Travel

Battle of the
Breakfast Tacos

June 20, 2022

In a city famous for some of the best bar districts in the country, every Austinite has faced the repercussions of an amazing night out. In fact, they’ve faced them so many times that they’ve actually developed a cure. This cure, you ask? The panacea that promises to turn “never again” into “where to tonight?,” is the breakfast taco.

Fluffy eggs, sizzling bacon, chorizo, salsa, avocado, potatoes, beans—the perfect breakfast, all wrapped up for easy eating when you need it most.

But let’s make one thing clear: breakfast tacos are not all created equal. Asking an Austinite their favorite breakfast taco in town opens up a debate that, let’s face it, is guaranteed to get pretty heated. And if you’re not from Texas, please for the love of all things good, do NOT call it a breakfast burrito. You’ll quickly receive side eye from every local in your vicinity.

We’ve curated a list of our absolute favorite breakfast tacos in town so you can make bad choices tonight and wake up tomorrow to a hero in tortilla armor.

1. Marcelino Pan y Vino

Bacon and spicy potatoes. Need we say more? This family-owned East Side joint serves up what can only be described as bacon sorcery, atop eggs, spicy skillet potatoes, and buttery, melt-in-your-mouth flour tortillas. Let’s not forget the salsa. Marcelino Pan y Vino offers an impressive variety of salsas: from the spicy to the smoky. No fuss, no frills. Just delicious, “abuela” made breakfast tacos.

2. Juan in a Million

There’s a challenge here in Austin: if you can eat an entire Don Juan, you’re basically a rock star or have a second stomach. And you are some kind of wizard if you can attempt ordering a second Don Juan. Bacon, cheddar cheese, eggs and potatoes are piled up high with multiple flour tortillas. For a single breakfast taco price, you basically get six tacos. Be prepared to wait in line; locals and tourists alike flock to this East Sixth Street restaurant for a taste of the Don Juan.

3. Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ

4. Joe’s Bakery & Coffee Shop

How do you know a breakfast taco will be good? Local tip: if the flour tortilla leaves floury goodness on your fingers. That’s scratch made, baby; and that’s what makes these breakfast tacos to-die-for. But who are we kidding? The insides are just as good with bacon that is battered before frying to ensure that extra crispy bite.

6. Tyson’s Tacos

This is where you go to “Keep Austin Weird.” These breakfast tacos are a mash up of authentic Mexican meets Austin eclectic. Owners Tyson and Cherry Blankemeyer moved from Monterrey, Mexico to bring their own take on the breakfast taco to the Austin food scene. You can expect tacos like the “I’m so Eggs-Cited,” which includes two fried egg yolks, queso and fresh jalapeños, and the “Virgin M” that features egg white, avocado, cucumber pico, rose petals and queso fresco.

7. Fresa's Chicken al Carbon

Two words: drive-thru. But don’t expect this drive-through Mexican food joint to serve up low-quality fast-food fair. Fresa’s takes pasture-raised eggs, homemade tortillas, creamy avocado and a variety of delicious salsas and creates taco magic. Our favorites include “The Margie,” which includes steak and eggs, rajas and charred onions, and “The Tomas” which features crispy bacon, potato, chorizo, avocado, pico de gallo and cheese. Don’t forget to order a Black and White coffee: half coldbrew, half horchata, 100% amazing.

Now, the good news: KEY can deliver our favorite breakfast tacos straight to your door so you don’t have to lift a finger. No lines, no crowds, no time wasted. Just the best of Austin in the form of a taco. Delicious made effortless.