Con todo

Con todo (Spanish for "with everything") is the standard phrase used at Mexican taco stands to ask for a taco with the full set of house toppings, usually chopped onion, cilantro and salsa, often shortened in conversation to a simple question and answer between customer and cook.

Meaning

At a taquería the filling is only part of the order. Once the meat is on the tortilla, the cook needs to know whether to finish it with the standard garnish, and "con todo" settles the question in two words. In Mexico City the garnish usually means chopped white onion and cilantro, plus salsa. Chilango, the Mexico City listings magazine, counts "¿Me da dos con todo?" among the food phrases that only chilangos say, glossing it as a request to a trusted taquero for two tacos with vegetables and salsa.

The ordering ritual

A typical street order packs quantity, filling, garnish and destination into a single breath. Chilango's profile of a late-night pastor stand near Doctor Valenzuela and Doctor Río de la Loza in Mexico City gives the example "5 de pastor con todo para llevar": five al pastor tacos, with everything, to go.

The same Chilango list records a playful variant, "¿su taco con jardín?", in which the onion and cilantro become a "garden" on top of the taco, a joke about the herbs being many city dwellers' daily serving of vegetables.

Outside Mexico

Taco guides written for English speakers in the United States make the same point. Houstonia magazine's list of essential taco terms advises readers to accept cilantro and onion on their tacos, lingering onion breath and all, and pairs the advice with the phrases para aquí and para llevar for eating in or taking out.

Reviews

See also

• Para llevar
• Doble tortilla
• Taco garnishes
• Cilantro
• White onion
• Salsa taquera
• Taquero
• Tacos al pastor

References

1. "Frases de comida que sólo decimos los chilangos". Chilango. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
2. "Los secretos de un taquero de barrio". Chilango. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
3. "The Dozen Essential Taco Terms You Need to Know So You Don't Look Like a Gringo". Houstonia Magazine. Retrieved 2026-10-10.