Nacho Mama Taco 美式墨西哥塔可、漢堡 — Restaurant in Taipei

I've been here twice now so I have a good feel for this new spot.

Highlights:

Carnitas tacos - I know birria is all the rage right now, and their birria is solid (see below), but this is the best carnitas I've had in Taiwan. The owner/cook Aaron was telling me how they used orange and spices and finished with beer and Coke for the marinade, but whatever it is they use, all I taste is textured, juicy, PHatty pork belly.

Chicken burrito - this comes with all the right accoutrements and when I got it the tortilla was still hot. I can't tell you how long it's been since I had a grilled burrito that kinda burned my fingies when I picked it up. I love that. The cooked-in-house beans are the star of the show, but the shredded chicken and ample serving of cheese round out the burrito as a solid meal in and of itself.

Horchata - it's just really good. Go get some. Not a lot of horchata in Taiwan, and none of it is as good as at Nacho Mama.

My visits:

The first time I went, I went with a big group and it had a party vibe. We had: Margaritas: this is what I remember the most. They were good. I had like seven. I left pretty lubricated. Chicken nachos: solid big group standby Chicken tacos: also good, but not the stand out of the tacos Birria tacos: I know I made a deal about the carnitas, and I stand by that, but the birria is also tasty. I recommend taking a bite of the taco and then just doing a little shot of the consommé (shout out to Aaron for the tip).

The second time I went, I had: Carnitas taco Birria tacos Chicken burrito Horchata

This time I was one of the few people in the restaurant for lunch, so it was much more mellow but it was cool because I got to pay more attention to the food and chat with the owners, who are really nice people. Aaron is from Northern California but three generations of his parents and grandparents were born in Mexico. The food isn't "authentic" Mexican, but it's not supposed to be. It's California, Tex-Mex, American, Southwest, whatever you wanna call it. Dora, the other owner and the Nacho Mama herself, is nice in the way only Taiwanese people can be and is a tremendous ambassador for Mexican food (and tequila apparently) in Taiwan. The only bad thing I can say about her is that she kept trying to get me to do shots at lunch, so if you are trying to avoid a good time, be careful.

Nacho Mama is great. Taipei needs more informal, feel-good Mexican restaurants....

Opened in early 2024, this Mexican restaurant has been raved about by several foreigners I know, so I made a trip today.

The restaurant is festive (and decorated for Halloween these past weeks) and warm. Seating is comfortable, and there are two tables outside if you prefer al fresco.

Service is great: courteous, personable, pleasant.

Taco Tuesdays are buy-3-get-1-free, and I ordered an assortment of flavours to try them out: carne asada, carnitas, birria, and fried shrimp. Each came with their own different sauces and toppings, atop fresh-pressed corn tortillas. In particular, the birria sauce/stock was deliciously rich in flavour, though I would’ve preferred a crispier taco shell on the birria itself.

Overall, the food portions are a bit small, but there’s significant care taken in the components and flavours to make up for it. With the price difference, I’d guess it’s 10-20% more than other places. But it’s definitely tasty.

I would not recommend to order takeout because those tortillas will soften and fall apart before you get home: they were still holding together okay and I sat...

We were visiting Taipei and our 7yo son was craving nachos. We are from Northern Cali so I was scouring Google for suggestions and was not sure I’d find anything! But we found Nacho Mama!!! They had great reviews and was close to our hotel.

My husband and I ordered the 3 tacos (birria, chicken, carnitas) sooooooooooo delicious! Definitely authentic Mexican street tacos. On the small side but so very yummy! The corn tortilla was made in house too.

Also ordered margaritas (also yummy, very lightly sweetened which we prefer, fresh lime juice) and ofcourse nachos with pork. My son ate the whole thing and he is very very picky these days, never eats a whole plate of anything.

The owners are lovely! The place is decorated super cute and very clean. They opened only a few months ago. Everyone in there spoke English including the guests so it felt a little like home.

Love that Taiwan is expanding their flavor palette and I’m all for it❤️🙏🏼

Thank you for such an awesome meal...