los guachos taqueria

too much praise = impossible. this place is exquisite. it isn't white table cloths and fine china, but the food is excellent, definitely the best mexican i've had in columbus.

my understanding is that this restaurant is the store-front expansion of acolumbustaco truck. if so, their transition to brick & mortar restaurant was well-done. this place is small and tucked away in a small strip mall 120 yards off bethel road. the restaurant is small with limited seating and a fully visible kitchen.

you order from a counter, and they bring the food to your table. the service is exceedingly friendly. food didn't take long to arrive, but didn't turn around so fast that you're suspicious that it's pre-made or fresh from the microwave.

the food is in a word - awesome. i got the tacos gauchos (if a place puts their name on a menu item, i make a point to order it) and a taco al pastor (they say they have the best in town, so i needed to try). both were excellent.

the tacos guachos was grilled steak, fajitas vegetables, cheese, and covered in bacon. it came with a side of tortillas. they bring limes and pickled habaneros to the table, along with several kinds of salsa which really spices things up and elevated my meal.

and the taco al pastor was dynamite. it was a mix of tender and juicy and crispy and came with a slice of fresh pineapple on top which i was not excited about conceptually but was utterly delicious and a very nice complement to the meat.

this place is also affordable, and a good value. i can't recommend it highly enough.

the taqueria grew out of one of columbus’ most popular and most decorated taco trucks, also called los guachos , which we first learned about through the work of taco truckscolumbus(link above goes to their post). the brick-and-mortar space signified a success for the taco truck world, as one truck had done well enough to establish itself permanently (with a second location in gahanna coming soon!). alongside the taco trucks scattered around the city, i’d put los guachos taqueria as one of our best – and most authentic – mexican restaurants. maybe my years of food writing have led to some type of snobbery, but in many ways i’m happy to have moved past the rice/beans/cheese/margarita/corona type of mexican restaurant. those restaura

tacos al pastor expert recommended. i lived in gudalajara mexico, known for the famous tacos al pastor. i ate tacos al pastor 3-4 times a week in the two years i lived there and can tell you the tacos al pastor at los guachos are the closest tasting and best tacos i have had anywhere north of the rio grande. los guachos definitely knows what they are doing and is well worth the drive no matter where you are coming from. the friendly staff reminded me of eating at the taco stands on the streets of mexico, even opening a "tab" for us to pay after we were finished ordering more tacos. a rare find incolumbusand a place i will be going to on a regular basis.

taco truck delights from a brick and mortar shop. with the winter finally subsiding and the green of spring just starting to arrive, one of the activities i'm anticipating the most is the joy derived from scouring this fair city for some of her many food carts (and specifically the many taco trucks). there's a unique allure in attempting to locate a particular vendor that you've had your eye on, especially considering they're constantly on the move and frequently in areas ofcolumbusfor which you may or may not have any experience. combine this with the novelty of eating off of a paper plate while seated on a sidewalk curb or in your car, and i'm a happy man. but alas, the fun of a food cart hopping is certainly not for everyone. and for those souls out there looking for these inexpensive delights, but who still want the creature comforts of a brick and mortar storefront in tact, look no further: los gauchos taqueria has shed their former taco truck digs and decided to lay down some roots.

their new storefront is located in a mini-strip mall just north of the bethel intersection on godown rd on the north side of columbus. looking at a map, you may be inclined to believe it is tucked away in the bethel centre shopping center, but, in fact, it is located in a smaller, slightly dingier strip mall just behind this main plaza (directly across from the godown rd entrance to the winking lizard tavern). there is a small but sufficient parking lot directly out front. the interior is quite miniscule, offering only 4 tables and a few stools lining a counter along one wall, but i've yet to stop in when there wasn't at least 1 table available. when you enter, walk right up to the counter and select from the menu overhead. they'll usually bring the food out to your table, but if they're particularly busy, they may just call your name.

now on to my favorite part: the food, which is delicious and incredibly cheap. naturally, they offer a variety of tacos for $1.50 each, with your meat authentically served atop 2 small, soft, corn tortillas and topped with onions and cilantro. if you are feeling a little more adventurous, they do offer tacos de langua (beef tongue) and tacos de tripa (cow stomach or small intestines), both of which are delicious. additionally, they also offer and handful of torta sandwiches for $6, volcanes, and gringas for $3.50 (flour tortillas topped with meat and cheese). the highlight and must-try dish, however, is the al pastor pork taco (the unofficial dish of mexico city) - which can be enjoyed in the form of a torta or gringa, too. if you arrive after 4pm - or earlier on weekends - you can see the large hunk of pork spit-roasting in plain sight, of which they'll slice off a few tender slices and top it off with an accompanying slice of pineapple (they still serve it before 4pm, but just grilled to order instead).

further, any trip to the taqueria wouldn't be complete without a few condiments thrown in for your dining pleasure. in addition to the slices of refreshing cucumber that are served with basically everything, on each table they have also laid out bowls of sliced limes, pickled jalapeños, and an incredibly delicious habenero salsa - though you should stray away from the latter if you don't enjoy mouth-searing spiciness. additionally, what look like the mustard and ketchup bottles are actually the mildly-spicy red and green sauces that they make in-house. one small, but expected, downside is that los gauchos does not have a liquor license, but this is only a minor inconvenience considering they are basically a taco truck operating out of an actual kitchen. besides, you should probably save those calories for an another al pastor gringa, anyway. enjoy.

must-try dish: al pastor gringa