List of Mexican restaurants

Last updated April 09, 2025

This is a list of notable Mexican restaurants. Mexican cuisine is primarily a fusion of indigenous Mesoamerican cooking with European, especially Spanish, elements added after the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire in the 16th century. The basic staples remain native foods such as corn, beans and chili peppers, but the Europeans introduced many other foods, the most important of which were meat from domesticated animals (beef, pork, chicken, goat and sheep), dairy products (especially cheese) and various herbs and many spices.

Mexican restaurants

The original Chuy's in Austin, Texas ChuysAustin-Jun2010.JPG — The original Chuy's in Austin, Texas

An El Pollo Loco location in Hacienda Heights, California Elpolloloco.jpg — An El Pollo Loco location in Hacienda Heights, California

Name	Head office location	Original location	Year started	Number of locations	Notes
Acapulco Mexican Restaurant and Cantina	Cypress, California	Pasadena, California	1960	4
El Adobe de Capistrano	San Juan Capistrano, California	San Juan Capistrano, California	1948	1
Amor y Tacos	Cerritos, California	Cerritos, California	2013	1
Anna's Taqueria	Brookline, Massachusetts	Boston, Massachusetts	1995	8
Baja Fresh	Scottsdale, Arizona	Newbury Park, California	1990	60
Baker's Drive-Thru	San Bernardino, California	San Bernardino, California	1952	39
Boca Grande Taqueria	Cambridge, Massachusetts Brookline, Massachusetts	Boston, Massachusetts area.	1986	2
BurritoVille	Jersey City, New Jersey	New York City	1992	1
Cafe Rio	Salt Lake City, Utah	St. George, Utah	1997	120
California Tortilla	Potomac, Maryland	Bethesda, Maryland	1995	40
Californios	San Francisco, California	San Francisco, California	2015	1	First Mexican restaurant to receive two Michelin stars in 2017
Cantina Mariachi	Zaragoza, Spain	Zaragoza, Spain		119
Carlos'n Charlie's	Mexico	Mexico	1963	10
Casa Bonita	Lakewood, Colorado	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	1968	1
Chevys Fresh Mex	Cypress, California	Alameda, California	1986	23
Chi-Chi's Europe	Diegem, Belgium	Belgium		5	Belgium-based restaurant chain that was originally the European branch of the now defunct American company Chi-Chi's
El Charro Café	Tucson, Arizona	Tucson, Arizona	1922	3
El Chico	Texas	Dallas, Texas	1940	29
Chipotle Mexican Grill	Newport Beach, California	Denver, Colorado	1993	2,250
Chiquito	United Kingdom	Clifton, York, United Kingdom	1989	83
Chuy's	Austin, Texas	Austin, Texas	1982	102
El Coyote Cafe	Los Angeles, California	Los Angeles, California	1931	1
El Pollo Loco (Mexico)	San Pedro Garza García, Nuevo León, Mexico	Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico	1974	52	Based in Mexico, not related to U.S. company
El Pollo Loco (United States)	Costa Mesa, California	Los Angeles, California	1980	480	Based in the United States, not related to Mexican company
El Taco Tote	El Paso, Texas	Ciudad Juárez, Mexico	1988	23
Don Pedro Mexican Restaurant	San Antonio, Texas	San Antonio, Texas	1968	1
Dos Reales		Champaign, Illinois		7
El Bajío	Mexico City, Mexico	Mexico City, Mexico	1972	18
El Fenix	Dallas, Texas	Dallas, Texas	1918	21
Grupo Sanborns	Mexico City, Mexico	Mexico City, Mexico	1903	159
Kiki's Mexican Restaurant	El Paso, Texas	El Paso, Texas	1976	1	Founded in 1976 and has remained in same location.^[1]
King Taco	Los Angeles, California	Los Angeles, California	1974	22
La Bamba Mexican Restaurant	Champaign, Illinois	Champaign, Illinois	1987	8
La Salsa	Los Angeles, California	Los Angeles, California	1979	23
Lucha Libre Taco Shop	San Diego, California	San Diego, California	2008	3
Maggie Rita's	Houston, Texas	Houston, Texas	2010	1
Margaritas	Portsmouth, New Hampshire	Orono, Maine	1987	24
Maui Tacos	New York City	Napili-Honokowai, Hawaii	1993	21
Moe's Southwest Grill	Atlanta, Georgia	Atlanta, Georgia	2000	680+
Molina's Cantina	Houston, Texas	Houston, Texas	1941	2
Ninfa's	Houston, Texas	Houston, Texas	1973	1
Nuestra Cocina	Portland, Oregon	Portland, Oregon	2004	1
On the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina		Dallas, Texas	1982	150+
Pancheros Mexican Grill	Coralville, Iowa	Iowa City, Iowa	1992	71
Pancho's Mexican Buffet	Dallas, Texas	El Paso, Texas	1958	13
Pink Taco	Los Angeles, California	Paradise, Nevada	1999	5
Pujol	Mexico City, Mexico	Mexico City, Mexico		1
Restaurante Arroyo	Mexico City, Mexico	Mexico City, Mexico	1940	1
Rosa's Cafe	Fort Worth, Texas	San Angelo, Texas	1983	45
Rubio's Coastal Grill	Carlsbad, California	San Diego, California	1983	200+
Sausalitos	Munich, Germany	Munich, Germany	1994	43
Salsarita's Fresh Mexican Grill	Charlotte, North Carolina	Charlotte, North Carolina	2000	80+
Serrano	Reykjavík, Iceland	Reykjavík, Iceland	2002	10
Surf Taco	Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey	Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey	2001	15
Qdoba	San Diego, California	Denver, Colorado	1995	729
Taco Bill	Melbourne	Gold Coast, Queensland	1967	33
Taco Cabana	San Antonio, Texas	San Antonio, Texas	1978	142
Taco del Mar	Lynnwood, Washington	Seattle, Washington	1992
Taco María	Costa Mesa, California	Costa Mesa, California	2013	1	(Michelin Guide)
Taco Palenque	Laredo, Texas	Laredo, Texas	1987	41
Tacos Chukis	Seattle	Seattle	2016	4
Tacos El Cuñado	West Michigan	Grand Rapids, Michigan	2008	11
La Tapatia, Inc.	El Paso, Texas	El Paso, Texas	1950s	1	Originally founded as a tortilla factory, now known for tamales.^[2]
Taqueria Arandas	Houston, Texas	Houston, Texas	1981	27
Tijuana Flats	Maitland, Florida	Winter Park, Florida	1995	130
Tio's Tacos	Riverside, California	Riverside, California	1990	1
Torchy's Tacos	Austin, Texas	Austin, Texas	2006	126
El Torito	California	California	1954	69
Tumbleweed Tex Mex Grill & Margarita Bar	Louisville, Kentucky	New Albany, Indiana	1975	19

Fast food Mexican restaurants

Name	Head office location	Original location	Year started	Number of locations	Notes
Barberitos	Athens, Georgia	Athens, Georgia	2000	51
Barburrito	United Kingdom	Manchester, United Kingdom	2005	23
Del Taco	Lake Forest, California	Yermo, California	1964	564
District Taco	Washington metropolitan area	Rosslyn, Virginia	2009	14
Green Burrito	Franklin, Tennessee	Hawaiian Gardens, California	1980	500+
Guzman y Gomez	Surry Hills, New South Wales	Newtown, New South Wales	2006	116
Jimboy's Tacos	Sacramento, California	Grass Valley, California	1954	44
Juan Pollo	San Bernardino, California	Ontario, California	1984	25
Mad Mex Fresh Mexican Grill	Australia	Sydney	2007	67
Mighty Taco	East Amherst, New York	Buffalo, New York	1973	14
Naugles	Fountain Valley, California	Fountain Valley, California	2015	2	Original chain is defunct.
Salsa's Fresh Mex Grill	Australia	Sydney	2007	50
Taco Bell	Irvine, California	Downey, California	1962	7,000
Taco Bueno	Irving, Texas	Abilene, Texas	1967	160+
Taco Bus	Florida	Tampa, Florida		13
Tacos Gavilan	Vernon, California	Los Angeles, California	1992	14
Taco John's	Cheyenne, Wyoming	Cheyenne, Wyoming	1969	425
Taco Mayo	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	Norman, Oklahoma	1978	13
Taco Tico	Wichita, Kansas	Wichita, Kansas	1962	15
Taco Time	Scottsdale, Arizona	Eugene, Oregon	1960	300+
Taco Time Northwest	Renton, Washington	White Center, Washington	1962	79
Zambrero	Sydney	Canberra, Australia	2005	200+
Zantigo	Minnesota	Minneapolis, Minnesota	1999	4	Original chain defunct.

Former Mexican restaurants

References

↑ Parcht, Amanda (3 January 2020). "Kiki's – How a little neighborhood restaurant grew to be a community tradition". Borderzine. Retrieved 2022-09-03.
↑ Longo, Joseph (2018-02-05). "Who Founded La Tapatia Inc?". El Paso County Historical Society. Retrieved 2022-08-23.

External links

Media related to Mexican style restaurants at Wikimedia Commons

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[:02-1] Parcht, Amanda (3 January 2020). "Kiki's – How a little neighborhood restaurant grew to be a community tradition". Borderzine. Retrieved 2022-09-03.

[:0-2] Longo, Joseph (2018-02-05). "Who Founded La Tapatia Inc?". El Paso County Historical Society. Retrieved 2022-08-23.

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