Tacos Lupillo: The Best Mexican Food in Ireland

Fifteen years ago, if you were in search of a highly-rated Mexican meal in Dublin, you would have been, without a doubt, disappointed. In my experience, I only had my first burrito in 2016, and even then, “authentic” would not be the word I would use. However, in recent years, there has been an emergence of truly authentic Mexican restaurants that are revered by locals and, most importantly, Mexican expats living in Ireland.

Tacos Lupillo (TL for the remainder of this article) located at 53 Sarsfield Rd, Kilmainham is one of them and also truly a sight to behold as it is situated beside a local Irish pub known as Clearys. As we walked in, we couldn’t help but notice the pink door that stood out amongst a sea of Irish suburban houses and a local pub connected to it, and despite this, it all absolutely works.

Opened less than a year ago by Jose Guadalupe Zamudio, a chef and the owner of TL, there is no doubt of the restaurant’s authenticity as Jose and his family have been making their country’s signature dishes in Mexico for generations.

As we gazed at the menu, we knew that despite wanting to try everything, there was always going to be a level of opportunity cost (you can see the menu below). In the end, Paul and I both agreed that it had to be the food that brought them to the dance (and is literally in their name) – the mouthwatering tacos.

Ultimately, the variety of meat(s) all sounded too good for us to just try one- so we ordered them all, the choices included – Pastor (pork in a house marinade), Chicken (Piri Piri style), Chilli Con Carne, Barbacoa (Steak in a house marinade), and finally, Chorizo sausage.

There is no doubt in my mind that this is one of, if not the best Mexican food in Ireland. From a personal standpoint, it is the best Mexican I have ever tried. The Tacos all left their presence after a single bite, the ingredients were very clearly top of the range, and the meat(s) were all expertly cooked to a level where they were mouthwatering from start to finish.

I cannot say enough about this humble yet expertly run restaurant. There seems to be crowds at all times of the day and we here at Chalk and Cheese Travels are predicting the inevitable – there will be more locations or at least a move to a more central area. All we are saying is to get down to the original as quickly as you can as there will be lines going down the street in the coming months.