Tio's Tacos

Tio's Tacos is a Mexican restaurant on Mission Inn Avenue in Riverside, founded in 1990 by Martín Sánchez and known as much for its sprawling grounds of folk art built from discarded materials as for its food.

History

Martín Sánchez moved to California in 1984 from Sahuayo, Michoacán, and opened Tio's Tacos with his wife, Concepción, in 1990. In 1995 he began making sculptures and structures from items others had thrown away, and over the following decades the restaurant's lot filled with them. Two large figures near the front were made in 2005 with the help of Ignacio "Nacho" Martínez. The couple's daughters, Estefany and Kimberly, now run the business.

Grounds

The property includes a chapel built almost entirely of empty beer bottles, a bicycle set in cement, skeleton mariachis, a walkway of monarch butterflies, a female figure made of crushed tomato paste cans and a wall of glass bottles. Inside, the ceiling is painted in imitation of the Sistine Chapel above multicolored pews. Atlas Obscura lists the restaurant as a destination for outsider art.

Menu

The menu is broad, covering tacos, burritos, sopes, flautas, tostadas, chiles rellenos, mole enchiladas, tortas and carne asada. Its most popular dish is fried tilapia in a garlic and lemon sauce.

Reviews

References

1. "Tio's Tacos". Wikipedia. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
2. "Tio's Tacos". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 2026-10-10.