Best Tacos in Alief, Houston: Taquerias, Birria Trucks and Platters

The best tacos in Alief, Houston, are at Taqueria El Charro #3 on Beechnut Street for pastor and barbacoa, Tacos de Birria La Güerita on Bissonnet Street for drive-through quesabirria, and Mi Taco Taqueria in west Alief on Beechnut Street for breakfast tacos and birria ramen. Add La Catrina on Bissonnet, Mariscos Mar Azul on W Bellfort and two long-running Tex-Mex dining rooms, and you have seven taco stops that cover breakfast through last call in southwest Houston.

Alief’s taco day starts with a pound of barbacoa on Beechnut at 7 a.m. and can end with a two-dozen street-taco platter and live music on W Bellfort.

Alief is better known for the pho and Viet-Cajun crawfish on Bellaire Boulevard, but its taquerias, trucks and family Tex-Mex rooms are worth the drive on their own, including two family restaurants that date to 1978 and 1979. This guide is the shortlist we’d hand a friend who asks where to eat tacos in Alief.

Where is Alief, for this guide?

For this guide, Alief means the City of Houston’s Alief Super Neighborhood: the Westpark Tollway on the north, the Sam Houston Tollway (Beltway 8) on the east, State Highway 6 on the west and the Fort Bend County line on the south. That covers most of ZIP codes 77072, 77099 and 77083. Taquerias east of the Beltway belong to our citywide taco guide, and spots north of the Westpark Tollway are in Westchase.

Here’s the “I didn’t know that” part. According to the Texas State Historical Association’s Handbook of Texas, the community was originally known as Dairy and was renamed Alief in 1895, when it applied for a post office, in honor of its first postmistress, Alief Ozella Magee. The neighborhood’s name is a person’s first name.

The quick list

• Pastor, barbacoa and 7 a.m. breakfast: Taqueria El Charro #3 on Beechnut Street.
• Birria ramen and made-to-order breakfast tacos: Mi Taco Taqueria on Beechnut Street.
• Drive-through quesabirria from a truck: Tacos de Birria La Güerita on Bissonnet Street.
• Street tacos with pineapple and a cucumber-radish salad: La Catrina Restaurant on Bissonnet Street.
• A street-taco platter for the whole table: Mariscos Mar Azul on W Bellfort Avenue.
• Beef rib tacos and a decades-old margarita: Lopez Mexican Restaurant on S Wilcrest Drive.
• Tacos al carbón and a weekday lunch deal: Tequila Lopez on Highway 6.

How we chose

Every pick sits inside the Alief Super Neighborhood boundary above and was confirmed as operating on its own official website in November 2026, with tacos on the current menu. We wanted range: a classic taqueria, a birria truck, a birria specialist, a neighborhood kitchen, a seafood house with a taco platter, and two sit-down Tex-Mex rooms. Alief has many more taquerias and trucks that don’t publish a website or menu; we left those out only because we couldn’t verify them, not because they aren’t worth a stop.

Hours and prices change, so treat every schedule below as “typically” and check each official site before you go.

Which Alief taquerias are open early and late?

Taqueria El Charro #3 on Beechnut Street is the Alief taqueria that covers both breakfast and a late dinner.

Taqueria El Charro #3

10860 Beechnut St, Houston, TX 77072 · taqueria · open early, late on weekends

Taqueria El Charro #3 on Beechnut Street in Alief has been serving southwest Houston since 1993, according to its official site, which says it started as a family-owned business. Single tacos come on a corn or flour tortilla. Fajita, carne guisada, pollo and pierna are dressed with lettuce and tomato, while pastor (a pork and beef mix here) and barbacoa get onion and cilantro, taqueria style. Lengua, camarón and chicken breast tacos sit a step up the menu. El Charro #3 is typically open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 7 a.m. to midnight Friday through Sunday; confirm on the official site.

What to order: a pastor taco and a barbacoa taco, with breakfast taquitos if it’s morning.

Insider tip: El Charro #3 sells barbacoa by the pound with your choice of 12 corn tortillas or 6 flour tortillas. That’s Sunday breakfast for the house, sorted.

Where to get birria tacos in Alief

For birria in Alief, go to Tacos de Birria La Güerita on Bissonnet or Mi Taco Taqueria on Beechnut.

Tacos de Birria La Güerita

12641 Bissonnet St, Houston, TX 77099 · birria taco truck · dine-in, takeout and drive-through

Tacos de Birria La Güerita is a birria taco truck on Bissonnet Street in Alief that offers dine-in, takeout and a drive-through. The focus is right there in the name: its official site lists quesabirria, birria tacos and Mexican street food. It typically opens mid-morning Tuesday through Sunday and stays open until 11 p.m. or later on weekends; Monday isn’t listed. Check the official site for current hours, and see our taco truck guide for more trucks across the city.

What to order: quesabirria, the cheese-crisped birria taco the truck is named for.

Why go: a birria truck with a drive-through lane is about as Houston as lunch gets.

Mi Taco Taqueria

13548 Beechnut St, Suite 100, Houston, TX 77083 · breakfast tacos and birria

Mi Taco Taqueria sits on Beechnut Street in west Alief and calls itself a local, authentic taco shop. It specializes in made-to-order breakfast tacos with the toppings you choose, plus birria tacos, quesabirrias and what it calls its signature birria ramen. The site lists more than one set of hours, so check the official site before you go.

What to order: two breakfast tacos built your way in the morning; birria ramen at lunch.

Why go: birria ramen is the most shareable bowl on this list.

Where to find neighborhood street tacos in Alief

La Catrina Restaurant on Bissonnet and Mariscos Mar Azul on W Bellfort serve street tacos with the full spread of toppings.

La Catrina Restaurant

11300 Bissonnet St, Houston, TX 77099 · Mexican home cooking

La Catrina Restaurant on Bissonnet Street in Alief is a neighborhood Mexican kitchen. Its order of four street tacos comes with onions, cilantro, lime, grilled onion, a toreado cucumber-radish salad, fresh pineapple, and red and green salsa. Quesabirrias come with a cup of consomé. La Catrina is typically open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday until 2 p.m.; see the official site.

What to order: the four street tacos, then the quesabirrias if you’re still hungry.

Why go: the topping list alone turns four tacos into a small feast.

Mariscos Mar Azul

10712 W Bellfort Ave, Houston, TX 77099 · Mexican seafood with a taco platter · open late on weekends

Mariscos Mar Azul on W Bellfort in Alief calls Tierra Caliente-style molcajetes its house specialty, but its taco list is the reason it’s here. Its mini street tacos come in pastor, birria, fajita or pollo and are sold in orders of 6, 12, 18 or 24 with charro beans, which makes it the easiest taco order in Alief for a group. There are also four-piece quesabirrias de res with consomé, tacos dorados and tacos al carbón. Mar Azul typically stays open late on Friday and Saturday and lists live music and karaoke on weekend evenings; confirm on the official site.

What to order: a dozen mixed street tacos for the table, plus quesabirrias for the birria fans.

Why go: a two-dozen taco platter with a live band is the group dinner this neighborhood does best.

Where to get tacos with a margarita in Alief

For sit-down tacos and a margarita in Alief, go to Lopez Mexican Restaurant on S Wilcrest or Tequila Lopez on Highway 6. The two are separate family businesses despite the shared name.

Lopez Mexican Restaurant

11606 S Wilcrest Dr, Houston, TX 77099 · Tex-Mex · full bar

Lopez Mexican Restaurant on S Wilcrest Drive in Alief dates to 1978. According to its own history, founder Rodrigo López emigrated from Mexico in 1962, and its drink menu says the Classic margarita has used the same recipe for over 45 years. The taco to know is Tacos Rancheros: three flour tortilla tacos filled with beef rib meat, grilled onions and tomatoes. Fajita tacos and crispy tacos are on the menu too. Lopez is typically open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and closed Sunday, with a weekday afternoon happy hour; check the official site.

What to order: Tacos Rancheros and a house margarita.

Why go: it’s the taco order your Alief-raised friends’ parents probably made too.

Tequila Lopez Mexican Restaurant

8145 S Texas 6 #144, Houston, TX 77083 · Tex-Mex · western edge of Alief

Tequila Lopez sits on Highway 6, the western edge of Alief, and says it has been family-owned and serving Houston since 1979. Its tacos al carbón come three to an order with pico de gallo, rice and charro beans, and you can also order single fajita or shrimp tacos, crispy or soft ground beef and chicken tacos, and vegetable taquitos. The ground beef and chicken tacos typically drop in price as a weekday lunch special from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tequila Lopez is typically open daily, later on Friday and Saturday; see the official site.

What to order: tacos al carbón, or a shrimp taco alongside the cabrito the restaurant calls its specialty.

Why go: the weekday lunch taco deal on the west side of Alief.

Save this: an Alief taco day

This route runs west to east across Alief and works best on a Friday or Saturday, when El Charro #3 and Mar Azul stay open latest.

1. 7 a.m.: breakfast taquitos at Taqueria El Charro #3, 10860 Beechnut St. Take a pound of barbacoa home if you’re feeding a crowd.
2. 11 a.m.: birria ramen and a breakfast taco at Mi Taco Taqueria, 13548 Beechnut St.
3. 1 p.m.: weekday tacos al carbón or the lunch taco special at Tequila Lopez, 8145 S Texas 6.
4. 3 p.m.: quesabirria through the drive-through at Tacos de Birria La Güerita, 12641 Bissonnet St (closed Mondays, by its posted hours).
5. 5 p.m.: four street tacos with pineapple at La Catrina, 11300 Bissonnet St.
6. 7 p.m.: Tacos Rancheros and a margarita at Lopez Mexican Restaurant, 11606 S Wilcrest Dr (closes at 9 p.m. and on Sundays).
7. 9 p.m.: a 12- or 24-taco street-taco platter and the weekend live music at Mariscos Mar Azul, 10712 W Bellfort Ave.

Nobody needs to eat at all seven. Pick three, split everything, and check each official site for the day’s hours before you set off.

Tips for eating tacos in Alief

• Check the day. Lopez Mexican Restaurant is closed Sundays, and La Güerita doesn’t list Monday hours.
• Go early for breakfast tacos. El Charro #3 typically opens at 7 a.m.; Mi Taco makes breakfast tacos to order.
• Order for the table. Mar Azul’s street tacos come by the half dozen, which makes a group order simple.
• Plan a full day. Pair tacos with a stop from our Alief barbecue or Alief brunch guides, or sit down for Tex-Mex from our Alief Mexican restaurant guide.
• Up late elsewhere? Our late-night food guide covers tacos after midnight across the city, and our breakfast guide covers the morning taco run.

Last verified: November 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Where are the best tacos in Alief?

Our top picks for tacos in Alief are Taqueria El Charro #3 at 10860 Beechnut St for pastor and barbacoa, Tacos de Birria La Güerita at 12641 Bissonnet St for quesabirria, and Mi Taco Taqueria at 13548 Beechnut St for breakfast tacos and birria ramen. La Catrina, Mariscos Mar Azul, Lopez Mexican Restaurant and Tequila Lopez round out the list.

Is there a birria taco truck in Alief?

Yes. Tacos de Birria La Güerita is a birria taco truck at 12641 Bissonnet St in Alief with dine-in, takeout and a drive-through. It typically opens mid-morning Tuesday through Sunday; check its official site for current hours.

Where can I get breakfast tacos early in Alief?

Taqueria El Charro #3 at 10860 Beechnut St in Alief typically opens at 7 a.m. every day and serves breakfast taquitos. Mi Taco Taqueria at 13548 Beechnut St also makes breakfast tacos to order.

What are the boundaries of Alief?

For this guide, Alief is the City of Houston’s Alief Super Neighborhood: the Westpark Tollway on the north, Beltway 8 on the east, State Highway 6 on the west and the Fort Bend County line on the south. That covers most of ZIP codes 77072, 77099 and 77083.

Where can a group order a big taco platter in Alief?

Mariscos Mar Azul at 10712 W Bellfort Ave in Alief sells mini street tacos in pastor, birria, fajita or pollo by the 6, 12, 18 or 24, served with charro beans. It typically stays open late on Friday and Saturday.

Why is it called Alief?

Alief is named for Alief Ozella Magee, the community’s first postmistress, according to the Texas State Historical Association’s Handbook of Texas. The settlement was earlier called Dairy and took the new name when it applied for a post office in 1895.