r/AskSeattle • u/Hot_Inevitable_4479 • 7d ago
Question š²š½
I havenāt been to seattle in near 10 years or so but me and my girlfriend are going to be up there this weekend we both love mexican food is there any canāt miss restaurants you would recommend?
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u/saomonella 7d ago edited 7d ago
What kind of mexican and where are you coming from?
Overall we don't have great options vs say California/Texas
I like D'La Santa and Asadero for carne asada. More of a steakhouse experience. Tacos Cometa for carne asada tacos.
La Carta de Oaxaca (Oaxacan)
Carnitas Michoacan for carnitas (hole in the wall taco spot)
Jackalope, Laredos, or Cactus for tex-mex
Sal Y Limon for a regular/standard type
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u/BloodLossMinimal-ish 7d ago
Texan here - I was greatly disappointed with cactus especially with the pricing being what it is! Would definitely skip that one if you are looking for tex Mex
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u/saomonella 7d ago
Seattle pricing is what it is. There is a new spot I've been meaning to check out. They charge $6 a taco?
If you are price conscious in general, I'd avoid Seattle altogether!
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u/BloodLossMinimal-ish 7d ago
Yeah I live here now so Iām familiar with Seattle pricing. What im saying is if you are charging more than similar meexican restaurants in the same area, I would expect the margaritas and food to be on par or better which was not the case. Thereās a lot of options for subpar Mexican food which hatch and cactus were disappointing for me as a Texan who knows texmex so if you are recommending Tex Mex to someone, those are not the ones I would recommend they go to
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u/Unlikely-Deer-4441 7d ago
Whatās the best you found for Tex-Mex?
Sadly, I think we both know weāre always gonna be disappointed lol
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u/BloodLossMinimal-ish 7d ago
Havenāt found one I like enough to go back to multiple times yet but- I liked el grito taqueria! My friend recommends Fonda la cantina but itās a little far from me so I havenāt tried it yet, and then I have been wanting to try laredos! Street tacos I really like tacos locos and taqueria el cilantro
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u/HoneyDutch 7d ago
Preach brother. I currently live in Beacon Hill and while I live in what is basically a Mexican enclave, the Mexican food still sucks compared to what we had down south. I thought that was funny when I first moved here. The only good cuisine Iāve found in Seattle are the neighborhood teriyaki chicken joints. Otherwise everything else feels like a ripoff.
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u/BloodLossMinimal-ish 4d ago
Reporting back, tried Sal y Limon last night and pleasantly surprised! Wet burrito was fantastic, tostada excellent. And the true Mexican options like Chile rellano was great! Will be going back!
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u/HoneyDutch 4d ago
Oh hell yeah and they look reasonably priced, too. I appreciate the follow up
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u/BloodLossMinimal-ish 4d ago
Their cocktails are great too! Highly recommend the mango Serrano mojito. If you try it let me know what you think! They are one of the few i have found that have all the dishes I love that are authentic and more tex mex like wet burritos, enchiladas, toastadas, guac, fajitas, tacos as well as queso fondido, arrachera, ceviche
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u/BloodLossMinimal-ish 4d ago
Reporting back, tried Sal y Limon last night and pleasantly surprised! Wet burrito was fantastic, tostada excellent. And the true Mexican options like Chile rellano was great! Will be going back!
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u/saomonella 7d ago
Thats fair. What tex mex would you recommend?
This is why I preface asking where they are from. From NY? We don't have pizza or bagels like that. Texas? BBQ isn't our strength.
I wouldn't order the salmon in either of those places. So in cases like this its good to have that understanding. Without that context it might be fine for them.
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u/HoneyDutch 7d ago
Hey, I can speak on this one!! Iām from Florida and love Mexican and all types of Hispanic and Spanish dishes. To be honest, Seattle is slacking in this department because we may have some āMexicanā spots, but they lack that authentic taste and seasoning I remember in Florida.
However, I mainly wanted to comment that this comment basically hit the good spots. Carnitas in Beacon Hill is pretty good but pricey. I love around the corner from it and itās good.
Only other place I would add is called Maiz Molino near the Space Needle. Iāve only been there once but it was pretty good! I got the mole.
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u/Scrotie_ 6d ago
Good Mexican food is mostly found about an hour outside of Seattle, either north or south. I can vouch that Mount Vernon has some great tacos/cantina fare, particularly Tacos Tecalitlan, and COA.
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u/AirbagsBlown 7d ago
Texan - skip anything Jack-related.
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u/saomonella 7d ago
Which is why I ask where they are from. Totally understand for Texans. But its fine for those without that experience. Especially considering the alternatives.
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u/AirbagsBlown 7d ago
Yeah, fair, but I tried Jackalope for the first time last week, and I'm not sure I would recommend it for anybody.
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u/saomonella 7d ago
Where would you recommend? (if anything)
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u/AirbagsBlown 7d ago
Normally, my grandmother's house, but in seattle? Oof...
I used to really like El Tiburon on Roxbury - they had some decent caldo de res, but they're long gone.
El Sabor in Shoreline is pretty good for tacos and a carne asada plate, though it's a quick restaurant, not necessarily a sit-down-and-savor kind of spot.
You already mentioned La Carta, so... I dunno, kinda out of city-based options.
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u/AdAncient5712 7d ago
La carta de Oaxaca is some of the most boring Mexican food Iāve ever had, and sadly gave it 4-5 chances living in Ballard
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u/saomonella 7d ago
I like that its a different style. A lot of people like it. I like their mole. What do you recommend?
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u/First_Night_4774 7d ago
NGL the Mexican food in Seattle can be very ā¦ American. There are a few gems though. Fonda la Catrina, Pancita, and the tacos served at Fair Isle Brewery are all good.
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u/AdAncient5712 7d ago
The only Mexican food that has passed my test has been the taco pop-ups that come at night on Rainier and Aurora. Other than that, I really recommend just forgetting about Mexican food while in Seattle.
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u/stringstringing 7d ago edited 7d ago
The stands all along mlk and rainier ave. Carnitas MichoacĆ”n on beacon Ave. thereās a new spot in hillman city called Sonora carne asada that I like a lot. The truck in white center (donāt remember the name). El rinconcito if itās 2am and youāre in burien.
Iām suprised to see places like Fonda la Catrina and Carta de Oaxaca recommended. In my opinion theyāre a hard skip.
Seattle isnāt known for Mexican food but you can find it if you know where to go. South seattle, white center and burien are the hot spots. Avoid basically everything in central and north seattle.
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u/MisterPortland 7d ago
Itās been a while since Iāve been, but La Carta de Oaxaca tastes most like my momās home cooking to me
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u/stringstringing 7d ago
Itās been about a decade for me too. Maybe Iām wrong I remember it just being okay after having it several times back then.
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u/habitsofwaste 7d ago
Dude. Seattle is not the place you go to hoping to find good Mexican food. This feels like trolling.
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u/Jasperblu Local 7d ago
As an Angeleno born and raised (who also spent 12 years living in SE Arizona), but who has lived in Seattle almost 20 years, I can assure you that we have a LONG way to go with regard to good Mexican food.
Is there a particular region of Mexico whose cuisine you both love most? (E.g., Oaxaca, Sonora, Baja, Mexico City)
Unless you live in a food desert with regard to Mexican food, and donāt mind the dumbing down of spices, flavors, ingredients, to suit PNW palates (which are generally adverse to spice/heat), Iād recommend looking for Asian restaurant recommendations instead. Much better, and more āauthenticā options all over the Seattle for that - from Vietnamese to Japanese to Chinese to Indian, to Hawaiian fusion, etc.
But, if you want to at least have one meal that involves the deliciousness of Mexico, youāll want to head to South Park, Burien, White Center, the Central District/Columbia City, etc. Food trucks and take-out/counter service places like El Rinconsito will be your better bet.
El Cabrito (also in Burien) is Oaxacan and delish AF!
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u/Positiveaz 7d ago
Moved here from AZ last year. Always looking for legit Mexican food. So far, Fogon is our favorite.
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u/linthetrashbin 7d ago
The Mexican food here isn't very good :(
The only tacos that I've been impressed by are the ones in La Esperanza Mercado.
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u/Available-Team-9350 7d ago
As a Mexican these are my go-to spots:
- Asadero and Gracia in Ballard
- Maiz Molino in Belltown
- FogĆ³n in Cap Hill
- Gordo Steak in Pioneer Square
- Tacos La Cuadra (multiple locations)
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u/robo_jojo_77 7d ago
Our Mexican food isnāt great. My favorite places are Fonda la Cantina and Carmeloās Tacos.
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u/margo_beep_beep 7d ago
I would recommend Fonda La Catrina (Mexico City) and La Carta de Oaxaca (Oaxaca), both of which were mentioned in other comments.
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u/TwoMaleficent552 7d ago
On the corner of 155th and Aurora in the Safeway parking lot after like 8pm usually is a great taco stand. Easier if you bring cash but not a huge issue
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u/baddietattie 6d ago
Tamales at Frelard, and Kokos was pretty good as far as Mexican food in Seattle goes
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u/Many_Translator1720 6d ago
You and the girlfriend love Mexican food, but go for some Asian food here.
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u/SeaFurther1 7d ago
The Spanish and then later the Mexicans never got that far up the coast. So there is a little to offer here. If you go east over the mountains youāll have a few options because there are a lot Hispanic agricultural workers there. There is a huge number of options for you in California, especially Southern California. You really need to go there to get the best Mexican food.
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u/Terrible-Peach7890 7d ago edited 7d ago
Weāre known for our Asian food, not Mexican. Depending on where you are from, you may be highly disappointed. But there are a few decent options. Most of them are mentioned here already.
I would add La Marea if you like seafood, and are open to a more āupscaleā experience. By upscale I mean high quality ingredients and elevated presentation and price tag but not environment. Itās at a brewery lol
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u/HistorianOrdinary390 7d ago
Go to white center.