San Diego Taco Shop Named #1 In America

October 3, 2022

Online crowdsourced-reviews aggregator Yelp has published a list the Top 100 Taco Spots in America, and a San Diego restaurant has claimed the #1 place.

San Diego’s Ed Fernandez Restaurant Birrieria in the South County community of Nestor has been named as the top eatery on Yelp’s Top 100 Taco Spots in America list. Yelps list specifically names Ed Fernandez’s Quesataco Extremo, a signature birria taco made with handmade tortillas filled with birria, cheese, onion, and cilantro. 

“Birria, a flavorful Mexican stew made with regional chilis and spices, may be the latest taco filling sweeping America, but Ed Fernandez Restaurant Birrieria has been ladling the juicy, flavorful meat onto handmade tortillas since 2005,” read Yelp’s description of the restaurant. “You can order traditional birria in a steaming hot bowl with 6 warm tortillas. Or you can enjoy the latest food trend and order tacos stuffed with birria and cheese, then crisped on the outside and served with consommé on the side for dipping.”

After testing the water with a food truck, brothers Miguel Angel and Jorge Fernandez founded Tijuana-style birria eatery Ed Fernandez Restaurant in 2006 in the Nestor community of South San Diego. The restaurant has since doubled in size and always has hungry patrons lining up for up to 2 hours each morning to get a taste of the authentic birria de res, a chile-based stewed meat made with beef (traditionally goat) that is slow-simmered overnight. We recently broke the news that Miguel Fernandez had branched and along with his business partner Oscar Armenta to open Tacos Fernandez, a “Chipotle-style” fast-casual eatery that will serve a menu of tacos, burritos, Mexican bowls, tortas and tostadas.