Antigua Taquería La Oriental

Antigua Taquería La Oriental is a Puebla taquería chain whose founding family dates its tacos árabes to 1933 and which is widely considered one of the originators of the style.

History

La Oriental is run by the Tabe Mena family, who trace the business to their grandfather Jorge Mena. The family says he left Iraq in the late nineteenth century and was the first to set up a spit in Puebla, and that the family served its first taco árabe in 1933. That claim is contested by other Puebla families of Iraqi and Lebanese descent, and the wider history of the dish also credits immigrants such as Zayas Galeana Antar, who arrived through Veracruz in the 1930s.

Excélsior and El Financiero name La Oriental, together with Tacos Bagdad, among the first establishments to sell tacos árabes in Puebla, and both remain reference points in the city. La Oriental has multiple locations.

Menu

Tacos árabes are made from thinly sliced, seasoned pork cooked on a vertical spit and wrapped in pan árabe, a thin wheat flatbread, rather than a corn tortilla. At La Oriental they are served with a chipotle salsa and jocoque, a tangy strained dairy product of Middle Eastern origin.

Reviews

See also

• Tacos árabes
• Tacos al pastor
• Trompo
• Tacos in Puebla
• Tacos Árabes Bagdad

References

1. "Six Must-Try Taquerias and Restaurants in Puebla, Mexico". Texas Monthly. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
2. "Tacos Arabes in Puebla ~ Mexico". L.A. TACO. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
3. "Esta es la historia detrás de los tacos árabes y de dónde provienen; ¿los has probado?". Excélsior. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
4. "Tacos árabes en México: conoce la historia y el origen de la comida de Medio Oriente". El Financiero. Retrieved 2026-10-10.