With the permission of the tortilla chips with guacamole Y rooster's bill , the tacos They are the Mexican street dish that has crossed the most borders.
Perhaps for this reason it is also one of the most affected by the gourmet fusions and the 'contamination' in the purest Tex-Mex style.
It happens in many places Madrid , except in these new taquerias, a list from which we could not leave out a classic snack that has just renewed its menu.
THE MEX KITCHEN BAR (Carr. de Canillas, 138)
The tacos are one of the stars of the menu of The Mex Kitchen Bar (the evolution of the old Cantina Roo), the Mexican that opened in the city to show that there is life beyond traditional recipes. And yet to be so terrific like the most genuine of taquerias.
It is what happens when one insists on doing things (very) well, combining Mexican ingredients and recipes with the best of our national product.
In other words: sautéed shrimp tacos with onion with grilled cheese on a corn tortilla. Or the cochinita pibil taco, a classic: pork cooked in the oven with spices served with xnipec.
And although today we recommend The Mex Kitchen Bar for the tacos, we cannot fail to mention other proposals on their menu, such as his crispy ear with tamarind sauce and morita chili; mixed cohinita pibil, cuitlacoche and oxtail croquettes; or the Madrid-style tripe with leg and nose, chorizo, black pudding and its 'mex' touch , the best example of the great couple that make Mexican and Mediterranean cuisine in this canteen.
MAWEY TACO BAR (Olid, 6)
Mawey is not just any taqueria, it is a signature taqueria . Which means that here the traditionality of the menu is allowed the occasional license, combining stews and typical ingredients of Mexican cuisine with the best Spanish products.
Fusion, yes, but with criteria and a lot of respect to this street dish. Modern too, but very far from tex-mex. To be specified: in the more traditional section , cochineal pibil taco with X'nipec -sauce originating in the Yucatan peninsula-, governor with Oaxaca cheese and kiko powder, or al pastor taco with spring onion, pineapple and cilantro.
And with the most personal stamp of the chef, ear and cuttlefish tacos with habanero chili sauce, crispy cod, with mulatto chili and avocado romescu sauce, cheek with poblano chili sauce and garden. Y pay close attention to your off-card, because they are one of those who do not disappoint.
TEPIC (Ayala, 14)
There is no room for fusion here. And we love it. The kitchen they practice in Tepic is popular, traditional, like the one that mothers and grandmothers have always made . But yes, revised and presented with a current and modern vision, which is why we are in the 21st century and more than 9,000 kilometers away from Mexico City.
There are moles, tortilla chips, homemade tortillas -wheat and corn-, aguachiles and, of course, tacos. And their elaborations are one of those that are made for hours making 'chop-chop' over the fire, made with ingredients so authentic that they are the ones they grow themselves in their own garden in Ávila -from chili peppers to avocados-.
The kings of the card are the tacos al pastor , cooked with meat marinated in the traditional style, with cane vinegar, and grilled over charcoal just as it is done in Mexico -in a typical top, one hundred percent artisan and with top quality meat-.
They share a menu and protagonism with tacos from chicken tinga with refried beans , of cochinita pibil , of sirloin with grilled onion and wrapped in a tortilla with cheese, of mushrooms and nopales, and even delicious battered fish tacos, prepared following a recipe from Baja California. Each and every one of them deserves a couple of bites, and more than one visit.
THANK YOU FATHER (José Ortega y Gasset, 55)
The Salamanca district, at the height of José Ortega y Gasset street, has changed the brick for the palms of the beaches of Tulum.
It is Thanks, Dad, the Mexican who has brought the aesthetics and the coastal atmosphere and his best-known dishes to the capital. Along with the tacos, with more than ten to choose from - al pastor, carnitas, crispy fish, cochinita pibil, chicken tinga …- and some five quesadillas , the menu is completed with proposals such as tortilla chips, tamales, elote (corn on the cob), Mayan corn Esquites (a traditional stew made with corn grains) and green chilaquiles with chicken.
Important note: here they are not friends with cutlery, and the idea is to eat practically the entire menu with your hands, in the same way as if we were on a beach day looking at the Pacific.
Tacos to the pastor of Thanks Father
TAKOS AL PASTOR (Abada, 2 and Botoneras, 7)
They came, they saw and they conquered. Tacos al Pastor They are still the kings of flavor and price (only one euro), because few tacos so cheap are so well resolved in Madrid.
They already have two stores in the capital and the queues are always endless, so we recommend going early. Once inside, you may not get a place and you have to eat it standing up or on the street, but it's worth it.
Ask for any of the options on the menu, although for the first time, we have it very clear: sweater –the fatty meat that hangs from the ribs of a cow–, cochineal pibil or chicken wire.
The presentation is like in Mexican street stalls, served all together and on the same plate, accompanied by lemon wedges (lime, for us) to garnish to taste.
There is no room -or time- for delicacies or gourmet presentations, which here we have come to eat with our hands and get very fine.
traditional and impressive
DF BAR (Larra, 23 and Leon, 31)
Its aesthetic is modest and perhaps that is why it has entered us first through the eyes and, later, through the stomach. Because DF Bar has that authentic touch of small Mexican torterías, where only tacos, quesadillas and, as its name indicates, cakes - halfway between a hamburger and a stewed meat sandwich.
The tacos are homemade, and the fillings are very good. From the cochinita pibil, cooked with pork meat marinated in orange, or the mole with chicken, with chili sauce, nuts and chocolate.
Although if it is worth coming to Mexico City it is to try a different taco to all those offered in Madrid: the drowned chicken tacos, a fried corn tortilla stuffed with chicken, 'drowned' in green tomatillo sauce with lettuce, sour cream and cheese. Something like a plate of tacos in sauce.
RAFFLE HALL (Serrano, 52)
It's not new, but it's so good that it should always appear on any list of the best tacos in Madrid. And it is that everything that comes out of the kitchen of this informal Mexican room - little brother of the renowned Punto MX - It is pure vice, and what better excuse than changing the menu to recommend it again.
Among the novelties, two tacos: the soft shell, with soft shell crab accompanied by intense bean cream, pasilla chili, lime and a crispy fresh carrot . Or the vegetarian taco, based on falafel, mint, black olives and yogurt, really surprising for how tasty it is yes
It goes great with a touch of their new chipotle sauces and accompanied, of course, by the homemade guacamole and the house brand fried tortilla chips that, by the way, can be bought to take away and enjoy at home – for now they are only sold at the El Corte Inglés Gourmet Club , but everything will go…–.