15 Mind-Blowingly Good Taquerias in Goshen

El Zocalo serves Mexican specialties in a warm, sit-down space that offers colorful ambiance, music, and a luchador mask under glass next to the register.

What’s not to love?

Located in Goshen’s Old Bag Factory, El Zocalo is a hidden gem with a menu offering their signature take on Mexican standards. The restaurant crafts dishes to appeal to the unique taste profile of the community it loves to serve, bringing together American and Mexican flavors on favorites the Burrito El Zocalo (rice, beans, mozzarella cheese, with your choice of meat); the Gringa (a tortilla with flavored pork and melted cheese on a tortilla), and the ‘Hamburguesa’ (no introduction needed).

During warm weather, enjoy a meal on their patio, and don’t miss their delicious breakfast menu items on the weekends, chilaquiles among them.

With its bustling downtown location and catering business, Los Primos is one of Goshen’s most expansive Mexican restaurants. This family-owned business specializes in a wide variety of dishes – everything from Mexican-style soup and sandwiches to gigantic burritos and spicy, piping-hot fajitas – but they may be most famous for their fried plantains and fish tacos.

Chef Martin Lopez and his delicious recipes keep this taqueria crowded around the clock. Stop in for lunch or dinner any day of the week – Sundays are the exception –- for some fantastic and oh-so authentic Mexican food.

Tucked into the northeast corner of downtown, Si Senor is a small restaurant serving up big flavors. With traditional Mexican dishes like menudo (soup) and birria, as well as classic dishes like tacos, burritos, quesadillas, everyone in your party is bound to find something delicious to eat at this family-owned taco joint. Did I forget to mention that they do breakfast? Chilaquiles on Fridays? Yes, please!

If you’re looking to try the birria but aren’t quite ready to leap into a whole bowl on your first visit, try their quesabirria! This secret menu item incorporates the incredible flavor of the marinated beef birria with melty cheese in a small, taco-sized toasted tortilla. Utterly mouth-watering!

Si Senor is open Fridays, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Don’t let Castaneda Tacos & Restaurant’s fresh, brick-and-mortar location fool you: The roots of this family-run restaurant run deep in Goshen. Castaneda credits the rise of their delicious tacos back 30 years to matriarch Mary’s time at Goshen Rubber, when co-workers began asking if she might be willing to make some of the homemade burritos she brought for lunch for them, too. 

Beer and wine are available, and you can stop by for lunch or dinner. Looking for inspiration on what to order? Check out their delicious Instagram feed, though, pro tip – you can’t go wrong with the tacos al pastor with avocado.

Castaneda Tacos is closed Sundays.

San Marcos was a brick and mortar spot in downtown Goshen but began serving their uniquely delicious tacos out of a food truck at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Their tacos are made with fresh cilantro and onion, flavorful meat or beans, with a few limes on the side for extra zest.

The truth is, you can’t go wrong with anything on the menu, especially when you smother it with a healthy dose of their housemade salsa and guacamole.

Check the San Marcos Food Truck Facebook page for days and times.

If you want some super-fresh tacos made to order, check out San Jose Supermarket. Unsuspecting passersby might never suspect that some of the city’s best tacos are hanging out in the back of this neighborhood grocery. But, you, Goshen insider, will not be missing out!

Tucked away in the back of downtown’s San Jose Supermarket, this restaurant’s kitchen is adjacent to its deli. What this means is it’s just a short trip for pollo (chicken), asada (steak), al pastor (pork), and weekend specials from the oven to your tacos. Dine in or grab the food to go, but either way, we highly recommend trying these on these insanely delicious tacos.

Universal Tamal in the heart of downtown Goshen is best known for – you guessed it – tamales. If you have yet to try this Meso-American comfort food, you’re missing out. Tamales are a traditional Mexican dish made with masa, meat, spices, and vegetables steamed in a corn husk. When you unwrap the husk, you’re in for a fabulously flavorful (and filling) delight. Try the sweet tamales on your next visit, too, with a flavor reminiscent of the vanilla-infused horchata.

Don’t be fooled by the name of this restaurant, though: Tamales aren’t all that’s on the menu. Universal Tamal opens at 9 a.m. Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, and 10 a.m. on most weekdays, so breakfast is available, as well. Try the huevos rancheros or the chilaquiles with your choice of red or green chile sauce!

Universal Tamal is closed Mondays.

El Camino Real #4 was one of the first Mexican restaurants in Goshen and has remained one of the most dearly loved.

With its spacious interior, El Camino is a great place to sit down with a large group of friends and family. You’re sure to find your favorite dish on its expansive menu, but we recommend trying the burrito, which is full of rice, beans, vegetables, and meat of your choice.

Put an extra kick in your dinner with one of their famous margaritas or daiquiris!

You could miss out on the delicious tacos delivered through the window of the modest Tacos 9 Juan Juan truck if it hadn’t been your destination in the first place. But it was.

The simplicity of its menu may be what makes Tacos 9 Juan Juan so great. Meat choices are listed first on the board to be included in the taco or burrito of your choice. The great Mexican “sandwich,” the torta, also makes an appearance. Bring a friend along to share an order of this truck’s asada fries; too large for one, this Mexican-American mash-up is also too tasty to skip!

You’ll find the truck parked in the lot in front of the Maple City Chapel, stickers of their rainbow of available Jarritos flavors posted in the passenger window.

Check the Tacos 9 Juan Juan Facebook page for days and times.

When Saca Los Tacos posts days and hours for its truck online, the information always comes with a caveat: Closing times are subject to change if they sell out first. Oftentimes, it’s because they do just that.

Saca Los Tacos uses its signature birria – a meat-based stew with Mexican spices – in almost every menu item they offer – in tacos, burritos, on fries and nachos, and in the fan favorite, the Mega Quesabirria.

A subsection of these offerings goes onto the grill before going onto your plate, melting the cheese and creating the kind of legendary, crispy taco goodness that creates a sensation on social media. These are the birria tacos that have turned Saca Los Tacos into a weekend destination. You can make it yours, too, but plan to come early to avoid leaving empty-handed.

Check Saca Los Tacos’ Facebook page for days and times.

Located in North Goshen, Taqueria El Maza has become a destination for locals who know their tacos.

The menu includes Mexican staples like fajitas, burritos, and chimichangas but also offers many unique items such as a Mexican shrimp cocktail, ceviche, and shrimp in tomato sauce topped with avocados. Sit down and enjoy a meal at their physical location, or find them around town catering area events.

One of Goshen’s first food trucks, Tacos El Portal is an institution unto itself. Find the truck parked along Pike Street in Goshen, just north of downtown. They’re well known for their steak tacos, but we mean it when we say that there is no second-best on this menu – helpfully posted on the side of the truck! Try it all, then try it all again.

Whether you stop by over your lunch break or for a late-night snack, Tacos El Portal delivers some of the best authentic Mexican food you’ll ever taste.

El Nopal may be one of Goshen’s only spots for that offers the breakfast specialty chilaquiles and eggs all day long. And while this should be incentive enough to stop for a bite at their comfortable space, it’s certainly not the only one.

Open at 10 a.m., the restaurant also gives customers a Mexican-flavored take on the ‘meat and three’ combination at an affordable price. And chasca’s on the menu at El Nopal, so if you have yet to try this cup of corn and mayonnaise topped with chili powder, you’re in for a treat more familiar than not.

You can celebrate your special occasions at El Nopal, too! Contact the restaurant for details about their party packages.

El Nopal is closed Sundays.

Located in the North Goshen neighborhood, Menudos La China is has become well known for their delicious take on the traditional Mexican soup, menudo. In addition to the menudo, you can find some great unique offerings at this taco joint, like their lamb tacos.

Stop by for some authentic Mexican flavors!

One of Goshen’s newest Mexican restaurants, El Rancho Viejo is spacious and delivers friendly service. This is the perfect place to take the whole family with a wide selection of traditional dishes. A lunch menu is available Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., but you can scroll through everything their kitchen has to offer on your phone using the QR code El Rancho Viejo provides.

With extensive tequila offerings and a range of meat and seafood specialties, this restaurant is an excellent option if you’re looking for a more upscale, sit-down dining experience. Make sure to try their fajitas, a customer favorite!