Bristol's Mexican food scene runs from cantina-style taco bars on the harbourside to a Bedminster kitchen trained specifically in the cuisine of Puebla. It's not a huge scene compared with the city's Thai, Indian or Italian restaurants, but what's here is generally good and varied enough that you can pick by mood: quick tacos, a proper sit-down meal, or something closer to a Latin American bar than a straight Mexican menu.
Where to go
| Restaurant | Where | Style |
|---|---|---|
| Casa Mexicana | Zetland Road | Family-run, traditional Mexican |
| Cargo Cantina | Wapping Wharf | Cantina-style taco bar |
| Chido Wey | Old Market Street | Cali-Mexican bar and kitchen |
| Viva La Mexicana | East Street, Bedminster | Authentic Puebla-region cuisine |
| Batida | Whiteladies Road | Latin American, broader than Mexican |
Casa Mexicana
Casa Mexicana, on Zetland Road, has been serving traditional Mexican food since 2016. It's open seven days a week, 6pm to 10pm for dinner, with lunch service added Friday to Sunday, 12pm to 4pm. The menu covers the usual ground of nachos, fajitas, burritos and enchiladas alongside prawn, fish and steak mains, in a terracotta-tiled dining room lined with wine racks. If you'd rather collect than sit in, phoning ahead for takeaway gets you a discount direct from the restaurant rather than going through a delivery app.
Cargo Cantina
Cargo Cantina is a counter-service taco bar at Unit 15, CARGO 2, Wapping Wharf, Museum Street (BS1 6ZA), open daily from 12pm to 10pm. It's modelled on the cantinas of Mexico City, with ice-cold beers, frozen margaritas and mezcal alongside a small menu of tacos made from organic, overnight-cooked meats and 100% gluten-free corn tortillas. It's a good pick if you want something quick and casual rather than a full sit-down meal, and it sits inside the same Wapping Wharf food quarter as several of the burger spots in our best burgers guide, so it's easy to combine with a wider harbourside food crawl.
Chido Wey
Chido Wey, at 25b Old Market Street in St Philips (BS2 0HB), bills itself as a Cali-Mexican bar and kitchen and leans into bold colours and a cocktail list alongside signature tacos. It's in the Old Market area just east of the city centre, a short walk from Temple Meads.
Viva La Mexicana
For something more specifically regional, Viva La Mexicana at 149 East Street, Bedminster (BS3 4EJ) focuses on the cuisine of Mexico's Puebla region rather than a generic "Mexican" menu. The kitchen team trained under Mexican chefs for over a decade before coming to the UK, and the restaurant is a member of Sabores Autenticos de Mexico, an organisation whose membership is restricted to restaurants promoting authentic Mexican cuisine. It also runs a 2-for-1 cocktail offer before 7pm. It's a useful stop if you're already exploring Bedminster and Southville for the day.
Batida
Batida, at 85 Whiteladies Road (BS8 2NT), is worth knowing about even though it markets itself as Latin American rather than strictly Mexican. It covers a broader spread of dishes including Argentinian-style steak sandwiches and Cuban sandwiches alongside more familiar tacos and quesadillas, so treat it as a Latin food stop rather than a purely Mexican one. It also runs a lunch meal deal (a dish plus a drink) between 12pm and 5pm.
A note on chains
If you just want something fast and cheap, Tortilla has a branch inside Cabot Circus doing the usual build-your-own burrito format you'll recognise from other UK cities. It's reliable but generic, so treat it as a backup rather than a destination in itself. We'd also flag that Mission Burrito's Bristol restaurant has closed its physical site and now only operates via delivery apps, so don't plan a visit around it.