Best Tacos in Kingwood, TX: 8 Taquerias and Taco Stops

The best tacos in Kingwood, TX start at Kingwood Taco Shop on Mills Branch Drive, a family-run counter known for guisados, barbacoa and breakfast tacos. Beyond it, Kingwood’s taco map runs along three roads: Kingwood Drive (Torchy’s Tacos and Hacienda Los Arcos), Northpark Drive and US-59 (Lupe Tortilla, Taco Cabana and El Ranchero), and West Lake Houston Parkway at Kings Harbor (Loco Cantina).

Here’s the line for your group chat: Kingwood’s guisado taqueria opens at 7 a.m., closes by mid-afternoon, and sells tacos by the box of 24.

The quick list

• For guisados and barbacoa: Kingwood Taco Shop on Mills Branch Drive.
• For tacos from a butcher shop: Kingwood Meat Market.
• For a creative taco and a late dinner: Torchy’s Tacos on Kingwood Drive.
• For puffy tacos and barbacoa tacos at a sit-down table: Lupe Tortilla on Northpark Drive.
• For birria with broth for dipping: Loco Cantina at Kings Harbor.
• For Taco Tuesday: Hacienda Los Arcos on Kingwood Drive.
• For a dozen breakfast tacos at 6 a.m.: Taco Cabana at US-59 and Northpark.
• For a weekend-morning Tex-Mex table: El Ranchero on Loop 494.

Where does Kingwood start and stop?

For this guide, Kingwood means the master-planned community in northeast Houston along the east fork of the San Jacinto River, and every pick has a Kingwood, TX address in ZIP 77339 or 77345. We left out Humble and Atascocita, even though plenty of Kingwood taco runs end up there; they have their own guides, starting with our best tacos in Humble.

A bit of trivia to share while you wait for your order: Kingwood was created in 1971 as a joint venture between Friendswood Development Company and King Ranch, and its name comes out of that partnership. Its oldest village, Trailwood, saw its first homes finished the same year. More on the community is in our Kingwood area guide.

How we chose

We looked for places where tacos are the point of the visit, or at least a dish worth ordering on purpose. Each pick had to show a current Kingwood address and posted hours on its own official website or official social page in October 2026. We grouped them by type, from taquerias to sit-down Tex-Mex.

We tried hard to add a Kingwood taco truck and couldn’t verify one with its own official page, so this list has none. If you want the truck experience, our Houston taco trucks guide is the place to start. Hours change, so treat every time below as typical and check the official site before you go.

Taquerias and counters

Kingwood Taco Shop

2510 Mills Branch Dr., Suite 120, Kingwood, TX 77345 · typically 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, closed Sunday

Kingwood Taco Shop on Mills Branch Drive is our first stop for tacos in Kingwood. It’s family-run, it says everything is made fresh daily, and Texas Monthly has featured it for its guisado tacos, the slow-simmered stews that fill a tortilla. The shop’s own story centers on faith and cooking for family, and it shows in the welcome.

What to order: before 11 a.m., the barbacoa taco, which the menu says is served until it runs out. At lunch, try the carne guisada, the red pork in red chile sauce, or the chicharrón (pork belly) in green or red sauce. After 11 a.m. the street tacos come on corn tortillas, single or as a plate of three.

Insider tip: fideo soup and menudo are listed for Fridays and Saturdays. For a party, the menu lists a box of 24 tacos.

Kingwood Meat Market

Kingwood · butcher shop with tacos · check its Instagram for hours

Kingwood Meat Market is a family butcher shop that also sells tacos, and that’s the whole appeal: the people cutting the meat are the people filling your tortilla. When ABC13 profiled the shop, the family said they wanted Kingwood to taste homemade tortillas, and they named chicharrón, carne guisada, barbacoa, beef and fajita tacos as what they make.

What to order: fajita tacos on a homemade tortilla, then pick up steaks for the weekend on your way out.

Before you go: the shop doesn’t post hours on a website, so check its official Instagram for the current schedule.

Creative and fast-casual tacos

Torchy’s Tacos

4529 Kingwood Dr., Suite 180, Kingwood, TX 77345 · typically 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday

Torchy’s Tacos started as a food trailer in Austin in 2006, and its founder handed out samples around town from a red Vespa. The Kingwood store on Kingwood Drive lists pickup and delivery, so it works as easily for a night in as for a table.

What to order: the Trailer Park, a fried chicken taco with green chiles and poblano sauce on a flour tortilla. Order it “Trashy” and Torchy’s swaps the lettuce for queso. Add the green chile queso and chips for the table.

Best for: a late dinner. It’s one of the latest-open taco kitchens on this list, typically until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Taco Cabana

US-59 and Northpark Dr., Kingwood, TX 77339 · typically 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily

Taco Cabana is the earliest taco stop in Kingwood we could verify, opening at 6 a.m. every day of the week. It’s a Texas chain, and the Kingwood store sells breakfast tacos by the dozen: bacon and egg, potato and egg, chorizo and egg, or bean and cheese, mixed any way you like.

What to order: a dozen-breakfast-taco box for the office or the team carpool, or street tacos later in the day. The store lists a salsa bar with salsa roja, salsa verde, pico de gallo and a hotter salsa it calls fuego.

Best for: feeding a group before 7 a.m. For more early options across town, see our breakfast tacos guide.

Sit-down Tex-Mex with taco plates

Lupe Tortilla

20061 Northpark Dr., Kingwood, TX 77339 · typically 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday; weekend brunch 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Lupe Tortilla is best known for fajitas, but in our view its taco list is reason enough to come. It serves puffy tacos, fried corn shells that puff up crisp and airy, filled with carne molida, guacamole and cheddar, plus barbacoa tacos of braised brisket on corn tortillas with cilantro, onion and queso fresco.

What to order: the puffy tacos if you’ve never had one, or the grilled fish tacos with mahi-mahi and roasted poblano sauce in puffy shells. Vegetarians get mushroom tacos al carbon and vegetarian puffy tacos.

Best for: a family dinner where half the table wants fajitas and half wants tacos.

Loco Cantina Mexican Kitchen

1660 W. Lake Houston Pkwy., Suite 107, Kingwood, TX 77339 · typically 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday

Loco Cantina sits in the Kings Harbor waterfront center on West Lake Houston Parkway, and it’s Kingwood’s birria pick. The Birria Quesadilla Plate brings three quesadillas filled with slow-cooked birria and cheese, with a cup of birria broth for dipping and a side of rice.

What to order: the birria plate, or the fish tacos, two tacos with grilled or breaded fish, cabbage, creamy sauce and pico de gallo. The menu lets you upgrade to mahi-mahi or red snapper.

Best for: an evening by the lake. Sunday hours start at 9 a.m.

Hacienda Los Arcos

4625 Kingwood Dr., Kingwood, TX 77345 · typically 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday

Hacienda Los Arcos is a Tex-Mex restaurant and bar on Kingwood Drive, and it’s the Taco Tuesday pick for Kingwood. Its posted daily specials say Tuesday is buy one taco entree, get the second half off, and Monday and Tuesday are all-day happy hour.

What to order: the taco entrees on a Tuesday, with a margarita from the full bar. Weekend brunch runs 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

Best for: a cheap date night early in the week.

El Ranchero Mexican Restaurant

24551 Loop 494, Kingwood, TX 77339 · typically 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday

El Ranchero is the family-run Tex-Mex cantina on the US-59 side of Kingwood, and it opens at 8 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, earlier than most sit-down Mexican kitchens in the area. It has full bar service and posts daily margarita specials.

What to order: a Mexican breakfast on a weekend morning, then come back for a combination plate and the margarita special.

Best for: a slow weekend breakfast with the family.

Save this: a Kingwood taco day

Screenshot this and do it on a Saturday. Never drive between stops after drinking; use a designated driver or a rideshare.

1. 6 a.m.: Grab a dozen breakfast tacos at Taco Cabana at US-59 and Northpark for the early crew.
2. 9 a.m.: Barbacoa at Kingwood Taco Shop on Mills Branch Drive, before it runs out. It closes at 2 p.m. on Saturdays.
3. Lunch: Puffy tacos at Lupe Tortilla on Northpark Drive.
4. Sunset: Birria plate at Loco Cantina at Kings Harbor, then a walk by the water.
5. Late: A Trashy Trailer Park at Torchy’s on Kingwood Drive, open until 11 p.m.

Before you go: a quick checklist

• Kingwood Taco Shop is closed Sundays and closes mid-afternoon, so plan around it.
• Barbacoa sells out. Get there early on a weekend.
• Want Taco Tuesday? Hacienda Los Arcos posts it on its Kingwood page.
• Bringing a crowd? Taco Cabana sells dozen boxes, and Kingwood Taco Shop lists a 24-taco box and catering.
• Check hours on each official site the day you go; specials and hours change.

More eating in Kingwood

For the full Mexican and Tex-Mex picture, read our best Mexican restaurants in Kingwood, then the best restaurants in Kingwood and Kingwood brunch. For a margarita after dinner, see the best bars in Kingwood. City-wide, start with the best tacos in Houston.

Last verified: October 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I get tacos in Kingwood, TX?

Kingwood Taco Shop on Mills Branch Drive is our top taco pick in Kingwood, known for guisados and barbacoa. Torchy’s Tacos and Hacienda Los Arcos are on Kingwood Drive, Lupe Tortilla and Taco Cabana are on Northpark Drive near US-59, and Loco Cantina is at Kings Harbor on West Lake Houston Parkway.

What time does Kingwood Taco Shop open?

Kingwood Taco Shop typically opens at 7 a.m. Monday to Saturday, closing at 3 p.m. on weekdays and 2 p.m. on Saturdays. It’s closed on Sundays, and breakfast tacos are served until 11 a.m.

Where can I get breakfast tacos early in Kingwood?

Taco Cabana at US-59 and Northpark Drive in Kingwood typically opens at 6 a.m. daily and sells breakfast tacos by the dozen. Kingwood Taco Shop opens at 7 a.m. Monday to Saturday.

Where can I get birria in Kingwood?

Loco Cantina Mexican Kitchen at Kings Harbor in Kingwood serves a Birria Quesadilla Plate: three birria quesadillas with a cup of birria broth for dipping and rice.

Does any Kingwood restaurant have Taco Tuesday?

Yes. Hacienda Los Arcos at 4625 Kingwood Drive posts a Taco Tuesday special of buy one taco entree, get the second half off. Check its Kingwood page for current specials.

Are there taco trucks in Kingwood?

We couldn’t verify a Kingwood taco truck with its own official page as of October 2026. For trucks, see Houston.com’s guide to taco trucks across Houston.