After spending the past month profiling the best Mexican food in Korea, it’s time to make some distinctions. It’s too hard to come out and say ‘XYZ’ is best, simply because there are so many things to consider, of which importance varies depending on the patron. So it’s easier to break into some subgroups. We should add that not all Mexican restaurants were profiled in the blog, this past month, however, we have all known Mexican restaurants listed (with directions) on our wiki. Lastly, it should be noted that all of these restaurants might not feature a full Mexican menu, but as long as they have multiple Mexican items, then they’d be included (ie., this is why we’ve included The Holy Grill in our reviews, whereas family restaurants that have quesadillas and nachos on a broad menu might not make the cut.).
Best Taco
Choi’s Tacos
Best Burrito
Dos Tacos
Best Nachos
The Holy Grill
Best Margarita (tie)
The Holy Grill
On The Border
Best Real Mexican (or close to it, anyways)
Mexico (in Masan)
Best Place To Sit Down For A Few Hours
On The Border
Best Place To Eat Quickly Or Take Out
Choi’s Tacos
Best Ambience (tie)
On The Border
Los Amigos
Best For Low Budgets
Taco Chili Chili
Best For Birthdays or Large Parties
Los Amigos
Mexican Restaurant List in Korea
-Seoul and Gyeonggi-do area
Los Amigos
Casa Loca
Casa Maya
Choi’s Tacos
Cunga Conga
Dos Tacos
La Merce
Oasis
On The Border
Panchos
Taco Amigo
Taco Bell
Taco Chili Chili
Tom Tailor
Urbanos
-Busan
Taco
Taco al Puebla
Taco Loco
-Daegu
La Cantina
The Holy Grill
-Masan
Mexico
-Songtan
Las Casa
And one cannot finish off a series about the Best Mexican Food in Korea, without the mention of The Holy Grill in Daegu. Home of the best margaritas and stacked nachos in Korea. A ‘must visit’ to anyone passing through.
Taco Chilii Chili has been around for a long time and seems to have found the right recipe for serving delicious Mexican food, but also remaining financially viable in a country that hasn’t had a good track record for prospering Mexican fare, at least not until recently.
Gangnam has a history of chewing up and spitting out any Mexican place that treads on its hallowed grounds, however, Urbanos has found a nice spot to blossom, in the shade of CGV. Authentic favorites like burritos, nachos, and quesadillas, made from scratch by Mexican chefs.
I don’t have interior shots as of yet, but last month, when walking through Itaewon, I saw the development of Los Amigos. A Mexican franchise based out of Indonesia with live music, margaritas, and Mexican. They’re open now, but will be doing a grand opening party on May 30. This could eventually be the death knell for Panchos, but stranger things have been known to happen.
Fabulous margaritas and fresh guacamole made from scratch at your table, is enough to make an honorable mention anywhere, let alone Korea. But On The Border in Sinchon is more along the lines of a casual dining experience along the lines of TGIF and Bennigans, rather than the quick and easy, like nearby Choi’s Tacos. It’s definitely worth a visit, if you plan on staying there for a bit and dropping some Won.
Cunga Conga in Myeongdong is kind of an anomaly of sorts. An African-themed restaurant featuring a menu with Korean and Mexican cuisine. But to rule out any confusion, it should be known that their tortillas are done very right and are the real draw. Worth a visit if you are in the area doing some shopping.
I remember going to Casa Maya (까사마야) years ago when they were in Apgujeong. Great memories of margaritas on a patio. I don’t recall the food, off-hand, but this was the only Mexican place near me, when living in Seoul (Casa Loca’s former Apgujeong location hadn’t opened by that time, nor was Dos Tacos‘ in Gangnam), so my atttitude on the food was ‘beggars can’t be choosers’. That’s not to suggest it wasn’t good, it’s just that I was happy enough to be having it. I’ll have to defer to Ines Cho’s more candid review in the Joongang, when she visited Casa Maya’s new location in Hongdae after they closed the one south of the river.
Edit: What’s with Apgujeong being kryptonite for Mexican places? First Casa Maya moves, then Casa Loca’s place in Apgu and King Taco bow out. I’m still reeling from the loss of Shwing, even though that had nothing to do with Mexican. Dos Tacos is still in that area, though. But who knows for how long.
Keeping with the steady-eddy Mexican places that are well-managed and are likely to still be around whenever you stumble across this blog post, Dos Tacos (도스타코스) deserves mention for being among the best. They started out in, what I thought at the time, was a tough location to survive in. Just down from Kyobo building near Gangnam Station. But tucked away in a side street with zero frontage on the main strip. Just only relying on a well-placed sign surrounded by other restaurant signs and hoping word-of-mouth takes care of the rest. Well, it worked, as their Gangnam location always seems busy and they’ve also gone ahead and opened locations in Apgujeong and Hongdae. Hannah Bae of Joongang Ilbo reviews better than me, so I’ll let her vouch for the place:
Whoa, gyopo overload.
That was my first thought upon walking up to Gangnam’s Dos Tacos. The couple playing ping-pong outside had been speaking English, and when I got inside the tiny, crowded restaurant, I heard an endless chatter of English.
Because I live and work north of the Han River, I don’t frequent the south, especially the area around Gangnam Station. I guess I never realized how many Korean-Americans congregated there.
But considering the high hagwon concentration in the area, it’s no wonder this is where the better-off foreigners live.
This is also probably why the food at Dos Tacos is so good. I’m willing to bet that the Gangnam crowd knows what real ― er, American-style ― Mexican food tastes like.
My friend and I managed to snag a table, which luckily vacated a minute after we sat at the bar. After giving the menu a look, we were faced with a dilemma: Holler “yeogiyo” (“Here, please!”) as if we were at a Korean restaurant, or politely make eye contact with the waitress? It’s hard to say whether American ettiquette for dining out applies in gyopo wonderland.I’m still not quite sure which is de rigueur at Dos Tacos, but we were pressed for time so I opted for the holler. I ordered our chili fries (“Chili fries aren’t even Mexican, are they?” my friend pointed out), Cokes, a beef and avocado burrito, a chicken soft taco and a shrimp fajita ― only to be cut off by our waitress.
“This is for the two of you?” she asked in Korea, looking from me to my friend.
“Yes,” I answered. “It’s O.K.”
While I must admit I ordered more food than I normally would have for the sake of this review, I certainly hadn’t expected to be questioned about it. But I suppose that in ever weight-conscious Korea, it’s practically unheard of for petite women like my friend and me to pig out.
And did we ever.
The chili fries (7,500 won, $7.92) came first, with a healthy scoop of chili on top and hot, crispy steak fries on the bottom, salted to perfection. I didn’t care if they were “Mexican” or not ― they were good.
The fajita (5,500 won), while preassembled (the best part of fajitas, in my opinion, is putting them together yourself), was delicious. I didn’t get any shrimp in my first couple bites, but I found a substantial serving in the rest. There were some colorful grilled peppers inside, as well as a nice dose of spice. The flour tortilla, as on the taco and burrito, came nicely toasted.
The flavorful chicken in the taco (3,500 won) was marinated and came stuffed with nice, crisp greens. The beef and avocado burrito (8,000 won) was my favorite.
I miss my chipotle burritos from back home, which weigh about as much as a newborn baby. No one would mistake Dos Tacos’ burrito for an infant (that’s a good thing), but it’s certainly substantial.With little pieces of steak in every bite, smooth, buttery avocado and more leafy greens, the burrito was the best I’ve had on this side of the Pacific. That’s saying a lot, too, considering that I have a pretty good Mexican joint, Chili Chili Taco, right by my house.
But I do have to mention the slightly messy process of paying our bill. With such low prices, I had no problem forking over the cash. But I had to ask the waitress several times for a takeout box for the excess food, which, as I learned in the end, she had misheard as “pastor.” The taco al pastor, which Dos Tacos serves, is a flat, open-face tortilla with all the fixings on top.
When I clarified what I’d actually meant at the register, the waitress let slip an expletive. And just like everyone else in the restaurant, she verbalized her thoughts in English.
I suppose a Best Mexican food in Korea series cannot go without some mention of Casa Loca. They came onto the scene in 2005 with the impact of a stick busting open a Piñata, bringing in a Mexican chef from Mexico City to oversee the kitchen, rolling out great branding, website, marketing, TV advertising, PPC ads for every possible Mexican keyword on Naver, etc…The food review TV programs lapped it up and also gave them some free exposure. Then the Apgujeong location opened and talk began to circulate of 2 other locations possibly opening up soon. Then, something must have happened internally, as the prestigious Apgujeong location has since closed and things quieted down. The Yeouido location still stands and churns out some of the finest Mexican that Seoul has to offer, with burritos, tacos, tostados, jalisco, and they’ve even tweaked a bit for any Koreans who are finicky, by offering accepted western staples, like steak and BBQ ribs.
