This tiny kitchen slings some of Perth’s finest tacos – for five hours a week

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It is a well-known fact that tortillas make anything and everything taste better.

Need to stretch out some leftover steak or fried chicken? Recreate Jesus’ famous five loaves and two fish party trick by slicing said protein, adding sauce and salad, then serving the lot in tortillas.

Has all that HYROX conditioning developed a craving for high-protein, high-crunch snacking? Crisp up tortillas in the oven before loading ’em with hummus and tuna.

Is it a struggle getting the little ones to eat their vegies? Gift-wrap those beans and greens in you-know-what, and your kids will be none the wiser.

While tortillas work across multiple cuisines and mealtimes, they are especially excellent when eaten alongside Mexican food; fitting, I think, when you consider that the origins of the corn tortilla go back to indigenous Mesoamerican groups that populated southern Mexico some 10,000 years ago. And should this Mexican food come from the good folk at El Taco Guru & Son, then even better.

As the restaurant’s name suggests, tacos are the star of the show with many Mexican classics present and accounted for.

There’s carne asada: seared, thick shards of fatty picanha beef (the top of the rump cap) that have been bathed in citrus and garlic. Golden quesabirria half-moons make a strong argument that more things should be stuffed with tender strands of braised beef plus pecorino and cheddar cheese; grilled ’til crunchy; then served with tubs of murky braising liquid for taco dunking and sipping purposes. Vegie fajitas, while leaning more Tex-Mex than straight Mex, might just be the answer to the aforementioned dinner-table dilemma.

When Eduardo Ortega – a one-time taqueria owner in his native Mexico City – started El Taco Guru eight years ago, he was mostly catering private events. In late 2023, Ortega began making regular cameos at the wondrous booze Valhalla, Mane Liquor Osborne Park.

It was also around then that Ortega started bringing his boy, Eduardo Ortega junior, to work. These father-son outings became so frequent that Ortega Senior eventually bolted on the “& Son” suffix to the pop-up’s name.

In return for this recognition, Junior does all the chopping and prep ahead of each service as well as tend the compact flattop grills in Mane’s equally pequeño kitchen. The recipes might belong to papa and abuelita (grandma) Ortega, but the responsibility of bringing these dishes alive falls largely on Junior’s shoulders.

A mildly spiced house chorizo – served as mince rather than a cured and cased link – is inspired by the sausage-making traditions of Toluca, the Ortegas’ hometown in Mexico state. While I can’t speak to the chorizo’s Toluca-ness, I’ll vouch for its deliciousness, especially when served on a tortilla primed with a crackly web of grilled cheese.

On Sundays, our man wheels out the magnificence that is chilaquiles: crunchy house-made corn chips moistened with chicken stock and crowned with crema and meat. Think of them as tomato-less nachos of quiet, unexpected sophistication.

There are some small yet notable aspects of the El Taco Guru experience worth mentioning. The guacamole is creamy and rich rather than, as I like it, chunky and limey. Although the pop-up is housed in one of Perth’s great bottlos, you can’t drink alcohol in-store.

The biggest bugbear, though, is that the Ortegas only do Mane Liquor on Friday arvos (3.30pm ’til 6.30pm) and Sunday lunch (noon ’til 2.30pm) for a combined weekly stage-time of just five and a half hours. At weekends, expect to wait for your food. But the wait will be worth it, for so many reasons.

The corn tortillas are from WA masa whisperers, La Tortilla. (The wheat tortillas are Mission.) Amber Softley and Orland De’Freitas are cheery presences in the kitchen window. Just as bright are the condiments that guests help themselves to in aid of fine-tuning dishes. Perky green and red salsas are made daily and taste herbal and earthy, respectively. Charred onions, garlics and tomatoes get pounded in a pestle to yield the chunky salsa molcajete. And get a load of that jar of chiles toreados: chillies steeped in soya sauce that speak to the influence that Chinese railroad workers had on food in southern America and northern Mexico.

Look carefully and you’ll spy more modern ties linking Mexico and Asia too. The rub on the (non-alcoholic) michelada beer cocktail features the Japanese salted plum, umeboshi. (Although salt rims don’t work great on paper cups.) Ortega Senior regularly takes the pop-up to Japan. Then there’s the Papi Special: a goodtime meal-for-one that sees a cup of Korean Shin Ramyun instant noodles doctored with birria consommé, cheese and lime.

Will the Papi Special attain similar virality as the ram-don popularised by the Academy Award-winning Korean movie, Parasite? Only time will tell. For now, it serves as another delicious reminder that thoughtful Mexican flourishes can make anything and everything taste delicious.

Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.