Tex-Mex & MexicanTex-Mex$$
Kiki's Restaurant & Bar
2719 N Piedras St · Central, Piedras St
A tiny, perpetually packed room opened by Paula Yardeni in 1976, with a machacado plate people plan their week around.
Why it is on the list
- Fifty years in, it is still small enough that you feel like a regular by your second visit.
- The kind of Tex-Mex that has not changed because it never needed to.
What to order
Machacado, or the enchiladas the regulars order without looking at the menu.
More tex-mex & mexican
L&J Cafe
The Old Place by the Graveyard. Opened in 1927 as Tony’s Place — home cooking, home brew and slot machines through Prohibition — and still the yardstick every other plate in town gets measured against.
Carnitas Queretaro
Carnitas by the pound since 1986, from a family operation that grew into several rooms across the city without losing the plot.
Julio's Café Corona
A long-running border Mexican kitchen with Juárez lineage and a menu that does not chase trends.