Best Mexican Food in Tucson

The slow charcoal cooking that has became Tucson's obsession.

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A melting pot of passion and heritage

Chef Juan Almanza spent years cooking at the Tohono O'odham Swap Meet before bringing El Taco Rustico to a brick-and-mortar in Tucson — rooted in the traditions of Coahuila, Mexico.

Our story

Rooted in Coahuila tradition

Chef Juan Almanza's bold recipes, straight from the traditions of Coahuila, Mexico.

Slow charcoal, no shortcuts

Patience on the charcoal is our secret weapon. Costilla and al pastor that can't be rushed or faked.

Tacos meet smoked BBQ

Authentic Mexican street favorites alongside slow-smoked, crave-worthy BBQ.

A Tucson obsession

From the Tohono O'odham Swap Meet to a beloved Tucson destination, built one taco at a time.

Award-winning flavor

Named to Yelp's Top 100 Taco Spots and featured in Eater's best restaurants in Tucson.

Slow charcoal. That's the secret.

Slow charcoal cooking that can't be rushed and can't be faked — every costilla and al pastor taco proves it.

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Bring El Taco Rustico to your event

Call Chef Juan Almanza at (520) 359-5847 to talk catering. Tacos, costilla, and the full spread — for your crew.

Tried Taco El Rustico Mexican Restaurant for the first time and it will not be the last. My wife and I ordered two quesabirria tacos, plus a shrimp version and a fish version, and every single one was amazing. The tacos were crispy but left open so you could really load them up, and they came with three sauces at the table, mild, medium, and an avocado salsa. The avocado salsa was the standout, absolutely delicious. The other two were solid, nothing over the top, but good enough to complement…

Benjamin C.

We've been hearing great things about El Taco Rustico for a while and we decided to give it a try. We ordered chips and salsa, and a few tacos: carne asada, El pastor, shrimp, mahi mahi and nopales con Chile. Yes, we were hungry. Let me just start by saying everything was cooked on the spot and came out nice and hot. The carne asada was too delicious, so was the El pastor. The shrimp and fish tacos were excellent, they come in corn tortillas and a full of cheese as well, yum!! The nopales one…

Yaron Y.

The best authentic Mexican tacos ever. Quesabirria are to die for and the chef went out of his way to put some cheese on the plancha before searing both sides of these meaty tacos. Who doesn’t love blackened crispy cheese on the outside of their taco. Then dip it in the savory beef jus and you are in heaven. The pastor tacos were also the best I’ve had. Such amazing flavor and moist. The carnitas tacos were the moistest ever with a perfect balance of flavor and fat. The mahi tacos were…

Ryan W.

Don't let the humble outward appearance fool you, this place is epic, with a capital E. If you're a taco connoisseur, aficionado, this your heaven. There is an exhaustive list of tacos to choose from, in addition to other south of the border dishes, but the tacos shine, shine, shine. We ordered 5 different tacos, 10 in all, and they all went down like "buttah". The Shrimp, Carnitas, Quesobirria (a must order if you order nothing else), Carne Asada, and Chiccharon with Salsa (decent,…

Laine A.

Best quesabirrias I've ever had, and a spectacular sunset was the cherry on top of a great night. Stopped in for Sonoran restaurant week, and this place exceeded my expectations. While the place is small and unassuming, the flavor here is anything but. Staff was friendly and helpful with suggestions. The food was drool-worthy... the consomme had a sweet spiciness to it that was really unique, and the Spanish rice was also delicious and had a great almost smoky flavor. We also tried some pollo…

Jane C.