Brandon Arias-Hernandez & Adam Ruiz
With Cinco De Mayo right around the corner, we were wondering what were the best places to get tacos for this holiday in the city we both live in, Riverside.
With the help of Yelp, we were able to find the highest rated tacos in Riverside. These 10 restaurants are all based in Riverside, and are ranked based on customer reviews.
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- Birrieria Little Tijuana 12702 Magnolia Ave Unit 25 Riverside CA 92503
Birrieria is a tedious and time consuming dish to make, but is always worth the hassle of making. Luckily for everyone, Birrieria Little Tijuana is rated one of the best based on customer reviews. Christie L. raved about this place and had a lot to say about it in her five star review.
Christie L wrote “I am a regular here but I usually DoorDash it. Me and my daughter love this place! The restaurant is in a small shopping center kind of bordering Riverside/Corona. If you’re not looking for it you’ll probably miss it, I know I did. We decided to drive over after school on a Friday and ordered the big family meal. As always the food was fresh and delicious. Plus, they included plenty of stuff to make a ton of birria tacos, plenty for my big family! Now for the reason for the review. As good as the food is, the man who helped us went above and beyond. He was friendly and so helpful, he even brought our food out to the car for us. We would have come back for the food regardless, but after going inside the restaurant I’ll make sure to come in more often now.”
With great service and great food, customers say it is the best place for tacos in Riverside. The only complaint people have is that you have to buy the Consommé on the side, which is a vital part of the dish.
- Tacos La Piedad 3522 Madison St Ste 104 Riverside, CA 92504
This little hole in the wall is excellent if you want some late night food. Unlike others, this place closes at 9pm. The spot is tucked away between a 24 hour fitness and Grocery Outlet.
Nikki C. raved about the place and wrote “We were craving quesabirria tacos & luckily this place was open until 9! There was only one other party inside. We arrived at about 8pm . The food was delicious 10 out of 10! I am very picky about my birria tacos, and Horchata and me my daughter loved it! It was so filling the owner was so nice and so attentive. It was also so clean inside . I will definitely be back to try the Pozole and more tacos!”
A reoccurring complaint though is the place closing up early without any explanation, so call ahead to make sure they are open.
- Tacos Y Mas 10203 Hole Ave Riverside, CA 92503
If the other places are closed, don’t worry because Tacos Y Mas closes at 11pm. This place sells more than just tacos, but as well as tacos hechos con trompo. Originally from Colton, this restaurant gained a lot of support and was able to open up a second location in Riverside.
Albert B. wrote “Bro what’s there to say bout this place. The food is super good. Great meats, I like the different tacos they have. The birria quesotacos, tacazo the best. We usually eat at the Chino location. Found this one today. Dang. Never fails. Great service. Great ambiance with music playing. Come try it.”
One thing customers like Michelle D. have complained about and wrote was missing items from their orders. Michelle D. wrote “Service is good! Prices are okay. My only issue is that there always seems to be something missing with my orders. Unfortunately we never catch it until we’re home, and by then there’s not much to do. The food is good, but the annoyance of having our order be messed up back-to-back doesn’t have us itching to come back soon.”
- El Habanero 6160 Arlington Ave Riverside, CA 92504
If you or someone you know is a vegetarian, this place will cater for that someone. This place offers sofritas which is a seasoned tofu, which is the first time I have ever heard of any Mexican restaurant using tofu.
Zina D. wrote “Great Mexican food with vegan options. They carry sofritas. So naturally, I ordered a veggie burrito, no cheese or sour cream, with sofritas. Also got a Street Taco with sofritas. So damn good! The workers were so nice. Would go back for sure. P.S. They don’t have potato tacos but it’s still worth visiting.”
A recurring complaint is the fact that they don’t have bathrooms, so be sure to ask for extra napkins.
- Taco Station 4088 Mission Inn Ave Riverside, CA 92501
Located outside of the Mission Inn, this gas station themed restaurant will also satisfy your taco needs. Many have raved about how much seating they have.
Andy F. wrote “Love this place! Lots of seating. I come here at least once a week with a big group of friends. The staff is friendly and sweet. The food is great! Lots to choose from. The flautas de pastor are my favorite! Their guacamole salsa is delicious. The prices are reasonable.”
They have recently expanded their restaurant and added a bar that might need some fine tunning.
Step B. wrote “Pretty sure the outdoor bar is the draw. It’d be great if it wasn’t raining, but they’re charging premium prices for really watered down ? At least the beer tasted that way – huge margarita glass, full of ice and a tiny bit of margarita – that kind of thing.. there’s a disconnect between the food and the drinks counters You can’t get the food and the drinks at the same time though you pay in one – you have to get things from two different places lots of confusion lots of misunderstandings lots of hassle and walking backwards and forward – where there shouldn’t have been any hassle – won’t be back.”
6. El Trigo 4155 Park Avenue, Riverside California 92507
This small and authentic Mexican restaurant is known for its variety of Mexican dishes and great customer service, but most importantly it is best known for its tacos. The tacos in this place are made with handmade tortillas and are served with spicy sauces. There have been many customers that have visited this restaurant and have been delighted about the tacos that they have eaten, but there have also been customers that were not impressed with the tacos.
For instance, a customer left a review on Yelp, where they stated that “I have been here many times but never tried the tacos. I ordered carne asada tacos today and it was delicious!”.
On the other hand, another customer left a review on Yelp, where they commented, “The al pastor meat in my tacos was crunchy. Definitely a sign of old reheated meat. Carne asada was okay.”
7. Tio’s Tacos 3948 Mission Inn Avenue, RIverside, California 92501
Despite having the word “tacos” in its name, everything about this restaurant is really good except for its tacos. According to many reviews left by customers on Yelp, this restaurant’s atmosphere, customer service, and aguas frescas (flavor water or fresh water) were great, but the food, especially the tacos were not very good.
For example, a customer commented on Yelp, “Salty salsa and salty tacos, go easy on the salt so one can truly taste the flavor of true Mexican food.”
Another customer stated that it was “the worst ‘Mexican’ food I’ve ever had” and they continued commenting that “To top it off, I received cold tacos with remnants of cheddar cheese around the edges.”
This particular restaurant is supposed to be known for serving great tacos, but unfortunately customers have been left unsatisfied with their tacos.
8. La Familia Street Tacos & More 10759 Magnolia Avenue, Riverside, California 92505
Although the tacos sold in this place are not terrible and a lot of customers do not have a lot of negative things to say about them, the price is the main issue in this situation. The price for these tacos, which are not anything to rave about, is quite expensive.
A customer commented on Yelp that “The tacos were so small they weren’t a full two bites. That’s a total rip off for $3/each. I could eat 20 of those and I’m not a big eater. Overpriced and overcooked…”.
As mentioned before, the tacos are not bad at all, as a matter of fact they are quite good according to many customers, but the tacos are overpriced.
9. Morena’s Mexican Cuisine 3457 Arlington Ave Ste 106, Riverside, California 92506
The tacos in this place have had mixed reviews. There are customers that absolutely enjoyed the tacos and would not mind coming back to this restaurant, but there are also customers that did not like the tacos, due to them being bland and occasionally the meat and tortilla being cold. Therefore, the inconsistency in the way the tacos are prepared and served is the main problem of this restaurant. The tacos in this place have a lot of potential to be really good, but the staff have to find a method to consistently serve warm and delicious tacos.
10. Taqueria 2 Potrillos 10088 Magnolia Avenue, Riverside, California 92503
What is it with some Mexican restaurants not being able to cook, prepare, and serve one of the most popular Mexican dishes? Unlike the other tacos joints on this list, there are quite a few issues when it comes to the tacos being served in this restaurant. The first issue is that there have been complaints from customers that the meat is dry and that there have been occasions where the tacos have been served with big and hard pieces of meat.
Another issue is demonstrated by a customer, who stated on Yelp that “My food was cold….”. In addition, the tacos are pricey and there are simply many other restaurants in Riverside that serve better tacos.
All in all, the city of Riverside is a great place to celebrate a holiday like Cinco de Mayo. According to many customer reviews on Yelp, this particular city has some amazing Mexican restaurants that people can go to and enjoy many Mexican dishes, particularly tacos. Therefore, if you live in Riverside or maybe you are visiting, check out the list above to make sure you go to some of the best Mexican restaurants that Riverside has to provide. Cinco de Mayo is almost here, so what better way to celebrate this amazing holiday than going to one of these restaurants and eating some great tacos with friends and family.