It’s always taco time on the Oregon Coast. For a quick meal before an afternoon hiking the cliffs, a stop on a long-distance cycling tour or a budget-friendly family dinner, someone has the perfect taco for you. Here’s a guide to restaurants and food carts that would make any tortilla proud.
Fresh Seafood From Oregon Fishing Families
Fish tacos and the Coast are a natural match, thanks to Oregon’s bustling fishing industry. To support the local fleet and healthy oceans, choose sustainable fish caught and sold nearby. Many restaurants and food carts are committed to helping in the effort.
In Astoria white-fleshed, juicy petrale sole is caught by the fishing family from South Bay Wild Fish House — and makes its way into tacos garnished with cilantro-lime cabbage slaw and guacamole. Bell Buoy of Seaside dishes tacos with fresh cod harvested by the owner’s fleet in Alaska when it’s not caught off Oregon shores.
With two locations on the Central Coast in Seal Rock and Yachats, Luna Sea Fish House offers Oregon-caught albacore from the owner’s boat, nestled on a bed of slaw with avocado and pico de gallo. Local Ocean takes advantage of the nearby Newport marina to source fish for fried-rockfish tacos with citrus slaw and pickled vegetables.
The South Coast takes advantage of its ports to provide fresh seafood for tacos, too. Surf-themed SharkBites Café in Coos Bay has a full menu of tacos, including one stuffed with tiny pink shrimp, a sustainably managed Oregon fishery. In no-fry zone Tony’s Crab Shack on the waterfront in Bandon, local rockfish is sauteed and bedded down on tortillas with shredded cabbage and spicy aioli.
The Crazy Norwegian’s Fish & Chips’ menu in Port Orford on the Southern Coast frequently offers seasonally caught fish from the local fleet. The owners of Woggy’s in Gold Beach source their own rockfish and turn it into two kinds of fish tacos at their food truck: blackened and topped with slaw or fried and gilded with cheese, cabbage and fixings. Look for special tacos with lingcod at Catalyst Seafood, a casual spot offering freshly caught fish near the Brookings Harbor marina.
Guide to Taco Styles
If you’ve never ordered tacos at a food cart, prepare for mouthwatering dishes made with love by family-run small businesses. You’ll see several styles.
Street Tacos
Street-taco style is usually a double-stacked corn tortilla about 4 inches wide with a couple of tablespoons of filling, topped with chopped onions and cilantro. You can add green or red salsa, or sometimes pickled jalapenos or sliced radishes. Try barbacoa (saucy beef) or chorizo (spicy sausage) tacos at Taqueria Pelayos in Astoria, a jaunty sunset-hued truck parked across from the Columbia River Maritime Museum. Pastor (pork stewed in chile sauce with citrus and pineapple) tacos draw legions of regulars at Taqueria Rockaway — formerly Taqueria Barview Jetty — in Rockaway Beach. About a half-mile south of the renowned Tillamook Creamery, the Tacos La Providencia food truck dishes a veggie street taco spiced with enchilada sauce.
Soft-Shell Tacos
A larger version of the soft-shell street taco garnishes meat or seafood with a pile of shredded cabbage, lettuce or slaw, sometimes enhanced with lashings of crema (a thin sour cream), pico de gallo salsa and crumbled cotija cheese. In Astoria Alma’s Mexican Cuisine food truck outside of Buoy Beer packs your choice of eight proteins into soft homemade tortillas. Nehalem’s Riverside Fish n’ Chips pairs deep-fried cod with slaw in tacos that diners can enjoy on picnic tables on the banks of the Nehalem River. Coos Bay’s resident food-cart pod on Front Street is home to Frying Nemo Oregon Coast, which serves fish and shrimp tacos loaded with all the toppings and a drizzle of sriracha mayo.
Crispy Tacos
Some carts also sell a crispy taco, sometimes called American style, made with a fried corn tortilla that’s usually stuffed with seasoned ground beef, shredded lettuce, cheese and tomatoes. Try one at Mayo’s Taqueria in Warrenton’s food-cart pod or in the quick-and-easy drive-thru Mexican Express in Reedsport (especially when Taco Tuesdays specials are on), or switch it up with a chicken version at Eduardo’s Taco Shop in Coos Bay.
Quesabirria Tacos
The grilled quesabirria or birria taco — a griddled, cheesy, stewed-beef taco — is served with a side of rich, meaty broth for dipping. Several carts on the Coast now specialize in this style, with extremely solid options at several loncheria food trucks serving midday meals, like Taqueria Los Compas in Astoria’s Uniontown and Garcia’s Cocina in downtown Tillamook. La Casita de Oro, housed in a colorful hut in Gold Beach, serves both cheesy quesabirria tortas and also tacos, accompanied by freshly made agua fresca, a fruity drink.
More Coastal Classics for Tacos
For carne asada tacos on the North Coast, head to The Stand in Seaside, a favorite now run by the second generation of the Saucedo family.
On the Central Coast, standouts include Melo’s Taqueria in Lincoln City, a casual little spot specializing in lengua (tongue) or grilled-pepper tacos. Fans of Cajun spices love the grilled, blackened cod taco at Skōsh, a friendly spot in downtown Waldport. Long-distance cyclists heading down Highway 101 appreciate Los Amigos Burrito for its quick service right on the route in Florence. Try vegetarian potato-and-cheese hard-shell tacos or carnitas soft tacos.
Open since 1938, Wilson’s Market in Bandon smokes its own meats for pork shoulder or creamy shredded-chicken tacos, served at the counter in a small, off-the-beaten-path, family-owned market. The business now has a second location in Coos Bay.
