Where to Eat Mexican Food in Philly Right Now
From burritos to tamales, menudo to mole, we're here to help you enjoy more than just tacos when it comes to Mexican food in Philly.
Coyote Crossing | Facebook
When it comes to Mexican cuisine in Philly, tacos usually get the most love — for good reason, too, given the sheer number of taquerias and food trucks that dot the streets of South Philly. Good news is we’re also blessed with an array of Mexican spots that have a lot more to offer than tacos (though, if they’re what you’re craving, we’ve got a whole guide for them, too). Here, the mezcal bars, bruncheries, and BYOBs making our food scene that much more dynamic.
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La Llorona, West Passyunk
La Llorona is a cantina, so they focus on dishes that are designed to be nibbled in between sips of their excellent tequila and mezcal cocktails. Drinking food like aguachile, quesadillas, and mole-drenched chicken wings dominate the menu, alongside a handful of larger entradas that will help you continue drinking all night long.
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La Fonda de Teresita, East Passyunk
This place is kind of like if an abuela opened a little BYOB on a quiet corner in South Philly. You know, unfussy, home-y traditional Mexican eats prepared with an expert and loving hand.
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Cafe y Chocolate, South Philly
The move here is to commit to a nap-worthy breakfast of chilaquiles, huevos rancheros, coffee, fresh juices and, of course, a big mug of Mexican hot chocolate, with house-made churros for dipping.
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Casa Mexico, Italian Market
Cristina Martinez’s second act, where she and her new business partner, Dionicio Jimenez, serve the foods typical of Mexican fondas, with a constantly rotating menu of affordable, belly-filling grilled, braised and fried entrees alongside the occasional tamales and stews.
Mole Poblano, Italian Market
No visit here is complete without an order of their namesake mole poblano in whatever way, shape, or form it’s listed on the menu, be it a plate of enchiladas or a burrito or a roasted leg and thigh of chicken, rice and beans on the side.
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Los Cuatro Soles, Newbold
There aren’t a lot of spots in Philly that serve bowls of spicy, soul-warming menudo. But Los Cuatro Soles does — which is great news for us whenever the weather’s like this. Or whenever we’re, you know, hungover.
Blue Corn, Italian Market
The pina coladas are boozy, the margaritas are blue, and the tortillas are homemade: The trifecta, baby.
Tamalex, Italian Market
A BYOB that offers both Mexican and Honduran favorites, from enchiladas verdes with steak to pupusas and baleadas filled with beans, to tamales (both Mexican-style and Honduran-style) that sell out fast on the weekends.
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Proyecto Tamal, various locations
While it’s not technically a restaurant, Proyecto Tamal is definitely the source for all things tamal-related. Each week they partner with a Latinx restaurant worker who has been unable to collect unemployment benefits throughout COVID and that person offers a two to four masa-related things from their home country. Most of the participants are Mexican, and all of the foods are delicious.
Don Barriga Mexican Grill, West Philly
Don Barriga opened as a Mexican restaurant in a West Philly neighborhood famous for its dearth of Mexican restaurant options. So people, naturally, freaked out. Now, Don Barriga is a West Philly mainstay, nailing all the aspects of a neighborhood Mexican joint, from the friendly service, to the perfectly grilled meats, to the must-order, spectacularly drenched tres leches cake you’ll surely daydream about until your next order.
Cafetería & Panadería Las Rosas, Italian Market
If you’ve never dipped chunk of a concha pastry into your coffee, then, sorry, you haven’t lived. If you have, you know to get your conchas from Las Rosas.
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El Purepecha, Spring Garden
All the burritos rock at El Purepecha, but the burritos mojados (“wet burrito”) seems to be one of their specialties. Stuffed with chicken, beef, pork, whatever you want, really, they’re first griddled, then absolutely drenched in a salsa verde or roja, and then drizzled with crema.
El Primo, Norristown
El Primo is mostly a Mexican market, but hidden away behind the aisles of hot sauces and candies and produce and baked goods is a fantastic restaurant with a big, honkin’ menu with cemitas, chile poblanos, tacos, tortas, and literally whatever else — anything else — you might be craving.
Coyote Crossing, Conshohocken
Coyote Crossing has been doing its thing for two decades out in Conshohocken, serving boozy margaritas and perfect plates of tampiqueña in twinkly lit outdoor patio, now chock-full of heat lamps to keep us warm. And a giant mezcal list — also to keep us warm.
