Who serves authentic Mexican tacos?

Taco Loco in Depot Garden Building is easy to locate for its wall murals.

Debate over what constitutes and who serves authentic Mexican food on Okinawa has been waged as long as tacos have been served here.

Al Pastor, the signature dish at Taco Loco, is available with pork or chicken.

By now, most people agree that with the exception of a very few eateries, most that is served as Mexican is, in fact, what is best described as Tex-Mex style. Not so the new Taco Loco café in Mihama, located across from the 7-Plex movie theater. It states boldly that is an authentic Mexican Café, and judging from opinions of its visitors on the café’s Facebook page, it really is the real thing.

The cafe prepares all of its dishes in the traditional Mexican style. Taco Al Pastor at ¥200 is the signature dish of the café, prepared with pork and soft shell taco. Other dishes on the menu include burritos, quesadilla, nachos locos and guacamole to name a few. Prices are also very reasonable.

It was 25 years ago that Taku Ohara, the owner of the café, visited Mexico for the first time. Visiting the many places of the country including Tijuana, Mexico City and Cancún, he was deeply fascinated with the country. He has often visited there for cave diving while running a dive shop in Okinawa. As having addictive and fun experiences in Mexico, he began to have a passion to run the authentic Mexican café in Okinawa.

The view from Taco from Taco Loco Terrace is unmatched.

That signature dish, ‘Al Pastor,’ is prepared in doner kebab style, using spicy pork, and also available with chicken. Served as bitable size tacos, it brings you many loads of flavor, featuring the delicious grilled meat and sweet and acid pineapples along with rich mixture of spices such as Mexican coriander and cilantro. Its tortillas, with a choice of plain and cone flavor, are made from scratch using powder and spice from Mexico. A hot salsa, Pico De Gallo is highly recommended for hot spicy lovers.

From the terrace seas at the Taco Loco, patrons enjoy blue sky and ocean during the daytime while the stunning city views at night. Biting into the authentic Mexican meal and closing your eyes, the feeling is one of being in a town in old Mexico.  Free parking is available on the large lot in front of the building.  Reservations are available at (098) 923-2320.

09:27 29 Mar , 2024