Came here for the first time on a whim because I heard it was good but it was out of the way. The reviews made the drive worth it. Park on the side of navigation blvd in downtown Houston and walk into a little red barn that only has ceiling fans as air conditioning. Wait in a small line and what do I recommend you get your first time? THE BACON SUPER. Don't ask questions. Like a cliche nike commercial, Just do it. 11.37 for three massive tacos.. Yeah. thank me later read more

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Nothing to see here, move along... No, seriously this place is great. We live close by, but I'd drive here just for the bean and cheese tacos any day. I love the friendliness of the staff, and the wait time isn't too bad when you know you're getting awesome tacos. If it's your first time coming, plan to wait in line for lunch and weekend breakfasts, but it's worth it. read more

Villa Arcos has hands down the best breakfast tacos in town. I go out of my way to tell people they should go here. They make their own flour tortillas and chorizo (and probably other things), both of which are crave-worthy. I always get bean and egg and some meat (chorizo, bacon, or chicharrón); all of which leave me wondering how their tacos are so much better than everyone else's. There will likely be a line if you go in the morning, but you can call ahead to order pick up. If you wait to check this place out, you'll be disappointed that you didn't go sooner! read more

Breakfast taco heaven. The home of the crispy chicaronne super taco of glorious amazeballs. The only downside can be the wait, great places can have, erm...great lines. So, bring your coffee, sit on the porch and enjoy a bit of anticipation. Villa Arcos hits the right keys, home made tortillas, good serving sizes, solid price point and excellent flavors. read more

If you're looking for authentic Mexican breakfast tacos in an uniquely Houston setting; look no further than Villa Arcos. During operation hours they serve an assortment of breakfast and lunch tacos. You can expect to wait a little bit while the cooks prepare your fluffy tortillas with fresh ingredients. If you're coming here expecting an in and out experience than you're going to be disappointed. The parking lot is small so be prepared to street park or walk a little bit in Houston's Second Ward. But enough about that let's talk Tacos. I can't stress enough how good these tacos are; the tortillas are fresh and soft, the egg/potato combination was the perfect ratio and it reminded me exactly of what I would wake up to during the weekends as a young kid. Inside the restaurant you can expect a no-frills seating arrangement, a perfect reminder that this place has been making happy taco customers for decades. The prices are fair for the portion sizes, the quality ingredients is high, there is little downside in terms of food. I could see how the parking situation or wait times could be a put-off but they are not enough to detract from the overall experience. If I have friends and family visiting town there is no doubt that in the same way New Yorkers want to put you on to "a real New York bagel" I want to turn them onto "a real Mexican taco" and Villa Arcos does just that. For more on Villa, check out my personal blog https://omaryousef.com/2018/05/08/villa-arcos/ read more

Amazed at the food that comes out of this small restaurant! If a breakfast burrito is your thing then this is the place to seek out. I have stopped here on the last few trips into Houston and each time the food has been superb!!! It's a comfort food spot that I will be looking to have again. The ladies working here were very helpful and pleasant... that in and of itself is worth going out of the way to find this "Historical Gem" in Houston. read more

It's TEX-MEX food if anyone wants to know. It's not really authentic Mexican food with it's full flavors. The outside looks very nice so I was expecting something very authentic. No, just regular Taco Bell flavor food. Not even kidding. They should change it to Tex-Mex and not call it a Mexican restaurant. Plus side, your food comes out very hot... scalding hot actually. Service was decent. The speaker was not loud enough to hear your name being called and I believe there was no A/C running that day. It was humid and muggy inside. Oh! it did take me back down memory lane when it was Mexican food day in high school at the cafeteria. That's what it reminded me of. read more

I come here pretty often because I live nearby and it's convenient. The tacos are amazing.. but the timing is so terrible. I don't understand why ordering 3 simple breakfast tacos, takes 40+ minutes to receive. I've even called in my order ahead of time, at their non peak times, and when I arrive in the given time frame, I still have to wait an additional 10-15 minutes. Every time I go, multiple people are always complaining about why their orders are taking so long. There are more people sitting waiting for their food, than eating food. So overall tacos are great, but prepare to wait about an hour for 2 tacos read more

After our ritualistic weekend pan dulce run we decided to get some breakfast and what better than a breakfast of champions complete with tacos. This is Mr. World type stuff right here. Hooraaaahhhh! Villa Arcos is a cozy little cottage style restaurant located in the heart of the east end. It's a simple set up with a few tables outside for people watching and a few more inside if you are looking to eat your grub in peace. The menu is super simple -- highlighting the taco selection, fillings, and extras. You can order the classics or build your own. I went for the chorizo and egg (Mexican sausage and egg) and the carne guisada tacos. They were soooo good! La carne guisada was so tender it almost melted in my mouth. El chorizo was well seasoned and had a nice spice to it. I'm used to taco places hooking me up with the fixings like onion, cilantro, and lime to enhance the flavor, but at Villa Arcos that's a premium. You have to scarf up an additional $0.15 to $0.25 to get the extras if you want to kick your tacos up a notch. I have my eye on the Menudo and will definitely be back on a Saturday to try it. Stay tuned! read more

Worst service ever. We ordered basic breakfast tacos and didn't get our order for 20 minutes. Six other orders after us got their food first. We checked twice - no apology or concern. Finally I went to cancel our order and the tacos magically showed up. Tacos were MEDIOCRE and everything was over cooked. Bacon was burned beyond recognition. Here's a cool idea: open a Mexican restaurant but don't offer guacamole. Who does that? read more

Went there for breakfast today and I really enjoyed the bacon super taco which is the bottom one on the pic and my boyfriend got the chorizo super taco. Flour tortillas were very soft. I would definitely recommend. :) read more

Villa Arcos - Super Chorizo taco & Super bacon taco - Mexican Near Me - Houston, Texas

This is my "go to" spot when my South Texas family comes to town to visit me. It is the closest to small town Tex-Mex food that you can get. There is always a wait so I suggest you order ahead and pick up if you don't want to wait longer than 25 minutes. Seating is also limited so larger groups are hard to accommodate. I have ordered migas, tacos, menudo, and Mexican plate. All are fantastic (and I am super picky on menudo). They have great sweet tea and I LOVE that they offer chocolate milk as a beverage. Their green sauce is fantastic! This is a must try! read more

This place is the typical hole in the wall taco hut that knows what they are doing. Big delicious breakfast tacos served anytime of day. Food is fresh and fairly priced. Great place to get a breakfast or even lunch for under $10. read more

Going strong for over 30 years, Villa Arcos is about 2 blocks from the Original Ninfa's. Visiting over the Memorial Day weekend, the place was full at 830 AM with a blend of eat-in and take-out diners waiting for their goods. Here's the rundown: * Cash only. * No air conditioning - the dining room, which doubles as the take-out waiting area, is just a screened-in patio. * The small dining area has about 8 tables. * The screen door slams loudly shut as people come and go. You will not escape the noise - and may be highly annoying. After years of this happening, you'd think the nice owners would fix this - but, on second thought, it keeps the tables from lingering so maybe this is intentional. * Numerous plain-paper signs directing you to bus your own table, to not throw away the plastic baskets, and that they will be on CNN on a certain date. * Chose a carne guisada taco ($2.45) and a chorizo-and-egg taco ($1.95), which is freshly made. The carne guisada was exceptionally good. Took about 10 minutes with the hubbub going on. * Individual serving cups of salsa are issued when you pick up your order. They only have a jalapeno-based green one - no red salsa available. * Friendly smiling family members staff the register and pick-up window. When compared to Sunrise Taquito, this place is a draw for a basic neighborhood no-frills filling taco. They lose points for no air-conditioning (1 star - jeez, put in a window unit at least, after 30 years) and a half-star each for no red salsa and that annoying screen door. With all of their signage, adding one more wouldn't hurt: "Please hold the door as you open and close it." While laudable that they are chugging along and have a healthy business, I'm sticking with recommending Sunrise Taquito or Chiloso's for breakfast tacos. You'll get soul-satisfying tacos at equally cheap prices plus have the visual bonus of Memorial Park runners, quiet doors, and air-conditioning for free. read more

Villa Arcos - Mind the fact that there's no A/C in there - Mexican Near Me - Houston, Texas

Either the young woman at front never went to grade school or she was trying to rip me off. I'm thinking the latter. I order the chorizo super and asked her to skip the cheese, she tried to charge me MORE for taking off an ingredient. And she managed to get an attitude when I said something about it. Watch your receipt people. read more

Enjoyed my favorite breakfast taco's in EaDo Houston! Yum!!! Been coming here for over 20 years.

I visited this place on Sunday morning around 10:30am. The line was long, about a 20 minutes wait. I would recommend calling in your order and pick up. You can skip the entire line! Since this was my first time here, I went with recommendations from previous Yelp reviews. Their bacon and egg breakfast taco is great!! I usually prefer corn tortillas, but I enjoyed their flour tortilla. I also enjoy the bacon to be separate from the egg, however this place has them combined together. The bacon was thick and crispy, so it was a surprise! Also, get the barbarcoa taco. Only available Saturday and Sunday. It was so good!!! Even though it's a little messy to eat; the meat was tender and flavorful! I also tried their pork tamales. I think it's seasonal. 6 for $10. Not worth it in my opinion. Stick with their breakfast tacos. read more

I care a lot more than I should about the quality of my breakfast tacos. These are my favorite in the city and I don't say that lightly. No frills, just real good tacos. I know a spot is good when I get just a bean and cheese taco, plain, and be in heaven because of the quality of the ingredients. No pre-packaged shredded cheese here. A special shout out to the fresh flour tortillas and salsas. One time I went starving and we didn't call ahead and I almost killed someone out of hanger...now when we go on Sundays, we call them from the parking lot at church (about 15 min away) and usually still have a bit of a wait when we get there. Worth it! read more

Don't be turned off by the exterior because what matters is what's inside!!! Villa Arcos is one of those great little "hole in the wall" establishments. They are by far the BEST breakfast tacos I have had in TEXAS. Period. From the made from scratch flour tortillas to the over stuffed with whatever you want fixings, it doesn't get any better than this. Compare to other breakfast tacos, these are in a league of their own, the size of one is almost as big as a burrito, stuffed with whatever you want made to order. No worries about how long the egg has been sitting under a lamp, this is as homemade as it gets! I've been to a Juan in a million in Austin and it doesn't even begin to compete with these authentic homemade breakfast tacos!! If your in the mood for the REAL DEAL, this is it, just remember, don't judge this place by its cover, the verdict is within the first bite!! read more

Best breakfast tacos in 2nd ward! Staff is nice and never disappointed with the food. So cheap too

Only in Houston do we accept average breakfast tacos as being 5 star. Villa Arcos is good but it is not any better than an average taco hut in either San Antonio, Austin or Corpus. Great to excellent places should be great in all areas including A/C, safety, and comfort. This is NOT a 5 star place - with its crappy seating, 100 degree waiting room and dining area. Villa Arcos serve all of the basics but you will not find a wonderful roasted pastor taco with a slice of fresh avocado on a cake like flour or corn tortilla. Villa Arcos does not even offer corn. Why? I have been going to Villa Arcos for 25+ years and was there again yesterday. Saturday's bacon and egg was dry and the only flavor was from the incredible flour taco. Villa Arco's bland chorizo and tasteless carne guisada were not as good as even Taco Cabana - only the pappas con huevos was a supreme. The other tacos we ordered were nothing great and only worth driving over if you live near by... Houstonian's we should demand more from your breakfast tacos. read more

Awesome little place on the east side of town in one of those areas that you wouldnt necessarily ever go unless you knew there was a taco heaven like this place. Preface the review with this warning: Dont go here if you plan on eating the rest of the day. I came here at 11:30 am and I got two reasonably sized tacos and was not hungry until midnight that same day! got the Chorizo-with everything-on-it taco, called the Super, and a shredded meat taco that came only with the seasoned meat. the mortar like refried beans in the "Super" Taco kept all the ingedients in one place. It consisted of beans, cheese, chorizo, eggs, and i think potatoes. The other one came as I described above with just the fajita beef. I dont mean that as a bad thing, the taco was awesome. The salsa that they give you with these tacos is tasty and really spicy. two thumbs up for everything. Last and most importantly: THEY ONLY TAKE CASH read more

I finally made it to Villa Arcos for the first time this morning and ordered a Super Bacon Taco and a Barbacoa Taco. The Super Bacon Taco was fantastic; maybe the best overall breakfast taco I have ever had. It had a thick, tasty, flour tortilla, and was stuffed with lots of beans, eggs, cheese, and very yummy bacon. A little red sauce and it was damn near perfect, and filling enough that I really didn't need a second taco. The menu says they only serve barbacoa on the weekend, but since there was a "barbacoa" sign in the pick-up window I asked and they had it on a Wednesday. It was good, but not as flavorful as my favorite at Laredo Taqueria, and I don't think they have that creamy green hot sauce that I am so addicted to at Laredo. So 5 stars for the Super Bacon Taco and 3 stars for the Barbacoa Taco = 4 stars. I'll be back and will have to try some of the many other menu items. read more

This place serves amazing food. The tacos are exceptional. Definitely my go to breakfast stop!

Ok so how the fuck do I start?! This place is the motherfucking BOMB DIGGITY!!!! I know I used that word but literally them tacos was heaven on earth. My friend and I felt like being some fatasses after a nice hang over so we ended up getting the supreme bacon and supreme chorizo tacos and let me tell you, they're full of flavor! The bacon was my personal fav bc it crunchy but yet meaty inside. Chorizo was also delicioso but i was hung up on the bacon. The place looked like its family owned and seemed like they got some real sasss! so white people don't be fussing if your order is taking forever or be asking if it's gluten free bc these are some real Mexican ass yummy ass TACOS! There is a lot of people there so if you're in a rush don't bother coming yo! read more

After 15 years of harboring quite the attitude about going into Houston "on purpose", I finally made the plunge for a long weekend of museums and divey restaurants. Here is the fifth chapter of my trip report. Arcos really set the tone for what I wanted to find in Houston: understated diveyness. Why? Well, my remote impressions of Houston to date have always skewed towards pretention, overly-slick, good-ole-boyishness. Just all that stuff I really love, you know? So I wanted to make sure that I ate in a part of town that would make me feel like I might not make it out alive. There is so much hyperbole surrounding the tacos at Arcos that it is hard not to be overly critical and open minded. My egg/chorizo/cheese taco filling was luke warm. Nor did the flavors really pop out: ie the chorizo was not all that flavorful. This place was really basic. Major points for the home made flour tortillas, though. They have a bit of that extra lard which makes them taste more like an Indian roti. Always a plus for me. The offered salsa was green and unique. Overall, I have to award points in the category of: "this doesn't taste at all like the other places". But was it really all that good? Good. Just a few chicas short of a fiesta... read more

Chorizo did not taste like chorizo on my taco. Menudo was maybe over cooked because the meat very soft and thin as paper when I chewed on it. I did like the tamales but I don't think I'll go back to this place. read more

So this is another taco place in my neighborhood, and I just had to try it. We went there for the breakfast tacos, and we weren't disappointed. I always order chorizo and egg breakfast tacos on flour tortillas. It is my standard. I have to say, their chorizo was great, and the flour tortillas were really good. My one complaint is that the portions were a bit small, and the prices were a bit higher than some other places we have gone. My recommendation if you are in the East End and hungry for breakfast tacos... Dona Maria. Their portions are excellent, the prices are great, and the staff is the absolute best. read more

I promise I will start eating healthier after this review or maybe I will just go for a run. Sometimes you go to a place and it makes you want to lower all the other reviews in that category by a star. Villa Arcos is just that. You cannot compare breakfast taco places that serve from a premade vat to a custom build. The tortillas are floury and grilled, the Bacon super crispy and perfect texture. Everything is made to order. Both of their hot sauces are very good, the red made from peppers not tomatoes. The green smooth with the perfect amount of heat. They are now open at 5:30 am and they take credit cards. This place is exceptional. Family owned business since I believe the 70's. read more

Villa Arcos - Open at 5:30 AM now - Mexican Near Me - Houston, Texas

Aye que rico! From a Mexican, to you: This place is awesome. Anytime I come home, I make a stop at Villa Arcos. Get anything con papas! NOM NOM! read more

This place is a legend in the Houston taco scene. They have been around for over two decades and have some of the best tacos in the city. The environment is casual and down home. If you haven't had tacos from Villa Arcos, you are missing out! read more

I used to love this place. I never had any issues in the past, but today I waited almost 45 minutes to get my order of two tacos, as I watched multiple people who ordered after me get their food first. And once I finally got home with my tacos, the order was WRONG. I am generally a patient person, but I am very upset about this. Also, the prices have recently gone up. You will never see me at Villa Arcos again. read more

I love coming here for breakfast tacos. They have a good variety of plates and tacos with great flavors.

If you've heard this place has delicious breakfast tacos, stop reading now and get yourself to Villa Arcos! The tortillas seemed very fresh with a delicious buttery taste. I got one carne guisada and one bacon & egg taco. Drink selection was standard: soft drinks, coffee, bottled juices. The carne guisada had great taste and texture, with just the right amount of kick. The green salsa really upped the spiciness. The bacon & egg taco had crunchy, thick-cut bacon that complimented the yellow fluffy eggs. My mouth is watering thinking about my breakfast from two days ago :). A friend got the "super taco" which adds cheese and potatoes, I'm going to try that next. read more

By far best breakfast tacos in Houston. Sometimes a wait...... Like 30 min to order, 30 min to make. Sometimes I walk right up. That's normally earlier on weekends and later on weekdays. But either way..... Worth the wait. But try to call ahead like the pro's do. Bacon Super is by far best. You are gonna want to order the chorizo super too. But it's a lot of food for one person, one sitting. The guisada tacos are legit and a lot smaller if you aren't as hungry for a super taco. read more

Long line. I wasn't impressed at all. I wanted to try their tamales too but I will just wait for another time. I had the chorizo and egg taco. It was okay. From the looks of the crowd this is a neighborhood staple. read more

Best breakfast taco on planet earth. Try the bacon super. Not a fancy place, it's in an old fire house. Call ahead on weekends to have your tacos ready when you arrive. Sit outside and enjoy the sights and sounds of the east end. read more

Very tasty! I've only been once but I got the opportunity to try 6 different types of tacos, which counts as several visits, right? I mostly tried the breakfast tacos and they were all tasty, and the tortillas define kickass. The Super Bacon was definitely my favorite. read more

One of my favorite places to stop in on a Saturday morning for breakfast tacos. Their bacon super and chorizo super are out of this world. Can't forget about the carne guisada taco too. The barbacoa taco is good, not great and should be served with onions or cilantro, instead it's just meat inside a homemade tortilla. There is a reason CNN did a story on this family-owned restaurant years ago, come find out why. read more

Went to grab some after my coworker swore up and down that these were the best tacos he has ever had. I tried the bacon and egg only, only because they were out of the barbacoa :(. Still, the tacos were great. I showed up during a weekday (maybe Wednesday?) and still had a decently long line. Service was quick and easy, menu was easy to read. Great tacos, definitely made fresh. They were still hot from the drive after I picked them up (about 15min). Gonna go back for the special tacos! read more