The Best Restaurants in Tijuana, Mexico

Bill Esparza

From tortas and tacos to the original Caesar salad, here are the top food destinations in this dynamic border town

Updated Aug 25, 2026, 8:30 PM UTC

Bill Esparza is a James Beard award-winning food journalist, author of LA Mexicano, and onscreen food television personality covering food in United States and Latin America.

Bill Esparza is a James Beard award-winning food journalist, author of LA Mexicano, and onscreen food television personality covering food in United States and Latin America.

In 2020, chef Juan Cabrera of Mexico City’s Fonda Fina converted a home into a restaurant in Lomas Hipódromo to create a space for the accomplished chef, who previously cooked at El Cardenal (CDMX), Le Cirque (CDMX), and Tierra Mia (Guadalajara), to explore and create. Soft pork jowl carnitas with “Mexican” kimchi and mini tlacoyos topped with grilled octopus and a smoky chintextle mayo reflect national dishes with a local touch and show Mexico’s deep appreciation for fermented foods from around the world.

• De las Ferias 5630, Lomas Hipodromo, 22030 Tijuana, B.C., Mexico

• 664 525 3539

One of the pleasures of dining in México are the traditional breakfast restaurants with long menus of regional egg dishes, a range of chilaquiles, and hearty morning stews. Colorful plates, clay mugs, and textured washed yellow walls with exposed brick create enough of a hacienda feel to let you know you’re in México. Try huevos motuleños, a dish from Motul, Yucatán — fried eggs in a generous platter of beans, chopped ham, peas, slices of plantains and salsa martajada, a roasted tomato and chile sauce. Enfrijoladas are corn tortillas stuffed with panela cheese and drowned in bean sauce. For a more local breakfast, get the red or green chilaquiles mounted with a juicy pile of birria de res, Tijuana’s hometown hero dish.

• Avenida Paseo Del Lago 19621, 22210 Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico

• +52 664 635 9500

One of Tijuana’s most coveted tacos, the camarón enchilado, rose to fame at the original location of this mariscos restaurant — founded in 2002 by Felipe Ferraez — in colonia Tomás Aquino. However, it’s the food truck that’s been attracting long-time customers for the fast service. Order La Mazateña (camarón enchilada with cheese) and sip on the complimentary consomé while you wait. The taco comes with D.I.Y. fixings: finely shredded cabbage, pico de gallo, crema, halved Key limes, and chipotle and chile serrano salsas in squirt bottles to dress your taco plate to preference. Here is where you can get a more intimate experience in a lot covered by a metal carport and take a bite out of a Tijuana original.

• Av. José Gallegos 13390, Col del Prado Este, 22105 Tijuana, B.C., Mexico

• +52 664 511 6220

It’s worth a special trip to Playas de Tijuana for Miguelina Carrillo’s weekend-only taco cart on the curb, a quiet strip of Paseo Ensenada opposite a tech school. The house specialty remains tender albóndigas de camarón (shrimp albóndigas) served in a soup or as a taco, but that’s only the beginning. Carrillo’s seafood tacos can hold their own with the best in Tijuana: Her taco de camarón enchilado arrives moist and spicy, dripping with melted cheese, and is good to order alongside the tacos de albóndigas de camarón. The showstopper might be Carrillo’s taco california de camarón, for which the same plump shrimp rests atop a bed of butterflied, roasted chile Anaheim blanketed in melted cheese.

• Avenida Ensenada 2363, 22506 Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico

• +52 664 110 7007

Inspired by the seafood carts and seafood taquerias of Tijuana, chef Javier Plascencia’s “cocina de mariscos”, opened in 2009 to bring a transcendent Mexican raw bar and hot bar using fresh, high-quality seafood from local waters to La Recta. A nice selection of Baja California oysters, pismo clams, and chocolatas, plus either red, black, or classic green aguachiles are well paired with Mexican wine or Mexican craft beer. Beer battered fish tacos, and camarón enchilado tacos highlight the flavors of the street, however, the tasty fish birria taco is tops, a celebration of all that is great about Tijuana on a tortilla.

• Sonora 3808-2, Chapultepec, 22020 Tijuana, B.C., Mexico

• 664 686 2895
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Under a sea-blue awning in the 20 de Noviembre neighborhood is where one of Tijuana’s many taqueria institutions has been serving an array of seafood tacos since 2005. Camarón enchilado (spicy shrimp), pulpo olivo (octopus and olives), gobernador (shrimp and melted cheese), and smoked marlin are among the local seafood tacos that this taquería does very well. Mixed into the more than a dozen tacos on the menu are some of their own innovations, like their jamón del mar, or “ham of the sea”, a light jab at Starkist tuna, where large chunks of smoked marlin are fashioned like all tacos here, with long ribbons of purple onion, wavy strips of cabbage, a squirt of Mexican cream, and salsa.

• Prol Paseo de los Heroes 13051, 20 de Noviembre, 22100 Tijuana, B.C., Mexico

• 664 378 5283
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Operating under a soaring aluminum carport out of a red canopied taco cart fueled by a flaming barbecue grill is one of the best taquerias in town. Beyond its excellent tacos, there are tostadas, vampiros, quesadillas, mulitas, tortas, burritos, and costras (fried cheese envelopes) that hold mesquite grilled beef shoulder roast or spicy adobada sliced from a vertical spit. The star of the show is the quesadilla de asada, a large handmade corn tortilla filled with melted cheese and a generous portion of carne asada that’s big enough to share.

• El Chorrito 12745, 20 de Noviembre, 22100 Tijuana, B.C., Mexico

Founded in Rosarito in 2001 before relocating to Tijuana’s “Gastronomic Zone”, restless hunter, fisherman, and countryside chef Miguel Ângel Guerrero’s flagship restaurant remains a part of Tijuana’s culinary evolution. Guerrero’s “Baja Med” hits like chocolata clam shots, soy sauce soaked carpaccio of thinly-sliced pen shell clam, mesquite grilled tacos filled with spicy abalone chorizo, and clay oven roasted “primal” lamb, paired with Mexican wine, illustrate the Mediterranean, Asian, and local flavors that have inspired Tijuana’s thriving restaurant scene.

• Escuadrón 201 No. 3110, Centro, 22014 Tijuana, B.C., Mexico

• 664 972 9935
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Since 1990, the scent of toasted cinnamon wafting in the dining room from pots of cafe de olla, warm corn tortillas on a comal, and fresh-cut papaya have welcomed Tijuanenses into a charming restaurant that evokes classic Mexico. Fried cubes of herbed potatoes and refried beans come with everything, from the machaca ranchera, or beef jerky sauteed with tomatoes, onions, and peppers, to tangy huevos rancheros, the house omelet bathed in a chipotle cream sauce, an a variety of chilaquiles. Its owners also operate Talavera Azul, the popular Chula Vista breakfast spot.

• Blvrd Gral Rodolfo Sánchez Taboada 10813, Zona Urbana Rio Tijuana, 22010 Tijuana, B.C., Mexico

• 664 634 1488
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This chic, industrial space, brightened by geometric tiles, white columns, and light wood paneling, is all things to all people. Celebrating its sixth anniversary this year, its inventive contemporary Mexican menu is overseen by executive chef Francisco Guzmán, who studied gastronomy in Morelia, Mexico, and trained at Michelin-starred California kitchens such as Californios and Atelier Crenn. With an impressive international and national wine selection, its modern cocktail program is also tops in Tijuana. During the pandemic, the restaurant also launched KOOLKAN, a line of canned wine from Baja California wines and some of its own cocktail creations.

• Miguel Alemán Valdez 2612, America, 22044 Tijuana, B.C., Mexico

• 664 686 3361
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While Tijuana’s regional torta may be the torta de lomo (tenderloin), the day Juan Manuel Hernández brought a bread roll to his taco stand to make himself a carne asada torta for lunch changed this border town forever. Arguably one of the best tortas in all of Mexico is simple —marinated steak cooked over mesquite that’s chopped and briefly placed in a steam pan then packed between a flour-dusted white pambazo roll spread with mayo and guacamole. The final touch, a pickled tomato and purple onion salad for a sandwich that’s an emblem of the city, which has outlasted the car wash that gave Tortas Washmobile its name.

• Av. Jalisco 2424, Centro, 22040 Tijuana, B.C., Mexico

Serving the Cacho neighborhood since 2010, Don Álvaro Rios and his family have established themselves as one of the city’s elite beef birria stands, with a deeply flavorful adobo that seasons each dripping bite of beef. Under a red canopy, taqueros plate beef birria tacos, and the specialty of the simple stainless steel cart is a taco filled with beef tongue birria and jiggly pieces of beef nerves that fall off the bones used to enrich the stock. Quesatacos (fried cheese and birria), and quesabirrias (melted cheese and birria) are some of the other ways to enjoy birria, and don’t forget to grab a cup of consomé.

• Av Aguascalientes 2237, Col. Madero (Cacho), 22040 Tijuana, B.C., Mexico

• 664 821 7971

Chef Carmen Gutiérrez serves nostalgia at her laid back cafe-bar in Colonia Cacho that features red tiling behind the bar and a red ceiling; the scene feels warm and inviting. Order a bottle of sauvignon blanc from Encino de Piedra to sip along with a tuna tostada with a base of paté de mejillon, a mussel dip, and a tostada de camaron crowned with raw shrimp. Tostadas change seasonally, as do the almejas preparadas, large clams prepared with ponzu; the house aguachile; and tiraditos in a wasabi beurre blanc. Gutiérrez does fun, memory-embedding takes on local dishes such as her burrito de machaca de almeja (clam machaca) served in a blistered flour tortilla in addition to refried beans, melted cheese, and a side of shishito peppers.

• Avenida Brasil 9135, 22040 Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico

• +52 664 197 0958
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Tijuana’s infamous, and delicious, torteria was founded by Daniel Pérez in 1947. Luis Fitch, who befriended Pérez’s first wife, convinced her to sell the recipe, reviving Tijuana’s best steamed torta de lomo (tenderloin) after 30 long years. The original torta de lomo comes with mayo, avocado slices, and tomatoes, however, the especial, a dreamy upgrade which includes ham and cheese is the way to go for a taste of this time-honored recipe.

• Blvd. Agua Caliente 9150, Zona Centro, 22000 Tijuana, B.C., Mexico

• 664 980 6666
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The sun shines bright through steel frame windows in a white room with an emerald green-tiled bar lined with vivid cocktails crafted by Kevin Tocino (Bacon). At Tijuana’s lone contender in North America’s 50 Best Bars for 2025, day drinking is an obsession. Stop in at mid-afternoon for well balanced negronis, margaritas and other classics. Channel Eddy Grant through a refreshing mix of Matusalem rum, pineapple and lemon juice, oiled sugar, and Don’s mix called Electric Avenue. A must is the espresso float, Tocino’s riff on the carajillo that consists of cold brew, cacao liqueur, and a scoop of Jersey vanilla ice cream.

• 2106 Avenida Andres Quintana Roo, Zona Este, B.C. 22000

• 664 634 1394

In the sleepy residential neighborhood of Independencia, chef José Figueroa has established Tijuana’s own heirloom corn movement, sourcing landrace corn from Tlaxcala, Oaxaca, and Estado de México and producing corn masa from nixtamal for the restaurant’s tortillas, tostadas, chips, and more. A celebration of Mexican corn, his seasonal menu includes a tostadona de jurel, a tostada topped with fish dip, cured yellowtail, cilantro, and a relish of chile California; huevos embirriados (eggs with birria) eaten with corn tortillas toasted on a clay comal, or a tamal de camarón.

• Jiménez 7789, Independencia, 22055 Tijuana, B.C., Mexico

Chef and restaurateur Adria Marina, currently a judge on the Spanish language reality competition show Top Chef VIP, opened her elegant dining room in 2018. The international and contemporary menu offers shaved abalone with French fries, risotto of mushrooms and black truffles, time-honored steak frites, and a burger dripping with melted cheese and butter. The breakfast menu features eggs Benedict, Georgina’s riff on the Grand Slam with ricotta pancakes, and chilaquiles with burrata.

• Antonio Caso 2020, Zona Urbana Rio Tijuana, 22010 Tijuana, B.C., Mexico

• 664 684 8156
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On Saturday and Sunday mornings from midnight to 4 a.m. the many Tony’s that run this street food cart on the dimly lit corner of 10th and Melchor crank out orders of seafood soups, and mixed seafood tacos. Don Tonio exchanges friendly banter with customers arriving tipsy from clubs, ladling curative caldos including a buttery tomato and dried red chile-based stew swimming with shrimp, squid, octopus, fish, and imitation abalone (squid pulp).

• Avenida Juan Sarabia 8415 Entre calle 10 y Ocampo a un costado de seminario mayor, frente a Instituto Cuautlatohuac, Zona Centro, 22000 Tijuana, B.C., Mexico

• 653 534 1015

Everyone here is greeted as paisa at the freshest seafood shack in the city, with a menu of fine shellfish, seafood cocktails, tostadas, and molcajetes full of the region’s best seafood in a spicy lime, and umami mixture. Start with prepared white clams or chocolatas, dressed with chopped vegetables, lime juices, and salsas, then enjoy a tostada especial stacked with callo de hacha, octopus, shrimp, and sea snail soaked in lime juice, canned tomato juice, and Worcestershire sauce. Follow all that up with a molcajete filled with raw shrimp, callo de hacha, and any other seafood you desire.

• Francisco Javier Mina 1695, Zona Urbana Rio Tijuana, 22010 Tijuana, B.C., Mexico

• 664 315 7602

The Valadez family opened Tacos La Glorieta in 1982, followed by Tacos El Frances (‘86), but they struck gold at Tacos El Franc (‘96), in downtown Tijuana where its massive red trompo of sweet, spiced adobada (pork in adobo) serves as the nucleus of the city’s food scene. The carne asada team makes solid mesquite-grilled steak tacos, alongside the stainless-steel comal cooking suadero (beef belly), chitterlings, and beef tongue are fried in their own fat. Orders from the taquero on the adobada station come fast, dressed with chopped onions, and cilantro, then coated with creamy guacamole, and a mild red salsa at Tijuana’s busiest taquería.

• Blvrd Gral Rodolfo Sánchez Taboada 9257, Zonaeste, 22010 Tijuana, B.C., Mexico

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There’s always a line here, especially on days where they serve carne asada with whole beans, but the main attractions are oversized beef or chicken milanesas that droop over the sides of a corn tortilla that’s first layered with refried beans and rice and the chile relleno taco. Tijuanenses order their chiles, and milanesas with a guiso — chicharrón in salsa verde is a favorite add-on, and don’t forget a taco de pechuga rellena, chicken breast stuffed with ham, and cheese, which is chicken cordon bleu, the special-occasion Tijuana dish for birthdays, graduations, and other familial celebrations.

• C. 8va. Miguel Hidalgo 8910, Zonaeste, 22000 Tijuana, B.C., Mexico

Since 1996, Luis Mena, and Malú Leyva’s Sonoran-style caguamanta (stingray soup, previously made with turtle) restaurant has warmed bellies with its fragrant stews full of stingray, shrimp, and tuna fin in a tomato and dried red chile base brimming with chopped vegetables. The seafood tacos are exceptional: smoked marlin, tuna fin, Tijuana-style octopus with green olives, and the 3 animales, a mix of smoked marlin, stingray, and moronga (Sonoran blood pudding), chased with a cup of bichi, or the caguamanta stock, dressed with shredded cabbage, and a squirt of lime.

• Avenida Sirak Baloyan 1542, 22000 Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico

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There’s stiff competition surrounding this lesser-known Altabrisa food truck, among the many taqueros vying for the best seafood tacos in Tijuana, and these ones are among the elite. Tacos de camarón enchilado (spicy shrimp) come oozing with plump shrimp, creamy sauces, and melted cheese, and the beer-battered fish and shrimp tacos are also solid. The smoked marlin tacos are a must, as well as the Poseidon, a formidable antojito consisting of a large toasted flour tortilla loaded with camarón enchilado and smoked marlin that requires two hands and your full attention.

• Calz del Tecnológico 1300, Altabrisa, 22420 Tijuana, B.C., Mexico

• 664 421 6164
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Since 1981, Colonia Soler’s busy tacos varios (a regional name for tacos de guisado) food truck has excelled at Tijuana-style stew tacos, and was an early promoter of beef birria, the local stew that’s now an international obsession. Corn tortillas filled with one of fifteen savory stews, including chicharrón, machaca con huevo, and milanesa, as well as quesabirrias, a taco of beef birria with melted cheese, make the perfect Tijuana breakfast.

• Independencia 4500, Soler, 22530 Tijuana, B.C., Mexico

• 664 630 5688

It’s hard not to get excited as the tableside cart arrives and you watch as a uniformed waiter whisks up a garlicky, umami-rich dressing in a wide wooden bowl before gently tossing the mixture with fresh leaves of romaine. After all, this is where the Caesar salad was invented a century ago, and since then, Caesar’s zesty, simple recipe has gone on to grace menus globally. Opened in 1923, and later acquired in 2010 by the Plasencia Group, the legendary restaurant has reclaimed its Prohibition-era splendor. The roaring 1920s-style menu includes period classics like oysters Rockefeller, sole meuniere, and beef Wellington, as well as local Mexican trends born in recent decades like savory tamarind martinis.

• Av. Revolución 8190, Zona Centro, 22000 Tijuana, B.C., Mexico

• 664 685 1927
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Though it’s tempting to stop and grab a plateful of Tijuana-style tacos at the smoky, nocturnal playground that’s Las Ahumaderas, keep walking towards the knife-wielding cowboy in the periphery who runs a temple to fine Sonoran steak cuts piled on flour tortillas. Order a trio of tacos — beef ribs, arrachera, and picaña (Brazilian steak cut) — cooked medium rare and served on flour tortillas (or corn for locals). Sonoran carne asada culture is all about condiments, so avail yourself of the large selection of salsas along with pickled onions, chopped cabbage, and even chimichurri at this creative taquería that’s one of the best in town

• Gobernador Ibarra, America, 22044 Tijuana, B.C., Mexico

Conveniently located just off Avenida Revolución, around the corner from Caesar’s where it overlooks the delightful mayhem from a fifth floor penthouse, is the taproom and brewery of one of Tijuana’s most respected brewers. Enjoy flights of Mexican IPAs, saisons, ales, and blondes with campy names alongside pub burgers with french fries; nachos sencillos with beans, jalapeños, and melted cheese; and crispy wings in flavors like Buffalo, mango habanero, garlic Parmesan, and spicy barbecue.

• C. Salvador Díaz Mirón 4ta. 8178-Interior 5to Piso, Zona Centro, 22000 Tijuana, B.C., Mexico

• 664 638 4891
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The coolest corner on Avenida Revolución boasts a tacos a vapor stand from the iconic La Especial, the stylish Hotel Lafayette, and chef Javier Caro’s hotspot for dreamy cocktails in addition to burgers, pizza, and American gastropub fare transposed by Baja California ingredients. Think cochinita pibil sliders, grilled octopus burgers, and pork belly pizzas with cilantro pesto paired with complex drinks like the La Justina, a tequila-based drink with citrus, cinnamon, and dark beer. The cocktails alone can punctuate the end of an exciting day in Tijuana, especially if you’re staying upstairs at the Lafayette.

• Av. Revolución 930, Zona Centro, 22000 Tijuana, B.C., Mexico

• 664 638 4936
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Since 1989, locals have been flocking weekday mornings to early afternoons for these flavorful tacos varios, the Tijuana edition of tacos de guisado (stew tacos), spooned out of stainless steel bain marie pots. Make it a combo starting with a chile relleno or carne asada over rice on a corn tortilla then add a rich mole con pollo, tangy cabeza de res en salsa verde, or earthy nopales con carne. Other options include Tijuana hits like birria de res, and Mexican standards chicharrón en salsa roja, and costillas en salsa verde. There are three branches of this crowd pleasing taqueria, including a convenient location in Zona Rio.

• 8391 Avenida Miguel Negrete, Zona Centro, B.C. 22010

The street food paradise that is Colonia La Libertad, one of Tijuana’s oldest neighborhoods, is well known among locals. Originally from Sinaloa, this black food trailer with bright orange lettering serves colorful, intricate barria fria and barra caliente dishes prepared by musician and chef Ulises Barraza, who opened in 2024. Vibrant botanas layered with bright red squares of tuna, opaque Mexican shrimp, cooked shrimp and octopus chunks get doused with homemade salsas. The torres de mariscos are beautiful, tight configurations capped with a swirl of Mexican shrimp. Seafood tacos full of camaron enchilado and rich seafood burritos using mixed seafood and melted cheese get elevated by creamy, spicy salsas at a stand that serves world-class mariscos.

• Manuel Oviedo, 22400 Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico

• +52 664 114 6880