Gilroy gets a lot of attention for garlic. Fair enough. But if you spend any time driving down Monterey Road, what you actually notice is the taquerias. They’re everywhere. On corners, in strip malls, behind gas stations, cooking over open grills on the sidewalk. The garlic may be the brand, but tacos are the food.
We’ve been eating our way through Gilroy’s taco scene since we moved to the South Valley, and we’re not done yet. But we’ve got favorites. Here’s where we go when we want the good stuff.
The Gilroy Taco Trail: 30 Stops, One Very Full Weekend
Visit Gilroy put together the Gilroy Taco Trail, a passport-style crawl through 30 Mexican restaurants across town. You check in at each spot, collect stamps, and earn prizes. It’s free to join and a genuinely fun way to eat through the city, especially if you’ve been defaulting to the same two or three places.
The trail includes sit-down restaurants, walk-up counters, and everything in between. Not every stop is a taco place, some are full Mexican restaurants with mole, enchiladas, and seafood platters. But every one of them is locally owned and cooking something worth trying.
You can sign up for the digital passport and start checking off stops on your phone.
Tacos Ameca: The One Everyone Knows About
There’s a reason Tacos Ameca shows up in every Gilroy taco recommendation. They’ve got two locations on Monterey Road (7001 Monterey Rd and 9335 Monterey Hwy), and both of them are almost always busy.
What makes it: the tortillas are handmade, the portions are absurd, and the salsa bar lets you pile on cilantro, onion, pico, guacamole, grilled onions, fresh limes, and salsas ranging from mild to painful. You order at the counter, grab a number, and wait for a plate that barely fits on the table. The Burrito Ameca is the size of a small child. We’re not exaggerating by much.
The main location on 7001 Monterey is open daily from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays, until 11 p.m. on weekends. Get there before the lunch rush or you’re waiting.
Victoria’s Mexican Restaurant: Old-School Gilroy
If you want tacos at a place that’s been around longer than most of the new builds in town, Victoria’s Mexican Restaurant at 757 First Street has been serving Gilroy since 1983. Wednesday is albondigas day. Weekends bring menudo. The tacos are solid, but it’s the full plates that keep people coming back. It feels like the kind of place where the waitress already knows what you want.
Carnitas Michoacan: Worth the Trip Downtown
Carnitas Michoacan sits in downtown Gilroy and draws people from well outside city limits. The carnitas are the reason. Slow-cooked, pulled, and served with a simplicity that lets the pork do the talking. Order a plate with beans, rice, tortillas, and the house salsa. Bring your own cold drinks if you’re eating at the tables outside.
The Street Taco Scene
Some of the best tacos in Gilroy don’t have a permanent address. Tacos Tijuana sets up at 5th and Monterey in downtown and grills al pastor and carne asada right there on the street. The smoke pulls you in from half a block away. No tables, no ambiance, just a paper plate and a reason to stop walking.
Other vendors pop up on weekends around Christmas Hill Park and along First Street. Keep your eyes open for hand-painted signs and the smell of charcoal. That’s usually a good indicator.
A Few More Worth Mentioning
Tacos Del Guero on First Street runs a taco stand and sit-down counter with quesadillas, sopes, and burritos alongside the usual taco lineup. Mi Gusto Es, also on Monterey, does a solid birria taco on weekends. And Los Pericos Taqueria has a loyal following for their al pastor, slow-roasted on a trompo and sliced to order.
We haven’t made it to all 30 Taco Trail stops yet. We’re working on it. But every new one we try adds to the pile of evidence that Gilroy’s taco scene is deeper than most people realize.
Where to Start If You’re New to Gilroy Tacos
If you’re driving in from Morgan Hill or San Jose and want one stop, go to Tacos Ameca. If you want to make a day of it, grab the Taco Trail passport and start at Victoria’s on First Street, walk to Carnitas Michoacan, then drive south on Monterey to Ameca.
The tacos in Gilroy don’t need a review from us to be good. They’ve been good for decades. But if you haven’t explored beyond your usual spot, the Taco Trail is a solid excuse to try something new. We did, and we gained five pounds and zero regrets.
Sheena & Ryan write South Valley Spotlight, a free weekly newsletter covering Morgan Hill, Gilroy, and San Martin. Subscribe for local news, events, food, and real estate delivered every Wednesday.