In honor of national taco day, we’ve thrown together a list of 5 must try places in the district. DC has a truly incredible food scene, and their taco game is STRONG. There’s so much to cover, but we don’t want to keep you here forever so we’re limiting our list to 5 must-tries.
1. Muchas Gracias
There’s so much to love about Muchas Gracias! They first emerged as a pop-up in response to the pandemic with a mission to help Latin American immigrant workers! In addition to employment, they donated to non-profit organizations to provide support to families.
All their food is straight fire, but it tastes even better knowing that you’re eating for good. You can’t go wrong with anything you get, but we especially love their tacos. Choose from proteins like mushroom & cactus, shortrib birria, and chapulines aka grasshoppers – just remember to save room for dessert because their tres leches cake is ridiculous.
2. Oyamel
One of José Andrés’ many restaurants, this Penn Quarter staple’s been around since 2007. Known for their Mexican small plates, they offer authentic tacos with hand-made corn tortillas that their team cooks and grinds in-house daily. Head to this DC favorite for a solid meal each and every time.
3. Espita
Located in Shaw, this gem is another go-to for us. Their menu changes quite frequently, but their combos are always tasty, and their rotating vegetarian option’s a must.
With that said, our personal favorites are their barbacoa (smoked and braised lamb topped with smoked tomatillo salsa, onion and cilantro) and their carnitas (confit pork belly and shoulder, salsas verde and picante, onion and cilantro). Enjoy a few with a cocktail or two – they have THE best mezcal collection in DC so you definitely want to take advantage.
4. Mezcalero
As avid foodies, Columbia Heights is easily one of our favorite neighborhoods in DC. Mezcalero’s been one of our musts for years now, and Chef Alfredo Solis is doing the lord’s work, bringing the delish flavors of his native Mexico City to DC proper.
Expect to enjoy all kinds of tacos here. We recommend their chorizo and tinga, but they have a huge menu with everything from grilled octopus to slow braised beef tongue so go wild.
5. Chaia
Even meat eaters can’t resist their amazing vegetarian tacos. Almost all of their food can be made vegan, and their products are gluten + nut free as well! We especially love their braised mushroom, chipotle sweet potato hash and creamy kale and potato, but they have a lot of interesting flavor profiles available so get whatever you please.
They have two locations in the DC area – if you go to their brick and mortar in Georgetown, we recommend getting your food to go and enjoying it by the water. Just remember to get some of their house carrot habanero to go!
Now, those are our top 5 favorites with all things considered, but we do want to mention one other spot. Maiz 64 is fairly new to the scene, but their taco game is oh so strong. They ARE on the expensive side though, like their suckling pig taco is ridiculously tasty, but it’s $15. For one.
With that said, was it worth it? For us, yes, but we also understand that that’s a hefty amount of moolah so give them a shot if you’d like. We’ll definitely be going back to try more of their menu so we’ll make sure to update you with additional info when we can.
Alright Nomsters, we hope you enjoyed our latest guide. Let us know what your go-to taco spot is by leaving a comment below, and stay tuned for more content coming your way. Click here to see more from our DC tab!
