Tacos made the way a taquería makes them
Six fillings, one format: soft corn tortillas off the plancha, double-stacked so they hold, meat cooked in-house, then onion, cilantro, salsa and lime. No hard shells, no shredded lettuce, no shortcuts. Order three for lunch or a hundred for the office.
What a street taco actually is
If the last taco you ate came in a hard yellow shell packed with shredded lettuce, sour cream and orange cheese, the tacos on this page are going to look bare the first time they land in front of you. They are supposed to. A street taco is small on purpose, and everything on it is there to do a job: the doubled corn tortilla carries the filling without tearing, the raw white onion cuts the fat, the cilantro keeps it bright, the lime adds acid, and the salsa decides how hot your day gets. Nothing is hiding the meat, because the meat is the point.
That restraint is also why you order three instead of one. Each taco is a few bites, so a normal lunch is a small run of variations — one carne asada, one al pastor, one carnitas — and by the end you know which one you're coming back for. That is how tacos are eaten at a taquería, and it is the format we cook to at 17980 Forest Rd, about fifteen minutes from downtown Lynchburg.
Every filling is seasoned and cooked in our kitchen rather than arriving pre-cooked in a bag, and tortillas hit the plancha when your ticket prints, not an hour before. That is a slower way to run a line and it is the reason a taco from us tastes different from a taco assembled out of a steam table.
- Three tacos is a normal lunch; four if you skipped breakfast
- Mix fillings — never order three of the same on a first visit
- Squeeze the lime right before the first bite, not in the car
- Ask for salsa on the side so nothing softens on the drive
- Add rice and beans to turn three tacos into a full plate
- No cilantro or no onion? Note it on the online order
The taco lineup, photographed
These are live from our ordering system — the photo, description and price you see here are the same ones you get at checkout.
Prices and availability come straight from our point of sale, so this grid is never out of date.
Every filling, and what it tastes like
Carne asada taco
Grilled steak, chopped after it comes off the heat so it keeps its char and its juice. The most straightforward taco on the menu and the one to judge a taquería by — there is nowhere for it to hide behind sauce.
Al pastor taco
Pork marinated in chiles and spices until it turns deep red, with the sweet-and-savory edge that makes al pastor the taco people order two of. Pairs well with salsa verde rather than something smokier.
Carnitas taco
Pork cooked long and slow until it shreds, then crisped so you get both textures in the same bite: soft in the middle, browned at the edges. Rich, so the raw onion and lime matter more here than anywhere.
Chicken taco
Seasoned chicken, the everyday pick and the safest first taco for anyone who is new to the format or ordering for kids. Mild on its own; pick your heat with the salsa.
Chorizo taco
Mexican chorizo, loose and spiced rather than cured like the Spanish kind. Fatty, paprika-forward and the boldest thing in the taco section.
Veggie taco
A meat-free build that still gets the full treatment — griddled corn tortillas, onion, cilantro, lime and your choice of house salsa.
Quesabirrias
Our birria tacos: slow-braised birria griddled with cheese until the tortilla shatters at the edges, served with consommé for dipping. Different enough that it gets its own page.
Sides that finish the plate
Rice, beans, chips and esquites. Three tacos plus rice and beans is the standard full lunch.
House salsas
Chipotle for smoke, cilantro-lime for brightness, salsa verde for tang. Same taco, three different meals.
What makes these tacos authentic — specifically
"Authentic" is the emptiest word in restaurant marketing, so here is what it means on our line rather than as a slogan. Corn, not flour: street tacos are served on soft corn tortillas, doubled, and flour is reserved for the things flour is actually good at — burritos, quesadillas and tortas. Griddled, not steamed: tortillas go on the plancha to order until they are pliable and just blistered, which is a texture you cannot get from a warming drawer. Chopped, not shredded: garnish is white onion and cilantro chopped fresh, not a lettuce-and-cheese mix.
Cooked here, not delivered cooked: carnitas, al pastor, birria and asada are each prepared in our kitchen on Forest Road, which is why birria is limited to what we braise that day and why the al pastor tastes like chiles instead of liquid smoke. Salsa made in-house: three house salsas, so heat is a choice you make rather than something dumped on the taco before it reaches you.
And portioning: a taco is sized to be eaten in a few bites by hand. We would rather sell you three small correct tacos than one oversized one, because the small format is what lets you taste the difference between the asada and the al pastor in a single sitting. If a taco needs a fork, something upstream went wrong.
- Double corn tortillas, griddled to order
- Onion, cilantro, lime — no lettuce, no sour cream
- Proteins cooked in-house daily
- Three house salsas, heat is your call
- Small format, meant to be ordered in threes
Why our tacos survive the drive back to Lynchburg
Griddled to order
Tortillas hit the plancha when your ticket does, not an hour before.
Double-stacked
Two tortillas per taco, so a fifteen-minute drive doesn't end in a bag of loose filling.
Garnish chopped fresh
Onion and cilantro cut the same day; lime wedges packed whole.
Salsa on the side
Ask and we bag the salsa separately so nothing goes soft in transit.
Timed pickup
Pick a slot online and the bag is handed over hot instead of sitting on a shelf.
Scales to a crowd
The same build works for three tacos or a taco bar for eighty.
Where to get these tacos near Lynchburg
Our kitchen is at 17980 Forest Rd Ste D in Forest, VA — roughly fifteen minutes from downtown Lynchburg, a straight shot out Forest Road, and directly on the way home for anyone living out toward Boonsboro, Bedford or Big Island. There is parking at the door, which is not true of every taco option in the city.
Tacos are the fastest thing we make, which makes this a realistic lunch stop on a real lunch break: order on your phone, choose a pickup time, walk in and leave. Liberty University is about twenty minutes out, and student traffic peaks right at midday, so ordering ahead is the difference between eating on your break and eating after it.
Hours are Tuesday through Saturday 11am–8pm and Sunday 11am–3pm. Sunday closes early and quesabirrias are limited by how much birria we braise that morning, so weekend orders are worth placing early. Call (434) 213-2810 if you want to check what's left before driving out.
17980 Forest Rd Ste D, Forest, VA 24551
- MondayClosed
- Tuesday11:00 AM – 8:00 PM
- Wednesday11:00 AM – 8:00 PM
- Thursday11:00 AM – 8:00 PM
- Friday11:00 AM – 8:00 PM
- Saturday11:00 AM – 8:00 PM
- Sunday11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Tacos for three, or tacos for eighty
Order online for pickup and pick your time — or, if you're feeding a team, a wedding or a church group, let us build a taco bar with asada, al pastor, carnitas and pollo, tortillas, rice, beans and a full salsa flight.
Frequently asked questions
What taco fillings do you have?
Carne asada, al pastor, carnitas, chorizo, chicken and veggie, plus quesabirrias — birria tacos griddled with cheese and served with consommé.
What's the difference between a street taco and a regular taco?
A street taco is smaller, built on double corn tortillas, and finished with onion, cilantro, salsa and lime instead of lettuce, shredded cheese and sour cream. It's designed to be eaten by hand in a few bites, which is why they're ordered in threes.
How many tacos should I order?
Three is the standard lunch, four for a bigger appetite. Add rice and beans if you want a full plate rather than a handheld meal.
Do you use corn or flour tortillas?
Tacos are on soft corn tortillas, doubled and griddled to order. Flour is used where it belongs — burritos, quesadillas and tortas.
Are your tacos spicy?
Not by default. The meat is seasoned, not hot; heat comes from the salsa you choose. Chipotle is smoky, cilantro-lime is mild and bright, salsa verde is tangy with more of a kick.
Can I get tacos without cilantro or onion?
Yes. Note it on your online order or tell us on the phone and we'll build them plain.
Do you have birria tacos?
Yes — they're on the menu as quesabirrias, griddled with cheese and served with consommé for dipping. Because birria braises for hours, it's limited to what we cook each day.
Do tacos hold up for takeout?
They do. The double tortilla is the main reason, and we'll pack salsa on the side so nothing gets soggy on the drive back into Lynchburg.
Do you cater tacos for events?
Yes. Taco bars are our most requested catering setup — build-your-own with carnitas, asada, pollo and al pastor, tortillas, rice, beans and a salsa flight. Larger orders need advance notice.
When are you open?
Tuesday through Saturday 11am–8pm and Sunday 11am–3pm. We're closed Mondays.