Our Washingtonian Recommends lists bring you the best places to eat, drink, and be entertained—all selected by Washingtonian editors.
Baker’s Daughter
675 I St., NW; 1402 Okie St NE; 1201 K St., NW
Texas-style breakfast tacos are on the menu at Gravitas chef Matt Baker’s casual cafes, which opens daily at 8 AM with all-day breakfast. Tacos are more like small burritos—they’re modeled after the ones at Whataburger in Baker’s native Houston—and are stuffed with fillings like salsa, egg, cheese, and chorizo, or vegetarian potato and caramelized onion.
Chaia
615 I St., NW; 3207 Grace St., NW; 7237 Woodmont Ave., Bethesda
Egg tacos, once a weekend-only offering at these “farm-to-taco” spots, are now an everyday treat. Scrambled local eggs are tucked in griddled corn tortillas with black beans, queso fresco, chives, jalapeños, and pickled carrots.
District Taco
Multiple locations in DC, MD, and VA
The homegrown chain dishes up several styles of breakfast tacos at selection locations. All include eggs, cheese, and crispy potatoes—bacon or chorizo is up to you.
Las Gemelas Taqueria
1280 Fourth St., NE
The folks behind Shaw’s Espita Mezcaleria and Ghostburger are behind this indoor/outdoor shop at La Cosecha marketplace, near Union Market. The walk-up taqueria opens early with $2 pours of local Counter Culture coffee and three styles of egg breakfast tacos on homemade corn tortillas, including crispy potato with cheese or carnitas with pickled jalapeños.
Locals Tacos and Tequila
20789 Great Falls Plaza, Sterling
The former Mokomandy space is now a colorful taqueria with plenty of options ranging from birria tacos to seafood. Breakfast tacos make an appearance on the all-day menu with eggs, cheddar, chorizo, and pico de gallo, and you can round out a platter with rice and beans.
Muchas Gracias
5029 Connecticut Ave., NW
The brunch menu at this Chevy Chase DC spot reveals plenty of less-common Mexican specialties like migas norteñas or black-bean molletes (an open-faced sandwich). There are, of course, breakfast tacos—and burritos—with chorizo, potatoes, and scrambled eggs on homemade tortillas.
Paraiso
1101 Pennsylvania Ave. SE
The Capitol Hill Mexican restaurant serves weekend brunch with a variety of taco creations from chef Geovanny Beltran, including queso-scrambled eggs with ham, or egg-and-potato hash with chile escabeche.
Republic Cantina
43 N St., NW
This Tex-Mex cafe has become a breakfast-taco destination—and a steady delivery option—for weekday mornings or weekend brunch. There are several styles of morning tacos, all wrapped in fluffy homemade flour tortillas native to Texas and northern Mexico. Try a simple bacon-and-egg version with cheddar and scallions, or another with carne guisada (braised beef in chili gravy) with egg, cheddar, scallions, and tortilla crisps.
Surfside
33 District Sq., SW; 1800 N St., NW; 4200 Wisconsin Ave., NW
Try the Tonga taco with scrambled eggs, chorizo, potatoes, poblano peppers, refried beans, and queso fresco in house-made corn tortillas. At the new Tenleytown branch, weekend brunch brings a variety of Mexican-American breakfast options.
Taco Bamba
Multiple locations in Northern Virginia (Rockville coming soon)
Chef Victor Albisu is known for his uber-creative tacos—think kung pao shrimp or Lebanese-style chicken—but mornings run more classic at his NoVa taqueria empire. An all-day breakfast taco arrives with a cheddar omelette, plus chorizo, guacamole, pickled onions, cilantro, cotija cheese, and pico de gallo. You’ll also find dishes like huevos rancheros or egg enchiladas.
Taqueria Nacional and Los Companeros
3213 Mt Pleasant St., NW; 1819 Columbia Rd NW
Chef Ann Cashion and John Fulchino’s counter-order taqueria in Mt. Pleasant serves tasty egg-and-green-chili tacos at all hours. At their full-service Mexican restaurant in Adams Morgan, Sunday brunch brings a variety of tacos and egg dishes.
Taco and Piña
4041 Campbell Ave., Arlington
The modern taqueria serves weekend brunch with a ton of egg taco options. Go for the ribeye-and-egg version with avocado salsa verde, rajas, and scallions.
Taqueria la Placita
5020 Edmonston Rd., Hyattsville
The lauded Hyattsville taqueria doesn’t serve breakfast tacos, per se, though the morning menu features several hearty egg platters with beans, rice, optional breakfast meats, and a side of tortillas if you feel like wrapping.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
