291 Bennington St, East Boston, MA 02128 Call (617) 567-6367

East Boston taqueria guide

Taqueria Jalisco: Family-Recipe Birria Tacos on Bennington Street

A 22-seat, family-run taqueria where owner Ramiro Gonzalez has been cooking his mother's recipes for East Boston for more than 20 years.

Mexican · $10–$20 per person East Boston, MA 02128 ★ 4.7 on Google (about 1,560 reviews)

What is Taqueria Jalisco known for?

Taqueria Jalisco is a family-run Mexican taqueria at 291 Bennington St, Boston, MA 02128, in East Boston. It is best known for crispy beef birria tacos served with consomé, house-made tamales in salsa verde or roja, and tacos de lengua, all cooked from owner Ramiro Gonzalez's family recipes.

Taqueria Jalisco has been turning out tacos, tamales and pozole on Bennington Street in East Boston for more than two decades. Owner Ramiro Gonzalez opened the shop about a year after moving to Boston in 2000, and the kitchen still runs on the recipes his mother cooked at home.

The hook is the birria. Gonzalez braises beef for about eight hours over low heat, folds it into crisp, cheese-sealed tortillas and sends each order out with a cup of consomé for dipping, a box of tacos that took off on TikTok and pulled in customers from as far away as Rhode Island.

This guide walks through what to know before you go: the menu with current prices, opening hours, ordering options, what guests and local critics say, and how to find the restaurant near Logan Airport.

General Information About Taqueria Jalisco

Gonzalez grew up in California, where his parents ran taco trucks that fed field workers, and he learned the trade beside them. That background shapes the menu at Taqueria Jalisco: carne asada and taco de cabeza made the way his mother taught him, Tamales Mexicanos built in-house, and a short list of plates, burritos and soups anchored by Jalisco-style cooking.

The dining room is a cozy 22 seats with booths, set on a corner where Bennington Street meets Chelsea Street in East Boston's Eagle Hill area. Three tableside salsas land with the tacos, aguas frescas like agua de Jamaica, tamarindo and horchata fill the drink cooler, and a lot of the business goes out the door as takeout.

Taqueria Jalisco holds a 4.7 rating from roughly 1,560 Google reviews and ranks #370 of 6,970 Boston restaurants on Restaurant Guru. Boston Magazine named it Best Tacos in its 2013 Best of Boston issue, and Finance Buzz picked it as the best Mexican restaurant in Massachusetts, all while most meals stay in the $10 to $20 range per person.

Address
291 Bennington St, Boston (East Boston), MA 02128
Phone number
(617) 567-6367
Online ordering
Takeout by phone at (617) 567-6367, plus a pickup ordering page on Toast
Google rating
★ 4.7 out of 5 (about 1,560 reviews)
Opening hours
Monday10:00 AM – 10:00 PM Tuesday10:00 AM – 10:00 PM Wednesday10:00 AM – 10:00 PM Thursday10:00 AM – 10:00 PM Friday10:00 AM – 10:00 PM Saturday10:00 AM – 11:00 PM Sunday10:00 AM – 10:00 PM
Google Maps
Open in Google Maps
Services
Dine-in, takeout, credit cards accepted, vegetarian options
Price range
$ · about $10–$20 per person
Parking
Parking listed as available on Restaurant Guru

Taqueria Jalisco Menu

The Taqueria Jalisco menu is split into breakfast, tacos, tamales, burritos and bowls, plates, quesadillas and tostadas, kids' combos and desserts. The anchor is the Jalisco Birria Tacos plate at $17.99, three crispy cheese-and-beef tacos with consomé, followed closely by a dozen Tamales Mexicanos at $39.99 and the Jalisco Burrito at $12.99.

To start, the $7.00 tostada comes with your choice of carne asada, adobada, carnitas or lengua (a dollar more), and the deep-fried Jalisco Quesadilla is $8.50. If birria isn't the plan, the Carnitas Plate at $19.99, flautas at $18.99 and the Burrito Bowl at $14.99 all come off the same kitchen, and The Infatuation singles out the pozole and the carnitas torta as standouts.

Weekday afternoons are the most relaxed time to grab one of the booths, and for takeout you can call ahead at (617) 567-6367 so the order is ready when you arrive. Save room for three churros with chocolate or caramel sauce at $7.00. Prices here are pulled from third-party listings, including the restaurant's Toast ordering page, and can change, so confirm when you order.

Signature dishes and menu highlights

House signature

Jalisco Birria Tacos

Tacos de birria con consomé

Three crispy tacos of slow-braised beef birria and melted cheese, with onion, cilantro, pickled onion, radish, lime and a side of consomé for dipping.

$17.99

Made in-house

Tamales Mexicanos

Tamales de puerco en salsa roja o pollo en salsa verde

Masa wrapped around pork in red salsa or chicken in green salsa, sold by the dozen for parties and family tables.

$39.99 per dozen

Regulars' pick

Beef Tongue Tacos

Tacos de lengua

Tender lengua on corn tortillas with onion and cilantro, served with the three tableside salsas that Boston Magazine highlighted in its Best Tacos pick.

Hearty

Jalisco Burrito

Burrito Jalisco

Your choice of meat rolled with rice, beans, lettuce, avocado and sour cream in a flour tortilla.

$12.99

Crispy

Jalisco Quesadilla

Quesadilla frita de masa

A deep-fried masa tortilla stuffed with cheese and your choice of meat, topped with lettuce, tomato, queso fresco and crema.

$8.50

Sweet finish

Churros

Churros con chocolate o caramelo

Three churros with your choice of chocolate or caramel syrup on the side.

$7.00

Menu categories at a glance

  • Breakfast: breakfast burritos and Breakfast Tamales with a sunny-side-up egg, $12.99 to $13.99
  • Tacos and birria: Jalisco Birria Tacos at $17.99, plus carne asada, adobada, carnitas, lengua and cabeza tacos
  • Tamales: pork in salsa roja or chicken in salsa verde, $39.99 per dozen
  • Burritos and bowls: Jalisco Burrito, fajita burrito, shrimp burrito and Burrito Bowl, $12.99 to $14.99
  • Plates: Carnitas Plate and flautas, $18.99 to $19.99
  • Quesadillas and tostadas: cheese quesadilla, Jalisco Quesadilla and tostadas, $7.00 to $8.50
  • Kids: Kids Taco Combo with fries or rice and beans, $9.99
  • Soups and specialties: pozole, carne con chile, shrimp cocktail and fajitas
  • Desserts and drinks: churros at $7.00, fried ice cream, flan, tres leches, agua de Jamaica, tamarindo and horchata

Craving birria tonight?

Call ahead for takeout and your tacos and consomé will be waiting at 291 Bennington St.

Call (617) 567-6367

Taqueria Jalisco Photos and Reviews

The birria tacos are the dish guests bring up first: the crunch of the cheese-crisped shell, the tender beef, and the consomé on the side for dipping. Time Out Boston called the birria taco "a perfectly rendered rendition," and OBSESSED With Tacos went further, calling them "easily the best birria tacos you can find in Boston."

The tamales are the second thing people praise. The Infatuation wrote that "the tamales here are stellar" and recommended ordering a mix of the chicken in salsa verde and pork in salsa roja, while Time Out noted that "many are fans of the beef tongue filling" on the tacos.

Guests also mention the friendly family service, the homemade salsas brought to the table and portions that feel generous for the price. The room is small and casual, which suits a quick taco lunch or a pickup on the way home, and the aguas frescas round out the meal.

What guests are saying

“Their birria tacos totally hit the spot.”
Trip.com reviewer
“The adobada tacos here are fantastic.”
Trip.com reviewer

Frequently Asked Questions

First-time visitors to Taqueria Jalisco tend to ask the same handful of practical questions. Here are the answers on hours, ordering, prices and planning your visit.

What is Taqueria Jalisco known for?

Taqueria Jalisco is known for its birria tacos, three crispy beef and cheese tacos with consomé listed at $17.99. It is also loved for house-made tamales and tacos de lengua, and Boston Magazine named it Best Tacos in its 2013 Best of Boston issue.

What are the hours at Taqueria Jalisco?

Taqueria Jalisco opens at 10 a.m. every day of the week. It closes at 10 p.m. Sunday through Friday and stays open until 11 p.m. on Saturday.

Can I order takeout from Taqueria Jalisco?

Yes. Call (617) 567-6367 to place a takeout order, or use the restaurant's pickup ordering page on Toast. Calling ahead is the easiest way to have your order ready when you arrive.

Are there vegetarian options at Taqueria Jalisco?

Yes. Restaurant Guru lists vegetarian options, and the menu includes a plain cheese quesadilla on a flour tortilla, rice and refried beans, and churros at $7.00 for dessert.

How much does a meal at Taqueria Jalisco cost?

Most meals run about $10 to $20 per person. The Jalisco Quesadilla is $8.50, the Jalisco Burrito is $12.99 and the birria taco plate is $17.99, based on third-party listings.

Does Taqueria Jalisco take reservations?

No. Restaurant Guru lists the restaurant as not taking bookings, so the 22-seat dining room works on a walk-in basis. For groups, calling ahead for takeout is a simple alternative.

When is the best time to visit Taqueria Jalisco?

Weekday afternoons are a relaxed time to grab one of the booths in the small dining room. On Saturday the kitchen stays open until 11 p.m., which makes it a good stop for a late taco run.

Location and Directions

Taqueria Jalisco sits at 291 Bennington St in East Boston, near the corner of Chelsea Street and just minutes from Logan Airport. It is an easy drive from Eagle Hill, Orient Heights, Jeffries Point, Chelsea, Revere and Winthrop.

Final Thoughts

Taqueria Jalisco is the kind of neighborhood taqueria that earns its following one plate at a time: family recipes, a birria that took over social media, tamales made in-house and salsas brought to the table with every order.

With a 4.7 rating across roughly 1,560 Google reviews and most meals landing between $10 and $20, it delivers a lot of flavor for the money, and the Best Tacos and best-in-Massachusetts nods back that up.

We hope this guide helped you picture what a visit to Taqueria Jalisco looks like. If something here has changed or you have details worth sharing, drop us a comment and our team will keep the article up to date.

Call (617) 567-6367