Where to find 15 must-try taquerías in Cabo San Lucas

When I first moved to Cabo San Lucas 15 years ago, I lived near Cerrito del Timbre, which, among its many other charms, was smack dab in the center of what I soon discovered was the largest concentration of great taquerías in the city. Delicious taco options were thick on the ground within a few blocks in every direction. That’s still true today, although many of the names have changed. 

Taco Fiesta, the only 24-hour taqueria in town, is gone. The same goes for El Venado, another vanished late-night pit stop. But many more have appeared in the same area.

Ramiro García, for example, has likely been making the best suadero tacos in town since 2003, but I’ve only confirmed it since his Tacos Ramiro’s moved a few years ago to its current location on Calle 16 de Septiembre, a block and a half from Cerrito del Timbre. I typically order them with a side of tuétano — bone marrow served in a bone — a magical combination.

The heart of the downtown taco scene

The more famed taquerías are two blocks over on Blvd. Lázaro Cárdenas, one of the primary downtown thoroughfares for tourists. Tacos Guss, now the most popular, was strictly a local favorite when it opened on the site of the old Tacos Perla in 2011. It was the kind of place where you could meander in at midnight and have your order taken by a 10-year-old server while an old movie played on the television in the background. Then it got very popular, perhaps because I mentioned it in USA Today and to a popular SoCal food blogger, or just because it deserved the attention, particularly for its tacos al pastor.

Nearby Las Guacamayas is just as good, if not better, not only for its tacos but for its tacos de costillas and amazing chicharrón de queso. Las Guacamayas, like Tacos Los Claros, originally opened in San José del Cabo before their popularity suggested expansion. Los Claros, meanwhile, I’ve only ever enjoyed in broad daylight — but repeatedly — because they make the best seafood tacos around; I’m partial to the ones with scallops. They’ve had other locations too, but the one on Ignacio Zaragoza has proven the most enduring. 

Diving deeper downtown for more delicious tacos

All of the above, as noted, are within a few blocks of each other, making them easy visits for taco-tour-minded travelers. So is Tacos May, which has been a beloved local stop for locals seeking tacos guisados and other taco favorites near the foot of Calle Morelos for decades. Calle Morelos, like Leona Vicario one block over, is more locally oriented, but that shouldn’t stop intrepid tourists from making the taco pilgrimage to spots like Los Michoacanos, Birriería Los Paisas or Birriería Apatzingán, all found on Leona Vicario. 

Los Michoacanos, as the name might suggest, is the foremost local exponent of that famed Michoacán specialty, carnitas. Buy them by the kilo, if you like. Meanwhile, Birriería Los Paisas and Apatzingán are known for quesabirrias, weird but tasty fusions between an enchilada, taco and birria that are categorized within the taco family. 

Don’t be confused by the proliferation of restaurants named El Paisa or Los Paisas, three of which can be found within a half dozen blocks of each other on Leona Vicario, with more nearby. They’re all good. I prefer the birriería version, if only for nostalgia’s sake, as that was one of my first taco stops when places began reopening after the devastating Hurricane Odile in 2014. I’ll never forget how jam-packed the place was that day with happily lunching locals.

Let’s go to the beach (and eat tacos along the way)

The most locally acclaimed taqueria to open in Los Cabos within the past decade was La Lupita Taco & Mezcal, the original of which premiered in the Gallery District of San José del Cabo in 2015. A Cabo San Lucas outpost followed in 2018, on Acuario near Médano Beach. The tacos al pastor are terrific, but those can be found almost anywhere, meaning at hundreds of local taquerías. The ones to try at La Lupita are of the harder-to-find variety, like the El Torero — campechano style with cecina, chorizo, and chicharrón — as well as duck with mole tacos or sweetbread tacos de mollejas

The other must-try taquería near El Médano is Tacos Gardenias, which, like Tacos May, has been around for decades and, like Los Claros, excels at shrimp and fish-filled tacos. It’s a great spot to refuel after a day at the beach and is found on Paseo de la Marina, about two and a half blocks from Cabo San Lucas’ most famous sandy stretch.

More must-try tacos, including some Uber Eats favorites

Uber Eats and other food apps have transformed the dining scene in recent years, making it easier to get great tacos from places that are otherwise out of the way. I reached my zenith of ordering during the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, but there places I still can’t stop ordering from, like El Norteño 2021,  thanks to their delicious tacos al pastor and tacos de asada, and because I very rarely am in the neighborhood of their location near Via de Lerry.

D’humo is another Uber Eats favorite. Where else in Cabo San Lucas can you find tacos árabes? Nowhere that I know of; at least tacos that are this good. They’re located near the Soriana, a high-traffic area I avoid at all costs, but I do want to visit this taquería in person at some point, if only to pay my respects. 

Los Mexiquenses, finally, are purveyors of the area’s best barbacoa tacos, and thus deserve mention on this list, which is by no means complete— just the best dozen or so taquerías that I’ve returned to time and time again over the years and which I would wholeheartedly recommend to first-time visitors to Cabo San Lucas. Most of them are walkable to those downtown. As for the rest, like Los Mexiquenses, just let your fingers do the walking on your smartphone.