New handmade taco joint opens in Fort Worth with a Monterrey, Mexico chef and street taco menu

A new taco joint opens this weekend in Fort Worth’s West 7th entertainment district with from-scratch tortillas, trompo tacos and a margarita bar stocked with top-shelf tequilas and mezcals.

Maestro Tacos opens Oct. 31 with chef Chef Miguel Mendoza in charge. Mendoza worked as a meat butcher in Monterrey, MX for more than a decade, which means he probably also knows his way around a grill and a trompo.

At Maestro, Mendoza is teaming up with co-owner Toan Luong to recreate a taqueria similar to those Mendoza remembers from Monterrey, his hometown. Priced from $1.75 each, tacos include birria, carnitas, barbacoa, pollo asado and slow-roasted, marinated pork trompo al pastor served with pineapple. The menu also includes gorditas, burritos, quesadillas and fajitas. A restaurant spokesperson says everything is made fresh on-site, including the seasonal aguas fresca, handmade tortillas and vibrant salsas.

Maestro Tacos plans to open early for breakfast tacos, then stay open late for drinks and snacks. That could prove awkward, though; the restaurant sits adjacent to Ampersand, a coffee shop/cocktail bar also owned by Luong that recently had its liquor license pulled for violating Covid-19 safety rules.

3011 Bledsoe Street, Fort Worth. maestrotacos.com. Hours: 10 a.m. to 12 a.m. Mondays through Thursday,s 10 a.m. to 3 a.m. Thursdays though Saturdays, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays.

photos: Maestro Tacos