Is Eating At Tacos El Califa De Leon Worth It?
In 2024, the Michelin Guide awarded one of their coveted stars to a humble taco shop in Mexico City. A taqueria called El Califa de Leon. I remember hearing about this, and I immediately put Tacos El Califa de Leon on my travel food bucket list. After all, I do love tacos! They are probably my favorite single type of food. I even spent all of January 2025 questing for the best tacos in Merida Mexico.
So, imagine my excitement when we decided to spend January 2026 in Mexico City. And of course I made a beeline for Tacos El Califa de Leon during our first days in town. Especially when I discovered that it was located only a 20 minute walk from our Airbnb. In fact, it was the first taqueria I visited during our time in Mexico City. So…what is it like to eat at the world’s only taco shop with a Michelin Star? And are the tacos at El Califa de Leon worth the hype? Here’s a look at my experience.
Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links. If you buy something after clicking one of these links, I may earn a small commission. This does not cost you anything extra and helps support this blog.
Contents
Getting To El Califa De Leon
Our Airbnb was in a high-rise building next to Mexico City’s Monument to the Revolution – on the edge of the city’s Centro Historico District. Tacos El Califa De Leon is located in one the adjoining neighborhoods called San Rafael. I walked the 20 minutes from our apartment. But if you are staying in the popular tourist neighborhoods like Roma Norte or La Condesa, you will want to take an Uber.
I felt completely safe as I walked through San Rafael to the taco shop. I made my way there at 6pm on our first full day in Mexico City. The shop itself is located on a busy thoroughfare called Avenida Ribera de San Cosme, which is lined with all kinds of local businesses. In fact, as I walked along the sidewalk, I found myself in a type of commercial alley – with storefronts on one side and a row of kiosks on the other side.
Ultimately, I arrived at the small narrow storefront of the famed Tacos El Califa de Leon….
And it is tiny! Just a small open grill area, a single counter top, and a small ordering window in the back.
Though the hours of operation for Tacos El Califa de Leon are listed as 11:00am-2:00am (365 days a year), when I arrived at 6:00pm, the taqueria was temporarily taking a cleaning break. I watched the 7 smiling employees (yes 7 for this small place!) wipe down every surface in the shop. And then watched the chef pull stacks of meat out of the refrigerator. This was all very reassuring for a food-germ-phobic retired physician like myself.
After watching them clean for almost 20 minutes, I concluded that if the Michelin Guide took cleanliness into account, the star was well earned.
Lining Up For Tacos
Upon arrival, I found a growing line of people on the other side of the plastic-wrapped kiosks. This was the desigated waiting area for Tacos El Califa de Leon. Gratefully, there were only about 10 people in line ahead of me. I’d read that customers can sometimes wait for an hour or more for their Michelin-starred tacos.
The line actually threads through a narrow opening between two kiosks, and then down the street-side edge of the sidewalk. As I stood and waited for the cleaning to end, the line tripled in size. The waiting patrons seemed to be a mix of both tourists and locals. In fact, I talked to a pair of locals standing next to me while we waited. They told me that this was their favorite taco shop in all of Mexico City! So it was reassuring to know that at least two locals thought the Michelin Guide got it right.
After about 20 minutes, the taqueria opened for business, and invited a small group of people to cross the sidewalk into the shop. An employee strung a rope barrier across the two kiosks to maintain order. As I moved up in the line, I found myself in a “kiosk alley” between El Califa de Leon T-shirts on one side, and underwear mannequins (with generous plastic bulges) on the other side.
I also noticed that the small clothing store next to Tacos El Califa de Leon was being used as a de facto seating area for the taqueria. A few tables had been set up inside, and one of that store’s employees was seating the taqueria’s diners. In addition to clothing, this store also smartly sold desserts.
Once Inside El Califa De Leon
Before long, I received my own invitation to cross the sidewalk into the taqueria. Upon entering, I immediately noticed the Michelin Star for both 2024 and 2025. And along side the Stars, hung the menu for Tacos El Califa de Leon.
El Califa de Leon only offers 5 different types of tacos. Three feature different cuts of beef, and are called Bisteck, Costilla, and Gaonera. The Chuleta taco is a pork chop. And the taqueria offers a vegetarian option using grilled Nopal (prickly pear cactus). By Mexico City taco standards, the prices are somewhat high and range from 3-5 USD depending on the taco. This is a reflection of the quality ingredients. By Michelin Star standards though, this is super cheap!
As I waited for my turn at the ordering window, I watched one employee churn out fresh tortillas, forming balls of masa from a large bowl, and then throwing them directly onto the grill.
I also watched the cook throw the various thin cuts of meat onto the grill next to the fresh tortillas. He cooks every piece to order, and only adds a pinch of course salt and freshly squeezed lime juice to each (allowing the intrinsic flavor of the meat to speak for itself).
And on the counter, I saw two large bowls of Tacos El Califa de Leon’s only two salsas – a mild red and a spicier green (with lots of onions).
Eating Michelin-Starred Tacos
The Michelin Guide specifically mentions the Gaonera taco as its favorite, and calls it the signature taco of the Tacos El Califa de Leon. So naturally, I ordered the Gaonera and also a Bisteck for comparison. When they were ready, I found an empty spot at the stand-up counter and dug in.
The Gaonera is slightly thicker than the Bisteck. The name Gaonera doesn’t refer specifically to the cut of beef. It’s actually the surname of a famed Mexican bullfighter who once sponsored the taqueria years ago (Tacos El Califa de Leon has been operating for almost 60 years). The taqueria lists this cut as “Filet” on their menu, but don’t confuse this with filet mignon or tenderloin. This particular cut comes from the front leg of the cow.
Of the two, I did like the Gaonera best. I thought it was the more tender and flavorful taco. I tried both salsas, and preferred the red. I thought the spicier green overpowered the flavor of the meat.
And while both tacos were good, they honestly didn’t blow me away. The ingredients were great, no doubt. But the flavors were just OK. My initial impression was that I’d eaten better tacos in Merida the year before.
A Second Chance
We spent three weeks exploring Mexico City on this trip. During that time I ate a lot of tacos. As I am known to do, I did end up questing for the best tacos in town. And you can expect an eventual blog post on that Quest. (Food quest posts are some of my favorite to “research” and write – like this one about questing for Churros in Madrid Spain).
But suffice it to say for now that the tacos at El Califa De Leon were not my favorite tacos in Mexico City. I would rank them somewhere in the mid tier.
I did return to Tacos El Califa De Leon at the end of our time in the city. I wanted to give the taqueria one more chance to claim the top spot after weeks of eating at other taquerias. After all, it does have that Michelin Star!
For this second visit, I arrived at around 1pm for an early lunch (by Mexico City standards). This time, there was no line. There were a handful of locals eating tacos, but no Star-chasing tourists. I ordered the Gaonera again. And instead of the Bisteck, I ordered the Costilla (rib meat).
The Costilla cut itself is quite large. In fact, the chef ultimately divided my piece in half and created two tacos – yes, two for the price of one! In the photo above they are the two tacos towards the back of the plate. You can probably see that they had more fat around the edges than the leaner Gaonera in the foreground.
And I much preferred the Costilla tacos! They had more flavor than the Gaonera. And they were more tender than I expected, given the fat content. Still not enough flavor to move up my Mexico City taco rankings, but I did enjoy them quite a bit.
So Is Eating At Tacos El Califa De Leon Worth It?
Yes and no. The tacos at El Califa De Leon were good – especially the Costilla. The ingredients were top-notch. And the taqueria itself is undeniably clean and well-run. I think if you are staying nearby, then eating at Tacos El Califa De Leon is definitely worthwhile.
I also think that if you simply want the experience of eating tacos at the world’s only Michelin-starred taco shop, then you should unquestionably make it a point to visit.
But as I have often found with Michelin Stars, sometimes the hype doesn’t live up to reality. I discovered much tastier tacos in Mexico City. In fact, several of my favorite taco shops were also listed in the Michelin Guide’s overall dining recommendations for Mexico City – but without a Star attached.
Consequently, I’m not sure that it’s worth making your way to the San Rafael neighborhood, and then standing in the potential line at Tacos El Califa de Leon, if you aren’t close. After all, Mexico City traffic is no joke. And I think that the taqueria’s surprisingly low 3.9 Google rating supports my conclusion.
Final Thoughts
So overall, while I enjoyed eating at Tacos El Califa De Leon, I wasn’t blown away by this Michelin Star experience.
Which tacos in Mexico City did blow me away? Well…stay tuned for my eventual blog post about questing for the best tacos in the city. In the meantime, here’s a little hint…
If you would like to read more about traveling in Mexico City, then be sure to check out this post:
The 10 Most Essential Things To Do In Mexico City
If you would like to read some more of my food adventures, then be sure to check out these posts:
Eating At Ntounias: A One-of-a-Kind Food Experience in Crete