Mexican restaurants
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 cuisine consists of the cooking cuisines and traditions of the modern country of Mexico. Its earliest roots lie in Mesoamerican cuisine. Mexican cuisine ingredients and methods begin with the first agricultural communities such as the Olmec and Maya who domesticated maize, created the standard process of nixtamalization, and established their foodways. Successive waves of other Mesoamerican groups brought with them their cooking methods. These included: the Teotihuacanos, Toltec, Huastec, Zapotec, Mixtec, Otomi, Purépecha, Totonac, Mazatec, Mazahua, and Nahua. With the Mexica formation of the multi-ethnic Triple Alliance, culinary foodways became infused.
¿Por Qué No? Taqueria, commonly referred to as Por Que No and sometimes stylized as ¿Por Que No?, is a small chain of taquerias owned by Bryan Steelman with two locations in Portland, Oregon, United States. The restaurant is known for its Mexican-style tacos, but also serves a variety of entrées such as enchiladas, quesadillas, rice bowls, salads, and tamales. The restaurant has garnered a positive reception.
Nuestra Cocina is a Mexican restaurant in the Hosford-Abernethy neighborhood of southeast Portland, Oregon, in the United States. Benjamin Gonzales and Shannon Dooley-Gonzales are the restaurant's co-owners.
Mexican-American cuisine is the cuisine of Mexican Americans and their descendants, who have modified Mexican cuisine under the influence of American culture and immigration patterns of Mexicans to the United States.
There were approximately 60,000 people of Hispanic or Latino origin in Portland, Oregon, as of 2020; about 10 percent of the city's population.
Papi Chulo's is a restaurant with two locations in Portland, Oregon, in the United States. The original taqueria in the Pearl District was opened by restaurateur Ramzy Hattar in December 2019, with Antonio Javier Palma Caceres as the chef and Davide Bricca overseeing cocktails. The trio had previously worked together at River Pig Saloon and Two Wrongs, two neighboring establishments also owned by Hattar. A second location opened in northeast Portland in 2023. Papi Chulo's serves Mexican cuisine, such as tacos, burritos, nachos, birria, margaritas, and micheladas.
The Original Taco House was a chain of Mexican restaurants based in Portland, Oregon. Established by the Waddle family in 1960, the business peaked at five locations. The last remaining two locations closed on December 31, 2017.
La Calaca Comelona is a Mexican restaurant in Portland, Oregon.
El Gallo Taqueria was a Mexican restaurant in Portland, Oregon, United States. Owner and chef Jake Brown established the business as a food cart in 2009, in southeast Portland's Woodstock neighborhood. In 2015, El Gallo relocated and began operating as a brick and mortar restaurant in 2015. The business closed in 2022.
Nacheaux is a Mexican-Cajun fusion restaurant in West Linn, Oregon. Previously, the business operated in Portland.
La Bonita: Food for the People, or simply La Bonita, is a small chain of Mexican restaurants in Portland, Oregon, United States. The family-owned business operates three locations in north, northeast, and southeast Portland, serving burritos, chilaquiles, tacos, tamales, and other traditional cuisine. The restaurant has a good reputation, and has been included on two Thrillist lists of the country's best burritos.
Mi Mero Mole was a Mexican restaurant with two locations in Portland, Oregon, United States.
Birrieria La Plaza is a Mexican restaurant in Portland, Oregon, in the United States. Initially operating from a food cart in southeast Portland, the business has opened a brick and mortar location and plans to open a stall at Block 216.
Taqueria Los Puñales is a queer-owned and operated Mexican restaurant in Portland, Oregon, United States. Opened by Brian Aster and David Madrigal in southeast Portland's Sunnyside neighborhood in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the restaurant has a colorful interior and serves traditional cuisine such as tacos, adobada, barbacoa, chile rellenos, and agua fresca. The business has garnered a generally positive reception.
Birrieria PDX is a Mexican restaurant in Portland, Oregon.
Nob Hill Food Carts is a food cart pod in Portland, Oregon. The pod opened in northwest Portland's Northwest District in 2019.
Tierra del Sol is a Oaxacan restaurant with two locations in Portland, Oregon. Chef-owner Amalia Sierra began operating the business from a food cart at Portland Mercado in 2015. A second location opened in the Montavilla neighborhood in 2020.
Mole Mole Mexican Cuisine, or simply Mole Mole, is a Mexican restaurant with two locations in Portland, Oregon, United States. The family owned and operated business began operating in northeast Portland's Concordia neighborhood in 2021, and a second opened in Prost Marketplace in the north Portland part of the Boise neighborhood in 2024. The menu includes burritos, enchiladas, pozole, quesadillas, tacos, agua frescas, and horchata, among other options.
Media related to Mexican style restaurants at Wikimedia Commons
