A new taco shop has opened up in the South Bay, bringing Tijuana's famed Las Ahumaderas taco alley to San Diego County's flourishing taco scene.
What is Las Ahumaderas like in Tijuana?
Las Ahumaderas is an internationally-recognized and established eatery in Tijuana comprised of multiple taco stands.
Get top local stories in Southern California delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC LA's News Headlines newsletter.
Love for the taco shop was mostly kept to Tijuana residents and San Diegans — until national attention was brought to it when renowned Anthony Bourdain visited Las Ahumaderas on his television show "No Reservations."
"Las Ahumaderas: The Original Tijuana Taco" in Chula Vista has been in the works for the past 26 months due to delays from the pandemic. The space was once a Chinese buffet named Ocean City.
"My favorites are the adobada ones. The marinade we use is a recipe from my uncle who founded the 'El Poblano' tacos, and we bring it directly from Tijuana," said Pedro Rodríguez, founder of "Las Ahumaderas: The Original Tijuana Taco."
U.S. & World
News from around the country and around the globe
Rodriguez mentioned that his uncle was the owner of "15 Letras," a taqueria where "El Poblano" tacos were born. According to Rodríguez, it was his uncle who named the site: Las Ahumaderas.
The Rodríguez family has multiple "El Polano" taquerias in Tijuana and the owner has dreamed of opening the space since 2008.
What is Las Ahumaderas like in Chula Vista?
The founder of Las Ahumaderas in Chula Vista stressed that this place is different from the one in Tijuana since there is only one taqueria in this place compared to the multiple taquerias that make up the area of Las Ahumaderas south of the border. However, he said that he wants the flavor and atmosphere to be the same as in Tijuana.
"What we did was try to divide the sections, the asada, the birria, the adobada, the chicken, the suadero, the tripita, by sections, so the look looks as if it were the smokers," he said.
We tried to modernize the restaurant, so that they have a 'feeling' of being there in a taqueria.
Founder of Las Ahumaderas in Chula Vista
What's on the menu at Chula Vista's Las Ahumaderas?
Rodriguez mentioned they have tacos of asada, birria, adobada, chicken, suadero, tripa.
In collaboration with other businesses such as Helote, and Creperia Nutilda, they sell esquites, elotes, baked potatoes with flank steak, monster nachos with corn and meats, and more.
They also have fresh water such as hibiscus and strawberry, as well as traditional glass soft drinks, and some in cans.
What are the hours of Las Ahumaderas in Chula Vista?
Rodriguez mentioned that the "soft opening" transformed into a "grand opening," and thanked the community for their response, but said it was something he didn't expect. So it doesn't have set operating hours yet.
At the moment, the hours are Monday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Rodriguez said he hopes to soon change it from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. on weekdays, and 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Rodriguez also mentioned that they hope to have a beer bar and even a short sushi menu soon.
