When I first lived in Berlin in 2011, if you asked any American which food he probably missed most from back home, his answer would nine times out of 10 be “good Mexican.” It seemed like the longer you were away from the U.S., the stronger the craving would become; all it took was one person to mention it, and all at once everyone would start reminiscing about a favorite hot sauce or perfect black bean recipe.

In the years since, however, a number of restaurants serving the real deal have sprung up, a fact that seemed like a perfect excuse to re-create the Rob & Miri 1st Annual T&T Tour — Chicago Edition. On an impossibly cold February day last year, we put on as many layers as possible (I think I wore three layers of pants) and walked over 10 miles in ice and snow on the one day off we had together to eat at several places I had read about and wanted to try. There were scraped knees and distended stomachs, but it ended up being a great day.

And so after walking over 12 miles, spending more than 50 Euros, visiting six restaurants and eating 20 tacos between the two of us Friday, I would declare our second annual tour a success as well.

I also now can say that I know where the best tacos in Berlin can be found — though the great news (and what made this decision hard) was that we were never served a truly terrible meal.

What did we miss most during our travails? Any kind of a la cart option — despite being billed as Mexican street food, the taquerias here are still very much restaurants, which made our task a bit harder and more expensive since we had to eat and pay for at least three tacos at every place we visited.

But without further ado, here is a countdown ranking of all the places we tried.

Overall: Located only a few blocks from Friedrichstrasse, Tin Tan is a cute little space with walk-up-style ordering in the back. I tried to order its most well-known dish, the cochinita pibil, but was told there was no more, so I went with the suadero. However, a few minutes later, the cashier came out and said that was all out as well, suggesting that I try the tinga de pollo instead. This was the only taqueria that served the tortillas and meat separately, with pico de gallo and salsa verde as sides. Though you get five tortillas, they were teensy, and it feels like you don’t get as much meat this way. The tinga de pollo was spicy enough, but the house salsa, essentially a pico de gallo, was lacking any kind of … pico. Perhaps I would have been more impressed if I had eaten one of the best-sellers, but for what you get for your money, I’m in no rush to give Tin Tan another shot.

(+) Adorable tortilla warmers and plates. To-go option. Cozy space.

(-) Build-your-own tacos. Sluggish service. Ran out of popular dishes.

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Overall: This was by far the most expensive place we ate, and that alone was a huge knock to its ranking; there is a serious guacamole racket going on here, and I need to get in on this game ASAP if people are actually paying 7.30 Euros for it. The menu says the chips and salsa are free (and this was the only restaurant that offered them), but are they really free if you’re paying double what you would at the other restaurants? The rice, pinto beans and salad were OK but relatively flavorless, and the pork was juicy, thanks to its marinade, though that also meant that it tasted mostly like ketchup and not meat. The tortillas fell apart in my hand and weren’t strong enough for the wetness of the meat — it wouldn’t have hurt to serve the tacos with two tortillas. It felt more like a South of the Border-type restaurant (beans and salad as sides, bigger portions, “free” chips and salsa) than a typical taco joint — which is not a bad thing depending on what you’re looking for.

(+) Decent portion size. Huge space with cool Day of the Dead decor.

(-) Expensive — no entree was less than 10 Euros. Tortillas lacking.

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Overall: NETA and Santa Maria have both been in the game long enough to each have a few locations, and I have to say, they have it dialed in.

Santa Maria is the only restaurant on this list that I used to visit in 2011, but it continues to offer a great vibe and fun specials years later, which says a lot about a place. The restaurant is intimate, perhaps a bit claustrophobic even, but the atmosphere makes it bearable, as does the attentive, super professional waitstaff. The tortillas were just like the ones we used to get at our old taqueria in Chicago, and the meat was fatty as hell — in a good way. I loved that you got good ol’ cilantro and cebolla as a topping and nothing else — you don’t need sour cream, shredded cheese or sad iceberg lettuce on these babies.

I went into NETA not expecting to like it based on the reviews I’ve read and had all my preconceptions turned on their heads. It definitely had the most interesting tortillas — fresh, colorful, flavorful — and the meat was succulent and paired well with the cilantro and pickled onions. I loved how customizable everything was, and there were condiment bottles of chipotle sauce and lime wedges at the silverware station to further deck out whatever you ordered.

I would go back to either of these in a heartbeat to try their other offerings — at NETA, the vegan options, at Santa Maria, the quesadillas and the margarita special. So if you’re in Berlin and planning a taco night…

(+) NETA: Delicious, unique tortillas. Vegan options.

(+) Santa Maria: Great specials. Rollicking atmosphere. Good service.

(-) NETA: Caters to the hipster set.

(-) Santa Maria: Hard to get seating.

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Overall: This was Rob’s favorite taqueria (but he’s not writing this review, so…). For him, the meat was what made this place; chewy burnt bits were mixed into the shredded pork, giving it the best texture out of all the other places. I agree with him about the texture, but I found that it was missing the right amount of salt and fattiness that sticks around in your mouth after you swallow. The service was friendly, and you could find your standard store-bought hot sauces at the self-service counter to take back to your table. And best of all? Nothing was more than 8 Euros, which definitely means we will be taking a trip back at some point — Rob put the quesadillas next on his list after seeing them at another table while I’m looking forward to seeing how good the micheladas are.

(+) Cilantro and cebolla. Great meat texture. Walk-up counter. Salsas and hot sauces plentiful. Vegan options.

(-) Slimy beans. Accompanying salad = meh.

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Overall: Here we are. No. 1. Not an easy decision, as you can see from the other places. Probably what made this place stick out above the rest was how simple but well everything was executed: A tortilla that didn’t fall apart and had a strong corn flavor. A mound of fatty, delicious pork that lingers in your mouth, adorned with only cilantro, onion and — surprisingly good — spring onion. It came with three house-made sauces, each delicious if you want an extra punch, and lime wedges. The price was right, the tacos came out quick, and there was even an excellent margarita special. This was also the only place where we feasibly could have put the extra “T” in our tour that we had in Chicago: They had tortas. In the interest of stomach space we held off, but stay tuned…

(+) Walk-up counter. Margarita special. Lots of options beyond tacos.

(-) Ugliest presentation. Smallish space.

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What’s your favorite taco place in Berlin? Totally disagree with me? I want to hear it!

The map:



52.520007 13.404954