Best Mexican Food and Taco Tuesday – Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
It’s no secret that the Hembree family LOVES Mexican food. We especially love tacos, street tacos to be exact. The more authentic, local, hole-in-the-wall type of place that it is, the better. We want the real true Mexican food without any American frills. And if we eat Mexican on Tuesday, even better! You can’t beat a taco Tuesday deal.
Are you a fan of Al Pastor? We are. If we see a place that has the spiced al pastor pork cooking on a turning vertical rotisserie over the flames with the grilled pineapple juices running into it, we pullover and immediately check it out. Nothing beats a fresh al pastor street taco with slices of grilled pineapple. Delish! And if you combine that with an ice cold Jarritos Mexican soda (I love the lime and pineapple best!) or a glass of cinnamon Horchata, well, you’ve got something amazing.
Coeur d’Alene has some good Mexican food and of course we’ve been scouting it out since we’ve been here. I’ve been eating all the tacos in the area the last couple of weeks so that you can know exactly where to go to get the good stuff. Here is a list of the best Mexican food places in the Coeur d’Alene area as well as information about all of the taco Tuesday deals. I’ve also included details about which restaurants are the safest to dine at during COVID. Happy eating!
( All thoughts and words are my own opinion. Nothing is sponsored or endorsed.)
Coeur d’Alene Favorites
Tacos Los Panchos
This little food truck is tucked between Union Coffee Roasters and Beverage Shack, a drive-thru convenient store. If you blink you’ll miss it. But you don’t want to miss Tacos Los Panchos, trust me. They make some of the best, most fresh street tacos in the area. I’d say they are my favorite in town! The steak, chicken, and pork tacos were all three delicious, but if I had to choose a favorite, I’d say the pork was the standout. It was marinated and full of flavor! The tacos came out fresh and hot, and we downed every bite of them in seconds. They came with all the toppings including some radish slices. I always appreciate a little radish between each taco bite. And you can see by the picture how stuffed each taco was. They don’t skimp out here. My only negative was that they weren’t wearing masks which I find to be disappointing. Nevertheless, the people are friendly and their passion for their food shows. You won’t be disappointed with Tacos Los Panchos.
Taco Tuesday
Tacos Los Panchos doesn’t have any taco Tuesday deals at this time, but with $2 tacos any day of the week, you really don’t need one!
Tacos Los Panchos
2024 E. Hattie Ave., Coeur d’Alene
El Paisa
My cousin’s wife introduced me to El Paisa, and I loved it! It is ran by a Mexican family that knows the Mexican cuisine well and it shows in their food. You can see the family in the back working together as a team to successfully run their business. El Paisa is a stand-in-line-and-order type of place with the option to either eat it there or take it to-go. Their food is fresh, hot, and so tasty. Their pork tacos were delicious, and the rice and beans couldn’t have been better. Also, I was very impressed with the safety measures that were taken at El Paisa. Every employee was wearing a mask and other protections were put in place to make sure their guests were safe. I’d definitely go back to El Paisa!
Taco Tuesday
Unfortunately, El Paisa doesn’t have any taco Tuesday deals currently!
El Paisa
1801 Lincoln Way, Coeur d’Alene
Taco Works
I’ve been to Taco Works more times than I can count. There are three different locations in Coeur d’Alene, all food trucks. Each of them are equally delicious, pumping out all sorts of tasty Mexican food items. They make three different types of tacos- street tacos, hard tacos, and super tacos. Their hard taco is larger than their street taco and has a fried corn tortilla, giving it a nice crunch when you bite into it. ( But, I could do without the massive amount of pre-grated cheese on top!) Their super taco has a crunchy flour tortilla and is served with salsa and guacamole. The food at Taco Works is always hot, fresh, and made to order. They are known for their catering, so if you need food to host an event, they’ve got you covered. Unfortunately, not a single mask was in sight.
Taco Tuesday
On Tuesdays, they do $1 soft street tacos, chicken and pork. What a deal!
Taco Works
510 E. Best Ave., Coeur d’Alene, 7777 N. Heartland Dr., Coeur d’Alene, 5831 N. Government Way, Coeur d’Alene
Las Chavelas
I was surprised by this one. I was actually not even going to visit Las Chavelas because I didn’t think it was worth it. But, damn was I wrong! I got two big tacos, a ton of rice and beans, and chips and salsa all for $6.95. I couldn’t believe it! The portions were huge! One taco was average (shredded beef on a store-bought flour tortilla with lettuce). but the other taco was amazing. it had crispy pork on a corn tortilla with cilantro and onions. Even Nate agreed that it was his favorite. (Stick with the corn tortillas here!) There was something about that crispy pork, tender in some area but fried in others…. so good. And the rice and beans were some of the best I’ve had too. When I visited it was completely dead inside. I was the only customer. These people make really good food and are so kind, so let’s go and support them! And an extra bonus, all of the employees were wearing masks!
Taco Tuesday
Since I visited on Tuesday, the deal that I got was the taco Tuesday deal. $6.95 for two tacos, rice and beans, and chips and salsa!
Las Chavelas
8366, 296 W. Sunset Ave #23, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
Atilano’s Mexican Food
Atilano’s was a major surprise for me. I’ve heard mixed reviews about this place, but I know a few people who love it. Atilano’s is a San Diego style Mexican joint. It looks very authentic from the outside and makes you feel like you aren’t in Idaho for a short moment. I was pleasantly surprised with it and thought everything was delicious. We tried their al pastor and carne asada taco. Both were great and huge. They were stuffed full with toppings, and everything was so fresh! We also tried their pork tamales and wow. It was delicious. Not only was everything great, but it was also very cheap. And they have a drive-thru which I find convenient. I can’t wait to go back and try one of their famous massive burritos! And I can go anytime because they are open 24 hours a day. Side note, no employees were wearing masks.
Taco Tuesday
On Tuesday, all of their mini street tacos are $1, except for steak!
Atilano’s Mexican Food
218 E. Appleway Ave., Coeur d’Alene
Post Falls Favorites
La Cabana
I’ve loved this place for years. Every time I go back I love it just as much. They have the best chips and salsa, and on Mondays they have half priced margaritas all day! Ok, back to the tacos… La Cabana is more of your casual sit-down type of restaurant, not a quick grab-n-go type of place, unless of course you’re getting takeout like I did. They make two types of tacos, deep fried and soft shelled. Both are equally delicious and left me wanting more. Their shredded beef is tasty, but then again, so is everything they make. And another thing, the people are friendly and treat you like family. You can’t go wrong here…. except the fact that no employees were wearing masks.
Taco Tuesday
La Cabana doesn’t do any taco Tuesday food deals, but they do a Mexican beer deal for $2 on Tuesdays!
La Cabana
604 E. Seltice Way, Post Falls
El Ranchero
I’ve only recently discovered El Ranchero, but the two times that I’ve been, I have loved it. It is always dead inside, and I’m not sure why because this place makes great Mexican food. But because it is dead, I felt safe eating indoors during COVID, so I guess that’s a win for me. Also, all of the employees were wearing masks! Everything is delicious at El Ranchero from their chips and salsa, to their rice and beans, to their tacos. I want to try everything on the menu! You can’t go wrong here. My mom says it’s her new favorite place in the area and she can’t believe she hasn’t been sooner. So hurry! Go checkout out El Ranchero in Post Falls. You won’t regret it.
Taco Tuesday
On taco Tuesdays, El Ranchero has tacos for only $2 each, chicken, pork, and beef!
El Ranchero
780 N. Cecil Rd. Suite 106-107, Post Falls
Honorable Mentions
Junior’s Cocina Mexicana
While some things at Junior’s were excellent, other things were not. I love the al pastor pork in my tacos. Great flavor. I also was impressed with their service and that all of the employees were wearing masks. However, I didn’t love the guacamole, beans, or chips and salsa. Also, the meat and tortilla ratio was off in my tacos. For taco Tuesday you can get two tacos with rice and beans for only $5.95, or 5 mini street tacos for $10.
Mexican Food Factory
Mexican Food Factory gives you options. Customers can choose to dine-in sitting in their inside dining area or in their outside area, easily order take-out at the walk-in counter, or go through the drive-thru. Sometimes, it’s nice to have options especially during a pandemic! Mexican Food Factory’s food is simple, and unfortunately I found it to be a bit bland. However, their salsa is the star of the show. Yum! Mexican Food Factory is ran by nice people who are long time locals to the area. Sadly, only a small percentage of the employees were wearing masks.
Las Brasas Mexican Grill
Las Brasas is a food truck located off of Prairie. The tacos were delish, especially the al pastor tacos. I loved their medium spiced creamy sauce. It gave the food such a nice flavor. They do $1 street tacos on taco Tuesday. While Las Brasas is good, I don’t think it is the best Mexican food in town. I also was disappointed that none of the employees were wearing masks.
Other Places I’ve Tried
El Taco Loco
El Taco Loco serves their tacos naked, no toppings, just meat and tortillas. The toppings are served separately in their “Salsa Bar.” While I normally wouldn’t mind this method, with COVID I really didn’t prefer this buffet style of serving and found it to be unsanitary. Their beans were also a part of the buffet bar and were served in a crock pot. The chicken and pork in my tacos were both dry and overcooked. Overall, I wasn’t impressed.
Tacos Reynoso
If you blink you’ll miss Tacos Reynoso, a little food truck on the corner of 15th and Sherman. The food was made fresh to order and was very affordable, 3 tacos for $6.00. While everything was okay, it didn’t wow me. I would eat here again, but I also wouldn’t plan for it.
Mi Jalisco Taqueria
I really wanted to love this place! The family that runs it is so nice and have the sweetest little baby girl. They were attentive, kind, and overall seemed to be really good people. However, their food fell short. Nothing tasted fresh, quite opposite actually. I plan to try them again and if i have a better experience, i will definitely update this post.
Cafe Rio
Cafe Rio used to be one of my favorite restaurants in college, however recently, I’ve been disappointed. It seems like they cut corners at times. I do love their sweet pork tacos though and visit Cafe Rio on occasion, but I think there are much better local places to go to in the area. I always prefer to visit and support local restaurants over chain restaurants when I can.
Ricardo’s Baja Tacos
This place fell short for me. I tried three different tacos here, chicken, steak, and pork. The pork carnitas tasted old and was kind of gummy in texture. The steak was overcooked. Nothing was that good or that fresh. It wasn’t horrible, but it wouldn’t be a place that I’d seek after or plan to go to again.
Rancho Viejo
This place makes average food, nothing too memorable. I wouldn’t recommend dining there and would say you’d be happier going elsewhere.
Toro Viejo
I grew up eating at Toro Viejo, a family owned casual sit-down restaurant. My mom swears by their chili rellenos and thinks they are the best in town. There are three different locations, one in Hayden, Coeur d’Alene, and Post Falls. In my opinion, Toro Viejo makes mediocre Mexican food, and while they aren’t horrible, they aren’t anything to write home about.
Azteca
I’ve always liked Azteca, but it is what it is. A chain. For me dining at a chain restaurant just isn’t something that I want to do unless I’m on a road trip and there aren’t many other options. While they make good food, check out one of the great local places in the area for a far better experience.
What’s your favorite Mexican food stop in the area? I’d love to hear in the comments below. Thanks for reading and supporting local restaurants!
