TacosNearYou

Carnitas Tacos Near You

Find the best carnitas tacos near you, ranked by taco focus — real taquerias and trucks with hours and directions.

Share your location and we search 50 miles around you for places serving carnitas, nearest first.

¿Prefieres español? Tacos de Carnitas cerca de ti

  • Taqueria / birrieria
  • Truck / stand / cart
  • Taco shop / bar
  • Restaurant serving tacos

How to spot good carnitas tacos

  • Ask for surtida (a mix): some crispy edges, some soft. The contrast is the point.
  • Many places only do carnitas on the weekend; it is a Sunday tradition.
  • Taste it before you add salsa. Good carnitas is seasoned in the pot.

Where to eat carnitas in the US

Cities where a venue names carnitas outright come first, then the biggest taco cities, where any taqueria on this list will have it. Use the button above for what is actually near you.

Chicago, IL

  1. Birriería Y Carnitas El GallitoBirrieria · 7021 North Clark StreetSee hoursCallDirections
  2. Birrieria OcotlanBirrieria · 8726 South Commercial AvenueSee hoursCallDirections
  3. Carmela's TaqueriaTaqueria · 1206 West Lawrence AvenueSee hoursCallDirections

Seattle, WA

  1. Carnitas Michoacan Carniceria & TaqueriaTaqueria · 2500 Beacon Ave S4.5(1,420)Hours not recordedCallDirections
  2. Taco City TaqueríaTaqueria · 5212 Rainier Avenue SouthSee hoursCallDirections
  3. Taquería TequilaTaqueria · 11064 Lake City Way NortheastSee hoursCallDirections

Burien, WA

  1. Carnitas Mr. Porky TaqueriaTaqueria · 12803 Ambaum Boulevard SouthwestHours not recordedDirections
  2. Casa Mixteca 2 TaqueriaTaqueria · 452 Southwest 153rd StreetSee hoursCallDirections
  3. Taqueria JaliscoTaqueria · 1841 South 120th StreetSee hoursCallDirections

Encinitas, CA

  1. Juanita's CarnitasMexican restaurant · 290 North Coast Highway 101See hoursCallDirections
  2. Agave BirrieriaBirrieria · 865 Orpheus AveHours not recordedCallDirections

Shoreline, WA

  1. Quere tacos y carnitasTaco shop · 1935 N Northgate WayHours not recordedCallDirections
  2. Taqueria El Gallo DiazTaqueria · 16510 Aurora Avenue NorthSee hoursCallDirections
  3. Taqueria El SaborTaqueria · 15221 Aurora Avenue NorthSee hoursCallDirections

Round Lake Park, IL

  1. El Alex Carnitas y Taqueria Estilo MichoacanTaqueria · 118 East Main StreetSee hoursCallDirections

Houston, TX

  1. El Rey TaqueriaTaqueria · 233 North Loop WestSee hoursCallDirections
  2. El Rey TaqueriaTaqueria · 910 Shepherd DriveSee hoursCallDirections
  3. Goode Company TaqueriaTaqueria · 4902 Kirby DriveSee hoursCallDirections

Los Angeles, CA

  1. Tacos El Mas CabronTaqueria · 4226 E Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 900234.8(455)Hours not recordedCallDirections
  2. Taqueria La Que Si LlenaTaqueria · 3630 Cesar E Chavez AvenueSee hoursCallDirections
  3. Taqueria Los AnayaTaqueria · 4651 W Adams Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 900164.5(1,638)Hours not recordedCallDirections

San Antonio, TX

  1. Taqueria La Perla de JaliscoTaqueria · 2255 Southeast Military DriveSee hoursCallDirections
  2. Taco Capital - San AntonioTaqueria · 2026 Babcock Rd Ste 103, San Antonio, TX 782294.8(356)Hours not recordedCallDirections
  3. Con Huevos TacosTaqueria · 1629 E Houston St, San Antonio, TX 782024.6(716)Hours not recordedCallDirections

New York, NY

  1. Dos Toros TaqueriaTaqueria · 64 Court StreetSee hoursCallDirections
  2. Dos Toros TaqueriaTaqueria · 636 Lexington AvenueSee hoursCallDirections
  3. Dos Toros TaqueriaTaqueria · 2911 BroadwaySee hoursCallDirections

What Are Carnitas Tacos?

By Niam Hocaine, founder and food writer · Updated September 29, 2026

Carnitas are pork, usually shoulder, simmered slowly in its own fat with orange, bay and salt until it falls apart, then crisped at the edges and chopped onto a corn tortilla with onion, cilantro and lime. The dish comes from Michoacan and is cooked in a wide copper pot

Close-up of carnitas tacos on corn tortillas topped with salsa verde, chopped white onion and cilantroCarnitas Tacos
Photo: Jess Lander via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (cropped and resized)

It tastes of pork and rendered fat rather than chile, and it is not spicy on its own. This guide explains how carnitas are cooked, how they differ from carne asada and barbacoa, and where to find them near you.

Carnitas (Tacos de Carnitas) are Michoacán tacos made with shoulder, belly, ribs, leg , often mixed, confit: simmered for hours in its own lard, then crisped, served on corn tortillas.

Also called
Tacos de Carnitas
Family
Meat
Filling
Pork
Cut / main ingredient
Shoulder, belly, ribs, leg , often mixed
How it is cooked
Confit: simmered for hours in its own lard, then crisped
Tortilla
Corn
Usually topped with
Onion, cilantro, salsa verde, lime
From
Michoacán, Mexico

Ordered by cut: maciza (lean), buche, cuerito, surtida (mixed)

Where US venues name it

CA 16IL 10TX 7UT 4WA 3WI 2NY 1AZ 1

Counted from venue names in our directory, so it undercounts places that serve it without saying so.

Carnitas: your questions

What is in a carnitas taco?

pork, specifically shoulder, belly, ribs, leg , often mixed, confit: simmered for hours in its own lard, then crisped. Usually topped with onion, cilantro, salsa verde, lime.

What tortilla do carnitas tacos use?

Corn. Corn tortillas are naturally gluten-free, though the fryer and seasonings may not be.

Where can I find carnitas tacos in the US?

Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas. In this directory 44 venues name the style, led by CA (16), IL (10), TX (7), UT (4) — a count of places that say so on the listing, so it undercounts.

Where do carnitas tacos come from?

Michoacán, Mexico. Known in Spanish as Tacos de Carnitas.

What is on a carnitas taco?

Pork shoulder simmered slowly in its own fat until tender, then crisped, chopped or shredded onto a corn tortilla with white onion, cilantro, a squeeze of lime and salsa. Sometimes a little pickled onion or a slice of pineapple.

What is the difference between carnitas and asada tacos?

Carnitas is pork, slow-cooked in fat and then crisped. Carne asada is beef (skirt or flank steak) marinated and grilled hot and fast, then chopped. Carnitas is soft and rich; asada is charred and beefy.

How are carnitas traditionally cooked?

In a wide copper pot (cazo) over a flame, the pork submerged in lard with a little milk, orange, bay and salt, cooked low for a couple of hours until it falls apart, then the heat is raised to crisp the outside. It comes from Michoacán.

What does carnitas mean?

"Little meats", a reference to the small pieces the crisped pork is chopped into.

Last updated September 29, 2026. Venue details refresh with each data import.