tender fish. Even the kids’ menu quesadilla comes shaped like a butterfly – which proved to be a winning strategy with this reporter’s kindergarten-aged dining companion.
While the location’s prime for the after-school crowd at the adjacent soccer practice fields, the food matches the quality of its aesthetically pleasing presentation – and it’s hard to find a prettier taco.
Details: Open noon-6 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday at 250 Anza Blvd, Burlingame.
Tacos el Tucan, Richmond
Menu items sit on the table at Tacos el Tucan in Richmond. (John Metcalfe/Bay Area News Group)
Tacos el Tucan is about as easy to miss as the side of a big, red barn – which it has – so there’s really no excuse to drop into this temple for fired-grilled meats.
The kitchen specializes in the cuisine of Tijuana, supposed birthplace of quesabirria, which is served in both taco and nacho forms. Simpler street tacos are worth ordering, too; the carne asada is smoky and satisfying, with a cooling dollop of guac and cilantro ($3.75). Tacos come with handmade tortillas and a variety of zingy salsas, plus a seriously spicy pineapple curtido.
It’s the shrimp quesataco, with the “red taco” add-on perk, that leaves the most lasting impression. Tender, garlic butter-basted prawns nesting in melty cheese and chipotle dressing, in a tortilla dipped in herby rojo sauce – it’ll be gone in a second ($4.95). Follow it up with horchata ice cream from the parlor next door.
Details: Open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-2 a.m. Friday-Saturday and 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday at 12505 San Pablo Ave., Richmond; tacoseltucan.com
Las Michoacanitas, East Palo Alto
At Las Michoacanitas in East Palo Alto, vibrant colors, karaoke nights and happy hours are all part of the fun, friendly atmosphere. But it’s the delicious dishes like the cheese-encrusted quesabirria taco that will ensure visitors keep coming back. (Kate Bradshaw/Bay Area News Group)
Bright, fun colors and vibes are the hallmark of this Michoacan-style taqueria along University Avenue in East Palo Alto. With bright pink walls, a wall of flowers and rainbow papel picado strung from the ceiling, the festive decor pairs perfectly with the restaurant’s offerings, which includes karaoke on Thursdays and Saturdays, Tuesday and Thursday happy hours with a $25 bucket of beer special and a digital jukebox where visitors can select their own soundtrack. But the decor is still secondary to the food – as evidenced by the thick clear plastic protecting the tables from errant salsa drips – or in this reporter’s case, tragically fallen quesabirria bits. The good news is that after tasting just one quesabirria taco, you’ll be sure to order more.
Details: Open 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 9:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday and 9:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Sunday at 2373 University Ave., East Palo Alto.
Puesto, Concord and Santa Clara
The Filet Mignon, Verduras and Mushroom tacos, from left, are served at Puesto in Concord. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
Seven years after expanding its Southern Californian restaurant into the Bay Area with locations in Santa Clara and Concord, Puesto is still making eye-catching tacos covered in homemade salsas. First-generation Mexican Americans Eric Adler, his brother Alan and their cousin Isidoro Lombrozo conceived of taking authentic Mexico City cuisine and giving the dishes an upscale, farm-to-taco spin.
The filet mignon tacos ($12) center on thinly sliced beef on a blue corn tortilla, covered in cheese, avocado and pistachio serrano salsa. The mushroom tacos ($10) are just as pretty, with the mushrooms layered beneath cheese, pickled onions and stone fruit serrano salsa. All tacos are half-off on Taco Tuesday (dine-in only).
Bonus for N/A cocktail seekers: Puesto makes its own non-alcoholic tequila.
Details: Open daily, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., at 2752 Augustine Dr. in Santa Clara, and from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily (until 10 on Friday and Saturday) at 2035 Diamond Blvd. in Concord; eatpuesto.com