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Birria Specialist Tuetano Taqueria Brings Soulful Mexican Food to Old Town

Tuetano Taqueria is the first spot to open at the Old Town Urban Market

A birria taco topped with a piece of roasted beef shank with salsa and beef consome on the side.
Tuetano Taqueria’s bone marrow-topped birria taco with consome and salsa macha.
Candice Woo

Chef Priscilla Curiel officially moved her acclaimed Tuetano Taqueria into a new home over the holiday weekend after closing her original San Ysidro location last month. The counter-service restaurant is the first to open at the Old Town Urban Market, a new 7,000-square-foot, mostly-outdoor venue that will eventually house a mix of retail and food vendors including the locally-owned Por Vida Coffee and Barrio Donas.

A former Congress Street pub has been transformed into a compound of sorts for Curiel, with its own patio dining area, a bar, and a large kitchen dedicated to Tuetano Taqueria and Mar Rustico, the chef’s new Mexican seafood spot that should be launching within the next week or so.

A covered deck filled with a variety of tables.
The patio dining deck at Old Town Urban Market.
Candice Woo

Curiel has been perfecting her Michelin-honored birria for eight years, starting with catering and pop-ups before opening in San Ysidro in 2018. The stewed beef shoulder, seasoned with cinnamon, cloves, and guajillo chiles, is the focal point of a concise menu that includes quesadillas, tortas, and her most celebrated dish, a birria taco topped with roasted bone marrow. There’s also beer from Mujeres Brew House and Border X Brewing and wine from Escondido’s Speckle Rock Vineyards, with cocktails to come.

Old Town Urban Market

2548 Congress Street, San Diego, CA 92110