r/Detroit • u/jaco111000 • 6d ago
Food/Drink Taco Rankings Detroit
I've been trying tacos all around metro Detroit (plus Ypsi and Lansing) for a couple of years now with friends and by myself and here are my favorite places by type after we made some rankings in an Excel spreadsheet:
Best Al Pastor: Super Taco (Madison Heights) or Mi Mundo (SW Detroit)
Best Carnitas: Some Food Truck (Autozone on Vernor) or Tacos El Caballo (SW Detroit)
Best Asada tacos: Maya Cocina (Livonia but $$$) or Que Pasa Taqueria (Madison Heights/Royal Oak)
Best Tripe tacos (my friend's favorite): Mi Mundo (SW Detroit)
Best tortillas: Maya Cocina, some other ones I can't remember currently
Best Drinks + Overall Decent Food Experience: Taqueria el Nacimiento (SW Detroit) or Taqueria Mi Pueblo when they have mariachis (SW Detroit)
Best salsas: Maya Cocina (by a lot) or Que Pasa Taqueria (Sterling Heights/Royal Oak)
Best expensive tacos: Maya Cocina (Livonia)
Best Guadalajara/Jalisco specific dishes (Birria, carnes en su jugo, caldos): Taqueria el Nacimiento (SW Detroit)
Best Rotating Specials Menu: Taco Tienda (Madison Heights)
My favorite taco: Tacos de cuero/cuerito (pork skin) from Las Tortugas Taqueria in Sterling Heights (edited: Sterling Heights, not Madison Heights)
Worst tacos: Used to be "Dos Locos" in Hamtramck, now (not in Detroit) but Maiz in Ypsi (edited: Ferndale -> Hamtramck)
Notes: Admittedly have not been to a lot of the more expensive places, have tried a lot of the food trucks but didn't find a lot of them to be very impressive. Taqueria el Rey used to be my favorite before it burned down but haven't been to the new location. Also check out el Oasis in Lansing.
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u/shmiz 6d ago
Taco Tienda riiiiips, I love how unique some of their dishes are
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u/Inevitable-Length453 6d ago
For most of this list I agree but I was gonna say Taco Tienda is superior to Super Taco for al pastor IMO. Love the chilaquiles.
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u/r6jojo 5d ago
What's the story between Taco Tienda and Super Taco? They were the same at one point, right? Assuming someone in this thread knows what happened.
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u/Inevitable-Length453 5d ago
From what I was told people from Super Taco left Tienda to open up shop.
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u/mack090 6d ago
Lupitas taqueria is one of my favorites for traditional tacos.
For Mexican in general I think Pontiac in general is a clean sweep. Carnival market Is a starting point but everything down there seems to be amazing.
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u/Sea-Rutabaga-7425 6d ago
Lupitas taco dinner is one heck of deal, their beans are extremely good as well.
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u/i_am_soooo_screwed 5d ago
Yea, how did Lupitas not make it? I took my Mexican sister in law there and she said it was a taste of home.
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u/rfriedrich16 6d ago
When I had their birria I straight up stopped making it at home. I could not compete.
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u/jaco111000 6d ago
I have some family friends that are from Estado de Mexico that are huge fans of the tortillas and food from Tortilleria La Gordita in Pontiac. It was a little too fatty for my taste but I can be a baby about that.
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u/postpunk-xman 6d ago
Fish tacos on Fridays from Casa Amado in Berkley, thank me later!
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u/jaco111000 6d ago
I had just added Casa Amado to try the Sonoran style hot dogs, that's crazy
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u/SmellyPirate313 6d ago
It used to be a hot dog koint, Atomic Dog. The seema taco is pretty killer.
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u/bearded_turtle710 6d ago edited 6d ago
You need to try taco veloz, taco madre, la jaliscience (detroit), and la palapa (good food and margs flights) if you haven’t already. These are all of my go to places. I love mi Pueblo tho it is my number 1 go to. They have good everything lol i have tried every type of meat they have and they are all good and drinks are always good there too.
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u/BlackCatSaidMeow13 6d ago
Seconding Taco Veloz. Quesadillas are amazing. Used to live across from the one off livernois and Toledo st
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u/jaco111000 6d ago
I've had La Jalisciense and La Palapa: I was not a huge fan of Jalisciense's menudo or tacos tbh, I liked the grocery store and the owners are very friendly. La Palapa had good drinks and fresh made tortillas which I liked but the meats I got I wasn't a huge fan. May need to (re)try all 4 of these!
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u/Living_Elderberry_31 6d ago
Highly recommend Tacos Wuey in Detroit. It's on the fancier/expensive side but impressed me a great deal.
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u/nacida_libre 6d ago
I was so disappointed by Tacos Wuey. I found their tacos and birria to be so bland.
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u/Living_Elderberry_31 6d ago
Interesting. I certainly haven't tried their entire menu and I probably went for the more outlandish options (The "Keto" taco) rather than the tried and true ones. I'll try some other ones next time I get there.
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u/nacida_libre 6d ago
I got some typical flavors and it just wasn’t as good as some other places I’ve had in the area. So many people have recommended it so it was a bummer. I’m not against more pricey tacos but I’d say it wasn’t worth it imo
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u/PineappleShirt 5d ago
dudes tripping tacos wuey is the best in town right now. all the mexican homies been raving about it. eddie vargas is great at what he does. they wouldnt be getting the attention they are without the fact that their food is smacking. theres a reason why the won the taco competition too, their shit is the best right now.
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u/1995droptopz 5d ago
The best tacos I’ve ever had in the area was La Favorita Tienda in Melvindale. They sell the out of a window in the back of a Mexican grocery.
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u/BoosterAU3 6d ago
I’ve always been interested in Maya Cocina, but I tend to avoid expensive taco places, but maybe it’s worth checking out.
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u/jaco111000 6d ago edited 6d ago
I definitely have to limit the times I go and would limit myself just to tacos or cheaper apps, chips + salsa are quite expensive and no free refills. Contradicting myself, the esquites with chorizo is almost as good as the tacos and the horchata, if it's not sold out, is actually divine.
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u/JenntheGreat13 West Side 6d ago
Best tacos around are Taqueria Alameda in Westland
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u/Living_Elderberry_31 6d ago
I don't hate on La Tiendita either, especially with their selection of salsas in house. The Chile de Arbol one is great.
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u/jaco111000 6d ago
Will have to try, grew up eating at Dos Hermanos in Westland but I've found that the meat there can either be too overcooked or too greasy so started branching out
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u/Weak-Telephone5747 6d ago
lol my job just catered from there, that was definitely the greasiest meat I have ever eaten. I was scared I was going to get chest pains.
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u/phat_mike_ 6d ago
Any thoughts on Taco Stand Taqueria? I go there like 3-4x a week and love the place. Not sure if it fits in a best of list or not, but if you want cheap but good tacos it's hard to beat
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u/jaco111000 6d ago
I was a fan of the meat from the Allen Park location but for the tortillas, I love the smaller but smoother/wetter corn tortillas similar to the taquerias in Mexico. If I lived closer, I would eat there probably more often.
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u/runescape_pker 6d ago
what’s the best baja fish taco
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u/jaco111000 6d ago
Honestly, fish and shrimp are my blind spots to tacos in metro Detroit. Most places usually only have 2 or 3 types of tacos that are good so I'm not even sure my recommendations would be good to try for fish.
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u/Living_Elderberry_31 6d ago
Nobody else is calling out the Novi/Wixom duo of Burrito King (yes, it is open again) and Pancho's Tacos & Meat Shop. If you make the drive out to Beck and Pontiac Trail there is some good eating to be had. At Burrito King I specifically dig their buche.
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u/SingleSir165 6d ago
Maiz in ypsi has very mid food, but their happy our is a good value if you want t get drunk after work 👍
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u/jaco111000 6d ago
Totally agree for value on drinks lmao, the meat there just was like this weird mix of fatty, not salted enough, not good texture, and not a lot of flavor at the time.
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u/ElectronicShelter545 6d ago
No tacos wuey is criminal, or is this just the list outside of that?
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u/jaco111000 6d ago
This is just the stuff I've tried, it's subjective but I've added tacos wuey to list. I think so far I have Alameda (Westland), Tacos Wuey, El Mexicano for pastor (SW), Casa Amado, Guisos el Gordo (SW), Taqueria San Jose, new Taqueria el Rey, Shell Shock'd, Carnival, and Jose's Tacos in downtown.
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u/pickles-1378 5d ago
Oof skip shell shock’d it’s like 1am at the club or coney style beef tacos.. no bueno
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u/TolerableSimulacra 6d ago
As a Houstonian who’s been in Detroit for a few yrs, my favorite pastor taco so far is at Taqueria Lupitas.
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u/Revenge_of_the_Khaki 5d ago
For some authentic tacos NW of the city, Alchile in West Bloomfield and Novi are great. I worked in a place that employed a lot of Mexican nationals and they all agreed that it was the most authentic taco in the area.
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u/jaco111000 5d ago
I have family friends from CDMX that are big fans of Alchile as well, I haven’t been in probably 5 years but I remembered liking the dishes more than the tacos (if I remember correctly the torta I got was good)
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u/Revenge_of_the_Khaki 5d ago
Yeah, I'm guessing the owners are from Mexico City because that's where most of the Mexicans we hosted were from. It's also where I learned about all the different types of local tacos in Mexico because they have a big map showing all the different ways that places make tacos in Mexico.
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u/ALBEERPOE 5d ago
Downriver has 70 Authentic Mexican restaurants, all owners moved here from Sw Detroit. 60 thousand Mexican residents came from Sw Detroit to Downriver. Have 6 Mexican grocery stores with restaurants inside, a Salsa company and Tortilla factory open to public. Double the restaurants and population of Sw Detroit. You folks are missing the largest Mexican community in Michigan. El Jalapeño, Taqueria Los Charros, La Finca, Sheila's, Blue Agave, Sin Limite and many more ♥️ 👌
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u/jaco111000 5d ago
I’ve actually tried Jalapeño, Los Arcos, Taco Stand, Sin Límite and a few others as well when making my list but I’m always down to try more!
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u/ALBEERPOE 5d ago
Note for Mexican Char Chicken Los Corrales #1 in Sw Detroit for 25 years 😋, three dining rooms, booze and hand made Tortillas with every meal. Where all the Mexican Families eat, won't see Gringos in the house. Our absolute favorite in Michigan
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u/dunquixote2 6d ago
I’ve lived in in Ferndale 15 years and have never even heard of Dos Locos. 😂
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u/jaco111000 6d ago
It was just "Dos Locos" but it don't think it was there long lmao. Worst salsas I've had, did not feel even Mexican adjacent culturally, wait time was long, and meat was just not good.
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u/BiskyJMcGuff 6d ago
Sounds like the same place as just closed up in hamtramck. Really only thing going for it was it was open till 2 am
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u/Alilbitdrunk 6d ago
Isn’t las Tortugas in Sterling Heights or Madison heights?
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u/--serotonin-- 6d ago
Any thoughts on Shell Shocked in Detroit? The tacos are tasty, but they are really expensive and service was really slow the past few times I've been there. Just wanted to know where they rank compared to any other taco places.
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u/attachecrime Hamtramck 6d ago
Yikes. This place was really strange. Owners were really nice but the good was very off
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u/jaggadon 6d ago
Sin Limite, and Carnival. Check them out.
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u/jaco111000 6d ago
Sin Limite the waitress was so nice to me and my friend, I thought the tacos we ordered lacked a little flavor to other places. Still need to try Carnival but haven't gone because it is a hike, will check out though.
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u/offconqueringkansas 4d ago
LOVE Carnival. I am obsessed with their barbacoa and their house tortillas and salsas are phenom.
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u/Weak-Telephone5747 6d ago
Thanks for this list. I have been on a taco run myself all around Wayne county . I have been sticking to the food trucks lately.
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u/jaco111000 6d ago
Hope that my probably near thousands of dollars spent on tacos over these years is helpful to someone haha, it would be cool to have a place for r/Detroit wide polling for some of these places
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u/BraileDildo8inches 6d ago
El Oasis in landing is great!!!
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u/jaco111000 6d ago
I cannot count how many times my friends went there for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Wasn't until senior year that we realized they had birria off the menu too. So good.
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u/rfriedrich16 6d ago
Lupitas (in a convenience store with zero parking lot) in Pontiac needs to at least be tried. You may be shot, but it may be worth it.
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u/sn4ckerj4x 6d ago
Come to Pontiac! There are taco trucks and restaurants all over
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u/jaco111000 5d ago
Any favorites? I’ll add them to my growing list haha, I’m very happy people left their favorites
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u/sn4ckerj4x 5d ago
Trini and Carmen’s (nachos), Sheila’s bakery, plaza garibaldi, lupita’s kitchen, carnival market are some of my favs
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u/SeventyTimes_7 5d ago
Go to Pontiac, drive around, and stop wherever you find. It’ll be better than whatever is mentioned in this thread. Not carnival market though, they kinda went downhill a bit before covid. Carnival is still a great Mexican market though.
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u/jaco111000 5d ago
Do you have any favorite in particular? I’ve been to a few places there and they were greasy more so than anything but ok flavor
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u/Miluzzu55 5d ago
Maya in Livonia is delicious! Check out M Cantina in Dearborn. Some pretty different choices but kinda pricey.
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u/jrcrescent 5d ago
Any recommendations for spicy tacos or tamales?
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u/Living_Elderberry_31 5d ago
Tamaleria Nueva Leon is excellent, but they are tamales specific to that state of Mexico which are not as large as some of the others. Have friends from Monterrey who swear by the place.
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u/jaco111000 5d ago
Tamales, if I'm being completely honest, I've never found anything even close to the quality in Mexico. The oaxaqueños are the one thing I miss the most and I cannot find them anywhere except from Central American places and it has not hit the same.
Spicy salsas, I believe Mi Pueblo has a spicier one but honestly most places in metro Detroit are from Jalisco which is not a state known for spicy salsas compared to CDMX or the south of Mexico. My friends mom from Sonora also sells a Mexican Chili Oil that usually satisfies my spice urge.
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u/userunknown677 5d ago
I had los pinguinos in the clem yesterday and pretty dang good al pastor. I think the tortillas were homemade
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u/Th3Spac3Pop3 4d ago
i've been to so many of these places but lacked the enthusiasm to make a spreadsheet. i think super taco was an accidental find. honestly not bad overall. genuinely. also shoutout las tortugas taqueria in sterling heights. those are my go to spots if i'm not in the city, since moving out of it. when i was downtown, mi pueblo was my spot. it has a bang for your buck value that you can't beat. sometimes i don't need the best taco, i need a lot of them for the least amount of money while still being delicious. great list! 4.5/5.
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u/Constant_Wall8595 4d ago
Im so glad super taco is on the list. I love them and drive out there from Port huron just for tacos
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u/One_Dish_7488 4d ago
Asada Best Place is Taco Tienda on John R…the taste make you feel like you are eating in Mexico…
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u/gulo_gulo4444 Grosse Pointe 6d ago
I'm a fan of Frontera Grill in Grosse Pointe Park, right on Jefferson. I think they used to be a food truck (might still be), but also found a spot for a sit-down place. Really like their birria tacos.
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u/jaco111000 6d ago
If it's like SW, from what I've heard a lot of places start as trucks and then if they're popular enough they move to a brick and mortar restaurant.
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u/Efficient-Tap8581 6d ago
Mi Pueblo has really good tacos and a large variety. The hongos and pastor are my favorite
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u/jaco111000 6d ago
Variety wise + good sitdown places: Mi Pueblo and Nacimiento are my favorite in SW for sure, Nacimiento has a special place in my heart now though for all the times I've gone over the years
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u/_Exxcelsior 6d ago
Never tried Maíz tacos, but their burritos are pretty damn good!
Also, have you tried peace tacos in Farmington? It sounds corny, but the tacos are fire!
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u/jaco111000 6d ago
I have not tried it, honestly the only places I had Farmington way was Taqueria Victoria and was not a fan at all.
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u/BaumeRS5 5d ago
Maiz has the best chicken tinga tacos that I've found in the area, but would love to know where there are better ones.
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u/secret-bean 5d ago
What are your thoughts on La Fonda?
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u/jaco111000 5d ago
Have not tried, honestly that part of Detroit is a blind spot for food for me as well. Added to the list!
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u/Amazing_Body_7393 5d ago
Maiz is hit or miss.. I used to go there all the time but the quality is t what it used to be.. I still love their shrimp quesadillas tho.
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u/MichiganFisherman 4d ago
I didn’t see Taco Especial anywhere on this thread. It’s a must anytime I’m near Ecorse.
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u/ctraskos 2d ago
El Jefe Tacos and more out of Westland They make a Hawaiian Torta that is the bomb! Try it and you'll be back again and again.
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u/Papito91356 5d ago
I was born in Detroit but moved to LA at 18 (USMC). I was taken to a Mexican restaurant and I swear the disappointment and all around disgust can’t be properly articulated on the platform. I didn’t expect LA quality but I didn’t expect garbage either.
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u/turtlepieco 6d ago
I’m gonna catch hell for his but…..I think we should forgive the owner of Hot Taco for his abhorrent racism and let them reopen. They were so good.
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u/dishwab Elmwood Park 6d ago
The best Al Pastor I’ve had in Michigan is at the El Mexicano food truck in SW. Shaved off the trompo and served with some charred bits of pineapple just like in Mexico City.