There’s a whole lot of greatness that’s come out of Mexico—corn, tequila, avocados, festive hats and Salma Hayek. But we’d argue that tacos are their greatest creation.
They’re so versatile—soft or hard, wheat or corn, fish or pork. You can eat them standing up or sitting down and there’s no need for any annoying cutlery. You don’t even need a plate!
And thankfully, since the great Mexican food revolution of 2012, you can now get your hands on epic tacos in Perth. Hurrah!
Here’s Perth’s best tacos to get your mouth around.
El Publico
Highgate
You can’t really go wrong with El Publico’s tacos, unless you don’t order any of course. We quite fancy the street corn taco with queso fresco, mayo and arbol chile and the octopus taco with serrano potatoes.
La Vida Urbana
Leederville
While we're on the subject of El Publico, they're little sister La Vida Urbana in Leederville also does some killer tacos. The fried cauliflower taco is one of our faves and it's served with chipotle mayo and pico de gallo. Yum.
La Cholita
Northbridge
I would rather poke my eye out than choose between the baja fish taco with chipotle mayo and the slow cooked pork taco with pineapple and onion at La Cholita. They’re both so yummy it’s a must to get one of each—with some tequila of course!
Caballitos
Perth CBD
Caballitos might be more of a bar than an eatery, but let us tell you one thing, their tacos are to die for. The pork taco with burnt pineapple, ancho chilli oil and corinader pico de gallo is a must.
Bivouac Canteen & Bar
Northbridge
Any of the malawach tacos dished up at Bivouac will make your tummy smile. Just a word of warning though, they’re on the larger side. It may be tempting to get all three, but you’ll hardly make your way through one and a half. I’d go for the soft shell crab with pickles and red pepper aioli if I had to choose.
Lil Tortilla Boi
Everywhere
Lil Tortilla Boi is the Mexican king of food trucks in Perth. This quirky little cart specialises in authentic hand pressed corn tortillas filled with goodies like pulled pork and fried chicken. Expect to wear what you order as these tacos are so jam packed with goodness some filling is bound to fall out!
El Grotto
Scarborough
With four tacos to choose from at the very reasonable price of $6 each, you can afford to have one of each at El Grotto. The cordero is always a crowd pleaser, filled with shredded lamb, chipotle, adobo, charred corn and cucumber salsa.
Eat No Evil
Everywhere
If you’re a fan of the hard taco you’re going to want to track down Perth food truck, Eat No Evil. Choose between the twice cooked Freo octopus with chorizo chimichurri or the chargrilled halloumi with soy bean guac and cucumber relish. You can even opt to replace your shell with a lettuce leaf, but who would do that?
Bib & Tucker
North Fremantle
The Bib & Tucker menu is long and delicious but we can’t seem to make it past the fish tacos. Filled with charred corn, avocado and chipotle, these bad boys are a hit with the taste buds.
Tropico
North Beach
One of our fave places for beachside eats in Perth, Tropico’s soft shell tacos are the shiz. They’ve got four varieties, including a roast chicken taco with mac ‘n’ cheese AND crispy bacon. OMG. There’s also pork belly with grilled pineapple, a sherry glaze and slaw. Drool.
Pleased To Meet You
Northbridge
There’s a lot to love at Pleased To Meet You, especially their chicken taco with corn salsa. Just don’t look at the piggy in the corner and you’ll be fine!
The Guildford Hotel
Guildford
With a menu divided into one handed and two handed eats, you know The Guildford Hotel’s tacos are going to be good. They’ve got one heck of a tasty salmon belly ceviche taco up for grabs, served with corn salsa, guac and coriander.
This Little Piggy Co.
North Fremantle
There are so many delicious tacos up for grabs at This Little Piggy Food Co. They’ve got everything from pork, chicken and avocado tacos to baja fish, shrimp and haloumi tacos, all served on hand made tortillas with slaw and salsa fresca.
For more Mexican goodness, search the site!
El Publico | Image credit: Nancy Hanna