Street Eats DSM

One of the spots I like to hit up when I'm in town. Close to…read morewhere I train so it always tastes better when you are starving. Great service and great tasting food!

6/27/26. Yelp reviews looked good but all were over 5 years old. Pulled in parking lot and wasn't…read moresure about going in because the outside looked rough!! Decided to go for it anyway. Was only one other person waiting for there to go food. Chips and salsa are $2. Chips are thick/crunchy and taste homemade. Two salsas are given, verde (hot) and roja (slightly sweet with a kick of heat at the end). I ordered a Sope with carnitas. Wife ordered Gorditas. Waited for about 25 mins. A little long considering we were the only people in there at that point. But I hoped that meant it was being made from scratch. Food arrived, it looked delicious! Both of our first bites were heaven! Sope had a thick fluffy masa cake base with the most tender roasted slightly seasoned carnitas. Topped with a soft kind of white bean, a few sliced tomatoes, a few onions, shredded cabbage and salty cotija cheese. Very filling. Wife's Gorditas were three small masa cake shells stuffed with moist shredded dark meat chicken. And the same topping as mine. We both thoroughly enjoyed our food!!Would stop back again when I town.

Decals

Exterior - please enter!

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Front door

Tacos Degollado

4.7(47 reviews)

3.9 km

One of my favorite places to get tacos in the DSM metro! I tried a few of the tacos on different…read moreoccasions and my favorite were the steak tacos and their green salsa is also a hit. They are also super quick with the food and I have never had to wait longer than a few minutes. They accept both cash and card. If you're into street tacos this is your place.

Seemingly a permanent fixture in this auto shop parking lot, Tacos Degollado has become my go-to…read morelunch spot whenever I'm looking for something quick while I'm working from my company's Des Moines office. The price is right and the food is delicious. I'm often the only one ordering in English, which always feels like a good sign in a local spot like this. Cash is preferred, using a card will earn ya a little convenience fee is all. There are some picnic benches on site to eat your food there or you can take it to go, maybe have a picnic like I often do. There's just something about a paper plate overflowing with tacos that demands it be eaten outside, ya know?

Got my tacos to go and ate on the capitol lawn.

Steak Burrito 2 Birria tacos 2 carne asada tacos

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Faustinos Taqueria

4.7(37 reviews)

3.8 km

My last review was two years ago. The parking is good and accessible. Its a family owned place and…read morethe staff are friendly and always helpful. They still make their own salsas of differing heat and flavors. Its a all day taco spot .Their Birra is homemade and excellent as well as all their taco fillings being homemadeand fresh. Their chips are homemade and served warm. They make a wonderful homemade hibiscus tea. They also have Jarrittos pop. Its a cheerful place with wonderful murals.

What a hidden gem! Tucked away in a strip mall in a quiet Beaverdale neighborhood, it's easy to…read moreoverlook. I stopped for a quick lunch on a Tuesday. Taco Tuesday specials so I was able to get 2 fully loaded delicious tacos for $7. The meal included a few bites of potatoes and onions (just enough) and a small basket of chips. Great deal and good food. Only one note: they do not have any free items to drink. Bottled water is available for purchase.

When you walk in and where you order.

Sauces. Loved all of them

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Vampiro taco! So good!

Tasty Tacos

3.6(126 reviews)

6.9 km

I live in southern California where there is a taco place on every corner. I can't find anything…read morethere similar to this. I love the puffy flour tortilla, heavenly pork filling, and that it was non greasy and fresh. The one I ate at is a block from the Capitol building. Wonderful! I'll be a regular while I'm here.

Not the best looking restaurant but we were won over by the flour taco! You should try it if you're…read morevisiting Iowa. We stopped by on a Thursday around 2 pm for a late lunch. We shared the flour tacos with beef, steak, and beans; corn tostada, and mushroom poppers. The flour shells were airy and fluffy. The tacos were packed with lettuce, cheese, and protein. The staff was friendly and helpful.

Decor

Tostada

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Exterior

El Taco Guapo

4.8(12 reviews)

6.0 km

We can NOT say ENOUGH great things about this place!!! Our favorite taco truck EVER!!! Today…read morethough, I went for a burger, but I am SO happy with it. The bacon is thick cut, the fries are hot and fresh. He got gorditas and they are AMAZING!! 10/10 RECOMMEND!!

They are friendly, food amazing. Taquitos are to die for and street corn.cup is da-bomb!!…read more Authentic Mexican taco truck vibe and taste. A must try.

Menu

Las mejores flautas ‼

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Chicken flautas

Toro Loco

4.5(13 reviews)

6.1 km

I had the Tacos Alambres, and they were amazing. Great flavors, and the portions were huge. Staff…read morewas very friendly and attentive. The restaurant looks very nice, with the murals on the walls and other Mexican decorations.

Had driven by multiple times decided to stop for dinner on a Friday night and sure glad I did…read more Very attentive server with a cool setup inside of the restaurant. Our table ordered : Chrriopollo - was best I've had in metro Chicken enchilada- feedback was very good Watermelon margarita - could tell was fresh not syrup One additional observation was the meal wasn't dripping in cheese / sour cream / slop like many metro Mexican restaurant rather the flavors spoke for themselves Overall Toro Loco will be in our rotation for future stops.

Tacos and margarita

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Steak Mexicano

Tortilleria Luna

5.0(3 reviews)

8.9 km

Small lunch counter featuring awesome pollo verde tamales, spicy and always fresh. Accompanied with…read moresome of the fresh tomatillo salsa, side of rice and a slice of pi de queso makes for good eating. Don't miss the packages of warm tortillas in the coolers

I drive by this place frequently but don't stop. Tonight was my night. We had the burrito with…read moresteak and shrimp and tacos with steak, pork and chorizo. The steak had an interesting mustard flavor and the rice in the burrito was very tasty. The burrito was enough for 2 people. The mini tacos were like street tacos. I really enjoyed the steak and pork. Steak was the same as the burrito and the pork had a slightly sweet flavor. I never enjoy chorizo but someday I will find one I enjoy. The tacos had cilantro and large onions which I enjoyed. The multiple sauces were also delightful and spicy. The guacamole was smooth and almost a sour cream texture. Oh and the homemade tortillas were excellent. They make them at this location.

Tamale Birria taco

6-10pm Menu

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Tacos La Familia

4.3(90 reviews)

5.5 km

A great little spot for some big Mexican flavor Des Moines!…read moreThe chips came out with four very distinct house made salsa (who does at these days?) and each was very good! Terri had an order of quest dip as she's not a fan of the hotter salsa. The Fried Street Tacos are amazing and they don't skimp on the meat as I've seen other places do. I ordered the Al Pastor marinated pork and Terri had the Birra Beef version...for the mains we had the Birra Sandwich and the Birra Ramen..both were excellent and good portions yet again. The staff was very friendly throughout and I highly recommend making a stop there for a good experience!

Visiting from out of town. Only ate here once, but thought about it everyday…read more Soda was crispy, not flat or syrupy. Hard to find these days. Chips, salsas, guacamole and queso were all phenomenal. Really hit the spot. Love the option of being able to order single tacos. I tried a shrimp, asada and al pastor. Loved them all, especially the shrimp. Shrimp wasn't too fishy like you get some places. It was cooked well and great flavor. Vibe inside was homey and laid back. Server was very attentive, which we really appreciated! This place should definitely have better reviews.

A little sparse on decor but food and service are great!

Barria Sandwich

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This is what I got. Maybe are 3 shrimp. Get your stuff together. Also why is the only option to order rice online a 16oz?

Ninas Tacos

4.2(16 reviews)

4.9 km

Nina's Tacos can be found most Mondays at the Pleasant Hill Community Farmers Market from 400-700…read morepm CT... Make sure you check their Facebook page for their weekly schedule. So Taqueria Marissa has really good birria tacos... I was told by MANY people I had to try Nina's Tacos. So you all weren't wrong! Some darn good birria and I love the variety! Going to a farmers market to find her tacos kind of bit me in the butt though. A bag of freeze dried candy, a pie, and Nina's pretty much killed a Franklin. The farmers market and Nina's were easy to find. A big red trailer in the lot with quite a few vendor canopies at 5229 E University Ave in Pleasant Hill.... It's easy to spot. I was pretty close to their first customer today. I left work in West Des Moines at 330 pm and took 235E to University out to Pleasant Hill. 1 birria crunch wrap - $15 3 birria lumpia - $10 3 quesa birria tacos - $10 Everything came with limes and make sure you indulge in their hot sauce! $35 before tip and she gave me a free Coke to enjoy while I waited. Service was wonderful. We visited a bit at the window. I shared it was my first time ordering from Nina's and I'd driven across the metro to find her. I had a short wait for my order and a few people started to stack up at the window as I waited. The birria tacos were my favorite. The other two items lacked nothing. Their birria and consume in any form is top notch! SO tender and I love the flavor! Now if I had to compare Nina's against Marissa and Flame.... Why? It's like comparing three precious gems... ‍ Would I drive across town again? Heck yeah! That's really all I should need to say. Lots of menu items I haven't tried yet and it's a fun little growing farmers market everyone should check out. Especially if the crowds on Saturday morning aren't your thing. https://www.facebook.com/PleasantHillIowaFarmersMarket?mibextid=LQQJ4d https://www.facebook.com/ninastaco?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Wow! Caught Nina's at Brightside Aleworks in Altoona tonight and decided to go all in on a the Melt…read moreBox and oh what a great decision it was. For $35 you get a giant tray of birria nachos, 3 tacos, and two like small quesadillas. It was prepared quickly and came with plenty of sauce and limes. Definitely recommend whenever they come to your area.

Mulita

Charola quesa tacos

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Manny's Chicken

Henry J's Taco House

3.8(45 reviews)

4.8 km

The tacos and fideo are delicious! Ordered some funnel cake fries that were lacking the powdered…read moresugar which made it all subpar. The staff was not very skilled at customer relations or dealing with people at all.

Henry J's has been a staple on the south side of Des Moines for decades. Fresh Mexican food that…read moreset them apart from the franchise shops. Their homemade hot sauce is far and away better than you find anywhere else. The flour tacos are delicious. It's a family owned and run business that shows that you can compete in a crowded market if your product is superior. The ambiance needs work but many times we order to go and are never disappointed. Prices are moderate and this unique business represents what a mom and pop restaurant can produce. Try it, you'll like it.

Building front.

Cheddar nuggets.

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Flour tacos.

Street Eats DSM - foodtrucks - Updated October 2026

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Flame The Taqueria

(69 reviews)

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Tacos La Familia

4.3

(90 reviews)

A great little spot for some big Mexican flavor Des Moines!…read moreThe chips came out with four very distinct house made salsa (who does at these days?) and each was very good! Terri had an order of quest dip as she's not a fan of the hotter salsa. The Fried Street Tacos are amazing and they don't skimp on the meat as I've seen other places do. I ordered the Al Pastor marinated pork and Terri had the Birra Beef version...for the mains we had the Birra Sandwich and the Birra Ramen..both were excellent and good portions yet again. The staff was very friendly throughout and I highly recommend making a stop there for a good experience!

Visiting from out of town. Only ate here once, but thought about it everyday…read more Soda was crispy, not flat or syrupy. Hard to find these days. Chips, salsas, guacamole and queso were all phenomenal. Really hit the spot. Love the option of being able to order single tacos. I tried a shrimp, asada and al pastor. Loved them all, especially the shrimp. Shrimp wasn't too fishy like you get some places. It was cooked well and great flavor. Vibe inside was homey and laid back. Server was very attentive, which we really appreciated! This place should definitely have better reviews.

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