Kansas City, Kansas, was dubbed the Taco Capital of the country in 2021 by Forbes, an esteemed designation that doesn’t surprise food writer Liz Cook one bit.
“KCK is home to so many different taquerias, and I think branding them as the Taco Trail has encouraged people to get out and discover more than they might typically experience,” says Cook, who writes the Substack Haterade.
The Taco Trail includes nearly 60 local taquerias across Kansas City, Kansas, and the city recently announced the interactive, mapped-out trail has been extended for 2026. You can even sign up for guided tours, where you’ll be shuttled from taqueria to taqueria in a party bus.
For absolutely out-of-this-world al pastor tacos, Ben Fuentes of Kansas City Foodie Finds online, heads to Tacos El Gordo in Parallel Parkway.
“I've searched the city far and wide, tried as many tacos as I can, but Tacos El Gordo comes back with the most amazing flavor. The staff is super friendly. The salsa is amazing. It's by far my favorite taco place in KCK,” Fuentes told KCUR’s Up To Date on Friday.
Kansas City, Missouri, has its fair share of top-tier tacos, too.
For an elevated take on birria de res, food writer Natalie Torres Gallagher heads to Barbacoa, on Troost Avenue, where the dish is made with local Caramelo Sonoran-style tortillas.
“It's a beautiful presentation — and also, shout out to the bar program,” says Torres Gallagher. “There is no better margarita.”
Then there’s In-A-Tub’s divisive riff on the Kansas City-style taco. A cult favorite in the Northland since 1951, In-A-Tub is famous for its deep-fried tacos coated in bright orange powdered cheese.
“I think it's an important piece of KC culinary history,” says Cook, “and I think the common criticism of In-A-Tub is like, ‘Well, it's just junk food.’ But you know what I would say: ‘It's our junk food!’”
Cook, Fuentes and Torres Gallagher suggest below their top picks for tacos in the metro.
Ben Fuentes:
- Tacos El Sobrino is my pick for overall taco experience. This Kansas City, Kansas, establishment serves up a hearty portion of meat, and they double-layer the corn tortilla — as any good taco establishment should! I enjoy their tacos al pastor. Their taco de tripa, or intestine, is for you more adventurous types.
- Tacos on Wheels is, ironically enough, not a food truck. They do have the best tacos al pastor in Kansas City. Their marinade is perfect, not overwhelming, and the meat is moist and juicy with a slight crisp from the heat of the grill. I’m getting hungry just thinking about it.
- Tacos El Guero is my go-to spot for late night tacos, since they’re open until 1 every night. This is a walk up to the window, cash only place with a large molcajete filled with delicious homemade salsa and every flavor of Jarritos your heart desires. They use a yellow corn tortilla that really jazzes up the flavor.
- Bonito Michoacán, in Olathe, is our family’s favorite taco place near home. They have a large selection of meats and preparation is fast, as everything is precooked and ready to go, buffet style. They also have a second location in Kansas City, Kansas.
- Bichelmeyer Meats is not your average taco place. This butcher shop serves delicious tacos on Saturday mornings, it’s one of the best kept secrets when it comes to tacos in KCK. Venture out one Saturday morning and give them a try.
- San Antonio Carniceria Y Tortilleria, on Independence Avenue in the Historic Northeast, has the best presentation. They cut their al pastor meat fresh off the trompo, or vertical rotisserie, and have a great selection of salsas and delicious aguas to pair with your meal. It’s the perfect weekend hangover meal.
- El Camino Real puts so much love and care into making their tacos, it’s a place to experience. As you walk in, you’re welcomed by a smiling face who is likely busy making fresh corn tortillas. I love their tacos al pastor but make sure to try their choriqueso, a chorizo sausage and cheese combo. Delicious!
- Tacos El Gordo gets my vote for the best taco in Kansas City. They serve a delicious taco de tripa and some of the best al pastor in town. They also have a delicious assortment of salsas, and their staff is super welcoming and friendly. We love going here.
Liz Cook:
- Tacos Valentina has some of the best tacos in the city, and they’re served far off the KCK Taco Trail inside Torn Label Brewing, in the Crossroads. Their suadero tacos come with velvety confit brisket on their own flavorful corn tortillas from nixtamalized Mexican corn. Taco Tuesdays are a thing, but I usually stop in for the $12 lunch special.
- California Taco Shop gets rave reviews for its fish tacos, and they’re OK. But people should be raving about the machaca burrito, which wraps cotton candy-like strands of dried beef in a thick, floury tortilla. Machaca can be a little harder to find on the Taco Trail, and California’s version is solid.
- Taco Naco’s Westport location is bright, buzzy, and fun, with top-tier tortillas and modern, creative salsas. The tortilla is half the pleasure of a good, simple taco, so don’t expect Maseca prices for these heirloom nixtamalized corn tortillas from Yoli.
- Carniceria y Tortilleria San Antonio, in Armourdale, has a vast, technicolor self-serve salsa bar and flavorful versions of the favorites. It’s the ideal introduction for first-time travelers on the KCK Taco Trail, and look out for their daily specials, including (perhaps especially) turkey tail.
- In-A-Tub serves a riff on Kansas City’s homegrown taco, where, instead of parmesan cheese, the taco is coated in Cheeto-orange cheese dust. Yes, it’s “junk food,” but it’s our junk food — and it happens to be delicious. It’s also a fun bit of local culinary history.
- Yoli Westside serves these barbacoa mini-burritos that are incredibly snackable and made with top-tier ingredients, including tender braised beef cheeks from Niman ranch, Rancho Gordo heirloom beans and Yoli’s signature Sonoran-style flour tortillas.
- Taqueria Ignacio is where you can find Caramelo’s Ruben Leal on Tuesday and Friday evenings, selling great tacos on supple Sonoran-style flour tortillas in the back of Garden House Cafe. I recommend grabbing a couple tacos and porting them next door to Sagebrush, a cocktail bar with great drinks and Southwestern vibes.
- El Pollo Guasave has build-your-own-tacos featuring some of the best Sinaloa-style, citrusy grilled chicken in town. Guasave is carry-out only, with humble sides and accoutrements (your pickled onions will be served in a twist-tied bag), but the flavors are black-tie.
Natalie Torres Gallagher:
- Conchita Tacos, in the Crossroads, is where I go for a great fish taco, but it’s the loaded fries that stole my heart. This hip shop’s crispy shoestrings are piled high and drizzled with a creamy salsa verde, pico de gallo and tasty morsels of steak.
- Tako Tako touts Sonoran-style tacos, served on flour tortillas instead of the typical corn, although both are available at this newish spot on State Line Road. My “sleeper hit” award goes to the mushroom taco, which somehow tastes meatier than the rest of the menu.
- Tacos La Guera, nestled in an AutoZone parking lot, serves the best cabeza, or beef cheek, and lengua, or beef tongue, tacos in KC. Slow cooked until fork-tender, the cabeza is the equivalent of a brisket hug, while the more mild lengua is soft and earthy.
- Tacos Ruta 635 is the spot for barbacoa, slow-cooked beef that is often reserved for special occasions. But Tacos Ruta, a humble food truck right off I-635, has barbacoa on its menu every day of the week — a thing of rare beauty, a beefy benediction. Go forth, good pilgrim.
- Tiki Taco menu seems inspired by Frankenstein’s stoner cousin. I get the tempura-fried avocado taco, a surf-and-turf burrito, and — my guilty pleasure — a Thai-fried chicken taco with a sweet chili sauce and zippy slaw.
- Tacos El Tio does no wrong. Their carnitas, asada, al pastor, and pollo are each shining examples of how simple ingredients, when treated with love and heat, can achieve greatness. Direct your attention to the campechanos taco, which combines rich, spicy chorizo and carne asada. This is what happens when your taqueria makes you a mixtape that turns out to be a declaration of love.
- Miranda’s Mexican Food Truck, run by married chefs Luis Lezama and Ana Mirandas, might be the only place in Kansas City with tacos de canasta on the menu. Lezama gives us a food inspector-approved version of the family recipe: He dips corn tortillas in rich braising juices before stuffing them with pork, cabbage, radish and cilantro and giving them a quick fry on the flat-top.
- Barbacoa has so much to love. Chef and co-owner Roman Raya Jr. pays homage to Texas barbecue and Mexican flavors, the spirit of which is on full display with his birria de res. But the very best part of Barbacoa might be the bar program, compliments of co-owner Madeline Buechter.
- Rudy’s Tenampa Taqueria has been around since 1993 and, back then, the thing was the signature tenampa taco: ground beef in a flour tortilla, held together with toothpicks, then fried and dusted with parmesan cheese. My favorite Rudy’s item is buried somewhere in a sidebar: “Quatro taquitos.” It’s four tacos, your choice between grilled carne asada or marinated shrimp, served in corn tortillas and topped with pico de gallo.
