| Tight Tacos | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Exterior of Tight Tacos in southeast Portland's Richmond neighborhood in March 2022 | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | 2016 |
| Owner(s) |
|
| Food type | Mexican |
| Website | tighttacos |
Tight Tacos is a small chain of Mexican restaurants based in Portland, Oregon, United States. Established in 2016, the business has also operated in Hawaii. Tight Tacos has garnered a positive reception.
The restaurant chain and catering company [1] [2] Tight Tacos operates in the U.S. states of Oregon and Hawaii. In addition to tacos, [3] the business serves nachos with cheese, guacamole, jalapenos, and salsa fresca, [4] as well as burritos. [5] [6] Meatless fillings include adobo-marinated cauliflower and soy chorizo. [7] The Hellaburrito—stylized as Hella(bur)Rito—has cream, French fries, nacho cheese, and onions. [8] Drink options include micheladas made with hard seltzers (Truly, White Claw), as well as agua fresca, horchata, and sodas. [4]
Co-owner Mark Cosio launched Tight Tacos with his brother-in-law Reggie Ballesteros in 2016. [9] [10] Annamarie Cosio has also been credited as a co-owner. [11]
By 2019, the business operated four food carts. Tight Tacos's first brick and mortar restaurant opened in The Zipper in Portland in September 2019. [4] [12] [13] In early 2020, Tight Tacos began operating in the kitchen of Thirsty Monk in southeast Portland. [14] [15] The business operated via delivery and take-out at times during the COVID-19 pandemic. [16]
Tight Tacos has also operated on Division Street in southeast Portland's Richmond neighborhood, [7] and in Maui and Oahu. [1] [17] [18] [19] The Portland food cart in a southeast Portland parking lot hosted the breakfast burrito pop-up Kooks Burritos. [20] [21]
Tight Tacos's Hellarito was included in the Daily Hive 's 2021 list of the fifteen best eateries in Portland. [22] Michael Russell included the business in The Oregonian 's list of Portland's best new food carts of the past decade. [23] Waz Wu recommended Tight Tacos in Eater Portland 's 2023 overview of the city's vegan tacos. [7]
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Willamette Week 's Matthew Singer included Tight Tacos in a list of twenty "awesome meals for takeout and delivery in Portland right now". [8] The business was a runner-up in the Best Taco category of the newspaper's annual 'Best of Portland' readers' poll in 2022, [24] and ranked second in the Best Catering Service category in the same poll in 2024. [25]
Portland Mercado is a collection of food carts in Portland, Oregon, United States. The carts are located in Southeast Portland's Mt. Scott-Arleta neighborhood, at the border of Foster-Powell.
El Gallo Taqueria was a Mexican restaurant in Portland, Oregon, United States. Owner and chef Jake Brown established the business as a food cart in 2009, in southeast Portland's Woodstock neighborhood. In 2015, El Gallo relocated and began operating as a brick and mortar restaurant in 2015. The business closed in 2022.
Matt's BBQ is a barbecue restaurant in Portland, Oregon's Boise neighborhood, in the United States. The business has also operated in Beaverton. It has been featured on the Food Network series Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Sibling restaurant Matt's BBQ Tacos, also located in Portland, opened in 2019.
Matt's BBQ Tacos is a restaurant in Portland, Oregon, United States.
Master Kong is a Chinese restaurant with two locations in Portland, Oregon, United States. The business operates in southeast Portland, in the Montavilla and Richmond neighborhoods.
Fried Egg I'm in Love is a restaurant with multiple locations in Portland, Oregon.
La Bonita: Food for the People, or simply La Bonita, is a small chain of Mexican restaurants in Portland, Oregon, United States. The family-owned business operates three locations in north, northeast, and southeast Portland, serving burritos, chilaquiles, tacos, tamales, and other traditional cuisine. The restaurant has a good reputation, and has been included on two Thrillist lists of the country's best burritos.
Mi Mero Mole was a Mexican restaurant with two locations in Portland, Oregon, United States.
Baby Blue Pizza was a vegan pizzeria in Portland, Oregon. The restaurant operated from July 2019 to January 2022, closing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Birrieria La Plaza is a Mexican restaurant in Portland, Oregon, in the United States. Initially operating from a food cart in southeast Portland, the business has opened a brick and mortar location and plans to open a stall at Block 216.
Taqueria Los Puñales is a queer-owned and operated Mexican restaurant in Portland, Oregon, United States. Opened by Brian Aster and David Madrigal in southeast Portland's Sunnyside neighborhood in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the restaurant has a colorful interior and serves traditional cuisine such as tacos, adobada, barbacoa, chile rellenos, and agua fresca. The business has garnered a generally positive reception.
Prost Marketplace is a food cart pod in Portland, Oregon.
Batterfish was a fish and chip shop in Portland, Oregon. Previously, the business operated in Encino, Los Angeles, as a food truck in Santa Monica, California, and as a food cart in Happy Valley, Oregon. Batterfish specialized in fish and chips and was featured on the Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. The restaurant closed by 2023.
The Midtown Beer Garden is a food cart pod in Portland, Oregon, United States. The pod is the city's oldest, operating since the early 1980s. Following an update and renovation in 2023, the pod became known as Midtown Beer Garden. Notable tenants include Bing Mi, Stretch the Noodle, and Tokyo Sando.
Ki'ikibáa is a Mexican restaurant in Portland, Oregon, United States. Spouses Manuel "Manny" Lopez and Suny Parra Castillo opened the restaurant in late 2022, on 82nd Avenue in northeast Portland's Madison South neighborhood. Specializing in Yucatecan cuisine, Ki'ikibáa has garnered a positive reception and was named Restaurant of the Year for 2023 by The Oregonian.
Smart Donkey Burreria, or simply Smart Donkey, is a Mexican restaurant in Portland, Oregon. Chef Oswaldo Bibiano operates the food cart in southeast Portland's Richmond neighborhood, in a converted car wash. Smart Donkey has garnered a positive reception and was named one of the city's best new food carts of 2022 by The Oregonian.
Cha Cha Cha Mexican Taqueria is a chain of Mexican restaurants in Portland, Oregon. Chef and owner Javier Hurtado opened the first restaurant in 2001. There were nine locations, as of 2014. The menu includes traditional Mexican food such as burritos, enchilada, tacos, tamales, and margaritas. Cha Cha Cha is family-friendly and has garnered a positive reception.
Los Gorditos is a small chain of Mexican restaurants in Portland, Oregon, United States. Established in 2006, the business has operated as many as six locations, as food trucks and brick and mortar shops. The vegan- and vegetarian-friendly menu includes burritos, fajitas, quesadillas, and tacos, with fillings such as pinto beans, soy curls, soy chorizo, and tofu. The business has garnered a positive reception.
Mole Mole Mexican Cuisine, or simply Mole Mole, is a Mexican restaurant with two locations in Portland, Oregon, United States. The family owned and operated business began operating in northeast Portland's Concordia neighborhood in 2021, and a second opened in Prost Marketplace in the north Portland part of the Boise neighborhood in 2024. The menu includes burritos, enchiladas, pozole, quesadillas, tacos, agua frescas, and horchata, among other options.
The Zipper is a mixed-use development by Kevin Cavenaugh on Sandy Boulevard in the northeast Portland part of the Kerns neighborhood, in the U.S. state of Oregon. Established in 2015, the food hall has housed several restaurants and other businesses including Tight Tacos.
Not only did this popular California-style taco cart open a pair of brick-and-mortar locations, one on Southeast Division Street, the other in The Zipper complex on Northeast Sandy Boulevard, but original owner Reggie Balasteros has also opened a restaurant on Maui, with a second coming to Oahu this year.
