A taqueria with a Michelin Guide recommendation and a cameo in Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl 60 halftime performance is setting up plancha in southwest Las Vegas, bringing its Estilo Los Angeles (L.A. style) identity for the first time to a location outside of its home city.
Villa’s Tacos is opening an outpost in Eat Your Heart Out food hall at Durango; the taqueria replaces chef Marc Vetri’s Fiorella Pasta Bar that closed at the end of March. Neon has requested comment from a casino representative on the timeline for the debut.
Street start; Bad Bunny
Chef-owner Victor Villa started his taqueria in 2018 by selling tacos from the front yard of his grandmother’s home in the Highland Park neighborhood of northeast L.A. He moved to pickup orders during the pandemic, then opened a bricks-and-mortar location in early 2023 in a modest Highland Park strip center.
Since 2023, the Michelin Guide has conferred a Bib Gourmand on the taqueria; the designation recognizes restaurants that offer outstanding value for money.
During “Tití Me Preguntó,” Bad Bunny’s opening Super Bowl number that included iconic businesses from Latino communities, the singer hands a piragua shaved ice to Villa, who stands behind a grill displaying the name of his taqueria.
On the menu
In Vegas, the restaurant will feature its signature tacos, queso tacos and mulitas built from blue corn tortillas and fillings such as frijoles, lightly salted potatoes, chicken thighs, chorizo, soy chorizo and skirt steak. Baja fish tacos will also make an appearance, as will new-to-the-menu tacos al pastor cooked on a wood-fire grill. A kicky trio of radishes, lime wedges and hibiscus-pickled onions will accompany the tacos.
“From the beginning, Villa’s Tacos has been rooted in family and tradition, with a deep respect for the ingredients and flavors that define our food,” Villa said in a Monday announcement. “We’re proud to bring that same approach to Durango and share what makes Villa’s Tacos special with a new community.”
Contact Johnathan L. Wright at [email protected]. Follow @JLWTaste on Instagram.