Villa’s Tacos, the Los Angeles taqueria with a Michelin Guide recommendation and a cameo in Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl 60 halftime show, has set an opening date for its Las Vegas location, the first outside of its home city.
Villa’s will launch Aug. 15 in Eat Your Heart Out food hall in Durango casino, parent company Station Casinos announced Friday. The opening-day celebration begins with an 11 a.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony, followed by live mariachi music until 3 p.m. The first 100 guests in line will receive a free sampler trio plate and surprises.
Signature tacos, queso tacos and mulitas built with homemade blue corn tortillas anchor the menu. They’re filled with frijoles con nopal (cactus paddle), grilled soy chorizo, papas a la plancha (griddled potatoes), pierna de pollo (chicken leg), pork chorizo, wood-fire pastor and ranchera asada. Selections are finished with guacamole, crema, cotija, onion and cilantro and served with radishes and lime wedges.
Backyard start; star turn
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.
At Durango, Villa’s Tacos will be open from 11 a.m. to midnight Sundays through Thursdays and from 11 to 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. The restaurant will occupy the former Fiorella, which closed in late March. Visit durangoresort.com.
Contact Johnathan L. Wright at [email protected]. Follow @JLWTaste on Instagram.