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On the cusp of its two-year anniversary in Old Town, San Diego’s best-known birria specialist is planning to leave the tourist district to get back to its roots. Arguably its biggest draw, Tuetano Taqueria opened inside the Old Town Urban Market in 2021, three years after the taco shop first took the food world by storm with its bone marrow-topped birria tacos cooked out of a small storefront in San Ysidro.
Recognized by the Michelin Guide in 2020, the restaurant will move to downtown Chula Vista, where owner Priscilla Curiel tells Eater she hopes Tuetano has found its true home. Comprised of two adjacent suites, the new location on Third Avenue is just a few blocks from Talavera Azul, the beloved Mexican breakfast spot run by the chef’s family, who also operate the equally popular La Espadaña in Tijuana.
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Tuetano Taqueria will share the space with a second outpost of Mujer Divina, Curiel’s coffeehouse that’s also home to one of our favorite burritos, which are slender yet flavorful and filled with her signature birria or other guisados.
Curiel says it may take some time to complete a build-out of the kitchen, but she’s hoping to be up and running in Chula Vista by January 2024 if not sooner.
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A rep for the Old Town Urban Market tells Eater that Tuetano will be ending its run there by September 30. Replacing the taqueria will be a Fuego Sushi, a Japanese-Mexican sushi bar from chef Isaac Fernandez of Otay Mesa’s 905 Sushi whose menu will include omakase, or a multi-course chef’s tasting. It’s anticipated to open at the food hall later this fall.
