Papis Taqueria is a total gem in Old Lyme -- small in size, but big on flavor and good vibes. This spot is definitely worth the detour. I had the Buffalo Cauliflower and Mahi Mahi tacos -- both were legit, but the Mahi stole the show with its bright, fresh flavor that just hit in a beach-town kind of way. We also shared the meatless sopes, which were super generous and totally satisfying. A little messy (in the best way), and I gave them a flavor boost with some of the house salsas -- which, by the way, are on point. I'd love to see a pescatarian version added -- they already carry Mahi, so tossing that on a sope feels like an easy win. Shrimp would be another great coastal fit, and a hearty mushroom option could also round things out for plant-based folks (even if it doesn't match the seaside vibe as much). My friend did a trio of tacos (Carnitas, Chorizo, and Al Pastor) and gave them an enthusiastic thumbs-up. No notes. Just solid, delicious tacos across the board. The staff were awesome -- super welcoming and kind. The vibe is relaxed and unfussy, with just a few outdoor seats and a steady stream of locals swinging by for pickup orders. It's the kind of place you almost don't want to tell people about because it feels like a secret... but also, more people need to know. I live in San Diego part time and have eaten my way through the West, Southwest, and Mexico -- and I'd still go out of my way for Papis. read more

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One of my biggest challenges is finding a good Mexican restaurant in New London County. I have tried different locations that have four stars or above reviews, but the food turns out to be just okay. I tried Papi's Taqueria today. I ordered some Mahi and shrimp tacos, and unfortunately, the tacos were just okay to good. The presentation made the tacos appear delicious, but once I bit into one of the Mahi tacos, I immediately realized it was just okay. The Mahi was overly cooked, making it dry and the batter overly crunchy. However, the cream sauce that was added was delicious. On the other hand, the shrimp taco had a much better flavor, and the shrimp were properly cooked. Oh, I almost forgot, I also ordered a piece of Tres Leches cake, which was delicious. Overall, the Mahi tacos were just okay, the shrimp taco was better than average, and the Tres Leches cake was delicious. For now, I rate Papi's Taqueria with 3.5 stars since the food was just okay. However, I do want to add that the service was outstanding, and the dining area was quaint. I will be returning with hope in upgrading my review. read more

Unique menu with lots of options. We chose bowls as we were traveling to Fox Farm Brewery. This was the perfect spot on the way to grab our fall lunch. The price was a bit high but overall no complaints. I had the steak bowl which was very fresh and tasty. I ordered the flan for dessert which was okay and my friends had the rice pudding which they said was very good. read more

Papis Taqueria - Steak bowl - Mexican Near Me - Old Lyme, Connecticut

Papi's Taqueria is a wonderful small Taqueria. I'll admit that I was a little worried when I read a particular review. I'm glad that we decided to check this place out for ourselves. My son and I were with my parents after visiting the Florence Griswold Museum. We were all a little nervous when we saw how small the restaurant appeared from the outside. Although it is small, we were welcomed by bright colors and chandeliers. The restaurant offers two tables and a bar where you can sit to eat. We grabbed a table and reviewed the menu. I went up to the counter with my dad to place an order. My mom ordered the Huevos Rancheros, dad got the Fajita Burrito with Chicken, my son ordered a Fiesta Burrito with ground beef and I got a Cubano Torta. I also ordered refried beans and rice for the table. The staff was very friendly and were polite when asking my mom how she would like her eggs in her dish. The food came out quick. It was served warm and with smiles. The food was comforting to us on a wet and rainy day. My son absolutely loved his burrito and enjoyed the rice and beans. My Torta was filling and wonderful. The Cubano has eggs, pork, lettuce, tomato and mayo. The bread was fresh and soft but held up to the wet ingredients. My mom said her meal was messy to eat but great. She had to pull the jalapeños, but I was able to snag them. Dad said that his burrito was great and the chicken was flavorful. While we were eating a large party came in to eat. A delivery service was picking up and three other small groups came in. My only complaints were that there isn't enough room for more seating and I was unsure on the restroom situation. We noticed a sign that said there wasn't a restroom available. I'm guessing because of the size of the place and the fact that you would have to walk through their kitchen, they may not offer one for everyone to use. It's possible that you could use it in an emergency situation, but that never came up when we were there. We'll be back with my husband. I can't wait to try some of the other items on the menu. I look forward to sharing the authentic homestyle cooking with him. read more

Papis Taqueria - Sitting at 1 of 2 tables. Glad to be dry and warm to eat our lunch - Mexican Near Me - Old Lyme, Connecticut

Wow! So good! Fresh authentic Mexican deliciousness, clean and cute store front. Love the colors and vibes. And the staff is super friendly. My first time in here and anytime I'm in the area I'll be coming here that's for sure. Love that they have a salad bar type area with salsa and limes and Radish you can help yourself to. No public restrooms just a heads up. There are 2 tables and a bar for sitting and eating, and 2 tables outside. No alcohol, but they have awesome horchata and jarritos 10/10 read more

Papis Taqueria - Chicken tinga taco - Mexican Near Me - Old Lyme, Connecticut

food is way overpriced and they WILL overcharge. $14 burrito, $14 crunch wrap, $3 drink, $2.50 drink comes out to $38.52. how? there is not $5 tax. Stuff like this kills any credibility that would make up for the food being overpriced. I won't come here again. read more

I wanted to like it, and given the good reviews I must be missing something. Our food was so bland. Burrito, and house special tacos. Not a fan. read more

Yummy LA type street tacos and fabulous tamales for special occasions. Second year that we have ordered tamales for Christmas Eve and were not disappointed. Great little taqueria for lunch. read more

A little pricey but the food is excellent! I got the special of the day which was a California burrito and my husband got tacos. We shared the chips and queso and all of it was hot and delicious. It has been very hard to find good Hispanic food in this area so this is our only go to! read more

Delicious! Have tried several Mexican spots since we moved to Lyme, this by far is our favorite! Enjoyed everything we tried, delicious homemade chips and salsa, outstanding veggie burrito, delicious salads, everything was great and plenty of leftovers! Definitely will be back! Our new favorite spot!! read more

Very nice surprise..great Mexican food addition to the area. We've been twice both times very good..tinga and sopes I've never had either. Nice Very small place a few inside and outside chairs.. I recommend read more

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We love Papis. Always consistent and friendly. Their food is amazing and fresh! Place is spotless. Wish there were more places like Papis. Love the burrito and tacos. 10/10 read more

Papis Taqueria - Fiesta Burrito with no beans and pico on side and a side of guacamole - Mexican Near Me - Old Lyme, Connecticut

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The food was amazing and they made it really quickly. Kids split the nachos, which were huge. Highly recommend the tacos al pastor - the pineapple adds a nice sweet kick to the pork. Not a lot of indoor seating (just two tables) so takeout is probably easiest, but the ambience was fun. The people who worked there were really nice and gave great service. read more

$40 + tip for: Fiesta Nachos with carnitas Shredded chicken taquitos Fiesta Burrito with grilled chicken. Good size and value meal for three or four people. Try the Portuguese Wedding cookies with guava centers. read more

Papis Taqueria - Carnitas Fiesta Nachos. Sour cream, guacamole and pico de gallo on the side. - Mexican Near Me - Old Lyme, Connecticut

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Went there for the first time today. Had the best ground beef taco I've ever eaten! Already looking forward to going back.

Soooo good. I'm from Arizona and miss the Mexican food. This is my local "go to" place.

Warning! Stay away!! Unfortunately Papi's Taqueria can't manage their orders well. Online order goes through, go to pick up order it's not ready nor do they have the order but I was charged and had to pay again to get food. Gave them another chance, I'm a glutton for punishment and my order online was to be ready 6:05-6:10pm. They asked me what the order was like there was no record of the order. I waited 30 more minutes. One taco was the wrong meat. They shorted me the order of chips and salsa and didn't read any customizations. A table inside that ate there was overcharged and having difficulty getting their money back. It's a shame food is good but not worth my time or the frustration and lack of understanding and good service. read more

I have eaten here before and loved it. Today I came in specifically for the Mahi Mahi Taco. Every bite was a pleasure on the taste buds and makes me want to come back daily to this authentic Mexican restaurant. read more

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Looking for some new unique food options while on vacation, I stumbled upon Papi's through Yelp. We placed an online order to pickup. It was about a 15-20 minute drive to get there. When I arrived, our food was not ready, and had to wait. It was no big deal, as I might have been early. We ordered a chicken burrito, elote, fiesta nachos with chicken, and the soft tacos with ground beef. I thought they forgot the elote, but I actually found it in the car the next day, It must of rolled out of the bag. The chicken burrito was hefty, and loaded with chicken. The nachos were a bit strange. The website said sour cream, but we found the nachos smothered in a queso blanco cheese sauce I assume, which I wasn't a fan of. It kind of tasted like Ragu Alfredo sauce. Again, they did not skimp on the chicken, and it came with a guacamole on the side. The chicken in all the dishes was a bit dry and not that tender. The ground beef in the tacos was dry, and lacked seasoning, and flavor. Overall, it was boring food. Wished there was cilantro on everything. read more

Papis Taqueria - Fiesta Nachos - Mexican Near Me - Old Lyme, Connecticut

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We took a detour to get gas and ended up seeing this place. Didn't read the reviews but took a chance and so glad we did! Very friendly staff and very clean inside. We took our order to go as the seating inside was very minimal (I think a total of like 3 areas to sit for maybe 2-4 people each). This is what we ordered: Elotes - they initially forgot this in the order but when I went back inside they very quickly gathered it together. I didn't read the description but they put peppers in it which I didn't like but my girlfriend did. $7 was a tad steep but after seeing the portion it was understandable. El pastor tacos: very very good! Tortillas tasted very fresh along with the ingredients. Would get this again. read more

Incredible addition to Old Lyme where our choices are so limited. The food is delicious and the staff is very efficient, friendly and accomodating. I've gotten hooked on short rib sopes. It's not on the menu, but my favorite taco there is the short rib taco with pickled onions, queso fresco, lettuce and crema. I asked if they could do the same with sopes, and now it's my favorite thing to order other than specials. I think the best part is the specials! Their web site is new, so this might change, but for now, they post the daily specials on their FB page. Try the tamales if you're lucky enough to go there on a day when they make them. I love the gorditas which is like a pita pocket made from masa (tamale dough) filled with your choice of meat. Now for a little story.... I was in Brooklyn a couple of weeks ago and stopped in at Birria-Landia. The NY Times top 100 NYC restaurant list for 2023 came out a few weeks ago, and this might be the only food truck on the list; they rank #18, so top 20! They serve nothing but birria. A few days ago, Papi's made birria as a special. It's not something I've ever seen on any other Mexican menu in CT. I know what birria should taste like, and I think theirs was BETTER than Birria-Landia! Although there are plenty of wonderful choices on their regular menu, it's become a ritual for me to check their daily specials to see what wonderful treat they're going to surprise me with next. read more

Finally a new food place in Old Lyme!! Just ordered the carnitas torta and it was everything I hoped for. There's nowhere else nearby to find a real torta and this one delivered. I also got fried artichokes with dip on the side but it wasn't as good as the torta. Hope they stick around because this town definitely needs more food options like this. read more

Really solid burrito and salsas. Definitely the best in the immediate OS/OL area and well worth the price. Staff was super nice and food was excellent. A welcome addition! read more

Very clean. Very friendly. Very good food! I had a pleasant experience and can't wait to go back soon! read more

Excellent NEW little Mexican taqueria located in the Old Lyme Shopping Center down from the corner Deli, Dance Studio, Hideaway, Hong Kong restaurant. It's a small simple little taqueria with 2 tables & a bar counter for a quick bite. There's a glass display of homemade desserts & bottled sodas as well as a soda machine dispenser. They also have a salsa bar with 3 kinds of salsas, fresh lime wedges, and some sliced radishes. They also have a chalkboard with daily specials. I opted for the 3 green chicken chile enchilada special & a side order of rice & beans (black or refried). I took advantage of the delicious salsas & drizzled them over the F&B combination to sample them. I loved the medium smoky salsa the best. They all look to be homemade. They were all bright, fresh & flavorful. The enchilada chicken green salsa special was VERY GOOD. The presentation was fabulous: fresh white chicken breast meat wrapped in homemade corn tortillas. It was topped with fresh chopped iceberg lettuce, salsa verde, sour cream & cotija cheese. It was a perfect balance of the corn tortilla, white meat chicken breast, fresh green salsa, the creamy sour cream & the crunch of the fresh iceberg lettuce. I thoroughly enjoyed it! I am so thrilled there's an authentic Mexican Tacqueria in Old Lyme. The CT Shoreline is a bit of a barren culinary wasteland which is both surprising & depressing. You have to either go to New Haven, Hartford, or Stonington to find some solidly good restaurants. Hopefully with the advent of the COVID migration, we will be seeing new places like this popping up all along the SE Shoreline. I am optimistic & extremely HOPEFUL! Try this little taqueria out! They do a fantastic job! And always try support your local businesses! They are a labor of love & face a lot more challenges that the big box & chain companies. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! ENJOY! read more

Best street tacos and elote I've had around here!! My boyfriend and I tried it for the first time today and I was so impressed. The corn was delicious and I was so happy to see mahi mahi tacos because nowhere ever has them! Small place with only some seating if that matters for anyone but it was so yummy / great for a quick and casual stop. Would recommend to anyone :) read more

Ehh won't eat there again, maybe it was an off night for them given their reviews. We had ordered take out and when we got home, I noticed that we were shorted a taco, wasnt about to call up about it, not to mention the portions were VERY small. An adult can easily eat 5 tacos plus sides, needless to say, we were still hungry afterwards. The chicken tacos were dry and wrapped in a double soft shell which took away from the flavor with the strong doughy corn taste. Two adults should be able to dine out for $50 and be reasonably full. We were not, missed the mark. read more

Papis Taqueria - three tacos on a table - Mexican Near Me - Old Lyme, Connecticut

Best Mexican food I have found since California. Salads are amazing, the burrito bowl is two meals for me! Such authentic flavors!

Very cheerful ambiance... a place well needed in Old Lyme. There were quite a few customers to attest how people were open to trying New Mexican cuisine. I absolutely love authentic Mexican cuisine had actually studied the menu for a couple of days. Unfortunately, the food was not very tasty. I tried the special tacos, pork with pineapple and braised short rib. The lovely girl at the counter brought to our table with guacamole and chips. My husband had the steak fajita burrito. The presentation of the food was lovely but the tacos were so tiny and filling were marginal Was so surprised at the lack of ingredients in the tacos that I forgot to take pictures.( wanted to promote this new Tacqueria) Double taco shells overwhelmed the taste of the filling. The pork was juicy but couldn't see pineapple ( nothing else on the taco and was less than two bite fulls. I added lime and mild sauce as suggested. The braised beef had more ingredients but found the cheese was not my preference.( that's my personal dislike... no reflection on the chef) My husband said there was no taste to the meat in the burrito and green peppers were not cooked. I tried and agreed that there was no seasoning. Beef seemed like grizzle not steak. Filled with so many ingredients, rice, beans ,cheese, green peppers, onions and meat but lacked flavor.... The small plastic container of guacamole with store bought chips didn't have any taste or smooth texture as in pictures on FB. Certainly overpriced at $9. Lunch was $40 with tip. Clearly as a new place, the kinks need to be worked out... it might have been a bad day. Hopefully we will enjoy tastier food in a future visit. It's a place really needed in Old Lyme. read more

Awesome food and service! Busy place with s line out the door on a Friday night. Definitely a take out spot yet a few tables available if you prefer to dine in. read more

What a great addition to Old Lyme! Solid Mexican food for sure. My chicken burrito was fantastic as was the nachos. Yummy desserts as well. My only critique is the guac---it doesn't seem fresh and/or homemade. Five stars though! read more

Old Lyme needs this place! We have ordered take out about 8 times and have yet to be disappointed . Also- try the Tres Leche! Possibly the best! read more

Always hesitant to try new places but the minute you walk in here your greeted by pleasant staff . The place is spotless ! The food was probably the best Mexican takeout I've ever had . Fresh quality ingredients. Prices are above average but the quality and freshness of the food made up for it . Highly recommended! read more

Great value and quality. A pleasant surprise - and really appreciate that it's on Old Lyme! Their fish tacos and burritos are the best in the area. Really pleasant service as well. read more

The food is very fresh and yummy.The people are kind, gracious, the desserts are sooooooo fabulous too.

Pretty good based on first visit, will return for certain to try other items. This, from Mexican food-starved former Los Angelenos. Kind of a godsend ;) read more

Quickly became a weekly staple for us... consistently delicious & fresh. Fajita burrito and burrito bowl are our go-to's.

Great Tacos and great people! This is a great little spot in an area with not too many options.

I got the carnitas and steak tacos and they were fantastic. Loaded with cilantro and onions and the corn tortillas were warm and delicious! Great addition to the shoreline food options. read more

Love the street tacos best this side of long Wharf NH! chips and salsa are fresh! Hot sauces are a fantastic addition, real authentic Mexican cuisine! read more