Taco Centro To Bring Mexican Street Food To San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter

February 5, 2022

Replacing Berkeley Pizza in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter is Taco Centro, a modern taqueria offering a new take on the Mexican street food experience. 

Taco*Centro is the product of Adrian Gutierrez, whose family has been involved in the restaurant business for decades with a proven track record of ownership and management of traditional fast food taco shop businesses. The Mexican eatery is currently being installed in the quaint downtown space previously occupied by Berkeley Pizza.

"TACO*CENTRO is a new and improved Mexican street food experience, focusing on providing the freshest ingredients, premium top-grade meats, and beverages," explained founder Adrian Gutierrez. "Inspired by the market food stalls and street food vendors during our trips and adventures to various cities in Mexico, our concept is taco-centric based on the traditional taco stalls found all over the country, and we wanted to bring this experience to the heart of San Diego. What better place than the historic Gaslamp District to start with this unique concept! We want to revive the traditional food stalls of local markets found in the city centers/downtowns (CENTROS) and popular streets/neighborhoods all over Mexico, but with a modern look and feel." 

Taco Centro will have an exposed, open kitchen and floor-to-ceiling windows with a design implementing common traditional Mexican colors from popular food stalls, and both indoor and outdoor patio seating. The all-day menu will be centered around popular Mexican dishes like tacos made with hand-pressed corn tortillas, specialty burritos and taco bowls. The menu will also include birria, smothered fries, quesadillas, vampiros, mulitas, avocado tostadas, elote corn, chips and other side dishes, as well as desserts like hot churros with chocolate, flan, and Mexican paletas (ice pops). In addition to the food and dessert menu, TACO*CENTRO will offer a variety of popular Mexican bottled soft drinks, fresh fruit beverages, micheladas, and 10 taps with a rotating selection of Baja and local beer.

TACO*CENTRO is anticipated to open this spring at 539 Island Avenue in San Diego's Gaslamp. The eatery plans to operate seven days a week with late night hours on the weekends. For more information, follow the restaurant on Facebook & Instagram