ATXGuide
The Best Breakfast Tacos In Austin
photo credit: Taylor Hannan
America might run on Dunkin, but Austin sure as sh*t runs on breakfast tacos. They’re what sustains us. They’re this city’s lifeblood. Nothing would ever get done in Austin without them. Portable, convenient, and filling, breakfast tacos are in many ways the perfect food. And Austin does them better than anyone (also see our guide to the best tacos in town).
When you’re desperately hungry (or hungover), the best breakfast tacos are the ones closest to your house. But we set out to find the actual best breakfast tacos in the city—the ones worth driving across town to eat. The project involved elaborate spreadsheets, many gallons of gas, serious debates about the merits of red versus green salsa, and some very close encounters with hungry grackles. And now, after eating hundreds of tacos, we can confidently tell you about 20 spots in a class all their own. These are the best breakfast tacos in Austin.
THE SPOTS
photo credit: Nicolai McCrary
Migas tacos usually follow a basic formula that involves a ratio of eggs and tortilla chips to cheese and beans that all leads to an inevitably delicious outcome. Nixta uses the same formula, but with little enhancements along the way, leading to a breakfast taco that’s both familiar and entirely new at the same time. The beans are refried in duck fat, the tortilla chips are made from nixtamalized corn, the addition of chorizo adds a savory pop, and a bit of tangy avocado crema and queso fresco brightens the whole thing up. It’s a migas taco that plays by all of the rules, but also makes up its own—and we’re entirely OK with that.
What to get: Migas taco
photo credit: Richard Casteel
Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ is a fusion of Austin’s greatest cuisines: Tex-Mex and barbecue. There’s nothing else quite like this food—especially their breakfast tacos. The foundation is the phenomenal flour tortillas that you’ll beg and plead and offer to trade in your car for a stack to take home (until you learn you can buy them by the dozen). Those get topped with exceptional barbecue (brisket or pulled pork), scrambled or fried eggs, and tomato serrano salsa, to make some of the greatest breakfast tacos in the entire known universe. Just know you have to get your order in by 11am—and there’s usually a line.
What to get: Potato, egg, and cheese (add pulled pork); Real Deal Holyfield (with brisket)
photo credit: Taylor Hannan
There's often a wait at Joe’s Bakery & Coffee Shop, and that’s because of the exceptional Tex-Mex/Mexican diner food (and the pan dulce, too), especially the breakfast tacos made with fluffy house-made flour tortillas. Get the miga taco con todo, with still-crispy tortilla chips, as well as the super-crispy bacon that defies the laws of pork belly physics.
What to get: Miga taco con todo; Bacon, egg, and cheese taco; Carne guisada taco
photo credit: Raphael Brion
It’s hard to miss Taqueria Anyeli, parked outside of a gas station on the corner of North Lamar and 32nd Street, right by all the medical offices. It’s very pink. There will inevitably be a line, or a crowd of people waiting for their order at the picnic tables out front, because the breakfast tacos here are dependable, quickly made, and affordable ($2 each at the time of this writing). These are not fancy cheffed-up tacos. No, these are the tacos for the people. Exquisite, hearty, working class tacos. Join the line full of construction workers and people on their way to a doctor’s appointment with cash in hand (no credit cards).
What to get: Migas, egg, and cheese; Chorizo, egg, and cheese
photo credit: Nicolai McCrary
At Pueblo Viejo, you have options. You can order a simple, excellent breakfast taco like a bacon, egg, and cheese—or if you’re paralyzed by choice, there’s a set menu of more elaborate options. And while most breakfast taco places have two salsas (red and green), Pueblo Viejo has five: pico, tomatillo, creamy jalapeno, roasted habanero, and habanero and ghost chili. So when you’re ordering, just stay calm, follow your heart, and know you really can’t go wrong. There are a few locations of Pueblo Viejo around town, but our favorite is the trailer down south at Cosmic Coffee + Beer Garden (where you can get coffee, beer, and cocktails).
What to get: Migas taco; Taco Viejo
photo credit: Raphael Brion
Popular with locals and generally hungry people, Ken's Subs, Tacos, & More is known best perhaps for their enormous and affordable breakfast tacos. While it can get busy here during peak breakfast hours, it’s a very efficiently run operation with multiple cash registers and a kitchen that turns out food fast. We like the migas tacos here the best, but we do wish they’d griddle their flour tortillas a bit. Be prepared for a slow-moving Mad Max-style parking lot situation.
What to get: Migas; Chorizo, egg, and cheese; Carne guisada
Sabor Tapatio in South Austin might serve some of our favorite birria tacos, but they're also very good at making breakfast tacos. We're especially big fans of the migas taco that comes absolutely loaded with eggs and chunky, crispy tortilla chips.
What to get: Migas taco
The UT students who have clearly just rolled out of bed and stumbled over to Vaquero Taquero’s brick-and mortar have no idea how good they have it. The al pastor tacos on handmade corn tortillas and the quesadillas are what put this place on the map. But it’s the insanely good breakfast tacos—especially the bacon, egg, and cheese (with the cheese crisped up on the griddle first)—that make us consider going back to school. We’d study for a PhD just to get that machacado.
What to get: Machacado and egg; Bacon, egg, and cheese.
photo credit: Nicolai McCrary
Unless you’ve been to Granny’s—or have your own grandmother with a family recipe for excellent mole and chilaquiles—there’s a good chance you haven’t had a breakfast taco quite like their chilaquil taco. Here crispy corn chips in a fluffy flour tortilla get topped with a spicy and earthy house-made mole, cotija cheese, onion, and pickled jalapeno. Unlike it’s more popular breakfast cousin—migas—this is an eggless taco. But after a few of those ultra-savory and crunchy bites, you’ll forget eggs ever existed. And if you prefer a more classic rendition of chilaquiles, you can opt to swap the mole for a red or green salsa.
What to get: Chilaquil taco
photo credit: Taylor Hannan
Waiting in lines for food is basically a sport in Austin. There’s often a very good reason for the line—and at El Primo’s it’s the fantastic breakfast tacos. Like moths to a light, people are powerless to the migas tacos (the default version is made with deli ham, which is pretty unique to this place) and the homemade chorizo and egg. You’ll see crowds waiting patiently for their orders while traffic whizzes by on South First.
What to get: Migas (with ham); Chorizo and egg
photo credit: Raphael Brion
The breakfast tacos at El Tacorrido won’t change the world, but they’re consistent, dependable, and very affordable. In contrast to every other place on this list however, El Tacorrido conveniently has drive thrus at all their locations, so you won’t even have to get out of your car. Inconveniently, sometimes the drive thru lines can be a little long in the morning. While they have the standard red and green salsas, there's also the spicy and rich molcajete salsa, made with roasted tomato, jalapenos, and serranos.
What to get: Chorizo, egg, and cheese; Bacon, egg, beans, and avocado.
photo credit: Nicolai McCrary
Sometimes you just know. The first time we went to Tacos Guerrero, we opened the foil and had one of those holy sh*t moments. The breakfast tacos coming out of this tiny, orange, one-woman trailer on the East Side are spectacular—like the migas, with still-crispy tortilla strips, that by default come with refried beans (which is not typical at all). There’s a standard red and green salsa, but make sure to get the molcajete salsa made from roasted tomatoes and chiles.
What to get: Migas; Chorizo and egg
photo credit: Kirsten Kaiser
The migas taco at Veracruz All-Natural sets the bar for all other migas tacos. Like Super Mario Bros. 3 or the brisket at Franklin Barbecue, they’re best in class. What makes these migas tacos so much better than all the other ones out there? The ingredients (they make their own tortilla chips), the execution, and the attention to detail (they take their time cooking things). Veracruz has three trucks and two brick-and-mortar locations, and you’re probably going to have to wait in line no matter which one you go to. But just know these tacos are always worth it.
What to get: Migas originales (add the molcajete salsa); Migas poblanas
photo credit: Taylor Hannan
Mi Trailita Y Mas on Manor Road makes consistently outstanding breakfast tacos, filled with things like their herby breakfast sausage, all with a generous shower of cheese. While their very good corn tortillas are handmade, the flour tortillas are store-bought—but they spend the right amount of time on the griddle. During peak hours there can be a wait, so it’s best to call ahead or you might end up waiting a bit.
What to get: Sausage, egg, and cheese; Migas and cheese
photo credit: Nicolai McCrary
At Marcelino’s on the East Side, the tacos are scoop-and-serve—made assembly-line right in front of you. But Marcelino’s is so consistently busy that they’re hustling and preparing food non-stop. You can get a basic bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast taco, and it’ll be far superior to most you can get around town—but Marcellino’s system allows them to have many more options that you don’t see often, like repollo asado (grilled cabbage), calabacitas (squash), rajas (poblanos in cream), smoked Elgin sausage, and the incredible papa ranchera (French fries tossed in salsas). We think about the papa ranchera a lot. Also, at Marcelino’s, the cheese isn’t grated—they peel a slice off of a huge stack and slap it onto a warmed tortilla, where it immediately melts.
What to get: Papa ranchera and egg; Rajas and egg
photo credit: Richard Casteel
Bouldin Creek Cafe serves glorious breakfast tacos so enormous that you’ll need to use a fork before even trying to pick one up. The vegetable chorizo is homemade and delicious, and you can get it with free-range eggs and cheese, or go vegan with the chorizo-tofu scramble that’s tender and spicy, almost like a mapo tofu. You can’t say you’ve really experienced this city’s breadth of talents in the world of Breakfast Tacos until you’ve tried these at Bouldin.
What to get: Egg, veggie chorizo, and cheese; Tofu veggie chorizo
photo credit: Raphael Brion
On a sunny Sunday, you’ll most likely find us at Mi Madre’s during brunch on the patio double-fisting a couple of their enormous breakfast tacos. While they clock in around $4 or $5 each, two are more than enough (unless you just finished running a marathon, then okay maybe get three). The menu has 18 pre-set breakfast tacos, and our favorites are the #9 with homemade machacado and eggs (add cheese) and the #4 with black bean, egg, and cheese (add avocado). A couple of warnings: 1. The grackles on the patio are very hungry and want your leftovers, and 2. The tortilla chips here are very delicious and you will have to exercise restraint to not fill up on them before your tacos arrive.
What to get: Machacado and egg; Black bean, egg, and cheese; Carne guisada.
photo credit: Raphael Brion
Ñoño’s Tacos is a rather lo-fi operation, and their claim to fame might be their chicken al carbon. But we’re also big fans of the affordable yet hefty breakfast tacos served on fluffy homemade flour tortillas, slightly toasty after spending a little time on the griddle. While there are the standard options for fillings, the migas taco—with the still crispy tortilla chips—is one of our favorites. There’s also a somewhat uncommon steak and eggs breakfast taco.
What to get: Migas; steak and eggs
photo credit: Raphael Brion
We often go to Tex Mex Joe’s for brunch because of the shady deck out back, the frozen margaritas, and breakfast plates like chilaquiles and the huevos rancheros. We also like the infinitely customizable breakfast tacos with a wide variety of ingredients, all served on homemade corn, flour, or spinach tortillas (corn tortillas with spinach mixed in so they’re bright green). But when we’re feeling particularly indecisive—especially after a late night out—we’ve come to rely on the “Tacos Locos” menu with more creative combinations for breakfast tacos that we probably would have never come up with on our own, like one with carne guisada, scrambled eggs, and cheddar cheese.
What to get: Carne guisada, scrambled eggs, and cheddar cheese; Hashbrowns, egg, and pico de gallo.
photo credit: Taylor Hannan
Rosita’s specializes in al pastor, but the breakfast tacos are where this place really shines. What makes them stand out is the incredible, pillowy housemade flour tortillas—they're the perfect foundation for the tremendous breakfast tacos, filled with eggs briskly scrambled on a flattop. Order a chorizo, egg, and cheese, and it all turns a fiery bright red.
What to get: Bacon, egg, and potato; Chorizo and egg
